Taking ones own advices

Some while ago I wrote a post about the ideal Birmingham pub crawl - it's here.

Now over the course of the year this has proved to be quite popular (in so far as my blog statistics appear to show).  This post also seems to have had bursts of sporadic popularity, where I am gratified to say, people appear to be actually using it to plan real-life crawls.  So I decided to do the same.

The opportunity throated itself when my long-standing and brilliant chum @joneso76 came a-visiting from Leicester.  He's fairly new to Twitter and had quickly become enraptured by the exciting adventures that the West Midlands beer community always seemed to be involved in.  So, on arrival in Brum he begged for the chance to hit as many hot 'spots' as possible, during his one-day duration. This situation seemed set-up for revisiting as many of the locations on my ideal pub crawl, as could reasonably be fisted into a day.

Before my arrival in the centre, Jones already ticked off Brewdog and walked past Post Office Vaults (2 down).

We rendezvoused in the Victoria, where we were honoured to be the first people in the pub to ever sample cask Magic Rock.  In fact, we were possibly the first people to ever sample cask Magic Rock, in the whole history of Birmingham.  Ku.  dOS.  It was Curious.  It was history.

After the Victoria it was back to Brewdog for some delicious Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast and a chance meeting with two of Birmingham's foremost international beer connoisseurs Hazel and David.  Unfortunately Brewdog didn't have any lager from Bhutan, so they had to drink something nice instead.  Ho hum.

Next up, Citra and delicious Thai grub at the Bartons, having walked through Bacchus en route.  The Bartons never disappoints, although the lack of bottled Green Devil IPA did remind me just how baffled I am that Oakham will no longer be bottling it - madness.

From there to the Lord Clifden, where it was yeasty Budvar and one of the city's most impressive hand dryers.

The LC is an Urban Art Bar, as is the Red Lion, which I'll come to in a minute.  But before that, it was the Drop Forge and a pint of Malvern Hills Black Pear.  What a smart place.

So then, the Red Lion for more lager- this time some Estaminet Pils, which was extremely tasty and served in a splendid, ribbed beaker.  Golf.

Finally, for a quick pint of Bathams (which turned into several), it was to the ever [and always] brilliant Black Eagle.  It has been too long since I visited this esteemed and fabulous location, which seems to transcend the vicissitudes of beer fashion; so I made the most of my stay.  1) Free chips.  2) Bathams served in tip-top condition. 3) Dancing with, and for the entertainment of, an older and surprisingly sprightly clientele (old ladies).

If I say one thing about the above mentioned pub crawl, it is this: it was brilliant.  If I say a second thing, it's that Birmingham has loads of great boozers, and sometimes I forget that.  I increasingly find myself drawn to a handful of crafty joints in the city centre these days, but in order to de-narrow my beerview, perhaps I need to be more stringent in making sure I remember to visit the other venues of legend, in this, the Second City.

~ ~

In the coming weeks, I will endeavour to bring you posts on the following:
i) The greatest beer tasting evening I've ever known
ii) My reflections on a booze-free January
iii) An update on the Birmingham Beer Bash   

The 2013 Top Ten Movers and Shakers on the Birmingham Beer Scene

A year ago, I done a blog post, which I was actually rather proud of.  It constructed a list of the 10 most influential people in Birmingham's crazy 'world' of good beer.

12 months on and much has changed (or is in the process of changing), therefore we need to do a follow up.  The only slight problem is that the formulae used to determine how influential people were/are, and therefore where they ranked in the list, has disappeared into the mists of time - in fact these formulae may never have existed in the first place.  As such, these ten are served up to you in alphabetical order (by surname).  Annnnnnnnnnnyway, here is this years list - the Top Ten Movers and Shakers on the Birmingham Beer Scene for 2013.

Nigel Barker (Wellington and Post Office Vaults)

The Wellington yet again took CAMRA's top prize as the Birmingham pub of the year, but it was with Nigel's newer venture - the Post Office Vaults, that he made the biggest impact on Birmingham this year.  With a mind boggling range of Belgian and German beers, crammed into a tiny space, the POV has quickly become a staple of any Birmingham pub crawl, and finally (FINALLY) offers somewhere for us to consistently drink world classics such as Orval, Rodenbach Grand Cru and De Molen Vuur and Vlam.  Tiny Rebel often feature on cask too, which is a big plus.  Strictly speaking, this ranking is sort of shared between him and Mike Perkins, with them both being co-owners of the POV, whilst Nigel, is sole licensee of the Welly.

