Poppy and Pint, Nottingham

A former Royal British Legion that is now run as a pub by Castle Rock. It's a large place with plenty of seating. There is a small room to the left of the main entrance with a much larger open-plan room beyond that stretching for some way along the bar which is on the right-hand side as you enter. You can certainly see that this used to be a club. But at the same time, it does feel more like a pub with a few nods to its former use on the walls. Castle Rock pubs always seem to have a good range of their own beers, along with guests and also real cider and craft beers. This one was no exception. Signs above the bar list the full range of beers, along with a wine list and a food specials list. Castle Rock Harvest Pale, Preservation & Screech Owl are the regular beers. Other Castle Rock cask ales were Elsie Mo, Our House & Snow White. Guests were Black Iris Rise and Shine, Mobberley Brewhouse Side Kick, Thornbridge King's Canyon & Brother Rabbit & Titanic Plum Porter. Ciders were both from Seacider - White Peach & Rhubarb, whilst there was also a perry - Colwick Perry from Blue Barrel. Craft beers were Castle Rock Session IPA, DDH Pale Citra & Yuzu Sour, Beavertown Neck Oil, Titanic True Stout, Shiny Wipe Out & Zapata Onwards. Being a match day at the nearby City Ground, the pub was already quite busy when we arrived at lunchtime. As kick off approached, it seemingly got busier and busier with staff struggling to cope with a card machine that kept failing, meaning they had to chase customers around the pub who thought they'd already paid. A number of the beers also went off without the boards above the bar being replaced, which probably created further delays in the serving process. With plenty of time to go through the beers, we also indulged in the food. I opted for the pork vindaloo from the specials, which was ok without being overwhelming. The general feeling of our group was that food was fairly average. I'd be very happy to have this pub local to me, but with so many decent pubs in the Nottingham area for me still to try, I doubt I'll be back in too soon. However, it's a good place for a few pre-match drinks if attending football or cricket games, especially if the train drivers are striking and it's too much hassle getting into the centre of Nottingham!

The poppy and pint is situated in the upmarket suburb of lady by close to West Bridge ford in a former British legion club. This pub follows the classic Castle rock formula of a great choice of reasonably priced beer in nice surroundings. This is slightly different to most of their pus being a former club and has a lot of similarities with the Willowbrook pub in Gedling, too a former working man’s club. Upon entering the bar is to the right and stretches along most of the pubs front wall. The pub is mostly hard wood throughout with some raised areas and the odd screen dotted around but only showing major events. There is also a nice outside patio drinking area with large tables that is great for soaking up the sun. There are many hand pulls on the bar as well as some expensive fizzy craft beers such as Wild River by Fullers for £4.50 a pint! Due to its location this is the most expensive Castle rock outlet as the people who live around are not short of a few quid but still on average with other comparable pubs so nothing too outrageous. There were a good few castle rock beers on the 12 hand pulls as you would expect with as Black gold (£2.90) Preservation (£3.10) harvest pale and Screech owl being noted and Guests Including London Pride (£3.40) and as well as local offerings from Lincoln Green and Magpie. The Black gold while being 30p more than usual for a Castle rock outlet was superb and a lovely pint and still competitively priced. A great pub to seek out to find a great choice of well-kept beers in a nice surrounding. It isn’t the most cosy of places due to its size and layout and can feel a bit airy and lacking in atmosphere when not busy but this is due to the nature of the building and Castle rock have done a nice job regardless. The Willowbrook suffers from the same problem but I think this wins overall, well worth a visit.

Enjoyed our visit yesterday with a great selection of Castle Rock beers plus guests. It is also a cafe bar, and is large enough inside with area to suit everyone. Function room, folk night and a well looked after bowling green outside so serves the community well. Friendly staff keeping good ales.

About a ten minute walk after visiting the Stratford Haven. Had a detailed map drawn courtesy of the local postie at the Stratford, so didn't get lost finding our way. The pub has a large interior and was formerly a British Legion Club. 12 ales on offer, I went for the Lincoln Green Camraderie and Fullers Traitors Gate, both were excellent.

A great addition to the Castle Rock stable. This pub has been specifically re-designed with the community in mind, especially mummies with children. We popped in after a session at the Nottingham beer festival in October and were surprised at the quality of the fit and finish. Loads of good beer on tap and loads of varied food available. BTW, the map is not quite right, the pub is down a short drive from the location shown, but it is sign posted.

Poppy and Pint pages at the Castle Rock Brewery site - www.castlerockbrewery.co.uk