Barley Twist, Nottingham

One narrow room with bar to rear left. Fridge to right. One weak real ale pump, rest craft. As per normal - way too cold. Could be better.

Pretty much agree with everything Will has stated although my judging criterier is slightly more leeniant than others if a well kept cask ale can be found. this is a Micro style pub/shop conversion but without the beer. about 8 craft keg beers that do not interest me in the slightest to choose from and a solitary hand pump selling a rotating Castle rock beer (Elsie mo £3.50 and more than any of their other pubs at that price). The interior is a little dark with hard fixtures so not the comfiest place to sit. Will appeal to more of a younger crowd/women but really doesn’t do it for me. Usual hard wood floor/exposed brick fixtures like all these modern places. With the Vat and fiddle (Castle Rock’s tap) and Beerheads closer to the station it’s not going to win over commuting beer lovers. The Elsie Mo was kept in good condition as it should be but i feel they have missed a trick not focusing on their speciality in cask beer and making this more along the liens of a traditional micro pub. I understand that new things need to be tried but feel this has slightly missed the mark. Can’t really see myself in here again with the nearby and better competition competing for my pre/post train cash.

A keg bar with a token hand pump, which would normally get a scathing review from real ale lovers on this site. And I am not minded to make an exception in this case. I wouldn't normally even go into a city centre bar on Saturday evening when there's a bouncer on the door (though this one was very friendly); the fact that it's a Castle Rock outlet allowed me to make an exception. Having been criticised for not being open-minded enough about modern craft keg, I eschewed the hand pump on this occasion and went for the Tiny Rebel AK-47 "craft keg". As well as being cold and fizzy, however, this beer also proved to be disappointingly bland; or perhaps that should read "because of being cold and fizzy". This is keg beer, after all, and I suppose I was only disappointed because I had allowed my expectations to be unreasonably raised by the blurb about superior ingredients and the hipster hype about vibrant new flavours. I can't think of any reason why I would make a return visit.