meet (some of) the team
Steve
Dan M
Years at Castle Rock: 6.5 Likes: Football Dislikes: Cabbage
Years at Castle Rock: 2 Likes: Nature Dislikes: Pretentious people
Martin Years at Castle Rock: 8 Likes: Time with my kids Dislikes: Injustice
“the grandaddies of the Nottingham brewing scene” - anon
Luke
Jon
Years at Castle Rock: 4 Likes: DIY Dislikes: Racism
Years at Castle Rock: 7 Likes: DJing Dislikes: Bad beer
Matt Years at Castle Rock: 3.5 Likes: Sunshine Dislikes: Football
www.castlerockbrewery.co.uk/ncbw
CONTENTS 7. Pick of Craft Beer Week It’s our biggest year for events. Have a good look at what we have lined up for you. 12. Melissa Cole The writer described as ‘the woman taking the beard out of beer’ by The Telegraph is visiting Notts for the week.
WELCOME Welcome to Nottingham Craft Beer Week 2018, our fourth to date, which in craft-beer years makes us about 80. We hope to welcome more visitors from outside the city this year as we’ve finally secured a festival to cap the week off. The guys at LeftLion and NFU Mutual have done an amazing job and we are really proud to have a week that should make Nottingham a real destination for every beer tourist. NCBW began when a few like-minded independent outlets and brewers came together to share their love of new, exciting interpretations and styles of beer. Once tasted, we all felt that this was going to be a gamechanger, and it has been. People have got brewing, and many new exciting breweries are popping up all over the UK and beyond. They’re sharing their knowledge and collaborating in ways never seen before. This has become a movement! What a time to be a beer drinker; there’s such a phenomenal amount of amazing beers. I know the bars have been busy inviting breweries along and sourcing the very best of craft for NCBW, so this really is a fantastic opportunity to get out and try as many different beers as possible. Nottingham is a city full of independent, open-minded people who like to rebel and to embrace the new. Our bars and brewers have always looked to cater for and satisfy our drinkers; it creates a thriving scene! Nottingham CAMRA is one of the largest branches in the UK and they’ve fought hard for the right to drink great beer, standing up against bland, mass-produced rubbish. The craft beer movement is essentially no different. As a CAMRA member myself, like many, we just want to drink good beer irrespective of the politics, but you cant ignore the debate, not just about the packaging but about who is brewing it, who it represents and how inclusive it is. This year we’ve invited many beer writers and brewers who represent strong issues regarding exclusion. NCBW is an excellent opportunity for people to get out, drink great beer, and chat about the future of this industry. Finally, I would like to say on behalf of the committee that we’re so grateful for the continued support from Nottingham BID, who have been superb in supporting our ideas and enabling us to put on such a fantastic series of events this year. Cheers! Nigel Garlick Chair, Nottingham Craft Beer Week
13. We Should Be Trailblazers Castle Rock’s Liv Auckland gives a local angle on what it’s like to be a female in the beer industry.
17. Pete Brown He’s funny, he loves his music and he knows a lot about beer. The author of Miracle Brew is in town for two nights. 18. Nottingham Craft Beer Festival It’s the biggest craft beer event the city has ever seen! Find out more in our centrespread. 21. Venue Guide Your guide to the 32 best places to drink craft beer in Nottingham
15. Jaega Wise Head brewer, TV Presenter, SIBA Director, Musician and Notts lass. Is there anything she can’t do?
32. Brewers Guide Let’s not forget those fine folks that actually make the beer. Here’s some of the city’s best
16. Roger Protz The Godfather of beer writing and the longest serving editor of the Great Beer Guide is visiting us too.
34. A Malty Maritime Medley Poetry Is Dead Good promoter Stephen Thomas has penned us a pirate tale. Can you spot the names of the local brews hidden in it?
CREDITS Editor Jared Wilson Design Al Gilby Natalie Owen Photography Curtis Powell Georgi Scurfield Miles Willis Natalie Owen Raphael Achache
Contributors Bridie Squires Emily Thursfield Liv Auckland Jaega Wise Melissa Cole Pete Brown Roger Protz Shariff Ibrahim
nottinghamcraftbeerweek ncbw18 ncbw18
#ncbw18 nottinghamcraftbeer.co.uk Nottingham Craft Beer Week 5
PICK OF craft beer week
SAT 9 - SUN 10 SUN 10 JUNE
Fem.Ale Panel Discussion
Beermat Doodlers
Bunkers Hill
Various venues
We’ve recruited a crack team of illustrators who will be appearing in various venues throughout Craft Beer Week to create personalised illustrations just for you. If you see them in one of our bars, go and say hi, and they’ll create a bespoke drawing which you can take home. All we ask is that you share the artwork on your Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and tag in the venue, the illustrator and NCBW in your post.
Erica Horton, founder of the Fem.Ale Festival, will be chairing a panel discussion with Jaega Wise (Wild Card Brewery), Claire Monk (Welbeck Abbey Brewery) and Natalie Bullin (Nottingham CAMRA). Throughout the week, all five cask and all ten keg taps at Bunkers Hill will be pouring nothing but beer brewed by women too. Free entry
SAT-WED
SUN
SAT
9-13 JUNE
10 JUNE
9 JUNE
Wylam Brewery Tap Takeover Kean’s Head
Wylam is a 30-barrel microbrewery that started out in Northumberland in 2000, and now resides at the phenomenal Palace of Arts in Newcastle’s Exhibition Park, where they moved to in 2016. They’ll be holding court at the Kean’s Head for five days during the week and holding a Meet The Brewer on Saturday 9 June.
Poetry Is Dead Pub
Lost and Grounded Tap Takeover Six Barrels
Angel Microbrewery
Poetry Is Dead Good have been ‘reclaiming poetry for people who aren't boring’ since 2014. They’ve joined forces with us for this year’s Craft Beer Week to do a pub- and beer-themed evening of fine words. The special guest is Dominic Berry, 2017 Glastonbury Festival Poet in Residence and 2017 winner of Saboteur’s ‘Best Spoken Word Artist’ award! £3
One of Bristol’s best breweries, Lost and Grounded specialise in the precision of German brewing and the idiosyncratic nature of Belgian beers. Their key values are to remain humble and inclusive. We’ve also heard a cheeky rumour they’ll have an extra special collab on offer. Plus, there’ll be a DJ until midnight. Free entry
SAT
SUN
SUN
9 JUNE
10 JUNE
10 JUNE
Miss Bowie and the New Killer Stars Bunkers Hill
Yearning for your Bowie fix? Look no further. Miss Bowie and the New Killer Stars are a tribute act with a difference. The lead singer is Jane Roberts, a talented lady channelling the spirit of the great one. Their set combines many of the classic hits from the 70s with other storming songs from throughout the whole of Bowie’s career. Free entry
Mikkeller Running Club
Mt Desolation
Brew Cavern
The Bodega
Do you like drinking good beer and running? Not at the same time, obviously. If so, come and join the Mikkeller Running Club Nottingham Chapter for a gentle midday 5k run. It kicks off at 11.30am and will climax with a free beer for runners at one of our lovely pubs. Free entry
How many of you remember the band Keane? This band is a side project from two of their core members, Tim Rice-Oxley and Jesse Quin. Their selftitled debut album was released in 2010, and they’ve been working on the follow-up, When The Night Calls, ever since. This will be your first chance to hear it in Nottingham. £12.50+BF
SAT
ALL WEEK
ALL WEEK
10 JUNE
9-16 JUNE
9-16 JUNE
Chorlton Takeover
Dry & Bitter
Fox & Grapes
Lincolnshire Poacher
The first ever NCBW event at the Fox & Grapes will focus solely on Chorlton, an exciting independent brewery from Manchester. They’re bringing their traditional German-inspired brewing methods into the 21st century with unfiltered, unfined and vegan friendly beers. Come meet them!
Dry & Bitter are taking over the Poacher, with a showcase of some of their finest products available, but that’s not all. As part of the birthday celebrations held by the Poacher (it turns 29 this year), there’ll also be BBQ food and plenty of live music on Sunday 10 June.
Local Breweries Takeover The Embankment
The Embankment, out near Bridgford, will be taken over for the week by Nottingham’s best breweries, with both cask and keg on offer. This is the ultimate local showcase of what makes our brewery scene great.
More events still to be confirmed. For up to date information and to buy tickets visit nottinghamcraftbeerweek.co.uk or facebook.com/NottinghamCraftBeerWeek
Nottingham Craft Beer Week 7
MON 11 - WED 13 MON+TUE
WED+THU
11-12 JUNE
13-14 JUNE
Roger Protz
Pete Brown
Crafty Crow & Stratford Haven
The Herbert Kilpin & Kraft Werks
The godfather of beer writing, having edited CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide since 1978. He’s authored 18 books, won the Glenfiddich Drink Writer award twice and in 2015 he was given the SIBA Lifetime Achievement Award. Come and hear him give a half-hour talk and have a pint with him after. Free entry
ALL WEEK
MON
MON-FRI
9-16 JUNE
11 JUNE
11-15 JUNE
Hop Fuss
Moor Beer Co. Takeover
Collaboration Beers
Junkyard
Canalhouse
Barley Twist
The Barley Twist will be stocked full of collaboration beers, with 14 keg collabs in the cellar, ready to change regularly over the seven lines at this lovely new bar down the road from Nottingham Train Station.
Nottingham’s beloved Canalhouse is celebrating NCBW with a host of Tap Takeovers and Meet the Brewer nights. First up is Moor, who’ve earned stacks of awards in their eleven years. They take their inspiration from beers across the world, so there’s sure to be an excellent mix of styles on offer.
For three days over Craft Beer Week, Junkyard will be offering up the biggest beers they can get their hands on from Scandinavia, the US and the UK. Each day a new, big-fuss beer will be added to the bar lineup too.
MON
WED
WED
11 JUNE
13 JUNE
13 JUNE
NCBW Press Launch with Lagunitas The Herbert Kilpin
Lagunitas was founded in California in 1993, last year they were the third best-selling craft beer in the USA. They’re known for their iconoclastic interpretations of traditional beer styles, and the irreverent text and stories on their packaging. These days they’re owned by Heineken International, which gives them more might as they expand into the UK.
