please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Bad pint of White Feather in here recently. Tasted like the cask hadn't been rinsed properly before being refilled. Some of the staff in here could do with learning some manners and a smile wouldn't go amiss either. Apologies if they all suffer from facial paralysis. Interior of pub has been spoilt somewhat with mulitple posters stating you must be over 25 to drink in there (or look over 25); bizarre when you think the average age of clientele must be around 50. Starting to go off this place which is sad as I've been drinking there for years.
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Revisited this pub yesterday lunchtime after a few years gap, fantastic not changed a bit just as good as ever. 14 ales on, including 6 from their own brewery, Railway Porter at £2.20 a pint was just the job on a cold Sunny Winters day, as was the real coal fire.
This must be one of the best and most consistantly good pubs in the country, long may it continue so. If it was my local I'd live in it!
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Did I see right? 16 handpulls!? What a pity I only had time for a fine drop of White Feather which set me back the princely sum of £1.80. Already the pro points are racking up. And being so close to the station it's just plain rude not to pop in here for (at least) one. I can't comment too much on the atmosphere as my visit was on a mid afternoon, between busy periods and so more like a reading room with one or two punters buried behind newspapers. Nothing wrong with the service which was brisk and civil, and I particularly appreciated the aroma of the Brunswick, a heady mixture of open fire, the sweat of manual labour, pipe tobacco impregnated walls and the contented spirit of a wet labrador. Beats Febreze any time.
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Not as away fan friendly as the Alexandra but not a problem.
Vast selection of ales to try - the house beers were very good in particularly Rambo (7% )
Good value butties behind the bar.
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On first (and last) visit, oaf at the bar (suspected local/regular) obviously thought I was invading 'his' space by attempting to look at the pump clips to see which beer I liked the look of. Attempted to block my way and 'invite' me to ask him to move - grow up. Will not be visiting again - Cold and uninviting, both the pub and the locals. Go to The Alexandra.
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Popped in the Alexandra Hotel on way back to station and was very impressed,then found this place........well i was almost speechless when i saw the beer selection,absolutely amazing place,spoilt 4 choice! 9/10
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One of the best in Derby and always one to visit on a crawl round for real ale. Lovely assorted rooms and always a friendly atmosphere. Good staff and well kept beers. Enjoyed Burton Old Cottage Chestnut Ale and Breconshire TGV (The Green Valleys) when I called in on my way back to the station in November.
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A spot on ale lovers pub, just wish I could get to Derby more often.
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Very acceptable boozer close to Derby station. I went for one of the Headless beers which was very enjoyable and for a decent price. Loads of seating all around the pub, friendly staff - I was annoyed I only stopped off for a quick one as I could easily spend a whole day in this place. 8/10
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One of the best pubs i have been in the beer selection was amazing the prices cheap and the friendliness of the staff and locals were spot on i just wish i was there a week later as there annual beer festival is in a weeks time
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A great boozer. Great service and friendly regulars. Note the regular who is the spitting image of the actor Pete Postlethwaite. Very nice guy and thoroughly knowledgeable on beers.
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Voted one of the best 25 pubs in UK in todays Sunday Telegraph.
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Brilliant Pub ,visit here on way back to station from Derby Beer Festival
good food ,good selection of beers ,by the way has anyone found my sons dart
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Great real pub with great staff serving top real ale. A joy
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A very busy pub on a Derby County match day. We arrived just before midday and were fortunate to find a table. Having settled down we had a couple of relaxing beers before having to join the the scrum at the bar. The staff were brilliantly efficient and we were served quickly each time. Nice filled rolls topped off a splendid pre-match session. We only drank the Brunswick ales which provided plenty of variety. I thought the list of guest ales was uninspiring but each to their own.
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Splendid free house at the end of a red-brick terrace close to the station.
The guide books - and a very informative pub website - tells us that this terrace was built in 1842 as part of the community village for workers of the North Midland Railway. The Brunswick Inn lays claim to being the first ever railwaymans pub.
It was saved from demolition in the 1980's, reopening in 1988 after a spell of closure.
