Survey lays out what the pub scene is like around Stourbridge and Halesowen

Members of Stourbridge & Halesowen Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) branch carried out their annual census of pubs and beers in their area.

The fifth annual census took place over a 24 hour period on July 21 and 22 and saw members of the branch visit 82 pubs to capture information about the range of real ales being served and check that the opening times and other information on the CAMRA WhatPub database were accurate.

Members started visiting pubs in their local neighbourhood from 5pm on the evening of July 21 and met up at the Red House Boutique in Stourbridge the following afternoon to compare notes.

The census showed the opening of two new pubs in the last year, the Old Liberal, in Quarry Bank, and Roberto’s Bar, opposite the church in Halesowen, as well as Lounge 101 on Kent Road in Halesowen, which started serving real ale.

It also found two pubs which had closed since the last census, which were the Greyhound, in Norton, and the Beat Brewery Taphouse, in Lye, and found that five had no cask ale on sale on the day.

It meant that, in total, 75 pubs were serving cask ale in 2023, compared to 79 in 2022, with the branch also finding that there were 136 different cask ales from 84 breweries on offer, one fewer than 2022, and spoke about what the most popular were.

A spokesman for Stourbridge & Halesowen CAMRA said: "Wye Valley HPA was the most popular beer we came across, served in 24 of the pubs visited, closely followed by their Butty Bach in 13 pubs.

"As in previous surveys, Holden’s Golden Glow and Enville Ale were other beers frequently seen.

"We also recorded 34 different real ciders and 25 'craft keg' beers being served, so the overall range of beers and ciders is impressive."

The branch spokesman also said the price had increased between 2022 and 2023, with the median price rising, and detailed what the differences were in prices.

The spokesman said: "As expected, the price of a pint of cask ale has increased again as both breweries and pub owners struggle with their overhead costs.

"The median price is now £3.90, up from £3.65 in 2022 and £3.20 pre-Covid.

"The cheapest pint was Ruddles Best at £1.71 (Wetherspoons) and the most expensive was the £5.00 being charged in one of our Stourbridge pubs.

"The average cost of a pint of cider is £4.34.

"Craft keg beer is usually more expensive, with an average price of £6.33, but can be up to £15 a pint."