Liquid Light Takeover
Nottingham Nanobreweries
Stratford Haven
The Abdication Micropub
One of the most exciting new breweries to come out of Nottingham in recent times, Liquid Light will be taking over the Strat for one night. After constantly selling out of all of their recent brews, having the entire bar stocked full with their beers will be something special.
The Abdication is a lovely pub, a few miles north of the city in Arnold. They’re joining forces with a host of the best upcoming breweries in Nottingham such as Liquid Light, Beeston Hop, Linear and more to celebrate the future of our city’s brewers. Free entry
WED
WED
WED
13 JUNE
13 JUNE
13 JUNE
Lost + Found Tap Takeover
CW Stoneking
Six Barrel Drafthouse
The Bodega
This Australian blues singer-songwriter, guitarist and banjo player has won all kinds of awards in his home country. He’s released six studio albums of his own and recently appeared on Jack White’s 2018 album, Boarding House Reach. He does a cracking live version of Seven Nation Army too.
8 Nottingham Craft Beer Week
The author of Miracle Brew, as well as seven other books, Pete Brown writes for newspapers and magazines around the world and is a regular contributor to BBC Radio 4’s Food Programme. His talk at the Kilpin will centre around Miracle Brew; his session at Kraft Werks will be a music and beer pairing event.
To liven up your Wednesday, there’ll be six keg beers on offer from Sussex-based Lost + Found, who make modern, vibrant, no compromise beer. The fridges will be bulging with the full range of their beery goodness. You can also do tasters with Lost + Found founder Jon from 8pm.
Marble Takeover Kraft Werks
Marble have been ‘brewing up a storm’ in Manchester since 1997. They specialise in innovative cask, keg, can and bottled beer, as well as revitalising historic British styles. They’ll be doing a night at Sherwood’s finest with a tap takeover and an appearance from Head Brewer, James Kemp.
More events still to be confirmed. For up to date information and to buy tickets visit nottinghamcraftbeerweek.co.uk or facebook.com/NottinghamCraftBeerWeek
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WED 13 - THU 14 THU
THU
14 JUNE
14 JUNE
An Evening with Melissa Cole
Track Brewing & Cloudwater Tap Takeover Junkyard
Bunkers Hill One of the UK’s leading beer experts and a respected international beer judge, with more than a decade of writing and broadcasting. She’s led the recent charge for women in brewing, is a regular contributor to The Guardian, and has authored The Little Book of Craft Beer: A guide to over 100 of the world’s finest brews. Tickets are £10 (includes six thirds of beer).
Manchester comes to Junkyard with two of the North’s finest. Cloudwater were ranked as the second best brewery in the world, in a 2017 poll by RateBeer. Track Brewing have a whole bike crossover thing going on, for the cycling enthusiasts among you.
WED
WED-SAT
THU
13 JUNE
14-16 JUNE
14 JUNE
Freedom Brewery Takeover
World Cup 2018 Launch
Mad Hatter Tap Takeover
Various venues
Kean’s Head
Pieminister
Freedom make lovely environmentally and ethically-sourced lager from their base in the Staffs countryside. They’ve been part of the Notts scene for years and are currently stocked in over 20 of our best venues. They’re sending their head brewer Jonathan Smith up for a tasting at Pieminister too.
Travel Through the Looking-Glass this Craft Beer Week, and land at the Kean’s Head for a very special tap takeover by Liverpool’s finest. Choose from classics like Penny Lane Pale, Nightmare on Bold Street and Lick Face. If you can only make it on one day, etch Saturday 16 on your brains! Hint hint, meet the brewer.
THU
THU
THU-SAT
14 JUNE
14 JUNE
14-16 JUNE
Turning Point Tap Takeover The Herbert Kilpin
The HK are turning over their taps to a delightful microbrewery from Kirkbymoorside, which is just north of York. They strive to continuously produce beer in a diverse range of styles, using only the best ingredients. They also utilise a fresh water well directly underneath the brewery, supplied from the rolling hills of the North Yorkshire Moors.
Kitty Tray presents: Jinkx Monsoon Rescue Rooms
The winner of the fifth season of Ru Paul’s Drag Race is over from the states with Kitty Tray Presents. This is a first for the UK, a brand new show, weaving tales of failed romantic endeavours through comedy and song. As always there will be a great line-up of craft on the bar too. £25
Abbeydale
Poppy and Pint Based in the heart of Sheffield, Abbeydale have been making excellent beer since 1996. During Nottingham Craft Beer Week they’ll be bringing their knowledge and expertise to the Poppy and Pint, in the heart of Lady Bay.
THU
THU
THU
14 JUNE
14 JUNE
14 JUNE
North Brewing Co.
Brew By Numbers
Swing by your favourite canal-side watering hole on Thursday for a Takeover from North Brewing. Their beers are about fun, playful and interesting flavour combinations, and they’ve collab’d with some of the best, including Magic Rock, Lervig Ø1 and Thornbridge. We’re thirsty already.
Handcrafted in London, forwarded-thinking and never the same, Brew by Numbers will be hosting a tap takeover and meet the brewer event at the Fox & Grapes. You won’t want to miss this brewery, they don’t produce anything less than exceptional.
Fox & Grapes
Canalhouse
10 Nottingham Craft Beer Week
What? There’s something non-beer related happening during NCBW18? Some kind of sports event in Russia, apparently. Southbank City, Rescue Rooms, The Bodega and The Herbert Kilpin will all be showing the footy starting with the big kick-off on Thursday. Give a red card to watching it with a lesser beer in your hand.
Gorilla Burger Comedy Malt Cross
Nottingham’s premier evening of live improvised comedy carnage returns! It's theatre karaoke where you can be the star. If you want to play they'll put your name in a hat and when it's drawn, you’ll take to the stage to play games, perform scenes and have fun. £5
More events still to be confirmed. For up to date information and to buy tickets visit nottinghamcraftbeerweek.co.uk or facebook.com/NottinghamCraftBeerWeek
THU 14 - SAT 15
FRI-SAT 15-16 JUNE
Nottingham Craft Beer Festival Sneinton Avenues
It’s a monster! 20-plus breweries including Thornbridge, Beavertown, Black Iris, Castle Rock, Freedom and Neon Raptor will be pitching up at Sneinton Avenues for a big party. There are three sessions; Friday night, Saturday day and Saturday night. Music from 4x World DMC Scratchmaster Mr Switch and I’m Not From London.
There’ll be street food too and much more. See centrespread for full details. Tickets £15 (includes glass and £5 beer token) nottinghamcraftbeer.co.uk/festival
THU
THU
FRI
14 JUNE
14 JUNE
15 JUNE
The Evolution of Beer
The Woolly Tellers
Neon Raptor
Crafty Crow
Yarn
A tailored tasting from Magpie brewer Nick Keith, exploring the evolution of the most popular beer styles over the years. The night will feature six hand-picked beers, nibbles and free stuff. Book your place by phoning 0115 8371992 or emailing info@ craftycrownotts.co.uk
Malt Cross
Currently the fifth highest rated brewery in the UK on Untappd, born and bred in Nottingham and coming to Yarn. Neon Raptor only produce on a small scale, so you might kick yourself later if you miss out now.
Storytellers Mick Whysall and Dave Brookes will perform their own enthralling combination of spoken and sung delights, spanning the hilarity and depravity of Victorian Nottingham. Tickets are available from maltcross.com, with all proceeds going to the Nottingham Street Pastors. £7
FRI
FRI
FRI
15 JUNE
15 JUNE
15 JUNE
Framework Tasting Session
Ridgeside Brewing Co
Hopology
Canalhouse
Leeds-based Ridgeside brew in small batches, and the brewers are continuously investigating and experimenting. Each time they brew, they use a combination of different yeasts and three different hops, to create specific flavour profiles. Come by from 5pm to meet their team.
As Leicester’s first craft brewery, Framework are inspired by their city’s craft-driven industrial history. Their limited-edition beer is brewed from a handsome Victorian red brick building, and they call their recipes ‘patterns’ to give a nod to the framework knitters they take their name from. Come and meet them at this awesome bottle shop in Bridgford.
Cameron Sinclair Harris The Bodega
A singer-songwriter hailing from Nottingham. In March 2017, he released his debut EP Grey Matter and has performed at Dot to Dot, Y Not, and Tramlines, to name a few. Songs from his second EP will be showcased at this event. £5
ALL WEEK
ALL WEEK
SAT
9-16 JUNE
9-16 JUNE
16 JUNE
Jammy Dodger Launch JamCafe
Jammy Dodger is a brand new collaboration beer from JamCafe, Faceless Brewing and Mad Hatter launching on Sat 9 June. They also have a music quiz on Thursday 14 June, with a special craft beer bonus round and DJ sets from Tropical Disco Beats (Fri 15 June) and Bradley Jam (Sat 16 June).
Framework Brewery Takeover The Malt Cross
Framework Brewery will be bringing plenty of craft beers including some newbies to sample from their hometown of Leicester. Framework passionately embrace the industrial heritage of brewing, making them the perfect brewer to try in Malt Cross’s Victorian music hall.
NCBW Closing Party Fox & Grapes
We know you won’t want the week to end, but this party will finish it in style. The Fox is open late, with live music and 10% off with a wristband from Nottingham Craft Beer Festival next door. Pop down the avenues in Sneinton Market after you finish.
More events still to be confirmed. For up to date information and to buy tickets visit nottinghamcraftbeerweek.co.uk or facebook.com/NottinghamCraftBeerWeek
Nottingham Craft Beer Week 11
MELISSA COLE An award-winning beer and food writer and a trained sommALEier, Melissa Cole penned 2017’s The Little Book of Craft Beer, and writes for the likes of The Guardian and Ferment. She’s also been kicking arse for women’s rights in the industry and The Daily Telegraph described her as “the woman taking the beard out of beer.” Tell us about your first experience of drinking a beer? I recently opened up a little wooden box that smelled like my late granddad’s aftershave. It gave me back the memory of being little and sitting in a pub garden, where he held his nutty pint of bitter to my lips for a sip. I can still smell the smoke on his fingers and the Old Spice and Brylcreem he always used. Got any other formative memories of early drinking to share? Oh god, my formative drinking years were full of cheap booze and regret. But that’s ok, it’s the right of passage to the good stuff! You’ve done a lot to champion women in the UK beer industry. Have we finally reached the point where being female and involved in beer isn’t a surprise anymore? We aren’t there yet, I still get surprised reactions from pretty much everyone as I’m sure most female brewers do. I think true equality is over a decade away, but at least people don’t look at me like I’ve got two heads anymore!
