We got down for some words, and a pint of the good stuff...
We love a good pun with our pint at the ‘Lion, so new micropub A Room with a Brew is right up our street(car named Desire), purloining puns from Forster and a range of literary sources. Occupying a former antiques shop in Derby Road, RWAB is the first pub venture from Scribbler’s Ales, the Stapleford-based brewery set up by published author and head brewer Richard Nettleton.
I stepped through the looking glass on a quiet Thursday evening – it gets lively at the weekend – and took a seat in the large street-facing windows, surrounded by stacks of books, and under posters of famous jackets – perfect for a long, wistful gaze out of after taking in a particularly eventful chapter.
Manager Steve Hayes helpfully talked me through the eight beers on draught, three of which are brewed by (or ‘published by’) Scribbler’s, and the rest being a selection of beers swapped and carefully selected from local breweries. I started with Beerfest at Tiffany’s, a well-hopped 3.8% session ale and Scribbler bestseller, followed by the 4.8% American pale ale Masher in the Rye, whose citrusy, fruity notes made it hard to put down. One Brew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (5.2%) was a properly tasty golden ale smacking of apricot and plum – a true masterpiece. Of the non-Scribbler ales, Pheasantry’s Camra Gold award-winning malty Best Bitter (3.8%) and Nethergate Brewery’s Old Growler (5.0%), surprisingly hoppy for a porter, were instant classics.
All the beer at RWAB is hand-pulled, quite unusually for a micropub, from an insulated barrel room out the back; a CaskWidge system and an expert looking-after ensures a top-notch pint. Anything under 4% costs £3.20, between 4 and 5% is £3.40, and 5%+ sets you back £3.60, with a 20p Camra discount on every one. There’re also a few boxed ciders, good wines and a small selection of spirits, if that’s more your thing, as well as pies from excellent butcher Tony Wright on Hucknall Road, and plenty of crisps to snack on.
Having been derelict for a while, it’s great to see another unit open up on Derby Road, adding to what is a great pub crawl but also a destination pub in its own right. Inside is charmingly decorated with furniture sourced from the many outlets on that stretch, and the new ladies and gents toilets – installed in the basement at the behest of the council – got a big tick too, making an all-round winner. Reader, I could marry it. Shariff Ibrahim
78 Derby Rd, NG1 5FD. 07780 662244
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