W
www.midlandspubs.co.uk
Guest
Accompanied by my brother-in-law Rob, I enjoyed a meander around some of
Birmingham's pubs yesterday. It's not often I drink in Brum and I'd heard that a
few of the less desirable boozers had been transformed. Consequently, I planned
a route that avoided many of the usual drinking establishments noted for their
real ale. I like my traditional beer but Rob, having been brought up in the beer
desert that is Northfield, tends to drink horrible things like Carlsberg and
Guinness. However, yesterday he decided to enter into the spirit of things and
chose to drink from the handpulls.
I arranged to meet Rob at the Tony Hancock memorial in the Old Square, once the
location of the Bull Tavern and later the Saracen's Head, one of Birmingham's
legendary coaching houses trading in the 17th century. Hancock himself had spent
some of his childhood in a pub, for his parents kept the Railway Hotel in
Bournmouth. I sat on the plinth and was horrified to see Rob approaching with a
shopping trolley. Living and working in Birmingham, Rob has always been a patron
of public transport and was using the trolley to convey a present he'd bought
for his mum as it was Mother's Day in the morning. Fair enough. However, I did
have to point out to Rob, uninitiated in the culture of Tickers and Ticking,
that these much-maligned creatures are often seen in pubs with their shopping
trolleys of beer bottles and funnels. And here we were, about to embark on a pub
crawl accompanied by a shopping trolley.
As we walked to the Gun Quarter, I had to bring Rob up to speed with the true
sadness of the ticking culture. Such is the innocence of my brother-in-law, it
was like trying to explain to an eight year-old where babies come from. And his
face was similarly disfigured when I tried to elucidate the ticker's heinous
drinking behaviour. Fully briefed, Rob and I arrived at the Bull in Price Street
to find it closed. Not a good start to our pub crawl. I know that they don't
bother to open up on Sundays, but I have been in here on a Saturday when it was
open all day. However, it would seem that Saturday's have also suffered from
similar apathy. Can't blame Rose and the girls - there ain't too many people
wandering the streets of the Gun Quarter at the weekend.
We headed towards Snow Hill station to have a drink in the Old Contemptibles.
Located on the corner of Edmund Street and Livery Street, the imposing red-brick
building was erected in the late 19th century as the Albion Hotel. It was
re-named the Old Contemptibles in 1953 as the pub was a popular haunt for men
who had served in the First World War. The name is thought to have been applied
to the French by Kaiser Wilhelm II but the British Expeditionary Force adopted
it for themselves. The Old Contemptibles was a terrible pub at the turn of the
21st century. It was filthy, sold dregs and served dregs. It was possibly the
worst pub in Birmingham so it was probably a relief when it closed in 2005.
Thankfully, someone saw the potential of this once-great establishment and gave
the place a new lease of life. I realise that some of the interior re-working
will not please the architectural puritans but it is great to see this pub back
on the map.
The Old Contemptibles seems to serve three regular beers that includes Madonna's
favourite tipple of Timothy Taylor Landlord Bitter. They also have three guest
ales and the handpull pump clips are also accompanied by tasting notes. I have
only seen this is useful feature in one other pub - the one I used to run! One
of the beers was Trashy Blonde from the much talked-about Brewdog Brewery of
Scotland. We ordered a couple of pints and parked ourselves in two large leather
chairs, the sort from which the sozzled barrister, Rowley Birkin QC, used to
spin his yarns of adventure in the Fast Show. The Trashy Blonde was like
snogging a hop monster. Imagine diving into a vat of beer and then someone
tipping a cartload of hops on your head. Great stuff. The best English hoppy
beer I have tasted in ages. It was a great start for my beer novice
brother-in-law - he thought it was fantastic. We were only supposed to stay in
each pub for one drink but who needs a rulebook when you're having a great time.
We stayed for two refills which came with Ken Barlow glasses - the old pimple
glasses with handles last seen in this part of Brum in the 1970's when Meg
Richardson sold her soul to the devil in The Crossroads Motel.
One thing that the rulebook always states is that when you've had a couple of
beers your belly starts to rumble. No problem as the OC's serves food all day.
The sausage butties are served on Ciabatta bread and come with chips and salad -
and all for £3.95. It's an odd world in which you can buy lunch for just over
the price of a pint. The beer in the Old Contemptibles was priced at £2.75
regardless of strength. However, this means a bargain can be had. I later
chatted to Nigel Barker, gaffer of the Wellington in Bennetts Hill and he told
me that when they stocked the Trashy Blonde they had to charge £3.40. Enjoyed by
all age groups, the OC's had a great atmosphere and we could have stayed for the
day. Just as we were about to leave Rob spotted someone drinking a pint of green
liquid. I simply had to ask what it was. Turns out that it was Sign of Spring, a
beer produced by Stonehenge Ales. He let me have a sip and it was rather nice.
