Patten in the News - My six of the best are in pub guide
From Derby Telegraph- 23rd October 2009
Revisiting the list of eight pubs in the Derby area to be added to the 2010 Good Beer Guide, I was slightly surprised but rather pleased to note that six of them were recommended in this column within the last year.
A seventh, the Old Talbot at Hilton, I got around to writing about last week and that just leaves the Sycamore Inn at Parwich, famous as Strictly Come Dancing winner Tom Chambers' local, for me to have a look at.
The six are The Brewery Tap (Royal Standard) in Derwent Street, The House & Groom, Elms Street, Cliff Inn, Crich, Poet & Castle, Codnor, the Tiger at Turnditch and The Pattenmakers Arms at Duffield.
As pub closures continue to hit hard and developers, when they're allowed, knock down pubs they buy - The Chesterfield Arms at Hartshorne was flattened recently - it is also pleasing that four of the pubs on that list of beer guide newcomers were at one point closed with apparently little hope of being viable businesses again before determined people came along.
The renovation of The Royal Standard has been well documented and it was a shoe-in for this year's guide.
The Poet & Castle, now run by Ashover Brewery man Kim Beresford as part of Everard's Brewery's brilliant William scheme was always a likely addition too.
The Cliff and The Tiger have long been nice places to go to but it is the recent consistent quality of the beer that has tipped the balance for them. The Horse & Groom and The Pattenmakers, however, both represent brilliant and less obvious turnarounds and reflect enormous credit on their respective licensees, Adam Atkin and Claire Muldoon.
Claire's is a particularly heartwarming story. After apparently being told "all this pub means to us is a square box" by owners Enterprise Inns, she and the locals went into battle and, in July, she was able to sign an improved five-year lease.
The Pattenmakers is a brilliant, unusual community pub.
Next week, I'll have a look at another cracking, recently rescued community pub which I reckon will be a cert for the 2011 Good Beer Guide.