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The Duke William, Stourbridge
Stourbridge
DY8 1EP
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 8½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Gill Smith left this review about Duke William
Called into this 2015 Good Beer Guide pub yesterday and found it heaving with folk having a good time. It was so packed it was difficult to get in, let alone find the bar, but what a choice of their Craddocks beers, plus Thirsty Brewers and Bridgnorth beers. Chose Bridgnorth River Steam and it was fine. Too packed to explore round the pub really. Cobs available.
On 14th December 2014
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1339 recommendations about 1222 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Aqualung . left this review about Duke William
I missed this one on my visit to Stourbridge earlier in the year as Holden's and Batham's pubs were my main priority. It's a classic Midlands red brick corner pub with a large bare boarded "public" bar. It was originally a Banks house. There was an original Private Bar window on the Coventry Street side away from the door. The "saloon" was a smaller room joined by the bar and a corridor at the back.
There were posters for BT Sport footbore in the gents but to my great relief there was no sign of it.
There were eight pumps on the bar with one unused. Only two Craddock's beers were available, Crazy Sheep (£3.00) and Troll (£3.20). The other five beers were Bridgnorth Monarch's Way & King's Escape and Thirsty Brewers American IPA, English Amber & Pacific Pale. There were also a couple of ciders.
The Crazy Sheep had a slight haze a common thing for a pale hop bomb but the Troll was in very fine nick. I found it a bit odd as well as disappointing that it only had two Craddock's beers available, but at least the numbers were made up with local micros rather than boring national brands. It also does a loyalty scheme where you get a free pint after so many others, eight I think.
I'd still say the Royal Exchange is the best pub in Stourbridge but this one comes a very close second.
On 3rd November 2014
- rating: 9
[User has posted 2143 recommendations about 2143 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Real Ale Ray left this review about Duke William
This pub had a good relaxed atmosphere and the staff and customers were friendly and chatty. We popped in early Friday eve, when the pub was just at the right capacity, so getting served was quick and easy. There were eight ales on hand pump and two ciders. After trying a few very good beers, I finished with one of my favourite ciders from Gwynt-y-Draig named Dog Dancer. I noticed quite a few people eating their pork pies with mustard. Will get a pie next visit.
On 11th October 2013
- rating: 9
[User has posted 3382 recommendations about 3381 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Old Boots left this review about Duke William
Probably the best that Stourbridge has to offer although I didn't try all the pubs there as Stourbridge appeared to be shut on a Wednesday afternoon. Located on a corner on the edge of the town centre it's a brew pub the home of Craddocks brewery. There are two bars, a public in the angle decorated in a soft Victorian style, green plastered walls with red anaglypta above and a new board floor. The furniture is mainly scrubbed pine kitchen tables with a few Britannias and bench seating. The nice carved counter has 8 hand pumps four for micros from far and wide, and 4 with Craddocks beers, Lions Pride, Troll, Honey Jewe and Crazy Sheep on this occasion. The decor is from dried hops, nic-nacs of various types in brass and china, there are a few bookcases, maps and old posters and prints. There's a fairly boring brick fireplace with a wood-burning stove. The lounge is at one end of the building and there's a walled beer garden with a covered area.
On 16th September 2013
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 3269 recommendations about 2978 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Soup Dragon left this review about Duke William
A fanstastic Edwardian corner pub dating to 1903 according to the date stone. It is in a mix of undressed brick, with red above and brown around the pub. There are stone mouldings around the doors and windows, with a a dog-tooth moulded cornice and etched glass. A delight.
The interior has a couple of rooms, the main bar at the front and a smaller lounge at the back, served by a central bar. The bar room is in red and green walls, with a green ceiling and a wood floor, with a brick fireplace with a furnace fire. There is mainly greean leather seating. There is a piano and lots of ephemera dotted about and on the walls; jugs, bottles, maps etc. There was no TV and the music was supplied by the radio at a decent level. The lounge is in red patterned wallpaper, with a white ceiling and wood floor. There is red leather seating. This room also has a brick fireplace with furnace fire. The service was fine and there were few locals in, until a few footy fans arrived.
Beer; some of the usual tap stuff, with Freedom stout. On handpull there is the Craddock's Brewery choices; Goat Hearder's Stout, Crest, Capra and Saxon Gold, with guests Milestone American Pale Ale, Wye Valley Butty Bach, Cottage Brewery's Western Champion and Saddler's Red IPA. All beers I tried were well kept, though i preferred the guests on the whole. A class choice though. They operate a loyalty card - buy 8 pints of Craddocks and get one free.
This is a superb pub, in which i could stay for hours. It is, like many pubs around Stourbridge, a must visit.
On 1st April 2012
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 3067 recommendations about 3062 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Andy Ven left this review about Duke William
My first visit to the Duke William since I saw it featured in the February 2010 edition (Issue 11) of CAMRA Stourbridge and Halesowen's Ales and Tales publication: "At last a decent real ale pub opens in Stourbridge town centre".
We arrived by train and it was just a 5 minute walk from Stourbridge Town railway station, followed by a chicken dash across the ring road. The pub does not have its own car park but there is a Pay and Display opposite, although it appeared to be full on a Friday lunchtime. The pub shouldn't open until midday but whilst we were hanging around wondering what was behind the green door (I'm sure there's a song in there somewhere) the barman opened up 10 minutes early.
Two roomed Edwardian pub refurbed in December 2009 with wooden flooring, brick fireplaces and wood burners on the go. It was a cold day and I could have settled in for the afternoon had it not been for the fact that this was the first stop on a 9 pub crawl up to Wolverhampton. The chap behind the bar was friendly enough, offering advice on what would be a nice malty ale in the absence of mild (I had Pardoe's and he was dead right). He was interested to hear how we found ouut about the pub and where our group of 10 was going next. One other thing I should mention is that, if you use the standard of the toilets as one of the benchmarks on which you judge a pub, the toilets in here were clean and modern - our friends at pubtoilets.com would be suitably impressed.
On handpull there are four permanent real ales : Pardoe's Original, Craddock's Duke's (brewed by Sadler's?), Wye Valley Butty Bach and Sadler's Mud City Stout. In addition there are four changing ales. On this occasion there was: Slater's Why Not, Wood's Quaff, Titanic Tomahawk and Ludlow Stairway to Paradise.
I liked it and I would make it an automatic choice if I'm in Stourbridge town centre again.
On 28th November 2010
- rating: 9
[User has posted 244 recommendations about 240 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve Thorpe left this review about Duke William
I visited the pub on Saturday and what a different pub! What used to be a very basic Banks' pub is now a very nice free house with 7 different real ales on offer and various ciders. Well worth a visit if you find yourself in Stourbridge. Only one critism from my visit and that is the lack of staff; one poor girl trying to run two bars
On 30th August 2010
- rating: 8
[User has posted 130 recommendations about 126 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Anonymous User left this review about Duke Of William
Pub's correct name is the Duke William
On 13th April 2009
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 0 recommendations about 0 pubs]