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!