The Brown Lion, Birmingham

I am a massive fan of the Brown Lion and Two Towers beers, as my previous reviews will demonstrate. I have always found it friendly and the beers superb. However, the past couple of times I have been in, the beer has been fine - no need to return it - but nowhere near as good as it was. The Jewellery Porter, a majestic beer, has been missing on my last visits. And they have taken to playing very loud music on my last two visits. I will always come in to the Brown Lion, and I hope what I found on my recent visits is an aberration!

pleasant but is very clicky with the locals it seems. we felt alienated a bit.

I was pleasantly surprised by the transformation of this pub. Hard wooden flooring and seating on both sides of the bar. Run by the former cellarman from the Wellington and, unlike the Welly, it serves food. The house Two Towers Mott Street Mild was a fine smooth pint. It's a bit of a hike from the centre of town but worth including in a tour of Hockley. I'll be back next time I'm in that neck of the woods.

Called in Saturday lunchtime and found the pub quiet. Beers available were all from Two Towers brewery, and we had a few from the range all good. Friendly staff, and enjoyed chatting to another customer at the bar. Liked the layout with the bar serving a main bar area and also a lounge area behind the bar. Good variety of food available, and the Ploughmans with it's assortment of pickles on a plate went down well, as did the chicken and mushroom pie properly served on your plate with a gravy boat rather than microwaved to death in a pot. Brilliant. Easily reached by number 16 bus from Upper Bull Street, or Jewllery Quarter stop on the metro.

Further to my previous visit. I get the feeling that the refurb is ongoing, even now the pub is open. Hence the pervasive smell of fresh paint. The bar staff and customers are all extremely friendly. I came in here on Saturday 9 July at lunchtime and there was a nice jazz band on. I previously commented on the lack of a head on the beer in here. On this visit, I drank Mott St Mild, Mild and Brazen and Jewellery Porter, and they all kept their heads. So I was really impressed. The beers as ever were really nice. I also had a Ploughman's Lunch which was delicious and filling, but didn't stop me drinking. All in all, this is a pub I will keep coming back to. Brilliant!

Bit of a mixed bag for me this one. Its a traditional local kind of place recently refurbished, so recent there was a lingering paint smell around. The walls are totally white and gave the feel of a refurb done on the cheap and it didn't feel homely and sounded a bit cavernous. The wood floor in the right bar also had white footprints where the painters had been walking through and really needs attention already. However, having said that, its clean and bright and despite the above felt comfortable, especially on the u-shaped seating at the back, though the tables are low. As detailed below, its kind of open plan-ish, but I liked that here. It was also very popular at 6.30 on a Saturday evening, I presume being used as a local by the many flats (sorry, apartments) in this area now. Tied to the local Two Towers Brewery I would agree the potential for something different in Birmingham was there, but I was a bit worried about the beer after the reports below, as I like a beer with a head. However, the Hockley Gold I tried was superb, just right, so hopefully this is a good sign. Overall I think there maybe a few initial teething problems perhaps, but I would agree another excellent addition to the pub circuit here.