About
Started in September 2001 by Philip Darby and Niven Balfour. The Nottingham Brewery is situated at the rear of the Plough Inn, Radford, Nottingham. It is a ten barrel plant that was formerly installed in a Firkin pub in Romford.
The Nottingham Brewery can be traced back to 1847, when James Long was listed as an ‘East India and Pale Ale Brewer’ on the site. James Long sold the business in 1875 and after passing through several ownerships it was purchased in 1879 by Edward Wheeler Field. Nottingham Brewery soon established itself as the city’s main brewery, serving fine ales to local citizens from its expanding estate of public houses, including The Plough Inn in Radford. After its closure by then owners Whitbread after the second world war, the name remained dormant. In 2001 it was resurrected by Philip Darby and Niven Balfour.
The Nottingham Brewery can be traced back to 1847, when James Long was listed as an ‘East India and Pale Ale Brewer’ on the site. James Long sold the business in 1875 and after passing through several ownerships it was purchased in 1879 by Edward Wheeler Field. Nottingham Brewery soon established itself as the city’s main brewery, serving fine ales to local citizens from its expanding estate of public houses, including The Plough Inn in Radford. After its closure by then owners Whitbread after the second world war, the name remained dormant. In 2001 it was resurrected by Philip Darby and Niven Balfour.
6.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7.5
Texture 7
Overall 6
Cask at Pickled Pig, Stafford. Pours golden yellow with a small scummy off-white head and good lacing. Slow to settle but does so eventually. Floral hops to the fore in the aroma, plus hints of citrus and tropical fruit. In the mouth there’s a very brief creamy sweetness before it becomes quite bitter, with hops, biscuits, grains and some citrus plus hints of underlying malt. Some spiciness comes through later, leading to a dry and slightly sticky finish. This is reasonable enough, but nothing special.
Tried
from Cask
at
Pickled Pig at the Bankhouse
on 18 Jun 2026
at 12:45
6.4/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Cask at the Abraham Darby, Brierley Hill. Pours lemon gold with a small head. Aroma is sweet with straw and tropical fruit. Taste has straw and a little tropical fruit. Light bitter finish.
Tried
from Cask
on 08 Jun 2026
at 17:52
5.9/10
—
Appearance 7
Aroma 5
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
Cask at Picture House, Stafford. Pours a pale straw with a small frothy almost white head. Not much of an aroma – just traces of floral hops and mango. In the mouth it is sweet with a little underlying bitterness. Flavour starts off with floral hops, grains and malts with tropical fruit becoming evident later on. The hops last into the fruity finish. This is reasonable – but somewhat anonymous.
Tried
from Cask
at
The Picture House (JDW)
on 18 May 2026
at 14:45
6.9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6.5
Flavor 7
Texture 7
Overall 6.5
Tried
from Cask
on 16 May 2026
at 13:23
6.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 5.5
Flavor 7.5
Texture 7
Overall 6.5
Cask at Picture House, Stafford. Pours pale straw with a small almost white head and good lacing. There’s floral hops in the aroma alongside biscuits and lemongrass. In the mouth it starts off basically sweet but quickly some sharpness becomes evident too. Flavour is mainly citrus incorporating lemon, grapefruit and floral hops. Hints of corn and mango come later too leading to a rather dry and sticky finish. This is reasonable.
Tried
from Cask
at
The Picture House (JDW)
on 20 Nov 2025
at 15:50
6.6/10
—
Appearance 7
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 7
Overall 5.5
Cask handpull at County Hotel JDW Ashford. Pale gold colour lasting white head. Citrus flavours. A little earthy flavour. Citrus finish. Moderate bitterness on the finish. Decent temperature and condition. Its fine. Sank down easily enough.
Tried
from Cask
at
County Hotel
on 15 Nov 2025
at 13:29
7/10
Tried
from Cask
on 10 Oct 2025
at 12:48
6/10
Cask at the NBF25
Tried
from Cask
on 10 Oct 2025
at 12:39
6/10
Cask at the Trent bridge inn JDW, west Bridgford. Pale golden slight citrus and lightly sweet.
Tried
from Cask
at
Trent Bridge Inn (JDW)
on 10 Oct 2025
at 10:10