29/06/17 - The CAMRA Good Beer Guide Pubs of Wolverhampton

An impromptu visit to Wolverhampton last November, prompted me to check the bible to see where we could find pre-comedy refreshment.   I was amazed to find 14 entries.   On that occasion, there was only time for one tick, the Dog and Doublet and I vowed to come back.

With Mrs M hobnobbing it in Manchester as a VIP guest for a New Order gig, I decided to avoid a night in with the TV and see what the rest of the City had to offer.

The Great Western, Sun Street - Bathams

Long been on the bucket list and it didn't disappoint, even on a miserable, rainy Thursday.

The Great Western

Everything that I would want from a pub - plenty of room but a bustling atmosphere.  The exoticism of the natives speaking a different language.  Perfect Bathams.

If I could change just one thing?  Why are the radiators on in June?

Why not indeed?

Mappiman's Perfect Pub

Is it going to be a mistake leaving this oasis of civilisation?

The Moon under the Water, Lichfield Street, Brains SA

With Mrs M far away in the North, I was able to tick a Wetherspoons.  She will not cross the threshold and looks down on me when I do.   And how ironic to pick one named after George Orwell's description of a perfect pub.

I chose to eat here.  Mainly because I know what I am going to get.   And this was a "blueprint" JDW - horrible building, sticky tables, packed bar and young barstaff that cannot cope.  The plaintive cry of "Emma" from my stressed out server will live with me for a long time.

And she asked a packed bar "Who's Next?"

Surveillance reporting back to Mrs M that I'm about to do a JDW

And it all went wrong food wise.  I attempted to order the Surf and Turf, freely able to order bolt on extras, as I was dining alone and cash rich.  Emma must have thought there was two of us when I asked for the "steak with the scampi".

On delivery, I pretended my co-diner had gone to powder her nose and addressed the issue in the only way I could think how.

Problem solved.  Peas are poisonous.  

You do have to admire the GBG guide.  Despite this being a horror show of a pub, the beer was very, very good.   Superb condition.

And the pint came free with (2) meals.

The Posada, Lichfield Street, Hobsons

Architecture wise, this is much more like it.  A Victorian, Grade II listed building that would not look out of place next to the Cafe Royal in Edinburgh.

Gorgeous

But here's proof that you can't have everything.   The Moon had great beer.  The Moon had (too) many people.  The Moon had no music.  Here, we have the opposite - a cloudy pint of Hobsons, no other patrons and Coldplay as background music.

A shame.

And incorrect glassware!

But nice quotes.

The Lynch Gate Tavern, Queens Square, Purity Mad Goose

A chance to look at some of Wolvo's finer architecture.  This Black Country Ales house is set in a little square next to the impressive St Peters church.

A Black Country Ales Pub.  In the Black Country

Handsome inside

We have a Black Country Ales pub in our town, so I know exactly what to I will be getting.  Several real ales will be on.   Most of them will be from relatively rare breweries from anywhere in the country.  Reasonable prices.

This was no exception, although I was surprised to see a house hold name, in Purity's Mad Goose.

As can be the case with my local, it looked great, but as my mate Paul describes the beer in there - "it was a bit stinky".   A very pungent odour and bitter aftertaste that I don't normally get with Purity's brews.

It might have been Radiohead that turned it.  Nothing gets a party started quicker on a wet Thursday in Wolverhampton than Karma Police over the PA.

Hogshead, Stafford Street, Wainwright

Once again, you cannot knock the GBG.   This looks like the sort of place that should be a million miles from a book suggesting a City's best watering holes.

Think TGI Fridays, with added Americana and a more "chainy" feel.

Is this really in the Good Beer Guide?

Yes, and justifiably so.

With some trepidation, I approached the bar expecting to make a choice between San Miguel and Amstel.  A pleasant surprise was in store, with half a dozen real ales on offer, including one of my recent favourites, Wainwight.  All this under a red neon sign over the bar saying "In Hogs we Trust".

And the beer?  Perect condition.   That's why its in the book.

That's it for tonight.   All the Good Beer Guide pubs of Wolverhampton within the ring road ticked off - plus the Great Western, just outside.

Another 8 ticks in the suburbs await exploration.