Regulars and visitors from far and wide came together to celebrate The Bailey Head pub in Oswestry receiving their certificate for becoming one of the four national finalists in the Campaign for Real Ale Pub of the Year award.

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Today we headed to Stonehouse Brewery to brew their first collaboration beer.

One Day is a 4.7% West Coast IPA designed with Kev the head brewer and Shane over a pint in the pub and features Citra and Krush hops.

Rhys, Carys and Jack came along to join in the brew day and got to stir the mash, add hops and the yeast.

This is the third collaboration that will appear on the bar at our 23 November CAMRA National Pub of the Year finalist presentation.

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Like Scary Monsters, Super Creeps uses Nelson Sauvin and Ekuanot. It won’t be as hazy as Scary Monsters and will be 4.8%.

This is the second of our three collaborations that will go on the bar at our CAMRA National Pub of the Year finalist presentation on 23 November. Last week we brewed with Riverhead (Ossett) in Yorkshire and next week we will be brewing much closer to home… watch this space.

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We are backing the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) Indie Beer campaign. Apart from our Krombacher (which is brewed by an independent family owned German brewery) all of our draught beer and 99% of our small pack beer is brewed by independent UK breweries.

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Grace and Duncan have spent the last two days with Ossett Brewery in Yorkshire.
On Monday Oliver Ford and Head Brewer Paul Spencer took the pair of us on a superb tour of three very different pubs and the Ossett Brewery.

We started off at the stunning Kings Arms, Heath Common, Wakefield. This stunning 18th century building is full of beams and atmosphere. Sorry no photos.

We then headed to Fernandes Brewery. Luis Bar, converted from an old maltings couldn’t be more different to the Kings Arms. The cellar houses a tiny brewery! The only photo we grabbed was of the pump clip of local legend Bill Nelson, which Duncan had a very enjoyable pint of, having seen him front Be Bop Deluxe back in 1978!

Then on to a great tour of Ossett Brewery, an incredible setup, that relies on one Mash Tun to feed a mass of tanks.

Finally we headed to the Bingley, for more beers and some great Bao buns and wings.

Tuesday was an early start to head back across Leeds to the Riverhead Brewery Tap in Marsden. Our task for the day was to collaboration brew Wild Flower, a 4.2% hazy pale under the expert guidance of Steve Chapman. Steve has a lifetime of brewing, including many years at Tetley Brewery. It is fair to say that hazy beers packed with lots of American hops post boil are not his personal preference, which to be fair lead to lots of teasing, but this was helped along by lots of discussions about gigs we had all been to. So Wild Flower, 4.2%, hopped with Citra, Idaho 7, Mosaic and Galaxy will make its first appearance at our CAMRA National Pub of the Year Finalists presentation on 23 November.

Thanks again to Ollie, Paul and Steve for looking after us, we had a great time.

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We are astounded to have made it to the final four for the CAMRA National Pub of the Year!

Everyone is invited to the presentation of our finalists certificate at 1pm on Saturday, 23 November. The bar will feature three collaboration cask beers we are brewing with Riverhead (Ossett), Castle Rock and Stonehouse.

CAMRA said:

The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) has announced the four best pubs in the UK as part of its prestigious Pub of the Year 2024 competition

The Bailey Head has been named one of the four best pubs in the UK after winning a place in the Super Regional round of the Pub of the Year competition.

Nestled near the Welsh borders in the charming market town of Oswestry, the Bailey Head is a must visit for beer and cider lovers. The pub has one of the largest beer ranges of any in Shropshire, claiming to have sold over 3,400 different draught beers since opening in March 2016. Six constantly changing cask beers, always including one dark beer, are supplemented by eleven other draught beers, plus four ciders and a perry. The pub also has a substantial range of canned and bottled beers from across the UK and overseas.

The Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) named the pub the UK’s Best Rural Independent Craft Beer Pub or Bar in 2020, and it has been a finalist for the same award many times since. Grace, Duncan, and their team also organise regular tap takeovers and meet the brewer events for the local community.

Landlord Duncan Borrowman said: “To say we are shocked to make it into the final four is an understatement. I am not sure we will ever stop pinching ourselves. It is a testament to our hard-working small team of dedicated staff and our loyal regulars.”

Landlady Grace Goodlad said: “When we bought the pub nearly nine years ago, we never dreamt this could happen. It had been failing under the ownership of a major pub company and CAMRA had it protected as an Asset of Community Value. We couldn’t have done this without that happening.”

Shelly Bentley, West Midlands Regional Director for CAMRA, said:

“A huge congratulations is in order to all at the Bailey Head who have put in the phenomenally hard work to achieve this accolade. I applaud Duncan and Grace’s passion to delivering an exceptional range of beers for their customers, who are very clearly at the centre of Bailey Head’s heart.

“The journey from a tired pub that needed an Asset of Community Value protection, to now achieving Super Regional Pub of the Year is astounding. This is certainly reflected in Duncan, Grace and the rest of the team’s devotion to deliver great beer to their local community, and I hope regulars and new visitors alike will be raising a toast to them all during their next visit.”

National Pub of the Year Coordinator Andrea Briers said: “I am thrilled to unveil our top four pubs in the UK, and I could not hope for a better set of finalists. It gets harder each year to whittle down the regional and national top 17 pubs to just four places, such is the standard of the competition. These fantastic four are the epitome of what a good pub should be; welcoming to all, friendly hardworking staff and serve well maintained cask beer for a wonderful pub going experience. I am excited to find out which one will be crowned the best pub in the UK.”

“Pubs need our support more than ever, as the licensed trade continues to feel the strain under the burden of unfair tax, high costs and regulations. I urge all pub lovers and beer drinkers to experience not only our incredible Pub of the Year finalists, but support as many pubs as possible.”

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Back in 2017 the maker of the original sparkling cider we had on tap was purchased by a multinational company and the hunt started for a replacement. Discussions started and tastings happened with Stonehouse. Elevate was born and went on the bar on 28 May 2018, only one thing has been on the bar longer. It has served us superbly, but Stonehouse have understandably decided to stop making Cider for various operational reasons. We are sad to see it go.

When they told us the plan our hunt for a replacement began, and again tastings happened.

It had to be made from real apples. It had to taste like a proper Cider and ideally we wanted something fairly local.

So from tomorrow welcome Oldfields Cider Original to the bar. From North Worcestershire, not far over the border from Shropshire, we are sure it will be a new favourite.

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The Bailey Head pub in Oswestry has won a place in the prestigious CAMRA Good Beer Guide for the eighth year running.

The 4,500 pubs listed in the Guide are independently selected by CAMRA volunteers around the country based on the quality of brews sold at the bar – inclusion can never be bought or sold

The Bailey Head has won a place in the guide every year since it was opened by husband and wife team Duncan Borrowman and Grace Goodlad in 2016. The pub is currently West Midlands CAMRA Regional Pub of the Year and Regional Cider Pub of the Year, the first pub to win both the accolades. Over the next couple of weeks it will hear if it has progressed further in the national stages of both awards.

Grace Goodlad, landlady of The Bailey Head said; “It is great to be included in the Good Beer Guide again and we know that it brings many beer tourists to us and as a result to Oswestry. Duncan and I are absolutely delighted to be in the Guide again”

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