Scruffy Murphy's, Birmingham

Another one I hadn't visited for many years. I have a lot of good memories of this place. Always been a rock pub. No ales but we enjoyed an hour of pool and rock tunes and will happily call again!

I had a nice pint in here, and enjoyed the Rock/Metal decor. Only problem was, obviously I went in at the wrong time of day - mid afternoon - and this looks like it's a pub best enjoyed rocking out in the evening. So it was fairly quiet. I sat in the basement area with the bar opposite. Service was friendly and relaxed. That said, I will pop in again when I am in Brum. As for it's location, well after the London/ home counties gastro-pub (where hipsters have 'curated' my pub experience), I'll take this anyday. Rock on!

Dismal-looking pub housed under the corner of a multi-storey car park; obviously a rock pub, but once inside you find a 'L'-shaped room decorated in more of an alehouse style. Seating is mostly on pew-type benches, but in one corner there is a slightly separate seating area between low-height partitions and a pool table can be found at the other end. Heavy / thrash metal on the jukebox, but not that loud in the early evening, although previous experience of walking past suggests this isn't always the case (especially when the basement rock club is operating). The solitary handpump appears to only be in sporadic use, so I went for the Shipyard Pale (£4.60) as the most appealing of the limited keg offerings.