Black Country Tour

Saturday 9th April 2011

We departed Hinckley Bus Station shortly after 10am, everyone was at the start well on time for our journey of  40+ miles up the M6 to the Black Country. At our second pick up point in Burbage, Geoff and Brian were also early so with a full minibus we were able to get cracking ahead of our anticipated 10.30 departure. The M6 was kind to us and we were soon onto the “Black Country Route” heading towards Sedgley before we knew it we were in the empty car park of the Beacon Hotel and Sarah Hughes Brewery, our first port of call.
We were some 50 minutes early, and the Beacon Hotel didn’t open until midday, so we decided to wander up the road to the nearby Bulls Head a Holden’s house of some local renown, and our immediate concern of being too early for the brewery tour was soon allayed as we settled into the comforts of the Bulls Head, with a warm welcome and  a good range of Holden’s beers all in excellent form.

The Beacon’s closed so Rose looks for an escape	Alan finds the alternative to get the day off to a good start	Inside the Bulls Head

It was soon 12 noon and time to head back to the Beacon Hotel and the Sarah Hughes Brewery, where we met up with Alex, who would be showing us around the brewery. The brewery is a tower style with steep wooden steps, we split into two groups and the first climbed to the top of the three storey building. The top room houses the hot liquor tank, the grist case, the under back and the “copper” all very traditional with no fancy electronic gismo’s. Down the steep steps to the second floor where we see the hop back for cooling, there is also an office desk, again not a computer in sight. Back down to the ground floor to see the final part of the process with 5 fermenting vats, what a wonderful aroma! Once the second group had taken the tour, we settled down in the pub and gardens (it was a wonderful sunny day) and found time for some sampling.
The brewery tap, the Beacon Hotel, was runner up in the national CAMRA pub of the year award 2011. It is a wonderful traditional Black Country pub with a number of interesting rooms and very welcoming locals, who were a pleasure to spend time with. The brewery’s signature ale is the award winning Sarah Hughes Dark Ruby Mild and at 6.0% was to set us up well for the rest of the day. Their other ales included Amber at 4%, Sedgley Surprise at 5%, along with a couple of guest ales. A recent addition to the Sarah Hughes stable of beers is Lord Wrottesley at 4.6%, this was brewed in support of local residents quest to raise money to restore the nearby "Beacon Tower" built as an observatory at the site of the Sedgley Beacon look-out point. We enjoyed the cobs available for lunch and then prepared for our journey two miles down the road to Holdens.

The Sarah Hughes Brewery	The Grist Case	Enjoying the sunshine	The busy bar

Our second stop was The Park Inn, Holden's Brewery Tap in Woodsetton. We arrived at 1.45pm to one of only 16 independent family brewers in the country. We drove past the brewery which is currently being revamped and will have a visitor centre and shop, when finished. They also sell an excellent selection of bottled beer at the brewery.
We went into The Park Inn, at the front of the brewery, into the large lounge / bar area with conservatory and outdoor seating. Their flagship beer Golden Glow at 4.4% was very popular as were their other beers that included, Special Bitter at 5.1 %, Black Country Mild 3.7% and Black Country Bitter at 3.9%.
As well as their own range of beers, there were additional guest ales so there was certainly plenty of choice.

The Park Inn	In the sun at the Park Inn	Hand pumps	The boys enjoying their Holdens and pork scratchings

Well it was 2.30pm and time to head off to the next venue, which was to be the Crooked House in Himley.
The Crooked House, Himley is a real fun pub, it was first built in 1765 as a farmhouse and later became a public house, however due to mining in the 1800's the building was badly affected by subsidence resulting in one side of the building being four foot lower than the other. It was rescued by Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries and now the pub has leaning floors and walls where glasses slide across tables and marbles roll up hill.
On arrival at the front driveway you feel a little wobbly as you walk up to the front door although that may have been as a result of the Ruby Mild. There are two rooms at the front both with interesting features, such as the grandfather clock in the bar on the left and the uphill rolling marble in the bar on the right. The full selection of hand pumps were in the bar on the right, including guests from the Marston stable. From here there is also access to the new extension (and not crooked) which is a restaurant area. As it was such a nice day everyone was outside so there was a good opportunity for us to have a look around the inside and for the tour organiser to sort out the final details for supper later.

The Crooked House	The Grandfather Clock	Richard escorts Dianne	David finalising supper

Time to leave for our fourth stop, which was The Vine Inn, Batham's Brewery Tap at Brierley Hill.
We found our way across Pensnett and up to the Delph, where the Bathams awaited.  Bathams have been brewers of fine ales since 1882, their Best Bitter is regarded by some as one of the finest ales in the country. This was our chance to sample their ale in the brewery tap, known locally as the “Bull and Bladder”. The brewery is a tower type brewery similar to Sarah Hughes and is on the left of the pub behind the wooden doors. Again there are a number of interesting rooms to investigate, here you know you will only find a choice of Bathams best bitter or mild, but such is their confidence in these ales, they know you don’t need any more choice.
We all seem to disperse to the different rooms, some outside, some in the front bar, and some in the lounge area. One or two of us took time out to watch the Grand National and well done to Hilary who won the minibus sweepstake. Fine ales were consumed along with the delicious pork pies, a stop gap until supper time.

The Bull and Bladder	The front Lounge	Batham’s hand pumps

And so to our fifth and final stop, the Olde Swan, known as Ma Pardoes, Pub and Micro Brewery in Netherton.
We arrived at about  5.15pm to sample Pardoes ales and have supper. The pub is known by all as Ma Pardoes and there are a number of comfortable rooms with an organ in the rear room. The front bar is a stunning example of a victorian heritage bar, listed as a heritage by CAMRA being unaltered since Victorian times, it is one the most distinct bars in the whole of the UK. The most remarkable feature being the enamel ceiling bearing a picture of the eponymous swan, there is an old stove still in use with its flue running across the room and a weighing machine. It retains the original six bay victorian bar back featuring an etched mirror of the Olde Swan. A narrow corridor links the front bar to the rest of the pub. All ales are brewed on the premises and they include Original 3.5%, Dark Swan 4.4%, Entire 4.4% and Bumble hole at 5.2 %. There aren’t any pump clips on the hand pumps, just a little blackboard behind the bar with the beers, their abv's and prices. The beers were in excellent form, with Entire proving to be very popular. After a short while we had supper, which had been pre-ordered and prepared by the chef ready for our arrival. We ate in the front lounge area and all enjoyed some excellent fayre.
After eating we were delighted to be introduced to the landlord Tim, who gave us a talk on the history of the Olde Swan and he later finished off proceedings with a rendition of Abide with Me and a couple of other tunes on the organ.
We departed about 7.45 pm. setting off for the 40-odd mile trip back to Hinckley, it was another smooth journey and we were soon starting the drop-offs.

The Olde Swan, Netherton, with the Joe Darby standing jump champion statue in the foreground	Side Bar	Weighing Machine	Tim addressing the troops

Words by David Bates
Photos by David, Chris & Alan