Exeter Arms, Derby

This is Derby Camra's pub of the Year 2013, so I was interested to see what it was like. There are seven hand pumps, one with a cider, three with Dancing Duck beers, the others having Marstons Pedigree, Titannic Iceberg and a stout. I had the Dancing Duck Ay Up, which a punter at the bar described as "gorgeous" but I found to be too cold and lacking in both condition and flavour - my least impressive beer of the day, and I'd just come from the Bridge where I drank Bombardier! It was quite busy here at the time of my early evening visit, with most customers either eating or waiting for their food. This is an interesting building and has been refurbished with sensitive use of recycled materials including partitions and glass screens to break up the spaces. Pictures include various incarnations of HMS Exeter, and other décor, at least one fellow reviewer will be distressed to learn, included random twigs perched precariously on a rather nice old wall clock. There's a yard and a conservatory at the back, though not what I would call a beer garden.

A wildcard on the crawl as the school-time local of our organiser. I was really impressed by this one in context of the other Derby pubs I did on the same day. It’s not exactly an ale hotbed, but nonetheless is a solid Marstons outlet, with four of their list our ales on over a myriad of pumps including the lesser-spotted 'Marstons mild' (it says here) which was in good shape. The pub is laid out over a number of well-maintained rooms and there was a really vibrant atmosphere within; I particularly enjoyed the well-appointed conservatory area. Décor is pretty traditional, with items of note being the old seaside postcards on display in the gents a collection of timepieces and some foreign bank notes pinned above the bar. I was charmed by this one and would happily return.

Used to frequent the Exeter a lot when it was a Marstons tied pub. dancing Duck have invested, cleaned, painted and sorted out the ramshackle lean to at the back. there is now also a (no longer) secret room off the conservatory that probably used to be some sort of store, that is now open to the public. Excellent choice of marstons and DD ales on the bar, I sampled a pint of 22 (two little ducks) on my recent visit and it was excellent. Will call again when I am in the city.

The Exeter Arms has always been one of my favourite Derby pubs so i thought i would give it a go now that Dancing Duck are running things. Once inside the pub seemed pretty much the same except for the conservatory to the rear. The pub was packed om my late afternoon visit with mainly upmarket drinkers and diners who were eating meals off wood boards,why not use a plate,i was tempted to ask for some soup to see if this also came on a board,another annoying thing was the lit candles which were everywhere. There was a good choice of real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Dancing Duck Nice Weather which was ok but nothing special,like the weather on that day,the other beers were Dancing Duck Drake and Hay Up,4Ts PW Cheshire,Black Bee Rugbee and Pedigree. I prefered the Old Exeter under Marstons ownership,this pub is a bit to upmarket for my liking. Pub first visited 11/9/1982 Recent visit 9/3/2013

This 2013 Good Beer Guide pub is a first for us, and we found it to be a Dancing Duck brewery outlet. It is a lovely comfortable welcoming pub, and also has a rear garden that will be popular in the summer. We had Revolutions Devolution which was not on top form and was replaced - no problem, and Lincoln Green Hood.