|  | 
BIRMINGHAM CITY
ONE PUB ONLY?
The Anchor
CRAWLING FROM RAILWAY STATION TO THE GROUND?
Woodman, White Swan, Anchor and then follow the crowd
SOMETHING A LITTLE DIFFERENT?
Prince of Wales
| 
| ASTON VILLA
ONE PUB ONLY?
Bartons Arms and walk on to the ground
CRAWLING FROM RAILWAY STATION TO THE GROUND?
Wellington to Old Joint Stock then Bull and Bartons Arms
SOMETHING A LITTLE DIFFERENT?
The Wellington
| |  Anchor
308 Bradford Street, Digbeth, Birmingham B5 6ET. Telephone 0121 622 4516 www.anchorinndigbeth.co.uk
Gaffer: Gerry Keane
Food: Typical pub menu from 12 to 8
Open: 11 to late
An easy stroll from city centre transport down Digbeth from the stations or from the bus station down Rea Street and turn left, this is an empathic brick and terracotta watering hole for anyone bound for St. Andrews. Gerry the gaffer has cultivated a real ale haven in a traditional working area. He told me of the forthcoming ‘Irish Quarter’ in whose midst lies his pub. Indeed there are blank spaces nearby where I remember Victorian working edifices. Behind the bar I did notice a scarf with ‘Mayo’ inscribed, translated from the authentic ‘Meigh Eo’.
Gerry’s commitment is shown by the number of themed beer weekends and festivals held here. His father moved in during the early 60s, and he took over in 1983, fully justifying a week of celebration in April 2008, though how he’d be able to improve on what he provides day by day and month by month is perplexing. The garden has been ingeniously converted for modern use with a raised inner sanctuary with seats, for smokers, above a space with an evocative Middle Eastern style canopy and a bit of open air. The pub itself is intriguing – a central bar surrounded by separate rooms each with their own character. This, combined with an ever-changing, and wide, selection of beer from all over, might coax you into missing some of the game, or tempt you into a return visit before the journey home. The beer policy is a little complex – simply it means you’ll always have a wide and novel choice. You will share this with away fans. The Brummie Blues do not hold a monopoly.
The curry menu was also tempting – 6 selections, all with rice/chips and naan bread. There are also rolls and cobs. The building itself is Grade II listed and worth taking the time to examine. It has long been a favourite with local ale aficionados, regularly earning CAMRA pub of the year awards, most recently just before the Nov 07 visit.
BWV 8.11.07 (ME): Tetley Bitter, Hobson's Mild (both always), Kelham Island Voodoo. Nethergate Umbert Magna, Mighty Oak Manhattan Gold, Phoenix Gerry's Gothic Ale, E & S Down Digbeth, Salopian Eruption, Stonehouse Anchor Wheat Beer, Full Mash Ghoulies at the Anchor, Downton Amerquand, Churchend Anchor Pearl, Wychwood Hobgoblin
BWV 16.8.07 (ME): Wychwood Wychcraft, Millstone The Station, Acorn Fuggles IPA, Roosters Tippel Gold, Wizard Druid’s Fluid
BWV 9.11.05 (RS): Florette Blonde, Hampshire Victory’s Home, Hepworth Organic Cool Blonde Lager, Hobsons Old
BWV 20.2.05 (RS): Beartown Pandamonium, Brown Cow Old E’fer, Cannon Royall Arrowhead, Foxield White Fox, Greene King Abbot, Hambleton Nightmare, Hanby Coopers Mild, Rooster’s Brewers Gold, Skinner’s Tinners, Wye Valley White Knuckle, Cheddar Valley Traditional Cider
Mick Escott | |  Bartons Arms
144 High St, Aston, B6 4UP T 0121 333 5988 W www.bartons-arms.co.uk
G Stuart Wright
F Thai food 12 to 2.30, 5.30 to 10 SP BM D
O 12 to 11, 11 to 11 Sat, 11 to 10 Sun
Food: Thai Noon – 2.30 & 5.30 – 10pm Mon – Sat, Noon – 8pm Sun
Opening: Noon – 2.30 & 5.30 – late Mon – Fri, 11 – late Sat, Noon – 10.30 Sun
The Bartons Arms’ Victorian splendour is famous well beyond Birmingham, but for decades, the pub was a keg-only has-been, in an area most folk only passed through to get to somewhere else. Then, just over a hundred years’ on from its original opening, Oakham Ales took this neglected landmark pub and restored it to former glories. The carved wood, ornate tiling, and stained glass interior that made this one of England’s finest examples of high Victorian luxury have been lovingly restored, and the pub is now both an awe-inspiring piece of history, as well as a pleasant and comfortable pub for the 21st century.
