The Brunswick Inn, Derby

16 cask ales? Excellent. Needless to say if you're in Derby its a must. And right by the station too.

The Brunswick Inn was originally a Kimberley tied house that closed down in the early 70s,it lay derilict for several years,it finally reopened in 1987 after the pub and railway cottages next door to it were done up. Once inside there is a small room to the right in the apex of the building,this room is for families,i have taken my son into this room on many occasions,the main bar room is to the rear left,there are a couple of smaller rooms which face the serving bar. There is always a good choice of real ales on the bar,i always have a Brunswick brewed beer,on my most recent visit i had a drink of Triple Hop which went down well as it always does,i also drink the Usual in this pub quite often. On my latest vist i did'nt note all beers,the ones i did note were Brunswick Triple Hop /The Usual /Railway Porter,Everards Tiger /Beacon and White Feather Rocket. If i have time i always drink in this pub after getting off the train at Derby. This is a pub i have visited too many times to mention and will continue to visit it. Pub first visited 10/10/1987 Recent visit 12/7/2014

I've been here a few times in the past and was concerned that it is no longer GBG (2014) listed. The Everard's ownership is no problem as I'm fairly sure that they had taken it over last time I came here. It all looked and felt exactly as I remembered it but on an early Saturday evening was not all that busy. I was feeling quite tired by the time I got here so only noted the beers tried. These were Brunswick Railway Porter (£2.85) and Everard's Original (£3.20) both in perfect condition. Everard's is one of the regional brewers that I still have faith in although I've never rated their Tiger Bitter. They deserve a lot of credit for keeping this place going as a brewpub.

Built originally back in the 1840's as part of a railway village for those working on the North Midland Railway and in the adjacent station, this attractive Grade II listed building now houses arguably the city's most iconic pub. The place has an unusual relationship with three breweries, seemingly being owned by Everards, managed by Brampton and housing the Brunswick Brewing Company, so it's no surprise to learn that this is a top destination pub for real ale fans. My visit on a Saturday evening happened to coincide with the National Winter Ales Festival in the nearby Roundhouse, so the pub was packed to bursting with ale fans, making it virtually impossible to figure out exactly what was on the bar and almost as difficult to fully explore this interesting building. There are apparently sixteen hand pumps to choose from, but I considered myself lucky to be able to see eight of them, which were dispensing Brampton Golden Bud, Best and Bock Daniels, Moles Gold, Taylor Landlord, Burton Bridge Festival Ale and Raw Grey Ghost IPA, with one turned clip. I assume there were some Brunswick Brewery beers somewhere along the lengthy bar counter and it's worth noting that eight ciders were listed on a board as well. I gave the Grey Ghost IPA a try and thought it was a cracking pint. The pub is laid out around a long central corridor that forms the spine of the building. The bar area is in the mid section, with flagstone flooring and a decorative patterned wall below dado level. A seating area opens out to the left of the servery - one of many available throughout the pub and seemingly the most popular on this particular evening. There is another one opposite the bar in a separate room, also with a flagstone floor and with mostly standard table and chair arrangements. Décor includes a fair few old black and white photos and a rather incongruous dartboard. Another room is located near the front door, where the building tapers to a wedge shape. The room is signed as the 'Family Parloure' and offers banquette, low stool and button backed chair seating options. This room plays on the pub's ties to the railway, displaying various items of rail memorabilia as well as a modern pub mirror. Just outside this room is a staircase, which may lead to additional rooms but I didn't have the time to explore. The walls here are lined with brewerania including some nice brewery posters and mirrors. At the opposite end of the pub, there is one final room - a small carpeted lounge with banquette seating arranged into a semi partitioned formation. At the far end of the corridor, which displays some nice framed items detailing local history, the in house brewery can be glimpsed through a final doorway. This is clearly a destination pub for ale fans as well as those who appreciate interesting, historic pub interiors. I feel I timed my long anticipated visit rather poorly, having struggled to get a good look around the place, but its popularity is clearly down to a lot more than it's convenient location and I will be sure to call again the next time I'm in Derby.