Shrewsbury Pub Explorations

I mentioned at the end of the Shifnal post that there was a pint of Bass waiting for me in Shrewsbury.  It just wasn't where I expected it to be.

Arriving at 3:30pm on a gloriously sunny day, I strolled through the county town, birthplace of Charles Darwin, pop group T'Pau, and England goalkeeper Joe Hart.
Only one of those has a statue outside the library (so far)...

This was my second visit in recent years to Shrewsbury, the last being in November 2019 which is why there are a few obvious omissions from today's selection of pubs. 
On that visit everything had been very grey and miserable, but today the sunshine was bringing out the best of the city.

Just don't get distracted by A-boards when photographing olde-worlde buildings.

"▲Bass sold here"
A diversion on the way to the hotel? Don't mind if I do!

Kings Head (48 Mardol, Shrewsbury, SY1 1PP)
This old 15th century inn was once named The Last Inn being the final hostelry on the route out of town towards the Welsh border.  It was renamed The Kings Head around 1780 and looks the part as one of Shrewsbury's oldest remaining inns.
Well, outside at least.
A bit of research tells me that there's an ancient wall painting of the last supper within the pub. So, typical that instead of photographing that, this uncultured soul was busy taking pictures of his beer...

Other cask options on the bar were Old Speckled Hen or Butty Bach.
I'll be honest, my Bass wasn't bad, but wasn't great either.

The Kings Head is kitted out as a typical town boozer with shiny wooden floors, games machines and a neat paint job, failing to match up to the stunning exterior.  It didn't feel very loved or lived in, perhaps the new management noted on the A-board not having had a chance to make their mark yet.

Springsteen played quietly in the background - introspective Bruce rather than Born in the USA Bruce.
Whilst I quaffed that pint of Bass and made ready to move on and check into my digs for the night.

My accommodation was another Wetherspoon Hotel experience, this time in the Good Beer Guide listed Shrewsbury Hotel, the fine weather attracting crowds to the tables in front of it.

My room was on the back with a view of rooftops and kitchen ventilation ducts rather than looking out over the al-fresco Spoons crowd.
Bag dropped off, layers shed, I emerged back out into the mini hotter-than-the-Med April heatwave and found my way back to oddly named Dogpole street...

Cromwell's Tap House (11 Dogpole, Shrewsbury, SY1 1EN)
At one time this was private housing, prior to being converted into the Warwick Hotel in the '40's.  It looks a big place from the outside yet the bar is surprisingly compact, with stone floor and beamed ceiling and a fair bit of character.

There were two beers from Weetwood on cask, plus the Hobsons seasonal 'Harlequin' which I picked.  And lots of interest on the keg lines too.
Most custom was out in the back yard, but I stayed in on a high stool to listen to the B52s, Carly Simon and Starship.

I had a little further to walk to the next pub: across the River Severn and suburban Shrewsbury.
I was on my way to a family-run Beer Guide regular which is a reliable Bass outlet.
Although a key part of the livery on the front is missing... 

Any reports of residential properties near the Blind Monkey in Sheffield recently erecting 'Bass' above their front doors?

Cross Foxes (27 Longdon Coleham,Shrewsbury, SY3 7DE)
You can tell this is a glorious little pub the moment you walk in the door. It's confirmed once you take a sip of the beer and the staff turn up the volume of Erasure's 'A Little Respect' in response to an impromptu singalong by the least likely looking Erasure fans sitting at the bar.

If you don't fancy Bass (😱) there is Wye Valley 'HPA' and 'Butty Bach' on offer, plus the tempting Three Tuns 'xxxx'.
The pub is L-shaped, with dart board in one quiet corner and most of the punters settled on tables to the rear.

Sticking to the same side of town, I walked a short way to my final pub of the evening.

The Prince of Wales (30 Bynner Street, Belle Vue, Shrewsbury, SY3 7NZ)
This is an award-winning backstreet gem that ticks plenty of boxes for me:
☑ Great quality beer - superb choice.
☑ Bookshelf of old Good Beer Guides.
☑ Local football team memorabilia.
☑ Bowling green out back.
☑ Customers who politely ignore my hiccups.

On reflection only one of those is actually essential.

There were seven cask beers available, including beers you've heard of, local favourites, and a dark ruby mild.
Never turn down a dark ruby mild - in this case brewed by by Magic Dragon in Wrexham and at 3.6% rather more sensible in strength than the Sarah Hughes variety. 

I took this out to the pleasant rear decking overlooking the bowling green where a match (game?) was just getting underway.  There's a great football touch here too, with some of the seats at the edge of the green having been rescued from Shrewsbury Town's old Gay Meadow ground.

As evening blue sky gave way to dusk, I called it a night and headed back to the hotel.

For those wanting an Untappd check-in of something foolishly strong, you should head straight off the train into the Tap and Can, instead of searching out A-boards advertising Bass of dubious quality.
On my second day, I made sure to make it to pay it a visit...

Tap and Can (13 Castle Gates, Shrewsbury, SY1 2AB)
This was one of those places with too much to pick from, with a blackboard listing 10 keg lines and 4 cask. Oof..Holy Goat sour? Spaten Helles? Duration super-pale ale?
In the end I picked the Tartarus 'Harlequin' on cask.

I didn't know Tartarus did cask. In fact, I didn't know Tartarus did anything under 10%.
The Tap and Can is a micropub-style bar, decorated with pump clips, most of the seating on German beer-fest long benches.

They specialised in music I'd never heard of: Slow Fiction 'Brother' sounded great, less convincing were Ora Cogan or Van Houlten...who?
What we needed was a rendition of Paradise City...

I stayed for an unwise Cloudwater 'Chubbles' TIPA, a hefty 10%. A hefty £6 for a third.

I'd thoroughly recommend the Tap and Can and know that it'd be a challenge getting Mrs PropUptheBar past it and onward to the other delights Shrewsbury has to offer.
Such as Bass in the Woodman 

The Woodman (32 Coton Hill, Shrewsbury, SY1 2DZ)

Butty Bach, HPA, White Rat, Lemon Dream, and Bass - your discerning cask selection, all priced at £4.35 a pint.
A recognisable soundtrack of EMF, The Beatles, Depeche Mode and Peter Gabriel.
Some serious dart throwing, a game of dominos in action and Warwick Davis presenting Tenable on the telly.

What more could you ask for?
It's a proper pub to end the evening in, although I've visited twice and missed the heritage lounge bar on both occasions.  It's almost as if I wasn't thinking straight after a 10% triple IPA.

That's Shrewsbury explored.  Next up: a trip into western Shropshire to Oswestry.