The day's beer highlights would be The Beacon Hotel, Sedgley (Sarah Hughes), The Britannia Inn, Upper Gornal (Batham's) and the
Dudley Winter Ales Fayre.
On Thursday 28 November, after breakfast at the Talbot Hotel, Stourbridge, our first bus of the day took us north towards Wordsley. Our famous five (Mark, Bod, Graham, Trevor and Tim) alighted just after the bus crossed the Stourbridge Canal via
Glasshouse Bridge. We recrossed the arching bridge on foot and crossed the road to visit the
Red House Glass Cone and
Stourbridge Crystal Glass Centre.
Dudley Council now manage the Red House Glass Cone as a free tourist attaction.
Inside, remnants of the once thriving glass industry include the Lehr (annealing oven) where glass items could gradually cool as trays were slowly moved away from the hottest area. It is the only remaining example in the world.
Travelling by bus to The Beacon Hotel involved changes in Dudley and Sedgley (near the Clifton).
The Clifton originally opened as a cinema in 1937 and became a Wetherspoon pub in 1998.
The Beacon Hotel, Sedgley
We arrived later than planned, more than an hour after the noon opening time.
On arrival at
The Beacon Hotel, with 'Doc' Robert having joined en route, I took a photo of Mark taking a photo at the front entrance of the traditional Victorian Public House!
Inside we found the remaining 'Farnham Trubbelers' installed in a far corner of the large back room and they had saved some space for us.
My first beer here was Sarah Hughes Pale Amber which was pleasantly sweet. (£1.40 1/2 pint).
 |
| View from counter for back room [Photo: Mark Geeson] |
The small central bar has three small counters including one to serve the back room.
There are two chimney breasts where coal fires were burning with a minimal Christmas tree decoration on each mantelpiece, in the back room.
This is a large building with a new conservatory at the side overlooking a lawn and the car park.
Passing through the conservatory leads to a broad hall with the entrance to the Sarah Hughes brewery and decorated with framed CAMRA award certificates..
The toilets are found on the other side of the hall.
Lunchtime closing is 2.30pm from Monday to Thursday at the Beacon Hotel but there was still time for me to enjoy a half pint of
Sarah Hughes Surprise (£1.45) served with a creamy head and reminiscent of a Belgian Tripel. This went nicely with a pork pie.
Our group enjoyed a conversation with John (75) a local regular customer who told us 'You're in the Black Country, everything's brilliant!'.
Of course, no visit to the Beacon Hotel would be complete without a dimpled glass of the glorious Sarah Hughes Dark Ruby Mild (£3 pint)!
The Britannia, Upper Gornal, Sedgley
It was still raining outside so we caught buses to reach our next destination - Batham's
The Britannia Inn.
Inside the pub, after ordering our beers at the main front bar, we chose the back room, on the left side, to sit in.
CAMRA's Historic Pub Interiors describes this room as having the, now rare, arrangement of a servery without a counter.
I enjoyed my pint of pale
Batham's Best Bitter with a cheese and onion cob (roll) for £4.55.
There is a patio garden area behind the pub, better suited to summer weather! Another idea for a fine day is to follow
Mappiman's four mile circular walk from the pub to gain far-reaching views and a chance to sample
Holden's beer at the Chapel House (
Miners Arms) in Lower Gornal.
Before leaving there was an opportunity to take a photo of the carpeted room at the front which is situated to the right of the main entrance.
The bull's head tiles that feature in Batham's pubs were spotted in the passage leading to the toilets at the back.
Dudley Winter Ales Fayre
Mark Geeson and Tony Lea needed to arrive at Dudley Town Hall by 5pm, as CAMRA volunteers, to help prepare for the opening of the
Dudley Winter Ales Fayre at 5.30pm.
After the bus ride back to Dudley, some of us walked to
The Full Moon, a Wetherspoon pub for water, coffee or beer according to individual tastes and appetites.
 |
| Tim with festival glass - early doors - Cheers! |
We returned to Dudley Town Hall for admission to the festival soon after opening time.
The admission package included a programme, a half pint glass (refundable) and a sheet with tokens to pay for beer and cider. Thursday was 'quiet night' but there would be live music on other nights.
 |
| Gerald Daniels (Crookham Travel) at top left with 'Farnham Trubbelers' at Dudley Winter Ales Fayre |
As relatively early arrivals we were able to join a friendly table that included several locals. Philip Wildsmith (on right of photo) has been involved with
Yapton Beerex, a CAMRA beer festival held at Yapton and Ford Village Hall in West Sussex. Visitors arrive from several different countries to attend this festival and I hope to visit the 31st edition in 2020 (15-17 May).
Most of the cask beers I sampled were 1/3 pint measures priced at £1.10 or £1.20. My favourites, as recorded on Untappd, were:
North Riding US IPA V32 (ABV 5.5%) a hoppy beer brewed with Citra and Loral hops and
Kinver Quindecim (ABV 4.5%) with honey sweetness, brewed to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the brewery.
I also enjoyed a third of
Green Duck Wheach, a peach flavoured wheat beer, from the Key Keg bar, priced at £1.60.
The Little Devils food menu for the festival included local favourites: Samosas (£1.20); Gray Paes and Bacon (£2.50) and Bread Pudding (80p).
After spending £10 worth of tokens and sampling a variety of mainly pale beers, it was time for me to leave at 10pm and catch a bus back to Stourbridge.
Now a routine, I ducked into the Duke William, my favourite Stourbridge pub, for a nightcap after the bus journey. A half pint of
Craddock's Troll, pale and fruity, would be my final Black Country beer on this visit.