The beer list just gets better, with guests now outnumbering the Oakham regulars. In such a large, impressive, pub, there is naturally a choice of room, each with its own character. On Saturday lunchtime, many people were taking advantage of the extensive Thai food menu in the large back room with the fireplace, while others favoured the busier front room, whose huge windows bring in lots of natural light. Even on a winter’s day, the pub’s greenhouse effect makes you feel you are in Majorca rather than a grey wind-swept area of ugly concrete and roaring traffic.
On my most recent visit, the pub didn’t get so crowded as to become uncomfortable, and there was a happy mix of home and away fans in colours, including families. The front room filled early, but with ninety minutes to kick off there were still seats available in the back.
Villa Park is walkable from the pub, situated on the A34 and well served by buses on the Birmingham-Walsall route. For a pre or post match session of beer, food, and architecture, you’ll do well to find a better pub in the area. And if you do find a better one let us know.
BWV 6.10.07: Abbeydale Matins, Beowulf Dragon Smok, Burton Bridge XL Mild, Howard Town Monk’s Gold, Oakham Bishop’s Farewell, Haka, JHB, White Dwarf Wheat Beer, Quartz Leofric Weston’s Bounds Brand cider
Chris Ackrill | |  Black Eagle
16 Factory Rd, Hockley, B18 5JU T 0121 523 4008 W http://www.blackeaglepub.co.uk/
G Tony Lewis
F Excellent home-cooked traditional English fayre 12 to 2.30, 5.30 to 9.30 (Bar), 7.30 to 9.30 (Restaurant). No food Sun eves.
SP BM D
O 11.30 to 3, 5.30 to 11 Mon - Thu, 11 to 11 Fri, 12 to 3, 7 to 11 Sat, 12 to 3 only Sun
Geoff Clarke and the London branch of the Baggies supporters club recommended the Black Eagle as a place to have a good pint and food before taking the metro to the Hawthorns. How right they were when they talked of high quality beer in a beautiful local. The pub is positively warm. The design is traditional and the décor distinctively well cared for, down to the flowers on the mantle piece and gleaming mirrors and clocks among the Victoriana. The pub is not overly-ornate but has features that make it stand out from the normal back-street boozer one expects to find in this workaday suburb. Tony has a theatrical past and it is no wonder this is so much loved by the throngs of office workers who come to lunch and impress. Frequented by baggies on a Saturday, it never loses its classiness.
I had a very pleasant lunchtime sat in the sun-lit front bar. The tone is set by Radio 2 which subtly invites a reflective and peaceful attitude to drinking here. It meets the needs of foodies, drinkers and couples merely chatting, equally well. It is recommended to book for food in the rear restaurant-lounge. I would be perfectly content to hog a corner in one of the two bars for a long session.
