The Duke of Wellington, Norwich

A backstreet corner pub, dating from the 1930s, a shop conversion in 1937 giving us the Iron Duke, later D o W. The locals were more tattooed than the Norwich’s heavily average, some regarding us with a barely concealed soupçon of suspicion. My half of Wolf’s Lupus Lupus was my drink of the day and the cheapest at just £1.95.

A plain looking exterior,the interior is rather old school with a tardis feel. There is a tiny room at one end called Kay's Snug,but around the otherside there is a raised area and then a section for live music.Flatscreens complete the scene in what is a real boozer,lively without being rough.As you enter the servery is infront of you and L shaped with an array of handpumps but consult the extensive beer list on the wall as most ale is fetched from a stillage room behind glass panels behind the bar. On my visit there were 15 ale choices of Wolf Wolf Ale,Sly Wolf,Edith Cavell,and Golden Jackal,Mr Winters Fusioneers MILD,Ampersand Tap Bitter,Oakham JHB,Citra,Green Devil IPA and Bishops Farewell (NBSS 3.5) ,Nene Valley Table Stout,Three Blind Mice Juice Rocket and Hopback Summer Lightening. Thats a significant range of styles and strengths and the other crawlers were all happy with conditioning quality ,the 2023 GBG listing fully deserved.The pies got positive reviews too. One not to miss,a very impressive real ale venue.

A pleasantly laid-back pub with a good atmosphere. Although a radio station was playing in the background, we were greeted by the gentle hum of conversation and it just felt right. A glass stillage room behind the bar housed a goodly selection of beer with about 10 ales on, many from the partnered Wolf brewery but including some good guests. Also worth a mention: the homemade bar pies were very well received.

On a late night visit I found the pub to be well attended but managed to find a small table in a corner of the long roomed pub, there were plenty of beers on that I failed to note at this stage of the day but enjoyed my Wolf Lupus Lupus and quite enjoyed the pub.

The Duke of Wellington was another Norwich pub that I decided to give another try, having last been here over 10 years ago and rating it as decidedly average. However, I was really impressed this time around. There's a blackboard listing the full selection near the entrance and the bar area has now been split to create one point where you order and another where you collect your drinks. The barmaid was friendly and showed us the trapdoor which leads to an air raid shelter at the rear. Beyond that are the toilets and an outdoor area. 7 of the real ales were from Wolf - Edith Cavell, Moonlight, Golden Jackal, Battle of Britain, Lupus Lupus, Wolf Ale & Wolf In Sheep's Clothing. Oakham Bishop's Farewell is another regular ale. They also had Citra. 3 other guests were Dark Star Hophead, Nene Valley Manhattan Project & Three Blind Mice Milk Worm. In addition, there were 4 ciders - Broadoak Moonshine & Moonshine Rum & Raisin, Abrahall's Slack Alice & Colcombe House The Rhooberry. Possibly the best pub we visited in Norwich yesterday.