Chesterfield Alehouse, Chesterfield

A micro-pub, and Chesterfield's first such, so a visit was called for. I'm glad I did because there was a fantastic selection of local ales available. This is a pretty basic shop conversion, and the initial impression is that it's pretty much still a shop, albeit one where the customers' goods are presented in glasses, and are to be consumed on the premises. The bar itself is up a short flight of quite steep and, given their recent installation, rather creaky steps. (There's a wheelchair-access toilet just to the left before you reach them.) A double bank of three hand pumps then greets the eye, and on my visit there were two from Kelham Island, one each from Brampton (just down the road), Bradfield, Ashover and a wheat beer from Fox, a pub brewery in Norfolk. So that's five out of six local ales (Derbyshire and South Yorkshire). Beers are also listed on a blackboard before reaching the upper level, with notes about beer style and the haziness or otherwise of the wheat beer. I had the Ashover Coffin Lane Stout and the Fox Grizzly Bear - both started off a little too cold (it was a cold day), but improved with being left for a few minutes. Furniture consists of basic tables, benches and chairs in the front part of the shop, but there's also another room upstairs which is more comfortably furnished, the only downside being that it requires climbing a steep and narrow staircase (which also leads to the toilets for those not using wheelchairs). The barman was friendly and was happy to talk knowledgeably and enthusiastically about the beers, and, a big plus for me, there was no music. On the down side, it's not very much like a pub, but then to be fair it had only been open two weeks at the time of my visit, so probably needs a bit of time to develop some character. If nothing else, a useful staging post between the station and the pubs on the Brampton Mile, or vice versa, so I'd be surprised if this turned out to be my one and only visit.