Dr Paul Bennett (Beer Geek Brewery)

Launched in February 2012, Beer Geek are a common sight in the pubs of Birmingham, plus their excellent branding is now being recognised in London and other faraway places.  Following the demise of the Two Towers' brewery tap at the Brown Lion, Beer Geek are now Brum's most recognisable local brewer and have the chance to broaden their range to seriously tickle the fancy of the city's swelling band of actual beer geeks.  

Marverine Cole (Beer Beauty)

Not just an award-winning beer blogger and former Sky News presenter; this local-girl come good, is also a veritable tour de force banging the good beer gospel on television and radio (as in here).  Savvy, well connected and glamorous, Marverine is ideally placed to use her national celebrity and local pride to bear on the Birmingham beer scene, with hopefully marv-ellous results.   

Paul Halsey (Purity)

If this list had been written in a few months time, I would expect Paul to be higher up the list*.  This would be because of the projected opening of the Purity Craft Beer bar, which is, I believe, due to touch down near John Bright Street to form (along with Brewdog Birmingham, The Victoria and the also imminent Craven Arms) the city's 'Craft Beer Quarter'.  However as it stands we don't yet know what the new place will look like.  Purity Mad Goose is still delicious however, and with their three beers still being ubiquitous in Birmingham, Paul is still a shaker.

Jaz and Kal Kandola (Cotteridge Wines)

This time last year I didn't even know that Cotteridge Wines existed.  Now they are a nationally recognised off licence, with a range of 700-800 different bottles, offering access to US brewers not previously glimpsed in our city.  It is an astonishing rise. Via a twin assault of well priced UK craft beers (and a big range too), plus access to foreign beers (Mikkeller, Evil Twin, Anchorage, Bruery et al) Cotteridge now present an irresistible offer, which has undoubtedly diversified the craft beer audience in Birmingham.

Gerry Keane (The Anchor)

The Anchor keeps rocking and rolling.  The line up of great cask beers keeps coming, with a excellent representation of lesser known brewers from around the country.  Also their range of beery events is as impressive as ever.

Dan Muldoon (Brewdog Birmingham)

Finally, in December, the big boys arrived.  Brewdog, undoubtedly the superbrand of UK craft brewing, finally killed off Brum's reputation as a desert for kegged craft beer.  With a dozen or so taps of unadulterated quality, BD now bring us their own highly flavoured offerings, plus guest beers we would previously have had to get to London to sample (Nogne, Mikkeller, Evil Twin, Brodies etc).  With imperial stouts such as Tokyo, AB:12 and Paradox they are the first place to offer high strength beers on tap.  With regulars such as Dogfight, Punk IPA and 5AM Saint, they are pretty much the only place in Brum to guarantee hoppy draught choices.  Two big pluses.  Since opening, they have also killed off the myth that Birmingham couldn't support such a 'craft' establishment, or that there simply wasn't the demand in our great city for premium beers.  The place is rammed each night - go figure.  With a De Molen tap takeover on the horizon, and other such events in the pipeline, we now have a place to light up the beery imagination of a generation and blaze a trail for independent outlets to follow.  He built it. We came.

Jen Nadin (Cherry Reds)

Cherry Reds is a wonderfully homely and friendly bar/cafe in Kings Heath, which has made a concerted effort to stock good beer in bottles and on tap.  Jen has also programmed a consistent range of themed beer tasting events, and a held their second annual beer festival last August.  This would be enough to earn Jen a place on this list, but, coupled with her participation in the Foreign Beer Bar at the Birmingham Beer Festival, and, perhaps more intriguingly, the projected opening of a city centre version of Cherry Reds this year, Jen is right at the heart of the good things which are afoot. 

Krishan Rajput (Stirchley Wines and Spirits)

Krishan and his father are Brum beer pioneers; perhaps last year was the year where we saw his spiritual children begin to emerge, blinking, into the Birmingham sunlight.  Stirchley Wines and Spirits continues to be a nationally recognised off licence, with an awesome range of bottles, PLUS they now have their own tap, offering fresh, draught craft beer to take away - to my mind, one of only two places in the city to offer this!  In addition, Krishan again brought beer quality to the Birmingham Beer Festival, with a powerful selection at his foreign beer bar.  