Nowadays it's a fine traditional multi-roomed pub, with wood-pannelling and flagstoned floors and restored in keeping with the character of the original building.
It's much larger inside than it looks from outside and with its own self-contained brewery.
The pub sign outside refers to "A True Ale House and Brewery" which strikes me as a very good summing up of this not to be missed gem.
It's owned by Everards, but sells beers brewed on site and a number of guests. The Brunswick White Feather Ale was a nice light session ale and, at only £ 1.70p, noticeably cheap.
Being behind schedule, and with a train to catch, I was unable to stay as long as I wished, but I shall return.
In conclusion, it's one of the best known real ale pubs in the country and should be on everyone's itinerary for a visit at some stage
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Could not fault the beer or the service. Their own brewed beer was spot on at very reasonable prices. A highly recommended comfortable and traditional pub. Managed four visits during a two day stay and only had one beer twice, the choice was so extensive and impressive.
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Best pub in Derby by far. Nice multi roomed pub with a flagstone floor. Most of the ales are brewed on the premises (you can have a glance at the brewery through a window) and are kept in perfect condition, as you would expect. If you come to Derby on the train for a pub crawl, make sure this is the first place you visit when you arrive, and the last place you visit before you leave.
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Excellent beers, handy for the station and it's nice to see a pub refurb which creates more rooms instead of knocking the place into one big room. Good starting/finishing point for a tour of Derby's numerous decent alehouses.
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Great multi-roomed pub, great beer, great value, great atmosphere, great service... The many positive reviews are well-deserved. I just wish I had time and capacity to sample all of the beers!
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Fantastic - this is everything a town pub should be (and a bit more, i.e. the brewery). History, character, atmosphere, and excellent beer. I have never given a '10' rating to a pub on BITE, but I reckon that this may be the closest yet. Can't say much more without sounding like a publicist for them (which I am not!).
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I had the pleasure of visiting this fine establishment Feb o9/09.The price and selection of real ales is amazing.The pub is probably one of the best pubs i have ever visited.Everything about the place is first class.Many thanks Brunswick
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I hadn't been here for about 10 years (living down south as I do) but I'm pleased to record the place was every bit as good as I remember it. An amazingly cheap (<£2) pint can be had here, the place was busy but not too crowded, the scratchings were tip-top, and the ales were great.
I'll try not to leave it so long between visits in future.
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Visited this pub on the way back to the station after a crawl round Derby. Lovely pub with interesting rooms, and a varied beer menu featuring their own beers plus a variety from other micro breweries.
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A fantastic pub. Big choice of tasty fresh beers at low prices. Larger than it looks from outside, with the space split into several rooms/partitioned areas so you can always find somewhere to sit.
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Not sure why I haven't got round to reviewing this yet. Suffice to say that a couple of times a year I will devote considerable time and expense to visiting Derby, especially for its great pubs. The Brunswick is always the highlight of any such visit. Usually the first pub to visit after leaving the station, the challenge is to motivate oneself to leave. Excellent.
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Still doing a great range of beers. It's always nice to see a brewpub doing guest ales as well as their own. Very pleasant pub with a friendly set of regulars and needless to say, good beer. I always call in when in Derby.
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15 beers as usual. Two tried excellent.
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popped in after football prior to catching train , misssed train so ended staying another 2 hours, lucky it was an early game. beer was in very good condition, tried a few of each, the house beers were top notch . I dont get up this part of the world much but when I do , will def return. Hopefully by then , the gents will have been sorted
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Visited twice a few weeks ago. The beer was good on both occasions and the welcome was fair. The only adverse thing I could say is the gents were disastrous!! If the brewery hygiene is anyway similar it might somewhat put me off drinking the ale....... So buy a new washbasin and a can of paint and you will have an excellent pub,rather than a good one.
