A Spotted Dog, White Swan and an Anchor

Digbeth Part 2 - Proper Pubs

In which we follow up the taprooms with a bit of West Midlands pub heritage around Digbeth way.
It's taken me an awful long time between reporting on the brewery taps and the pubs.  Perhaps I've just been holding off to tie-in with the return of Peaky Blinders to our screens...

Just across the road from the Peaky Blinder mural, sitting on a lonely corner, with some quality foliage on it's frontage, is the Spotted Dog.Spotted Dog (104 Warwick Street, Digbeth, B12 0NH - web)
At it's peak, Digbeth had a thriving Irish community and many of the pubs reflect this.  At the Spotted Dog you'll find Irish flags and bric-a-brac and some choice newspaper clippings about the national rugby team getting the better of their rivals.

Oakham 'Citra', Castle Rock 'Harvest Pale' and a cask cider were available, but I went straight for a pint of the Holden's 'Black Country Mild'.  Mild being on trend and me perpetually trying to be trendy.
A fine pint, supped next to the fire in the quiet side room pictured, accompanied by the unusual pub find of a vegetarian Scotch egg.

There's an outdoor space to the side which would be a winner in warmer weather.  Full of odd decorations...

Is Power Folk a hip new genre?
Can't keep up since they stopped publishing Melody Maker.

And spotted dogs on windows...

Digbeth used to be a thoroughly run-down area which had the ability to petrify unsuspecting long-distance bus travelers who found themselves deposited at the dreary coach station.
Once the most central of Birmingham's industrial regions, the factories gradually closed, the spray paint enthusiasts had a field day, and the area fell into disrepair.  But more recently it's seen a revival with old buildings housing music venues, bars and art spaces.  Plans are afoot for the big old Typhoo Tea factory to be transformed into urban apartments, and I suspect gentrified Digbeth will be unrecognisable in a few years time.  And I'll complain that I liked it better when it was run-down.

Back when the factories were open, workers could take their pick of 20 pubs along Bradford Street.  Now just two remain - both on the itinerary today.

I'm betting if I come back in a few years time this pub will be dwarfed by shiny new buildings on either side of it

White Swan (276 Bradford Street, Digbeth, B12 0QY)
Built at the very end of the 19th century, the White Swan is a West Midlands heritage gem which recently looked like it may be lost forever.  It was in a sorry state with the doors and windows boarded up and graffiti plastered over the red brick facade.
After a 2-year closure, it re-opened in the second half of 2021, overseen and restored to it's former glory by the folks behind the Woodman and Post Office Vaults.

We stepped through the door on the corner into the narrow L-shaped room with an impressive long bar stretching it's length, stools and bench seating lining the walls.  Served quickly, I ordered something from Sheffield with 'Biscuit' in the title, only to be disappointed when it was declared 'off' mid-pour.  I settled for an American Pale Ale from Stourbridge's Green Duck Brewery (other choices were from Fixed Wheel and Ossett).
This was taken through the spectacularly tiled corridor into the quiet lounge behind the bar.

Just a few minutes further down the road was Victorian red-brick and terracotta corner pub number two: the Anchor.

The Anchor (308 Bradford Street, Digbeth, B5 6ET - web)
I first squeezed into a bustling Anchor on my way to St Andrew's on match day and loved it.  Being a good traditional boozer, a little off the beaten track, and a real ale haven, I used to always make a revisit whenever I found myself in Birmingham.  That said, it's been a fair while since I've been here and on this revisit I was a little underwhelmed.
Perhaps initially put off by having to wait while both bar staff were busily concocting cocktails (never a good sign, in my humble opinion).  

Perhaps because there was a shortage of comfy places to sit - the back room was dark and gloomy with some dubious characters in it; the charming little snug to the side closed with stools stacked on top of tables.
But probably just because it's the kind of pub that's much better when it's packed full of punters.

The ales were local - they could probably have rolled the barrels along the pavement from Halton Turner, whose tap room under the Victorian railway viaduct we'd visited earlier.
With a choice of tropical pale or porter, I picked the dark stuff with another pint of the 'Blindspot', in great condition.

The Anchor brought to a close our Saturday afternoon wander around Digbeth, as we drank up and made our way back to Moor Street station for a sensibly early train home.