BWV 18. 11 .05: Ansells Bitter, Mild, Batham Best Bitter, Burton Bridge Stairway to Heaven, Hadrian and Border Reiver’s IPA, Marston’s Pedigree, Timothy Taylor Landlord
Black Eagle (update)
A bit further out from Birmingham city centre than the Church Inn, the Black Eagle is a continuing triumphant freehouse for former actor Tony. He has developed into the comprehensively excellent pub he’s been running for some years. It’s certainly his stage with so much good stuff to enjoy: one of the better pub quizzes on alternate Mondays, courtesy of Gwyn. I write as a former runner-up team member, proving that it’s of the not-too-daunting variety. And that would be accompanied by a few pints chosen from 4 regular and 3 guest beers, or even Freedom organic lager, a mere 4.8%. More can be sampled at the beer festivals Tony holds over a July weekend. The food is varied and interesting with tempting casseroles alongside standard pub fare. Food is important here, winning the Evening Mail’s Best Pub Grub award in 2006. Sunday roasts, in two sittings, a good idea as it’s all freshly cooked for the 2.30 one, should be booked in advance. A meal could provide a tasty prelude to a Sky-induced fixture rearrangement. The pub is well worth the metro journey from Birmingham Snow Hill to Soho Benson Road, followed by only a few yards’ walk. The area is not prepossessing, with much industrial dereliction in evidence, but this is a true oasis, down to the pleasantly laid out garden. Football fans have long been familiar with the Eagle, e.g. London Baggies on the metro to the Hawthorns. As with most Birmingham pubs this will serve a visit to any of the local teams.
BWV 18.5.07: Timothy Taylor Landlord, Ansells Bitter and Mild, Marstons Pedigree (always); Bathams Best Bitter, Acorn Barnsley Bitter, Abbeydale Devotion (guest)
Mick Escott | |  Bull
1 Price Street, Aston, Birmingham B4 6JU Tel: 0121 333 6757 W thebull-pricestreet.co.uk
G Rose McCann
F Traditional, with Irish flavour 12-9.30 Mon to Sat
Parking: street parking - meters
Music: none
Pub games: dominoes, cards
Disabled access: two entrances but narrow disabled toilets
Open: 12–11 Mon to Sat
This is a city centre pub, just down from the law courts near the A34/inner ring road roundabout and at the southernmost tip of ‘Aston’. Civilized Villa followers (and, betimes, Blues and Baggies fans) compare prospects and reflect upon outcomes here, and are advised to try one of Rose’s helpings of Irish coddle, among a variety of specials, alongside the three regular and one guest beers. On this day the pints of Acorn were just right; the policy is to choose a floater of less than 4%. Many make a session of it at the Bull. With a history all the way back to 1729, this is a two room inn, with added bits. The more open bar, with television, is kitted out with benches just as suitable for drinking as for coddle devouring. Next door there is a snug section with armchairs, and a restful yard, adjacent to which is a new ‘conservatory’ answering all the requirements for a smoking space. It also has a disabled toilet, It’s a Punch Inn, on a lease, but has a completely independent, welcoming character, Rose having been around since 1993. Some of her clientele is well established and it’s easy to get into conversation in this intimate setting. There is an abundance of teapots and jugs aloft, and even higher, rooms to rent. I heard that the breakfast was excellent. Besuited drinkers from the legal and medical professions quaff here.
There is a wide cross section of mature, discerning customers. It has appealed to independent observers, in winning various awards. In 1996, when it was still the Bull’s Head, the Birmingham Society awarded it ‘Best Birmingham pub’; in 2006 the Shine award for customer experience. No surprise there.
BWV 19.5.07: Marstons Pedigree, Ansells Mild, Adnams Broadside, Acorn Barnsley Bitter
Mick Escott
UPDATE 28.6.09 Marstons Pedigree, Ansells Mild, Adnams Broadside, St Austell Tinners | |  Old Joint Stock
4 Temple Row West B2 5NY. T 0121 200 1892 www.fullers.co.uk
G Paul Bancroft
Metred parking
TV MP BM D
Food: Ale and Pie pub (Traditional English) from 12 onwards
Smoking Throughout
Open: 11 to 11 Mon to Sat, Closed Sunday
The Old Joint Stock will strike a happy chord with those Londoners who hanker after a bit of home in the Midlands. It is a Fuller’s pub in the grand style. Converted 8 years ago, it retains the scale and majesty found in similar pubs in their chain, such as Fleet Street’s Old Bank of England. Panelled library rooms lead off a massive central bar and the view through the large picture windows is of the cathedral and locals busying their way to pray or, more likely,to work. Unofficially, this is the staff-room for the Wellington (see Aston Villa entry) next door and it was with some joy I shared a pint with Nigel who introduced me to Geoff, the Plymouth fan and pub manager.
