The Horse & Jockey, Bilston

Very busy local which is well described below. At least 4 ales on when I called although I didn't note which ones! I do know I had Oakham Bishops Farewell and it was very good! Happy to have called in.

Quite a large and popular pub unusually located just below a suburban road. For an early Tuesday evening, the pub was much busier than I had anticipated. The car park was full and whilst the front bar was reasonably quiet, the large rear lounge was packed. There are 4 handpulls in each room with at least one beer duplicated but some were unclipped. Both cask and keg beers were also listed on one wall in the bar, along with those coming next. Regular beers are Hobson's Town Crier & Twisted Spire & St Austell Tribute. Guests were Castle Rock Elsie Mo & Brian Clough & Salopian Lost Horizon, whilst there was also a cider - Lilley's Apples & Pears. Craft beers were Salopian Auric & Hobson's Citra Mosaic. I ordered halves of both the Brian Clough and the Lost Horizon. Both were pale ales and had a similar appearance. I have to admit that I lost sight of which was which. One was very nice but the other was clearly the end of the barrel. Seeing the young barmaid having to turn the clips round to see which ones I was ordering didn't initially fill me with confidence and had I remembered which beer was which, I would have returned the one half. But it's difficult to argue your case when you can't identify which beer was off! Various rolls were available on the bar. I indulged in a cheese & onion one which was a fair size and was a good substitute for a sit down meal. Proper meals are available here also. I chose to sit in the bar which soon filled up and also had all tables taken by the time I departed. Kids are welcome and so are dogs. This is a decent local pub with plenty going for it. I perhaps hit a bit unlucky with my one beer choice but otherwise I was fairly impressed.

Middle class estate pub, set back and down from the road. A modern and comfortable two roomer with a (rammed) bar at the front and larger dining at the rear. The ales are spread out amongst the two bars so we meandered through the lobby into the back room where we were accosted by a slightly startled teenage waitress who basically squeaked “you can’t be in here!!” because of the diners. This put my companions in a grump and they slated the place for the rest of the holiday but to be fair she was just a kid; however it does give you a sense of the place’s priorities when things are busy. Put in our rightful place in the front bar we ascertained that there were seven cask on (via a blackboard), Hobsons and Three Tuns breweries made for four of these. I plumped for two of the Three Tuns beers - XXX (NBSS 3.5) and the Stout (4). The jumbo cobs were snaffled – not the best of the trip, but up there. I liked the place, though with caveats.

Good, but unpretentious, freehouse (curiously set some way below the present road level) retaining two separate bars: a modest public bar at the front and a larger lounge / dining area further back. Semi-traditional furniture and decor throughout, and doing good business on a cold Wednesday evening. Five real ales from the various handpumps on the two counters, including Tribute, one each from Backyard and Salopian and a pair from Hobson's - Twisted Spire (£2.90) and Town Crier.