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Splendid looking pub with a number of different rooms to drink in. Fabulous range of 16 beers of which 7 on offer were brewed in-house. I had the pub brewed Triple Hop and an Oak Ale from Burton Cottage Brewery. Good prices with the 3.7% in-houser (which I did not try) priced at £1.70. Definitely worth a vist and I will return - not least because though the two beers I had were good, they were not quite perfect - I suspect this pub can do better, and I want to find out. Certainly from some of the previous comments one would expect this to be the case.
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Class place.
40145 - 27 Sep 2008 18:18 |
I love this pub & make it my first stop when in Derby, has a great selection of beers, some brewed by the pub, wish they had a better selection of food otherwise i could have stayed all day, that said their filled rolls are excellent especially the Stilton & red onion.
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easily a must visit pub in derby..friendly staff good beer and well run establishment..handy for the train
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Brewpub with 6 house beers and eight guests including Shardlow, Burton Bridge, Clarks, Elgoods and Everards (who own the pub). Various rooms and a beer garden out the back. Busy as expected on a match day but service didn't take long.
Brunswick Railway Porter and Black Sabbath were very tasty.
Fantastic.
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Excellent range of beers and loads of room for everyone. Always worth a visit.
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Ale 9/10. Food 7/10. Atmosphere 8/10. Overall 8/10
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Fantastic pub. Must be the best in England that's en route to a football ground. Great range of beers, especially Landlord, Pedigree and the local Burton Bridge to complement the house's own brews. Decent food on match days. Shame they don't do hot food for varied kickoffs as this place is an oasis to a Derby fan with a 250-mile round trip. Good place to drown your sorrows before jumping on the train too (especially last season!).
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to tell you the truth i went past this "pub" so many times and never actually realised it was a pub, just looked like an old building!
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I visited this pub recently during a holiday in Derbyshire. An absoulutely brilliant pub with a great selection of beer. Bar staff were very good. Would recommend this pub to anyone who enjoys a decent pub and good beer. Keep up the great work!
Boyne - 30 Jun 2008 16:27 |
Pleasant, characterful pub with plenty of good, home-brewed (in the best sense) beers. The stout was particularly good.
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great victorian pub ,you could just imagine Fred Dibnah propping up the bar. huge choice of beers at very good prices the food was good too.
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A real ale mecca, with seven of their own and seven guests on during our visit. Starting from just £1.50 a pint through to £2.10 for their own adn only as far as £2.70 for the mostexpensive guest. Excellent (genuine) home-made food at decent prices. Superb building with many rooms and an open view of the brewery. Has to be in the top two or three across the whole city and a must for anyone stepping off the train.
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Excellent place. Top beer. Always have a trip when change trains. My wife thinks the trains are awful around Derby!!!!!
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Fantastic range of ales and a good clear board on the wall with all their names & strengths.
Been there three times now and thoroughly enjoyed them all. Will definitely be going back at some point. Very close to Derby train station
well kept beer & a very roomy place. Think its Victorian ? Plenty of places to sit and decent prices
the only downside (otherwise it would have got a 9) is the mens toilet. They are truly disgusting. The smell is awful. It stinks
yam69 - 20 Apr 2008 17:50 |
I use the pub a lot - have done since it re-opened. All the comments are spot on, with a great range of well kept beer, friendly fellow-drinkers, good value food. Only one negative - toilets are long in need of refurbishment, or even a good clean.
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Marvellous pub, I'm a bit mystified by the low rating of 7.4. Food is even good. Varied customers. Terrific place to read the paper and work your way through the ales.
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Possibly the best pub in Derby, the Brunswick has a fine selection of nice ales and a steady stream of Irish rebel songs on St. Patrick's Day! Can't beat it.
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So many good beers on, it was hard to know what to choose. My favourites are their own Brunswick beers. Graham has a good regular range such as triple Hop & The usual, but is always willing to try new ones. He had a very strong cherry tasting beer called Cherry B, which I liked. A great pub.