What do you get up to when you’re not writing about beer? I cook a lot and I do Bikram yoga. I used to play cricket and I’d love to get back to that, but I probably need to spend more time with my muchneglected husband and friends. If you had to pick a favourite style of beer, what would it be? I just can’t, I’m sorry. The closest I could get is cask ale because it’s well brewed and kept, it delivers drinkability in spades and it’s pretty much a drink unique to our shores. But I just love all types of beer. What’s the most you’ve ever paid for a beer? I’m not sure to be honest. It was probably Denmark because it’s such an expensive country, but I’m just not price sensitive, which you can read as meaning ‘a feckless wastrel with money’. What beer do you always have in the fridge at home? I get sent so many samples from breweries, that I rarely have room for anything else, but I do like to have a couple of cans of sessionable beers in there. I like the ability to grab a sub-5% beer at the end of a long, hard day. Aside from the beer, what’s your guilty drinking pleasure? I never feel guilty about drinking other drinks. I think if you’re so obsessed with beer that you don’t drink anything else, you can’t relate properly to others. I have a deep love for great rum and am rather partial to a G&T too. How much do you know about the beer scene in Nottingham? Brewery-wise I know of Welbeck Abbey, Brewster’s and Black Iris and I know there are loads more for me to try when I get there. But, I’ll be honest, I’m a bit more shaky on the pub scene. I look forward to learning more. Tell us about your event at Nottingham Craft Beer Week…. I’ll be doing an event at Bunkers Hill which is £10 a ticket for a number of beers and some good chat with some scurrilous stories so, bargain! I’m also looking forward to going to the Craft Beer Festival at the weekend. In a sentence, what is it you love most about beer? It’s a social lubricant. What do you think the future holds for craft beer in the UK? There will be continued growth but also some consolidation, purely because there isn’t enough quality out there to sustain the numbers financially. We need to focus more on quality and not the latest hype beer. Melissa Cole will be at Bunkers Hill on Thurs 14 June from 8pm. Tickets are £10 (includes six thirds of beer) from bunkershillnottingham.co.uk letmetellyouaboutbeer.co.uk
12 Nottingham Craft Beer Week
WE SHOULD BE TRAILBLAZERS What’s it like to be a woman working in the Nottingham beer industry? Castle Rock’s Liv Auckland talks us through her experiences both behind the bar and behind the scenes. . . The Canalhouse was a firm favourite during my time at university, and my dissertation was primarily birthed at table 108. With one assignment left to go, I went job hunting and enquired at the Canalhouse as prime-time summer hit and Waterfront Festival teetered on the horizon. Yvette, the manager, did a dance when I confirmed my bar experience. I started a few days later, and my life as it is rumbled into action. The Canalhouse was the busiest Castle Rock pub, and Yvette had been the manager for nearly a decade. She was, and remains, one of the most formidable forces in the company. Her tellings-off made you stare at the ground like a forlorn child, while she celebrated your achievements – personal or professional – loudly, proudly and repeatedly. Yvette was always on the ground, leading and kicking ass. It’s important to emphasise how inspiring it is to see a woman in charge, who is deeply valued and respected. It is especially inspiring for a young woman to see, and even more so in a male-dominated industry. But I won’t sugar-coat the truth: working full-time in a pub revealed the bleak landscape for women in the world of pubs. I even wrote a blog post about it, detailing the ridiculous and grotesque comments made by punters. In the most part, it was comedy gold, but there were less humorous anecdotes. Once, Yvette had to order an entire table to leave. Hundreds of my colleagues don’t have the luxury of being tucked safely away at head office like I do now. Instead, for me and for women in similar posts, it’s the culture of industry events that we face. The lowest point in my career took place at the Robin Hood Beer and Cider Festival, our biggest calendar event of the year. I was working, running on nothing but caffeine and adrenaline, when a male guest of ours punched me in the chest. It was painless, physically. I soon learned it was part of a game, or assault made into a game, and he’d scored well by punching my right breast. I was baffled. I eloquently, albeit trembling, explained the meaning of consent. My bosses were horrified when they found out what had happened. They apologised and commended me for how I handled it, and the guest was never invited to an event again. In the years since, I’ve decided that this is where I do my best work: at my desk, where I write this with a view of Nottingham station. You see, there’s this amazing band of women behind the scenes at Castle Rock. Our operations director is a woman. She is the person who makes sure our pubs are running at their best, around the clock, and her commitment and knowledge are astounding. She’s one in a handful of women you find at corporate trade events, and she holds her own, no problem. Our office team is predominantly women, our head of food is a woman, our training manager is a woman, the manager of our tap is a woman. We’re here, going hard, you just rarely see us.
The call to end sexist beer branding was a turning point in the industry. I had felt it building over the last couple of years; a steady tremor beneath the surface. When you sexualise the image of a woman, you sexualise real women in that industry, and you undermine our right to be here. At the start of 2018, I got to take on the project I’ve always wanted to: re-branding Elsie Mo. The artwork had been inspired by the images of US aircraft nose art and featured a scantily clad pin-up girl. The new pump clip pays homage to the ATA women of the second world war, who flew battle-ready planes to fighter pilots of the RAF. Elsie is now sporting her aviator gear and, most importantly, she’s piloting the plane. This industry is amazing. It is creative, resourceful, and alive with energy. We all have a duty to be conscious of the industry’s past and present, and to be pro-active in making it the best it can be. We all must accept that, even now, women working in this industry still face harassment regularly. Some still see female bar staff as a way of enticing customers. Women running beer tastings are questioned, women running breweries are dubbed ‘lady owners’, and women brewers are belittled. We could decide, right now, to become an exemplary industry for modern society. We could vow to make bars and pubs safe spaces for both customers and for staff. We could collaborate to create better childcare for employees and create training schemes that show budding scientists that brewing is for both boys and girls. We could celebrate, praise, nurture, and lift up all who wish to be part of this. Nottingham’s craft beer scene is thriving, pulsating with life and creativity. It is a community, and together we could push for meaningful change. We could be the trailblazers for turning a traditionally male industry into an industry for all. We should be the trailblazers.
Over the years, I’ve been able to celebrate women in the work that I do, like creating a Munitionettes beer as part of a first world war centenary collection. We invited Nottingham’s Women’s History Group and women from across the company to help brew it. My favourite photo from my career is of that morning. We’ve been able to shout about local women like Jenny Farr, Florence Boot, and now suffragette Helen Watts, as part of our Nottinghamian Celebration Ales range. I can’t make sure women have equal representation in management positions, and I can’t make decisions that close gender pay gaps, but I can do my small bit. Thankfully, this is now an industry where women (and many underrepresented groups) are making waves, claiming their space, and demanding inclusivity. It’s wonderful to have witnessed so much change in just a few years. Women now feature in trade articles, and national papers, and lead on social media debates. Women like Melissa Cole and Jaega Wise are setting sparks, just by making their voices heard. Jaega calls for things like meaningful statistics from SIBA (because without that, we can’t know the extent of the problem), marketing and advertising codes of practice, and for breweries to build diverse workforces. And those of us in the background can see the difference her words, and the words of other women, are making.
