The ACV protected White Horse has also had it’s interim moratorium triggered by the intention of the current owners to sell the freehold of the pub. See here for the Council notice.
The ACV protected Cock Inn has had it’s interim moratorium triggered by the intention of the current owners to sell the freehold of the pub. See here for the Council notice.
Following an 8 month closure, the Church has finally re-opened under new management with a brand new look. Good to see it back (Dec 2016).
Latest from the Wheatsheaf:
Boys & Girls, it is here!
We have our own Cask Ale on pump again and it is now a permanent feature.
Our ale is everything that we wanted plus more. It is creamy, Malty and extremely easy to drink and enjoy. 4.2% abv so a great sensible beer too.
Come on in, try, fall in love!
Oh, our beer currently has no name as we will be naming it at a special event in December…!
On recently in the Black Bear (Whitchurch). Shropshire Legends ales are brewed at the Target Brewery in Roden (ex-Dickensian)
…has been bought by the same company which owns the Lion & Pheasant Hotel and the Boathouse. Looks like a similar makeover could be on the cards.
…is currently up for sale for £385,000
Some interesting news from the Wheatsheaf:
One of Whitchurch’s best kept secrets is out!
Our very own Cask Ale had had two days of cellar conditioning and is being poured now.
This is the third recipe for this gorgeous beer and if you like it, (and we think you will) it will become our Host Beer. Just £3 a pint boys and girls!
Recently sold by Punch, it will be closing in October for a major refurbishment. It will be an outlet for Nova Ales, brewed at an as yet unidentified location. (Note: Nova Brewery New India IPA has also been sampled this month in the White Hart (Ellesmere).)
Last month’s winner of the CAMRA Champion Beer of Britain, Bingham’s Vanilla Stout, has been doing the rounds of local pubs. It has been reported so far in the Three Fishes (Shrewsbury), the Black Bear (Whitchurch) and the Bailey Head (Oswestry). Bingham’s also brew four other stouts, including Doodle Stout which has also been sampled in the Three Fishes recently.
Wheatsheaf, High Street, Shrewsbury
A rare sighting of a proper guest beer at the Wheatsheaf. Timothy Taylor Golden Best was recently spotted amongst the usual Marston’s range. (Unless the Marston’s brewery empire has expanded again!)
Formerly a Coors ale, the house beer is currently a Stonehouse Brewery rebadge. No prizes for guessing which one of their range it is…
…is up for sale. After four years, the current owners have decided to move on, the pub is on the market for about £540,000
The Church, which closed in April, now has new owners and is undergoing a refurbishment before re-opening.
Closed suddenly in July after the business went into receivership. It has since been advertised To Let, and is currently Under Offer. Nearby Reeves Lounge Bar also closed at the end of July, the management team have moved onto a new venue but the future of Reeves is still uncertain.
Battlefield Brewery, Shrewsbury
The shop & bar at the Brewery will be open for business on Monday following the launch weekend (23/24 July). Initially cask ales may only be available at weekends & special occasions, but their bottle-conditioned range will always be available to drink in or take away. See the Whatpub entry for more details.
Despite only being open for 12 hours a week, the Parlour Pub which opened in Ludlow last December has already notched up it’s 100th unique beer (from 50 unique breweries). Congratulations to Jon Saxon and all concerned for reaching this milestone in only 30 weeks.
The Booksellers Arms, Ludlow
As reported by the Ludlow Ledger, permission has been granted to open another micro pub at 132 Corve Street in Ludlow. They are planning to serve three local cask ales and opening hours have been confirmed as 12-6pm Thursday – Saturday & 12-4pm Sunday. An opening date is not yet confirmed.
Branch members have been out and about delivering certificates to winners and runners up. Click here for more details.
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- Prince of Wales, Shrewsbury
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- Mytton Arms. Habberley
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- Black Lion, Oswestry
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- Black Bear, Whitchurch
Re-opened on Monday 18th July following a major refurbishment. The new management team have previous experience in places such as the Sun, Leintwardine and the Church Inn, Ludlow, so are well used to beloved and iconic local hostelries. Now a fully fledged Joule’s outlet, the 3 main brewery beers (Pale, Blonde & Slumbering Monk) will usually be on offer as well as the Joule’s seasonal ale and two guest ales. An impressive start, well worth a visit.
Red Lion, Battlefield, Shrewsbury
Has recently re-opened in it’s new guise as a Sizzling Pub & Grill. This completes the two year project by M&B to assimilate the three Orchid Inns pubs it bought in the Shrewsbury area in 2014. (The other two are the Grapes (now a Toby Carvery) and the Beaten Track (now a Harvester)).
Bye-bye Banks’s Bitter?
…. hello Banks’s Amber. Same strength, same colour, same beer? Unspoilt by marketing? You decide, look out for it in a Marston’s house near you. (already available in the Bull’s Head (Shrewsbury) & Coracle (Shrewsbury)).
Beer price deflation?
A growing number of pubs are replacing ‘happy hours’ with ‘happy days’. Local examples include the Abbey (Shrewsbury) – £2.25 on Mondays; the Beacon Hotel (Shrewsbury) – £2.50 on Mondays; the Dog & Pheasant (Shrewsbury) – £1.99 on Tuesdays, and the Charles Darwin (Shrewsbury) – £1.99 on Wednesdays. LATEST ADDITION to the clan – the Bull’s Head (Shrewsbury) – £1.99 on Wednesdays.
