Roeg's Picks for 2012: Best English Pub

Best English Pub: I love beer (surprise), but I also love travelling and meeting new people, and there is no better way of doing that than in an English pub.  This isn’t the like the loud and often crowded bars of the US, but a place that is quiet, encourages conversation, allows a person to relax and has great beer and food to make an evening of it.  And since I was fortunate enough to travel to the UK twice last year, I had plenty of opportunities to assess the places that I visited.

Gold: The Harrington Arms, Aldsworth, UK – My favorite English Pub from last year is also my favorite for 2012.  The Harrington Arms is a beautiful pub with a large garden area in the back where the whole town could be found on a weekday night.  We met our friends here, and settled in for a while.  The beer was outstanding (best pint of Bass in the UK, try it from the jug) and the food looked delicious.  I also got to try a couple of beers from Blue Monkey on cask.  It was a great evening, and I can’t wait to go back.

Silver: Holly Bush Inn, Maketon, UK - The Holly Bush Inn (http://hollybushinnmakeney.co.uk) was warm and friendly, with the locals occupying the room with the fireplace.  We chose outdoor service (we had our own special ordering window) and soaked up the sunshine.  They had Bass and Pedigree, but being a free house I got to try a Pirate Caped Rogue and a Buxton Imperial Black IPA.  For food (they had food service between 12-3, I checked), I got a ploughman’s (boy the bleu cheese is strong) and a ham & tomato sandwich (no bacon). On my next visit I got to try Ruddles County Ale from the jug.  It was nice to watch the families come in and hang out together.

Bronze: Five Lamps, Derby, UK – The Five Lamps Tavern (http://www.fivelampsderby.co.uk/) is my new favorite pub in Derby.  The place has 14 taps (and a great tap turnover so you can always try a new beer), a great food menu (with service on Sunday, another plus), and friendly service.  I had a ploughman’s (not the burger) with a particularly pungent bleu cheese to go with their house beer, Derby Five Lamps, and found myself coming back several more times to see what they had to offer.

Honorable Mention: As I mentioned before, I found several other great pubs in my travels.  In Nottingham, I stumbled into the Keans Head for a Titanic Cappuccino stout, and had a friend take me to the Lincolnshire Poacher for a Castle Rock Wild Angelica.  In York, my soon to be former boss and I enjoyed a lunch at the Lamb & Lion (http://www.lambandlionyork.com/) looking at the York walls and enjoying a cask sampler.  In the US, kudos goes to Mahar’s 2 in Castleton for providing that same atmosphere.  Great beer, kid friendly and a dog to keep you company, Jim also makes a killer liverwurst sandwich while Jacob and I wait for the Amtrak train to go by.

"A quart of ale is a dish for a king." - William Shakespeare