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Disappointment of the week with Real Ale Ray
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Post Office Vaults, Birmingham
Birmingham
B2 4BA
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 8 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve C left this review about Post Office Vaults
I walked around the post office and its environs for about five minutes and consulted my map a dozen times whilst looking for the Post Office Vaults. In the end I bit the bullet and asked a local office worker if they knew the location and they directed me to an easily missed single door in amongst numerous shops. There is also an A-board outside that advertises eight real ales, 150+ foreign bottled beers and real cider and perry. A sign halfway down the stairs to this cellar bar invites people to bring in their own food for which cutlery will be provided.
After reading the A-board outside I wasn’t surprised to see that the bar supports eight hand pumps, but I was surprised to see the size of the extensive cider and perry list. Also available are a few draught products from the likes of Freedom Brewery.
This isn’t the biggest place so I imagine that it gets very busy and a little uncomfortable during peak hours. I’m sure that it isn’t possible to pull out the bar billiards table during Friday lunchtime. My visit was just after opening so there were only two other customers and I had my pick of tables. I decided to pick up one of the day’s newspapers that were lying about and listen to the chat at the bar that had already become beer related.
I found the service here to be very friendly and I will make sure I revisit here when next in the area.
On 10th October 2012
- rating: 8
[User has posted 5228 recommendations about 5196 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Mark Davey left this review about Post Office Vaults
Last pub on our crawl round the watering holes of Birmingham. Good selection of well kept brews on offer, however, the place was packed on the first warm Saturday afternoon of the year and the gents toilet was emitting a powerfull stink and we had to go and stand outside on the pavement. This probably broke several Birmingham city bylaws, but it stopped us being overcome by the bleach smell. If in the city again, I will probably give the place a miss as there are lots of equal beer establishments with less aroma.
On 25th July 2012
- rating: 6
[User has posted 292 recommendations about 276 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Ale Monster left this review about Post Office Vaults
This is a brilliant real ale and foreign bottled beer cellar bar that is a free house part owned by the landlord of the well regarded Wellington on Bennetts Hill. It is a Victorian building that was a prominent furniture and piano dealers called Dale Forty until M&B bought it in 1967 and opened it as the Royal Mail, it was closed for a couple of years until reopening in December 2011. I consider the main entrance to be on Pinfold Street as this is where the largest frontage is and this entrance leads directly in to the single room, but there is also an easily missed doorway on New Street which has a flight of stairs down to the room. If entering from Pinfold Street you will see a small windowless room with a small bar counter in the immediate right hand wall, just beyond this is the bottom of the stairs from New Street and on the other side of the stairs against the right wall is a bar billiards table. The décor is fairly plain with bare wood floor, green leather bench seats and I only counted five tables, there are a couple of old photos of Brum and a large mirror on the left wall opposite the stairs, the stairs also have several vintage foreign beer adverts on the walls.
Regular ales are currently Salopian Oracle and Hobsons Mild with six changing guest beers which on this occasion were Byatts Urban Red, Nethergate Old Growler, Yates Blond Ale, Cropton Endeavour Ale, Phoenix Navvy and Rat Brewery Dirty Rat Mild. I tried halves of the Salopian, Hobsons, Byatts and Nethergate and found them all to be in excellent condition which was no surprise as I know that the second owner and landlord is the former cellarman of the Old Joint Stock who has previously won some awards for his cellarmanship. A good mix of styles both local and not so local, it’s also worth noting that they stock over 250 foreign bottled beers!
A fantastic addition to the growing real ale scene in Brum, it reminds me of the type of subterranean bars that are very common on the continent. Admittedly it’s not really my kind of place being more of a fan of traditional Victorian spit and sawdust and olde worlde country pubs, but the beer selection and quality has been consistently good during my hand full of visits. I have found the atmosphere a little strange and clique with a group of regulars almost chained to stools at the already small bar counter, but this has failed to put me off so I shall continue to visit. The place is well supported by the local CAMRA branch so I would be very surprised if it is not in the 2013 GBG.
