prime cut

A casual lunch with my good friend Terry invariably results in high spirits and an extended exploration of the key watering-holes of Birmingham.

We start with a swift pint in the Old Contemptibles before a short march across the Great Charles Street footbridge to the Jewellery Quarter.  The joys of Anderson's Bar and Grill await our pleasure in the cellars beneath Mary Ann Street.  Their 'Nose to Tail' beef special comes highly recommended.

We retrace our steps to the railway arches on Livery Street and a visit to the Indian Brewery. A schooner or two of one of their darker brews goes down well. Onward once more to our final stop, the legendary Wellington, home to Birmingham's finest real ale emporium.

Job done, we go our separate ways into the dark rain-soaked streets of the city.

lunches with terry

Lunches with Terry are always delightfully fluid.

This one kicked off in 'Primitivo' before we adjourned for a swift pint in 'The Wellington', beloved of Birmingham's real ale sub-culture.  From there it was but a hop, skip and a jump to the subterranean pleasures of 'The Post Office Vaults' and their amazing menu of international bottled beers.

Our final stop was beneath the Snowhill railway arches and some excellent Indian dark lager at 'The Indian Brewery'.  A superb day out indeed!

hic!!

Every so often I travel into town for lunch with my old friend, Terry. I say 'lunch' advisedly as inevitably we see out the afternoon in one of Birmingham's choicest watering holes.

Our favourites are the inestimable Wellington, the doyen of fine real ales, closely followed by the Post Office Vaults. As its name suggests, the Vaults were owned formerly by the Royal Mail. It's now home to one of the biggest selections of foreign bottled beers in the Midlands.

And so it is to the Vaults we go, in search of good beer and fine fellowship.  Hic!!

a secret garden

Dear Sheddists,

no music, no food (bar a selection of nuts and crisps), no slot-machines ... just good old-fashioned beer! The Wellington is a little gem of a pub in the heart of Birmingham.  Its fantastic and ever-changing menu of real ales is a thing of legend.

What better way, then, to prepare for England's semi-final skirmish with Croatia. 

Accompanied by my friend, Clive, we headed upstairs to the roof-top garden sandwiched between the raw backsides of neighbouring office buildings. The big TV was already in place for the match but we much preferred to focus on the liquid entertainment.

Clive fell quickly for the dark, seductive charms of 'Plum Porter' whilst I favoured 'Pig on the Wall', one of the house ales.  A few sherbets later we made our way for the bus home and some delightful sausage sandwiches laid on thoughtfully by my dear wife.  The football was ultimately to prove a disappointment but that did not detract from a day well spent!

Yours as ever,

electrofried(mr)

a cheeky half .. or two!

curry, beer and the gentle pleasures of a fine conversation

Dear Sheddists,

another terrific afternoon in the company of my dear friend, Clive - a very special gentleman indeed!

We feast royally at the legendary Asha's a cheeky pint of refreshing Kingfisher being the ideal accompaniment to an Executive Special Lunch. Neither of us lays the remotest claim to being an executive, but it's cracking curry all the same and is dispatched with customary gusto.

Suitably replenished we make our way across the road to Birmingham's finest real ale emporium, the The Wellington.  Possibly the only pub in town to have no food available bar nuts, crisps and pork scratchings, the fact it's full by the end of the afternoon is testament to the expansive range of fine keg beers on offer from around the country, the names of which are helpfully displayed on a screen by the side of the bar.

We begin with halves of Brother Rabbit, a delicious pale golden brew with a light frothy head perched precariously atop that is reminiscent in certain lights of the new President of the United States.  Regrettably, the former is capable of recycling in the adjacent Gents whereas the latter is not, much as one might wish to be the case.

Brother Rabbit goes down a treat, as does the following halves of Masterwork. At 5.6% it's the strongest beer on offer which sets us up nicely for ....

Ruin - a beer the young bar-tender assures me is a fine choice, being brewed with native botanicals.  I should have spotted a 'ringer' when he goes on to observe it is the beer equivalent of gin. We taste it, look at each other with shocked expressions before replacing our glasses on the table.

"Washing-up liquid", opines my learned colleague and I find little cause to demur.  We pass on this one and a swift return to the bar is made for halves of Fireside, an ever-dependable Black Country brew and two bags of salted nuts to remove the last lingering taste of Ruin.

Conversation flows throughout the afternoon across a wide range of topics that include the origin of the God gene, bereavement, the trials and tribulations of our beloved Aston Villa, the importance of family life and the current position in Sierra Leone.

Time for our last halves, the coffee-coloured Simcoe Stout and then it's out into the light once more as we go our separate ways.  All in all a fantastic way to spend an afternoon!

Best regards,

electrofried(mr)

The sun shines

Dear Sheddists,

what a lovely day I've had with my fine young daughter-in-law to be!

Our youngest having departed with her mum on a shopping-trip treat, the two of us made our way to the bus-stop to catch an express charabanc to Birmingham.
  
Dissipating the family fortunes 

Our first stop was to the city's finest musical emporium, the legendary Swordfish

Joint founder, Gaz, was manning the tills and yet more of the family fortune was gainfully invested in his wares - to wit, one clear vinyl copy of Scott Walker's soundtrack to the Childhood of a Leader (a rather marvelous work that has already graced the wheels of steel at the House of electrofried) and the The Glowing Man in CD format, the final recording to be released by Michael Gira's current iteration of the Swans. 

 Breakfast sustenance

Our brief record-shop foray at an end our next stop was just a stone's throw away - the trendy breakfast emporium known as, The Boston Tea Party.

Two traditional English (non EU-compliant) breakfasts went down very well indeed, the perfect preparation for a good afternoon's drinking.

And now to serious stuff...

The main event of the day - a trip to the legendary, Wellington one of the finest real-ale establishments to be found in the very heart of the city.

We entered into its cool haven just before noon and safe from the midday sun began our run at the sixteen fantastic ales on offer. Whilst we failed miserably to complete the menu we did sample some delicious brews and even squeezed in a bag of two of salted nuts by way of lunch.

Moving on up

For our final quoff of the day we climbed the stairs to the terraced roof-top garden, a little astro-turfed oasis amidst the glowing concrete walls of the surrounding city centre.  It was shared by one of three pub cats and a motley assortment of pigeons pecking listlessly at the dish of bird-seed perched precariously on a ledge just above our heads.

A little light shopping

Our day nearly at an end we made one final stop at the Levi shop to purchase some presents for my daughter-in-law's birthday and a tasteful XL t-shirt for yours truly to wear at a forthcoming end of season music festival.

The perfect end to a lovely day!