The Queens Arms, Birmingham Central, Birmingham

Entry in the 2017 Good Beer Guide but omitted in the 2018 Guide. Well maintained interior and exterior. Wye Valley HPA in average condition. Visit blogged at http://bit.ly/2pxONu4

As noted, the exterior is an ornate affair. The inside is made up of a L-shaped room with what amounts to a little snug like area to the left of the bar. There are indeed 2 banks of 3 handpumps, which, if my junior school educators were doing their job correctly makes, erm, a few in total. I had some local brew called Piffle Snonker which was quite nice.

Nice old style exterior. Central bar serves 6 real ales.

I've walked past this pub a few times and been impressed with the large Mitchells and Butler 'Gold Medal Ales' sign and Queens Arms stone above, but had never ventured inside. It turns out I was missing out on a smart, modernised pub with a strong commitment to real ale. You enter into the main bar area which has exposed floorboards and the servery along the back wall. The bar counter is dark wood with a brass hand rail and three tall lamps spaced along its length. The bar back has a Queens Arms mirror and an integral clock taking pride of place top centre. A row of high tables and stools and standard tables and chairs run underneath the modern obscured windows which have a crown motif on them. To the left of the bar there is a compact recess with a TV showing live Spanish football with the commentary turned on and several rows of chairs all pointing at the screen. I didn't get a good look here, as the match was proving popular, but I did note several portraits of the Queen on the walls. To the right there is a slightly larger area with standard, bench and curved banquette seating options, the latter displaying some bold striped upholstery that wasn't really to my taste. The walls are painted a deep shade of red and decorated with those annoying 'Keep Calm...' style posters that seem inexplicably popular these days. Two more TV screens were showing the same football match this side of the pub, but without the sound. I also noted a book swap and collection of board games on a shelving unit. The ale range was pretty interesting, comprising Barking Mad AOFB, Tickety Brew Table IPA, Wye Valley HPA, Purity Ubu, Tyne Bank Peloton Pale and Stancill Blonde - the latter costing £3.85 for a pint and being in excellent condition. Each handpull had its own handwritten tasting notes attached which I found very helpful when faced with a number of breweries I'd never previously encountered. A few people were eating when I arrived and I noticed a large mirror listing an extensive sausage menu on the right hand wall. This place promises a traditional street corner local on approach but delivers a popular, modern ale house which I think just about retains enough of its former self to please the traditionalist and was certainly pulling in a lot of younger drinkers and diners on a Saturday evening. I quite liked the place and it's well positioned for a drink if you're on your heading between the city centre and Jewellery Quarter, so I'm sure I'll be back.