A Real Ale Pub Crawl around Chesterfield

I had been intending to explore the real ale scene in our Derbyshire neighbour for some time, as I have friends who live nearby and have dabbled on the fringes here and there. The market town with the twisted spire has a fair few pubs in the good beer guide, including two in the infamous drinking stretch in Brampton and it was here that my lady and I began our evening.

We were in for an accidental treat in our first stop as The Peacock had a beer festival on! I admitted to the organisers that I did not realise that, and was duly admonished for not checking the Sheffield CAMRA website where it had been advertised, oops! In addition to the 6 hand pumps inside dispensing Tetley’s, Golden Sheep, Farmers Blonde and King of the Rocket Men among others, there were 10 beers and 2 ciders available from the outside bar.

Unfortunately this was mid-July amid the wettest spring and summer ever recorded in the UK and not beer festival weather. However the organisers made a valiant effort to keep punters and the passage to the outside bar dry by erecting a series of waterproof gazebos. So we enjoyed 2 excellent pints each outside in the awful weather; Summer Sovereign (4.0%) by Peak Ales and Full Monty (6.5%) by Barlow Brewery for me, and King of the Rocket Men (4.5%) from Kelham Island followed by Clark’s Classic Blonde for my lady. The pub itself was a decent size with a large room to the left and the tap room to the right, with the wedge shaped bar in the middle. As we left I noticed that there was now a good few people in, if not many wishing to venture outside in the downpour. The Peacock clearly benefits from a lively local clientele enough of whom were enjoying the beer festival. Indeed, given the range of beer on offer, we could have happily stayed there all night. Alas though we had a plan to follow, friends to meet and many more pubs to visit. Such is the occasional misery of the intrepid beer writer.

Under the protection of our faithful umbrellas (A Fulton Umbrella is the wandering beer drinkers’ best friend!) we made our way to Brampton Brewery’s Rose and Crown. This is a large pub with a prominent corner position on a crossroads with 8 hand pumps 4 of which were dispensing Brampton Ales. This particular establishment was one of the main draws to Chesterfield as you don’t see a lot of Brampton’s beers around Sheffield as a rule. The interior is spacious and rather lends itself to a pub that has more interest in serving food. However there were plenty of beer drinkers present to quash that initial appearance. The building looks as though it was constructed in the 1930s with a not old but not new feel to it, having obviously been redecorated tastefully in the last few years. You walk into a middle room with the bar in front of you, off to the left is a large seating area and through a door in the entrance there is small room to the right, behind the bar. It was in this snug that we chose to sit, mainly as I had spotted a useful plug from which to subtly pilfer power to charge my iPhone! I was drinking Nice Weather (4.1%) from Dancing Duck Brewery; a Derby based brewery of which we are a big fan having sampled their beers at the Chesterfield and Derby beer festivals earlier in the year. Thus explaining why I didn’t have a Brampton beer despite having made the special effort to get there! Never mind, my better half drank Golden Bud (3.8%) from Brampton Brewery which she found most pleasing and I concurred after a taste.

We called a cab to get the next pub as it a fair distance from Brompton and not walkable in the timeframe we had. The Chesterfield Arms is a family run, self professed Real Ale Emporium and I’d be hard pushed to disagree. Twice winner of Chesterfield CAMRA Pub of the Year since it’s reopening in 2009; it has what surely must be the largest selection of hand pulled real ale in Chesterfield. It was approaching 8pm when we arrived and we did well to get a seat, although there are plenty of tables. But it wasn’t unpleasantly busy thankfully, although I suspect it does become so at certain times, and music was playing at an unobtrusive level in the background. Despite the busyness there was no problem being served as the bar is horseshoe shaped and was well staffed that night. Sumptuously decorated in wooden panels and seductively low lit it with small windows, the Chesterfield Arms overflows with an enticing atmosphere that whispers convincingly in your ear to get to the bar for one more of the 12-16 fine ales on offer. Which we certainly would have submitted to was it not for meeting friends in the town centre at 8:30. So we consoled ourselves with just a pint and a half of Side Pocket For A Toad (3.6%) by Tring Brewery, which is not as good as Tring Blonde in our opinion, but it’s always good to try something new. But if you are ever in drinking beer in Chesterfield it is well worth getting to The Chesterfield Arms, a pub easily on the same level as any in the Kelham Island area of Sheffield. I for one will definitely be returning in the near future.

Back into a taxi and alighting in the town centre we made our way to The Rutland which stands in the shadow of that famous church spire. Out of all the places we visited that night this pub was the only one that felt like it sold real ale rather than being defined by it. Quite a lively place on this Friday night but we managed to squeeze our party of seven around a table in the corner. Lots of wood everywhere, from the bench seats to the floor, quite spacious and frequented by a mixed age range. A worthy entry in the Good Beer Guide and probably a bit more palatable for us quiet types during the week. 8 hand pumps dispense a decent array of local real ales from the wraparound bar. Easy Rider was on offer which many in the group chose but we opted for something new; Yakima Gold (4.2%) from Crouch Vale Brewery for me, and a half of Deepdale Pale (3.8%) by Spire for the Mrs. But it was certainly more attractive to us than the Crooked Spire across the way, a popular Marston’s pub, which was positively vibrating with pop music and could barely contain the flashing lights of the disco within. Judging from their website they have three hand pulled beers on from the Marston Breweries and could be worked quite nicely into a mid week crawl around the town centre when it’s a bit quieter.

Our next stop was The Market and my partner and I had been in here before whilst waiting for a bus to Staveley, to meet friends. I suppose it is predominantly styled as an old man’s pub but not so much that younger people are put off drinking there. It is very cosy but not big on space so it can feel busier than perhaps it actually is, however it has ample charm to make up for it. As you walk in the door the bar is opposite you, there is a small space off to the right but the main area runs down the left side of the pub, parallel to the bar, and terminates in a larger space at the back which is where we sat. There are 9 hand pumps on the bar, dispensing a good range of local and national beer, and signs advertise live music every Sunday night. It had a great atmosphere on the Friday night we were in, there are clearly many dedicated regulars, and has a prominent spot overlooking the old market place as you’d expect! Between us we had a pint and a half of Bullion IPA (5.0%) from Acorn Brewery, which was very enjoyable from a brewery you can rely on for interesting and varied monthly specials.

The last stop was a pub I had been recommended to visit and it was definitely a fine place to end the night. The Royal Oak is the oldest pub in Chesterfield and could even be one of the oldest buildings in the town from the look of it. At least 6 beers are on offer but you have to go to great lengths to look at both sides of the bar! For the pub is on a hill and split into two levels with the bar in the middle. However there is no connecting passage. So if you are in the top part you have to actually have to go to the toilet in the lower part via the street! But all that serves to add to the immense charm of the place, charm being a quality it has in abundance. The Tudor heritage is exploited impressively in the top part, which is where we sat, as there is no first floor. So the space stretches all the up to the rafters, creating an unrivalled atmosphere with a sobering sense of history. Indeed, you almost drink in there with profound reverence. But that might in part have been down to the eight pints I had drunk! A reasonable selection of local ales were available from which the Mrs and I had a pint and a half of Harvest Pale (3.8%) from Castle Rock, which was as lovely as ever.

Having exhausted the Good Beer Guide pubs in Chesterfield that were in our reach, and rapidly approaching the time of the last train, we bade farewell to our friends and trekked the short distance back to the station. Overall we were impressed with the quality of the ale and establishments selling them. It is refreshing to know that a varied and different selection of beer and watering holes is right on Sheffield’s doorstep.