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This place came with a recommendation from a friend and is definitely a must visit for real ale enthusiasts, or indeed anyone interested in historic pubs. It was originally built in the 1840’s as part of a railway community and was known as the Brunswick Railway & Commercial Inn. In the mid 20th C it fell into disrepair but finally re-opened in 1987 after extensive renovation of the whole area by the local historical trust. It’s a real gem with lots of rooms to explore, the main bar, a snug, a smoke room and an attractive family parlour. A flagstone corridor runs through the pub leading to the on-site brewery which brews 6 Brunswick ales. Another 4-5 ales are also available and the food menu is quite popular. It’s only a few minutes walk from the train station and certainly worth a visit.
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Fantastic place. A nice selection of their own brews. My fellow drinkers were a colourful and friendly mix.
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Popped in last Friday whilst awaiting connection at train station. One of my all time favourite pubs. Thankfully unspoilt by Everards. Still retains the feel of a freehouse. Their own brews are always the ones I go for. £1.90 for a pint of Triple Hop, and £1.70 for a pint of White Feather. The pub is split into 4 rooms downstairs with another one upstairs. There's also a yard for outdoor drinking. Wood panelling on the walls, and an open fire in winter. There's a glass door to the brewery so you can see the brewer hard at work making pure magic.
Slake - 11 Sep 2007 18:17 |
Called in at the end of a day going round the real ale pubs in Derby on my way back to the station. Enjoyed a couple of well served ales from the knowledgable staff. Picked up a leaflet for the forthcoming beer festival at this great brew pub.
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good bar staff, good clientele, excellent range of beer (well kept) including guests; quality pub.
mps77 - 13 Aug 2007 13:32 |
Never been disappointed with this pub, everytime I go it produces quality ale's in superb condition. Brunswick ale's are brewed on the premissis and they also have guest ale's too. It's one of those pubs that I wish I could put in my pocket and take home with me.
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Called in after visiting Derby Beer Festival. Excellent choice of ales with own beers and guests on. Friendly atmosphere. Didn't spend much time there-had a train to catch. Hope to get back sometime.
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Second to none for choice of ales and quality. Can't think of a negative thing to say about it.
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Does anyone know if Graham and Pat are still running it or were there rumours of a new landlord? Used to be my local but sadly now 100 miles away...
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Called in on my way back from Sheffield and enjoyed a half from the wide range on offer. A lot of interesting rooms to wander round and a good atmosphere. Close to the station so a good one to visit when there is time between trains.
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Visited there on Saturday, 11th November 2006, with a bunch of CAMRA members from Liverpool. What a great pub! Wide selection of ales. Food looked great - the cumberland sausage curl was very inviting. Great atmosphere. Best pub we visited all day.
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The Brunswick continues to maintain its reputation as one of Derby's premier Real Ale houses. On Sunday there were 14 Real Ales on, a mix of their own and guests and we tried most of them (!) and all were in tip top condition. Very friendly bar staff. Great interior, and open all day Sunday which is a bonus. Highly recommended.
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Excellent pub in a beautiful rambling building. Lots of different rooms to sit in. Usually have about a dozen real ales on tap, some of which are brewed on site. Plus they host amazing beer festivals.
If you're ever waiting at Derby Railway Station there is no excuse for not popping over the road for a few in this pub - well worth missing your train for.
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I used to live 5 mins walk away from this pub and it was absolute heaven. The beer is well kept and the range is awesome. Friendly bar staff that know their beer. Try the great range of beers brewed on site. If you ever get stuck at derby station it will make the wait a pleasure / keep missing trains and lie to your partner!
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I think this might be my ideal pub: great selection of real ales including their micro-brewery beers, lots of seating including a no smoking area and close enough to the train station to make a pre or post journey pint pretty much unresistable.
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Just been to their beer festival. They've got a new cherry beer out called Tickets Please, and it's just delicious! It's just bursting out all over with cherries - It's heaven sent - a gift from the gods!
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Cracking corner pub which was originally built to cater for the railway workers. It fell into disrepair until some bright spark had the idea of renovating it with a view to opening again. You can find pictures of the state that it was in on the walls. Now it is a popular alehouse come brewery. I thoroughly recommend a visit although car parking is tricky.