words: Liv Auckland illustration: Emily Catherine Nottingham Craft Beer Week 13
Magpie Brewery barrel drop 7 Hurts Yard, NG1 6JD | 0115 924 3018 www.thebarreldrop.co.uk
doctor’s orders 351 Mansfield Road, NG5 2DA | 0115 9607 985 www.doctorsordersmicropub.co.uk
micro-pub & bottle shop
EVOLUTION OF BEER, TASTING EVENING Thursday- 14th June, 7pm A tailored tasting, exploring the evolution of the most popular beer styles: 6 hand picked beers | crafty nibbles | free stuff
Book your place today 0115 837 1992 info@craftycrownotts.co.uk 102 Friar Lane | www.craftycrownotts.co.uk | 0115 837 1992
JAEGA WISE Some people seem to find the time to do everything. Not only is Jaega Wise the head brewer of London’s Wild Card Brewery, she’s also a TV and Radio Presenter (ITV’s The Wine Show, Radio 4’s The Food Programme), a talented musician and a newly-appointed director of the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA). Oh and she’s one of our own, too. . . You’re Notts born and bred. Whereabouts are you from? I’ve lived all over Nottingham; Radford, Sneinton, Thorneywood then West Bridgford. Despite moving to London, I wouldn't say I've ever really left Nottingham; my entire family are still here and I come back as much as much as I can. You studied a chemical engineering degree. At what point did you realise this was going to make you a badass head brewer? I went to Loughborough University, which was really great experience. I didn't realise at the time how useful all the technical things I was learning was going to be in the world of beer. That came a year or two after I graduated. Tell us about your early experiences of drinking a beer... One of the first beers I ever tried was Castle Rock’s Harvest Pale. It's still a beer I keep an eye out for everytime I'm in a Nottingham pub. You can see why it’s done so well for them. Tell us about your journey with Wild Card Brewery. Where did the idea first come from? We started without money, equipment or business experience so we are very much the Wild Cards of the brewing industry. We've always just wanted to make some really great beer. We’re six years old this year and we continue to grow. The Guardian said earlier this year that you and Melissa Cole “have driven the campaign against using sexualised images of women in beer marketing”. How’s that going? The campaign is moving forward. I feel that it's really important that all the attention on the subject turns into legislative change. Two things for us to look at is the Society of Independent Brewers 'Code of Practice' that is currently being debated around the country, and the Portman Group's own code review. I would urge anyone who has thoughts on this issue to take part in the Portman Groups code review. In the UK there are currently no rules in place to stop sexual discrimination on alcohol labelling, but we are looking to change that. What do you get up to when you’re not brewing? You’re big into your music, right? I've sung for as long as I can remember, music has always been a big part of who I am. I'm in a band called Hell + Hope, which is a mix of post rock, electronic and trip-hop. We've been writing lots of music and gigging
all around London over the last few months, so it's an exciting time for the band. If you had to pick a favourite style of beer, what would it be? There are just too many to choose from. Beer for me is a situational, social drink. Where I am and what am I doing can often choose my beer for me. What’s the most you’ve ever paid for a beer? I live in London, so paying upwards of a fiver for a pint is standard unfortunately. Recently I did pay £7 for a 3rd, but the brewery shall remain nameless. What beer do you always have in your fridge at home? Honestly, my fridge is a revolving door of beers. I see it as a personal challenge to try as many different ones as humanly possible. Aside from the beer, what’s your guilty drinking pleasure? I went to Japan recently with Channel 5,'s The Wine Show to learn all about sake. I can honestly say I'm hooked. There are many similarities between beer and sake in the production process, but sake is revered in a way that beer has never been. It’s a fascinating drink, with a long and rich history. It tastes great too! I’d encourage you all to try it. What are your favourite brewers in Nottingham? At the moment I'm loving Liquid Light Brewing Co. I tried their beers when I was home for Christmas, and I think they're really great. What’s your ideal night out in Nottingham? I went to Detonate Festival last year, and I really loved it. I will be back there again this year. In a sentence, what is it you love most about beer? Its variety and versatility are unmatched What do you think the future holds for craft beer in the UK? The future is bright, and I'm so glad to be part of it. Jaega Wise will be speaking at Bunkers Hill as part of the FEM.ALE panel discussion on Sunday 10 June. Free entry. wildcardbrewery.co.uk
Nottingham Craft Beer Week 15
ROGER PROTZ We are delighted to welcome the Godfather of beer writing to this year’s Nottingham Craft Beer Week. Roger Protz practically invented the art of putting pen to paper about our favourite beverage, having edited CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide for over two decades (1978-83 and 2000-2017). He’s also written twenty books including the seminal 300 Beers to Try Before You Die. Tell us about your early experiences of drinking beer? I went straight from school to work in the newspaper industry in Fleet Street, London. The place was packed with pubs, including the famous Old Cheshire Cheese, once a haunt of Dr Johnson and Charles Dickens. I loved pubs and I quickly acquired a taste for beer at a time when Whitbread and Courage were still brewing in London and there was plenty of Bass around too. There was a lot of heavy drinking in those days. I remember going for a job interview and as I arrived the man who was going to interview me was being carried out of a taxi, too drunk to stand up. I didn’t see him and I didn’t get the job. You’ve edited the Good Beer Guide for over two decades, but announced earlier this year that the 2018 one will be your last. Is it a wrench to leave that behind? Who will fill your boots? It’s a massive wrench. The guide has been a major part of my life for many years. I’m proud of the way it’s championed good beer and pubs and has been central to the British beer revolution. But it’s been a long stint and it’s time to move on. I have no idea who will replace me. A robot, perhaps? You’ve been a prominent member of CAMRA since 1976. How have you seen it evolve over those years? CAMRA had 29,000 members when I joined. Now it has 191,000. It’s a big organisation and very influential. It’s a British trait to attack successful movements and CAMRA has plenty of detractors today. But without it, there would be few family or regional brewers left, the independent sector would not have taken off and we’d all be drinking what the late Michael Jackson (the writer, not the pop star) called ‘Ersatzenbrau’ or fake lager. CAMRA beer festivals have played a vital role as shop windows for good beer. You’ve written dozens of books about beer. If our readers were to buy one as an introduction to your work, which should they choose? 300 Beers to Try Before You Die. It’s my best-selling book and, I think, represents a really good choice of world beers. What do you get up to when you’re not writing about beer? I grew up in the East End of London and I’ve supported West Ham United all my life. But I’ve cancelled my season ticket as I don’t like the new stadium. As I won’t be so busy on the Good Beer Guide in the summer months I hope to watch some cricket. Trent Bridge is my favorite ground, so you might well see me back in Nottingham. If you had to pick a favourite style of beer, what would it be? It depends on my mood and the moment, but having written a book in 2017 on the history and revival of India Pale Ale I must admit I am quite partial to an IPA. What’s the most you’ve ever paid for a beer? And where was it? It was in Sweden. I can’t remember how much but their pubs accepted credit cards way before they were accepted in British pubs. What beer do you always have in your fridge at home? Whatever a brewery has sent me! One advantage of being a beer writer is that I am constantly sent samples to taste. Aside from beer, what’s your favourite tipple? I must admit, I do enjoy an occasional single malt whisky. How much do you know about the beer scene in Nottingham? I know Nottingham well. I know the people at Castle Rock and love their beers. I like the Canalhouse a lot and of course there’s the Olde Trip and Vat & Fiddle.
16 Nottingham Craft Beer Week
What do you have planned for us at Nottingham Craft Beer Week? I’ll be giving a couple of talks and I look forward to trying some of the beers from new breweries in the city. It’s also just nice to meet and talk with people after the events. In a sentence, what is it you love most about beer? The aroma, the flavour and the skill of the brewer in marrying malt and hops. What do you think the future holds for craft beer in the UK? The future is good but we have to watch out for global giants buying up small breweries. We must also make every effort to save our pubs. Drinking at home is all very well and good, but it lacks the community aspect. Roger Protz will be appearing at the Crafty Crow on Mon 11 June, and the Stratford Haven on Tues 12 June. Free entry. protzonbeer.co.uk
PETE BROWN An award-winning British author, journalist, broadcaster, and food and drink consultant, Pete Brown writes articles that both pack in the knowledge and leave you smirking. Plus, he’s published more books than the amount of pints you can probably sink in a night. Tell us about your first experience of drinking a beer? It was a can of Kestrel with a massive slug of lime juice. You won’t tell anyone, right? I was thirteen. I still hanker after it occasionally with Sunday lunch, which is when I was first allowed to have it. To date you’ve written eight (or is it nine?) books about beer. If our readers were to buy one as an introduction to your work, which one should they go for? I’ve just finished the ninth! Man Walks Into A Pub was my first book, and is handy as an intro to beer. But my writing style has evolved with each book. Miracle Brew is also an introduction to beer of sorts. It’s not quite as funny, but it’s much better written and contains far fewer mistakes. You’ve won Beer Writer of the Year three times (2009, 2012, 2016). How do you feel about that? You never get bored of it or take it for granted. You have to judge the competition the following year so you can’t ever win twice on the bounce, and that scares the crap out of you when you get to see the quality out there. I never do well in the competition the year I’m allowed to enter again. Each time I won, I expected the award to make the phone ring off the hook, and it never did. But then, when I looked back a couple of years later, I could see that each time, it had changed things and moved me forward. What do you think the future holds for craft beer in the UK? It depends on whose perspective you look at it from. If you’re a brewer it’s getting tougher and tougher. There are more breweries around than there are places to sell it to, but having said that, there are lots of potential routes to market that most brewers haven’t yet explored. The margins are tiny and distribution is tight. There’s quite a bit of bad feeling in the industry at the moment. But, from a drinker’s point of view, it’s just going to get better and better, even if we lose some breweries along the way.
Some styles are going mainstream and becoming very accessible, but there’s always something new for the geeks to claim as their own. We’ve just read your ‘Craft Beer or Eighties Indie Band’ quiz. Disregarding what it actually tastes like, what’s your favourite ever beer name? I mentioned it in that article, but Wu Gang Chops The Tree, by Pressure Drop. Just sets a new standard, doesn’t it? What do you get up to when you’re not writing about beer? Apart from drinking it? I love lurking in the kitchen, trying to cook the perfect curry or spag bol, improving my sourdough loaf, or when the weather is nice, getting the barbecue on. If you had to pick a favourite style of beer, what would it be? Definitely IPA, but what is now seemingly referred to as ‘old-school’ IPA. My first taste of a fresh, cascade-hopped, west coast IPA in Portland, Oregon, changed my life forever. What’s the most you’ve ever paid for a beer? That would be the bottle of 2006 Samuel Adams Utopias that I still have in my cellar; a snip, at sixty quid. I don’t think any of the Utopias beers have made it across the Atlantic since then, but Shepherd Neame were selling it on their website. What beer do you always have in your fridge at home? Five Point Pale. The brewery is walking distance from my house. Rarely a day goes by when I don’t have a cold one. Aside from the beer, what else do you like to drink? I love wine. The thing about it is, I keep it deliberately as my off-duty drink. I’ve been asked several times to write about it but I don’t want to learn about it or analyse it, I just want to sit and relax and go “Ooh, that’s nice.” How much do you know about the beer scene in Nottingham? I used to spend quite a bit of time in Nottingham but haven’t done recently; not for any reason, it’s just the way the job goes. I was always very fond of Castle Rock. Guys like that paved the way for the vibrant beer scene we have today. Tell us about what you’re doing here for Nottingham Craft Beer Week…. I’m doing two gigs, both of them illustrated talks with slides and beer tasting. The first is Miracle Brew; my delve into the ingredients of beer and the incredible, largely untold stories behind each one, with beers that bring out the character of each ingredient in turn. The second is my Beer and Music Matching extravaganza, which is based on proper, serious, neuroscientific research, and is also very funny. I’ve been doing it for six years now, and last time I counted, I’d got it up to four proper jokes, which will be heavily signposted throughout the event. In a sentence, what is it you love most about beer? I can do it in one word; conviviality. Catch Pete Brown at The Herbert Kilpin on Weds 13 June, and Kraft Werks on Thurs 14 June during Nottingham Craft Beer Week 2018. petebrown.net
