Brewhouse & Kitchen, Sutton Coldfield

Official site of Brewhouse & Kitchen - www.brewhouseandkitchen.com

Official site of Brewhouse & Kitchen - www.brewhouseandkitchen.com

This was a bonus pub on my tour of North Birmingham Spoons. I found myself waiting at the bus stop outside and spotted the sign that the beers were brewed in an on-premises microbrewery. I discovered the next day that this is part of a small Southern based chain of pubs with this being the only one in the Midlands unless you include Gloucester in that area. Inside it's an open room with a wooden floor, bare brick and exposed walls. I suspect there are other areas as there seems to be an emphasis on food but I stuck to the bar area. The bar had eight hand pumps with a cider and the others all from their own brewers. I went for a Marksman IPA at which point I was asked if I wanted Marksman I or II. The first was brewed with American hops in Bristol and the second on site with German Hops. I went for the Bristol one which cost a whopping £4.40. It was a decent enough beer in reasonable condition but nothing outstanding. I thought the price was disgraceful for a 5.0% own brewed beer. It's an OK sort of place, I found it rather trendy but with prices like that it gets marked down and I wouldn't return. Assuming the prices are the same or higher I wouldn't visit their other outlets either especially as two are in Islington.

Another large detached pub with patio area in the mock-Tudor/Jacobean style in half undressed brick and half black beam/white render. The interior is effectively a long room, with the bar to the left on entry and a dining area (in the dark at my visit) to the right. The décor is red and white, with a white ceiling and a wood floor in the dining bit. The bar area is a little scruffy, with ripped seats taped –up and there is little in the way of pictures on the walls, or ephemera, so it looked a little bare – though the chandeliers were nice!. There were a few TVs, but just the one was on, showing the footy accompanied by loud charty music. The service was fine – the barmaid pointing me in the direction of the ‘Duke’ as a real ale fan, but the clientele were a few loud locals. Beer; all tap stuff, no real ale, no keg MILD, so had a coke Really basic, nothing worth seeking out