There are a couple of other good places nearby which we didn't have time for today, but we'll be back - there's still a lot of pub ticking to do in Birmingham.

Digbeth Taproom Duo

In which we make our way to Birmingham to explore the bars and pubs of the Digbeth area. 
I've ended up with too many pictures, so this day's shenanigans are split into an Extended Post: the A-side has the graffiti, craft beer and hipster brewery taps; the B-side has the proper pubs.

Despite the best laid plans we didn't actually start our Digbeth explorations in Digbeth.  Stepping out of Moor Street station it had turned bitterly cold and was pouring rain.  Particularly wet rain.
We hopped from one bit of shelter to the next until we spotted an A-board which offered an early alternative to loitering in shopping centres.

TILT, on the corner of the City Arcade

Tilt (2 City Arcade, Birmingham, B2 4TX - web)
At 11:30am the windows were steamed up and there was a decent early crowd in, either sipping their artisan coffee or quaffing the craft beers.

We got the last table (that didn't involve being banished to the basement) and ordered our own crafty murk and flat whites.
Great beer menu, but what is that - font size 6?
My eyesight isn't what it used to be, but at least it's still good enough to spot the prices and stop short of ordering a pint of the double peach Gose at £22.50.

Instead I ended up with the sensible strength and sensible price of a Triple Point Brewing 'Pint of Sheffield', a nice tropical haze of a beer to start the day with.

Interestingly, WhatPub says "Some beers served from key keg and therefore may be considered real ale, ask the staff or see the beer info clipboards to determine which."
That'll surely ruffle the feathers of a few CAMRA folk.

Tilt gets its name from the collection of pinball machines, with a run of 8 just around the corner from the bar and a few more downstairs.  I didn't part with my pound coins as I've come to realise I'm quite hopeless at pinball.

As the rain stopped, we left Tilt and walked away from the centre, looping past the Woodman pub and HS2 works, under railway bridges into the heart of Digbeth.
This was the scenic route.

One of your windows is broken

Strolling through some quiet streets, we headed under the grand railway viaduct which our train had passed over earlier. Modern brewery taps aren't always in the most obvious or best marked places...

Under the bridge?..

Through here??

In there???

In hindsight, the door propped open with a beer barrel is obviously the way in, but it didn't seem obvious at the time.  Poking our heads in revealed an anonymous makeshift white plastic porch with sliding door.
Beyond this was the brewery tap, with it's bar, brewing kit and bench seating - revelry in full swing. 

Halton Turner Tap Room (Rea Court, 40 Trent Street, Digbeth, B5 5NL - web)
Well, perhaps not quite in full swing -  the clientele consisted of two Aston Villa fans with their burgers and beers.
The beer list looked great though, with a wide selection advertised on a digital screen on the back of the bar, both their own brews and a few local guests.  The bar had three hand pumps with just the one in action on this visit, serving up a nice quaffable 'Blindside' porter.
As we were ordering a bite to eat, I threw early caution to the wind and also grabbed a half of the 9.2% imperial stout 'Nativity in Black'.

Shame to visit when it was so quiet, but I guess the rotten weather and early hour didn't help.  A good brewery bar with extra marks scored for having beer mats!

Moving on, we made our way to another brewery tap which was close by.
Another rather anonymous entrance...

At least this time there's a "This Way" A-board, next to a random pile of logs and discarded Christmas tree

Dig Brew (43 River Street, Digbeth, B5 5SA - web)
Unusually, I felt, for a brewery tap we were confronted by a 'please wait to be seated' welcome desk and went through the "have you got a reservation?", "no, are we okay just for a quick drink?" routine.
Looks like this place gets fairly busy at times.

German beer fest style benches stretch down amongst the shiny brewing kit, but for now just the small square front room was being used.

We ordered the one cask ale - a strong and tasty winter warmer, and a superbly coconutty black IPA, 'Enter the Void', which was a collaboration brew with Walthamstowe's Exale.

I was a bit put off by the table service, but our beers were great, with the rest of the list offering up lots of interesting options to tempt us to stay longer.  Dig Brew do some very cool art work on the cans and literature too.

