Furnace Inn, Derby

This one takes a little finding for the stranger but oh is it worth it when you do. Little to add to the descriptions of the interior; it's pleasant, traditionally furnished in proper pub fashion and a good place to enjoy the fine beers from the on-site Shiny Brewery and the guests from smaller nearby-ish breweries. The keg range is strictly "craft" and there's some interesting beer in the fridge. RC was of course right to expect it to appear in the GBG; it's there in the 2014 edition. The northern quarter of the city has a fairly good crawl circuit of which the Furnace must take an honoured place or you could just stay here and try the lot. The Light & Dark festival looks like an annual feature as it was on this weekend (November 2/3), great beer and some great pies too.

Recently refurbished pub having been bought from Greene King and made into a freehouse. The new owners have installed a brewery at the rear called Shiny brewery. The pub has been opened out into a one roomer, but the various areas are still obvious. 8 handpumps on the bar selling their own beers and several guests. The ones we tried were in good nick as well. I used to visit this pub when working in Derby a few years ago when it was in the Good Beer Guide. On this showing it'll be back in it again soon. Great job guys and best of luck.

Called into this pub on our Derby Crawl as there was a beer festival on, Dark v Light, and wow, what a great little festival. Large L shape room and we were made very welcome. Beer list provideed but full details of ales on offer on a board too. Enjoyed beer from a brewery new to us here, Quantum IPA, a massive 7%, as well as other micro breweries. Tiny Rebel Billabong, Redwillow Shameless, and Hop Studio Spooks Porter. Beers excellent condition and we will put this one on the crawl list to check it out when no festival is on.

The sign outside informed us that there is new management so that rather negated much of the previous comments regarding the welcoming landlord (although the chap who served us was certainly amiable enough). Despite being in a slightly run down estate (the buildings next door are all boarded up), the Furnace does not give out any unpleasant vibes and the interior is neat, tidy and as comfortable as a 20th Century Mock Tudor pub could be. We overheard that the pub had been closed so I would guess at the spotless seat covers and fresh looking carpet that it has had a bit of a recent overhaul. As a Green King pub, it is not an obvious choice for those doing an Ale Trail but, as the previous poster has mentioned, they do have XX Mild which is a bit of a GK rarity. Old Speckled Hen and Hanson & Hardy Kimberley Ale were the other 2 on offer. An interesting and not so old photo on the wall depicts a Kimberly Ales sign on the pub. It is very much a locals pub with a dart board (and decent number of trophies), TV and all the obvious necessities and whilst it was a quiet afternoon on my visit, I would feel quite comfortable here in a busy evening although I wouldn't particularly claim it to a high priority pub on a Derby visit.