Nottingham has quietly become one of the best cities in the country for a pint of proper craft beer. Forget the usual fizzy lagers. This is a city of tiny micropubs down cobbled yards, taprooms pouring beer brewed a few miles away, and bottle shops with more taps than you can get through in one sitting (though you are welcome to try).

The best way to enjoy it all? A crawl. Line up a handful of these spots, put on comfortable shoes, and spend an afternoon working your way round. Here is a route worth following, and some very good reasons to do it with company.

Start central: The Barrel Drop

Kick things off at The Barrel Drop, tucked down Hurts Yard, one of the narrow old passageways that have threaded through this part of Nottingham for centuries.

The micropub itself is a modern idea, a revival of the traditional one-room alehouse with no telly and no fruit machines, just good beer and good chat. This one is done properly: cosy, quirky, dog friendly, and pouring local craft beer and real ale alongside brews from across the country.

It works in partnership with Magpie Brewery, a Nottingham brewery going since 2006, so you know the beer is being looked after by people who care. It is the sort of place where you fall into conversation with the table next to you and lose an hour without noticing.

Malt Cross

A short walk away on St James’s Street, Malt Cross is one of the last surviving Victorian music halls in the country, and easily one of the most striking rooms you will drink in.

It was built in 1877 by Charles Weldon on the site of the old Roebuck Inn, with a soaring glazed roof held up by laminated wooden arches bent into shape and bonded with glue alone, not a single visible fastener.

It saw out its music hall days, closed in 2018, and was saved and reopened by the Nottinghamshire YMCA, so it is run as a charity today.

It pours a lovely selection of cask and craft, often has live music on, and the setting alone is worth the visit. A grand, atmospheric spot for your second of the day.

Into Hockley: Six Barrel Drafthouse and The Angel

Now wander into Hockley, the city’s most characterful quarter. Six Barrel Drafthouse on Carlton Street pours an impressive draught selection heavy on local breweries, often with live music to go with it.

Round the corner on Stoney Street sits The Angel Microbrewery, and this one has history in spades. The Old Angel Inn traces its roots back to around 1600, with the current building put up as two houses in about 1676.

Beneath your feet is a set of sandstone caves laid out in a crucifix shape, once used for storing barrels and later pressed into service as an air raid shelter during the Second World War.

It spent the 1980s as a much loved rock venue before reopening as a microbrewery in 2016, and it now brews its own ales on site using organic and locally grown hops. You can taste the history and drink it too.

Kean’s Head, Lace Market

Head into the Lace Market for Kean’s Head, a small single room pub sitting opposite the beautiful St Mary’s Church, at the heart of the district that once ran the world’s lace trade.

It is named after Edmund Kean, the celebrated and famously wild nineteenth century tragic actor, and it was one of the pubs that helped lead Nottingham’s craft beer revival under the Castle Rock name.

Expect a cracking line up of cask and keg beer, over two hundred rums, gins and whiskies, and superb Indian street food if the walking has worked up an appetite. Relaxed, friendly and always dependable for a good pint.

Finish in Sneinton: Brew Cavern

Round things off with a short hop out to Sneinton and Brew Cavern, now settled among the restored Victorian avenues of Sneinton Market, an old wholesale market that has been reborn as one of the city’s best independent quarters.

With more than 250 beers, ciders and natural wines in stock and thirteen taps flowing, this is where the serious choice lives.

It celebrates the best of East Midlands brewing alongside international finds, and the intimate, welcoming setting makes it easy to linger. Ask the staff for a recommendation and let them send you off on something new. That is half the fun.

The best crawls are the social ones

Here is the honest truth about a beer crawl. The beer is only ever half of it. What you actually remember is the company: the daft conversations, the new faces, the “shall we do one more?” that turns a quiet afternoon into a proper night out.

That is exactly why our craft beer crawls at Affinity are some of our most popular events.

Back in February 2026, a group of us did exactly this, working our way through five of the city’s best spots including The Barrel Drop, Malt Cross, Kean’s Head and Six Barrel Drafthouse. Have a look at how our last craft beer crawl went for a feel of it.

We followed it up in June with a bar hop around Sneinton, taking in Bustler, Brew Cavern, The Bath Inn and had a lovely turnout of twenty one.

We take the best of Nottingham’s beer scene, plan a route so you do not have to, and fill it with warm, interesting people who are all there for the same reason.

No standing in a corner nursing a pint on your own. No awkward small talk. Just great beer, a great route, and a ready made group who are genuinely good company.

Good news if you fancy joining the next one. We have a free pub crawl coming up on Friday 30 October, our Last Friday social through Nottingham’s oldest pubs, taking in Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, The Old Salutation Inn and The Bell Inn, three of the most historic inns in the country. It is completely free, no membership needed, and newcomers and solo goers are always welcome. Stay for one drink or the whole evening.

So grab your comfy shoes, give this crawl a go, and if you would rather the route and the company were sorted for you, come and join us.

For more ideas across the year, have a look at our guide to what is worth doing in Nottingham month by month.

See what is coming up and find your next crawl at affinity-club.co.uk/events.