Drinking in Birmingham.

Around this time last year I went up to Birmingham to drink some beers at The Anchor's Church End Brewery Festival. (The two posts can be found here and here). This weekend, I was there again, though today I find myself compelled not to write about those beers, but about an entirely different place altogether.

For those wondering about the beers at the festival, there was nothing particuarly exciting or surprisingly tasty, like last year's Strawberries and Cream. Perhaps the closest that this years selection got to that was a beer called Banana Bonkers, which was a dark beer with a banana aftertaste. The only other beer of note for me was one that had been made with beetroot, which I tried and disliked, but it perhaps suggests that the best way to get me to try anything new is to make a beer from it. I'll happily try chilli beer, even though I don't really like chilli.

I had finished what beers were left at The Anchor on Sunday night, and so Monday was free to spend more time in some of Birmingham's other pubs and bars. The Wellington was first up, and after I had a few beers there I moved onto The Brown Lion, only to find it was closed. As a result, this meant I ended up spending more time in the newly opened Post Office Vaults.

It's easy to miss if you're walking along New Street, a red door nestled inbetween the shops near Victoria Square. There's not much space inside either, and from what I understand it already gets very busy at nights and weekends.

There's very good reason for this too. As well as having eight cask taps, Hogans Cider and Freedom's Lager and Stout on tap, along with a guest keg tap (a rarity in Birmingham), The P.O. Vaults also stocks a respectable range of bottles.

The website currently states that there are 198 different foreign beers in stock. Among these bottles are beers from De Molen, Flying Dog, Aecht Schlenkerla, Anchor, Sierra Nevada, Nogne, one of the largest selections of lambics I've seen in a pub, and Delirium, to name just a few. That really is just the tip of the iceberg. The menus are full of wonderful beers at quite reasonably prices.

The good thing for travellers, is that it's not that far from New Street Station, and so is perfect for a pre journey drink or two. Hopefully the success of The P.O. Vaults will result in a couple of other similar venues opening around the city. I think Birmingham is pretty much covered for cask ales, but there's a much more limited choice when it comes to kegged and bottled/canned beers. Maybe there isn't as much of an audience for it, but until someone tries, and fails or suceeds, we won't know.