Matt Scriven (Bitters and Twisted)

Matt's Bitters and Twisted chain continued it's expansion this year, by opening the steak-fuelled New Inn in Harborne.  More importantly (for me) however, this year the beer range in his pubs was certainly on the up.  With consistent cask offerings from Dark Star, Thornbridge and Red Willow and with a range of excellent bottles, the choice of good beer for Brum beer geeks suddenly got better overnight.  Not only were the Victoria, New Inn, Jekyll and Hyde the first pubs in the city (to my knowledge) to stock beer from UK craft brewers such as Kernel, Summer Wine and Arbor, but they remain amongst the few to do so.  (plus Magic Rock on tap is in the pipeline...) 

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Initial observations on the list?  Well clearly it shows the importance of entrepreneurs.  12 months ago, there was space on the list for people who headed up national companies - this is no longer the case.  In fact, apart from the Brewdog, whose brand power in the world of 'craft' beer is irrefutable, all of the other people who make this ten are local, highly motivated individuals, seizing Birmingham's beer scene by the scruff of the neck.

Next year (if I'm still alive) I fully expect the following people to appear in the list, for a variety of reasons: David Shipman (Birmingham Beer Bash), Keith Marsden (Prince of Wales, Moseley), Chris Sherratt (Craven Arms).      

Having completed the above list, I sit here perambulating in my own glory.

<5 minutes elapse>

In this post-perambulation period, I have also come to a sort of encapsulation regarding exactly what it means to be a 'mover and shaker' on my list.  It is part to do with the impact on the progressive beer scene in the city, and secondly, it's to do with the personal trajectory of the individual - have they improved or remained steady, etc etc.  I hope that's clear.

*even though, as Carl Durose has pointed out - this sentence is complete nonsense. After all, for someone to move up the list, it would involve them knobbling all/some of the people ranked alphabetically higher than them on the list.  Watch out Paul, Nigel and Marverine!  Happy now?

The Festive Period. An exciting 'round up"

The onset of January, and indeed the onslaught of 2013, recently began in earnest.  Before that becomes a grinding inevitability, let's just take a minute to look back over an exciting December, which turned out to be a month.

As Birmingham residents will be only too gratefully aware, our branch of Brewdog finally opened it's doors on 11th December.  It's opening was met with a wave of people going in and buying beer and then tweeting about how nice it was[is].

I managed to hold back for a full half a day before peeking inside and buying my first ever {Birmingham-based} kegged Brewdog.  It was Movember, a Black IPA and it tasted, like, victory.

Since then I have popped in as often as my wife/wallet/boss/child/slim-fit jeans will allow and even during this short timescale, have already sampled some incredible draft beers, including Cocoa Psycho, Punk IPA, Jackhammer, Hoppy Xmas, Tokyo, Imperial Red Wheat and guest offerings from the likes of Mikkeller, Brodies and Rogue.  Fabulous.  A range which is blatantly of a different order to any other draft offering in the city.

Coincidentally, the opening of Brewdog Brum came just a few days after I visited their Nottingham sister, during a short, punchy crawl of that city.  Nottingham is somewhere that conjures fond memories of Selectadisc, Rock City and massive LCFC victories (cough).  I was pleased to see that its boozers are up to scratch, with King William IV, Kean's Head and BD all brilliant venues.  I supped Whim, Navigation, Brewdog, Castle Rock and Rodenbach; and almost missed my train.

<The second half of this post drags rather.  Thus, to brighten/spice things up, I have changed the text colour. Does this work as a technique?>

In other Brum news, the Christmas period offered the yearly chance to visit boozers whose doors I don't usually darken**:  

Sometimes this is because I am frightened to venture in - like i) the Crown, which I was delighted to find was a beautiful old pub, in great nick.  Terrible beer choice mind, but space to sit down and kegged Brew XI were a compromise worth taking.

Sometimes I assume a place doesn't serve beer and/or I'm not trendy enough to go in - like ii) the Island Bar, which I was delighted to find was a buzzing place, offering bottled Marstons Oyster Stout.

Aside from Brewdog, another regular stop-off during the party season was the Victoria, which boasted 3x handpulls of Thornbridge on the visit I can remember, including delicious (ever-delicious) Kipling.

I also popped into the Old Joint Stock and enjoyed a Fullers Past Masters Old Burton Extra, which was mellifluous malt indeed.

