Real Ale Capital

Derby Real Ale Capital of Britain

The Derby Branch of the Campaign for Real Ale has released the results of its Annual Beer Census of the City which confirm Derbys status as Real Ale Capital of Britain per population head.

The census took place in February and involved 8 different pub crawls around the City which saw a record number of Real Ales available on any one given night. 270 were counted (up 21 on last year) with 161 different ones available (up 2 on last year) and these came from just 60 pubs averaging 4.5 Real Ales per pub.

In total 68 pubs were visited, 2 were shut and 6 had no real ale. Star pubs of the night included the Flowerpot with 21 on, the Babington Arms with 16, the Brunswick with 15 and a host of pubs with 11 on including the Alexandra, Mr Grundys, Old Silk Mill and Standing Order.

Marstons Pedigree is still the most dominant brand in the City available in 34 pubs followed by Bass which has increased its availability this year to 16 pubs. But local ales are well represented with beers from the Citys six breweries widely available - Brunswick, Dancing Duck, Derby, Falstaff, Mr Grundys and the Rowditch. The final two beers from the now mothballed Headless Brewery at the Flowerpot were also available on the night. Some of the different beers found were: Abbeydale Dr Mortons Antifreeze Jennings Soggy Bottom Milestone Lemon & Ginger Roosters Orange Blossom Saltaire Cheeky Kriek Spire Dark Side of the Moon and Wentworth Vanilla Stout.

The average price of a pint was found to be £2.72 without the Wetherspoons pubs or £2.61 with them (8p up on previous year). However in reality a lot of pubs were hovering around the £3 a pint mark with some now regularly topping it. The dearest pint of the night was found at the Alexandra Hotel - £3.20 for Thwaites OBJ although at 6.5% this can be slightly excused as most of their other beers are more than reasonably priced. The cheapest pint outside of Wetherspoons was the £1.57 for the Sam Smiths Old Brewery Bitter at the Abbey or £1.45 if you include the Wetherspoons pubs.

So there you have it, a few stats to bear in mind while crawling around Beer City once again proving that per population head Derby has more Real Ales available than any other City.

Derby CAMRA Chairman, Gareth Stead said " For Real Ale enthusiasts Derby is one of the best places to drink in the Country and people come from far and wide to sample its delights. The Citys pubs truly provide a Beer Festival everyday of the year and long may it continue".