But it really is a weird coloured drink - have a look at
https://www.stonehengeales.co.uk/sign_of_spring.html to see what I'm talking
about. I thought I could sniff a herby coriander vibe but I could be imagining
this with the colour doing strange things to my senses.
We had a swift Wye Valley beer in the Wellington [now fitted with dartboard]
before heading over to Gas Street Basin to see what beer was on offer in the
Canalside Cafe. Housed in a former lock-keeper's cottage, this is one of the
more unusual drinking dens in Brum. As its name suggests, it is more of a cafe
than a pub but they always have a couple of beers from a microbrewery. With a
pleasant interior of trees and wicker furniture and serving veggie fodder, the
cafe is favoured by bohemians and free spirits. As something of an ersatz
iconoclast, I really like the place.
We strolled along the canal to to an establishment that is somewhat
contrapositive. The trendy Penny Blacks was showing the Ireland vs Wales rugby
showdown and seemed the best place to enjoy some Church End "What The Foxes
Hat." This was priced at the very trendy price of £3 - why bother stocking the
till with copper and silver when you can round things up for the punters? This
is the most expensive beer I have bought in Brum. The rugby was great and, as
you can tell from my name, I think the best team won. They've really deserved
their first Grand Slam since 1948 as they have played the best throughout the
series. The beer, incidentally, was very good and they always seem to sell a
couple of Church End beers, a Warwickshire brewery that I really like.
And to finish off the day [we'd been out since 1.30pm] we ventured across to The
Victoria, another pub that is enjoying something of a renaissance and now
stocking beers from the Herefordshire brewery of Wye Valley. However, Rob
ordered the Purity ale which he loved. I had the Wood's Wonderful, a lovely
ruby-coloured beer clocking in at 4.8%. The beer was so good we stayed for three
pints. As Clint Eastwood once said "everyone's got to know their limitations"
and having drunk much more than we should have done, we toddled off towards the
train station. A superb day out in Birmingham which has suddenly become a very
nice place to drink. Who'd have said that in the 1980's? It was then that the
real ale revival kicked in with the Anchor, Lamp Tavern and Prince of Wales
leading the way. Over the years, others have joined in the party. The takeover
of the Barton's Arms by Oakham Ales and the Old Joint Stock by Fuller's were
important developments. However, it was the launch of the Wellington that seems
to have been the stimulus for further real ale entrepreneurial flair and
adventure. For example, the Mackem who bought the Clifden in Great Hampton
Street is now running the Red Lion in Warstone Lane and has brought real ale
back into the heart of the Jewellery Quarter. Things are certainly better than
ever in Birmingham.
Cheers
Kieron
Birmingham's pubs yesterday. It's not often I drink in Brum and I'd heard that a
few of the less desirable boozers had been transformed. Consequently, I planned
a route that avoided many of the usual drinking establishments noted for their
real ale. I like my traditional beer but Rob, having been brought up in the beer
desert that is Northfield, tends to drink horrible things like Carlsberg and
Guinness. However, yesterday he decided to enter into the spirit of things and
chose to drink from the handpulls.
I arranged to meet Rob at the Tony Hancock memorial in the Old Square, once the
location of the Bull Tavern and later the Saracen's Head, one of Birmingham's
legendary coaching houses trading in the 17th century. Hancock himself had spent
some of his childhood in a pub, for his parents kept the Railway Hotel in
Bournmouth. I sat on the plinth and was horrified to see Rob approaching with a
shopping trolley. Living and working in Birmingham, Rob has always been a patron
of public transport and was using the trolley to convey a present he'd bought
for his mum as it was Mother's Day in the morning. Fair enough. However, I did
have to point out to Rob, uninitiated in the culture of Tickers and Ticking,
that these much-maligned creatures are often seen in pubs with their shopping
trolleys of beer bottles and funnels. And here we were, about to embark on a pub
crawl accompanied by a shopping trolley.
As we walked to the Gun Quarter, I had to bring Rob up to speed with the true
sadness of the ticking culture. Such is the innocence of my brother-in-law, it
was like trying to explain to an eight year-old where babies come from. And his
face was similarly disfigured when I tried to elucidate the ticker's heinous
drinking behaviour. Fully briefed, Rob and I arrived at the Bull in Price Street
to find it closed. Not a good start to our pub crawl. I know that they don't
bother to open up on Sundays, but I have been in here on a Saturday when it was
open all day. However, it would seem that Saturday's have also suffered from
similar apathy. Can't blame Rose and the girls - there ain't too many people
wandering the streets of the Gun Quarter at the weekend.
We headed towards Snow Hill station to have a drink in the Old Contemptibles.
Located on the corner of Edmund Street and Livery Street, the imposing red-brick
building was erected in the late 19th century as the Albion Hotel. It was
re-named the Old Contemptibles in 1953 as the pub was a popular haunt for men
who had served in the First World War. The name is thought to have been applied
to the French by Kaiser Wilhelm II but the British Expeditionary Force adopted
it for themselves. The Old Contemptibles was a terrible pub at the turn of the
21st century. It was filthy, sold dregs and served dregs. It was possibly the
worst pub in Birmingham so it was probably a relief when it closed in 2005.
