The King's Ditch, Tamworth

The King’s Ditch is a single room wood floored micro with padded bench seating around the walls and a small counter in the left rear corner. Lots of Hops were hanging from the ceiling and I could see my car sat in the car park opposite next to the Globe Inn where I was staying. The beers are in a back room that is surveyed on a lone TV screen on the back wall. Unfortunately I was sat under the screen so couldn’t see the back room action, which was the only thing going on as the five or so locals all sat in silence staring into space. This is why I mentioned my car, because I sat staring at it for the duration of my stay in the awkward silence. A micro without a host is little more than a room with beer, the beer in question being Shiny Brewing’s 4 Wood, Beowulf’s Zwodder, 3Ps Brewery’s Ave A Minute and Pentrich’s Vanity Haunts Me. There is also a very long list of ciders, in fact I was the only one on the ale going for a decent pint of 4 Wood. The doors are only open from 16:00 until 19:00 in the week, but are less restricted at the weekend. The service was very polite, but maybe just after opening on a Wednesday afternoon isn’t the most joyous time to visit.

A single downstairs room micro with an upstairs sitting room. The pub is famous for its ciders of which 16 were available today, it has been a CAMRA national cider pub of the year finalist and has umpteen local cider awards. However as a beer drinker I was more interested in which of the four beers I should have, two were local and two originated in the West Country. Bench seating round the walls at Britannia tables and separate chairs of uncertain origin. Ordering is at a small corner counter and the beer is drawn on gravity in the back chilled room, you can view it being drawn on a CCTV screen. It uses ex-beer festival lined glasses which is nice in view of this weeks trading standards report on short measures but has a bit of a clique of regulars. Odd place but definitely worth visiting.

If only all micropubs were like this! It's styled as a proper pub but just really small. A single room with undressed brick walls, very green dried hops, lots of brewery mirrors, light and bright and comfortable. A friendly bunch inside and I got chatting easily enough, including with the owners. Four ales on, served from a cold room; Shiny Wrench (NBSS 3), Hawkshead Windermere Pale, Kinver Crystal and Kinver Seren, a cask lager I can’t recall (4), alongside 14 ciders. A fairly unique touch were the booklets at the tables telling you their full range (loads of cider, bottles, fruit wines and local butcher sourced pub snacks) with a bit of honest story about the pub and some local history. Also belatedly noticed the TV screen with a live CCTV feed to the cold room, so you can observe the action unfolding. Really enjoyed my stop here and would make sure I called in again if in town. 8.5

Most micro of micros. Six tables. All in use when I come in. You can't just walk out can you :-) So I ordered a decent Yeovil Ales Harlequin and managed to perch on a stool in front of the curtain that hides the passage way to the gents. Everyone stares into the middle of the room. No music to break the tension. If there was a clock, it would be an old one that ticks slowly. A tv is tuned to the beer room, which offers mild entertainment when ever someone orders a pint. Recongnised locals in the street generate some chat to guess where they have been/going/having for tea. I just don't get micros.