Arkwright's, Belper

This is a very smartly presented micropub of sorts, tucked away down an inconspicuous town centre side street. The pub has a single room layout with bare boards throughout, high etched glass windows, plain painted walls and a high dark ceiling. The bar runs along the rear wall and has an unusual white wood panelled counter front with a metal top and blocky shelving units on the bar back. A railway-style sign with the pub’s name hangs from the bar canopy. On the far wall, a nice fireplace had been lit, generating some much-needed warmth on a cold Winter’s evening and helping to create a cosy feel that made you want to stay a bit longer than planned. Rows of tables and chairs fill the bulk of the room, with a few high stools dotted around in support. The whole place has been liberally decorated with old breweriana, high shelves are stocked with jugs and tankards, fairy lights add to the ambiance and a TV screen was spotted in one corner but remained unused throughout my stay. A crooner soundtrack played in the background, and I noticed some plentiful bench seating in a covered space down one side of the pub which was surprisingly popular despite the plummeting temperatures. On the bar, cask ales amounted to Pentyrch Fear I’d Sleep, Wadworth 6X, Vocation Bread and Butter, Blue Beer Citra Mosaic and Shiny Affinity. I tried the Fear I’d Sleep, which was in excellent condition, and fell into conversation with a cheery CAMRA bloke who’d clocked me in a couple of other Belper pubs earlier in the day, so we chatted about our pub plans for the rest of the weekend for long enough to merit also sampling the Bead and Butter, which was also in top nick. I really liked this place and was glad that I’d saved it until the end of my Belper crawl, as it definitely merited the extended stay. A pleasant environment in which to check out the interesting ale selection which seems to benefit from rapid turnover, I would say this is pushing the Angel’s Micropub pretty hard for the title of best pub in Belper.

Arkwright's is one of several pubs in Belper that don't open until 4pm during the week. We'd timed our visit for opening and stood chatting to a local whilst waiting for them to open. Had we come the day before, we'd have been unlucky, as the pub didn't open at all due to a cellar revamp. With a closure the previous day, we suspected there might be a limited range of ales. But our fears were soon allayed. In fact, an extra handpull had been added. Marston's Pedigree is the regular beer. Guests were Bristol Beer Factory Talisman & Notorious, Neepsend Syringa, Stardust Optica, Abbeydale Hibernation & Three Brothers S'More Porter. Ciders were Weston's Old Rosie, Gwynt y Ddraig Welsh Warrior & Lilley's Bee Sting Perry, Mango Cider, Rhubarb Cider, Lemon & Lime Cider and Pear & Raspberry Cider. My porter was very enjoyable and I could quite happily have stopped for more had we not had several other late opening venues to try. Staff were friendly. Note that the CAMRA discount has been discontinued.

One room with bar to the left. Six real ale pumps and Pedigree available from the barrel. Muted TV to rear of the room.

As noted below this is a small single rectangular room that takes up part of the old conservative club. It's not that dissimilar from a larger micropub. The bar has six hand pumps which had Pedigree, Poynton Aurora, Oakham Citra, Muirhouse Hop Garden, Beartown Peach Melbear and Braass Castle Sunshine. I went for the Brass Castle Sunshine (£3.40) which was in good nick but attracted criticism from a couple of locals over my pronunciation of the brewery! I thought this place was well worth a visit and would return.

Really liked this friendly locals bar and it's choice of real ales. They served flights of beer so we had 3 thirds. Breweries available were Dukeries, Two Roses, Ashover, Briarbank and Wilde Child plus Marstons Pedigree. We chose Two Roses Cascade, Ashover Zoo and Briarbank Perpendicular, all of which were fine.