Now that's what I call a good bit of variety.
Here's the route we took, nicely clocking up the mileage throughout the day...
We started in the Jewellery Quarter at a pub that I've stood and photographed before, but never set foot in...
The Rose Villa Tavern was built for Mitchells & Butler in 1919 by architects Wood and Kendrick for the princely sum of £15,000. It's not as un-spoilt as some of the other red-bricked gems in the city, but can boast some pretty stunning windows and decorative tiling within.
I'm really sad to see the Barton's Arms (visited on my last pub crawl around this neck of the woods) has recently shut it's doors again. There's a plethora of pubs on the Birmingham heritage list with red 'currently closed' notices under their entries.
It briefly looked like the Rose Villa may join them when it closed at the end of 2021, but Star Taverns rapidly installed new tenants and opened the doors after a bit of a spruce up.
It was doing a roaring trade for just gone midday when we visited, the main bar busy and loud with most tables taken. Too loud for me - Michael Jackson and Abba not my lunchtime music of choice.
I took my Timothy Taylor 'Landlord' (the sole cask option, hidden to the side of the bar) through to the quiet room behind the servery, which also happens to be the best place to admire the spectacular tiling.
The Rose Villa Tavern provided a nice pit-stop in our trek north of the city centre.
We had another 20 minutes ahead of us past Gib Heath Park, dodgy housing estates, light industrial units, and some depressingly prolific fly-tipping.
Would it be worth the effort for lunch in a desi pub? Oh yes!
We had another 20 minutes ahead of us past Gib Heath Park, dodgy housing estates, light industrial units, and some depressingly prolific fly-tipping.
Would it be worth the effort for lunch in a desi pub? Oh yes!
At one point the Soho Tavern was on a steady downhill slope to closure. There's a picture on the Lost Pubs Project, showing it with cream tiles on the lower half, impenetrable thick bottle glass windows, and a proper old school M&B pub sign.
The current owners took over in 2014, introduced Indian food, and saw a whole new customer base rock up through the door. It's been enough of a success to see them open several more venues of the same name throughout the West Midlands.
It's now very shiny and modern. I'd love to know what it used to look like, but I'll guarantee it's unrecognizable today, with the possible exception of the not so shiny and modern WC's.
There was no real ale available, but keg options Blue Moon or 'Jute' from Salt seemed a safe bet with your lunchtime curry. As was the MB keg Mild that I picked, then went back for more of.
We'd ventured into West Brom territory here. The Soho Tavern was pretty full with supporters getting a pre-match drink and bite to eat prior to the local derby against Birmingham City. The tattooed chap with curry-induced sweaty brow at the next table checked if we were here for the footy and if we were 'blue noses'. Having found a mix of both sets of fans on the next table there was no ire for the visitors from across town, both seeming to share a distaste for Villa instead.
We didn't have far to go to our next pub.
The Heritage-listed Black Eagle is little more than 50 meters down the road.
And the pub sign has to be up there with the best I've seen...
Re-built in 1895, it feels as though not a great deal has changed since then. This is a cracking proper pub with four rooms around a central bar where the staff can shuffle between counters looking out onto three of the drinking spaces.
The tap room was the busiest, the two hand pumps serving up Wye Valley 'Butty Bach' or 'HPA'.
"What's yours love?", asked the cheery lady behind the bar.
As the chap in front was carrying away three pints of freshly poured foaming HPA I opted for the same. £4.00 for a quite superb pint that I'm beginning to think may have been worthy of more than the 4* I gave it on the CAMRA scoring thingy.
The pub quietened down a little towards the end of our visit, many of the punters obviously heading off to the Hawthorns.
Burning Soul Brewery (Unit 1 Mott Street Industrial, Hockley, B19 1HE)
With limited opening on Friday and Saturday only, this tap room has always eluded me when I've been in the vicinity.
It's a pretty down to earth tap room, with a handful of beer-fest style benches and a couple of sofas that I can attest are hard to get out of once you've sunk into them. The brewing kit lies in the back section beyond the bar counter, a small group getting a tour whilst we were there.
The Prince of Wales (84 Cambridge Street, Birmingham, B1 2NP)
This dates back to 1854 and is the last standing of what was once a row of three storey buildings along Cambridge Street.
The pub has been in the hands of the ever-reliable Black Country Ales since 2022.
So you know there will be a long run of cask ales to pick from...
The Old Contemptibles (176 Edmund Street, Birmingham, B3 2HB)
Originally an 18th century pub, this was redeveloped as the Albion Hotel in the 1880's with a nod toward the gin palaces which were popular at the time. It was renamed in 1953 in honour of a British Expeditionary Force who fought in France in the First World War and later made the pub a regular meeting place.
There's just the one sprawling, long, room with high ceilings and impressive big windows.
"What's yours love?", asked the cheery lady behind the bar.
As the chap in front was carrying away three pints of freshly poured foaming HPA I opted for the same. £4.00 for a quite superb pint that I'm beginning to think may have been worthy of more than the 4* I gave it on the CAMRA scoring thingy.
The pub quietened down a little towards the end of our visit, many of the punters obviously heading off to the Hawthorns.
