The Craven Arms, Birmingham

Hidden away in the Birmingham backstreets, yet only a 10 minute walk from New Street railway station, the Craven Arms is a Black Country Ales pub which I haven't been to for almost a decade. The exterior of this corner pub has some wonderful and colourful tiling advertising Holder's Ales. Inside is a single carpeted room in the typical BCA style, presided over by an old school barman/landlord. Just a handful of customers were in on our Sunday lunchtime visit but there was a good selection of cask ales and traditional ciders. Some of the latter were on handpull, whilst others were being fetched from the cellar. The 3 regular cask ales from Black Country Ales are BFG, Fireside & Pig on the Wall. Also on were their Plum Pig & Jubilee IPA. Guests were Hobson's Pale, Parish Proper Charlie, Fixed Wheel Blackheath Stout, St Austell Proper Job & Byatt's Platinum Blonde. Ciders were Weston's Old Rosie & Rosie's Pig Rhubarb, Thistly Cross Whisky Cask, Pulp Vintage, Gwynt y Ddraig Farmer's Pride & Purbeck Joe's Farmhouse Dry. The beer (Hobson's Pale) and cider (Pulp Vintage) I tried were both in good condition. There's not many other decent pubs in this area. So, this is often one we neglect when visiting Birmingham city centre.

My last visit to the Craven Arms was in February 2019, so I decided it was about time I paid another visit. This is still the traditional old school pub that it was back in 2019 and was somewhat busier, giving the pub a bustling atmosphere just before 4pm on a weekday. A real fire was burning, which helped add to the atmosphere and feeling of tradition. At the bar, 9 of 11 hand pulls were in operation, four of which were offering beers from Black Country Ales. There were also several keg options that I didn't take much notice of. My Pig On The Wall (mild) by Black Country Ales was very enjoyable. Reasonably priced pub snacks are available from behind the bar - home made cobs, slice of pork pie, sausage rolls, scotch eggs and crisps, for example. No artisanal £6 scotch egg here, just good honest snacks ranging from £1.50 for a slice of pork pie (which I went for, and was very nice), sausage rolls and scotch eggs around the £2 mark, and if you wanted to push the boat out with a home made cob, that would set you back £2.50 with a variety of fillings including cheese and onion, cheese and tomato, and cheese and ham. A handsome pub both inside and out, and one I would be happy to spend a bit more time in.