Wide Awake in Brixton

The late May bank holiday saw us making our way to south London for the Wide Awake Festival in Brockwell Park.  Ever foolhardy, I suggested it would be a good idea to squeeze in a few visits to pubs and brewery taprooms beforehand, as if standing in a park for 8-hours wasn't going to wear me out enough.

We made incredibly good time on a smooth trip on the Oxford Tube, changing to the Victoria Line, and arriving in Brixton earlier than planned.  Earlier than the pubs were open.  Except for 'Spoons, of course.

The Beehive (407-409 Brixton Road, SW9 7DG)
This is somewhere I used to regularly visit en-route to the Brixton Academy, not that I remember it very well.  An early Wetherspoon pub, it's pretty small, seeming more cramped on this visit by being super-busy with a mix of late breakfast trade, pre-noon boozers, and plenty of folks in obscure band t-shirts who looked to be on their way to the same festival as us.
We grabbed an Elgood's 'Golden Newt', one of the guest ales alongside a couple from local brewery Sambrook's.

The luck of a large group leaving saw us get seats at the back of the pub under the skylight.
"The sun is kissing you", said a very cool Mediterranean fella as he passed by.  "The sun is kissing the beautiful people".
Hmm...I don't know about being beautiful or kissed - all I know is it was too hot. 

Twelve noon and our brewery tap was open for business.

Brixton Brewery Tap Room (Arch 548, Brixton Station Road, SW9 8PF)
This was a basic tap-room in one sensibly sized railway arch where Brixton Brewery have been concocting ales since 2013.
There were eleven beers on offer, plus one cider.  The list was a bit pale ale-heavy, with a couple of exceptions.
Mrs PropUptheBar braved (and then raved about) the peculiarity which was 'Raita Passage', a cucumber and mint ale.  I stayed safe with the 'Life on Mars' dark mild: not bad, but - downfall of the keg - served too cold for a mild.

Walking down the road alongside the railway arches, we'd spotted the impressive Pop venue made out of old shipping containers.  We opted to call in there on the way back from Brixton Brewery to get a bite to eat.

Pop Brixton (49 Brixton Station Road, SW9 8PQ)
Pop was founded by Lambeth Council in 2015 on the site of a disused ice rink.  It's made up of 55 shipping containers, featuring street food, bars, a stage, and start-up businesses.
It's certainly a colourful place. 

I procured the Forest Road pale ale in plastic cup; Mrs PropUptheBar sorted the sustenance from the Sri Lankan kitchen. 

Heck, that was spicy!

Brixton currently has two places appearing in the 2024 Good Beer Guide, so we figured we'd try to visit them both.  Starting with Craft, a couple of minutes along the road from our lunch spot.

Craft Beer Co (11-13 Brixton Station Street, SW9 8PA)
This opened in 2012 as a sister venue to the Faringdon branch, which I spent a fair bit of time in when it was brand new to the capital's fledgling craft beer scene.
This location shares the same ornate mirrored ceiling as the Faringdon venue, and an impressive beer list.  All the draft beers were served from up high, the taps being on the brass piping that runs over the top of the bar, which was an unusual feature.

I stuck to the cask - lots of hand pulls but just two in action serving ales from Leatherbritches or Two Flints.  I picked the 4.5% ABV pale ale, 'Yonks', from Two Flints - a lovely murky brew that was so easy to drink.
Here's a picture of the empty upstairs room - the vast majority of custom content with pavement seating in the Brixton sunshine.

The second Beer Guide entry is in the side-streets, handily in the direction that we had to walk for Brockwell Park.
This is a kind of pub that I think London does especially well - an impressive looking street corner local on a quiet square, oddly calm after the manic bustle of Brixton's main thoroughfare. 

Trinity Arms (45 Trinity Gardens, Brixton, SW9 8DR)
The fixed bench seating out front in the sunshine was proving popular, as well as there being a busy, shaded back yard with fire pit to the rear.
Nice mansard roof. 
Nice old Young's livery...

Cask ale on the bar was the 'Original' or 'Special', plus that intriguing 'London Mixed' pump clip in the middle.  That was what I asked for, thinking I'd been misheard when the staff went straight to the 'Original' handle.  Except it was exactly what it said - the two beers mixed together.
Looking closely at the pump clip, there was a note that this was pub local David's drink of choice.   

It wasn't a bad beer - although I'd have to line up both the Young's beers and the Mixed and try them each in turn to decide whether it was worth going for the half and half.
And we didn't have time for that, as we had a festival to get to.

We encountered a much heftier queue to get into the Brockwell Park site than expected, getting through the gates in time for the second half of a set of punk rock vitriol from Brighton's Lambrini Girls, playing in a greenhouse...

At least we get to drink 'craft' beer in paper cups at festivals these days, a step-forward from when one frothy lager was available from whoever was sponsoring the event.
I was skeptical what the prices would be like though, especially after some recent highlighting of bar tariffs at the Co-Op Arena and O2.  All things considered, £7.50 at a festival in London at the Draft Punk bar didn't seem too extortionate.

