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Beer of the Week (w/e 27th April 2025) with Thuck Phat
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The Malt & Mardle, Norwich
Norwich
NR3 1NF
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7½ of 10) see review guidelines
Blue Scrumpy left this review about The Malt & Mardle
In such a fantastic city for pubs, Norwich was missing a micropub. It was this one that became the city's first. In fact, I'm not sure if any more have opened since.
I'm a great fan of micropubs, but I was a little underwhelmed by this one. It's absolutely fine, but Norwich has too many other pubs that are much better.
There is a single room with dark green and blue painted walls. There are hops on the ceiling. The bar is to the front left, with beers originating from a glass-fronted refrigerated storeroom to the rear right. There is also a fridge near the window with boxed ciders and various bottles.
There are 3 cask ales. For my visit, these were Lacon's Ember, Black Iris Endless Summer & Mr Winter's Rorschach. Ciders were both from Lilley's - Mango & Peach. Keg beers included Three Blind Mice Milk Worm, Artefact Harlequin & Queer Brewing Burst Into Bright.
It wasn't too busy on a Thursday evening. With one group of 4 leaving whilst I was there, when I departed, it left just one other couple in. Music was creating a bit of atmosphere, but then again the best micropubs have traditionally shunned music in favour of conversation.
With excellent pubs such as the Artichoke, the Plasterers Arms, the Leopard, the Duke of Wellington and the King's Head all nearby, it's in a fairly convenient location and it's likely I'll stop by when passing to other destination venues.
On 16th March 2025
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3040 recommendations about 3038 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Old Boots left this review about The Malt & Mardle
A typical shop conversion micro, very small. The counter is on the left as you enter with a bit of seating in the front window, three pulls which are dummys and four keg taps which are live on the counter. Further back there’s a couple of tables opposite the cooler cabinet where the casks are kept and pulled from. There’s a chair and three quarters of a table lurking under a staircase that’s part of the shop next door, at back two more tables and a bench, a toilet off of there going right. Customers seemed to be mainly LGBT people although there’s nothing overtly gay about the place. Malt of course is self explanatory “does more than Milton can to justify God’s ways to man”, Mardle is apparently “a Norfolk dialect term meaning to chat, gossip or natter, best conducted with a pint in hand”, others have noted this in reviews but I thought I’d stick in the A.E. Houseman quote as well even though it doesn’t mean what people usually think.
On 21st April 2024
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 3599 recommendations about 3279 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about The Malt & Mardle
Busy micro-pub with limited furniture, so quite tricky to find a spot to sit even mid-afternoon. Three real ales, not served from the (what turn out to be decorative) handpumps on the compact counter, but from the cool cabinet further back. Just enough time for a quick half of Mr Winter's excellent Rorschach Stout.
On 13th May 2023
- rating: 7
[User has posted 8679 recommendations about 8678 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Real Ale Ray left this review about The Malt & Mardle
We called in here on Wednesday evening at 9.55pm and were told by both the barmaid and the co-owner, sitting at the end of the bar, that they weren't serving anymore. I was quite surprised and I mentioned that they were open until 10.30pm. The reply was that she had a bad day and had enough. I requested that I took a few pics of the interior and after some friendly chat about the micro, I asked for a quick half. My request was still firmly refused, so we left.
After checking their FB page, it turned out that they had a tap takeover from 6.30pm that evening and tickets were £15 each. If we'd been told this on our visit you could understand, or maybe just close the place and don't let anyone without tickets in! In my opinion if you're in business serving the public, you have to be straight with people and not fob them off with some lame excuse about having a bad day. The attitude towards us was very cold and indifferent. So I didn't get to have a 'mardle' (Norfolk term for chat/banter) in here, their loss.
On 16th April 2023
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 3645 recommendations about 3645 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about The Malt & Mardle
Brand new micro which was an unscheduled stop on the assumption that every micro will always end-up in the GBG for at least a year 18 months after they open. How to describe? Small, blue and basic. Two ales on, my Wildcraft Wild Eye Pale was under-par (NBSS 2.5) which was quite odd given the throughput – tepid temp and the fact it tasted of grainy homebrew probably didn’t help the cause. Busy and cramped though at least friendly, a lad let us share his table for 10 minutes. I didn’t really take to the place but I guess I visited early in its life before it has found its feet.
Visited early August.
On 12th September 2021
- rating: 6
[User has posted 5552 recommendations about 5533 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Peter Durant left this review about The Malt & Mardle
The Malt & Mardle is the first micropub in Norwich, and is opening on 22nd July 2021. I was lucky enough to be invited to a 'soft opening' the weekend before, so the team could check everything was working smoothly. They'll be having three casks, and two kegs running - plus a good selection of other beers from the fridge (along with other drinks for non-beer lovers). I tried each of the casks and kegs this weekend - and they were all excellent. The inside is cosy, smart, nicely decorated and laid out - and this place has a great team running it. If I lived in Norwich, I'd be visiting it regularly to drink good beer, and have a good 'mardle' too!
On 19th July 2021
- rating: 10
[User has posted 2 recommendations about 2 pubs]