A Spotted Dog, White Swan and an Anchor

Digbeth Part 2 - Proper Pubs

In which we follow up the taprooms with a bit of West Midlands pub heritage around Digbeth way.
It's taken me an awful long time between reporting on the brewery taps and the pubs.  Perhaps I've just been holding off to tie-in with the return of Peaky Blinders to our screens...

Just across the road from the Peaky Blinder mural, sitting on a lonely corner, with some quality foliage on it's frontage, is the Spotted Dog.Spotted Dog (104 Warwick Street, Digbeth, B12 0NH - web)
At it's peak, Digbeth had a thriving Irish community and many of the pubs reflect this.  At the Spotted Dog you'll find Irish flags and bric-a-brac and some choice newspaper clippings about the national rugby team getting the better of their rivals.

Oakham 'Citra', Castle Rock 'Harvest Pale' and a cask cider were available, but I went straight for a pint of the Holden's 'Black Country Mild'.  Mild being on trend and me perpetually trying to be trendy.
A fine pint, supped next to the fire in the quiet side room pictured, accompanied by the unusual pub find of a vegetarian Scotch egg.

There's an outdoor space to the side which would be a winner in warmer weather.  Full of odd decorations...

Is Power Folk a hip new genre?
Can't keep up since they stopped publishing Melody Maker.

And spotted dogs on windows...

Digbeth used to be a thoroughly run-down area which had the ability to petrify unsuspecting long-distance bus travelers who found themselves deposited at the dreary coach station.
Once the most central of Birmingham's industrial regions, the factories gradually closed, the spray paint enthusiasts had a field day, and the area fell into disrepair.  But more recently it's seen a revival with old buildings housing music venues, bars and art spaces.  Plans are afoot for the big old Typhoo Tea factory to be transformed into urban apartments, and I suspect gentrified Digbeth will be unrecognisable in a few years time.  And I'll complain that I liked it better when it was run-down.

Back when the factories were open, workers could take their pick of 20 pubs along Bradford Street.  Now just two remain - both on the itinerary today.

I'm betting if I come back in a few years time this pub will be dwarfed by shiny new buildings on either side of it

White Swan (276 Bradford Street, Digbeth, B12 0QY)
Built at the very end of the 19th century, the White Swan is a West Midlands heritage gem which recently looked like it may be lost forever.  It was in a sorry state with the doors and windows boarded up and graffiti plastered over the red brick facade.
After a 2-year closure, it re-opened in the second half of 2021, overseen and restored to it's former glory by the folks behind the Woodman and Post Office Vaults.

We stepped through the door on the corner into the narrow L-shaped room with an impressive long bar stretching it's length, stools and bench seating lining the walls.  Served quickly, I ordered something from Sheffield with 'Biscuit' in the title, only to be disappointed when it was declared 'off' mid-pour.  I settled for an American Pale Ale from Stourbridge's Green Duck Brewery (other choices were from Fixed Wheel and Ossett).
This was taken through the spectacularly tiled corridor into the quiet lounge behind the bar.

Just a few minutes further down the road was Victorian red-brick and terracotta corner pub number two: the Anchor.

The Anchor (308 Bradford Street, Digbeth, B5 6ET - web)
I first squeezed into a bustling Anchor on my way to St Andrew's on match day and loved it.  Being a good traditional boozer, a little off the beaten track, and a real ale haven, I used to always make a revisit whenever I found myself in Birmingham.  That said, it's been a fair while since I've been here and on this revisit I was a little underwhelmed.
Perhaps initially put off by having to wait while both bar staff were busily concocting cocktails (never a good sign, in my humble opinion).  

Perhaps because there was a shortage of comfy places to sit - the back room was dark and gloomy with some dubious characters in it; the charming little snug to the side closed with stools stacked on top of tables.
But probably just because it's the kind of pub that's much better when it's packed full of punters.

The ales were local - they could probably have rolled the barrels along the pavement from Halton Turner, whose tap room under the Victorian railway viaduct we'd visited earlier.
With a choice of tropical pale or porter, I picked the dark stuff with another pint of the 'Blindspot', in great condition.

The Anchor brought to a close our Saturday afternoon wander around Digbeth, as we drank up and made our way back to Moor Street station for a sensibly early train home.

There are a couple of other good places nearby which we didn't have time for today, but we'll be back - there's still a lot of pub ticking to do in Birmingham.