The Plough, Hazelwalls, Uttoxeter

I had not planned on coming here when looking at a trip to Uttoxeter, but a chance encounter with a copy of the local Camra magazine alerted me to the fact that it has recently had a makeover and reopened under the auspices of some real ale enthusiasts, so I walked the 15 minutes or so from the Black Swan in the town centre. I was not disappointed, receiving a warm welcome from the young woman running the bar. She was happy to talk to me about the three local real ales that accompany the nationally available Wainwright and Pedigree on the six hand pumps lining the bar. I had a half of each of the beers from Uttoxeter, Warwickshire and Holdens breweries. To be honest, although each was in good condition and very much to my taste, being traditional English bitters on the dark side of brown, they were difficult to distinguish from each other despite varying in strength from 4.3% via 4.5% to 5.1%. Nevertheless, I had a very pleasant half hour here, though I couldn't help observing that not one of the other customers was drinking anything other than lager. The lass assured me that a real ale crowd would turn up later, but sadly I was unable to stay for this enticing prospect. It was interesting to hear that Uttoxeter Brewery have a strong relationship with the pub, as they are keen that their beers are served at their best - you can't argue with that!

A very extensive "view inside" even takes you into the ladies and gents toilets! The six handpumps show mainly national beers.