They have a 'Say Doom and Die' event this coming weekend with "weird and wonderful beers that have been loitering in the barrel vaults", including 10 imperial stouts and 2 barley wines.
Oooh - can we come back?  A trip to Birmingham for 10 imperial stouts - what could possibly go wrong?

Yes!  Another shiny brewing equipment picture!

We'd done the craft bar and two brewery taps.
Right! Time to find a proper pub!

Storm Eunice Necessitates a Home Fixture

Midway through February and the arrival of Storm Eunice not only scuppered my Plan A for the day, but managed to kybosh Plan B too, as public transport departing the city ceased to run.  Leading to something of a rarity for this Oxford-based blogger - a post covering Oxford.

Whilst those 'Stay Indoors' red weather warnings were raised for Somerset and London, we somehow managed to escape the worst of it.  I was suitably battered by the winds on the walk to town and subjected to a short burst of driving chilly rain, but remarkably the clouds cleared for some blue-sky pictures on this stormy day.

Having arrived in the centre at 11:30, I had to decide where to head to first.
Turns out there are limited options in the city centre for a pre-noon pint... Spoons, of course; the Plough on Cornmarket, appealing to the coffee morning crowd alongside early XT drinkers, but necessitating navigating the table service; or the Wig & Pen...  

That'll do!

Wig & Pen (9-13 George Street, Oxford, OX1 2AU - web)
This is a pub with a number of different areas to it.  You can tuck yourself away on the  tables at the back, grab the high stools in front of the bar with the hi-vis folks on their brekkie and Stella, or sit with me on the raised area by the window, watching bins blow down the road outside.  There's also a balcony but it turns out they don't open this at 11:45am for a dozen customers.

On the bar there was a row of five handpumps with three beers - two GK IPA pump clips, two Abbot, and one Timothy Taylor Landlord.  It took me longer than necessary to pick the Landlord, but that's mostly because I was wondering why on earth the IPA and Abbot needed two handpumps each.

Not a bad pint of Landlord.  And the curling on TV.  Which no-one was watching despite the fact GB were on their way to a Gold Medal.

Moving on, I made my way along Broad Street to one of our historical hostelries, the King's Arms.  On the way, the Bodleian library had been taken over by Warner Bros in a massive logistical operation involving security guards, trucks, lighting rigs, fake snow and vintage cars - all for probably a few seconds worth of shots for the forthcoming Wonka movie.
(But providing me with a nice vintage car pic for the top of the post).

The Kings Arms (40 Holywell Street, Oxford, OX1 3SP - web)
When I used to come to Oxford as a visitor this was a pub I'd never miss, yet it's unusual that I set foot in here these days.  To some extent because it tends to be very busy, whilst the £5.20 I parted with for my pint perhaps offers another explanation.

One of the cities oldest pubs (it dates back to 1607), it's an intriguing place, consisting of six rooms.  The real gems are at the back, where there's the old 'men only' bar, the cosy fireplace and leather sofas of converted living quarters and the little room divided from the corridor with an ancient wood and glass partition.
I took the rare chance to grab a picture of this while it was empty...

Regional Pub Heritage

It didn't take long for the place to fill up, as I sat comfortably enjoying my Lister's 'Limehouse Porter' - this being the guest ale alongside the usual Young's brews. 

Leaving the King's Arms, I made my way through the side-streets and into the covered market.  Straight to the butchers for the same purchase I make every time I come here - pasty, veg samosa and jar of spitfire chilli mustard.  

Another reason to call into the market is for a spot of the local beer at something called a 'nano-bar'.

Teardrop (Covered Market, Oxford, OX1 3DZ)
Teardrop was opened in 2018 by the NW Oxfordshire brewery Church Hanbrewery.  It's located in a unit between a fish stall and a wine merchants, with cases of beer along one side and a shelf of mead on the other for the truly decadent.  They have a run of 8 keg taps and racking for up to 6 casks of real ale.  Just the one cask available on my visit, an unfiltered and fruity New England IPA, which nicely hit the spot.

Space to sit is limited to a couple of stools and a long table shared with the neighbouring wine store.  Whilst I want to say I was sat people watching, it's actually the other way around, as the tourists strolled past gawking at the oddbods sitting drinking beer in the market. 
This is somewhere I'd recommend making a quick stop at on any daytime pub crawl to sample the local brew in an unusual setting. 