Be aware of two facts. The pub is not open on Sundays, and the signs relating to no scarves, baseball caps, or football shirts are enforced. My lunchtime visit was typical as the place was well represented by suits and couple ‘doing lunch’. A gentle murmur pervaded the large rooms. There is ample space for your conversation to be lost in the ether. Saturdays bring shoppers, many women and well-heeled footie fans. It will be interesting to see how the themed ale festivals are received. The touch of London life is now established in the psyche of the second city. Good ale, glorious surroundings and a distinct lack of geezers to turn the beer sour.
BWV 9.11.05: Beowulf Beorma, Fuller’s Chiswick, Discovery, ESB, IPA, Trafalgar
UPDATE
The Old Joint Stock isn’t Birmingham’s only bank-turned-pub, but Fuller’s Midlands flagship stands proudly as the grandest by far. The large main room offers lots of seating, including a prime row of stools by the windows overlooking the cathedral. The ceiling features a large glass dome and chandeliers, while walls feature prints, paintings, and old bank memorabilia. Everything appears large scale, including the huge island bar that looks like a dark wooden ark crammed with booze when viewed from a certain angle - or a couple of ESBs inside you. There’s a smaller, more intimate, Club Room on the ground floor, and a galleried upstairs room which gives a sweeping view of the pub in all its majesty. This is where to take newcomers who you want to impress.
The pub gets crammed with suits weekday lunchtimes, but is more manageable at other times. Saturdays attract shoppers and friends meeting up. Evenings can be quieter than in some other city centre pubs: the pub doesn’t attract kids and has never been on the binge drinking circuit. It’s just not that type of place. A word of warning: door staff are employed at certain periods, and although they are unfailingly pleasant they won’t let you in wearing football colours.
Most of the Fuller’s range is on offer, and the pub also supports the small Beowulf brewery by stocking at least one of their fine ales.
BWV: Beowulf Host, Fuller’s Chiswick, Discovery, ESB, London Pride, Gale Winter Brew
Chris Ackrill | |  Old Moseley Arms
53 Tindal Street, Balsall Heath, Birmingham B12 9QU Telephone: 0121 440 1954
Guv’nor: Sukhi Rai
Food: cobs, sandwiches, curry nights Tue and Thu
Parking: street (easy)
TV: satellite
Music: juke box; acoustic night: Sun
Pub games: darts, cards
Disabled access: step up, single entry, then doors left and right
Open: 11-12 Mon to Sat, 11-10.30 Sun
This is a back street oasis, which should be incorporated into visitors’ schedule for St. Andrews, if not Brum as a whole which, with an A-Z, is accessible enough. It is an established footy venue with screens in each room, as well as busy with enthusiasts for the Blues and Villa as well as Man U and Arsenal, more often seen on Sky. Somehow the place remains amenable to chat or quiet quaff (there are often drinkers with a pint and a paper to read) despite the football presence: a conundrum – the Old Mo is all things to all people, and is an institution with a long pedigree. The building dates from 1838 and its illustrious history can be read on the walls; Sukhi, who lives above the shop, introduced the curry nights – I know from experience that it’s worth getting there early (or ringing to reserve one). He has carved out a corner of the back yard for canopied tables - no problem here as the space was surprisingly capacious. The building is all in a fetching red brick. Customers contribute to guest beer choice, and on this occasion I enjoyed my usual pint of Enville Ale, usually available, an excellent phenomenon in itself, before trying the inspired Ginger Beer. This is very much a real ale pub. There is a large pool room upstairs where CAMRA meets and acoustic sessions are held on Sundays. Otherwise the juke box offers old as well as new. The pub has teams for pool, darts and cricket - the Old Moseley Arms Fitmen CC. The essence of patronage here is variety, from a road sweeper to a judge in any of the spaces. As it occupies high ground it is also worth venturing outside for city centre firework displays. It’s busy on the fifth of November.
