Pub Awards
Each quarter, the branch awards a Pub of the Season in both Urban and Rural categories. The eight Pub of the Season winners then make up the shortlist for the branch Pub of the Year, which is judged in the new year.
The rules of both competitions can be found here.
Previous Winners
2024
Spring 2025 Urban PotS - Scruffy Dog, Sutton-in-Ashfield
Not so shabby for the Scruffy Dog in Sutton-in-Ashfield, as they win the Urban Pub of the Season...
You can be sure of a warm welcome from Jono and Lindsay in this branch brewpub, serving a minimum of four cask ales from the in-house brewery of the same name, while Lindsay’s other half, Stuart, is the man behind the ales.
The brewery, which opened in 2017, can be viewed through a window in the bar area, which also features a large display of motorbike racing memorabilia and signed photos - a passion of the couple. In warmer months, there’s a large beer garden to sit and enjoy a pint, some of which is covered by a canopy.
The cask choices rotate from the many brews that come out of the brewery. All dog-themed, you might see ‘Sit. Stay’ - a premium pale, or ‘Dog Tired’ - a pale with New Zealand hops. ‘BDM’ is a cracking dry stout, while two iterations of ‘Dogtor Evil’s Milk Stout’, at the sweeter end of the scale, have been wonderful when available. A recent addition to the bar is ‘Mango Milkshake IPA’, which started life at 9.6% but has been reigned in to 5.9% and tasted great on the warm, sunny afternoon of our social and presentation. The pub has been a Good Beer Guide mainstay since 2017, so you can be sure of a decent pint.
Some of Stuart’s beer makes it into keg form too, including a house lager, amusingly named ‘Paw Etty’ (Poretti), and it’s very good indeed. There’s some malt backbone, setting it aside from the bland mainstream lager offerings, but it remains light and refreshing.
Ale isn’t the only thing made in-house, as the pub serves pizza fresh from the kitchen, which can be ordered to eat in or take away. 10 different toppings are available, so there should be something to suit all tastes.
The pub is a 15-minute walk from Sutton town centre, or TrentBarton operates three buses that stop outside the pub - the 3C, 33, and 90 - making it easy to access from both inside and various locations outside the branch.
So, if you feel like it’s ‘Ground Dog Day’, why not have a ‘Pooch Mooch’ over, ‘Sit. Stay’ for a while, and before you’re ‘Doggone’, you might say ‘Oh My Dog’ and ‘Puppy Love’ the place... I’ll get my coat!
Spring 2025 Rural PotS - Dixies Arms, Bagthorpe
Unlike the piece on our Urban winners, I won’t ‘pun-ish’ you whilst writing about Dixies Arms at Lower Bagthorpe; the deserving winners of our Rural Pub of the Season award...
The two main rooms inside, run by Ian and Laura, this cosy village pub goes above and beyond to cater to locals and visitors alike, with live music every Saturday and a weekly quiz every Sunday, plus monthly events including open mic nights, an acoustic folk club, a classic car night and a motorcycle night.
Inside, two main rooms are divided by the entrance corridor, which leads to the bar, with a further small seating area to the right of the bar. There are three handpulls, usually with a mix of local and national cask ales, alongside draught beers and cider. There’s a terrace seating area with tables and umbrellas in front of the pub, and a car park to the side.
I took the 33 bus from Sutton, getting off by Underwood Institute (Stop D), then cut alongside the Ginger Giraffe pub and along Church Lane, passing the Red Lion, to emerge opposite Dixies. That was a deliberate tactic on a very warm day - downhill all the way - and I was ready for a pint after the walk, opting initially for ‘Crackendale’ 5.2% single-hopped (Citra) pale ale from Thornbridge, which I have to say really hit the spot.
I’d arranged to present the award during their annual ‘Bagfest’ Folk, Americana and Country Music festival, which includes a beer and cider festival with on-site food vendors too, and the pub was already busy with a queue stretching outside from the bar when I arrived at around 2.15 pm, but I was able to get a seat with some branch members who had already secured a table.
For Bagfest, an extra room in the pub was opened up, from which a further 8 ales and an assortment of ciders were served, direct from casks and boxes respectively, so there was plenty of choice - but it was cash only as there was no till in the room.
Also, the car park was given over to food vendors and the performance area, and I hadn’t realised I’d be presenting the award between acts and speaking on the microphone, but I think that went well enough, and receipt of the award was greeted by cheers and applause from the watching crowd. Definitely a great event - and I’m already looking forward to next year, hoping the weather is as kind again.