Duke William, Stoke-On-Trent

This one is under the same ownership as the Post Office Vaults down the road but couldn't be more different. As noted below it's a genuine two roomed old pub. I plumped for the public bar which is where the beer is. They seemed to be doing a fair trade in food even in the public bar. The eight hand pumps had Bass, Oakham Citra, Sarah Hughes Ruby Mild, Bad Co Dazed and Confused, B & T Golden Fox, Mouldy Corpse Offiler's Derby Best, Fyne Orange Apeel and Tollgate Ashby Pale. I had time for a couple here as the Bulls Head a few doors down wasn't due to open until 15:00 and went for the Dazed and Confused (£3.20) & Sarah Hughes (£3.50) both of which were excellent. I really liked this place and it gets a well deserved 9.

In a pub rarity - an imposing building with an impressive Brewer’s Tudor façade which actually follows-through with a beautiful two room interior with lots of dark varnish wood, lovely leaded and stained glass windows, an amazing bar back with inlaid clock, heated foot rail, bell pushes in the lounge, serving hatch etc. Eight ales on (and they are all in the public bar, so go here first!) with an impressive selection – we plumped for Sarah Hughes and Heartless Chocolate Stout and were rewarded with two first-class pints. Noted that three thirds and a bowl of snacks can be purchased for £3.20 – now that’s value. This one was the best surprise of a long day’s drinking and matched the Bull down the road almost blow-for-blow in the quality stakes. One not to be missed.

Occupying one of Burslem’s most prominent buildings, this large Brewer’s Tudor style pub is a well kept, traditional two bar venue with a fine ale policy. You enter via a small flight of steps into an entrance lobby with some great glasswork and a choice of doors. The right hand door leads through to the public bar with a wonderful curved servery and similarly shaped front wall. The servery has a sturdy dark wood counter with period detail and a heated foot rail as well as a grand bar back with a fine clock as a centrepiece. Button backed banquettes run along the front and right hand walls under some impressive leaded windows with stained glass inserts. A fireplace is positioned in the angle of the front right corner with a TV screen above showing a muted TV drama which only the barmaid seemed remotely interested in. Taking the other door from the lobby, you enter a lounge which appears to comprise a genuine former lounge area to the left and a partly opened out former corridor with servery access to the right. The room has plenty of plush seating in the carpeted space to the left and some high dark wood panels topped with a collection of old plates give it a very impressive appearance. There is a tiled fireplace to the front and another hidden by a decorative screen to the rear. One wall at the back of the room had been decorated with some rather off-putting modern floral wallpaper, but this didn’t really detract from the traditional feel of the pub. A corridor behind the bar leads out to a rather cramped rear smoker’s area and music was playing throughout my stay although it sounded a little muffled under the general noise of a decent Saturday evening crowd. The handpulls are all found in the public bar, so it’s worth popping in here first to see what’s on. Options on this visit comprised Bass, Sarah Hughes Dark Ruby Mild, Oakham Inferno, Doc Morton’s Mandarin Claw of Death, Bournemouth Wessex Wobble and Jennings Pigs Might Fly. This was the first time I’d encountered a Sarah Hughes beer outside the Beacon Hotel, so I decided to try a half, which was as wonderful as I’d remembered it. This pub can be easy to overlook when discussing Burslem’s top alehouses, but to my mind it has a winning combination of well kept traditional building, good quality beer and warm comfortable surroundings, marking it out as a worthy destination in its own right. During my visit, I spotted several people I had seen in other local pubs earlier in the evening, suggesting the locals are happy to include this place on their Saturday evening crawls and I would suggest this is the equal of any pub I tried in the area.