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Beer of the Week (w/e 27th April 2025) with Thuck Phat
on the Pub Forum
Detail Pages
Hogshead, Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton
WV1 1NA
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7 of 10) see review guidelines
Quinno _ left this review about Hogshead
Stood at the bar like a lemon for 5 minutes whilst the staff bustled around trying their best not to make any eye contact or acknowledge my presence - perhaps the first time I have experienced middle aged invisibility in a pub catering for the younger demographic. Gave up and walked out.
June 2011
Large town centre drinking den, housed in attractive building built in 1894 as The Vine (note the nice stained glass above the doorway). I went in due to the promise of eight ales on the go according to the Good Beer Guide, with a CAMRA discount (10%) advertised at the bar. There was a decent selection of local and national brands available plus a real cider (Old Rosie). My Williams Red was £2.20 and was a bit vinegary - I got it exchanged for Mad Goose but there was clearly a bit of tardiness about it from bar side and it wasn’t taken off in the 20 minutes I was there. Outside of the ale, this is a typical town centre drinking barn – large open plan layout, loud music and muted SKY Sports. A quiz night was advertised and the place is apparently is very popular with the students, this being pretty much the first place they hit from the walk into town from campus and cheap to boot. I wasn’t overly impressed given the quality of the other pubs I’d also done that day. You pays your money and you takes your chances...
Rated 6
On 2nd April 2025
- rating: 1
[User has posted 5552 recommendations about 5533 pubs]
Strongers . left this review about Hogshead
Hogshead has a serving counter up the right that faces a row of high tables and then some raised seating, including a couple of booths with mini televisions up the left. More TVs are located throughout, an early kick off European football match was in progress during a recent Thursday visit. At the back of the pub is more split level seating and steps at the rear lead down to a large AstroTurf covered beer garden with picnic tables and also huts at the rear.
I counted eight hand pumps on the bar, six of which were in use drawing Marston’s 61 Deep, TT Landlord, Hobgoblin, Titanic’s Plum Porter, Silhill Brewery’s Super Star and Thornbridge’s Melba. Premium keg was also available alongside Carling and a couple of Beavertown products. Less mainstream craft is available from some taps on the back bar. This has the feel of a high street boozer, but the draught selection is decent and elevates this place above its peers.
On 27th October 2024
- rating: 7
[User has posted 5971 recommendations about 5937 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Blue Scrumpy left this review about Hogshead
I hadn't been to the Hogshead for over 10 years when I took the opportunity to visit late yesterday evening. I'd forgotten just how good a pub this was.
A couple of bouncers were on the door, as there had been a football game in the city. But there was no problem getting in and it was easy enough to get to the bar.
The ale selection was Salopian Hop Twister & Oracle, Rooster's First World Problems, Enville Ale, White & Ginger, Robinson's Trooper, Wychwood Hobgoblin, Greene King Ghangly Ghoul & Black Sheep Silence of Lambs. Real ciders were all from Lilley's - Pineapple Cider, Mango Cider, Bee Sting Perry, Rum Cider, Peach Cider, Gladiator, Collider, Rhubarb Cider and Lemon & Lime Cider.
Apparently a CAMRA discount is given, but presumably only if requested as I recall having the card in my hand when I paid.
The interior is fairly modern and basic. TVs were showing the football.
With this beer selection, I would rate this pub as the best in Wolverhampton.
On 2nd November 2021
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3040 recommendations about 3038 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Graham Coombs left this review about Hogshead
Yet another of Stonegate's town centre pubs, targetting students from the nearby university. What was once the Vine Inn according to the exterior brickwork has been gutted and refurbished in distressed wood and tiling, divided up into separate areas with numerous sports TVs. There is a largish enclosed yard at the rear for outdoor drinkers. An excellent range of beers though, with 9 or 10 ales of the more-interesting variety on, plus a number of craft keg offerings.
On 8th November 2018
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3641 recommendations about 3576 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Ian Mapp left this review about Hogshead
The Good Beer Guide throws up these random entries. You wouldn't think for a minute that this chainy looking pub would be in it.
However, there was a good choice of around 6 real ales on and my wainwright was superb.
Not sure the decor, ambiance or experience is my cup of tea but worth a visit for the tick.
