The King Arthur, Stourbridge

Batham's newest pub is their only one that hadn't originally been a pub. It opened last September on the same day as the new Holden's one in Bridgnorth. Although it was offices prior to the brewery taking it over, the building and the adjacent ones look as though they were built as houses. This house would be described as large detached but inside consists of a single roughly square room which isn't very large for a pub. The drinking area wraps around a fairly large serving area, presumably for more busy times than my early Thursday afternoon visit. There is a modern wood floor adorned with some large Batham mats depicting the familiar bull that is their brewery emblem. The decor is largely modern including ceiling lights but there are some light fittings that seem to have been made from battered old copper. One big plus is that there are no TVs and no music. As noted below, the two sets of three hand pumps had the Mild and Best Bitter. I had a pint of the mild (£2.45) which was in superb condition followed by a few of the Best (£2.75) which was just as good. This is a new departure for Batham's and they have done a great job. Hagley is a place with few pubs so I bet the local population are pleased to see it. It doesn't match up to their older multi-room pubs but I'll come back here next December during the "Quest for the XXX".

The concept of a new Bathams pub seems a bit of a non sequitur, but they have done a fine job of converting the former offices into a lighter than expected yet semi-traditional pub. The resulting 'U'-shaped layout is surprisingly modern, but the plethora of customers didn't seem to mind one bit (nor did I, come to that). Of course, only the Bitter and Mild (£2.45) were available from the duplicated banks of three handpumps, but when the beer is sublime as this, who's complaining?

I made the trip to Hagley to visit this new Bathams pub. It is a great looking pub and was extremely busy on my visit. The locals seem to have taken to it! The bitter was spot on - as it should be.

Excellent first evening in the King Arthur. Bathams Bitter well conditioned, served at correct temperature.