Despite the blank space under the 'guest craft' heading, there was some.  I grabbed a Signal 'Turbo Joost IPA', taking it to watch NYC indie rockers Bodega on the Desert Daze stage. 

Dry Cleaning wandered down the road from their South London abodes to play this local gig but were on an odd proposition in the afternoon with the sun shining on them.  "Boring", according to Mrs PropUptheBar, who disappeared to procure a couple of pints of the Orbit Belgian Wit beer.

My highlight of the day was South London outfit Fat Dog, who may have only have a couple of singles out, but drew a huge crowd in front of the second stage.
'Night Boat to Cairo' on psychedelic drugs, at a rave, with a manic preacher man.  Great stuff!

We also caught Mercury Music Prize winners Young Fathers, followed by the reformed Slowdive, generating more interest in their shoegaze tunes than they did first time around.  "Boring" opined the hard-to-please Mrs PropUptheBar for the second time in the day, leading me to forfeit the end of Slowdive's set in favour of Lynks on the Disco Pogo stage.  Lynks was anything but boring.

Which just left headliners King Gizzard and Lizard Wizard as the skies darkened and the prospect of the Oxford Tube whisking us up the M40 loomed larger.   Hard to know what to expect from the Aussie psych-rockers, with various strands of psychedelia covered on their prolific back catalogue of LP releases.  They veered to the very heavy metal end of the spectrum this evening, with guitar riffs straight out the Slayer playbook, a dazzling light display, and energy which saw them barely pause for breath. 

A fine day out in South London. 
I'll pencil the dates for next years festival in the diary now.  And start planning a race around the pubs of Elephant & Castle before the first band.

West Midlands Explorer - Sutton Coldfield to Birmingham

A pub crawl through a part of the West Midlands that I'm not at all familiar with, starting in Sutton Coldfield, then making my way on foot via a handful of pub visits to Erdington.
There will be some marvelous ornate tiling (above), a pint of Strongbow, an empty brewpub, an old cinema...
...and a fair few of these...

The day started with the best JDW breakfast I've had in a long time, at the Bole Bridge in Tamworth.  Where I began to formulate a plan for the day based on £2 fare-cap bus journeys to take me in stages back to Birmingham. 

First up, bus number 110 from Tamworth, hopping off after 45-minutes in Sutton Coldfield.

Far too early, as it turned out.
Which led to a second 'Spoons before I'd even reached midday.

Bottle of Sack (2 Birmingham Road, Sutton Coldfield, B72 1QG)
One of the odder JDW names, I thought.  It actually comes from a line in Shakespeare's Henry IV: ‘Fill me a bottle of sack: our soldiers shall march through; we’ll to Sutton Co’fil’ tonight'.
I'd wrongly assumed that Sutton Coldfield was more modern that Shakespeare.  And I had no idea what sack was.  A sherry-like drink, apparently.  Quaffed by the Tudor gentry, whilst the common folk drank dark ale.  I'll stick to our modern version of dark ale, thanks.

Black Hole Brewery beer had provided the nightcap the previous evening, and the first beer of the day today.  The 'No Escape' was a moreish porter with chocolate and damson flavours.  Great stuff.
Other cask options at the Bottle of Sack were Black Hole 'Cosmic', Abbot 'Reserve', Oakham 'JHB', or Oakham 'Citra'.
Loads of early-doors drinkers in the Bottle of Sack, spread out over the ground floor areas and a first floor with balcony where you can watch the proceedings at the bar with a birds-eye view..

The clock had ticked past 12, meaning the local Good Beer Guide entry would be open.  Just over 5-minutes trek around the back of the shopping centre took me to the Station pub...

The Station (44 Station Street, Sutton Coldfield, B73 6AT)
This was predictably quiet, just one couple managing to arrive before me.  Which probably explains why my beer was of very dubious quality.  The Birmingham Brewery 'Brummie Pale' proved worryingly difficult to pour and was unsurprisingly at the lower end of average on the quality scale.
Which is frustrating at a hefty £5.55 a pint.

Should have gone for the Holdens, or perhaps the Doom Bar with handy tasting notes.

It's probably not fair to judge the Station based on a quiet weekday visit shortly after opening time.  It looked to be quite an interesting, sprawling, ale-house-kinda place, that I may have enjoyed had there been a crowd and a bit of life to it.  But I didn't really enjoy it, sat reading the day's news, listening to Wilco in the background, and scowling at my dubious pricey beer.

Leaving the Station, I back-tracked on myself, whizzed past the smokers outside 'spoons, and decided I may as well pop my head into the Brewhouse and Kitchen a couple of buildings further along the street.

Brewhouse and Kitchen (8 Birmingham Road, Sutton Coldfield, B72 1QD)
Same problem as the Station - this was a big place with barely anyone in it.  I don't time my visits very well for peak excitement.
There were two cask ales available on the bar, a bitter and extra pale ale, along with several B&K keg options.  

I went for the earthy and twiggy 'Xtra Pale' which appeared to be brewed at the Lichfield Brewhouse & Kitchen rather than on the shiny kit that I was sitting in front of.