Back onto the business of proper pubs, then.
The Three Goats' Heads is a striking building tucked away down a side street from the pedestrianised Cornmarket.

Three Goats' Heads (3a St Michael's Street, Oxford, OX1 2DR)
Sam Smiths opened this as a pub in 1987, with it being a pizza restaurant in a previous incarnation.  But pizza doesn't really explain the unusual Egyptian orientated decor in the upstairs bar.
No chance to see that today - at quieter times only one of their two bars is open, and on this afternoon it was the dark wood and dim lights of the basement bar.

Why the Three Goats' Head?  The name is taken from the Worshipful Company of Cordwainers, an ancient guild of shoemakers working with fine leather, whose crest features three goat heads.  
Long before you could buy a pint of Sam Smiths in this building, there was another Three Goats' Head pub just around the corner on Cornmarket between 1621 and 1852.

Sadly the Old Brewery Bitter cask disappeared from here some years back, leaving the keg beers the only option.  And the keg OBB costs more than 2d...

Being Sam Smiths means we're in a digital-free zone.  
Which was tough on me, on my own until someone was released early from work to get home safe from the treacherous weather join me in the pub.  It was just a bit too gloomy to read the small print of my Private Eye, and while 'conversation is encouraged' you kinda need to have other people around who want to converse with you. 
So I may have broken the rule a little, as the picture of the bar has probably already given away.

Time to move on to another of Oxford's historic inns.
This time the Nicholson's-run, Chequers, hidden down an alleyway from the High Street.

Chequers (130a High Street, Oxford, OX1 4DH - web)
It's thought that this was once the site of a money lenders dwellings, rebuilt at the beginning of the 16th century as an inn.

Inside, it's the high-ceilinged hall with College crests attached to the walls which catches the eye first.  As well as this there is a secluded courtyard, a sizeable upstairs area and some cosy seating beyond the bar.
Scanning the pump clips, it's not gonna take me too long to decide what to drink...

The plum porter was good as ever. 
The Chequers filled up as Oxford's residents appeared to come to the conclusion that Eunice was past it's worst and they could head out for Friday evening revelries as usual.

And that's where I bring this Oxford post to a close.
The pub crawl may well have continued beyond this, but nobody needs to know about my later tipsy antics.

Next Up: We keep our fingers crossed that the trains are running to enable us to complete a brewery tap and Peaky Blinder mission in Birmingham.

Stroud Pub Explorations

On a wet and wintery Saturday we made a trip to the Gloucestershire town of Stroud.  Voted in 2021 by the Telegraph as the best place in the UK to live, this is a hilly old town at the meeting point of the Five Valleys.

We left Oxford with glorious blue skies in the morning, so just typical that it began to rain as soon as we stepped out of the train station.  So off we went, in search of the shelter of the first pub.  Right in the centre of town, this was a busy place, with an entrance that didn't look especially pub-like...

 

The Ale House (9 John Street, Stroud, GL5 2HA - web)
It's still fairly un-pub-like when you head through the front door into a hallway with staircase to the left.  You've got to head to the end of this to find the bar in a high-ceilinged room brightened by a skylight. We'd been beaten to the prime spot in front of the fireplace, so instead made ourselves at home in the adjoining second room.

The beer range was superb - Electric Bear won the funky modern pump clip award, with other ales coming from the likes of Oakham, Thornbridge and Arbor alongside cask ciders.
I chose the local that I'd never heard of - Tiley's Pale Ale, from a brewpub in Ham. 

A steady flow of folks came in, the tables filling up whilst the two excitable dogs at the next table tangled themselves together at frequent intervals.
My beer was spot-on, going down a treat, as I began to contemplate whether going back for a second would be detrimental to our pub-crawling plans for the rest of the day.

I was a big fan of the Ale House, but we spotted the rain had stopped and decided it was time to move on.

We headed away from the centre, making our way to the Bowbridge Arms on the edge of town.  Google said 12 minutes.  It seemed longer than that, but that could just be due to the amount of time I spent crossing the road and trying (and failing) to get a picture of the pub that wasn't scuppered by the roadworks in front of it.

