Pub du Vin, Birmingham

Missed out on the beer festival here, and hadn't been in before so started a crawl here on Wednesday lunchtime. A few people in eating, but I thought it a bit pricey, and agree there was no atmosphere. Trendy place for the young office workers I would say, but good to see a couple of real ales on from Purity and Kinver. Kinver 4.0% beer £1.60 a half. TV screen showing news.

Character of place - excellent Atmosphere - a bit dead because... you'll need to take out another mortgage to get a round in. Go to the hotel bar upstairs - prices are the same but busier for people watching. Or the Old Joint Stock about 300 yards away, still pricey (but not as pricey) but better atmosphere. (Maybe I have been living in a JDW price bubble for too long ?)

Six of us went in here on Saturday evening at about 8.30. We were celebrating a 40th birthday. It was the last day of their own beer festival so I didn’t expect great things in terms of ale choice. There were a few remaining plus the offerings at the bar of Urban Ales (Hockley) Brew Brew and Purity Mad Goose. As Danny points out, this a cellar converted to a bar. It’s quite contemporary and modern and even though I wouldn’t have said it was particularly busy (a few dozen people in there), there wasn’t much in the way of seating either. Clientele was typically 20s to early 40s. Some music was being played at a level that allowed conversation and even though I wasn’t looking for a party atmosphere at all I felt it was a bit flat. Each to their own, I like pubs with character so this was a bit too trendy and there are other places locally that I prefer but others obviously would (and do) like it. Ironic, then, that we moved on to the aptly named Old Contemptibles and the mood of the group seemed to lighten somewhat.

Official page of the Birmingham Pub Du Vin - www.hotelduvin.com

Official page of the Birmingham Pub Du Vin - www.hotelduvin.com