The Neptune Beer Emporium, Stonegravels, Chesterfield

My enthusiastic review of 2017, two years after the pub changed from a Thwaites outlet with keg only to a dedicated cask beer pub, was not followed up by many more visits, as I found the beer offering a bit hit and miss. I think this visit may well have been my first since Covid, though I've been to the nearby Chesterfield Arms many times. The two pubs are both in the Good Beer Guide so I thought it was about time I looked in again. There were seven beers on the row of hand pumps that fill the hatch-like serving area just inside the front door. I went for Vale Red Kite (NBSS 2.5) - a bitter from Buckinghamshire - and Neepsend Chupacabra (NBSS 4) - a 6.2% West Coast IPA from Sheffield. It was a bit quiet and gloomy, the day the clocks went back, until another member of staff came in and turned some lights on! It was still pretty quiet, though the man sat at the bar drinking lager was joined by a couple of friends he hadn't seen for a long time, so it was a bit of an improvement. I'll probably call in here again, but its neighbour just up the road is one of my favourite pubs, so I know where I'll be going more often.

Official site of The Neptune Beer Emporium - www.the-neptune.com

Official site of The Neptune Beer Emporium - www.the-neptune.com

Excellent backstreet alehouse with a cosy J-shaped layout. With live music on a Saturday evening, there was nowhere to sit so I propped up the bar (something I haven't done for a couple of Covid-era years). Eight real ales on handpump in a range of styles, ranging from Shipstones Original to Jaipur, but I went for the Coal Aston Porter (£3.70), one of the two dark beers. Six well chosen, if strong, Belgian beers also available on tap.

A very welcome transformation after my attempted visit five years ago (see below) when no real ale was served here. The new owner envisaged that the pub's proximity to the Chesterfield Arms would be mutually beneficial, and he told me that he has only ever had to throw one beer away in the two years he has been open (and that was an understated mild). He gets through three barrels of both Betty's Blonde and Jaipur every week, and about a barrel each of the other six. There are also numerous keg offerings, and four ciders which are advertised on fonts but actually drawn from the cellar. To be honest, the beer selection didn't really float my boat, as I don't like milk stouts and wasn't in the mood for a chocolate porter, which left a choice between one of several very pale beers (including Thornbridge Melba) or Acorn Barnsley Bitter. I plumped for the latter, but was again unlucky in that it wasn't in top condition. I wouldn't want to put anyone off, though. As others have said, this makes a good double-header with the Chesterfield Arms two minutes' walk away and is easily reached by a short stroll or brief bus ride from the town centre.