Strutting Like A Peacock In Derby

I’m about to go on a bit of a roll with Derby boozers as there appears to be a Tardis like amount of pubs in the city centre.

Considering its size, Derby has a good crop of boozers and plenty of old school examples of what PUB (Pub Union of Bloggers) members would describe as old fashioned boozers.

You know the type, real Alan Winfield style ‘estate’ pubs that happen to be in the middle, or in the case of 301 – The Peacock DE1 3QS , just on the edge of the city, positioned on the Nottingham Road.

It’s a classic stone built roadside boozer that is a real tease for Yorkshire punters with its Marston’s livery but it appears to be a Free House.

I’m glad that craft aficionados such as Rich continues to read this blog despite my constant support of big brewers such as Bass, Greene King and Marston’s and his slow conversion to Bass has been one of my success stories!

In fact, looking through the stats for October there has been a readership from a host of countries that could possibly form the new trading bloc for Theresa May post Brexit.

Cyprus, Austria, Greece, France, Netherlands, USA, Canada, Sweden, Belgium, Norway, Ukraine, Ireland, Turkey, Hong Kong, Hungary, Pakistan, Spain, Australia and Belize have all chanced upon (I suspect by accident)  Life After Football whilst there has also been a mystery reader from The European Union.

(who’s the mystery punter?)

I’m assuming that must be Claude Juncker for two reasons alone…not many other punters class themselves as just EU only and, more importantly, the boy Juncker appears to love a pint!

So, if it is you Claude, I can recommend many of the boozers for a few swift halves but don’t forget to change your Euros when coming through customs.

One such boozer I reckon Juncker would love is The Peacock.  However, it is the sort of place where I reckon Brexit has long since ceased to be interesting (like the majority of the population) and some of the professionals in the corner had bigger dilemmas to concern themselves with.

(standard Derby football shirts in Derby pub)

Like whether or not one of the regulars should start (at 2pm) on the 6% Ubiquitous by ESP!  Luckily, one of the other locals said he had a banging head from his session on it yesterday but that proved to be ineffective as he decided to have a pint of it anyway…

I plumped for a pint of White Wolf from Little Critters Brewery and listened to a backdrop of The Doors and The Jam amongst others in a classic pub.

There is even an outdoor toilet where Esther – a massive shaggy dog – followed me and proceeded to watch me for the entirety of my visit!

(my view…shared with Esther)

Cobs on the bar, a chilled atmosphere and some proper drinkers mean this place is a must visit boozer.

On this occasion, my pint was decent as opposed to sensational, but this place has been keeping good beer for years and I’ve had better pints on other occasions I’ve been in.

This pub is just slightly off the beaten track in terms of the city centre but it’s well worth walking an extra two minutes for.  There can’t be many cities with pubs like this left in them and that, my fellow pub lovers, is the beauty of Derby.

Where else can you get a dog watching you wee, professional drinkers in a non-spoons boozer, a great selection of beers, proper music, bench seating and an atmosphere that just says…”sit in here all day and drink!”