Bowbridge Arms (London Road, Bowbridge, Stroud, GL5 2AY - web)
The Bowbridge was re-opened in 2016 after a spell closed and now has a bright modern airy feel to it.

Wye Valley 'Butty Bach', Butcombe 'Original' and St Austell 'Proper Job' were the beers on the bar.  My Butty Bach had to be returned as undrinkable and was exchanged for a Butcombe.  I took a swig of this, gave it the thumbs-up, and said "thanks, much better", because that's what I'd decided I was going to do in advance.  Then it occurred that this was teetering on the brink too.  And can you really take two pints back?
So, bad day for the beer quality.

Which is a shame because the place was comfy, the home-cooked food nice and the staff cheery and friendly.
Bet the Proper Job was great!

Heading straight up the hill opposite the Bowbridge Arms, the sun briefly emerged to light up Crown and Sceptre pub.

Crown and Sceptre (98 Horns Road, Stroud, GL5 1RG - web)
The pub was doing a good mid-afternoon trade.  The last few available tables were reserved for the imminent arrival of the hockey team, leaving stools at the end of the bar our only seating option.  Which was a fine vantage point, although we did feel a bit in the way.

Beers on offer were Uley 'Best Bitter' and 'Pigs Ear', Stroud 'Budding' and a guest from Bristol Beer Factory.  I went with the Uley - a brewery I don't see very often - an enjoyable traditional beer.

 

There were pump clips stuck on the ceiling, movie posters covering the walls of the gents, (long dead) spiders in display cases hanging next to the entrance, and lots of motorcycle memorabilia.  It was fantastically cluttered with all sorts of oddities...  

And here's a picture of a chap showing off his skills at the Ringing the Bull game.  I think the only other place I've come across this is in the Trip to Jerusalem in Nottingham.

And you always know you're in a good pub when there's a tray of cobs on the bar!

We left by the side door...

Back downhill and onto the Thames and Severn canal towpath for the mile-and-a-bit walk to the local brewery. 

Stroud Brewery Tap (Kingfisher Business Park, London Road, Thrupp, GL5 2BY - web)
Founded in 2006, the Stroud Brewery has moved a couple of times prior to settling into this industrial unit.  I'm not going to try to describe it, as I can't beat the fine, detailed WhatPub description, including the line "somewhere between a diminutive Bavarian beer hall and Wagamama’s"

Ignore the fact that I managed to take a picture of the bar with two people and plenty of space around it.  The place was busy, initially relegating us to the covered seating in little sheds outside by the canal.  It was cold though, so nice to get the chance to bag a table indoors when a few folk moved on.

Four cask ales: Budding, Tom Long, O.P.A and Fall.  I went for the Fall, not just because it was on a special offer at £3 a pint, but because it was a smoked bitter and I love my smoky beers.  And this was a good'un, on great form as you'd hope from a bar next to the brewery.

There's no lights on towpaths and falling into the canal is bad news anywhere, let alone a couple of hours from home.  So, as it was getting dusky very early, we set out to make our walk back before it got too dark.  
We struck off on a footpath and found one of Stroud's hills, climbing to a good height above the town, then heading along some lanes until we reached the Prince Albert.

Prince Albert (Rodborough Hill, Stroud - web)
It's six nations time again, isn't it?
The Prince Albert was packed, every seat and perch taken as folks squeezed in to watch Scotland v England on the screens at either side of the bar.  Even the back yard was busy with an outdoor screen although we managed to get a table that nobody wanted as it was at too tight an angle to see the oval ball antics.

The rugby does a great job of of filling pubs up, with the staff being kept busy steadily pouring the beers.
Doesn't mean I have to like it, though.

I really need to revisit the Prince Albert another time to fully appreciate it.

My pint of Stroud Organic Pale Ale was in great condition, but quaffed rather too quickly as we calculated how fast we could walk down the hill and get the most direct homebound train.

Stroud was one of those 'how come I've never been here before' kind of destinations.  Nice Saturday street market, good views, Forest Green Rovers nearby and enough good pubs to see us surprisingly not ending up in Wetherspoons.  Next time hopefully we'll get some sunshine and avoid the rugby in the Prince Albert.