On 30th June 2017
- rating: 6
[User has posted 277 recommendations about 276 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Al Bundy left this review about Hogshead
An open plan pub with 10 handpumps serving 8 beers on this visit. Its ok but not great and it does seem very sport orientated. The beer selection was pretty good though most people were drinking lager only.
On 8th April 2016
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3487 recommendations about 3390 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about Hogshead
Having decided to try the other GBG listed pubs in Wolverhampton other than the excellent Great Western (my normal watering hole when in these parts),and having been disppointed with the real ale options that we found,this was a desperate last throw of the dice.It's large,it's a sports bar,it's full of young people but thankfully there is commitment to a range of real ale with a mix of national brands and some local micros,most of which I failed to note .However like a beacon in a sea of despair ,I spied Oakham Citra which was in excellent form and flew down.So much better than you might assume from the outside,give this pub a go.It's a lot better than several other GBG listed pubs in town.
On 7th July 2015
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2936 recommendations about 2936 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about Hogshead
Originally built in 1885, this place traded as the Vine Hotel (see stained glass pane near the front entrance) until 1983 when it closed and was converted to office use. The imposing street corner building eventually returned to pub use in the late 1990's, forming part of the Hogshead chain, and it still trades under this name today. My visit was rather poorly timed, as I found myself descending on the pub alongside several hundred disgruntled Wolverhampton Wanderers fans, so that the place was packed to bursting, making it very difficult to get served. Thankfully the pub is well equipped for such a scenario, with plenty of vertical drinking space and an efficient bar team helping greatly. The pub has a large single room set up, bare boarded for the most part, with the bar running the length of the back wall. The servery is fairly functional with not much going for it - a TV screen acts as the centrepiece to the bar back and a large pump clip collection has spilled out across the bar back and down the right hand wall. Numerous pillars and sections of wall break up the sight lines through the room, hinting at a possible previous layout. A raised carpeted seating area under the front windows allows for some comfortable table and chair groupings, whilst a few high tables and stools fill the space in front of the bar. The room has a classic red and cream colour scheme but very little in the way of visual distraction apart from several TV screens showing Sky Sports News and a live football match.
This pub sets itself apart from other Hogshead venues by virtue of an excellent beer policy which saw nine cask ales and a small selection of craft keg beers available on this visit. The handpulls were dispensing Holden's Bitter and Golden Glow, Kinver Edge (£2.90), Black Ram and Full Centurion, Springhead Drop of the Black Stuff and Robin Hood, Exmoor Stag and Robinsons Trooper, whilst the keg taps offered several interesting beers including two from Brewdog. My pint of Kinver Edge was very lively and it took a bit of skilful pouring to fill the glass, but thankfully it tasted fine. The pub's commitment to real ale was recognised by the local CAMRA branch who made it their Pub of the Year for 2013.
It was hard to get a proper feel for this place when it was so crowded, but despite giving the initial impression of being a bit of a drinking barn, the atmosphere was notably different to your average city centre chain bar and I got the feeling that this place has found a good way of attracting a wide cross section of the community. The good beer alone makes this place worth checking out and it is a dead cert to include on any crawl around town.
On 14th January 2015
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3350 recommendations about 3350 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Aqualung . left this review about Hogshead
I was surprised to find that this was an original old pub as my addled recollection is that the interior wasn't very "pubby" but rather like a shop conversion. I also completely forgot about the CAMRA discount.
My handwriting was so bad by this point that I failed to note all the beers on offer. I went for the Brain's Ryecatcher which was decidedly vinegary and was changed for Titanic Stout however with the member of bar staff trying to tell me that it was like that because it's a "craft" beer. The Stout was in perfect condition. The pub seemed OK to me but it's a bit worrying the fact that one of the beers had turned to vinegar.
On 15th June 2014
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2143 recommendations about 2143 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Real Ale Ray left this review about Hogshead
This large corner pub is owned by the Stonegate Pub Company. To me this pub is worth a look in, as they have a good range of nine ales on handpump. The prices they were charging were also reasonable and also you can get a Camra discount. The barman who served us was very helpful and knowledgeable about the ales he was serving. We went for the Potbelly brewery Redwing and Broughs Brewery Springfield. We too noticed the stained glass panel over the entrance.
On 13th November 2013
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3645 recommendations about 3645 pubs]