Bearwood

One of the things I enjoy about picking destinations out the Good Beer Guide is that it takes me to places that I'd be unlikely to otherwise travel to.
The suburb of Bearwood, 3-miles east of Birmingham, being a case-in-point.

It's not a tourist hot-spot, although it does have a British pop claim-to-fame in being where Fleetwood Mac member Christine McVie grew up.
She would have been around in the time that high streets actually had banks.  Bearwood High Street has a grand, empty, building where Lloyds used to be, and the old Midland bank converted into an ale house...

The Midland (526-528 Bearwood Road, Bearwood, Birmingham, B66 4BE - web)
It's an appealing and impressive pub conversion.
A high ceiling, grand mahogany bar back with a clock at it's peak, posh drapes on the windows, some burgundy leather bench seating and a proper pub carpet.

I perused the long line of pump clips along the bar (12!) trying to decide what I wanted, picking the Keltek 'Pilot Gig' based on it being advertised as 'Champion Cornish Porter, Falmouth 2019'. 
The handful of lunchtime customers were all regulars, the staff knowing which beer to pour them without having to ask.  All eyes were on the cricket on the TV screen.

We settled in the corner next to a glass screen revealing the cellar, our soundtrack an 80's music mix taking us through Culture Club's 'Karma Chameleon', 99 Red Balloons and Squeeze, amongst others.

The old safe door at the Midland

Finishing our drinks at the Midland, we only had a couple of minutes walk down the road to reach the next pub.
A "busy community local" run by Greene King, according to the Guide.  Uh-oh.

The Bear Tavern (500 Bearwood Road, Bearwood, Birmingham, B66 4BX - web)
The Bear is an imposing pub on a crossroads where Bearwood Road meets Three Shire Oak Road.  It has a rather dull lower half in need of a lick of paint, but a superb clock tower with ornamental stone bears poking out from it.

Mrs PropUptheBar's reservations - "I aint' drinkin' no Greene King IPA" - were cast aside when we were confronted by a big board of Lilley's pump clips and an improbable amount of boxes of fruity cider stacked at the end of the bar.  Fruity cider-fest ahoy!
On the ale front, there were four pump clips including a GK jubilee special and Oakham 'Citra'.  I chose a Slater's 'Haka', a little worried it was so hidden behind the cider board that no-one would have been drinking it.  But it was on great form - a lovely beer.

The WC included a squirty smelly thing on which a battle of the football club stickers was taking place.
Small Heath Alliance coming out on top over Birmingham City there...

The pub itself is large, with multiple areas located around a central bar, including a couple of pool tables and some outdoor seating.
It seemed to be appealing to a wide range of folk and wasn't doing a bad trade early in the day.  

Back in the 80's the Bear hosted a comedy night run by local funnyman Frank Skinner, which attracted a number of comedians who went on to become TV regulars.
And 70's gigs included Thin Lizzy and an early incarnation of Brummie metallers Judas Priest.

On our first walk along Bearwood High Street we'd spotted the shuttered frontage of the Craft Inn.  Mrs PropUptheBar insisted it was worth hanging around until opening time so she could be placated with her weekend dose of craft murk.

But what to do while we waited until the Craft Inn to open?

We headed to a giant corner pub that we'd seen from the bus, just beyond the end of the High Street and across the local border into Harborne.
The pub sign advertises that it was established in 1898.  Although the fact that it calls itself a Pub and Indian Grill ('Pub-Grills-Curry-Sky') suggests it's changed a fair bit since then.

Kings Head (Hagley Road, Harborne, Birmingham, B17 8BJ)
The first challenge was finding the way in, which turned out to be via the car park through the back.  It's a huge place with multiple rooms, the tempting smells of Maharaja's Spice Express wafting through the air, and dubious pop videos on enormous screens.
They did have a cask ale on the bar - Wye Valley 'Butty Bach', which I initially thought was past it's best, although it began to improve after a few sips.

Not much of the 19th century pub left...

Except for these great tiles on the staircase...

Having passed enough time for the Craft Inn to open, we ambled back up the street and found the shutters raised and half a dozen folk within.
It dawned that the name and black & white signage was familiar and that this was connected to the bar in Worcester opposite Foregate Street. 

Opportunity to live above the craft bar

Craft Inn (608 Bearwood Road, Bearwood, Birmingham, B66 4BW - web)
High stools.  Odd lighting.  Old keg fonts stuck on one wall...
...a digital beer display where your Untappd check-in appears at the bottom.
This is every bit your craft beer micro.

Mrs PropUptheBar had something horrific sounding called 'Foam Raspberry Prawn Milkshake Pale', then announced we were going to 'tick' all the locations in this small chain.

Foam Raspberry Prawn Milkshake!!!?  
Honestly.
"Do you have Bass?"

Having visited four venues in Bearwood - all in a handy straight line down the main street - we headed back to the bus stop.
We were on our way to the Jewellery Quarter and another Black Country Ales pub - more waffle about that in the next post.