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A day out around Darton, Mapplewell and Barugh Green. Starting in Darton at “Nailmaker Brewing Co & Tap”, “Darton Tap” and “The Anvil Arms”, heading out to Mapplewell to “The Talbot Inn”, “The Old Bakery”, “Bottle & Co” and “Wentworth Arms”, and finishing in Barugh Green at the “Crown & Anchor”. A great day out featuring lots of independent pubs and some great beers along the way.
Nailmaker Brewing Co & Tap
A short walk from Darton Railway Station brings me to my first call of the day which is to “Nailmaker Brewing Co & Tap”. The brewery is located in an old carpet mill next to the River Dearne which can be seen from the outside beer garden. Nailmaking was one of the largest occupations in the early 19th Century including all over Barnsley including at Mapplewell, Hoyland Swaine, Staincross and Thurgoland. The brewery was started in 2017 with later additions of their own pubs, a number of which I will be visiting today.
A great welcome today from Heath and Steph today. Heath took us around the brewery setup and explained the different parts, including the coldstore, barrel aging, bottle conditioning and brewing equipment. Steph showed us around the distillery where they produce small batch Gin, Vodka and Rum all of which are available to buy in the shop at the front of the brewery as you enter.
A fantastic line up of beers on the bar with a choice of 4 cask beers, 4 keg beers and a large selection of ciders to choose from. I started with “Two Halves”, brewed for the Euros, a delicious and tasty, easy drinking pale ale. I went onto “Jester”, a refreshing pale ale packed with flavours of blackcurrant, grapefruit and lychee, brewed using Jester hops.
A great photo of the group of us who went on the day out from “House of Ales” in Pontefract. Myself, Karl, Cheryl, Matthew, Sam, Andy and Emma.
Check out the “Brew at Home” shop that is located next door if you are into home brewing. Check them out on Facebook HERE.
Darton Tap
A short walk into Darton (taking the shortcut under the Railway bridge) brings me to my next call to the “Darton Tap”. This opened at the back end of 2018 and is a very stylish modern style Micropub with a great industrial feel to the place. A seating area at the front with more seating alongside the bar towards the rear, as well as a few seats outside at the front. Great warm welcome from behind the bar today.
4 cask beers on the bar to choose from today, alongside a number of keg beers to choose from. I went with “Moonshine” from Sheffield based Abbeydale Brewery. Their flagship pale ale which has been brewed since 1996. A delicious pale ale with some great hop flavour from the 5 different hops used to brew this beer.
Anvil Arms
A short walk up the street brings me to my next call which is to the “Anvil Arms”, once named the “Old Co-Op Ale House”, opening around 2017 having been a former Co-Op building, now owned by Nailmaker Brewing Co and called the “Anvil Arms”. A great warming Micropub. Comfy seating inside with seating around the outside wall, including one of the walls which has exposed brickwork which adds to the feel of the pub. Another fantastic warm welcome from behind the bar today.
A fantastic line up of 3 cask beers from Nailmaker, alongside 1 guest cask, this being from Don Valley Brewery. A further 12 keg lines with lots more choice. I went with a keg beer from Bristol based Arbor Ales. “Mosaic” is a very heavily hopped Mosaic pale ale with some great floral and tropical fruit notes and aromas.
A short walk to catch the number 1 bus heading towards Barnsley bringing me into Mapplewell.
The Talbot Inn
My first call of 4 in Mapplewell is to “The Talbot Inn”. A beautiful 17th Century coaching inn which has exposed stonework at the front of the pub and has been beautifully renovated by the current owners, Nailmaker Brewing Co in 2021. A warm welcome from the bar staff today and some great smelling food coming out of the kitchen.
A choice of 4 cask ales on the bar today all from Nailmaker Brewing Co, alongside a number of keg choices to choose from. I went with “Wapentake” from Nailmaker Brewing Co, a beer named after the historic Yorkshire subdivision. A light citrus pale ale brewed using both Cascade and American Chinook hops. A great session beer.
The Old Bakery
A short walk brings me to “The Old Bakery”, what was Fosters Bakery has now been turned into a fantastic one roomed Micropub which opened in 2017. A busy Micropub which has a superb large beer garden to the rear which is perfect for the summer weather, with undercover tables and heaters for the colder months.
A choice of 2 cask beers on the bar today, both from Yorkshire breweries, alongside a few keg selections to choose from. I went with “Sleck Dust” from Hull based Great Newsome Brewery. A very light and easy drinking blonde ale with some great flavours coming through.
Bottle & Co
A walk over the road brings me to my next call which is to “Bottle & Co”. A fantastic bottle shop with an added taproom. Seating inside in the first room and outside at the front under a cover. Shelves throughout and a large fridge full of bottles and cans to drink in or takeaway, lots of choice in here. A fabulous warm welcome from the team working today.
6 keg lines in addition to all the cans and bottles are available to drink in. I started with “Fruity Mango & Peach Cheesecake Sour” from Play Brew Co in Middlesbrough. A summer inspired sour featuring 2 fruits with lots of great flavours coming through, alongside the sour taste. I went onto another similar beer from Edinburgh based Vault City Brewing, “Mini Mangoes”, a delicious session sour bursting with sweetness from the Mango.
The Wentworth Arms
Located over the road is “The Wentworth Arms”, sister pub to The Talbot Inn visited earlier and again owner by Nailmaker Brewing Co. A great refurbished pub which is back to being a community pub and looks amazing inside. Hosting some live music this afternoon and serving a range of delicious smelling food, very popular with how busy the pub was. A huge beer garden here with an outdoor bar. Lovely warm welcome when arrived.
A choice of 3 cask beers alongside a number of keg beers to choose from. The cask beers feature two beers from Nailmaker Brewing Co alongside a guest beer. I went with the guest beer, this being “Potential Superman” from Slaithwaite based Empire Brewing. A delicious pale ale, very easy drinking and hopped with Motueka.
Mapplewell, Darton and Barugh Green Pub Hopper
This seems the ideal opportunity to mention the great pub hopper which runs from 3pm until around 9pm on a Saturday, doing a circular around pubs (all the ones covered today plus a couple more) around Mapplewell, Darton and Barugh Green. It runs around every 30 minutes and costs £2.50 per jump/ride. I boarded the bus at “The Wentworth Arms” to “The Crown & Anchor”, then back from there into Darton. Check out their Facebook page HERE.
The Crown & Anchor
After a short ride on the Pub Hopper, my final call of the day was to “The Crown & Anchor” in Barugh Green. A fantastic village pub which was refurbished to its current standard in 2014, restoring its former layout of 3 distinct drinking areas, one of which is a large restaurant area. A huge outdoor beer garden at the rear looks great and has some nice views over the countryside. Owned by Sheffield based True North Brew Co.
A choice of 4 cask beers on the bar, one of which was from True North Brew Co, alongside a number of keg choices also. I started with “Luminosa” from True North Brew Co, a tasty hazy pale ale, packed full of flavour. I went onto “Skoosh” from Exale Brewery based in Walthamstow, a hazy and juicy session IPA, really easy drinking.
Micropub Adventures 
excellent coverage as usual
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