Nottingham Craft Beer Week 17
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Beavertown
Founded in 2014 by Logan Plant (son of Led Zeppelin frontman Robert), this London brewery have been at the forefront of the UK craft scene. Their core range of Neck Oil, Lupuloid and Gamma Ray will all be on tap and you can expect a few specials too. beavertownbrewery.co.uk
Black Iris & Guests
Probably the most prominent brewery in Nottingham’s Craft Beer revolution. They now supply beers to hundreds of bars and pubs worldwide and will be bringing along Ridgeside (Leeds), Atom (Hull) and Torrside (Derbyshire) with them to this event. twitter.com/blackirisbrewer
NOTTINGHA CRAFT BEER Friday 15 and Saturday 16 July at Sneinton Market Avenues
This year’s Nottingham Craft Beer Week is bigger than ever and to top it all off session festival at the end of it in the (hopefully) sunny Sneinton Market Avenu in store: Font Craft Works
New kids on the block, based down at Meadow Lane near the footy grounds. They offer a tasty range of APA, EPA, GPA (grapefruitinfused), Ginger Beer, and their very own lager (LGR). Look out for the bright colours and smiley faces on their packaging. fontcraftworks.co.uk
Five Points Brewing
Making the journey up from Hackney, their range of awardwinning beers are unfiltered and unpasteurised for flavour and aroma. All inspired by the founders’ passion for the British real ale tradition and the best of the international craft beer movement. fivepointsbrewing.co.uk
Mad Squirrel
They’ve built a reputation in London and the home counties for their core range such as Flying Squirrel and Roadkill. This festival will see them pouring in Nottingham for the first time, so expect them to bring something special to mark the occasion! madsquirrel.uk
Magpie Brewery
Magpie are synonymous with the city and their range features modern day classics like Jay IPA, Chainless and Roam. They’ve brewed well over fifty different beers and their craft offerings are branded as their Wanderlust range. magpiebrewery.com
BrewDog
Freedom
Neon Raptor
It’s the UK’s fastest-growing drinks company with favourites like Punk IPA, Dead Pony Club and Elvis Juice. Over the last decade they’ve grown from employing two people and a dog to housing well over 1000 staff across 46 bars in five continents. The dog is still there too. brewdog.com
In our opinion, it’s the most wonderful lager out there. They started in 1995, but in the early noughties they upped sticks from London to the Staffordshire countryside in search of natural ingredients and to brew some of the best hangover-free beers available freedombrewery.com
The award for closest brewery to the festival site award goes to… yes, they’re actually based on site! Neon Raptor are making truly great beer and were recently the fifth most popular UK brewery on Untappd. Come visit their brewery and tap room and taste from the source. neonraptorbrewingco.com
Castle Rock
Junkyard
Pentrich Brewing Co
The granddaddies of the Nottingham brewing scene will be along in force at the event, showcasing their classic range and more. Originally formed in 1977, in the last forty years they’ve won more awards for their beer than we can count. castlerockbrewery.co.uk
One of Nottingham’s most loved bars are making the short trip down the road to bring us some of the very best American, British and European craft keg brews. Junkyard is a local institution and, among others, they’ll be serving up Magic Rock and Northern Monk. junkbars.com
Based in Derbyshire, they started out in 2015 and have seen their beers distributed across the midlands and Yorkshire ever since. Look out for Soma (Citrus IPA) and Shadowplay (Oatmeal Stout) from their core range as well as a few surprises too. pentrichbrewing.co.uk
CAMRA Nottingham
Lenton Lane
Shiny Brewing
Yes, you read it right. We’re more about inclusivity and good beer than spending hours debating the merits of keg and cask. Nottingham’s Campaign for Real Ale will be bringing a bar as a precursor to their main event in October at Nottingham Arena. nottinghamcamra.org
They’ve been brewing up storms such as Citra Smash and Calibration since they started out in Derby’s Flowerpot Pub in 2014. In 2016 they migrated to Notts and have won all kinds of awards, so it’s about time we gave them some love in their adopted city. lentonlane.co.uk
Originally based in the Furnace Inn pub in Derby, Shiny moved out to their own premises in Little Eaton in 2016. The likes of Disco Balls (IPA) and Affinity (Pale) are sure to brighten up your day and that’s without mentioning their lovely cartoony artwork. shinybrewing.com
Cave Direct
Liquid Light
Siren Craft Brew
A leading supplier of craft and speciality beers to the UK Drinks Trade and a festival sponsor. We're awaiting details of exactly what they are bringing beer-wise, but as they deal with everyone from Magic Rock to Tiny Rebel, you know it will be good. cavedirect.com
18 Nottingham Craft Beer Week
Relatively new to the Nottingham brewing scene, but Liquid Light’s Less Dangerous, Pink Moon and Into The Void beers have been smashing it at venues like Head of Steam, The King Billy and the Kean’s Head. Pink Moon is actually pink too. liquidlightbrewco.com
Hailing from Berkshire, they’ve been at the forefront of the craft beer movement and were named best brewery in England 2015 (ratebeer.com) after only three years in existence. Look out for Caribbean Chocolate Cake (stout) and Calypso Berliner Weisse (sour). sirencraftbrew.com
HAM ER FESTIVAL
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ll off there’s a two-day, threeAvenues. This is what we have Thornbridge
One of the most innovative craft breweries out there, they will be making the journey over from their headquarters in Bakewell and bringing over the likes of Jaipur, Wild Swan, Halcyon and plenty more with them. One of the best breweries in the world. thornbridgebrewery.co.uk
Totally Brewed
Launched in 2014 after years of homebrewing by head honcho Rob Witt, they have some of the most fun names and branding in the local scene, and it tastes bloody good too. They’ve won multiple awards from SIBA, including Gold in 2014 for 4 Hopmen of the Apocalypse. totallybrewed.com
Turning Point
Based in Kirkbyside, just north of York, they’re getting a solid rep for their core range of Disco King (APA) and Lucid Dream (cookie cream stout). Last year saw them launch a new set of summer beers including Heartbreaker (orange and jasmine Belgian style blonde) and Sun Empire (tropical pale). turningpointbrewco.com
Vertical Drinks
The UK’s leading importer of premium beer. They work across the world and are bringing beers from the world renowned Verdant (Cornwall), Kirstall (Leeds), Amundsen (Norway) and Dry & Bitter (Denmark) along to the festival with them. verticalbrands.co.uk
We’re not doing things by halves when it comes to music. With the help of local music promoters I’m Not From London, we’ve roped in some of the best Nottingham acts to soundtrack your supping over the course of the weekend.
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94 Gunships
Imagine the soundtrack to a Quentin Tarantino movie about the life of Tom Waits, set in the Midlands. This blues-rock five-piece have been touring across the UK with their new album Tooth Rattle and this gig will see them play to a home crowd. 94gunships.co.uk
You Want Fox
Garage-rock meets grunge meets pop. You Want Fox are a female duo who Kerrang! magazine described as “instantly leaving handprints on the memory before strutting straight out again. Royal Blood have some company, and this time it’s arrived in high heels.” facebook.com/youwantfox
DJ Curtz
Boss of Pull It events, he’s spent the best part of a decade playing up and down the UK and overseas with Don’t Flop, BBC 1xtra, Tumble Audio, Rubberdub, Krudd, Clash Money, Detonate, Outlook Festival and many more. He’s got a nice, summery garage set up his sleeve for this one. facebook.com/pullitupmyg
Whisky Stain
Ever watched the TV show Ray Donovan with Liev Schreiber on Sky? This duo wrote the soundtrack. Their music ranges from bassdriven, dance-influenced stompers through to blues-drenched, guitarbased thrillers. whiskystain.co.uk
NIGHT SATURDAY
Matt Hinton
By day he’s the boss of Nottingham’s beloved bottle shop Brew Cavern. By night he takes over the turntables to play a heady mix of Balearic disco-house for your musical pleasure. He stormed it at Piss Up In Brewery during last year’s NCBW, so it’s only right we get him back again. brewcavern.co.uk
Mr Switch
Yes, we’ve bagged wax royalty. He’s the most decorated scratch DJ in world history, having won the World DJ Championships four times, the UK DJ Championships seven times and being the first DJ in history to perform with the BBC Proms orchestra. His skills on the turntables will leave you open-mouthed with a set full of bangers, all played with little tweaks here and there. He’ll be playing a three-hour set towards the end of the night. dj-mr-switch.com
Tickets are selling fast, so get yours now from:
nottinghamcraftbeer.co.uk Tickets for all sessions (Friday night, Saturday day and Saturday night) are priced at £15+BF. Each ticket includes a souvenir festival glass and £5 worth of beer tokens.
Nottingham Craft Beer Week 19
The Abdication Micropub
The Angel Microbrewery
Serving an ever-changing selection of cask and keg beers, the Abdication’s focus is on quality beer from near and far.
Located in the heart of Hockley, the venue was built in the 1600s and has previously housed both a chapel and a brothel.
Occasional beers from the on-site nanobrewery sell quickly - if you're lucky you might catch one. Also available are traditional ciders, wines and soft drinks. Bar snacks include their famous cheese and onion cobs, as well as crisps, nuts and pork scratchings.
In the 80s and 90s, it gained notoriety as a haven for heavy metal bands and the likes of Oasis, Arctic Monkeys and Kasabian.
89 Mansfield Road, Daybrook, NG5 6BH
This friendly, neighbourhood pub gives everyone a warm welcome. Situated in Coronation Buildings directly opposite theabdication.co.uk
7 Stoney Street, Lace Market, NG1 1LG 0115 948 3343
the old Home Ales Brewery, it’s steeped in Nottingham brewing history. With original features from 1937, the pub has the feel of a parlour bar and is like being in someone’s front room. Conversation is king, with no music, screens or games to distract from tasty beer and relaxed chat.
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They still love getting loud and having a knees-up, but it’s a more chilled vibe under the new management.
It was taken over a couple of years ago and underwent extensive renovations, turning the building into a more relaxed boozer.
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There’s an on-site microbrewery too, creating and serving their own vegan ales in-house, alongside a range of rotating ales and craft beers, plus premium spirits, classic cocktails, and organic wines.
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Barley Twist
Barrel Drop
A two-floor craft beer and wine cellar, housed in a former sweet shop between Nottingham train station and Broadmarsh Centre.
Recently taken over by Magpie Brewery, this place is one of Nottingham’s hidden gems, tucked up an alleyway just a minute or so from the Market Square.
91 Carrington Street, NG1 7FE 0115 950 5456
7 Hurts Yard, NG1 6JD 0115 9243018
The beer range is all about celebrating local and national breweries, with a focus on the best of British. If you’re visiting for the vine, they’ve devised a list of over 75 wines from all over the world. You can also find premium spirits, soft drinks, locally roasted coffee and a range of speciality teas on the menu.
castlerockbrewery.co.uk
Beer garden
Dog friendly
On the ground floor, you’ll find a one-room bar featuring original brick walls, high ceilings, and booth and table seating. Head down the new staircase to the large cellar, stripped back to black and red brick with moody, atmospheric lighting.
