Ye Olde Dolphin Inne, Derby

I'm not sure what to make of the Dolphin. It seems like it ought to be a good pub because it's in such an old and therefore interesting building. But somehow it just isn't either good or particularly bad. It seems that regular beer scorers (using CAMRA's National Beer Scoring System) tend to agree with Pub Sign Man (below) in finding the beer quality average, and the pub is currently not in the Good Beer Guide. I must have got lucky because my Castle Rock Harvest Pale was NBSS 3.5. Perhaps I should come here more often.

Cracking multi-roomed pub next to the cathedral, which lays claim to be Derby’s oldest public house. You enter into a corridor which gives access to the main bar area and other rooms through a series of openings to the left. The bar has a surprisingly dull counter for such an old pub, but the bar back retains some good shelving, obfuscated glass panes and a dusty collection of old bottles. There are fixed benches opposite with low stools in support, all notionally arranged around a pleasant brick fireplace in what seemed like the liveliest room of a fairly quiet pub. Decor includes a plain mirror and random ornaments above the fireplace, a large Bass sign opposite, on an otherwise plain wall, plus a few other minor bits of breweriana. Passing through a narrow gap to the left of the bar, more seating appears in a cramped but cosier rear space. There then appears to be further seating at the end of the corridor at the back of the pub, but I never made it this far, so have no idea if it’s a nice spot or not. Reggae tunes were playing randomly in the background and I got the impression that the place had been quite busy earlier in the evening, but was notably winding down by the time I arrived. A solid ale range comprising Castle Rock Screech Owl and Harvest Pale, Draught Bass, Greene King Abbot Ale and Robinsons Trooper greeted my arrival and my pint of the Screech Owl was in reasonable condition - perhaps the least impressive pint on an otherwise very successful thirteen-pub crawl. This one is definitely worth a look for the interesting old interior, which merits a little more exploration than I mustered at the end of a long day in the field. The average beer quality makes this a question mark for repeat visits, but I enjoyed my time here and would definitely recommend it for its heritage value.

Ye Olde Dolphin Inne is a historic pub with lots of different seating areas served to the front and rear by a central bar counter. One of the hand pumps on the bar was being used as a blue roll holder, but the other seven were in operation drawing Bass, Castle Rock’s Harvest Pale and Screech Owl, Pedigree, Nottingham Brewery’s Dolphin 1530 AD, Abbot Ale and Robinson’s Trooper. Very cheap food is also available, the burger and chips was priced at £5. This was one of the busier pubs I visited on a recent Tuesday evening, but this popularity may have been because the weekly quiz had just started.

I start getting concerned when I see signs like "Derby's oldest public bar" on the outside, but was pleasantly surprised to fine a genuine ancient multi-roomed pub. Four separate rooms are arranged round a compact central servery, with a tiled public bar at the front, a snug in the middle and two lounges at the side, one accessed through the bar. A real coal fire added a delicious smell to the place. My only grumble was when a quite unnecessary juke box suddenly burst into life as it was much nicer without. Ales on were Bass, Pedigree, Castle Rock Screech Owl, Robinson's Trooper and a house ale from Nottingham Brewery.