On 23rd June 2012
- rating: 8
[User has posted 199 recommendations about 199 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about Post Office Vaults
An off shoot from the nearby Wellington,this city centre cellar bar should be included on any ale tour of the area.The entrance from New Street is just a front door leading you down a flight of stairs.The decor is simple and unfussy,the bar billiards table a feature although you would need to be in during a quiet period to play with any comfort.
Eight handpumps with a good variety of beer styles from the six rotating guests with an excellent Salopian Oracle and Hobsons Mild as permanents.I also thought the sample glasses infront of each pull was a good idea,and I restisted the obvious temptation.
Besides a good selection of real ale,the kegged lagers were from the continent,some rare,and no sign of any Carling.There is a selection of a dozen ciders and fridges behind the bar offer a wide choice of bottled beers.Even the whisky selection contained some collectors items,so this is a very useful pub to indulge in alcohol consumption.The lack of musak and the knowledgeable service from behind the bar were also noticeable plus points.
I popped in during lunchtime when it wasn't too busy,and this may be the most comfortable time to visit given the constraint on space.I liked the pub a lot and will be calling in on any future trip back to Brum.
On 18th May 2012
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2727 recommendations about 2727 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Real Ale Ray left this review about Post Office Vaults
Defo well worth a visit, all the ales are top notch quality and serve a good selection. A lot of customers were calling in for their specialist beers, which I'll have to try on my next visit. Called in early doors, so I was lucky to have the pleasure of seeing what was on offer. They fill out taster glasses and put them in front of the handpumps, so that you can see the colour of the ales on offer. Barman told me that a few clowns have been in and actually drank out of them thinking that they're free samples. I'll be in again.
On 17th May 2012
- rating: 9
[User has posted 3382 recommendations about 3381 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Danny O'Revey left this review about Post Office Vaults
The former Royal Mail cellar bar, the name and badge outside mean its currently a little confusing and may appear to be connected with the adjoining Post Office (in fact they have had someone in trying to pay his car tax at the bar!) if you can find it at all.
The bar is one room and is fairly small and pokey. It is set out with just a few wooden tables/chairs against the walls and in corners and is therefore not the most comfortable. In fact it seems arranged to accommodate groups of drinkers standing sampling the ale, rather than the likes of me on this occasion popping in on my own for a quick drink on the way home from work, or a small group wanting to sit & have a drink. Thats fair enough I guess and the size of the place does limit what you can do. However, on my visits the main group tend to hang around the bar meaning its difficult to see what beers are on offer - a beer board would help here.
The other issue for me on a personal level is the lighting. Its very bright all through, perhaps over accommodating the lack of natural light, perhaps Health & Safety?, but I prefer cellar bars a bit more dark and dingy, the sort of place where you could have an illegal card game in the corner, or come to plot bank raids, that kind of thing!
However, there is a good range of beers and ciders and the choice of house real ale of Hobsons mild and Salopian Gold to me is quite inspired! And the quality of beer is absolutley excellent and the knowledge of the staff spot on. It is also very close to the Victoria Square entrance to New Street Station, just down Pinfold Street and centrally located in the City.
Therefore, like the nearby Wellington, not an alrounder for me, but there is enough here for me to keep going back, at the right times and each time I do it does seem better than the last.
On 9th February 2012
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1456 recommendations about 1434 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about Post Office Vaults
This is a relatively new, single room bar near the Town Hall and a short walk from New Street station. Having wandered around the surrounding streets looking for the pub, getting confused by the signs on the neighbouring Post Office buildings, I finally found the entrance on Pinfold Street, although there appears to be another entrance on New Street itself. The interior is surprisingly simplistic with bare floorboards and a clean looking red and white colour scheme. There is a great deal of open space and I got the impression that they hadn't yet figured out the best way to set the place up. In fact, I counted just six tables in the whole pub, which meant that most people were stood up - many crowding the bar. The walls are nicely decorated with a mix of old photos of Birmingham and various adverts for foreign beers, whilst the room's focal point appeared to be a bar billiards table close to the stairs that lead to the main entrance.