Thankfully, someone saw the potential of this once-great establishment and gave
the place a new lease of life. I realise that some of the interior re-working
will not please the architectural puritans but it is great to see this pub back
on the map.
The Old Contemptibles seems to serve three regular beers that includes Madonna's
favourite tipple of Timothy Taylor Landlord Bitter. They also have three guest
ales and the handpull pump clips are also accompanied by tasting notes. I have
only seen this is useful feature in one other pub - the one I used to run! One
of the beers was Trashy Blonde from the much talked-about Brewdog Brewery of
Scotland. We ordered a couple of pints and parked ourselves in two large leather
chairs, the sort from which the sozzled barrister, Rowley Birkin QC, used to
spin his yarns of adventure in the Fast Show. The Trashy Blonde was like
snogging a hop monster. Imagine diving into a vat of beer and then someone
tipping a cartload of hops on your head. Great stuff. The best English hoppy
beer I have tasted in ages. It was a great start for my beer novice
brother-in-law - he thought it was fantastic. We were only supposed to stay in
each pub for one drink but who needs a rulebook when you're having a great time.
We stayed for two refills which came with Ken Barlow glasses - the old pimple
glasses with handles last seen in this part of Brum in the 1970's when Meg
Richardson sold her soul to the devil in The Crossroads Motel.
One thing that the rulebook always states is that when you've had a couple of
beers your belly starts to rumble. No problem as the OC's serves food all day.
The sausage butties are served on Ciabatta bread and come with chips and salad -
and all for £3.95. It's an odd world in which you can buy lunch for just over
the price of a pint. The beer in the Old Contemptibles was priced at £2.75
regardless of strength. However, this means a bargain can be had. I later
chatted to Nigel Barker, gaffer of the Wellington in Bennetts Hill and he told
me that when they stocked the Trashy Blonde they had to charge £3.40. Enjoyed by
all age groups, the OC's had a great atmosphere and we could have stayed for the
day. Just as we were about to leave Rob spotted someone drinking a pint of green
liquid. I simply had to ask what it was. Turns out that it was Sign of Spring, a
beer produced by Stonehenge Ales. He let me have a sip and it was rather nice.
But it really is a weird coloured drink - have a look at
https://www.stonehengeales.co.uk/sign_of_spring.html to see what I'm talking
about. I thought I could sniff a herby coriander vibe but I could be imagining
this with the colour doing strange things to my senses.
We had a swift Wye Valley beer in the Wellington [now fitted with dartboard]
before heading over to Gas Street Basin to see what beer was on offer in the
Canalside Cafe. Housed in a former lock-keeper's cottage, this is one of the
more unusual drinking dens in Brum. As its name suggests, it is more of a cafe
than a pub but they always have a couple of beers from a microbrewery. With a
pleasant interior of trees and wicker furniture and serving veggie fodder, the
cafe is favoured by bohemians and free spirits. As something of an ersatz
iconoclast, I really like the place.
We strolled along the canal to to an establishment that is somewhat
contrapositive. The trendy Penny Blacks was showing the Ireland vs Wales rugby
showdown and seemed the best place to enjoy some Church End "What The Foxes
Hat." This was priced at the very trendy price of £3 - why bother stocking the
till with copper and silver when you can round things up for the punters? This
is the most expensive beer I have bought in Brum. The rugby was great and, as
you can tell from my name, I think the best team won. They've really deserved
their first Grand Slam since 1948 as they have played the best throughout the
series. The beer, incidentally, was very good and they always seem to sell a
couple of Church End beers, a Warwickshire brewery that I really like.
And to finish off the day [we'd been out since 1.30pm] we ventured across to The
Victoria, another pub that is enjoying something of a renaissance and now
stocking beers from the Herefordshire brewery of Wye Valley. However, Rob
ordered the Purity ale which he loved. I had the Wood's Wonderful, a lovely
ruby-coloured beer clocking in at 4.8%. The beer was so good we stayed for three
pints. As Clint Eastwood once said "everyone's got to know their limitations"
and having drunk much more than we should have done, we toddled off towards the
train station. A superb day out in Birmingham which has suddenly become a very
nice place to drink. Who'd have said that in the 1980's? It was then that the
real ale revival kicked in with the Anchor, Lamp Tavern and Prince of Wales
leading the way. Over the years, others have joined in the party. The takeover
of the Barton's Arms by Oakham Ales and the Old Joint Stock by Fuller's were
important developments. However, it was the launch of the Wellington that seems
to have been the stimulus for further real ale entrepreneurial flair and
adventure. For example, the Mackem who bought the Clifden in Great Hampton
Street is now running the Red Lion in Warstone Lane and has brought real ale
back into the heart of the Jewellery Quarter. Things are certainly better than
ever in Birmingham.
Cheers
Kieron
