For real ale lovers in Derby, the offering at city pub The Five Lamps is a sight to behold. Under the ownership of the Brown Ales Pub Company, which took over the popular watering hole four years ago, the number of tantalising tipples has dramatically expanded, and it features a range of different beer styles, produced by breweries near and far.

“It was already known as a real ale pub, but there wasn’t much choice. We’ve added in lots of craft ales, which we’re rotating all the time,” says business owner James Brown, who runs the Brown Ales Pub Company along with his brother Oliver and dad David.

“We want to make sure we’ve always got a choice of local and national beers, and all the different styles as well. We try and keep each pump a specific style, so on the craft there’ll be one line that’s just sour beers and on the cask there’ll be a line that’s just IPAs or just dark beers. Hopefully there’s a beer for everybody.”

According to James, the fact that the pub company is part of Everards’ Project William (a scheme which sees Everards partnering with smaller breweries and ‘cask ale champions’ to revive closed and previously unsustainable pubs) has been essential in helping them achieve this wide selection.

“We’ve got a great relationship with Everards, and we’re on Project William, which means we’ve got a bit of freedom to put our own stuff on as long as we buy plenty through Everards. I think we’ve got one of the best choices of beer in Derby.”

The bar certainly is an impressive sight, with 11 cask pumps and 14 keg pumps, and a beer board displaying the current line-up – with the likes of Thornbridge’s Mango Halcyon, Castle Rock’s Sweet Disposition and Oakham’s Citra making an appearance.

“A few stay as they are – Everards Tiger, Bass, and Leerie’s Tipple, which is our house beer brewed by Thornbridge Brewery just for us - but the rest swaps and changes on a regular basis,” says James, who has worked in the pub industry for more than 20 years.

“My father took on a pub in Holbrook and I went to work there. I was about 22 at the time, and it was my first experience of working in a pub. Dad bought it from Mansfield Ales and changed the name - to The Dead Poets - and dramatically changed the look of it,” recalls James.

In 2002, the pub was sold to Everards and James went on to run a wine bar and restaurant in Allestree and then the kitchen and bar at Sinfin Golf Club.

“In 2009, Everards approached my dad about running The Chesterfield Arms as part of Project William. Somebody had agreed to go in but then they pulled out at the last minute.

“They gave my dad a free rein with the refurbishment and I think because it was so successful, they’ve allowed that to happen in our subsequent pubs.”

Those subsequent pubs include The Crown at Beeston, which the family took on in 2009 and The Final Whistle at Southwell, which they took over in 2011.

“I ran a brewery as well for a short while and we had The Sir John Borlese Warren in Nottingham from about 2015 to 2017, but I think we grew a bit too quickly – all of a sudden, I’d got four pubs, two young kids and a brewery – it was a bit much!” says James.

“We decided to shrink down for a while, so we relinquished The Chesterfield Arms and The Sir John Borlese Warren, but we kept The Final Whistle and The Crown.

“Now my kids are a bit older and we’re ready to expand again, so we’re buying our first freehold at the moment, in Belper.”

Thinking back to when they took on The Five Lamps in 2022, James says: “We’d told Martin at Everards that we were on the look-out for another one, and he said that the previous owners were coming out of here and asked if we would be interested.

“I’d originally shown an interest in it when they first took it over, but it was a bit too soon after we’d taken over The Crown. It was the right time when it came up again four years ago. It wasn’t just about myself and the money, it was about whether I’d got the right managers. Jess and Jon, the couple who’ve come over to run it, both worked for me at my other pubs and I knew they were capable of running a pub and wanted to give them an opportunity.”

Talking about the aesthetic changes made to The Five Lamps, James says they were aiming for a London-inspired makeover. “Me, my brother and my father try to go away once a year to different cities and towns and take ideas from different pubs. We’d got this idea to create a London city feel to the pub, so we’ve added lots of brass, new tiles and leaded glass, and aimed for a higher end finish to the place.

“We've made a lot of changes outside as well. There was basically just a wooden lean-to, so six months after we’d opened and could prove the trade was good, Everards invested in the outside and we’ve got a nice seating area now. We’re looking to expand that further down the car park to give us a bigger beer garden.”

Together with the beer garden expansion, James is planning to add an outdoor street food unit to complement the existing menu of cold pub snacks, such as pork pies and cheeseboards, which customers can currently enjoy alongside their ale.

Talking about what he enjoys about running pubs, James says: “I love people coming in and saying ‘this is the best pub’ or ‘this is the best pint’. We take a lot of pride in what we do and we want to be known as a really good real ale pub.

“That’s our passion, that’s what we enjoy, and we like to think we’re pretty good at it. When the pub’s busy, it shows we are and that’s the reward we get.”

On the subject of working with Everards, James comments: “It’s been really good. We’re lucky we’re on Project William, which gives us the freedom to do what we’re passionate about. Everards lets us get on with running the business, but we know that if we need them, they’re only a phone call away."

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