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Food
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Pub games
A quirky little hideaway, this friendly, city-centre micropub is passionate about finding you great beers and seeking out the best new brews for you to drink in or take away. You’ll find all your favourite Magpie Brewery beers on tap as well as a few nice
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surprises here and there from the likes of Cloudwater, Magic Rock, Northern Monk and Neon Raptor. There’s plenty of cans and bottles too, plenty of choice of what to wet your whistle with. It’s just a lovely, intimate place to have a few beers with your mates.
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Function room
Live music
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Nottingham Craft Beer Week 21
The Bodega
Brew Cavern
Located just a minute from Market Square, The Bodega has been going for over two decades and has always focused on up-andcoming music acts.
Brew Cavern is a craft beer bottle shop located in the historic Flying Horse Walk, right in the centre of Nottingham.
9 Flying Horse Walk, NG1 2HN 07742 353547
23 Pelham Street, Hockley, NG1 2ED 0115 950 5078
Bands who’ve played here and become massive afterwards include The Libertines, The XX, Arctic Monkeys and The White Stripes. As part of the DHP Family, they have some serious music heritage. There’s a bar downstairs, a gig room upstairs and a beer garden out back that
catches the end of the day sunshine. They have ten beer taps – including four craft and three ale pumps – and a fridge full of bottles and cans that’s changed weekly. It’s a good place to dip your feet into the world of craft beer if you’re just curious to try new things.
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bodeganottingham.com
They opened in 2014 with a focus on the very best of UK, European and World beer, in bottle and can. Stocking around 250 lines – now fully refrigerated – the shop is popular with serious beer fans looking for a rare treat as much as gift buyers looking for a recommendation.
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brewcavern.co.uk
They operate a mail order website shipping beer all over the country, as well as a click and collect service, so you’ll never miss out on some of the popular beers that sometimes stay in stock only for a matter of hours.
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BrewDog Nottingham
Bunkers Hill
BrewDog were pioneers of the craft beer revolution in Nottingham five years ago, and have been serving up great beers ever since.
This haven for craft beer lovers has sat at the bottom of Hockley for longer than any of us can remember.
Cosy and relaxed, you can play a board game or retro console while enjoying the friendly atmosphere. All staff have passed their Cicerone Certified Beer Server exam, and will happily talk through what’s on offer, finding the perfect beer for you.
They’ve always offered one of the widest beer ranges of beers in the city and, with the recent craft beer explosion, people have really started to take notice of the unassuming bar.
20-22 Broad St, NG1 3AL 0115 9583613
36-38 Hockley, Lace Market, NG1 1FP 0115 9100114
Eighteen quickly rotating draft beers are on offer, with twelve from the BrewDog brewdog.com/bars/uk/nottingham
22 Nottingham Craft Beer Week
brewery in Ellon Aberdeenshire, and six from a wide variety of guest breweries. Guest and BrewDog bottles and cans are available to drink in or take away, too. Light bites are available in the form of grilled-cheese sandwiches, cheese and charcuterie boards, sourdough pizzas, and locally produced pork pies.
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Recently refurbished, they boast an impressive menu, a permanent selection of ten draught craft beers, three fridges packed full of cracking beer from the UK, bunkershillnottingham.co.uk
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US and Europe plus a rotating choice of five cask ales. If there’s a brewer you’re into right now, chances are this pub, one of Hockley’s best kept secrets, is stocking it.
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Live music
Canalhouse
Cock and Hoop
48-52 Canal Street, NG1 7EH 0115 955 5060
29-31 High Pavement, NG1 1HE 0115 9484414
Undoubtedly one of the most unique venues in Nottingham, this place is famous for having a canal that extends into the building.
The Cock and Hoop dates back to 1800s with history linking the pub to the National Justice Museum over the road.
The nautical look is completed with resident narrow boats and a beautiful, south-facing beer garden overlooking the canal.
Originally a public house with rooms, barristers would book the rooms to view the public hangings across the road. Now in the 21st century, the pub is a wonderfully traditional, with rotating real ales, a growing craft selection and top notch pub food.
For many years, this place has been renowned for its craft and world-beer offering, with over 250 beers from around the world, plus six real ales and up to ten craft beers in keg. There’s more beer choice than you can get through, even if you drink in there every night for a month. castlerockbrewery.co.uk
Look out for their annual charity music event, The Waterfront Festival, curated by I’m Not From London. It’s an institution in the city, raising thousands for local charities.
city. Events, meetings and weddings all take place in the pub, with live music and a private room. Dogs are also very welcome.
It’s located straight over the road from the National Justice Museum and is the resident bar of the Lace Market Hotel, one of the best places to stay in the
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Crafty Crow
Doctors Orders
Nestled into the cobbled streets surrounding Nottingham Castle, the Crafty Crow is Magpie Brewery’s tap room.
Set in a former pharmacy, and styled on a Victorian apothecary, Doctor’s Orders is a cosy, one-room micropub with all things craft.
102 Friar Lane, NG1 6EB 0115 8371992
351 Mansfield Road, Carrington, NG5 2DA 0115 960 7985
Specialising in beer, and boasting fourteen craft taps which emerge from a retired Grundy conditioning tank, along with ten real-ale hand pulls. The beer is complemented by their Crafty Menu, offering traditional Great British food, both cooked and paired up with one craftycrownotts.co.uk
Beer garden
Dog friendly
of their exquisite craft range, either from tap, bottle or can. They clearly care about their carbon footprint, and thus their food is farmed and sourced locally, using some of Nottingham’s best independent grocers, butchers and bakers. Most of their drinks are from small British independent businesses too.
craftycrownottingham
Food
Open late
crafty_crow
Pub games
A small bar at the back houses five hand pulls containing at least one Magpie ale, alongside others from near and far. There’s no need to get up either as it’s all table service. They have a great selection of real ales and craft bottles to drink in or take away, doctorsordersmicropub.co.uk
crafty_crow
Wifi
T.V
Parking
Function room
along with some fabulous wines. Plus, if you like what you’re drinking on hand pull you can take that home too, with their four pint beer carriers. The beers are complemented by a superb range of traditional bar snacks; pork pies, scotch eggs, crisps, nuts and pork scratchings.
domicropub
Live music
domicropub
Nottingham Craft Beer Week 23
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The Embankment
Fox & Grapes
A Grade II listed building, formerly the Boots No 2 store, this place is a beautiful slice of Nottingham history.
This bright and airy single-room pub is punctuated by beautiful wooden decor, with two raised seating areas.
21 Southwell Road, NG1 1DL 0115 8418970
282-284 Arkwright Street, NG2 2GR 0115 9864502
It’s established itself as a wonderful community pub offering a little bit of everything. Upstairs, Jesse Boot’s office remains as it always has; a beautiful, wood-clad room with a gallery view of the main bar and stained-glass windows.
With up to ten real ales, ten craft beers in keg, plus a fridge stocked full of craft and world beers, it showcases some of the finest beers from near and far.
You can expect the usual diverse and high-quality selection of cask, keg and craft beers that Castle Rock pubs are renowned for, plus a great range of spirits, wines, coffees and soft drinks.
The pub is split into several rooms, from the traditional main bar area, to the restaurant and two stunning function rooms upstairs, but The Dispensary is the place for beer lovers. castlerockbrewery.co.uk
There are various nods to the pub’s vast heritage, including the iconic ‘Peggers’ pub sign suspended just above the bar and outdoor seating areas on either side.
theembankmentpub
castlerockbrewery.co.uk
embankmentnottm
The food menu offers a unique and delicious take on simple dishes like pizza, jacket potatoes and fresh platters. It’s a particularly good spot for vegan and gluten-free diners to enjoy a bite.
foxandgrapesnottingham
foxandgrapescrb
Head of Steam
The Herbert Kilpin
The newest venue on the Nottingham craft-beer scene, this is a great place to check out in Hockley.
A beautiful and iconic old building in the heart of the city centre specialising in craft beer, great food and European football.
7 High Pavement, NG11HF 0115 9476636
10 Bridlesmith Walk, NG1 2HB 0115 9484743
They might be new to Notts, but they’ve already established more than a dozen venues in the likes of Liverpool, Leeds, Leicester, Birmingham, Hull, Sheffield and Newcastle. The bar stocks over 130 different beers and a large selection of spirits and cocktails. They also offer a new world-
headofsteam.co.uk
Beer garden
Dog friendly
food menu and you can bring your dog along with you while you sup a pint. If you’re a night owl then Head of Steam’s a good spot; it’s open until midnight on weekdays and until 1am on weekends.
headofsteam.nottingham
Food
Open late
The building was closed and unloved for two decades, but the Herbert Kilpin is now enjoying a new lease of life as an independent free house. It shares a hidden backyard beer garden with neighbouring bar Junkyard. The offering, however, is completely different. It’s bright and airy, with TVs showing Serie A games, and they put on regular events. thekilpin.co.uk
hos_nottingham
Pub games
Wifi
Oh, and the name? It comes from the AC Milan founder, who was born in Nottingham but also forgotten in his home town for many years.
T.V
Parking
theherbertkilpin
Function room
Live music
herbie_k
Nottingham Craft Beer Week 25
Hopology
JamCafe
The first beer shop to open in Notts five years ago and a trailblazer in Nottingham’s love for craft beer.
An independent craft beer and music venue in Hockley, with six taps of fresh beer from awesome breweries and a fully stocked fridge of fun.
12 Heathcote Street, NG1 3AA 0115 948 3566
126 Melton Road, West Bridgford, NG2 6EP 0115 9816346
Based in a busy high street in West Bridgford, Hopology sell over 400 bottled and canned beers from across the UK, USA and Europe (Belgian and Dutch beer is a particular speciality) as well as supporting the local micros.
In terms of British beer, they stick to the smaller independents who often produce the most interesting beer. They scooped the award of Independent Beer Retailer of the year in the Off Licence News awards.
They also stock cider and wine, but all of it is sourced from independent producers.
