Seeing the Light at Burning Soul

This is going to be a slightly different entry from usual and the 'blame' lies with squarely Pub Curmudgeon, West Midlands Exploration, BRAPA, Life After Football and Retired Martin. Whilst all of us share a love of pubs, their constant blogging about the joys of real ale and the incessant photography of pints/halves of (mostly) 'nectar' have turned my head.

I'd got to the stage where I would choose Oakham Citra over my long-term choice, Carling. That was before Saturday! Some friends had been so impressed on a brewery tour of Burning Soul that they wanted to return for a session.

 In typical micro pub/brewery style, the opening hours are extremely limited (Friday 4 - 8 pm; Saturday 1 - 8 pm).

It was a cool, overcast evening, but seats were still difficult to find. I imagine that on a warm summer's evening there would be twice as many people there.

There were seven different beers on the list which kept on changing as beers ran out and were replaced with new ones; all served in half-pint measures.

My first impression wasn't good as the beer I'd chosen ran out as it was being poured. To my untutored eye as a confirmed lager man, I was struggling to find something that appealed, but I did make a choice and sat down.

The first mouthful changed my demeanour, instantly. It was cool, fruity, tasty, complex and refreshing - words I never expected to be using in relation to real ale. I sampled two more of their beers (can't remember any of the names!) which were equally superb. They are all a bit stronger than normal ranging from 4% up to 7% ABV which is why they only serve in halves (and why I can't recall what I had to drink!).

Inevitably, 8 pm arrived all too quickly and we had to leave to search for some nibbles and more drink. It was only a short walk to The Church.

The Church is a lovely street corner boozer which has been well refurbished and was nicely busy. It is now an Everards pub and they had Sunchaser on. I've had this before and quite enjoyed it. I ordered a pint and one of my companions ordered a pint of Tiger. Well, what a comedown! My pint was lifeless, flat and might as well have been dishwater; the Tiger was similarly unimpressive. Neither were actually 'off', it's just that after Burning Soul's fresh, brilliant beers anything else was always going to be a disappointment.

For the first time, I understood what the real ale aficionados had been wittering on about for years - I'd finally seen the light! After a shared bowl of nachos and some chips (which all helped the beer to go down), we moved on to the newly refurbished Jewellers Arms.

It has been taken over (and refurbished) by Black Country Ales. They've done a good job, but on a Saturday evening, it wasn't that busy. Again, I can't remember what I ordered (but it was something that I liked the look of) and, again, it was dull, dull, dull! (Although not quite as disappointing as the Sunchaser.)

So, have I undergone a Damascene conversion? Er...no! I now understand what the esteemed gentlemen, above, have been going on (...and on...) about for years, but I've not been converted to the real ale scene as a born-again beardie! It has, however, opened my eyes to the new world of craft/real ale and from now on I'll be much more likely to try out new beers.

Birmingham Pubs (Back) in the Doghouse (Part 2)

After their trip from Wales and a punishing walk to the Barton's Arms (and back to New Street Station) the intrepid crew from Doghouse - The British Pub Magazine returned to Birmingham for another pub crawl.

This time it was to be around Digbeth, an area rich in proper pubs and a place that I've covered extensively in previous posts. Their first stop was The Bull Ring Tavern - not a place I would've chosen, but it is the site of one of my most memorable pub visits!

It was back in the days before the smoking ban and we walked in one Saturday lunchtime. Inside it was like stepping back in time into something akin to a scene from a Hogarth painting. The atmosphere was so thick with smoke that after one pint it was too much even for my 20+ a day companion - even his eyes were watering! The clientèle seemed oblivious to the smoke they were creating...and what a selection of folk it was...there were people of all shapes, sizes, ages, sexes and races having a great time...and the most diverse range of facial features I've ever seen in one place! 

We went back after the smoking ban and it was 'dead' - the magic had gone! That's how it still is.

The Doghouse team then moved on to the White Swan on Bradford Street.This is a pub I've covered previously (#064)

 The write up in Doghouse captures The White Swan and the state of lunchtime drinking today perfectly.

They then moved up the road a bit to The Anchor (#025) - another fine example of the red brick and terracotta pubs built by James & Lister Lea in the late 1800's/early 1900's.

The Anchor is a pub I've only ever visited occasionally, but it is a great example of how pubs used to be.

Next, they moved on to The Fountain (#054). Not the most obvious of choices, but a good one. It is a place I've been in a couple of times and it is a lovely, proper pub. Doghouse put it better than I ever could -

"Your average Joe would probably stalk past The Fountain every day of their life, glancing through door and window merely to reinforce their own conceited prejudice about the place. But to those who understand, a session in this pub would be an experience worth travelling for"

Then it was on to The Old Crown (#016), possibly Birmingham's oldest pub. Outside it looks inviting, but inside it doesn't live up to the promise!

And, finally on this leg of the Doghouse pub crawl (sorry, I mean survey!), they popped into the Craven Arms (#086), which isn't in Digbeth, but is always worth a visit. Over the past few years it has been renovated and is now run by Black Country Ales

That was the end of the second leg of the Birmingham visit, but there was a third, shorter, instalment when Doghouse went to the Jewellery Quarter to sample a couple more of Birmingham's finest pubs.

First was a visit to the Rose Villa Tavern which has been wonderfully restored by the Bitters 'n' Twisted group. My first visit was before the regeneration when it was in quite a sad state, but the potential was definitely there to make a great pub.

My only visit after the changes was on a Saturday night when a disco was in full swing, so I probably didn't get the full appreciation of the new Rose Villa Tavern...but I was impressed with what I did see.

The next pub is one that I hadn't set foot inside until very recently, but I'd admired from the outside.

The Jewellers Arms has a magnificent sign and I always wanted to see what it was like inside. Again on a Saturday night I ventured into the Jewellery Quarter to sample the delights of some more pubs. At first, the Jewellers Arms looked to be closed, but it turned out that the lounge was open and we went in. Having left a very busy Lord Clifden it was sad to see that the Jewellers Arms was almost empty. This is a double shame because it was like stepping back in time to how cosy and comfortable pubs used to be 30+ years ago.

The Doghouse team then sampled two more pubs that I've never visited - the Black Eagle in Hockley and The Villa Tavern in Nechells.

I'm glad that I found Doghouse and that they came to Brum because it made me (re)appreciate just how many good pubs there are in this fair city - an observation that needs to have a much wider audience!