The Royal Standard, Derby

Official site of The Royal Standard - royalstandardderby.co.uk

Official site of The Royal Standard - royalstandardderby.co.uk

Facebook page of The Royal Standard - www.facebook.com

Facebook page of The Royal Standard - www.facebook.com

The curved bar counter across the rear wall of the Derby Brewing Tap House serves bars to the left and right that are split by a central flight of stairs that lead up to the Ark and Royal Rooms, that I imagine are for functions. Four DBC ales were on cask, Iron Ore, Dashingly Dark, Single Hop and Business as Usual, the latter being my beer of choice. Some real ciders from Weston’s were also available, but the four hand pumps in the right hand bar all stood unused. For lager lovers there is a range of premium keg and a longer list of craft keg, alongside Carlsberg for some reason. The bare board floor and sparse furnishings made this feel like quite a basic bar. The service was very friendly, but I struggled to get comfortable. That said the BaU was a decent drop so maybe I’d pop back in for a quick one if passing.

My initial impression of the Derby Brewery's Tap Room was of a pub which was brightly lit, but slightly under heated, as afternoon gave way to evening. There were 6 pumps on the bar (5 of their own with Thornbridge Cortado making up the numbers). Numerous keg taps upped the beer total. Food is offered till late which is helpful if you're pub-crawling. While it's a quality venue with good beer, overall I found it a bit sterile, especially having popped up the street from the more traditional Exeter (although not so much that I'd forgo a repeat visit some time).

One thing I've noticed with wedge shaped pubs is that they're nearly always pretty good,a fairly modern setup inside with a good range of beers, mine was Derby Hop Till You Drop, also ate in here which from hazy memory was good but I was past my best that evening and should have eaten somewhere much earlier, but I do remember it a decent pub certainly worth a return.