The GBG is out!!! And, as Martin quite rightly notes in his recent post, it is a terrific effort from the local CAMRA branches to make sure pubs have been visited.
Of course, Burton upon Trent, the home of brewing, has a few nominees although I suspect 603 – The Wyggeston DE13 0UN isn’t one of them.
However, this behemoth of a backstreet local in the Horninglow region of Burton
is a classic boozer and has the added bonus of selling Bass…at £2.30 a pint!
Yes, that’s right, a pint of Burton’s finest amber nectar retailing at two for less than a fiver and in remarkably good nick – what more do you need?
Horninglow is to Burton what Digbeth is to Birmingham;
it has the Trent & Mersey canal in close proximity as opposed to the Birmingham & Fazeley canal but would be defined with gritty old skool pubs like The Big Bulls Head and The Wyggy.
(Steak & Kidney Pie + chips = magnificent)
There are hundreds of chimney pots and terraced houses on Horninglow Road and The Wyggeston sits on the corner of Calais Street and was built by Salt’s Brewery in 1904.
It was a hotel back in the day and reminds me a bit of The Olton Tavern in Solihull in so much that it is a big boozer and a starting point for the evening ahead.
By that I mean there are plenty of locals but also lads who are warming up for a night in Burton/Derby and this place was buzzing.
It is big enough to cope with social distancing and big numbers and, at about half three on a Friday, there was a crackle in the air.
I tried to order a pint by texting, which didn’t seem to work, and a couple of old boys reckoned I should just shout very loudly!
As it happens, a barman came past and I ordered pint of Bass before picking up my jaw again as he brought it back with £2.70 change from a fiver..
The jukebox had some decent tunes, all seemed good with the world and it was #publife as near as normal as you could imagine.
The Wyggeston won’t be in the GBG 2021 but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a cracking pub that is a real throwback and sells good cask ale…
It only hurts more when you compare one pub we haven’t been to to another pub we haven’t been too: “reminds me a bit of The Olton Tavern in Solihull!” Still good to have you back though. Or does this count as November’s post?
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November and December!!! Might sneak one more in over the weekend as a Xmas bonus!
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Wow. We are blessed. Lovely to have your positivity with all the moaning about.
I can’t believe you find all these pubs with good beer I’ve never noticed !
Pubs live, use them.
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A backstreet Burton boozer but a classic. Massive so able to cope better than most with social distancing 👍
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Vindicates your decision to un-retire. Why is it, south of Yorkshire and Lancashire, you can get proper pies in chip shops but not at football?
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Apparently you can from today as that means meals are substantial and therefore they can sell 🍺 😉
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“as Martin quite rightly notes in his recent post”
I’m still a day behind with Martin. Thanks partly to SOME PEOPLE coming out of ‘retirement’. 😉
“Of course, Burton upon Trent, the home of brewing, has a few nominees although I suspect 603 – The Wyggeston DE13 0UN isn’t one of them.”
This isn’t a knock but, are you taking the place of Alan (back boozer wise) rather than follow in the Holy Grail of Craft footsteps? 😉
“is a classic boozer and has the added bonus of selling Bass…at £2.30 a pint!”
Ah; and that as well (for a perk). 🙂
“what more do you need?”
A lass in a low cut top to bring it to me? 😉
“Horninglow is to Burton what Digbeth is to Birmingham; ”
Um, sure? (you definitely lost me there) 🙂
“(Steak & Kidney Pie + chips = magnificent)”
Agreed but, the photo below shows a fish and chips shop!
“that it is a big boozer and a starting point for the evening ahead.”
Ah. Hence the cheap Bass. 🙂
“and it was #publife as near as normal as you could imagine.”
Which is both sad and great at the same time.
“The Wyggeston won’t be in the GBG 2021 but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a cracking pub that is a real throwback and sells good cask ale…”
It’s bloody irksome to see something that’s only open 7 hours a week get in compared to something so bloody cracking. (sigh)
Cheers!
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To be fair to Burton it’s got some mighty fine pubs in the town centre….this is off beaten track but if it was Solihull it would be a shoe in!!
I ws trying to say that Horninglow is Burton’s equivalent of Digbeth? I mean a place full of gritty boozers on the outskirts of the town….
I rarely make any sense pal 😉
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The Wyggeston looks like a smashing pub BBM, and with Draught Bass at prices us southerners can only dream of, what’s not to like?
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Absolutely! I think the pubs in Horninglow are the cheapest prices in the Midlands…
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You obviously haven’ got your head around the intricacies, manoeuvrings and vested interests that go into GBG pub selections Russ, but you are right to highlight the anomalies regarding the strange choices which, in my view, blight the guide.
Putting forward outlets, with limited opening times, just because they serve beer brewed by a “man in a shed,” as opposed to good, honest, down-to-earth boozers, selling top-notch cask ale, does no favours at all for the GBG’s credibility.
In the end, it was the above machinations, more than anything else, which led to me cease my involvement with the Good Beer Guide, and ultimately cancel my CAMRA membership.
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You needed to get that off your chest Paul!! I’ve not been in CAMRA…is it that political and lots of vested interests?
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It’s difficult to say for sure BBM, and the situation obviously varies between the various CAMRA branches.
However, I have witnessed, at first hand, two quite blatant examples where individuals have pushed, and succeed, in getting pubs in which they have a vested interest, selected for the GBG.
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That’s really poor and unfortunately makes a mockery of it!
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Minehead and Watchet was one thing but these are the posts we’ve really been waiting for since your return to blogging action! Very very occasionally I have been known to work a day in Burton (near the Queens Hospital) so I have actually been in the Wyggeston, making the most of Bass and scratchings at Black Country prices. Definitely a minor classic in my eyes, very traditional and the Bass I had was faultless. Cheers, Paul
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Couldn’t agree more Paul 👍 now I’ve found it I’ll be visiting again as everything a proper pub should be
Cheers
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Not at all surprising the Bass was in remarkably good nick, at that price people have a tendency to want to drink the stuff.
Recently I’ve been mulling over why I drink much less than usual, and a major part of it seems to be that much as I like a bit of murk now and then, by the time it’s been chilled down, fizzed up, and hopped like a vindaloo, I really don’t fancy another one after the first schooner. Bass and the like are scorned by some as we all know, but their main issue seems to be precisely why regular pubgoers like us-selves like it, it’s just a great pint(s) drinking beer, one is never quite enough.
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Spot on Mark. It’s a reall easy drink and I could honestly neck it all day (and night!)
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