The Hype Machine

Are things really kicking off for Birmingham beer fans?

Is it finally happening?

Yes, I think it is and they are.  [Remember to edit this sentence, it's rubbish.] [But isn't it deliberately rubbish? Isn't it slightly knowing?] [Yes, I suppose you're right, OK leave it.] [Thanks]

This issue of the Mediocre Hype Machine will give you cast-iron proof that things are on the turn:

i) Brewdog Birmingham
No visible sign of building work at their John Bright Street site yet, but we I believe they are still due to open sometime in August.  This will bring uber-trendy beer in bottles and on tap.  Plus, we should get new beers when they are new, rather than eons after the rest of the country.

ii) Purity's new Craft bar
Just round the corner from Brewdog, we now have news of a second new craft venue, which will be run by Purity team.  Twitter brings news that it will feature a range of craft beers, in tandem with a top-notch food offer.  This sounds good.

iii) Brumcraft
In July 2013, Birmingham will have it's first Craft beer festival, organised and delivered by Birmingham beer fans.  No longer prepared to wait for the very best new beers to make their way to our City, a small group of determined activist have raised their heads above the parakeet and are now in a position to deliver a new kind of beer event - one peppered with the very best flavour combinations, from the very best new brewers.  This will be a big one.

iv) Off licences flexing their muscles
I dare that say that both Stirchley Wines and Cotteridge Wines would rather that their competitor was located a bit further away; BUT given their close proximity, it's Birmingham beer fans who are reaping the benefits.  There is no doubt at all that Cotteridge and Stirchley are driving up each others' standards - bringing in more and more of the World's best beers to us, at an ever quickening pace.  The work of new and hitherto unseen breweries is arriving day by day, and the choice of so many great beers, means that personally I no longer feel like I have to live a compromised beer existence.  Dan in 2005: "What beer shall I sup at home tonight?  Samuel Smith? Freeminer? Erdinger? Marston?; Dan in 2012: "What beer shall I sup at home tonight? Mikkeller? De Molen? Kernel? Summer Wine?  No contest.  I may be asking too much, but I hope this level of competition continues, as it will surely breed a newer, larger audience for quality beer in Brum.

v) Better beer in existing pubs
Dare I hope?  Is genuinely high quality beer starting to become commonplace in venues like the Old Contemptibles, and the Wellington?  This may seem facetious, as these are two pubs in the City, already known for a premium beer choice; however.... they were are not always home to the very, very best brands.  But in recent weeks, we have seen Hawkshead and Moor at the OC's, Red Willow and Buxton at the Wellington and Tiny Rebel at the Post Office Vaults.  I accept that these are very small, isolated examples, but I am still taking them as a positive.  In fact, when I popped into the Welly on Friday, they had a mini-festival underway, featuring beers from a fistful of London's new breed of microbreweries - By the Horns, Hackney and the Botanist, in addition to Happy Valley from Macclesfield.  Now I'll leave aside the fact that the Wellington failed to publicise this via social media, which would have been helpful, but you can't have everything.  Pubs of Birmingham, we want these top beers, we want them regularly and we want to know when you have them.

vi) Cherry Reds
A tiny venue single-handedly taking on the apathetic giant, this Kings Heath venue are doing a great job with their range of great beers on offer and by hosting beer tasting events - to my knowledge they are the only venue really doing this at the moment.  This outfit are a model of independence and integrity.  More please.

vii) Beer Geek
6 months (or so) on from their launch, they are now an increasingly established local brand, available in loads of places across the region.  More please.  On a personal note, I would like them to brew a delicious beer in my honour, but I realise that does sound a bit grandiose and bit git-like, now I come to type it.

viii) Birmingham Post
Talented journalist/cum PR Manager Keith Gabriel neatly captured the gathering beer zeitgeist in the City, in this article.  It's clearly a great piece of writing and clearly mentions all the most important beer figures in the City - namely moi.  But seriously folks, when the Birmingham Post starts noticing that beer is on the up, beer really is on the up.  In actual fact, the article in question appears to have been heavily plagiarised (in theme and tone) by me, in this post, here.  Whoops.

So then, lots to be positive about.  Are there any more?

State of the (Mediocre Beer) Nation - Brum

I have now been writing this blog for around 6 months, which has been a lot of fun.  I have enjoyed writing a load of nonsense about my beer drinking exploits and have tried in my own small way to promote good beer in Birmingham and highlight good practice.

Six months is therefore, probably a good point at which to take stock of where we are; and by 'we' I mean both me and Birmingham (as a whole).  [Due to my garrulous typing, this will be done in 2 concurrent posts].

Part I – Brum

At the start of the year, Birmingham had just welcomed the Post Office Vaults, which is now very well established indeed, with a massive range of bottled beers, great staff and a rising profile.  It is the best beer pub in the City. 

But...... from August onwards Brewdog will be coming to town, which will undoubtedly change things.  Now in many ways this is a dream come true, certainly it's something myself and other Brum beer bloggers and tweeters have begged for.  But could it be the tipping point?  I think 'Yes' is that answer to that one.  Yes.  At last Birmingham beer fans will have some tangible part of the national craft beer 'scene' to cling onto; at last we are being taken seriously, by one of the big players.

I fully anticipate that the arrival of Brewdog will spark the counter-arrival of one or two independent craft beer bars, at which point we really will be in the midst of an upward trend.  Equally, I think it will breed a new err breed of clientele, which will dovetail quite nicely with the fanbases of pubs like the Anchor, the Wellington and the Bartons Arms, which will still have a part to play, along with the Nicholsons and Bitter and Twisted venues.   

Off-licence-wise, Birmingham has also expanded it's waistline, as Cotteridge Wines have popped up to become the first real competitor to Stirchley Wines; having taken note of the quiet revolution which SWS have been orchestrating for over a decade.  Indeed, South West Birmingham has become something of a bottled beer haven.  If only East and North Birmingham could seize the baton in as enthusiastic a fashion: but then again, they are already well served for Polish and otherEast European beer produce, as evidenced by my ongoing off licenceproject.  

It seems strange to think that only 18 months ago, Brum had never laid eyes on a Mikkeller, Kernel, Nogne or Stone, but thanks to SWS, I think we already take for granted our access to these international beer icons.  Indeed, if the Twittersphere is anything to go by, the City's thirst for new national and international beer brands is getting ever more intense.

Talking of Twitter, April saw the first Birmingham Twissup, which was a great event in itself, but more importantly was the genesis of Birmingham’s first ever, (upcoming) Craft Beer Festival, provisionally entitled Brum Craft 2013.  Now this will be a fantastic event anyway, but my feeling is that even in 2013, it will still be the only opportunity for beer fans in the City to sample the UK’s best craft beer on keg and cask.  Whither Magic Rock?  Whither Kernel?  My tongue is already watering.

In short then, the beer scene in Birmingham is getting better and better.  It's still not as good as London or Sheffield, nor Manchester, Newcastle, Huddersfield, Ilkeston, Cambridge etc.  But we are moving in the right direction, and the pace of that movement is picking up (in the right direction of pace).

In my next post, which forms Part II of this State of the Nation report, I will talk about myself*...

*for a change