Black Country Ales
Microbrewery
in
Dudley,
West Midlands,
England 🏴
Associated with 37 Venues
Established in 2004
Contact
69 Third Avenue, Pensnett Trading Estate, Kingswinford, Dudley, DY6 7FD, England
Description
The Black Country Ales Brewery has been established through a genuine love of traditional ales. We brew our outstanding selection of beers using only the finest ingredients to the highest possible standards. Brewing started on the site around 1834 by Edward Guest, taken over by the Bradleys in 1870, and moth balled after WWII. Much of the original equipment is still in use, and we’re very proud to still be holding on to our connection to the brewers of yesterday.
When we bought The Old Bull’s Head pub in 1999 it came with a boarded up brick building at the rear that was referred to by the estate agents as “a two storey outhouse”. Imagine our amazement after the purchase when we finally entered the building to find three magnificent wooden fermenting vessels and other brewing equipment going back years. We love running pubs but there had never been any plan to brew our own beer until this great find. It took a few years to set up and we have had a lot of mistakes to learn from too but in 2004 beer started flowing again from the Gornal brewery.
When we bought The Old Bull’s Head pub in 1999 it came with a boarded up brick building at the rear that was referred to by the estate agents as “a two storey outhouse”. Imagine our amazement after the purchase when we finally entered the building to find three magnificent wooden fermenting vessels and other brewing equipment going back years. We love running pubs but there had never been any plan to brew our own beer until this great find. It took a few years to set up and we have had a lot of mistakes to learn from too but in 2004 beer started flowing again from the Gornal brewery.
6.2/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
Cask at The Dog, Burton-on-Trent. Pours clear golden with a thick white head. Aromas of lemon barley water. Taste is lemon and light caramel. Light sweet finish.
Tried
from Cask
on 16 Oct 2024
at 12:42
7.5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 7
Handpull cask at the Salmon, Leicester. Pours mid-gold and clear with a small white head. Light astringent hop on the aroma with light berry and a grassy element. Taste is... my word this is nice. Sweet at first, laden with light fruit, with a perfectly judged bitterness at the end of the sip. Very soft carbonation. The best Black Country beer I've had by a country mile.
Tried
from Cask
on 19 Sep 2024
at 16:53
7/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
Cask at the Queens Head, Stourbridge. Pours bright gold with a medium head. Aroma is sweet hedgerow fruits. Taste has grainy straw and hedgerow fruit with a fruity bitter finish.
Tried
from Cask
on 17 Sep 2024
at 18:14
6.8/10
Light malt, easy floral hop.
Tried
from Bottle
on 22 Aug 2024
at 22:13
7/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
Amber gold with a frothy/creamy white head. Fruity and malty, semi-sweet with a hint of spice and a dry, slightly bitter finish
Tried
on 13 Aug 2024
at 13:52
6.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 8
Overall 6.5
Cask-conditioned at the Bull, Lower Gornal 22/6/2024. Golden in colour, with a tight, white, head. grassy hops, light citrus character with a herbal edge, dryish finish. Good.
Tried
from Cask
on 01 Jul 2024
at 05:15
7.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Cask at Bird in Hand, Stafford. Pours pale straw with a sizeable foamy almost white head and excellent lacing. There’s floral hops and citrus in the aroma. In the mouth it starts off slightly sharp but with a smooth and creamy texture. Fruity hops are to the fore in the flavour, with dollops of stone and tropical fruit evident. Later on it becomes quite bitter with hints of lemon, pine and mango leading to a bitter and slightly sticky finish. This is a decent old style IPA – better than most BCA beers.
Tried
from Cask
on 21 Jun 2024
at 21:46
7.4/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 6
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Cask at Shrewsbury Arms, Stafford. Pours golden yellow with a medium sized foamy off-white head and good lacing. The aroma is vaguely sweet with a dollop of floral hops. In the mouth it is briefly smooth with a slightly creamy texture and malty flavours, but some bitterness quickly becomes apparent (though never overly so) along with floral hops and grains. Later still there are traces of ginger and almonds leading to a slightly dry finish. This is decent – though more like a standard pale than an IPA.
Tried
from Cask
on 16 May 2024
at 21:29
6.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Cask at The Wellington, Brum. Aroma mixes light mocha and dark berries. Opaque cola brown. Thick foamy white head. Tangy dark berries with a coffee bitter streak. Medium bodied. Light creamy body. Soft-fizzy carbonation. Long somewhat astringent finish. Nice.
Tried
from Cask
on 06 Nov 2023
at 20:16
7/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
[March 2023] Mahogany brown with a creamy tan head and a subtle chocolate malt aroma. Smooth and velvety with milk chocolate and fruit malt notes and a hint of (tart) bitterness in the finish
Tried
on 21 Sep 2023
at 10:10