Destination pubs. Many cities are lucky enough to have one. Bristol has the Barley Mow, Norwich has the Fat Cat, Portsmouth has the Hole In The Wall, Brighton has the Evening Star, Manchester has the Marble Arch and Birmingham HAD the Craven Arms. There are many others too I'm sure but I'm just listing pubs I know well here. To me a destination pub is your first port of call when you go somewhere. It is a pub you know will have a fantastic range of beer in a relaxing environment. A modern range of beers too. Most cities have some excellent pubs but these pubs go above and beyond the excellent.
This brings me back to the Craven Arms. I was fortunate to be working in Stratford-upon-Avon when Chris and Sharon Sherratt took this pub on back in early 2013 and I reviewed it here. Well worth the arduous train ride into Birmingham. When I was sent back to Stratford this year the train times to Birmingham were more convenient and the Craven Arms has become a weekly trip. It even got a second review from me here.
During one of these visits I got to know Tim Rowe who had plans for some Meet The Brewer events at the Craven and I was lucky enough to see the pub host James Kemp from Marble and Andy Parker from Elusive. That's the thing about the Craven. Only the best is good enough on their bar. Well there is one exception to this I guess and therein lies the problem. The Craven Arms is owned by Black Country Ales and three handpumps here have always been wasted on their efforts. Despite this though there was a constantly changing range of cask and evil keg for the beer aficionado to enjoy in this wonderful pub.
So what do Black Country Ales do? They make it impossible for Chris and Sharon to continue. I don't know the full story but it seems BCA want to bring it in line with their other pubs by offering a range of exceedingly average (cheap?) beers. If you want to see an example of this in action then visit their flagship pub in Birmingham, The Wellington. A massive list of cask ales from which you will struggle to find one that stands out from the crowd. Quality not quantity is what the beer lover wants Black Country Ales !! Chris and Sharon left last week and most of their excellent staff have since left too and this evening I visited the pub and could not bring myself to stay for more than a pint. Birmingham's one and only destination pub has been wiped off the map and I am extremely pissed off about it.
So all you beer lovers out there looking for places to drink in Birmingham please strike this from your list. It's a hard climb up Gough Street to this pub and you really should save yourself all that effort and avoid it. If you like bland, boring beer than it might be the place for you because it is still a fabulous building but I'm sure BCA will do their worst with it. I will probably pay it a visit in a few months to see how it has changed. In the meantime I really hope Chris and Sharon get the pub they deserve. They have a lot of friends and followers who will be beating a path to their door on opening night. In the meantime, I will try and find a new pub to frequent in this fine city. I am told it might not be an easy task though.
Cheers.
Hi Glenn, much as you're pissed off the danger of calling for a boycott is seeing another pub close - better maybe that people protest, write, email or call Black Country Ales and tell them you aren't happy, that they'll lose your custom.
ReplyDeleteJust a thought. I saw this happen with the pub I learned to love beer in and it's utterly, utterly heartbreaking.
Sorry if I was misinterpreted here. I was trying to say that if you had heard on the grapevine about what a fantastic beer mecca this pub is then you should now think again and go elsewhere.
DeleteSo you believe it's acceptable for a brewery to take action such as this which could well lead to a pub closing, or local CAMRA politics excluding them from the GBG, which could also lead to a closure, but not drinkers choosing not to drink the breweries product?
DeleteYes Richard don't get me started on why it was excluded from the GBG. I purposely kept that out of this post but it incenses me too.
DeleteI suspect Brum CAMRA's actions have contributed to this - if BCA are more concerned with being in the GBG than actually offering a great pub, then the branch's decision to keep the pub out of the GBG will have played a big part - and as noted could well end up directly leading to the pub closing...
DeleteSadly, I have no time for CAMRA any more. Can't deny the impact they've had on beer in this country, but things have moved so far that they sometimes end up actually campaigning against good beer, which is clearly nuts...
DeleteAs a new pub for you to try, maybe the Gunmakers Arms is up your street. Over the last year or so it has become the brewery tap for Two Towers Ales brewed here in Brum.
ReplyDeleteAs a connoisseur of pubs (but not real ale) I haven't been there since it changed from being a bog standard M&B boozer into what it is now, but it may be what you're looking for.
This probably wasn't the intention, but after reading this blog I'm somewhat relieved. From some of the talk on social media, you would think it was perhaps being closed down or, more likely, sold on.
ReplyDeleteI don't think many people would consider the beer range at the Wellington 'average' and the quality is always spot-on, so if that is what the 'new' Craven Arms is aiming for, things could be a lot worse.
Generally, BCA run some very decent pubs (The Wellington, The Midland, The Waggon and Horses) but they could perhaps benefit from varying their own brews a bit more, which might result in better sales.
I have to disagree with you about the quality in the Wellington being 'spot-on'. If this is what Black Country Ales are aiming for with the Craven that represents a huge drop in the standard of cellarmanship.
DeleteFor the past 6 months I have been drinking in both pubs. I usually popped in the Wellington on my way back from the Craven Arms to the station for a couple of halves. There really is no comparison between the beer in these two pubs. The Craven always won on quality and condition by miles.
DeleteThe Craven transformed to a standard BCA boozer will probably do just fine. Cheap product, good margins, and an appeal to the standard cask quaffer probably. This is the problem with renting a pub from a brewery or PubCo... they're going to have their own way of seeing how the world should be, and as a tenant it's usually hard to bend outside of their model for your pub.
ReplyDeleteWithout any doubt it will no longer be the pub that everyone in the beer community talks about in Birmingham. It will no longer be the 1st pub in the list that most folk like me recommend other people go to if they're in Birmingham. It just won't be at that national standard any more. It won't have any real appeal outside of being a local boozer, it may well be a decent local boozer, but that will likely be about the best to be said of it.
Birmingham is losing huge asset when it comes to the national beer scene - there were few (no?) other pubs that did things that draw folk to Birmingham from other cities purely for beer. There are some awesome other bars however - and at least you still have Cherry Reds, Tilt, Clink and probably other more "local secret" places I've not tried myself - hell, you've got a BrewDog bar even. Brum is still way better than Cambridge overall ;) And you've got 2 of the best retail ranges in the country at Stirchley and Cotteridge... I don't weep for Birmingham.
I weep for Chris and Sharon who built a truly national-class offering at the Craven however. Drinkers have lost an asset - Chris & Sharon have lost a business they built & a home. That's the real tragedy here. It's a sad time. But they will be back, I expect & hope - and if not I wish them peace & happiness in whatever happens next.
I know there is more in store for Birmingham and hopefully things can come together to fill the gaping hole that'll be left in Brum city drinking as a result of this sad situation.
Well put Yvan. in the meantime I need to check out Clink and Cherry Reds.
ReplyDeleteIncredibly sad that this has happened to my favourite pub in Birmingham. I only got to get over there a handful of times a year but my God it was worth it. I don't think I'll bother now. My local in Leamington (The Talbot) closed last year which was gutting for the locals, and now this. I feel for the regulars. Very poor treatment of the previous landlords by the pubco.
ReplyDeleteOnly been to Leamington once this year but very sad to hear about the Talbot. I remember that being an excellent pub.
DeleteYes it was a good local. 5 excellently kept ales and a landlord that could be hilarious and then grumpy within 5 minutes!
DeleteSadly it is now a house.
Birmingham's loss is York's gain...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/14955584.Welcome__BrewDog___but_there_s_an_even_better_York_pub_story_this_week___/
Yes indeed. Will be my first port of call when I next go to York.
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