“That’s not Carling !” I can hear the pedants shout.
But I bet Peter Allen, South Birmingham Carling Drinker of the Year 1996, spotted it, presented in misleading glassware aiming to cash in on Coors sudden popularity amongst hipsters.
I’m surprised my faithful army of pedants didn’t jump in to shout “Oi, you’re in Tipton, NOT Dudley” this morning. I can only assume they’re not investing enough time to keep up with the blog.
Mrs RM gets the pick of bijou accommodation on her travels, and paid the extra tenner for her driver to stay the night at Oldbury Ibis Suites, just off Junction 2 of the excitingly slow M5.
This Ibis is very much a step up from the usual Travelodge or faded country hotel, offering an escort from reception to the lifts and a free paper bag of sweets. I’d rather have speedy WiFi, Ibis.
And I’d quite like some pedestrian crossings to enable you to make the theoretical 11 minute journey across three dual carriageways. Stafford Paul would cope fine.
The Stores is a Desi pub. It doesn’t say that on the door; it says it in the Daily Entxpress, so it must be true.
What Pub says it serves cask, which I confess I assumed would be something mainstream like Doom Bar or Tiny Rebel Marshmallow Stay Puft.
Sadly/thankfully, new owners have replaced that troublesome cask with beers that folk actually drink.
I really should have had Guinness. Or Thatchers. But I’d never had Carling. Honest.
Mrs RM went for HopHouse, thinking it was some sort of craft keg. The branding is a bit of a giveaway.
It’s a lads pub, the stock entry in Beer Mat’s blog, and all the better for it. Four lads at the bar, two in the plush seats, loads of coming and going to the smoking area, and a barmaid who spent more time at the fruit machine than behind the bar.
The feel is a a cross between a Labour Club and our local curry house, but that’s OK as we’ve come for the food.
And the mixed grill was stunning.
If the job of the Carling is to cool your mouth when you come across a Naga pepper, it does that. But Mrs RM had the better deal.
If you were an easily shocked Guardian reading family from Esher, staying in the nearby Holiday Inn while visiting Cadbury World, you might find the Stores a bit rough and ready. We thought it was great.
By the way, I let local CAMRA know about the switch to keg; it says the entry was updated the day I sent my feedback. But looking, WhatPub still proclaims cask. Perhaps keg really is the new cask.
retiredmartin 
Great stuff!!! I need to go there! How do you always get so many pictures in these boozers….?.
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That meat tray looks really good. I missed a truly traditional curry on our last trip.
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You can get a mixed grill like that in the Morris Man near me, and a choice of Banks’s or Doom Bar.
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Peter Allen, South Birmingham Carling Drinker of the Year 1996 – who had a Road to Damascus experience in Uttoxeter yesterday and is now a confirmed Draught Bass drinker.
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Temporary relapse.
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Is this now official?
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It has indeed been a momentous week, having tasted both Bass and Pedigree for the first time…ever…in Uttoxeter! My verdict? I preferred the Bass to Pedigree, but both were palatable. However, Mr Mudge of Stafford is slightly over-egging my Damascene moment by forgetting to mention the two halves of Carling I had in the last two pubs (one of which was our return to the Vaults)!
In conclusion, whilst I found both the Bass and Pedigree to be acceptable, I’d still choose Carling before either (sorry, Paul!). But…Oakham Citra trumps them all…IMHO!
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Well done Peter.
I found Carling cold but completely tasteless, but given how dull Bass is sometimes served I don’t blame you.
Tiny Rebel Marshmallow Stay Puft next for you.
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Martin,
In relative terms, compared to what you’re used to, Carling is tasteless…which is why I like it! Whereas, the Hop House 13 (which a good friend of mine also mistook for a new craft lager!) is the new Harp…but not quite as ‘sharp’ as before!
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Carling Black Label Lager was advertised “Fuller Flavour”, and I think “That full of flavour beer”, so
(a) was that a lie,
(b) is it now brewed to be blander, or
(c) have newer beers overtaken it in terms of flavour ?
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Pete,
Sorry if I got it wrong.
I’m not sure why but my memory of the last two pubs isn’t as good as of the earlier ones.
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I’m no Sherlock Holmes, but possibly your ninth pint of Bass/Pedigree might have had some effect on your faculties…lol!
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Oh, never thought of that !
Maybe drinking halves could assist memory retention on a Proper Day Out ( but then we’d probably just get round more pubs ). .
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“Dudley/Tipton/Oldbury/the World”
All I can say is that there’s a hall named after me (far left, middle). 🙂
“I’d rather have speedy WiFi, Ibis.”
Me too.
“And I’d quite like some pedestrian crossings to enable you to make the theoretical 11 minute journey across three dual carriageways.”
Blimey. Even Google Maps in their directions states: “Use caution–walking directions may not always reflect real-world conditions”
“it says it in the Daily Entxpress, so it must be true.”
It also states ‘regualrs and sporty’ so I’d take it with a grain of salt.
“Mrs RM went for HopHouse, thinking it was some sort of craft keg.”
It does have the Arthur Guinness signature written across the 13 on the pump. 🙂
“If the job of the Carling is to cool your mouth when you come across a Naga pepper, it does that.”
That’s the main function of any lager. 😉
“Perhaps keg really is the new cask.”
The marketing lads never rest on their laurels.
Cheers
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Mixed kebab looks good – increasingly I am learning that iced water with lime and lemon is the only thing to drink with Asian food.
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Belatedly turning up for duty among Martin’s army of pedants – great to see a Desi entry among all the usual GBG micro pashmina stuff. Haven’t been in the Stores for ages, so I remember it more as the Manchester Stores. Apparently it used to be popular with bus drivers when the former Oldbury WMPTE/ex-Midland Red depot was still going. Cheers, Paul
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