Hogshead, Wolverhampton

Originally built in 1885, this place traded as the Vine Hotel (see stained glass pane near the front entrance) until 1983 when it closed and was converted to office use. The imposing street corner building eventually returned to pub use in the late 1990's, forming part of the Hogshead chain, and it still trades under this name today. My visit was rather poorly timed, as I found myself descending on the pub alongside several hundred disgruntled Wolverhampton Wanderers fans, so that the place was packed to bursting, making it very difficult to get served. Thankfully the pub is well equipped for such a scenario, with plenty of vertical drinking space and an efficient bar team helping greatly. The pub has a large single room set up, bare boarded for the most part, with the bar running the length of the back wall. The servery is fairly functional with not much going for it - a TV screen acts as the centrepiece to the bar back and a large pump clip collection has spilled out across the bar back and down the right hand wall. Numerous pillars and sections of wall break up the sight lines through the room, hinting at a possible previous layout. A raised carpeted seating area under the front windows allows for some comfortable table and chair groupings, whilst a few high tables and stools fill the space in front of the bar. The room has a classic red and cream colour scheme but very little in the way of visual distraction apart from several TV screens showing Sky Sports News and a live football match. This pub sets itself apart from other Hogshead venues by virtue of an excellent beer policy which saw nine cask ales and a small selection of craft keg beers available on this visit. The handpulls were dispensing Holden's Bitter and Golden Glow, Kinver Edge (£2.90), Black Ram and Full Centurion, Springhead Drop of the Black Stuff and Robin Hood, Exmoor Stag and Robinsons Trooper, whilst the keg taps offered several interesting beers including two from Brewdog. My pint of Kinver Edge was very lively and it took a bit of skilful pouring to fill the glass, but thankfully it tasted fine. The pub's commitment to real ale was recognised by the local CAMRA branch who made it their Pub of the Year for 2013. It was hard to get a proper feel for this place when it was so crowded, but despite giving the initial impression of being a bit of a drinking barn, the atmosphere was notably different to your average city centre chain bar and I got the feeling that this place has found a good way of attracting a wide cross section of the community. The good beer alone makes this place worth checking out and it is a dead cert to include on any crawl around town.

I was surprised to find that this was an original old pub as my addled recollection is that the interior wasn't very "pubby" but rather like a shop conversion. I also completely forgot about the CAMRA discount. My handwriting was so bad by this point that I failed to note all the beers on offer. I went for the Brain's Ryecatcher which was decidedly vinegary and was changed for Titanic Stout however with the member of bar staff trying to tell me that it was like that because it's a "craft" beer. The Stout was in perfect condition. The pub seemed OK to me but it's a bit worrying the fact that one of the beers had turned to vinegar.

This large corner pub is owned by the Stonegate Pub Company. To me this pub is worth a look in, as they have a good range of nine ales on handpump. The prices they were charging were also reasonable and also you can get a Camra discount. The barman who served us was very helpful and knowledgeable about the ales he was serving. We went for the Potbelly brewery Redwing and Broughs Brewery Springfield. We too noticed the stained glass panel over the entrance.

Actually called the Hog's Head since the downfall of the chain, this has kept up its serving of a good selection of real ales. Its a real ale bar done in a modern way, a fine high ceilinged night time City Centre bar, that is a great mix of styles and a fine place for meeting and drinking. The beer is ducking slighhtly and does need a lick of paint, but not worried, it still appears to encompass the original spirit

A bit like a better 'spoons in looks and atmosphere although I guess it was part of Whitbread's Hogshead chain at one time. Tall light wood furniture in one area, more standard size on a raised area with a balustrades, plus the screens tuned to sports with the sound off is rather reminiscent. There is also plenty choice of beers with nine ale pumps plus a cider on a tenth, condition was fine as well. Its got a pool table at one end and a couple of bandits. Reasonably busy on an early afternoon I expect it will get rammed in the evenings, not a bad pub and quite central.

Official site of the Hogshead - www.hogsheadwolverhampton.co.uk