They have free parking at the shop and are opposite the bus stop from town.
hopology.uk
A true gem in the heart of Hockley for almost 10 years and one of the city’s forerunners for creativity. Being a 100% independent venue they can serve whatever beer they choose, they select from the UK’s best breweries with a few Belgian classics in the fridge too.
graced the stage at one time or another. Look out for the great music quiz too. Food wise they host a changing selection of pop-up kitchens dabbling in a variety of cuisines with quality and fair price being key.
They host regular gigs and events with most of Nottingham’s best musicians having
hopologybeershop
hopologybeer
jamcafe.info
jamcafenottingham
jamcafe
Junkyard
Kean’s Head
A neighbourhood cafe bar, bottle shop and pourhouse, and the sibling of the renowned speakeasy cocktail bar Boilermaker
The words ‘hidden gem’ get thrown around a lot these days, but most will agree that Kean’s Head deserves the status.
Nestled between Fletcher Gate and Bridlesmith Gate, a former cafe has been fully refurbished into a 140 capacity venue featuring a hidden backyard oasis. Junkyard combines the laid back feel of a North California bar and eatery with a specialist craft beer shop jammed full of bottles and cans of craft beers for drinking in or taking home.
Tucked away next to St Mary’s Church in the Lace Market, this is a single-room pub that’s been at the forefront of the Nottingham craft beer scene for many years.
12 Bridlesmith Walk, NG12HB 0115 9501758
junkbars.com
46 St Mary’s Gate, NG1 1QA 0115 947 4052
In the bar, fifteen taps dispense the very best American, British and European craft keg brews. There’s also a tasty food menu of snacks for all appetites.
junkyardnottingham
26 Nottingham Craft Beer Week
Beer garden
They offer over 100 bottles and cans, over ten craft beers in keg, five real ales and two real ciders. If you fancy jydpoho
Dog friendly
jydpoho
Food
castlerockbrewery.co.uk
Open late
Pub games
Wifi
something a bit stronger they have 20+ rums, 60+ gins and 60+ whiskeys. The food is fresh, flavourful and locally sourced, from homemade courgetti with pesto and halloumi to classic pub meals and European-inspired dishes.
thekeanshead
T.V
keanshead
Parking
keanshead
Function room
Live music
Kraft Werks
Lincolnshire Poacher
A specialist beer shop and bar set in a former bank in Sherwood, selling over 400 different types of beer.
This place has been part of our beer-drinking scene for so long that it’s easy to forget it only opened in the late 80s.
They’re purist about their drinks policy, with no wine or spirits, just beer (and a couple of ciders). The concept is from the US, where it’s known as a ‘bottle shop and tap room’. Effectively, Kraft Werks is both a beer shop and a bar where customers can choose to drink in or take away.
It rose from the shell of the Old Grey Nag’s Head, which had been closed by Shipstones. In partnership with Wainfleet brewers, George Bateman & Sons Ltd, the ‘Poacher’ quickly earned a reputation as one of the places in Nottingham for quality and choice of ale, a distinction it has never lost.
161-163 Mansfield Road, NG1 1DL 0115 841 8970
513 Mansfield Road, Sherwood, NG5 2JL 07975 755364
kraft-werks.com
kraftwerks
They pride themselves on great customer service, product knowledge as well as unusual and rare beers. The business opened in 2015 and they’ve since been shortlisted for Best Drinking Venue in the Nottingham Bar Awards.
kraftwerksnotts
castlerockbrewery.co.uk
kraftwerksnotts
Alongside its excellent reputation for ales, they also cook up a delicious menu of fresh food every day. Pop in and enjoy a home cooked meal with a side of proper beer.
lincolnshire.poacher.9
lincpoacher
The Lion
The Malt Cross
Situated right next door to Black Iris Brewery, this is a haven for cask ale, craft beer, live music and great food.
A stunning Victorian music hall built in 1877, now home to a not for profit bar and kitchen that funds charitable work across the city.
A permanent selection of eleven ales dominates the bar, topped up with five craft taps, ten traditional ciders andover forty bottles and cans in the fridge.
Discover a great selection of beers inspired by the fantastic local brewing scene, with seven cask ales, sixteen keg beers and good pub food served all day.
44 Mosley St, Basford, NG7 7FQ 0115 9703506
16 St James’s Street, NG1 6FG 0115 941 1048
Their food is highly rated and their menu boasts a selection of more than twenty burgers, hot dogs, wings and halloumi, plus a range of homemade veganfriendly specials. thelionatbasford.co.uk
Beer garden
Dog friendly
The Lion is famous for live music and hosts the best of the local music scene four times a week. There’s also a massive beer garden out the back which really comes into its own during the summer months.
thelionatbasford
Food
Open late
Known locally as a hidden gem where communities meet and grow, find them just a few paces up St James’s Street and only a stone’s throw away from the Market Square.
thelionbasford
Pub games
Wifi
maltcross.com
T.V
Parking
The Malt Cross stays true to the original intention of music hall, with a diverse live music programme and a medley of events from jazz nights to heritage tours and gin tastings down in the sandstone caves.
maltcrossnotts
Function room
Live music
maltcross
maltcross
Nottingham Craft Beer Week 27
Neon Raptor
Overdraught
The brand new tap room from this much-loved Nottingham brewery, based right in the heart of Sneinton Avenues.
A new bar from Nottingham craft brewery Totally Brewed, situated in a former bank up the hill at Canning Circus.
At the time of writing this guide, this venue hasn’t yet opened. But when it does – it’s possible this’ll happen during NCBW18 – it’ll be a great addition to the already thriving craft-beer scene down at Sneinton Market Avenues.
This is one of Nottingham’s newest venues, with fourteen craft keg lines, seven hand pulls and an extensive bottle and can range. They also provide wine, cider, gin and other spirits.
Avenue B, Sneinton Avenues, NG1
11-15 Alfreton Road, Canning Circus, NG7 3JE
Nestled a stone’s throw from Fox & Grapes, the venue is the Neon Raptor
neonraptorbrew
brewery, but the builders are in and there will be a tap room where you can sample some of their finest efforts straight from the source. Bearing in mind they were recently the fifth most popular UK brewery on Untappd, that’s quite an offer.
neonraptorbrewingco.com
They were the exclusive Nottingham venue for Beavertown’s Bloody ‘Ell beer launch this year and they already have a few tap takeovers under their belt.
totallybrewed.com
neonraptorbrew
Poppy & Pint
The pub is Totally Brewed’s second but largest pub, after Totally Tapped was launched in Beeston in 2017. Expect to find plenty of house beers, as well as new releases, collaborations and the odd limited edition.
totallyoverdraught
totallyoverdrau
Rescue Rooms
Pierrepont Road, Lady Bay, NG2 5DX 0115 9819995
Masonic Place, Goldsmith Street, NG1 5LB 0115 8283173
Spacious, warm, bright, airy, diverse and situated right at the heart of the Lady Bay community.
Since its inauguration into the Nottingham music scene in 2003, Rescue Rooms has developed some rich history.
The pub, nestled between the Lady Bay Tennis Club and Bowling Green, comprises of three areas: the cafe bar, a traditional bar and a dining room.
Everyone from Amy Winehouse, The Libertines, Ellie Goulding, and Happy Mondays have taken to the stage in this 450-capacity venue from DHP Family. It’s also next door to both Rock City and Stealth, creating a powerhouse of a venue trio for the city’s music festivals.
The Poppy and Pint is renowned for some of the best food in Nottingham, created by Vanessa McGuire and her team, ranging from classics to Europeanand Mediterranean-inspired dishes. castlerockbrewery.co.uk
28 Nottingham Craft Beer Week
The pub also showcases a wide range of real ales – with a focus on local beers – as well as real ciders. A dedicated craft beer wall also serves some of the most exciting new beers produced today.
poppyandpint
Beer garden
Dog friendly
rescuerooms.com
poppyandpint
Food
Open late
Pub games
Wifi
RescueRooms
T.V
There’s a bar area open every day from 4pm, two rooms for gigs, and two patios, so you can always do some al fresco sipping on the warmer days. There’s a large range beers on tap which includes constantly changing guest lines, as well as cask ales, and fridges with more beers than you can shake a stick at.
rescuerooms
Parking
rescuerooms
Function room
Live music
a totally independent, family run pub, with a passion for great beer and great variety. Dog, beer geek and beer curious friendly.
mezzanine room available for hire
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@totallyoverdraught
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@totallyoverdrau
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totallyoverdraught
discount student discount
Get our up to date beer, wine and
spirits list on the untappd app
Six Barrel Drafthouse
Southbank City
This place is only a couple of years old, but it now feels like a staple part of the landscape at the top of Hockley.
It’s a favourite city centre haunt for sport and live music fans, but there’s a serious beer selection there too.
Six Barrels has managed to fit in with the community thanks to the great staff, amazing range of craft and cask beers and general laid-back vibe. You won’t find pretentiousness there, just good beer, great value and a chilled atmosphere.
Famous for live sports coverage and live music, Southbank City show every major sports event across 24 4K screens. They also hold special events and Q&A evenings with guests from the worlds of sport, screen and stage.
14-16 Carlton Street, NG1 1NN 0115 9501798
Friar Lane, NG16DQ 0115 9506149
Their name refers to the six cask ales on the front bar and six craft beers on the back bar. They offer a permanent selection of a dozen draught cask and craft beers, plus fridges crammed full of hundreds bottles and cans from the UK, Europe and the US.
sixbarreldrafthouse.co.uk
sixbarreldraft
southbankcity.co.uk
sixbarreldraft
Their drinks offering is a large variety of beers, cask ales, craft beers and speciality cocktails, as well as all the usual suspects in spirits. The kitchen is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner with consistent deals on offer. If that wasn’t enough, they also have a custom-built darts oche, American pool and a PS4.
southbankcity
southbanknottm
Stratford Haven
Yarn
A charming and traditional pub, just a short stroll from Trent Bridge cricket ground and Nottingham Forest’s City Ground.
A brand new craft beer, tapas and pizza bar in the heart of the city and part of the Theatre Royal and Royal Concert Hall.
Reputed for the quality of its cask ales, the Strat continues to serve the best cask beers from near and far, but have extended their beer range to include ten craft beers in keg and over twenty bottles and cans. Tom and the team have worked hard on cultivating their beer range and have developed the pub into not only a cask ale haven but a great place for craft beer.
