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Windsor Castle, Lye, Stourbridge
Lye
Stourbridge
DY9 7DG
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about Windsor Castle
And here I am again! This is now run by Printworks brewery though the Sadlers signs are still everywhere for reasons unknown and it did seem a bit amateurish. Interior layout pretty similar to what I remember though there seems to be a bit of a feminine touch about it now. No signs to indicate where the toilets are, which is weird – that’s kind of important in a pub. Our first thought as we approached the bar was that there were too many cask on and my Red was grot (NBSS 1). I did take it back and after much hooing and hawing I got a replacement after a chap (who reminded me of Vigo the Carpathian from Ghostbusters II) appeared from the back and agreed it was vile. Otherwise, we tried the Apple Strudel (3) and the Caleb (3.5). Very quiet (everywhere else either side of this was busy on Saturday evening) and expensive for the area. No cobs either! Doesn’t feel like it’s going to last long on this showing.
November 2012
Half-timbered brewery tap for Sadlers ales. The interior is quite a modernised take on the traditional interior, clean and bright with sofas and fairly plain walls. Ten ales on the go at any one time, seven ‘regular’ Sadlers beers with their monthly specials in addition. As this is the tap for the brewery next door, the price of the ale is satisfyingly cheap. They also have a food slant here, with a couple of dining areas where one can sample such delights as real ale sausages and beer bread. There's a TV for the sports, along with unobtrusive background music. Last visit there was an odd smell about the place which made my nose curl a bit. Semi-posh pub grub is offered. The half-barrel wall rests were an interesting bit of décor. Maybe not as characterful as other ‘must-visits’ in the Black Country but nonetheless is well-worth a stop for a few pints. Rated 7
On 17th January 2023
- rating: 5
[User has posted 5099 recommendations about 5082 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about Windsor Castle
Quite a traditional-looking pub in an imposing location a short distance up the hill from Lye railway station. However, entering via a small patio garden, it is slightly more modern inside than you might expect in some parts, with a couple of side rooms laid out for dining. The single bar has an impressive line of ten handpumps covering the Printworks Brewery range, with seven different beers available on this late October visit, including the Baskerville blood orange ale (£3.90) with a rather creepy (but presumably Halloween seasonal) clip.
On 1st December 2022
- rating: 8
[User has posted 8117 recommendations about 8117 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about Windsor Castle
Between 2004 and 2015, this large pub on the main road through Lye was the brewery tap for the Sadler's Brewery, which operated from an adjacent outbuilding until moving to a new premises close to the train station. Despite this demotion of sorts, the pub still showcases the brewery's wares and there was an extensive range of Sadler's beers available on my Saturday night visit, all detailed on a helpful blackboard to the side of the bar. The options on this occasion were Mud City Stout, Hop Bomb, Mellow Yellow, IPA, Worcester Sorcerer, Helihopper, Peaky Blinder and Gladstone, from which I decided to try the Mellow Yellow, which came in at £3.40 a pint and was in very good shape, but not really one of my favourite Sadler's beers.
The pub is very different to the traditional brewery taps that you can find across the Black Country, having been thoroughly refurbished to create a feel that is closer to gastro pub than proper boozer. You enter into a tile floored corridor with a number of seating areas off to either side. Each of these areas has plenty of pew and chair seating and I was surprised to find pretty much everyone in them was eating. The walls have been painted in neutral colours and are hop lined in places with various black and white photos, decorative mirrors and other such staple items of decor on show. The corridor emerges into the rear bar area with the servery along the back wall. This is a spacious flagstone floor space with high tables and chairs dotted around plus a drinking ledge under the front window. A TV screen was showing muted coverage of The Voice, which must be the most pointless use of a TV imaginable. The bar has a nice counter and pleasant hop-lined bar back with the aforementioned drinks boards to the left and an upright piano to the right under a few CAMRA awards. From here you can move through again to another room on the right hand side of the pub, set on a slightly lower level in a bare boarded space. This room had a lot of standard seating and very plain decor, with an almost echoey feel to it, which meant it was the least popular spot in the pub.
I was a little surprised with this place, which turned out to be very different to what I'd had in mind. For a pub where arguably the beer is the main draw, the place didn't feel particularly well set up for drinkers, although the multiple room layout means it's probably possible to find somewhere to escape the diners at most times. With the new dedicated brewery bar just a short walk away and the fine beer range in the Shovel just up the road, this is no longer the essential stop off it once was, but it remains a great showcase for a good brewery and an integral part of the area's pub scene.
