The Bottle of Sack (JD Wetherspoon), Sutton Coldfield

Town centre Wetherspoon's that looks quite large from the outside, but is surprisingly compact inside. On a nice summer's day, many had dispersed outside onto a terrace overlooking a busy road junction. I cam imagine it gets quite packed inside when the weather isn't as nice. A limited amount of seating can also be found in a balcony area, overlooking the main bar. Service was efficient, albeit on the brusque side. The usual Wetherspoon's ales were on - Greene King Abbot, Ruddles Best & Sharp's Doom Bar, alongside 6 guest ales - Butcombe Original, Oakham Citra & Bishop's Farewell, Fire Island Buffalo & Backyard Canicule & Tennis Elbow. The real cider was Weston's Old Rosie. Unlike most other places in Sutton Coldfield, this branch of 'spoon's was busy and lively. All 3 of the Wetherspoon's I visited last week in the Midlands were charging just £2.10 per pint. With a CAMRA voucher, that can be reduced to just £1.60 a pint. You'd struggle to buy a pint in many parts of the country for the price you can buy 3 pints here. Whatever your thoughts on Wetherspoon's and the effect they have on the pub trade in general, you can see exactly why their pubs are so popular and why their business model works. As they go, this is a better than average branch of the chain.

Nice looking Spoon's with a decent choice of ales - helped by the current festival. I went for Big Shed Kol Schisel - a Pale ale from Australia which was excellent. Also had Oakham Dragon, Citra, Beowulf Folded Cross and Dragon smoke. Worth a visit.

Called in to start our wander round some pubs in the area, and found a decent selection of guest beers from Beowulf (Mercian Shine and Raven Black) and Oakham (Citra, JHB, and Hangar 17) along with the usual range of beers. We enjoyed our Mercian Shine and Hangar 17.

The 'traditional' Brewers Tudor exterior belies a thoroughly remodelled interior that bears no relation to the façade. The original building has also been extended at the back in a rather curious way, with the fully glazed part leading to an elevated patio. Also has a second narrow terrace along the main frontage. Standard furnishings and decoration that could be anywhere. Eight of ten handpumps in operation, with several seasonal ales including Beowolf Christmas Kiss (£2.49).