Queens Head Inn, Stourbridge

I had vaguely noticed that Black Country Ales had opened a pub in Stourbridge but hadn't realised that it was only a short distance from the Batham's Royal Exchange. It made it an obvious target when I came here for the annual Batham's XXX chase. I got here around midday and it opened just as I finished taking pictures. The friendly landlady told me that it was formerly known as the Queensbury. It's been well refurbished by the new owners and consists of an L shaped room with a wooden floor to the right and carpeted to the left. There is a dart board and TV (silent) to the right. The twelve hand pumps had a couple of ciders, the three regular BCA ales and seven from just about anywhere. I went for Clouded Minds Luppol (£3.20), Intrepid Odin (£3.60) and Bluestone Hammerstone IPA (£3.30) all of which were first class. I liked this one a lot and would definitely return. It gets a strong 9.

Recently acquired and refurbished by Black Country Ales, the interior now seems very welcoming. Layout not changed from the previous descriptions, you are faced with twelve handpulls as you walk in, with a screen above the till showing what's on each pull along with a brief description, strength and price. Only a few in when I visited, had a pint of Fireside which tasted nice, if a bit flat towards the end. Worth a visit if you're in the area.

An interesting, detached pub consisting of two buildings sitting slightly awkwardly next to each other. Formerly the Queensberry, the pub has a small beer patio to the side. The buildings are in white painted brick - the larger of the buildings is a cottage style pub; having a central entrance flanked by two bay windows, but also has a small Dutch gable on top. The smaller building is at a slight angle and protrudes showing they were never intended to be one property. The interior has what is now a single room running through both buildings. The decor is cream and wood panel, with a wood floor and white ceiling - the place looks tidy. The smaller building has the games area, which has a pool table, dart board, a TV (which had the footy on) and the jukebox (playing varied music at a decent level). The main building is simply the bar room, with the serving bar facing you on entry. Several mirrors (Burton Ale) decorate the walls, but there are no real pictures. The service was fine and the clientele seemed to be locals. It was quite busy, we struggled for standing room. Beer; usual tap stuff with both Banks's MILD and M&B MILD. There are three handpulls, one wasn't used, the others had Joules Slumbering Monk and Pale Ale on - but in fact, they weren't on - the Blonde was on instead, which was decent. A decent enough little place, with different real ale to other places and pub games. I would visit again and enjoyed the stop off.