About
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.
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6.1/10 — Appearance 6 Aroma 6 Flavor 6 Texture 6 Overall 6.5
Pint, hand-pulled in the Railway Tavern, Newport Shropshire on 9th December 2024. Light golden body, clean and clear, white crust. Easy drinking IPA, neither malty nor hoppy, just a pleasant blend of the two without any citrus notes.
Tried on 09 Dec 2024 at 14:46

6.8/10 — Appearance 8 Aroma 7 Flavor 6 Texture 6 Overall 7
Cask at the Dog, Burton-on-Trent. Pours clear chestnut brown with a thin beige head. Aromas of light red fruit and cocoa. Taste is Cockley and light hazelnut. Light sweet finish.
Tried from Cask on 16 Oct 2024 at 12:47

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