On 9th April 2017
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Ian Mapp left this review about Windsor Castle
First off, I never knew this was here. 25 years ago, I had my first curries at the Balti house over the road and never noticed this pub - or its subsequent change into a brewery tap house!
For Xmas, I had a Virgin red letter day brewery tour voucher for this place and headed off on the train (station over the road) to attend. The tour is excellent - very informative, and entertaining and you get a superb lunch afterwards. Best Ploughmans I have ever had.
And you get to taste the beers - I tried the peaky blinder (a black IPA) and the Worcesertshire Sourcery - both were excellent.
Enjoyed the day and will be back as a more regular pint drinker next time.
On 9th February 2015
- rating: 10
[User has posted 1338 recommendations about 1324 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Aqualung . left this review about Windsor Castle
For a brewery tap I found this place rather odd as although it has a bar with ten pumps and seven Sadler's beers, apart from some stools at the bar and a few tall tables there is nowhere to sit and drink. All the tables in the small rooms off the bar area seemed to be set out for dining with knives and forks wrapped in serviettes placed on them. I couldn't get to see what the three guest ales were as there was a group of three people sitting at the bar, but I did see that one of them was Holden's Scary Face.
I went for two Sadler's beers the Hop Bomb (£3.40) and Mud City Stout (£3.70) both of which were in superb condition but rather expensive for the West Midlands. I ended up sitting by one of the tables with cutlery and then noticed one that had nothing on it so moved there.
It's worth coming here for the beer alone, but it would be more drinker friendly if they used numbered tables or gave out a wooden spoon with a number on for the food orders.
On 3rd November 2014
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2143 recommendations about 2143 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Oggwyn Great left this review about Windsor Castle
Pub is well described below , its a bit bland inside but makes up for it by the selection of ales available inside , the whole Sadlers range plus seasonals all brewed around the back in what appears to be a large double garage .
On 24th May 2014
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 797 recommendations about 683 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
john mcgraw left this review about Windsor Castle Inn
The Sadlers brewery tap. Most of their ales were on and in good condition although the pub lacks character but despite that the beers are good
On 28th May 2013
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2044 recommendations about 2025 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve C left this review about Windsor Castle Inn
The Windsor Castle is the Sadler’s Brewery tap house so unsurprisingly the ten hand pumps supported by the bar were drawing the full Sadler’s range. There is also a limited draught range, but I didn’t see anyone drinking any of it. The staff were friendly but I did have to ask for both of my pints to be topped up, which was done without question. This pub has a modern décor with little character and the menu is gastro with the cheapest main that I spotted coming in at £12. There was some background music playing and the plasma screen was showing a muted black and white comedy film. Live music is advertised for Sunday evenings from 20:00 until 22:00.
There is some covered decked seating by the entrance and also a large car park.
I enjoyed the Mellow Yellow beer and I’m sure that the others were in top condition, but I didn’t really warm to this pub like I did to the others during my recent Friday afternoon crawl of the extended area.
On 18th October 2012
- rating: 7
[User has posted 5251 recommendations about 5219 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Real Ale Ray left this review about Windsor Castle Inn
This Brewery tap was featured on the Oz Clarke and James May Drink to Britain series. As BF comments, there was a lovely aroma of malted barley from their brewing, before entering the pub. Ten ales on handpump, I went for the Red House Mild and the Mellow Yellow. The Mild I found was a tad too chocolatey for me. I found the pub had plenty of space and I would reckon it gets really mobbed at weekends.
On 8th October 2012
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3382 recommendations about 3381 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about Windsor Castle Inn
Ale Monster's description of the interior of the Sadler's Brewery tap is spot on and needs no embellishment.I was impressed by the range of beer styles that Sadler's dispense from the ten handpumps which included a mild,pale ale,hoppy session ales,a powerful IPA ,an even more powerful Red IPA,a classic best bitter and a stout.It was a brew day when the PuG tour hit Lye,and the smell was distinctive but didn't find it's way indoors.The interior may be modern and a little lifeless but the ale range would tempt me into a much longer stay on my next visit.There is also a Balti "half mile" up the road if you want a ruby after a good quaff.
On 7th October 2012
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2727 recommendations about 2727 pubs]