I visit historic Staffordshire pub in 'most beautiful building, packed full of character'

Stretching across Shropshire and into other parts of the West Midlands and surrounding area, the brewery has a string of pubs which are historic and run with love and care by the people it employs as landlords.

One pub which has become a solid part of the estate is The Swan Hotel at Forton, just to the north of Newport, which, since February, has been run by Matt Moulson and Natalie Kibbler.

The pair are well-known and respected in the area for running the popular New Inn, in Newport, which they will continue to operate, and Mr Moulson said they would only have taken on another pub if it was the Swan, saying that it was one he had always admired.

He said: “We came in on February 11 as we’ve been running the pub up the road and said we’d never have another one unless the Swan ever came up as we wouldn’t be able to resist it, then, luckily, it did come up and the brewery went with our business plan.

“It’s the only hotel on the estate and I think it’s one of the most beautiful buildings and I would drive past it when I was working at another pub and think that I could do something with it.

“I know that other people went for it, but we’ve recently won an award for our other pub and been landlords of the year, which happened at the time we started applying for this, so all that went in our favour.”

The Swan Hotel was carefully restored by Joule’s Brewery in the summer of 2020, bringing new life to a much-loved local pub while staying true to its character.

Anyone walking in will find a welcoming space with reclaimed panelling, two large fireplaces and plenty of spots to settle in, while people coming to dine will find a choice of rooms well suited to large groups and there are a fine range of comfy bedrooms.

Mr Moulson said the mixture of having a nice and vibrant pub and a hotel made it perfect for him and spoke about the work he and his partner were doing to update the Swan.

He said: “Between Natalie and I, we spent a lot of time planning and a lot of money changing things, with the brewery also spending money as well.

“That’s nothing that you would notice when you walk in, but substantial investment in the kitchen and the infrastructure of the building as it operates as a hotel and a pub.

“That’s attracted a lot of attention and while customers will not see much, maybe a lick of paint and a few rugs, there’s been a lot of work done.”

Being a Joule’s Brewery pub, the Swan Hotel is very much a brewery tap, with a strong line-up of Joule’s beers, including Joule’s Pale Ale, Slumbering Monk, Green Monkey, and a rotating selection of cold craft beers.

It also has an excellent wine cellar, with Tanners Wine Merchants providing a good selection, while Joule’s have also bought a vineyard in Bordeaux and, as part of it, have been bringing bottles over to sell in the Swan.

Mr Moulson said the Swan was very much wet-led at present, but had aspirations to be a food destination, with a new dry ager among the additions to the kitchen.

He said: “We’re sorting out the food menu as the pub has been closed for a month while we sort things out, and it’s going to have a rustic country feel to it.

“We have a dry ager where we can age our meats and steaks to how we want them and we’ve also bought ovens where we can smoke chicken and the other meats and switch between.

“We can make a pretty interesting menu and we’ll try to get Joule’s beer and Joule’s wine as part of the meal as well.”

Mr Moulson said that running the Swan Hotel was a milestone for him, saying: “We’ve had pubs for a long time, some good and some bad, and we’re able to build a pub now which is a hotel and we’ll make this one work.”