A few beers in Nottingham on a quiet Sunday night

On a quiet Sunday night I headed towards Nottingham city centre in order to go to some of the nice ale houses in the city. The first port of call was the Hand in Heart on the Derby Road as it drops down into the city centre. The Hand and Hard was originally a Victorian brewery which used the caves beneath for storing the ales. A Victorian shop front was added which enabled it to start operating as a public house.

The hand and heart is an interesting establishment due to the unusual setup of being carved into caves. There are normally about 7 beers on tap including a special brewed for the pub. The bar staff who served me were very friendly and knowledgeable about ale. My first choice pint of beer was the very last one in the cask. I was pleasantly surprised when the bar maid asked me to see if it was ok and if it was not, they would get me another beer. As it was, the beer wasn’t right so I choose another ale upon the recommendation of the helpful barmaid.

Anglo-Dutch Brewery Kletswater (4%). The Anglo-Dutch brewery is based in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire and has been operating since the year 2000. The name comes from the fact one of the partners of the brewery is Dutch and one is British. Kletswater is a light amber coloured ale with a thick dense head. Some lime can be detected on the nose. Upon drinking, Kletswater is a wonderfully balanced very smooth drinking beer. There is a slight caramel sweetness at the start which then has some biscuit and even Stilton tones. This is a superb ale with great length and a very complex flavour. 8/10

I then left the Hand and Heart and walked to the Lincolnshire Poacher pub which is on the Mansfield Road. At the Poacher I tried two beers.

Oldershaws Brewery Caskade (4.2%). Oldershaws has been brewed just outside Grantham since 1996. Caskade is another amber beer with a thick head. It is an easy drinking beer with a slightly warming light malty character and citrus nose. 6.5/10

Castle Rock Brewery Lords and Ladies (5.1%). This is Castle Rock’s December monthly special which is brewed to promote the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust’s work. This dark mahogany bitter has a thick head. It is extremely smooth, creamy and easy drinking. Flavours of sweet brown sugar and light treacle can be tasted. 6/10

I then walked into the city centre to one of my favourite pubs – The Kean’s Head. At the Kean’s head it was an easy choice on which beer to try, one of my absolute favourites, Screech Owl from Castle Rock.

Castle Rock Brewery Screech Owl (5.5%). Darker golden beer which has a rich sweet indulgence to it, as well as complex grassy and citrus flavours. This is another ale with great length and although it was not at its best, it is still a smashing beer. 7/10

I then took the short walk to the Newshouse on Canal Street. This is another favourite of mine for some quiet drinks and a bit of a chat. Traditional pub games are present in the Newshouse and I took the opportunity to hone my dart skills. The service in the Newshouse is always very friendly which helps create a very nice ambience in this traditional pub. Overall the Newshouse tends to appeal to the more discerning drinker, due to its slightly off the beaten track location. I always appreciate the choice of ales in the Newshouse, especially as they always try to serve at least Mild. After chatting to the barman, he advised me to drink Pitchfork from the RCH brewery.

RCH brewery Pitchfork (4.3%). RCH brew down in Somerset and have been in operation for nearly 30 years. Pitchfork is a golden bitter with a medium head. There are some lovely complex flavours which include grassy and citrus tones. This is a lovely well balanced beer that left me wanting to drink more. 7.5/10

A trip to the Victoria Hotel in Beeston

Victoria Hotel Beeston 26^th Sept 2010.

7.30pm on a Sunday evening the 2 mile walk in a South-West direction starts from University Park. It is is a well trodden path which helps build up an anticipation and appetite for what awaits. As I walk into Dovecote lane I see the Victoria at the end of the road and a train pull into Beeston station next to it. The Vic is traditional 19^th century station hotel opposite the old Beeston brewery. On entry to the Vic I take a right turn into the cosy taproom. The interior obviously has a ‘classic pub’ feel to it, but the walls are covered with ancient brewery paraphernalia.

                Next to the bar is the list of drinks available, which includes 13 real ales – decisions, decisions. In the end it is quite an easy decision for the first drink, as I am a big fan of the Blue Monkey brewery from nearby Ilkeston.

Drink 1. A half pint of Blue Monkey 3.6% Original. Blue Monkey started brewing in 2008 and I have always been a fan of everything they have produced. This combined with the relatively local nature of the brewery meant a half of Original was an obvious starting point for the night. Colour-wise Original has a dark amber or aged-oak look to it. It is wonderful session ale, with warming malts along chestnut tones balanced beautifully with a slight hint of citrus. It has a great length which leaves you wanting another sip immediately. Hop-wise it contains Pilgrim and Styrian Goldings.  It is an extremely satisfying drink for any occasion. A finer bitter as you will ever find. 9/10.

Drink 2. A half pint of Nottingham Rock bitter (3.8%). Wanting to keep to local breweries it was to the Nottingham brewery which is based in Radford at the back of the Plough Inn. Rock Bitter is a different beast than what most first time drinkers would expect from a bitter. Rock bitter was first brewed in the 19^th century as an easy drinking ale for Nottingham factory workers. It is a light gold in colour and was a forerunner to an IPA (Indian Pale Ale) style of beer. Upon tasting the Rock Bitter is drier or greener and more bitter than the Blue Monkey Original. It has very little nose at it is first served. It is very drinkable, but doesn’t have the cosy nature that would want to make you drink it on a winter’s day sat by a roaring fire with a steak pie – what a good bitter should do. Flavour-wise, you get hints of caramel and floral notes. It is a solid easy drinking beer, but I feel it lacks character. One point to note that as the drink warmed up it improved remarkably. I feel it was served at too low a temperature. As it warmed a sweeter nose came to the fore which made it a far more enjoyable drink. 6/10.

Drink 3. A half pint of Oldershaws Regal Blonde (4.4%). The Oldershaws brewery is Grantham based  and has been running for nearly 15 years now. Regal Blonde is very light in colour with a hint of a floral nose. It is brewed with Czech German hops to make a larger style of beer. I very much liked the beer when first tasted, but was left slightly disappointed as I would have hoped for some hop excitement at the end. It is an uncomplicated larger style beer, which would be a great introduction into real ale. 5.5/10.

Drink 4. A half pint of Hopback GFB (3.5%). The Hopback breweries history goes back to 1986. I normally associate drinking beer from Hopback with my trips to the New Forrest normally within a few miles of their Downton brewery. GFB stands for Gilbert's First Brew and was first made in 1996. GFB is a very golden beer. It is blonde but with bitterness. It has that very distinctive Hopback character, which I associate with a dry finish to their beers. In GFB’s case, it comes from the use of Kent Goldings hops. The beer has an unusual slightly smoky character to it. 5/10.





Fullers ESB



Drink 5. A half pint of Fullers ESB (5.5%). ESB is a dark amber colour and has a fruity nose; most notable on the nose is prunes. On the palette dates and prunes continue with tastes of bonfire toffee to make a wonderfully complex warming bitter with hints of sweetness. The length to the beer is fabulous. It is no surprise that ESB was originally brewed in 1971 as a winter brew. At 5.5% it is not a session beer, but it is very drinkable and something that you will stick to once you have started drinking it. It also strikes me as a beer that would be wonderful to cook with, for example a rich stew.  It is a lovely unusual dark beer which has a Christmas or wintery nature to it. 8/10.