By George, a jolly Good Fellow!

AT the top of Canning Circus, in the old Natwest banking hall, is The Good Fellow George. A new pub, opened only in July, it adds itself into the established and growing pub scene in that part of Nottingham city centre.

Inside the Good Fellow is a spacious room with booths against the windows, low tables and seating at the bar. What is really striking is the innumerable plants, in pots and hanging from the ceiling. It creates a distinctive feel, a mixture of traditional and modern. Pint in hand, I sat upstairs, a smaller room furnished with wingback leather chairs and big Chesterfield sofas. From here you can see into the pub below and take in all of the beautiful décor and greenery.

With six cask lines, The Good Fellow George wants the focus to be on quality and not quantity. Of the three permanent cask lines, one is Nottingham’s own Lenton Lane Brewery Pale Moonlight, a 3.7% session IPA. It’s a sessionable beer at its finest, crisp and refreshing. The other three cask lines are guest beers with the three upon my visit also by Lenton Lane, nicely showcasing this local brewery. For the Good Fellows Cider range, Cornwall Cider makers Healys are permanently on the three cider lines, their Cornish Rattler, Pineapple and a strawberry and lime-flavoured cider.

The Good Fellow has a selection of up to eight craft beers on keg, and with no permanent beer you can always find a new beer to try. They like to keep the beer interesting and also have “Tap Takeovers” of a particular brewery, showcasing the different beers and styles they have to offer. They recently had a takeover of York Brewery, Brew York, a brewery known for its punning beer names which likes to push the boundaries of adjunct ingredients into their beer. I have had many of their beers, so I knew I would find something I liked. I opted for Release The Cranachan, a 9% imperial stout based on the well-known Scottish dessert. Fullbodied tart raspberries and a slight whisky warmth makes this beer a fine take on the dessert.

Canning Circus has some amazing pubs a stone’s throw away from each other.

With the new owners of The Good Fellow George, Adam and James, previously working in two of them, there could have been none better to open a new pub adding to the drinking community and with their regulars there to help them with every pint they buy.