Pubs Galore - the UK pub guide

A larger than average micropub, with a bit of character and eccentricity about it. The bar is on the right, with six hand pumps (see photos) with beers from mostly local breweries. Furniture was made from slices of trees, retaining the original contours but finished with varnish (some items are for sale). Plenty of old pub notices, too. There was a good atmosphere on our Saturday afternoon visit, and the beer was in good nick as well.

Date of visit: 29th February 2020

This is a good-sized back-street local’s pub, close to White Hart Lane Stadium and with an emphasis on well-kept cask ale. You enter to a compact front bar area with the servery on the rear wall and some very limited seating options around the perimeter, mainly under the front windows. The servery has a pleasant dark wood counter and traditional bar back whilst the rest of the room boasts some rather nice partitioning screens with attractive decorative panes. Décor is fairly simple, with the eye generally caught by the TV screens dotted around the walls showing muted live football. The room extends down the right-hand side for a long way to the rear, with tile flooring and half panelled tongue and groove walls with cream uppers throughout. Things have been brightened up somewhat by the addition of some art prints, old photos and a dartboard, although more of the above is needed in reality, as these are long plain walls that need as much sprucing up as they can get. A couple of skylights and a large patio door to the rear help illuminate this part of the room in daylight hours and there was another TV screen also showing the muted football match. The patio doors open out to a beer garden furnished with some sturdy looking benches and popular with the smokers who were constantly coming and going throughout my stay. It goes without saying that my visit, immediately after a Spurs home fixture, saw the place rammed, but the staff coped pretty well at the bar and it was far easier to get served than it was to move through the pub.
The four operational handpulls were all dispensing beer from the nearby Redemption brewery, with Hopspur, Pale Ale, Trinity and Fellowship all available on this occasion. My pint of the Trinity was very well kept and slipped down nicely, perhaps because the locals seemed to be putting away a lot of the redemption beers between them, ensuring good throughput.
I definitely could’ve caught this pub at a better time, but despite the crowds and lack of standing room, I really enjoyed my visit here, having a bit of good banter with some Spurs fans and enjoying the tasty local beer. It’s nice to see a back-street boozer in an unfashionable neighbourhood turn things around and start doing well for itself – I’ll try to get back out here on a non-match day to appreciate the place at a slower pace.

Just across the road from The Midland and a complete contrast. Heavy wood features everywhere here. Chunky wooden bar, tables and chairs downstairs and a real fire going in the hearth and a piano near the bar. Upstairs is a further room which is quite impressive, there's a wall full of Top Of The Pops album covers and loads of bric-a-brac. There's also a huge roll down screen, so I'm guessing this is where they show the live sport. The ceiling is covered in pumpclips. 5 handpumps on the bar, all on, with a choice of 4 light beers and 1 dark. I had a pint of Moorhouses Scaredy Cat as I hadn't had it before which was in very good nick. There's a large beer garden to the left of the entrance which looks very pleasant even though it's on the very busy A626. Very good background music in the pub Stevie Wonder, Prince, Crusaders etc. I really liked it in here and if I ever get Ms Camra to travel over I know she'd love it.

The only remaining pub in Bierley, the Greenwood has recently benefitted from extensive redecoration that has freshened up the interior. Not a great selection of real ales but usually at least one on. Friendly staff and welcoming atmosphere. Well worth a visit.

This pub ticked all the boxes for me, a heritage pub serving over 20 ales. We spent some time in here on our Monday afternoon visit, admiring the interior and the excellent restoration work. We also enjoyed a good few beers and had a splendid lunch. We tried the BG Sips, Salopian Chameleon, plus some Black Country Ales and a few others from the extensive range on offer. Staff in here were excellent - very welcoming and chatty. This is definitely a destination pub and easy to reach from Birmingham City Centre, as it's just a short walk down the hill from Stourbridge Junction Station. A must do.