The Wheatsheaf at Walsall
www.midlandspubs.co.uk
because we have intended to pay a visit for some time following the
great reports we’d heard since the historic building was taken over by
Carrie Cooke and Jean James. As committed members of Walsall CAMRA,
they established the pub as a real ale outlet and have staged regular
beer festivals. Combined with a number of other themed events and
engaging the local community, they made the Wheatsheaf an award-
winning tavern.
Located on the corner of Birmingham Street and Grove Terrace, the
Wheatsheaf Inn is an historic building and was certainly trading in
1801 when it was known by the sign of The Greyhound and run by John
Westley. Actually, Birmingham Street once had three Wheatsheaf pubs at
different periods. An older structure was once the home of Captain
Henry Stone, who fought in the English Civil War. He rebuilt the house
in the 1660's and by the 18th century it was known by the sign of the
Wheat Sheaff. Today’s Wheatsheaf dates from the early 19th century,
the relocation to the corner of Grove Terrace was probably down to
Joseph Cowley, who later served as the Mayor of Walsall between
1836-7.
The Wheatsheaf was once operated by Showell’s Brewery before they were
acquired by Samuel Allsopp Ltd. of Burton-on-Trent. It was in 1961
that Ansell's merged with Ind Coope & Allsopp and Tetley Walker to
form Allied Breweries. It was after this date that the pub would have
sold the Aston brews of Ansell's. It was Allied Breweries who altered
the property during the 1960's. This was much of the old interior
layout was lost.
Anyway, onto today’s pub.... the only negative report that we have
heard about The Wheatsheaf is that it is cold inside. And indeed it
was. We didn’t take our coats off during our visit. In their defence,
the open plan interior they inherited does not help and it would cost
a small fortune to warm up the pub at lunchtime. In addition, it was
the coldest day of the year with snow on the ground so, noting us
huddled up against a lukewarm radiator, one of the licensees did turn
on the electric fire. It would be great if there was a real fire in
this fireplace. The temperature is the only gripe so I have got issue
out of the way first - besides, it didn’t really spoil our time as we
had many layers on. Odd really, with it being awkward to get to
Walsall from our bit of the Black Country, we chose a snowy day just
before Christmas to finally pay a visit to the town’s CAMRA Pub of the
Year 2008.
We arrived on foot via the splendidly named Dandy’s Walk - quite
treacherous in the ice and snow. The footpath emerges a few yards from
the Wheatsheaf. We’d arrived at the fag end of a beer festival but the
pub still had stocks of some winter ales we’d never tried. I have
uploaded a picture of the pump clips in the files section [see the
menu to the right to access this section or if you are receiving e-
mails follow this link: http://groups.google.co.uk/group/midlands-pubs/files].
To the right of the photograph you may notice a piece of paper on the
counter - this was a helpful “Tasting Notes” guide to the flavour and
character of each beer - very useful for the likes of us who like to
try different beers but are not sure what to order.
We dipped our toes with "Santa’s Claws", a 4.5% spicy ale from
Beartown Brewery. Emma really liked this but I found the perfume
character a bit too much - I’m not a big fan of Orval either, a
Belgian beer that shares this characteristic. So, Emma took charge of
mine whilst I warmed up a bit with the Titanic "Stuff It", a chestnut-
coloured beer that was ironically packed with chestnut and cranberry
flavours. Indeed, the taste of cranberry was so strong that, at first,
I was not sure I’d enjoy it. By the time I’d had three sips I was
really in the zone. By the end of the first pint I was up for a
session on the stuff. The hoppy aftertaste kicks in at the end of each
sip making it a really moreish beer. Carrie seems to be the partner
who looks after the cellar and she told me that this was a really
lively cask and venting was a messy affair. By the time I was sampling
the beer it was still brimming with condition. A real Christmas
pudding of an ale.
Jean was confined to the kitchen once we joined the small queue to
order nosh. There isn’t a great choice for veggies but we enjoyed what
was brought to our table. Left in their skins, the homemade chips were
top notch. For the carnivorous crowd there is plenty of choice and the
menu looks pretty good and value for money.
A regular of the pub was sat quite close to us and we struck up a
conversation with him. Our boxer dog even made friends with his
chocolate labrador - yes folks, you can bring your dog to The
Wheatsheaf. He [the imbiber not the labrador] walked over to the piano
to give us a rendition of “White Christmas” which, despite the
instrument’s faults, was a pleasant experience. Living quite close to
the building the customer, a bloke from Sunderland who had moved to
Walsall some years ago, remarked what a splendid job Jean and Carrie
were doing at The Wheatsheaf. In its tail-end years as a Firkin
outlet, the place was on its last legs so it has been hard work making
the pub a success. However, it is easy to see why The Wheatsheaf
appeals to genuine pub lovers. Good beer, honest food, relaxed
atmosphere, newspapers and books plus a friendly face behind the
counter. Simple pleasures - that’s a successful formula.
I noticed that there was no charge to visit The Wheatsheaf on New
Year’s Eve - they even provide a buffet. What a refreshing change
these days when most publicans elect not to reward their regular
customers and would rather fleece them. So, a big thumbs up for The
Wheatsheaf - a very enjoyable pub experience.
Cheers
Kieron