The Craven Arms, Birmingham

This is a really classy back street corner pub, tucked away close to the Mailbox complex, recently reopened by the reliable Black Country Ales group. The building is very striking on approach, with some fine ground floor level tiling and large signs for Holder's Ales and Stouts, as well as impressive etched glass windows and doors bearing the pub's name. You enter into a carpeted single room with the servery to the rear right. Banquette and standard seating runs down the left and in a small section near the front door which is broken by some low dark wood partitioning. The front right has a slightly cosier seating area, hidden partly by the aforementioned partitioning, with lots of old photos on the walls and a mural of sorts which explains that the pub was built back in 1905 for the Holder's Brewery. The servery has some nice ornate woodwork around the mirrored bar back and a low profile canopy. The fine woodwork can also be appreciated around the fireplace which stands on the end wall, with some smart tiles set into it and a large mirror above. An excellent indie soundtrack played throughout my stay and there was a good mix of customers in on my early Saturday evening visit. The star of the show here is the beer range, which presented a real challenge to pick something from. Options on my visit were Salopian Oracle, Beer Madness IPA, Hopcraft Reign of Terror and The Beast, Summer Wine Barista, Landlocked Copper Bottomed, Black Jack Single Hop IPA, Saddler's Boris Citrov, Marston's Smash, Church End Gravediggers and Black Country BFG. I couldn't make my mind up and ended up with a half of the Beer Madness IPA (very good) and a half of the Boris Citrov (outstanding). The bar staff were very friendly and helpful, offering tasters and giving useful descriptions of the ales to baffled customers. There was also a very handy ale board at the end of the bar, which allowed an at-a-glance summary of the available products. I'd not really heard too much about this place prior to my visit, but was very glad I included it on my crawl as it was easily my pub of the day, despite some strong competition. I found this to be a relaxed and welcoming pub with great beer and comfortable surroundings. I'll definitely be back as for me, this is the best pub in the city right now.

Have visited a few times recently after being a regular in the early seventies. Real ale selection is impressive. Came third in CAMRA Birmingham pub of the year 2013. Highly recommended.

Grade 11 listed, stand alone traditional local just a stones throw away from the Mailbox complex and tucked well away from the hustle and bustle of the City centre.There were 9 casks on the go on my Saturday lunchtime visit with every pump having an hand written description detailing the beers properties.I have been taxing my brain to recall which one I sampled (possibly from the Bexar brewery) that was described as having a smoked ham flavour and the Landlord stating it had a slight haze to it. The beer soon lost it's head but found the taste ok although the slight haze was more akin to the fog on the Tyne.Worth seeking out even if it is just to admire the tilework.