Pub of the Month - January

Tap & Spile, Stafford

Regulars at Stafford’s Tap & Spile may find it difficult to believe that sales of cask beer in Britain have been falling quite dramatically in recent years. The Tap & Spile always has eight cask beers on sale and "regularly changing" can be an understatement as casks sometimes last only a few hours.

Such a high turnover together with the interest shown in the beers by tenant Steve Tideswell guarantees quality, which in turn has boosted sales.

About four hundred different real ales a year are stocked, with a mild, stout or porter often supplementing bitters of various strengths. Some beers are from long established regional breweries, but most are from newer independent brewers. Traditional cider is also available.

Steve is fortunate in having a gigantic cellar, which enables dozens of casks to be stillaged for the pub’s beer festivals twice a year.

The Tap & Spile is a proper community pub. It is home to several sports teams, including darts, crib, football and women’s netball.

Quizzes are held on Tuesday and Saturday evenings and there is a free bar billiards table.

Built early in the last century as the Cottage by the Brook, the pub’s name change in 1994 coincided with a sensitive refurbishment. The spacious pub has four distinct areas, one of which is smoke free. At the back is a small beer garden. The Tap & Spile is open from 4.30 to 11pm, Monday to Thursday, and noon onwards from Friday to Sunday.

Situated in Peel Terrace, just off the B5066 Sandon Road, the Tap & Spile is a mile north of Stafford town centre.

The Pub of the Month presentation will take place at about 930pm on Thursday 4th January.

From the Archives Central Staffordshire News Pub of the Month December 2000

Front Page Pub of the Year 2000 Potteries Pub Preservation Group Try the N/4

Belgium in a Bottle Pub News Titanic News 20th Stoke Beer Festival Report

Beartown Brewery Letters

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