The Craven Arms

This might be the best beer drinkers pub in Birmingham. They always have in a really eclectic mix of ales and craft beers with super friendly staff on hand to chat to you about it.
The pub itself is a gem. Hidden near the mailbox, it’s a proper pub. No pretence, no faux-​industrialism, just a proper old fashioned boozer, that happens to serve really nice beer!

Sharon and Chris took the Birmingham beer scene by storm when they opened The Craven Arms a couple of years back.
The refit by Black Country Ales has remained true to the character of this Grade II listed hostelry. During the course of which they found a covered up fireplace and revealed blue and gold majolica tiling from previous owners ‘Holders Brewery’.
It isn’t a large pub by any means, it has one small room in which all of the tables are never more than a couple of meters away from the bar. This lends itself to a ‘Cheers’ like atmosphere; the clientele can regularly be seen (or should that be heard?) striking up conversations with complete strangers. Like how pubs used to be, and they still are out of the cities. In the city centre people tend to keep themselves to themselves. Not at the Craven, where they still have bar stools, and the regulars prop up the bar like Cliff and Norms (from Cheers). A couple of bar stools may not sound a lot, but I fond that most central pubs one can struggle to get to the bar, let alone sit at it without being crushed. I enjoy being a bar fly, and The Craven is one of the best pubs in the city to be one.
The other thing that attracts one to The Craven is BEER! Chris and Sharon pride themselves on having the most hop forward beers in Birmingham. It is true that their selection can be very hard to beat. The list is ever changing with what is available through their suppliers. Think beers from the likes of Evil Twin, Mikkeller, Siren, Magic Rock, Hopcraft, The Kernel. They have been the first pub in Birmingham to stock beers from a number of breweries. This is due to a dedication to find something new for all of the beer tickers, and to bring something new to the city.
There is a function room upstairs which can be booked out for meetings, parties etc. The kitchen isn’t operational but customers are welcome to bring their own food. However, if you’re lucky they might have some delicious «craft cobs» on the bar.
Go for the beer, stay for the company and hospitality.

I was first alerted to the existence of the Craven Arms by a beer loving Elite (Carl D). Whilst discussing the hottest spots for Ale in the City (after we had exhausted the obvious), this name popped up in the conversation. Now, I used to be a regular at Eddie’s No 8 old venue located on Gough Street (down the road from this pub) and had spotted this place on the corner, but had written it off as it looked a little bit… «Old man» and local for me to be interested.
After a trip to the cinema with the ever mentioned other half, we decided to pop in and grab a pint to see if the fanfare was warranted. Well, I was very pleasantly surprised. The venue IS quite traditional «pub» in interior decoration, but has been taken over by a younger, beer loving crowd meaning there is a great atmosphere and clientele. We managed to grab a corner table (next to a group of young ladies playing a card game) and perused the beer selection on the wall.
A really great choice of ales produced both locally and from further afield were on offer, for very reasonable prices. Obviously (as you can imagine) the stronger the ABV, the stronger the price but everything seemed to be a lot cheaper than you might expect inner city. I had a lovely chat to the bar tender who listened to the kind of ales I liked and recommended me a pint (after offering me a taster). Unfortunately, our trip was such a long time ago now I cannot recall the name of the ale I had, but I can confirm it was rather nice and a great choice!
We ended up trying a good 3 or 4 different ales off the menu. Many of them were from breweries I had never heard of before, so we had a good travel around the UK ale map whilst enjoying random conversations with people popping in and out the pub.
This place is a haven for people who simply want to drink a selection of well kept ales and maybe try something they haven’t had before. The owners and staff really care about the product they’re selling and can give you information about the breweries, hops and flavours of the various brews. The clientele is mixed, but it’s the perfect place to take an afternoon with friends over a rousing game of Fluxx, CAH or Gloom. Recommended.

What a little treat! When I lived in the city centre I think I must have ended up in here nearly once a week during that time.
I love nothing more than going to a classic, and most importantly, quiet pub to relax after a hard weeks work (and even harder partying on a Saturday night!). If you love venues that have lots of character then you should go and check out The Craven Arms.
It offers a great selection of beers for the boys and wine for the girls and the food in delicious. You can’t beat their house burger and a nice cold shandy.