My final note is of brief stop-offs at two of the Shakespeares* in the centre: I quaffed Pilsner Urquell on Summer Row and succulent Jaipur at Lower Temple.  Both were delicious.
 
***

Happy NY.

* There is a third one in New Street station.  You have to have a train ticket to get to it and I certainly would not advise buying one for that specific purpose - it's not a good enough place.
** Because all of my usual haunts are rammed.
*** I also went to Leicester over the holiday.  Lots of Everards Tiger - yum yum.

Birmingham/Black Country Pub of the Year 2012

A short post this, as I am trying to learn to be conciser that what I have been known to be.

My pub of the year is based on a combination of two things, of which the latter is the subordinate.

First: I look for good beer - either a big range, or a smaller range of good beer.  Ideally a big range of great beer.  Extra points are gained here for uniqueness of the offering.

Second: a like a pub with a nice feel - friendly staff, nice furniture, good music, cool decor et al.

For Birmingham, I believe this year has been a transitional one for pubs: we are betwixt the great craft beer 'lift-off' of 2013, but much {much} better off than the pre-Wellington days of 2004.  In the Black Country meanwhile, the old classics plough on undaunted, even while the next generation of pubs and breweries chomp at the/a bit.

And so, without further ado, here are my Top 3 [Brum/Black Country] pubs of the 2012 year, in reverse order.

3. Post Office Vaults, Birmingham
Loses points for being cramped and very expensive, but gains big points for having a marvellous Belgian range.  To be able to go into a city centre boozer and be guaranteed Orval, De Molen, St Bernardus, Slaapmutske etc is fantastic and not to be taken for granted.  For donkeys' years we have begged for a place like this, and now we have it.  Tiny Rebel on tap, on a regular basis is appreciated also.

2. The Victoria, Birmingham
Scores highly for being a cool place to hang out.  Also garners enormous praise for being the first, and largely the only city centre pub to stock UK craft beer, albeit in bottles.  I love the idea (and the reality) of leaving work, and then 5 minutes later being able to drink Kernel or Red Willow, whilst listening to some cool choons.  The Bitters 'n Twisted pub chain deserves credit for seeking to fill the craft beer gap in Birmingham and the Victoria is a place I enjoy spending time.  Bravo.

1. The Windsor Castle, Lye
A wonderful place.  A short train journey from Snow Hill station brings you to the home of Sadlers, a West Midlands brewery who are absolutely at the top of their game.  This place scores well for cleanliness, comfort, staff and decor, but let's not pretend otherwise - it's the beer range that brings me back.  To be able to walk into a pub and be confronted by 10 or so handpulls devoted to fresh, local produce is fantastic.  Added to this is the fact that Sadlers are churning out big, hoppy beers; more so than any other local brewery.  Hop Bomb is marvellous, but Dr Hardwicke's is the one what does it for me the mostest.  If I can recommend a pub crawl to people in 2013, it is the Number 9 crawl which takes in the Duke William in Stourbridge (for Craddock's beers), the Windsor Castle in Lye and the Waggon and Horses in Halesowen.  Black Country beer heaven - I'M TELLING YOU.

Well done to Sadlers and well done to the Windsor Castle - the Mediocre Beer Adventures Birmingham and Black Country Pub of the Year for 2012. 
 

September Round Up

A. There are a few bits and bobs I can update you on, and a few photographs you can drool over.

Q. What is the point of this post?

First up, some sad news.  Apparently the Brown Lion has closed.  This is really sad, for not only was this a friendly venue, but they were also Birmingham's only genuine brewery tap, offering Two Towers' beers, such as Jewellery Porter and Complete Muppetry, both of which were very drinkable indeed.

Way back in April I reported on quiz night at the Brown Lion and (I hope) conveyed my enjoyment.  Fingers crossed that the Brown Lion will return in some form, but perhaps by then, Birmingham's sights will have moved to John Bright Street and the impending Brewdog Brum.  Speaking of which...

Brewdog Birmingham is now scheduled to open in errrrr, not sure.  It was originally due in August, but the last official word was that it'll be mid-November.  I don't suppose it matters when it gets here, as BD's fans are so rabid, that they'll lap it up come what may.  I probably will too.

Last week I had a lovely super quick tour of Leicester, which mixed Richard III tourism, with visits to some of the City's lesser known boozers/hidden 'treats'.



I hit the Salmon, the Ship and the Longstop, of which the first one was the best.  All were interesting though.   