Making my leisurely way through the town centre earlier I'd called into the bookstore and glanced at a paperback titled '111 Places in Birmingham that you shouldn't miss'.
Sutton Coldfield Park was one of the 111; the other in the local vicinity being the old Odeon...

This eye-catching Art Deco cinema was opened by Odeon in 1936, originally with just the one screen with a whopping 1,600 capacity.  It became the Empire in 2006 and operated for the next 14-years until Covid came along and wreaked havoc.  I do love the architecture of trad cinemas and am pleased to see that there is some hope this will reopen soon.

Sadly the next 15 minutes trudging through residential streets was rather on the dull side.
I was pleased to arrive at my destination in Boldmere...

The Bishop Vesey (63 Boldmere Road, Boldmere, B73 5XA)
A second JD Wetherspoon of the day (third if we're counting breakfast and coffee in Tamworth).  This one is named after John Vesey, a 16th century bishop and benefactor of Sutton Coldfield.
It also proudly advertises 15 years appearing in the Good Beer Guide, with a decent selection of cask - two from Enville, one from Burton Bridge, and one from Oakham.
But the staff member who served me didn't seem to be too fussed about serving a good pint of the 'Enville Ale'.  I think there's gonna be a bit of a head on that...

Dumped in front of me, the staff member had already departed the bar - job done.
I waited for someone else to come along.  They looked quite miffed that I may want a top-up.

Service aside, I was quite impressed by this Spoons - doing a good trade for early week lunchtime, interesting posters and history throughout, two floors of seating.

And a Roof Terrace, where I felt I should sit, this being a lesser-seen pub feature.  Here's the view of Boldmere Road from the terrace, enabling you to keep your eye on the barbers, vape lounge, and retail units for rent from Burley Brownes estate agents...

Dark clouds approaching, I quickly realised it was cold and finished the rest of my beer inside.

It was a very easy journey to my next pub - turn left out of 'Spoons and keep walking down the same road until reaching the Boldmere Tap, another 2024 Beer Guide entry.

Boldmere Tap (363 Boldmere Road, Boldmere, B73 5HE)
Ah, Joules.  Love 'em or hate 'em.  With the usual mix of bare board floors, wood paneling, vintage signs, and ale house clutter, they do seem to be trying to recreate many of the pubs I used to drink in in the nineties.
Joules Pale, Slumbering Monk, and Target Golden Ale were all available on this visit.  I opted for the Target, sipping a half pint under a bicycle in the quiet side room, UB40, the Proclaimers and Bonnie Tyler providing the soundtrack.

Right...let's do some pub heritage.
By way of the lollypop ladies...

I was really impressed that they came out to stop the traffic just for me.  No-one's assisted me crossing the road for many a year.  I felt slightly guilty when I realised I needn't have crossed that bit of road after all, but never mind.

Just a few strides from that junction is the Red Lion.  What a clock tower...

The Red Lion (105 Station Road, Erdington, B23 6UG)
Okay, so the broken windows, faded England flags, and dubious characters coming out the door to smoke as I went in, were less promising.
But, wow!  That bar counter...

And, erm, function room seating.
There were a reasonable number of punters settled in the Red Lion, mostly on the more comfy cushioned bench that ran under the windows.
My favourite pub soundtrack of the day by a long shot: Sweet Child of Mine, Summer of 69, Mr Brightside, Sex on Fire - all at quite a hefty volume.

And on the bar? Fosters, Guinness, John Smith Smooth, Carling and the Strongbow which I ended up with.  Extra points for the branded glass.

I carried on from the Red Lion to the bustling heart of Erdington - shopping precincts, busy main roads, and another JD Wetherspoon.
Arriving just as the rain that had been threatening all day started to fall.

The Charlie Hall (49 Barnabus Road, Erdington, B23 6SH)
'Spoons number 4 of the day was situated in an old bingo hall and named after local actor Charlie Hall who was a regular in Laurel & Hardy films.
This is one sprawling long room with the bar at a midway point and some elaborate wooden booth seating near the back.
Another sizable crowd of daytime drinkers.

After enjoying a great value Milestone 'Pacific Islander' pale ale, I figured it was about time to bring my explorations to a close.  After all, I still needed to be on-the-ball to navigate New Street Station and catch the right train back to Oxford.
Handily, there is frequent bus service from the nearest stop to the Charlie Hall, with the bus I hopped aboard taking a fast route into the city centre.

I'd neglected to eat all day though, so planned to call into the Bundobust for some sustenance.

Bundobust Birmingham (38 Bennets Hill, Birmingham, B2 5SN)
I never did get to see this building in its short spell as the Pint Shop.
But I'm happy to see it housing another branch of the marvelous Bundobust chain.  The beer board advertised 18 beer lines, 6 of their own, and Sureshot featuring heavily amongst the guests.  A great choice, although my cask option - Thornbridge 'Galaxy/Simcoe' wasn't in peak condition.  Never mind, it was the food I was looking forward to...

Right: well-fed, time to catch that train.
I'm sure all will be okay, just as long as I don't stupidly divert to Brewdog and order something sour, strong, and garishly coloured.

Doh!