The outlook for Birmingham, is mild

Three of the six pubs I visited in Birmingham last Friday had mild ale on sale. It was dark mild as well, and what's more it was the cask-conditioned version too. So, three different pubs and mild from three different breweries, each dark and distinctive in its own way. Drinking this dark, mellow, and rather tasty beer, was a rare treat, as we never see cask mild in Kent or indeed anywhere in the south east. We might occasionally see keg mild, but it's still very much the exception.

Each of the milds I enjoyed last Friday we're of the highest standard, being well-conditioned and keenly priced as well, and the fact it was being stocked at all, bodes well for the future of what was once a very common style of beer. This is despite the many threats facing mild ale, although contrary to the rest of the UK, Birmingham and the West Midlands have always been a haven for this once popular beer style.

My first beer on arriving in Birmingham was a well-earned pint of Hobson’s Champion, a 3.2% abv dark and “nutty” mild. The pub where I enjoyed this beer was the Post Office Vaults, a subterranean bar reached from the street by a flight of steep descending steps. Below ground, this opens out into a long bar with tables and chairs at either end.

 

Described as "Birmingham’s premier, specialist beer bar," the POV stocks beers from Belgium, Germany, France, Norway, Holland, Austria, and the USA, alongside a range of up to eight cask ales, micro-breweries around the UK. We received a warm welcome from the two girls behind the bar, and given the range of beers available, it was a shame we couldn’t stop longer, but needs must, and after a quick catch-up with my fellow pub explorers it was time to head off to sample a few of Birmingham’s finest.

Traditional Mild was also available in the second pub of the day, which was the Queen's Head, a modernised, terrace pub in the Colmore district of town, and just a stone’s throw from Birmingham’s imposing town hall.  The pub had a bright and well-lit interior which was enhanced by the use of reflective, metallic tiling around the bar, off-set by some much darker tiles in other areas. There was a warm and welcoming feel about the place, which translated into large numbers of office workers enjoying a lunchtime pint, along with a bite to eat. (The food looked good, btw!)

The Queen's Head is owned by Davenport’s Brewery, a name that some of us remember from the 1970s. No one seemed quite sure when the original brewery closed or even when it reopened, but when I lived in Manchester, during the mid-1970’s, Davenport’s distinctive delivery vans were a familiar sight on the city’s streets, offering the company’s unique, “Beer at Home” bottled beer service for those unwilling, or unable to venture out to the pub.

A spot of online research revealed that the Davenport's Bath Row brewery ceased production in 1986. After its closure, the company was bought by the Highgate Brewery of Walsall, who brought the Davenport’s name back to life. Sadly, this revival was short-lived as Highgate itself went into liquidation after a failed attempt by two property developers to rescue the brewery.  The company along with the Davenport’s beer brands and recipes, ended up in the hands of Smethwick-based pub branch company, Global Star.

The revived Davenport’s name along with its beers, is now, once again, a familiar sight in the West Midlands, and for someone like me, who is interested in brewery history, it was great to enjoy a few of these beers once again, on their home turf. There were four, Davenport’s cask ales on sale at the Queen’s Head, CB Original Bitter, IPA, Gold Ale, plus a traditional dark mild. All four ales had their own, distinctive, retro pump clip, and the 3.5% abv mild was especially good. I also tried a half of CB Original Bitter, for comparison/nostalgia reasons.

The next, and the final mild ale pub, was actually No. 4 on our guide (LAF)’s list, but No. 5 if you count the rather strange Big Smoke Bar. Stafford Paul and I swerved that one, after departing the Barton’s Arms slightly later than the rest of the group. We didn’t miss much, by all accounts, not unless Shisha and fortified Jamaican wine are your recreational drugs of choice!  We stuck our heads through the door, in passing, but only to confirm we’d made a wise decision in giving that particular pub a miss.

Instead, we carried on, along the busy urban, dual-carriage way back towards the city centre, before crossing to pub No. 4, which was the Bull. As we walked across the car park behind the pub, the rain started, and didn’t stop until I was safely back at Moor Street station, several hours later. 

We made our way inside this classic, Birmingham street-corner pub, glad to have escaped the rain, and feasted our eyes on the interior of this popular backstreet local. The Bull is one of the oldest pubs in Birmingham and has a snug, comfortable and homely feel to it. There are two distinct drinking areas surround a U-shaped bar with a smaller back room for more privacy. A collection of over 300 ceramic and porcelain jugs adorns the ceiling, along with a number of old pictures and memorabilia.

There was also a good choice of cask ale, with beers from Hook Norton (Old Hooky), Oakham (Citra), and Church End Brewery available. The 3.8% Grave Digger’s Mild, from the latter company, was my choice, and it turned out to be the best pint of mild of the day, and possibly the best pint overall. Paul and I hadn’t been at the Bull long, before the rest of the group arrived, and they were as equally enamoured of the Bull as we were. The pub was definitely a nice place to while away a rainy afternoon, but there were at least two more pubs to visit of LAF’s itinerary, and possibly more.

We will leave those pubs for another day, as this article is supposed to be about mild. I must admit, that despite Birmingham being a enclave for the style, I still didn’t expect to find it on sale at three of the six pubs we visited, and for it to be in such good condition. It was keenly priced as well, with the Grave Digger’s Mild retailing at just £4.20 a pint, at the Bull. So, if you are someone with a craving for this increasingly rare style of beer, you know where to head for, and even if mild is not your tipple, I’m sure you will find some of the other beers to your taste, alongside some of the finest pubs in the land.