The man behind the reopening of a Sedgley brewery and restoration of the award-winning adjoining historic real ale pub has died at the age of 87.

Beacon Hotel owner John Hughes had worked there from the age of 11.

The brewery had closed in 1957 and John masterminded its reopening in 1987 as Sarah Hughes Brewery..

It has since gone on to win numerous awards for its Dark Ruby Mild, Sedgley Surprise and Snowflake beers. Ruby Mild is the reigning CAMRA West Midlands champion beer.

The hotel and brewery, which dates from 1848, had been owned by his family since 1921. It is a Grade II listed building..

John took over the Beacon in 1976 and began a long-term project to restore the building and then get the brewery back in action.

The Beacon has been a multiple winner of the Dudley and South Staffordshire branch of CAMRA's pub of the year award - most recently for 2024 and it was runner-up for 2025.

The brewery was renamed in honour of his grandmother Sarah Hughes. Her recipe for Dark Ruby Mild was found in a glasses case by John before beer production resumed.

The longstanding CAMRA member, who was born in Bilston Street, Sedgley in 1937, did National Service in the Army where he was in the Catering Corps. That led to his love of cooking. As well as the Beacon, his SL320 Mercedes-Benz was his pride and joy and he loved travelling to an from his apartment by the sea in Bournemouth for many years.

He was also a keen painter and loved creating cloud scenes.

His nephew Simon Massey said John had died in Brook Court, a nursing home in Kidderminster on June 1.

The ownership of the pub and brewery has passed to John's widow.

He married the former Judy Massey, his long time partner, in 2004.

She had helped him with ensuring that all the details of the pub were in the correct Victorian style.

"The pub was their life and they made decisions about it together," explained Simon, who lives in Kinver and remains director of the limited company for the brewery and pub.

"Our intention is to carry on the business as it is.

"The Beacon needs preserving for future generations. Whatever I can do to keep it the same, I will," pledged Simon.

Work on replacing the conservatory at the side of the pub had begun before John's death. He had helped with the planning and also with plans to replace old garages at the rear of the car park with a new cold store and barrel was for the brewery.

John's funeral is taking place at All Saints Parish Church in Sedgley on Monday, July 7, at 11am.

The funeral party will be leaving from the Beacon Hotel shortly before the service which will be followed by cremation at Gornal Wood.

A wake by invitation only is being held in the Beacon from12 noon and the pub will open to all customers at 2.30pm on that day.

Snowflake is one of the dozen beers in contention for CAMRA's Champion Beer of Britain which is being judged at the Great British Beer Festival being held at the Birmingham National Exhibition Centre from August 5 to 9.

The Dudley & South Staffordshire CAMRA branch is delighted to share two important awards...

Pub Of The Year award

A Brierley Hill pub has received an award from the Dudley and South Staffordshire branch of the Campaign for Real Ale.

Chairman John Corser presented the 2025 branch pub of the year award to Tom Comyns, the landlord of the Vine Inn in Delph Road.

The award is based on scores for branch pub beers over the course of a year and the assessment of judges in a final round of judging of the finalists.

The Batham's pub, known locally as the Bull and Bladder got high marks for standard of service and community involvement.

Runner-up in the 2026 competition was the Beacon Hotel in Bilston Street, Sedgley, which won the 2024 award, with the Bird in Hand, Wordsley - also a former winner - in third place.

Mr Comyns, manager for seven-and-a-half years said the pub's success was down to his excellent team behind the bar and his regulars.

The Bull and Bladder is next to the Batham's Brewery and offers hot and cold food Monday to Friday from 12 noon to 2pm.

The lounge bar was originally a butcher's shop before it became a pub in 1835. The Vine was bought by Batham's in 1905 and it was rebuilt in 1912 when the tower brewery was also constructed.

It was previously branch pub of the year in 2016.

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Rural/South Staffordshire Pub Of The Year award

A Kinver pub has won an award from the Dudley and South Staffordshire branch of the Campaign for Real Ale for the second year in a row.

Branch chairman John Corser presented the 2025 rural/South Staffordshire pub of the year award to Cross Inn licensee Andy Clark.

The Black Country Ales pub in Church Hill qualified for the Staffordshire round of CAMRA's national pub of the year judging as a result of the win.

The Cross, which has 10 handpulls, was also previously South Staffordshire winner in 2019.

The pub, which dates back to the 1800s, was extended in 2023 after being bought by BCA in 2011.

Andy, who was delighted to win the award again, urged people to continue supporting real ale and encouraged regulars to join CAMRA.

A Dudley town centre pub, thought to be the oldest operating pub in the area, has resumed offering cask ale.

The Old Priory in New Street now has Bombardier on handpull and a changing guest ale..

The pub has had a change in opening hours under licensee Claire Partridge..

There is no car park, but the Old Priory has a small beer garden to the rear and a pool room. Plans are afoot to launch a new darts team..

The Old Chainyard in Castle Street, Coseley, is still open following the refusal of a planning application to convert it to a supermarket.

Asda is believed to be preparing to appeal against the refusal.

Licensee Amanda Fisher, who has a lease with Red Oak Taverns to August 2026 is urging real ale drinkers to continue to support the pub.