In Twitterati news, this week I, along with Carl Durose and Tania Nexust hosted national beer legends Jezza, Martin Ridge and the enigmatic Black Haddock.  This was a good opportunity to sample excellent Thai food and Oakham Carioca at the Bartons Arms, some Saltaire at the Anchor and bottled UK 'Craft' beer at the Victoria.



Speaking of which, did I tell you that a Birmingham pub has finally taken the plunge and started stocking bottles from the UK's best new breweries, i.e. the ones who have invigorated and/or reinvigorated our national scene?  Kernel, Bristol Beer Factory, Arbor and Summer Wine are all (or certainly have all been) available, with highlights such as Amarillo Pale Ale and Cohort.  It is worth saying again, simply to highlight how gobsmacked I am that it has taken this long, but let me emphasise that the Victoria are still the ONLY pub in Birmingham stocking bottles from our top breweries.  Well done to the Victoria, I hope that their adventure is rewarded by people buying the new range by the truckload and that therefore the experiment widens and becomes a permanent feature.

But honestly, all other Brum pubs need to look hard in the mirror and ask themselves why no one else has been prepared to have a stab at stocking UK bottled craft.

In happier, or rather equally happy news, here are some of the best beers I've sampled in the last fortnight:

Raw Citra Black Ale - a magnificent Black IPA sampled at the Anchor,

Flying Dog In De Wildeman Farmhouse IPA - a deliciously funky Saison, which utilises New World hops.

Raw Dark Peak Stout - sampled at the Salmon in Leicester, this is the second delicious Raw beer I've tried recently; with this one being a super smooth and tasty Stout.

Great Heck Powerhouse - as recommended by @ckdsaddlers, this was a well balanced UK Golden Ale, replete with many hops and sampled at the Anchor.

Ksiazece - a lovely Polish Hefe Weizen, picked up in Whitmore Reans, Wolverhampton



Finally, as previously mentioned,

Oakham Carioca - a wonderful tropical fruit salad of hops and that. Smelt like an Avon saleswoman's basket.

Oh, one final thing - here are a photo of bottled "treats" which have latterly been placed in my beer cellar [cupboard] for future consumption.



Lager is for life, not just for Michaelmas.

Wednesday in the Victoria and Friday in the errr, nowhere

On Wednesday I had a pre-planned (unusual for me) night out at a pub, with, wait for it, some friends (highly unusual for me {sob}).

It was at the Victoria and was most pleasant, thanks for asking.  It was also uncharacteristically pleasant to stay in one pub, all night, and work my way through their wares.  I was happily reacquainted with some old favourites, whom in some cases, I have not sampled for far too long.

Brewdog 5AM Saint rarely disappoints, and must be one of their best, yes?

The Flying Dog Doggie Style was a new one for me and enjoyably hoppy and drinkable, in a sort of 2006 kind of way.  What does that mean?  Well, it merely means that in 2006 I was drinking lots of new US beers with the same sort of hop profile.  Is that OK?

Jaipur was (and is), well, Jaipur.  Very juicy.

Brother Rabbit, also from Thornbridge was another new one for me, and not my favourite from these reliable lads.  The sunshiney hops were by turns 'a bit' juicy, and then 'a bit' straw-ish.

The Kirin lager was lager.  I don't think I am able to handle lager any more.  It's been so long since I drank it, and it makes me feel a little bit queasy, and a little bit like Morrissey might have felt when asked to do cross-country running at school.  

The Wye Valley Butty Bach was terribly run of the mill.  Not terrible.  Served in good nick, but utterly lacking in inspiring flavours.

The Maisel's Weisse was fluffy, smooth like a satin bedspread and undulating with it's cakey, creamy manifestations.

The Brooklyn Lager was perfectly acceptable, and rather slick.

The Victoria has lots of lovely murals, appropriate lighting levels and a good atmos.  My fellow drinkers made me feel like an old git and no mistake, but that's my problem and not theirs.  I wish I had been as well dressed as them, when I was their age.

And then I went home. 

As a quick addendum, let me tell you about tonight's beer hunting.  With a window of about 10 minutes after work, I trooped in and out of three pubs and tried.... zero beers.  There was nothing on offer which excited me, so rather than blithely sup a half of this or that, I kept my wonga in my pocket.  Does that represent exceptional strength of mind, or gargantuan beer snobbery?  Only you can decide.