The Vine Inn, Rugeley

The left-hand side of the Vine looked derelict with the lights out as I passed on a recent Sunday evening. When I passed again later the governor was doing a bit of sweeping and I saw that this part of the pub is actually for brewing. Some picnic tables sit either side of the entrance and the bar area is found through to the right where the serving counter faces seating to the front. There are snuggly areas throughout and at the rear is a room with a pool table. A picture on the back bar of a women’s dart team picking up a trophy would suggest there is also a dartboard, but I couldn’t find my way in to check myself. Vine Brewery’s Best (OK at £1.65 for a half) was available on hand pump alongside some craft keg, Carling and Cruzcampo. The service was friendly and locals harmless enough, so I’d revisit if passing, or maybe if I was in town for one of the many advertised events that take place here.

Attractive side-street pub, also benefitting from its in-house micro-brewery. Partly opened-out inside to leave two main seating / dining areas, with the lounge part opposite the main section of the bar counter (and a real fire) as the largest. However, there is a also a small, plush lounge at the back and a plainer side room. With four of the five handpumps in use, I found their Blonde, Grapefruit IPA, Ruby Mild and a tasty new Simcoe / Ekuanot brew (£3.20) without a proper clip.

Busy pub with a covered courtyard area accessed from the rear of the pub. It was very busy on our Saturday afternoon visit and on arrival, we were informed that my 8-year-old could not be admitted, due to everybody being outside. This was the only pub not allowing kids of all 10 I visited in Staffordshire. As such, Mrs S took him off to the park, whilst I took a seat and waited to be served. I waited, I waited and I waited. A guy eventually came over and asked if anybody needed service. I shouted across, but instead he went to another couple of guys who had just walked in. After 10-15 minutes of waiting, I had nearly given up and was heading to the exit when I managed to grab the other lady who was serving. The Vine Inn has its own microbrewery. So, I was looking forward to trying their Vanilla Porter. My luck changed, when I was told it was on. The other real ale option was their Centennial. The Vanilla Porter itself was a touch disappointing and I'd downed it in about a third of the time I'd been waiting for it. There were simply insufficient staff for the number of people present. With the Rusty Barrel still not able to open due to the government's restrictions, I was expecting this to be the best open pub in Rugeley. But it ended up very much a disappointment.

The Vine Inn is a decent looking pub that is just round the corner from Ollys Bar. Once inside the pub has a few different rooms,we had a drink in the main bar room which is a fairly large square shaped room,the floor is tiled,the seating is narrow bench type and chairs,there is a separate room to the rear which had a pool table in it plus a room to the left which i did'nt look in. There were three real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Taylor Golden Best which went down very well,the other beers were Bass and Ruddles County. The pub was empty on our Saturday dinner visit and far too quiet with no music or TVs on.