Wakefield CAMRA Homepage                                                                                        Wakefield CAMRA Brewery Visits

The Backyard Brewhouse

Unit 8A, Gatehouse Trading Estate, Lichfield Rd, Brownhills, Walsall, West Midlands WS8 6JZ,  phone 07591 923370 www.thebackyardbrewhouse.com

	The Iveco vehicle on the left is a 19 seater Browns minibus. The soon-to-be-replaced Skoda vehicle on the right doubles as dray for small deliveries, and a trailer can be hitched behind for bigger loads. The rabble in the middle is the group from Wakefield CAMRA.
	Look where the best malt comes from - Fawcetts of Castleford or Warminster Maltings.
	The copper has a big electric immersion heater but because of the curved bottom fixed almost a quarter of the way up, so a gas burner is used as a booster.
	We were offered a sample of GB. It's a classic copper coloured best bitter offering biscuit, and malt flavours with a hint of chocolate - the next best thing to a chocolate digestive. The sweetness of the malt is balanced by the bitterness from best British hops.
	Proprietor and Head Brewer Austen has a degree in Food Science and first worked as a biker (we were told - apparently it's someone who mikes bread) then did about eleven years at the Highgate Brewery in Walsall before setting up on his own. He's seen here receiving a commemorative certificate from Wakefield CAMRA Chairman, Mark Goodair.

Austen gave us directions to the nearby Royal Oak pub, where Backyard beers are often available. The Picasa Web Album for the Backyard Brewhouse also has a number of pictures of this pub which has been retained many fine Art Deco features from the 1930s plus sensitive renewals which maintain the style. Link to Royal Oak website.