New conservatory opens at famous Black Country pub – with a new beer named after its late legendary owner
By Mark Andrews
Copyright expressandstar
Shelly Bentley, a member of the Campaign for Real Ale’s (Camra) national executive, officially opened the new conservatory at the Beacon Hotel in Sedgley, which replaced a previous one which suffered from structural problems.
To mark the occasion, the pub’s Sarah Hughes brewery – which recently took second prize in the Champion Beer of Britain competition – launched three new beers including Johny Beacon, in honour of former owner John Hughes, who died on June 1 at the age of 87.
Johny Beacon is a 4.8 per cent pale copper bitter, described as having a malty sweetness rounded off with a robust, grassy-hop finish.
The two other new beers are Columbus, a 4.6 per cent New World style beer, and Samber, a 4.5 per cent blend of the brewery’s established Surprise and Amber bitters.
Mr Hughes took over the pub in 1976 – although it had been in his family since 1921 – and set about a painstaking restoration, which included the reopening of the brewery that his grandmother Sarah Hughes kept.
The work on the conservatory, which began when Mr Hughes was alive, was completed ready for the autumn and the indoor toilets at the Beacon have also been refurbished.
The new steel-framed conservatory with a slate roof replaces the old one, which dated from 1987 and needed constant maintenance.
The work preserved original features of the Grade II-listed building and now has seating for up to 20 customers. The building team, made up of local tradesmen, managed to salvage 70 per cent of the original bricks 60 per cent of the original floor tiles.
Mrs Bentley said the old conservatory was past its best and was costing a lot to repair.
She said the work had been done with heritage in mind to fit in with the main building.
“It is a local pub for locals although it gets lots of tourists for its beers and brewery, but it is the locals that see it through the year,” she said.
“Pubs are having a tough time at the moment, but this is one of the shining stars and I hope you will help to keep it this way.”
The Beacon was the Dudley and South Staffordshire Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) pub of the year in 2024 and runner-up this year. It is now owned by Mr Hughes’s widow Judy.
Its Sarah Hughes Snowflake took the silver medal in the Camra Champion Beer of Britain competition,. announced at the Great British Beer Festival at the NEC in August.
