It's been a lively old week for I've not one but two outings to bring you news of. Firstly came a slice of Hub Marketing action on Chairman D9's Bradley doorstep, followed by a visit to the Great British Beer Festival (Winter) being held at Burton Town Hall...
- The White Hart -
Try as we might, Mr D9 and I haven't been able to arrange a full-scale Hub adventure thus far in 2023 so a Black Country evening exception is designed to keep the minutes book ticking over. A couple of hours after work is all we need to set the world to rights, hence we convene at Loxdale tram stop for a brief blast around Bradley (effectively an offshoot of Bilston). Pint one arrives courtesy of the White Hart, a Salop Street stopping point with the flattest of flat roofs imaginable. Black Country Ales had this for a few years but don't own it anymore, meaning we make do with Carling when watching teatime quizzes such as Tipping Point.
- Bradley Baldness -
Impressed by the Chairman's knowledge of obscure table tennis trophies, we proceed to the Triangle on the corner of Bank Street and Highfields Road. Previously the Bradley Snooker Club, this is now a Desi-style Bar & Grill although it does retain a green baized table or two. More Carling is the order of the day here, noting a curious bubble wall of a water feature (not exactly a fishtank) and watching belated highlights of New Zealand v England cricket action. By half past five the light is rapidly fading but a certain bald spot shines bright like a beacon when Mr D9 gets distracted by the Sarad General Stores vintage shopfront.
- Banks's Amber in the Great Western -
Venturing via Ash Street into Daisy Bank, we're disappointed to hear that the local community centre building is being earmarked for demolition. This facility began life as a Sedgley Board Schools establishment and also housed a branch library for many years, although it has been empty for a long time and is now beyond repair. On the pub front, the Golden Lion and the Great Western could both be classed as no-nonsense traditional boozers; the former is busy hosting a wake whereas the latter is gearing up for the Barcelona v Manchester United match. A pint of Amber by the Great Western's dartboard certainly hits the spot before we exchange Hughie Green and Frank Carson silly songs en route to the Old Bush, our ultimate landing location for a Carling conclusion. Not a bad little crawl and a nice way to catch up again.
- The Mighty Wurlitzer Awaits -
As for the delights of Burton and its national celebration of wintertime ales, His Majesty Nick will be my esteemed accomplice over in East Staffordshire. Friday 17th February is decreed as the date in question so we catch the 10:12 Nottingham-bound train over from Birmingham and hope that we'll be allowed into the festival without having booked in advance. Thankfully our early attendance does the trick and we're soon among the happy throng revelling in the Victorian Gothic magnificence of Burton Town Hall. Pride of place on the star-spangled stage goes to a Wurlitzer organ which Martin Atterbury will be playing at various intervals.
- Spoiled for choice! -
And so to the beers themselves whereby Colchester's 'Brazilian Coffee and Vanilla Porter' is a suitably luxurious appetiser. The initial A-Z range of ales are showcased in the main hall with a further selection of Champion Beer of Britain contenders in the Lingen Room to the rear. Nick becomes besotted by the brine in sampling Mumbles 'Oystermouth Stout' and Atlantic's 'Sea Salt Stout', enjoying the saline tang both times, whereas I account for the 3 Blind Mice 'Milk Worm' and a Durham 'Dark Angel'. We're usually drawn towards the darker ales anyway so we're absolutely in our element with so many stouts and porters to pick from. A perch on the upper balcony is ideal for architectural admiration and taking in the organ acoustics once the Wurlitzer is unleashed upon such classic tunes as Spanish Eyes, Get Me To The Church On Time and Don't Bring Lulu.
- Brews of the World -
Our £8s-worth of tokens steadily gets spent as I make sure I've enough money leftover for Tollgate's 'Ra Ra Rasputin', an 8.5% supercharged stout that could have me discoing all the way back to Wolverhampton if I'm not careful. Nick is more restrained by comparison - ending on Titanic's ever-lovely 'Chocolate and Vanilla Stout' - then as Mr Atterbury dabbles with the Dambusters March, we take our leave to see what wider Burton has to offer. The Coopers Tavern is always a firm favourite, dispensing Bass from the barrel and otherwise being a Joules timewarp of a hostelry, while Brews of the World is altogether more modern but similarly excellent. Fixed Wheel's Start Gun Stout rewards our endeavours here as we position ourselves in the far corner for soft teal seating and chunky candles.
- Nick comes over all Constitutional -
Having toured Burton on a few previous occasions we're keen to mop up any establishments that may have eluded us and a crucial omission until this point had been the Old(e) Royal Oak on the town's Market Place. Not only is this now an outlet for Fownes' Dwarfen Ales (brewed in Brierley Hill) but it just so happens to be the local CAMRA branch's 2022 Pub of the Year; that's all the excuse we need to partake of the rather powerful Korvak's Executioner, a 6% sledgehammer of a Bourbon Stout so we wisely stick to merely having a half. Although we have a plan in mind, we are receptive to a surprise or two along the way - cue the Burton Constitutional Club on High Street with its links to the great and good from brewing history. High ceilings and roll calls of bowls champions make for a remarkable sense of refinement, little wonder then that our royal correspondent feels so much at home!
- Tower Time -
I should place on record that the Cons Club do a fine drop of Draught Bass having been serving it continuously since 1911 (that's the year the club was founded). The Tower Brewery meanwhile can't trace its history back quite that far - only to 2001 in fact - but it more than merits a wander along the Wetmore Road. Based in an old water tower at Walsitch Maltings, their tap opens every Friday evening from 4pm to midnight and is a treasure trove of beguiling breweriana. A closing half of Tower Bitter brings the curtain down amidst conversation about chainsaw-wielding Beardsmores and King Charles III's Coronation preparations, and the 18:52 train ably gets us homeward. Bravo Burton, bravo Bradley - cheers!
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