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Victorian pub at the iron end of a row of cottages - I think grade 2 listed. Wonderful range of ales brewed on the premises plus guests from other small independent breweries - I think at least 13 in total.There are two upstairs rooms that occasionally host live music. It's possibly lost some of its dingy magic since Everards took over , but it's still highly recommended
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An unusual warren of a pub near Derby station. I think there were 16 ales on handpump; five from their own microbrewery and various others from an assortment of other brewers. The Brunswick's own beers were considerably cheaper than the guests, which are relatively pricey for the area. The Brunswick Porter was excellent.
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Richard Branson drove me to this pub. Well not literally but when one of his trains was late I managed to squeeze a couple of pints in here. I urge you to contrive to miss your connection if Mr Branson or the National Express Group don't facilitate it for you and visit this wonderful multi-roomed pub. Beer brewed on the premises as well as a range of, generally Midlands/Northern, ales.
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Quality pub, worth missing the train for! Thursday night jazz worth a visit, food excellent too. Was in there a while ago and they apologised for having too few ales on - well I guess 7 aren't that many when they usually have 12+. Half of them are brewed by Graham on site too - try the Old Accidental.
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It grieves me to agree with everything said previously about this pub (not always true on BITE). I was very happy to get a 2hour wait for a train and try some flavoursome well-kept beer - also a good lunch. In particular, staff (both bar and kitchen) are patient and friendly with middle-aged, real ale loving customers. Look forward to next train trip via Derby!!
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Toss-up between this and the Alexandra a few doors awayfor best pub in Derby. A pleasure to get to the station and find there's a bit of a wait for your train. If in area of station, Station, Alexandra, Nightingale,Strutts, Crown and Cushion, George also worth a look (or a hell of a pub crawl!), avoid waterfall (pretentious) and the truly horrible station bar.
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After visiting most of the CAMRA entries for Derby in the 2005 Guide, the Brunswick gets my top pub vote. Excellent range of house beers and guests available too. Good service. Was worth our four-hour round trip just to visit this pub alone.
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Trevor's gone but the beer's still good, proper cider as well, lunch food is filling and cheap, no-smoking room available, absolutley rammed on matchdays but a cracking real ale pub that faces The Alexandra Hotel so you get two of Derby's best pubs next to each other.
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A must when visiting Derby
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Another traditional beer drinkers pub near the alex. Nicer interior, but always seemed full or nearly empty. Good range of beers
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Superb Boozer - Beer top notch
Steve - 30 Aug 2004 21:37 |
One Year on, still one of the best in Derby & it is cheap if you're used to London Prices.
Taidg - 29 Jul 2004 18:38 |
I went in here one Sunday afternoon and was surprised how empty it was. It has a fantastic reputation and I hope there are more people in during the week.
I can't remember how many seperate rooms there were - 3 or 4 plus the bar area. A proper traditional drinkers' pub with a big fire in the bar area. Lots of beer. Although the guest beers are a bit pricey this is just encouragement to drink the own their own. I liked either double or triple hop - the one which the manager predicted I would like and never drink any other ever again.
Definitely worth going to if you're in Derby.
palmwinedrinkard - 18 May 2004 16:55 |
Superb place with 6 or 7 of their own beers on along with the same number of others! Most on handpull and some in the cellar. A stone's throw from the railway station so handy to get home after a session!!!
Andrew Carter - 24 Mar 2004 21:34 |
Brunswick is now owned by Everards but they seem to have tried to leave it as is. Beers are still in good nick but Trevor the ex-landlord is missed.
I reckon 8/10.
Tim - 29 Jul 2003 17:53 |
A national treasure, and `home from home` during the forthcoming CAMRA festival in Derby commencing 9th July.
Chris - 2 Jul 2003 22:33 |
Timothy Taylor's Landlord was excellent when I visited. Unfortunately won't be visiting again unless Derby County get their act together and return to the Premier League. Is that likely anytime soon? Methinks not I'm sorry to say.
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Free House with fantastic Selection of Real Ales, some of which brewed on premises. Lovely old "proper pub" atmosphere!
Tracy Hanson - 20 May 2003 15:41 |