She has pledged to keep the Old Chainyard open as long as she can.

She is still putting on two real ales on hand pump - usually Salopian, Titanic, Oakham and Enville beers.

The Dudley and South Staffordshire branch of CAMRA is hosting a regional event for Mild Month.

The branch area is still a stronghold of mild production with several breweries offering this style of beer.

The Mild in May trail is running on Saturday, May 10 starting at The Beacon Hotel in Sedgley at 12 noon.

The Beacon is home to Sarah Hughes Brewery and it's Ruby Mild - the 2024 CAMRA champion beer of the West Midlands.

We hope CAMRA members from across the region will come along to try it.

When the pub shuts at 3pm, The Stump (Mount Pleasant) in High Street opens. It is putting on Brickyard Strong Ruby Mild (6%) specially for the day. There is a nearby bus stop for the No 1 West Midlands Travel bus to Upper Gornal.

The Britannia in Kent Street is open from 12 noon and has Batham's Mild on sale.

Holden's Mild will be featured in The Mill in nearby Windmill Street (open from 11am).

The Jolly Crispin in Clarence Street has Theakston Traditional Mild (keg only). It is open at 11am.

Gornal and Sedgley Labour Club opposite is open to non-members at 12.30pm to 4.30pm and has M&B Mild (keg only).

The Bull's Head in Lower Gornal is home to the Black Country Ales brewery and will have its Pig on the Wall Mild available.

In Woodsetton Holden's Mild will also be available at the Park Inn next to the Holden's Brewery where bottled Mild is available from its shop (open 9am-12 noon).

The nearest railway stations are Wolverhampton and Coseley. The No 1 bus to Sedgley has a stop outside Wolverhampton police station in Bilston Street. The 229 bus from Coseley has a stop opposite the Beacon Hotel, which re-opens for it's evening session at 6pm.

There are several other real ale pubs in Sedgley that do not regularly offer mild including The White Lion, the Swan, The Clifton (JD Wetherspoon - offering food all day), The Crown (Indian food) and the Bull's Head (Thai restaurant at rear, open evening).

A Brierley Hill pub has been announced as the Dudley and South Staffordshire branch of the Campaign for Real Ale's pub of the year.

The Vine, also known as the Bull and Bladder, in Delph Road came out on top in judging by branch members.

A winner's certificate will be presented to the pub, part of the chain of Batham's pubs on a date to be arranged.

The Vine is next to the Batham's brewery and has established a reputation for great lunchtime food.

The runner-up in the competition was the 2024 winner - the Beacon Hotel in Bilston Street, Sedgley.

Another former winner The Bird in Hand in John Street, Wordsley took third place.

The branch is presenting its rural/South Staffordshire pub of the year award to The Cross Inn in Church Street, KInver, for the second year in a row.

There are nearly 350 active pubs in the branch area. Beer scores for all of them are taken into account in determining the finalists.

The finalists are then assessed for quality of beer, decor, welcome, community focus and alignment with CAMRA values.

The Vine will now be judged in the West Midlands county round and the Cross in the Staffordshire county round of CAMRA's national competition.

The former Wheelie Thirsty in Old Hill is opening as The Old Bank on Friday 28 March from midday.

The micro bar in Halesowen Road was previously owned by Fixed Wheel Brewery. It has undergone refurbishment ahead of opening under its new name.

It will continue to offer cask ale.

We're on a trip to Lichfield for the last Saturday of this month. The cost of the travel is £15 - although this is free to anyone who volunteered at Dudley Winters Ales Fayre.

There are pick-ups in Kingswinford, Dudley and West Bromwich.

See https://dudley.camra.org.uk/viewnode.php?id=246174

All the minutes from our branch meetings are available to you via the Branch meeting minutes page You will need to log in via your CAMRA membership number at the bottom left to view and download, however, before you can access them.

The Mill in Windmill Street, Upper Gornal is currently closed.

It is one of Holden's Brewery's pubs and the brewery is currently recruiting for a new licensee/manager.

The pub will then be re-opening. No date for that has yet to be announced.

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The Dudley and South Staffordshire branch of CAMRA has presented a cheque for £750 to Action Heart at Russell's Hall Hospital, Dudley.

The money was raised from donations of unused beer tokens and other donations from members at the 2024 Dudley Winter Ales Fayre.

Collection tins at the festival raised £67 which had already been received by Action Heart. Action Heart was chosen as the festival charity after branch member Terry Astley began rehabilitation there after a heart operation.

Chairman John Corser, festival organiser Robin Shields and treasurer Andy Cartwright visited Action Heart with Terry to hand over the money to director Russell Tipson after he gave them a tour of the facilities at the centre which is a registered charity.

The centre has more than 130 pieces of exercise equipment that are used by up to 300 patients a day on cardiac rehabilitation or lifestyle management programmes.

It has been decided that Action Heart will again be the festival charity for the 2025 Dudley Winter Ales Fayre which will run in Dudley Town Hall from November 27 to 29. February is also Action Heart's annual appeal month.

Details of how donations can be made to the charity and how to get involved as a volunteer are on the website at www.actionheart.com