We had a 25-minute walk ahead of us, willing the drizzle not to develop into proper rain and soak us between pubs (I have a habit of getting soaked between pubs in Birmingham).
Burning Soul wasn't going to quite match the heritage pubs as far as the photos are concerned...
Burning Soul wasn't going to quite match the heritage pubs as far as the photos are concerned...
With limited opening on Friday and Saturday only, this tap room has always eluded me when I've been in the vicinity.
It's a pretty down to earth tap room, with a handful of beer-fest style benches and a couple of sofas that I can attest are hard to get out of once you've sunk into them. The brewing kit lies in the back section beyond the bar counter, a small group getting a tour whilst we were there.
Burning Soul was set up by enthusiastic home brewers who decided to procure some proper kit and make their concoctions commercially available. They moved into this industrial unit in 2016 after it had been vacated by Two Towers Brewery - who were themselves moving to the Gunmakers Arms.
The beer board advertised 11 choices, 10 on the taps and one cask ale which I opted for - a most enjoyable 'Mild Obsession'.
The beer board advertised 11 choices, 10 on the taps and one cask ale which I opted for - a most enjoyable 'Mild Obsession'.
Next up, a bit of a diversion from the straight-forward route back to the city. My central Birmingham beer guide ticks were missing the Prince of Wales, tucked between a couple of tower blocks and the International Convention Centre.
This dates back to 1854 and is the last standing of what was once a row of three storey buildings along Cambridge Street.
The pub has been in the hands of the ever-reliable Black Country Ales since 2022.
So you know there will be a long run of cask ales to pick from...
Beers came from Beowulf, Wantsum, Silhill, Salopian, an M&B Brew XI, and the four regular Black Country Ales offerings.
I picked the Silhill 'North Star', a jet black smooth chocolatey porter.
We got the last available table right at the far end of the single room. It's Six Nations time again and a fair amount of the customers in the Prince of Wales were glued to the screens.
I picked the Silhill 'North Star', a jet black smooth chocolatey porter.
We got the last available table right at the far end of the single room. It's Six Nations time again and a fair amount of the customers in the Prince of Wales were glued to the screens.
Right...almost there. The final leg of our route took us close to Snow Hill Station and to the magnificent-looking Old Contemptibles...
Originally an 18th century pub, this was redeveloped as the Albion Hotel in the 1880's with a nod toward the gin palaces which were popular at the time. It was renamed in 1953 in honour of a British Expeditionary Force who fought in France in the First World War and later made the pub a regular meeting place.
There's just the one sprawling, long, room with high ceilings and impressive big windows.
A relatively familiar Nicholson's beer range was on offer, including 'London Pride', Nicholsons 'Pale ale', 'Doom Bar', 'Old Peculiar' and 'Plum Porter'.
I did raise a quizzical eyebrow and question the £9.15 price tag for a pint of Plum Porter and a half of Old Peculiar. Strewth.
Kilder (5 Shaw's Passage, Digbeth, B5 5JG)
I had no idea there was a craft beer bar in the arches underneath Moor Street station and perhaps this is a dangerous bit of knowledge for future Birmingham trips!
Kilder is a stylish railway arch, with a range of seating, including comfy leather padded benches at the sides, and moody lighting.
The tap list provided us with 14 options: lagers from Verdant and Duration; stouts from Siren and Porterhouse; continental brews from La Trappe and Weihenstephan.
But, of course, I went for the strongest - a Gamma 'You Sure About That' 10% TIPA.
"You sure about that?" asked Mrs PropUptheBar, rightly predicting that I'd fall asleep on the train on the way home.
I did raise a quizzical eyebrow and question the £9.15 price tag for a pint of Plum Porter and a half of Old Peculiar. Strewth.
Sitting in the corner of the pub, sipping our beers, we checked train times for our return journey and discovered we had a fair bit of time to spare thanks to a cancelled train.
Which provided Mrs PropUptheBar the opportunity for a last-gasp Craft Beer Diversion in time added on.
Which provided Mrs PropUptheBar the opportunity for a last-gasp Craft Beer Diversion in time added on.
I had no idea there was a craft beer bar in the arches underneath Moor Street station and perhaps this is a dangerous bit of knowledge for future Birmingham trips!
Kilder is a stylish railway arch, with a range of seating, including comfy leather padded benches at the sides, and moody lighting.
The tap list provided us with 14 options: lagers from Verdant and Duration; stouts from Siren and Porterhouse; continental brews from La Trappe and Weihenstephan.
But, of course, I went for the strongest - a Gamma 'You Sure About That' 10% TIPA.
"You sure about that?" asked Mrs PropUptheBar, rightly predicting that I'd fall asleep on the train on the way home.
The West Midlands had come up trumps again with a great set of places for us to visit on this day out.
And I'll be back, as I still have plenty more Birmingham heritage pubs, brewery taps, and desi pubs on my 'to do' list.
And I'll be back, as I still have plenty more Birmingham heritage pubs, brewery taps, and desi pubs on my 'to do' list.
Where would you have been if Mrs PUTB hadn't woke you up on the train ?
ReplyDeleteProbably Marylebone on that Chiltern trains service.
ReplyDeleteBut I'm absolutely fine by myself - I only recklessly fell asleep with the knowledge that I had a responsible adult with me.