Although the pub seems to specialise in bottled beers, as evidenced by the unusual array of glassware many of the other customers were drinking from, there are eight hand pumps to keep the ale fans happy. House beers are Hobson's Mild and Salopian Oracle (£3.10) and guests on my visit were Nethergate Old Growler, Milestone IPA, Beowulf Glutlusty, Dancing Duck Gold, Thornbridge Kipling, and Byatt XXXmas Ale. I tried the Salopian Oracle, which was wonderful and an inspired choice for a house beer. The pub doesn't do food, but posters encourage customers to bring their own, with plates and cutlery supplied on demand. One table of people had brought a cheeseboard with them, which they were enthusiastically pairing with their beers.
Considering that this place only opened a week or so before Christmas, they seem to have hit the ground running and although there is some room for improvement, I hope they make a great success of it.
On 27th January 2012
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Soup Dragon left this review about Post Office Vaults
A city centre pub that has two entrances, one down a flight of steps the other around the corner at ground level. The frontages are in red and white, with pilaster features, with exposed brick upper.
The interior is a straight room with the serving bar to the side, looking slightly 60s with it's wood veneer. The decor looks like a light grey lower wall, with white upper and some red, with a white and part chocolate ceiling and a wood floor. Photos of old Brum and some mirrors adorn the walls, along with continental drinks ephemera and there is a bar-billiards table. There was no TV that i saw and no music. The service was functional, but i think the fact that the place was rammed as it was opening night mean't they had little time. The clientele was mainly blokes and clearly real ale fans. Some interesting 80s Christmas jumpers were on show - i had forgotten what space invaders looked like.
Beer; Freedom stout and lager on keg, an array of bottled continental beers and 6 handpulls. Whittlebury Santa's Tipple, Abbeydale Oh! Santa, Wood Farm Rucking Santa, Nethergate Old Growler, A Solopian brew (which had finished) and Hobson's MILD. The MILD was tasty, but served without a head, like the real ale places in Brum seem to do now.
A great place, rammed to capacity as it was opening night. I will be returning.
On 23rd December 2011
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 3067 recommendations about 3062 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Gill Smith left this review about Post Office Vaults
Really enjoyed opening day here and sampled our way along the guest beers from Whittlebury, Beer Geek, Oakham, Abbeydale, Nethergate, and Saltaire breweries. The regular beers are the Hobsons Mild and Salopian Oracle. They have a massive range of Belgian beers too, and we couldn't resist trying the Het Anker Gouden Carolus Tripel and Hopsinjoor. At 9% and 8% they went down very well, and the website will provide a full listing of the beers available shortly. The pictures around the wall were of old Birmingham prints and the decor complemented by the foreign beer signs. Not overdone, so looks neat and tidy. The bar billiard table should prove popular as it is something not often seem around the pubs these days. The doorway from New Street is at the top end next to Greggs and opposite the Halifax. Stairs are pretty steep here, but there is another easier entrance at the rear of the building. No food served but you can bring your own in. Staff are friendly and know their beers so you get any assistance needed to help you choose. A selection of real ciders also available.
On 18th December 2011
- rating: 9
[User has posted 1339 recommendations about 1222 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Andy Ven left this review about Post Office Vaults
I popped in at lunchtime, on opening day. I had never been in the premises before when it was open under its previous guises and I was surprised how compact it is. The refurb is smart and they have put in a lot of work to sand the wooden floors.
Handpulls include the 2 permanent ales of Salopian Oracle and Hobson's MILD plus 6 guest ales. The MILD was spot on. There is also a choice of continental lagers and 50 bottled beers.
The entrance on New Street (next to Sandhu News) leads down some stairs or there is another entrance around the corner. There are no windows but it has a good feel to the place and no doubt it will be on my list of regular lunchtime haunts.
On 16th December 2011
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 244 recommendations about 240 pubs]