If you come across other examples, please let us know via the Real Ale Price Watch page or CAMRA members can submit price info when submitting beer scores via WhatPub.com
Cider & Perry in July 2016
Look out for the booklets currently being distributed to pubs for the 2016 cider trail, now in it’s 13th year (believed to be the oldest Cider trail in the country). 56 Shropshire pubs are involved (plus 7 in neighboring counties)
Cygnets Hook-a-gate
Now well on the way to completely disappearing as demolition takes its toll
https://whatpub.com/pubs/SHR/4725/cygnets-hook-a-gate
Mild in May 2016
Passports have been distributed to pubs for this years Mild in May promotion. Over 70 pubs throughout the County are involved (click on the image on the left to see the list, and also a few corrections).
The ACV protected Horse & Jockey has had it’s interim moratorium triggered by the intention of the current owners to sell the freehold of the pub. See here for the Council notice. More news as we get it.
Pub of the Year 2016
Congratulations to the Prince of Wales (Shrewsbury), once again crowned the Shrewsbury & West Shropshire CAMRA Pub of the Year for 2016.
See here for full list of results.
Church Inn, Ludlow
The Church closed on Sunday 10th April. It is expected to re-open under new ownership following a refurbishment.
New tenants took over at the beginning of March 2016. They are Beth and Will and both come from local families. They will, no doubt, fit in well with the ethos of the pub, which is Three Tuns Brewery’s first tap house. Their second is another fine Shropshire inn, the Sun in Clun.
Now in the ownership of a local business man and his wife with the intention to lease it to the local community. The place has been emptied of furniture and carpets and had an airing. The plans for the coming weeks involve an exhibition of the plans, now re-arranged for Thursday 25th Feb 2016, 7pm on. Pub refurbishment and Historic building consultants are now on board together with fire and building safety inspections being carried out. The cellar is huge and will need a complete refit. The kitchen will need enlarging. The structure of the administration of the business is yet to be decided before serious fund raising starts. This will be a long term project…………….
The Cross Keys now has a Facebook page and Twitter Feed to keep you up to date with the community project as it moves forward.
Following the meeting on 25th February, a target was set for the fund raising effort. Unfortunately by the middle of March it became clear that the amount pledged fell far short of the sum required. Thus the committee made the decision that the community could not be involved in the renovation or running of the pub. That responsibility now rests with the owners, who remain committed to renovating and opening the pub again. The outcome is most disappointing, but it is of some comfort that the vast amount of volunteer effort has prevented development of the pub and it is now owned by a local resident who has its best interests at heart
Ex Good Beer Guide pub for sale
Former pub, and for many years a GBG favourite, the Romping Cat (Bomere Heath), is currently up for sale as a private residence. For details see here.
Rowton Brewery
Beers from Rowton Brewery are now regularly available in some Shrewsbury & West Shropshire pubs. Although outside our CAMRA Branch area, the brewery is only 6 miles from Shawbury. Rowton Bitter is now the house beer at the White Bear (Whitchurch), it is also seen on a regular basis at the Olive Tree (Shrewsbury) and (alongside their own beer) at the Old Three Pigeons (Nesscliffe). Meanwhile Rowton Pure Gold is now a house beer at the Tankerville Arms (Longden). In recent months their beers have also been seen in pubs such as the Cross Foxes (Shrewsbury), the Fox & Hounds (Shawbury), and the White Hart (Ellesmere).
New Name for Old Pub in Oswestry
The Mayor of Oswestry, Councillor Peter Cherrington, is to re-open a pub bought by husband and wife team Grace Goodlad and Duncan Borrowman. The former Castle Tavern is to be renamed “The Bailey Head”.
Until recently Grace and Duncan ran a members club in London which is the current CAMRA Greater London Club of the Year and a National Club of the Year finalist, both for the second time. In total they have won eight CAMRA awards in the last three years.
Councillor Cherrington will cut the ribbon to open The Bailey Head on Tuesday, 8 March at 11am.
Old Three Pigeons Nesscliffe
The landlord has started brewing at the pub using a small 2 barrel plant. The brewery is called Ness Ales and his first brew, a 4.2% amber ale called Humphrey’s Tipple, became available in November 2015. A second beer, Hoppyton Arp!!! at 3.9%, was introduced in February 2016.
Wetherspoon’s Spring Beer Festival 2016
Will be running from 11th to 27th March. Our three local Wetherspoon venues – Montgomery’s Tower (Shrewsbury), the Shrewsbury Hotel (Shrewsbury) and the Wilfred Owen (Oswestry), will be offering a selection of the 50 ales at any one time. Look out for two local beers – Wood’s Redwood (4.2%, a new red IPA-style beer brewed especially for this festival) and Salopian Darwin’s Origin (4.3%, Bronze medal winner at the 2015 Great British Beer Festival)
Another new venue for Ludlow as commented below. A fairly basic room above the off-licence on Old Street which is principally open during shopping hours, serving a couple of beers on gravity.
A new parlour pub which opened in December 2015. Initially offering a single beer per session (usually finished by the end of the session!), beers from the likes of Big Shed, Clun, Sadler’s & Bewdley breweries have already been seen. Upcoming beers are from 4 new breweries within a 60 mile radius of Shrewsbury, all established within the last 3 years: Lion Heart (Coventry), Fixed Wheel (Blackheath), Shropshire Brewer (Longden) & Big Hand (Wrexham) (Jan 2016).
Campaign for Real Ale - Shrewsbury and West Shropshire Branch 