Leicester – Real Ale Classroom
This micro-pub was recommended to me by the helpful barman at the Two-Tailed Lion. It’s a bit of a walk out of the city centre, but such is the sacrifice that I must make to find quality.
And that blackboard oozed quality, there were seven beers on there that I wanted to try and hadn’t had before, although I limited myself to just three. I can’t see any beer that I would consider as being average or generic on there, some really decent options and most beer styles are covered as well.
We sat in the Headmaster’s Study room at the rear, with the pub having an education theme as the owners worked as secondary school teachers before deciding this pub thing seemed to be a better idea.
The pub is small as it’s a conversion from a shop (it was a computer shop and then a clothes shop), with one front room, one rear room (the study one) and until recently that was it other than for some seats outside. They’ve now though expanded into the garden at the rear to give them some more seating options. As a micro-pub, it was the first in Leicester.
This is the Somewhere Within from Cloudwater, that’s about as good as an IPA as I can imagine getting. Smooth, full of tropical fruit flavour and with a slightly orangey aftertaste. Really rather lovely, and perhaps quite decadent even.
The Too Many Steves from Shiny Brewing, a small micro-brewery in Little Eaton in Derbyshire. More tropical fruit flavours here, to the point where I wonder whether I’m being a little too healthy.
I felt the need to have a dark beer as well, and there were several options on the menu which surprised and delighted me. This is the very decent Post Impact Porter from Staggeringly Good brewery who are based in Portsmouth.
As for the service, it was friendly, engaging and conversational. The pub was spotlessly clean, it felt on-trend without trying to be and there was clear enthusiasm from the staff about the beers that were being offered.
The pub also notes on their web-site that:
“Prior to buying we also check all of our beers via Untappd; to guarantee we offer the best available beer to you, our drinkers.”
I genuinely slightly despair at pubs who don’t do this, although I understand that some pubs are tied or restricted in their options. It might prevent some of the average dross getting through and I won’t mention any brewers in particular, although I obviously include Greene King in that.
Passionate, authentic and absolutely as good as a micro-pub could realistically get, all really rather lovely. It’s also listed in the Good Beer Guide, and it would be a travesty if it wasn’t.