BWV 22.6.07: Enville Ale, Black Sheep Best Bitter, Greene King Abbot, Enville Ginger Beer
Mick Escott
BWV (ME) 26/11/09: always - Enville Bitter, Black Sheep Bitter guest - Grafton Winter's Dream, Kelham Island North | |  Prince of Wales
84 Cambridge St, Five Ways, B1 2NP T 0121 643 9460
G Mark Pagett
F 12 to 3, 5 to 7
MP TV BM D
O 11 to 11, 11 to 10.30 Sun
With a policy of 7 regular and one guest beer every fortnight and a location close to the fun factories of west central Birmingham (National Indoor Arena, International Convention Centre, Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Symphony Hall) this is an ever popular beer drinkers’ establishment. It is small, a single room where seating is at a premium, should you decide to eat – faggots and lamb shanks are long standing ‘specials’ cooked efficiently by Mark, at the helm since 2003. You never have to wait long for your order. These dishes are in addition to a good range of standard fare. Baked potatoes here are good. There is a terrestrial TV and the pub boasts Premiership and Championship fans on match days. Given its position, cheek by jowl with modern developments, we can count ourselves lucky that it escaped demolition – survival by way of a protection order for the building was assisted by pressure from cricket notables Bob Willis and Ian Botham. It’s not only a football, or live arts, drinking hole. On a Sunday there is afternoon jazz or soft rock (3.30 to 6.30), perhaps from the Corridors, also each September Birmingham’s ArtsFest in venues all around. It can get crowded as there is no stage and little space. In fact it is busy all day, being a welcome retreat within easy reach of city centre shops and offices, also close to a canal.
BWV 9.11.05: Adnams Broadside, Ansells Bitter, Mild, Brains SA, Greene King Abbot, Springhead Charlie’s Angel, Timothy Taylor Landlord, Wells Bombardier
BWV 22.6.07: Everards Tiger, Deuchars IPA, Timothy Taylor Landlord, Wells Bombardier, Adnams Broadside, Greene King Abbot, Ansells Mild; Brains Bitter (guest)
Mick Escott | |  Woodman
Guv’nor: Stuart Day
Address: 106 Albert Street, Digbeth, Birmingham B5 5LG Telephone: 0121 643 1959
Food: sandwiches only
Parking: car park, street
TV: terrestrial
Music: juke box
Pub games: none; fruit machines
Disabled access: standard ground floor entry
Open: 8-12 Mon to Thu, 8-2 Fri and Sat, 9-11 Sun
The Woodman is close to the city centre, closer to Moor Street station, a few minutes’ walk from the stations and on the way to St.Andrews, easy once you’ve located it. It’s a convenient and conducive football pub, a basic local with old tiles and modest facilities. It has a regular Blues clientele on match days, while visitors are made welcome, to boost the buoyant atmosphere. It’s also hosts the scooter fraternity as evidenced by the proliferation of bike pictures on the walls. There are Northern soul evenings attended from far and wide. On different occasions you would share the bar and lounge, with pool table, and, mostly, mild and a pukka pie or sandwich, with quite a range of other patrons. Lunchtime trade is largely from Aston University and Millennium Point, a 21st Century application of disused inner city space. For a bit of industrial architecture there is also the neo-classical Curzon Street railway station building. Passing trade in the Woodman is generally over 30, this not being a youthful venue. The pub is run by Stuart and family members. It was closed for 18 months before he took over but has now recovered to fulfil a much needed role in this area. It is tied to Everards, a pleasant variation on the other football pubs in Birmingham. Mild, the most popular brew, and Tiger are regular, with one guest beer.
BWV 19.5.07: Everards Mild, Tiger, Cains Mild
Taxi number: Excel Cars 0121 449 333
Mick Escott | |  White Swan
276 Bradford St Digbeth. B12 0QY T 0121 622 2586
G Agnes Cretton
F Sandwiches and pies
MP SK JB
O 11 to 3, 4 to 11, 11 to 11 Fri - Sun
This is cracking pub. It is a place where the architecture adds interest but doesn't distract from the serious beer revelry. Spot the similarities with the photo of the Bartons Arms. While we watched a game on Sky the locals were readily willing to chat about beer, sport in general and just how good this pub is. There is a genuine Irish angle to the entertainment on offer. It is also heaving on matchdays so get there early, but not in colours, because, whilst the locals will make you more than welcome, others on Bradford St. may be less generous in their greetings. I loved this pub and would visit whenever in town. The landlord certainly looks after these locals - They were last heard planning their annual trip to watch an Irish rugby international, this time in Paris. Several beers later I forced myself, with some reluctance, to leave the comfort of my corner seat in the White Swan, to check out the less attractive city centre trendy ale houses.
