http://pintsized.midlandsblogs.co.uk/ A search for the perfect pub and the best beer in Britain's second city. en Copyright 2008 Wed, 05 Mar 2008 20:24:08 +0000 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss blogs site. It's absolutely lovely. I'll be continuing to review the top pubs in the area, and maybe reprinting some of the old ones. You'll find my posts here. Cheers!]]> http://pintsized.midlandsblogs.co.uk/2008/03/change_of_venue.html http://pintsized.midlandsblogs.co.uk/2008/03/change_of_venue.html Wed, 05 Mar 2008 20:24:08 +0000 Well, this blogger has been celebrating the relaunch of the brand spanking new Birmingham Post website with a pint or two of ale (naturally). The Post is a venerable Midland institution with a history stretching back into the Victoria era. As, it appears, is the Beacon. http://pintsized.midlandsblogs.co.uk/2008/02/the_beacon_hotel_bilston_stree.html http://pintsized.midlandsblogs.co.uk/2008/02/the_beacon_hotel_bilston_stree.html ale Beacon beer pubs Sedgley Wed, 27 Feb 2008 21:26:00 +0000 A less mature review than myself would take this opportunity to make a "cocks" joke here. But I'm going to rise above the opportunity (tempting though it is) so readers of all ages can enjoy this review, assuming it makes it through your internet filth filter. http://pintsized.midlandsblogs.co.uk/2008/02/the_fighting_cocks_st_marys_ro.html http://pintsized.midlandsblogs.co.uk/2008/02/the_fighting_cocks_st_marys_ro.html ale Beer Birmingham Fighting Cocks Moseley pubs Tue, 05 Feb 2008 15:57:34 +0000 Shakespeare - a very astute man and a West Midlander to boot - once said of alcohol that it “increaseth the appetite but taketh away the ability”.* Of course he was talking about sex, not using the internet, but I’ve come across that maxim anyway today. http://pintsized.midlandsblogs.co.uk/2008/02/bartons_arms_high_st_aston_b6.html http://pintsized.midlandsblogs.co.uk/2008/02/bartons_arms_high_st_aston_b6.html Aston Bartons Arms beer Birmingham Pubs real ale Sat, 02 Feb 2008 18:57:21 +0000 The Mailbox: home to the BBC, trendy bars, restaurants, yuppie flats and all the other modern city-centre fripperies springing up across the city. Not the kind of place you'd turn to first to get a pint of ale, you'd think. But that's reckoning without Pennyblacks, the ale jewel in the city living crown of the Mailbox. http://pintsized.midlandsblogs.co.uk/2007/12/pennyblacks_the_mailbox_b1.html http://pintsized.midlandsblogs.co.uk/2007/12/pennyblacks_the_mailbox_b1.html ale beer Birmingham mailbox Pennyblacks pubs real ale Thu, 06 Dec 2007 07:27:31 +0000 I was pointed towards this small but multi-award winning pub by a reader (thanks Tony) who told me no pub search of Birmingham would be complete without a quick visit. But I've got to say I had a serious problem with this place. http://pintsized.midlandsblogs.co.uk/2007/11/the_black_eagle_factory_rd_b18.html http://pintsized.midlandsblogs.co.uk/2007/11/the_black_eagle_factory_rd_b18.html ale Beer Birmingham Black Eagle Hockley pubs Mon, 26 Nov 2007 06:00:04 +0000 In today's Birmingham Post (although not as yet on the website), came the news that international brewing conglomerate SABMiller was set to buy Dutch lager brewers Grolsch in a £580 million deal. The world of international finance isn't really the remit of a writer looking at great pints of ale in Birmingham boozers, you might think. But the increasing conglomeration of beer companies across the globe is an ongoing issue that affects every brewer and drinker. http://pintsized.midlandsblogs.co.uk/2007/11/in_todays_birmingham_post_alth.html http://pintsized.midlandsblogs.co.uk/2007/11/in_todays_birmingham_post_alth.html Tue, 20 Nov 2007 19:31:04 +0000 In the early '90s gameshow The Crystal Maze groups of depressingly keen outdoorsy types sprinted round an Essex aircraft hangar converted into a pastiche of various time periods - Aztec, Medieval, Futuristic etc - tryingto complete tasks in an attempt to win a pony-trekking holiday in Ullswater, or something else similarly dispiriting. http://pintsized.midlandsblogs.co.uk/2007/11/bacchus_burlington_arcade_b2.html http://pintsized.midlandsblogs.co.uk/2007/11/bacchus_burlington_arcade_b2.html Tue, 13 Nov 2007 17:12:15 +0000 Just a short one this time. The OC, as it is known affectionately by at least some of its locals, is a spankingly-restored Victorian bordello of a pub drawing in workers from the surrounding offices. http://pintsized.midlandsblogs.co.uk/2007/10/the_old_contemptibles_livery_s.html http://pintsized.midlandsblogs.co.uk/2007/10/the_old_contemptibles_livery_s.html Mon, 29 Oct 2007 22:46:25 +0000 Up The Junction on a wet and windy weekday night, in one of the more salubrious corners of town, home to an old school friend lucky enough to have recently moved Birmingham. And also home to the Junction, a curious club sandwich of a pub, jamming together a diner, bar and even a heated garden, although the less-than-tropical climes of Birmingham this evening forbids taking a look at that. http://pintsized.midlandsblogs.co.uk/2007/10/the_junction_high_street_b17.html http://pintsized.midlandsblogs.co.uk/2007/10/the_junction_high_street_b17.html Wed, 17 Oct 2007 21:38:17 +0000 So Shakespeare walks into a pub right? And the landlord turns to him and shouts: "Oi, get out! I thought I told you, you're bard..." Okay, I'm sorry, you've heard it before and it's not that funny anyway, but I'm sure even the Bard of Avon had his days off. http://pintsized.midlandsblogs.co.uk/2007/10/the_shakespeare_lower_temple_s.html http://pintsized.midlandsblogs.co.uk/2007/10/the_shakespeare_lower_temple_s.html Sun, 07 Oct 2007 22:36:55 +0000 This is the latest blog brought to you by the Birmingham Post. Over the coming days, weeks or months I'll be searching for the top brew in the pubs, clubs and bars of Birmingham and the West Midlands. No beer mat will be left unturned, no pub guide unchecked, no bartender or local blearily unexamined in the quest for the perfect pint. http://pintsized.midlandsblogs.co.uk/2007/10/welcome_to_the_pintsized_blog.html http://pintsized.midlandsblogs.co.uk/2007/10/welcome_to_the_pintsized_blog.html Fri, 05 Oct 2007 09:09:17 +0000