Two more for the collection!

The nature of my photographic adventures means that occasionally I'll do a little outing that threatens to fall through the cracks in my blog. I wouldn't normally document these but July has provided a couple of memorable pub visits that I thought worthy of mention - one is firmly a traditional village local, the other is an example of the new breed of micropub...

- Darting in for a Plough picture -

First off is the Plough at Shenstone, a small village near Kidderminster that I visited with Stephen a few Fridays back. For a long while this was my final Bathams frontier, the only one of their tied estate that I'd never been to - that was until they opened the King Arthur in Hagley which now takes over the 'still to be done' mantle. Anyway, the Plough required a little bit of finding, tucked away down a narrow lane off the A450 Worcester Road. The location made us wonder how much passing trade they'd get here but the place was bustling which was good to see for somewhere slightly off the beaten track. 

Bathams are one of my favourite breweries and their pubs tend to be no nonsense old-fashioned boozers, purveying Best Bitter and Mild (plus XXX around Christmastime). The Plough certainly fits that template and has an inviting layout of a long combined bar and lounge with a dartboard at one end. It's a place of simple pleasures: cracking beer (the Bitter was excellent), quality snacks (cobs and pork pie to savour) and good conversation, whereby Stephen and I got chatting cricket to a couple of old boys who regaled us with memories of the Birmingham League - they were Worcester supporters but we won't hold that against them! The outdoor spaces were popular, an astroturf patch drawing in the sun-lovers, although we were happy enough sitting indoors among the paratrooper memorabilia. Well worth the pilgrimage!

- Tivi Ale -

The second discovery to tell you about is Tivi Ale in Tividale (Regent Road to be exact), a rare beast of a micropub in that it opens on Mondays - cue shock and outrage from seasoned pub bloggers! It's housed in a former convenience store just up the hill from the 126 bus route and is a very welcome addition to an area which has seen several pubs close over the years; indeed, Tividale is one of Mr D9's old stomping grounds and he laments lost locals such as the Red Lion, Barley Mow and Hangman's Tree. I'm sure there will be a Hub Marketing visit in due course but my first look at the place came in the company of Nick and Ken when we combined it with the Old Dispensary at Langley/Causeway Green, meaning we did two micros on the same Monday evening - wow!

Tivi Ale is barely a couple of months old having first opened on Saturday 9th June; I'm hesitant to judge it too much in its fledgling stages though I have to say I'm impressed so far. There were three ales on when we went - Holden's Golden Glow, Salopian Golden Thread and Kelham Island Golden Axe - of which I enjoyed a very good pint of the latter. There's only so much you can do with an old shop interior but it worked for me, the presence of some bookshelf wallpaper helping the librarians among us feel at home. Somehow or other we managed to resist the homemade cakes which did look seriously tempting, likewise the cheese salad cobs, but we did indulge in some detailed Brexit discussion and general political ponderings. Micropubs can divide opinion but I'm generally supportive of them, especially if they fill a void where other pub provision has been wiped out. I expect we'll see more such establishments springing up over the next few years, although not all will stand the test of time. I hope Tivi Ale does as it made an encouraging first impression. Cheers!