UPDATE: Agnes continues to run a top local; another good hour was spent with friendly Brummies. Nothing has changed, and hopefully never will.
BWV 20.2.05: Banks’s Bitter, Original, Mild
BWV 9.11.05: Banks’s Bitter, Original | |  Wellington
37 Bennets Hill, B2 5SN T 0121 2003115 W http://www.thewellingtonrealale.co.uk/
G Nigel Barker
MP D
O 10 to 12, 11 to midnight Sun
Fancy a fiver on the Wellington being CAMRA pub of the year in the next few years? This is the sort of acclaim that has come to the Wellington, and it is not yet a year old. The pub was a must-visit as soon as recommendations for new pubs came my way. 2,200 beers in a year, all different! A stock that changes as you move along the bar. The turnover is such that drinking by numbers is literally the order of the day. The Wellington is a single bar in a great location, that stretches deep to the back where a non-smoking section is found. An impressive frontage belies its former night-club past, but it is the landlord’s dream of quality ale in a city-centre street that we should all appreciate.. No music, no fruit machines, etc. Have you heard that before? In the Wellington you wouldn’t want them. It is though, a real pub. Frequented by fans of all clubs in the Midlands, the talk is typically self-deprecating. Arsenal fans paid it high regard on their latest visit. Lets hope the dour predictions do not mean it is lost to the Premiership next year. Surely not!
BWV 9.11.05 (RS): Black Country BFG, Fireside, Pig on the Wall, Cairngorm Blessed Thistle, Craftsman Eel Catcher, Downton Light Fantastic, Fullmash Vamp, Hampshire Pendragon, Kelham Island Brown Ale, Milk Street Autumn Moon, Pictish Samhain Stout, St. Austell Tinners, Saddlers Stumbling Badger, Salopian Hop Devil, Scatter Rock Proper Job, Working Mary’s Brown Ale Saxon Purple Haze Cider, Sheppy Kingsston Black Cider, Barkers Upsy Daisy Perry
28.6.09 taken from their website
1 Wye Valley HPA 4%
2 Black Country BFG 4.2%
3
4 Milestone Light House Bitter 4.8%
5 Purity Mad Goose 4.2%
6 Hook Norton Old Hooky 4.6%
7 Burton Bridge Dover Dynamo 4.5%
8 R.C.H. Old Slug Porter 4.5%
9
10 Wheal Maiden Ginger Beer 5.5%
11 Thorne Best Bitter 3.9%
12 Wem All Seasons 4.2%
13 Warwickshire Market Ale 4.9%
14 Harwich Town Bathside Bitter 4.2%
15 Purity UBU 4.5%
16 Purity Pure Gold 3.8% | | | BIRMIGHAM CAMRA | | 
ST ANDREW'S STADIUM | | 
VILLA PARK | | WETHERSPOONS
The Square Peg 115 Corporation Street Birmingham B4 6PH Opening Times: Sun-Thu 9am-midnight; Fri/Sat 9am-1am
The Briar Rose 25 Bennetts Hill Birmingham B2 5RE Opening Times: Mon-Thu 7am-midnight; Fri 7am-1am; Sat 8am-1am; Sun 8-midnight
Wetherspoons Unit 31, Paradise Place Birmingham B3 3HJ Opening Times: Sun-Thu 9am-midnight; Fri/Sat 9am-1am
The Dragon Inn Hurst Street Birmingham West Midlands B5 4TD Opening Times: Mon-Thu 8am-midnight; Fri 8am-1am; Sat 9am-1am; Sun 9am-midnight
The Soloman Cutler Regency Wharf Broad Street Birmingham B1 2DS Opening Times: Mon-Wed 9am-2am; Thu-Sun 9am-3am
| |
|  |  |
