The Clarendon Hotel, Wolverhampton

This was an emergency addition to our list after finding that the Combermere was not open. The woman who served us here, who was very friendly and welcoming, confirmed that the previous afternoon hours at the other pub have been discontinued, with Monday to Thursday now being 5pm opening. This one was a more than adequate substitute, with the interesting interior prompting me to take a few photos. On the beer front, there were the golden versions of Hobgoblin and Wainwright, plus Banks's Bitter, so nothing terribly exciting, but all the beers we sampled were in line with about a 3.5 average on the NBSS scale, as was the case with most pubs on the day. The Banks's was poured with a tight head and was a degree or two colder than at the Stile, where it was served in an oversized glass with a big, frothy head.

The Clarendon Hotel is located next to the Bank’s Brewery which Carlsberg Marston's Brewing Company (carnts) have just earmarked for closure in Autumn 2025 after 150 years of brewing. What a surprise! The interior of the pub has split-level seating areas and a counter up the right that supports standard keg alongside San Miguel, Estrella and Brooklyn Pilsner. There are also three hand pumps, Bank’s Sunbeam was off (ffs) which left their Amber alongside Wainwright. For some reason the barman was dressed as a bouncer, or the bouncer was serving. The pub was pretty empty and it’s away from town so I’m not sure why a bouncer was needed. Maybe he wasn’t a bouncer at all, just a very smart meaty little chap. There’s a pool table and a carpeted snug and some long low tables and sunken seating, worth having a nose around.