BELPER BEER CENSUS 2026
The 4th Amber Valley Belper Beer Census took place on Saturday 1st August 2026.
Members of CAMRA visited all the pubs in the Belper area to see how many different beers were available on a single day, and, of course, had a fun time along the way.
We covered five routes starting at different pubs in Belper, Milford and Holbrook with 6 to 8 pubs on each route. The routes covered are listed below.
Every group met up at The Railway in the centre of Belper to compare notes at the end.
This year 39 pubs were surveyed out of a possible 40, the Blue Bell at Farnah Green was missed. Three pubs were found to be closed – The Tavern, the Black Swan and the Talbot. 5 of the bars did not have real ale for sale.
Angels in the Market Place and the Dead Poets at Holbrook were serving seven real ales, and the Black Bull’s Head, Openwoodgate, The Hollybush at Makeney and the Railway on King Street were serving eight.
At the start of August the number of real ales on offer came from 47 breweries with 81 different real ales, during the 2025 census we found 50 breweries represented, selling a choice of 83 real ales. This was a slight drop over the year however still encouraging as the Belper area offers a wide range of both beer styles and breweries.
Routes
- Route 1 (8 pubs)
The George and Dragon, Bridge Street
Rumours Retro Bar
The Rifleman’s Arms
Dice and Barrel
The Devonshire
The Lion
The Bottle Bank
The Railway, Belper
- Route 2 (6 pubs)
Spotted Cow, Holbrook
Dead Poets, Holbrook
White Hart, Bargate
Black Bull’s Head, Openwoodgate
The Greyhound, Whitemoor
The Railway, Belper
- Route 3 (7 pubs)
The Elephant and Peacock (Strutt Arms), Derby Road, Milford
The Sunshine Club
The Hollybush
The King William
The Palfrey
The Tavern
The Railway, Belper
- Route 4 (9 pubs)
The Nag’s Head, High Pavement
Cross Keys
The Greenhouse
British Legion
Old Kings Head
Arkwrights
Crich Brewery
Tylers
The Railway, Belper
- Route 5 (9 pubs)
Thorn Tree , Chesterfield Road
Queen’s Head, Chesterfield Road
The Grapes
Belper House
Angels, Market Place
Monk Bar
Gatsbys (formerly The Vibe)
The Railway, Belper
2025 BELPER BEER CENSUS
Our branch conducted an annual survey of pubs in the Belper area on Saturday 26th July 2025.
The list of pubs surveyed is below with all routes ending at the Railway Belper, a count of beers was taken. This year 50 breweries were represented, selling a choice of 83 real ales.
The Devonshire, Bridge Street
The Rifleman’s Arms
The George and Dragon
Scran and Barrel
Rumours Retro Bar
The Talbot, Bridge Foot
The Lion
Spotted Cow, Holbrook
Dead Poets, Holbrook
White Hart, Bargate
Black Bull’s Head, Openwoodgate
The Greyhound, Whitemoor
The Elephant and Peacock (Strutt Arms), Derby Road, Milford
The Sunshine Club
The Hollybush
The King William
The Palfrey
The Tavern
Angels, Market Place
The Greenhouse
Black Swan
Cross Keys
Gatsbys (formerly The Vibe)
British Legion
Crich Brewery
The Bottle Bank
The Thorn Tree, Chesterfield Road
Queen’s Head
The Grapes
The Nag’s Head
Belper House
Monk Bar
Old Kings Head
Arkwrights
Tylers
The Railway, Belper
2024 BELPER BEER CENSUS
Our 2nd survey was carried out on Saturday 10th August, this Census took in some 38 pubs.
All pubs and bars were surveyed, even those that do not sell real ale, so we could build up a picture of what is on sale.
Groups choose one of six different routes, all routes ended at The Railway on King Street, we thank the owners for their hospitality.
2023
On Friday 24th November, Amber Valley CAMRA surveyed 31 pubs in Belper and Milford.
All pubs and bars were surveyed, even those that do not sell real ale, so we could build up a picture of what is on sale.
Groups choose one of five different routes and 23 people took part over the 5 routes.
All routes ended at The Railway on King Street, we thank the owners for their hospitality.
On this survey we found we found 64 different real ales from 43 breweries.
