The Bull Baiters, St Johns, Worcester

Interesting micro-pub inside and very old building previously used as a shop among other things. Compact bar area as you would expect, but under a full-height roof also taller than long or wide. There is also an upstairs room in the left-hand end of the building which does have an upper floor (as does another on the opposite side of the small counter), and a beer garden at the back (none of which I explored). Four of the six handpumps in use when I visited, offering cask ales from Shakespeare, Bowland and Kinver in addition to my Millie George from Pennine (£3.80).

This is a pub in an old medieval building in the St John's area of Worcester. We attempted to visit here on a crawl of Worcester during Covid times back in 2020. As I remember, you had to call in advance to gain entry and large groups were not allowed. So we have it up as a bad job. A few years on and undeterred by the limited opening hours (only open weekday evening with slightly earlier weekend opening times), I returned to find what was probably the highlight of 13 pubs in Worcestershire for this visit. Spread over a couple of rooms on the ground floor and with further space upstairs, there is plenty to admire here, not least the excellent beer and cider selection. The 4 real ales were Hop Shed Drizzle, Goff's Black Knight, Brew 61 Bramling Best & North Cotswold Winter Solstice. Ciders were Barker's Perry, 21 & Plague Doctor, Abrahall's Lily The Pink, Snail's Bank Apply Dapply, Hairy Ferret Traditional Scrumpy & Farmer Jim's Apple Red. The 21 & Plague Doctor are dry and sweet ciders (not sure which one is which) that are mixed in accordance to the drinker's taste. I ordered a half of the Plague Doctor and thought it was a pretty generous half pint, until I realised that they'd given me a schooner and charged me accordingly. It would at least have been nice to have been asked! I believe I also later overheard that it was cheaper to pay with cash, as opposed to card. Locals were being kept amused by the local PC (apparently a regular in the pub) who was moving on or ticketing incorrectly parked cars. With parking spaces on the street outside very much at a premium, they were happy to view his antics. I'm glad I've finally got to visiting the Bull Baiters and despite my mild irritation with the measures dispensed, it is certainly one of Worcester's highlights.