Yarn’s regular clientele consists of people going into or coming out of one of the big music or theatre shows at the Royal Centre, but it’s open for you to just pop in there to meet friends for a drink too.
2 Stratford Road, West Bridgford, NG2 6BA 0115 9819995
castlerockbrewery.co.uk
30 Nottingham Craft Beer Week
5 South Sherwood Street, NG1 5ND 0115 9895569
On the food side, pub classics is what the Strat does well, but expect some surprises, like the peppercorn tofu sirloin, served on Wednesday’s steak and blues night.
The bar is a joint partnership between the Theatre, CGC Event Caterers and Castle Rock Brewery. It’s a haven for beer, with eight cask lines and ten keg lines showcasing some of the best craft
stratfordhavenwb
Beer garden
beer from near and far. Food-wise, you can expect a variety of lovingly created tapas dishes and hand-stretched pizza.
Dog friendly
castlerockbrewery.co.uk
stratfordhaven
Food
Open late
Pub games
Wifi
yarnnottingham
T.V
Parking
yarn_bar
Function room
Live music
PEOPLE OF NOT TINGHAM IT’S TIME TO DISCOVER
THE TASTE OF FREEDOM AT NOT TINGHAM CRAF T BEER WEEK 9-16 JUNE
JOIN OUR HEADBREWER, JONATHAN SMITH, FOR A TASTING AT PIEMINISTER. WEDNESDAY 13TH @ 7PM. FOR FURTHER DETAILS VISIT WEBSITE BELOW
FREEDOM IS AVAILABLE ON DRAF T OR IN BOT TLE AT THESE QUALITY NOT TINGHAM OUTLETS:
BARESCA BARREL DROP BODEGA BOILERMAKER
BROADWAY CINEMA CAFÉ BAR CRAFTY CROW CURIOUS TAVERN DAS-KINO
EGO
HOCKLEY ARTS CLUB
ESCABECHE
LARDER ON GOOSEGATE
HARTS HOTEL HERBERT KILPIN
MAJESTIC NED LUDD
NOTTINGHAM STREET FOOD MARKET THE BOTANIST THE OVERDRAUGHT
F R E E D O M B R E W E RY.C O M BORN IN THE CITY, BREWED IN THE COUNTRY
PERKINS AT PLUMTREE PIEMINISTER RESTAURANT SAT BAINS
Nottingham Breweries The craft beer movement has seen a resurgence in local brewing. In the 80s, the likes of Home Ales and Shipstones dominated Nottingham pubs, but the nineties and noughties saw the mass market takeover from the likes of Stella, Carling and other boring beers. Happily, over the last decade plenty of new ones have sprung up to supply their beers both across the city and further afield. Here are a few of our favourites.
The Angel Microbrewery
Black Iris
Castle Rock Brewery
Set inside the venue of the same name, when the new management took over the Old Angel pub a couple of years back, one of the first decisions they took was to place a microbrewery in the old front room. Some say it was an odd decision as it took up valuable table space. We say it was an awesome decision as they now brew a range of in-house, tasty, vegan-friendly beer.
Located down in Basford in the old Shipstones building, Black Iris brew an increasingly wide range of lovely beers. They’re becoming legendary in Nottingham but their beers can be found as far afield as Yorkshire, Cheshire, Birmingham and more. They’ve got consistently strong artwork from Kev Grey and have been known to put on rowdy parties with their ‘Piss Up In A Brewery’ nights.
The grandaddies of the Nottingham brewing scene, they were originally formed as Tynemill by former CAMRA Chairman Chris Holmes as far back as 1977. They own a fair percentage of Nottingham’s best boozers and have won more awards for their beer than you’ve had cold beverages. The brewery is based out the back of the Vat and Fiddle and supplies beers across the country and the world.
Must try: - Pale Angel (Blonde, 4.2%) - Hung, Drawn and Portered (Porter, 5.2%) - Calypso IPA (IPA, 5.2%) - Yippee Aye Ay (IPA, 5.4%) - Hop, Spring and A Jump (Pale, 5%)
Must try:
- Endless Summer (IPA, 4.5%) - Snake Eyes (Pale, 3.8%) - Divine Elements (IPA, 6%) - Rise and Shine (Stout, 5.3%) - Bleeding Heart (Rye, 4.5%)
Must try:
- Harvest Pale (Blonde, 3.8%) - Elsie Mo (Golden, 4.7%) - Screech Owl (IPA, 5.5%) - Session IPA (IPA, 4%) - Wheat (Witbier, 4.5%)
7 Stoney Street, NG1 1LG angelmicrobrewery.com
Unit 1 Shipstone Street, NG7 6GJ facebook.com/blackiris.brewery
Font Craft Works
Liquid Light
Magpie Brewery
New kids on the block, based down at Meadow Lane near the footy grounds, who offer a simple but tasty range of APA, EPA and GPA (Grapefruit-infused) as well as their very own lager (LGR). Look out for the bright colours and smiley faces on their branding. They also have some kicking merchandise (caps, t-shirts and glassware) for you to get your hands on too.
Founded in 2017 by Thom Stone, former assistant brewer at Totally Brewed, Liquid Light are the new kids on the local scene. The relative new kids on the block in the Nottingham brewing scene. Their first batch of beers have been smashing it at venues like Head of Steam, The King Billy and the Kean’s Head. Pink Moon is actually pink too.
The story of Magpie Brewery began on a golf course as three old friends Ken, Bob and Nick, keen homebrewers who had taken early retirement, made a pact. Fast forward a few year’s and Ken’s son Gavin joined the business and runs it to this day. They’ve brewed well over fifty different beers and their craft offerings are branded as their Wanderlust range.
Must Try:
- APA (Pale, 5.2%) - EPA (Pale, 5.2%) - GPA (Pale, 4%) - LGR (Lager, 4.5% 17 Meadow Lane, NG2 3HS fontcraftworks.co.uk
32 Nottingham Craft Beer Week
Must try:
- Into the Void (Porter, 5.6%) - Pink Moon (Fruity, 4%) - Less Dangerous (IPA, 4.5%) - Return Trip (IPA, 5.5%) - Freak Out (Sour, 3.9%) liquidlightbrewco.com
Queensbridge Road, NG2 1NB castlerockbrewery.co.uk
Must try:
-Jay IPA (IPA, 5.2%) - Chainless (Pale, 4.8%) - Trailhound (IPA, 6.4%) - Wanderers (IPA, 3.9%) - Roam (Pale, 4.5%) Unit 4, Ashling Court, Iremonger Road, NG2 3JA magpiebrewery.com
Neon Raptor
Nottingham Brewery
Totally Brewed
They emigrated from Derby to Nottingham a year or so ago, and they’ve been completely smashing it ever since. They recently placed as the fifth most popular UK brewery on Untappd and their beer is now stocked as far away as Oslo. They’re featuring at various venues throughout NCBW18 including takeovers at the Rescue Rooms and Yarn. Their brewery tap room will be opening in Sneinton Market Avenues soon too.
The oldest name on the local brewing scene, with origins that can be traced back as far as 1847. Obviously it’s changed hands a few times during the years and they’ve also added two pubs to their portfolio with The Frame Breakers in Ruddington and and The Plough Inn in Radford. Despite their name, the beers go out as far as Wiltshire, London, Portsmouth and beyond.
Launched in 2014 after years of homebrewing by head honcho Rob Witt, they have some of the most fun names and branding in the local scene, and it tastes bloody good too. They’ve won multiple awards from SIBA, including Gold in 2014 for 4 Hopmen of the Apocalypse. They’ve also expanded into the bar trade with Totally Tapped in Beeston and the recently opened Overdraught in Canning Circus.
Must try
- Endangered (Porter, 6.6%) - Ghost Twins (IPA, 6.8%) - Blowfish (Pale, 4.3%) - Hello Operator V2 (Fruit, 4.2%) - Instant Street (Sour, 4.2%) Unit 14 Avenue A, Sneinton Market, NG1 1DT neonraptorbrewingco.com
Must try
- Extra Pale Ale (Pale, 4.2%) - Legend (Bitter, 4%) - Dreadnought (Bitter, 4.5%) - Bullion (Pale, 4.7%) - Robin Hood (Bitter, 3.9%) 17 St Peters Street, Radford, NG7 3EN nottinghambrewery.co.uk
Must try
- Statement of Intent (IPA, 6.5%) - 4 Hopmen of the Apocalypse (IPA, 5.2%) - Captain Hop Beard (Pale, 5.5%) - Papa Jangles Voodoo stout (Stout, 4.5%) - Guardian of the Forest (IPA, 3.8%) Unit 8-9, Wholesale Fruit & Flower Market, Clarke Rd, NG2 3JJ totallybrewed.com
Nottingham Craft Beer Week 33
A Malty Maritime Medley Stephen Thomas is the poet and promoter behind Poetry Is Dead Good, a local poetry event who are running a special night for Nottingham Craft Beer Week (Poetry Is Dead Pub – geddit?). We challenged him to write us a piece using the names of thirteen beers with an association to Nottingham. Can you spot them all? Upon the Jolly Dreadnought lives a crew of connoisseurs Pirates with a taste for the finest beer there is
Little Sammy Snake Eyes has an eye for IPA And American Saviour Bruce would die for Yippee Aye Ay
A well-crafted brew will always get their compliments Plus at least half the crew have a rum intolerance
They sail the vastest oceans not in search of treasure But looking for the type of Pub that serves their perfect pleasure
The plucky Captain Hop Beard loves his Elvis Juice They call him the Screech Owl when he sings the blues
And when upon a New Dawn their ship does hits the land They’ll be Hoppily Ever After with a pint in hand
Tom and Tim, the Ghost Twins like Extra Pale Ales The drink goes right through them which is always good for sales Jobe the Thieving Rogue has never bought a round And Plain Dave loves wearing beige but only drinks Brown!!!
poem: Stephen Thomas illustration: Emily Catherine
Poetry Is Dead Pub takes place at the Angel Microbrewery on Sunday 10 June. 34 Nottingham Craft Beer Week
facebook.com/poetryisdeadgood