A Black Country pub with a past that is looking to a brighter future

The pub on John Street dates back to the 1840s, with its name taken from the coloured glazed bricks at the front, and landlord Chris Vincent said it had undergone several changes over the years.

He said: "I know that it was an Ansells pub, then became a Tap and Spile called the New Inn before Black Country Ales bought it and did a small revamp of the pub.

"However, all the furniture and everything that came previously is still there, and the only thing that has changed is the decor."

Mr Vincent said the pub has around 12 real ale pumps, with two ciders and a range of ales available at any one time, and spoke about how the beers are picked - and his own preferences.

He said: "We get tasting notes sent to us each week and I make a choice of what I'd like in and what I think the customers would like, with many saying they preferred lower percentage ales, as well as hoppy and pale ales.

"I've been living and working in pubs for the last 15 years with my mum and stepdad, so I think I know a good ale when I see one."

That love for ale has helped Mr Vincent to find his calling, as he puts it, as he said he spent a few days running the Old Bush pub in Wombourne when his mother went away and realised he wanted to run his own pub.

He said: "I ran the pub for about 10 days and realised I was enjoying it, so I got talking to Black Country Ales and the Pretty Bricks was the pub that came up as a place looking for a new manager.

"I took it on as I thought I could bring the pub back to what it was as trade had previously dropped off and when I came to visit it, it wasn't in the best condition.

"I thought I could make a change and bring back one of the few pubs that are left in Walsall and have customers come back."

Mr Vincent said he had worked to bring back customers through better tasting ale and a pleasant and safe environment and had started to see the changes work as many of the older customers had started coming back.

The pub has a front bar with a warm and friendly atmosphere and the snug-style lounge has a more intimate feel, while both rooms feature real fires and there's also traditional pub fare on offer like cobs, pork pies and sausage rolls.

Ales on offer include Black Country Bradley's Finest Golden, Black Country Fireside and Black Country Pig on the Wall.

Mr Vincent said the next steps for the pub were to better utilise the upstairs function room, with more music upstairs in addition to the bi-monthly folk nights, but also to make the pub a nice alternative to the other drinking places on offer in Walsall.

He said: "We have the folk nights on, which get about 50 people in, and you can hear them singing and enjoying themselves, so we definitely want to do more of those nights.

"A lot of places are predominantly music and that's all you can hear, whereas we're able to offer an alternative where you can enjoy the music upstairs, or come downstairs and have a chat and a pint and talk amongst yourselves."