ALE-LOVERS are being promised a "beer festival in your front room" with the opening of a new city centre pub.
The Barrel Drop in Hurts Yard has opened its doors to punters looking for the perfect pint and will stock up to eleven cask ales from around the country.
It is the latest addition to Nottingham's thriving beer scene with a host of bars and pubs including the Crafty Crow in Friar Lane and Junkyard Pour House in Bridlesmith Walk opening and flourishing in recent months.
Chris Farman, who is originally from Scotland, is the owner of the pub and opened after visiting Nottingham to see friends and spotting "a gap in the market".
"It's about creating somewhere that's nice and relaxed," he said.
"It's niche - it's a beer festival in your front room. That's what we want to achieve. People can come in on their own or with friends, and chat and relax. There are no busy queues or Sky Sports blaring in the background.
"It seems to be working – the feedback has been really positive, people say it's what Nottingham has needed and it's been very positive. We've been extremely busy since it opened.
"We will always have a local ale on and the rest will be from all around the UK – we want to give people as wide a variety as possible so we'll have different styles and strengths on and people can try different breweries."
And Mr Farman is hoping to see Hurts Yard - the small alley between Long Row and Upper Parliament Street which houses the pub as well as Rob's Record Mart and Cucumaras among other shops – flourish.
He said: "We want to settle in and then start to make a bit of noise about Hurts yard – it's a unique place and it's a shame some people don't even know it's there.
"We will be running speciality weeks once a month where we have five particular beers on the top row of the bar starting with five Scottish ales for Burns Night and we will follow on from there.
"We're in the process of looking at starting a pub quiz as well - we want people to know the pub and know us as well and feel they can stop in on their own."
Mr Farman has been working in the industry since he was 18 and has spent the last ten years working for a national beer company. He said: "Real ale has always fascinated me. I didn't want to be with a big company any more so decided to set up an independent."
We have decided to go for a traditional cask bar because we are slightly larger than the normal micropub. Usually micro pubs are out of town. There are a few enthusiasts.
The pub's beers are not pulled through hand pumps. Instead, the barrels sit directly on the bar and beer is poured from a tap inserted into the barrel.
Matt Hinton owns the Brew Cavern beer shop in Flying Horse Walk and is a lover of real ale and craft beer and said the Barrel Drop is "a great little place with lots of potential".
He added: "It's a really good addition to the Nottingham beer map with a good quality selection of gravity cask beers and even some mead."
The pub – which was formerly seafood restaurant Finest of Fish – opened on December 12.
