TOP 100 PUBS – EIGHT JOLLY BREWERS, GAINSBOROUGH

January 2025. Gainsborough.

I needed a spot of respite from funeral planning on my day back in Sheffield and when Will suggested a trip to Gainsborough Trinity v “Robbie Savage’s” Macclesfield on an icy cold Saturday it seemed like the perfect pick-me-up.

Despite the lure of Robbie Savage’s hair,

Mrs RM sat this one out.

Her loss. Good company, a revisit to a classic pub, a view of the West Burton power stations,

and a chance to readdress the eternal question;

Is Gainsborough really England’s scruffiest town ?

The 20 minute walk from Lea station is grim, and more importantly, pub-less.

Virtually all of the town centre’s pubs are within a 10 second walk of each other; Spoons, Craft Union, Sports Bar, drinkers pub.

I would have brought you tales of Black Sheep and Tetley in the White Horse and Canute, but Will was already in the Eight Jolly Brewers.

I can tell you exactly when I last visited the 8JB, as the Kidz would call it if they weren’t all in Spoons.

16 April 2005, heading to see Cambridge United relegated from the Football League, a not-quite 5 year old James dragged along, though we had stopped at Sundown Adventure Land first.

Had it changed at all in 20 years ago ?

Nope.

Opening hours had become more unreliable, and it had just unexpectedly, dropped out of the GBG for the first time since Canute rode a White Horse to Gainsborough Hall to defeat Sweyn Forkbeard on penalties in the LDV Trophy.

I feared the worst. Instead I got magic.

Not just the cool, chewy Rudgate Ruby (NBSS 4) in a Roosters glass, but a fantastic crowd from 8 to 80 (not Will),

and a chat with a young Macclesfield fan from Stockport, who I’m sure was about to find Gainsborough a bitter disappointment compared with those two towns.

Anyway, look at those lacings.

We stopped for a second, a Full Mash High Five (NBSS 3.5) which Will said tasted like homebrew, and left for Trinity at a quarter to three to get a good view of Robbie Savage’s hair.

Unknown's avatar

Published by retiredmartin

Retired NHS, doing long walks around UK and the world to record the great bits. Focused on Good Beer Guide pubs and live music.

14 thoughts on “TOP 100 PUBS – EIGHT JOLLY BREWERS, GAINSBOROUGH”

    1. Definitely the best team I’ve seen at this level, not just this season but since I started going to NPL games in 2021.

      Gainsborough are no slouches – they lost just 1-0 to Harrogate Town in the FA Cup 3rd round, and beat York City 1-0 in the FA Trophy – but Macclesfield sliced through them at will.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  2. Top 100 pub but not in the GBG? I know whose judgment I would trust.

    The main reason I started watching the Holy Blues was because it gave me an opportunity to go to the Eight Jolly Brewers.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

      1. Possibly. But plenty of other pubs get in with minimal hours. I think his beer quality scores took a dip last year. I remember a particularly poor Rudgate Ruby Mild last winter. Recent visits have been much better. Hope he gets into the guide this autumn.

        Liked by 1 person

Leave a reply to Morten Welde Cancel reply