Monthly Archives: May 2018

Scotland

Frasers Bar

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Millport, Isle of Cumbrae:

Ayrshire & Wigtownshire CAMRA‘s 2018 pub of the year 2018, and well deserved. We missed the presentation of the award by one day.

Inside is smart and clean without deing devoid of atmosphere. The front part is bar, the back part family area and restaurant, and we saw that being enforced, so the front is adult space. 2 cask ales on when we visited, one being Jaw Spinnaker, which was frankly wonderful. Friendly, helpful staff, and good food too. Probably the best pub of our trip; definitely the best outside Glasgow. If it hadn’t required a ferry trip, we’d have been in more.

Scotland

J G Sharps

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Largs:

Our first pub in Largs, our first drink being in a hotel bar, so not counting.

Had quite high hopes for this; it’s just away from the seafront, and was listed in our Good Beer Guide (even if our GBG is a little out-of-date). As it was, it didn’t impress; not awful by any means, but walking in, the only cask ale was Doom Bar (shudder), and the place was packed with people watching the kicksphere: it was dark and noisy. Half of Glasgow was in Largs, and many of them were in here.

A subsequent visit made it a bit better- still no drinkable cask, but Shipyard keg, and we found the beer garden. Staff were OK, and it was one of very few pubs with an actual beer garden in town, but it wasn’t what we hoped for.

Birmingham, Digbeth

The Moseley Arms

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Digbeth, Birmingham:

Not to be confused with The Old Moseley Arms.

A hotel, really, but the bar feels pubby. Friendly staff, big, opened-out bar area, cheapish food. No ale, but decent lager and wine, probably not a bad place to stay given the price: city centre walkable in around 15 min. TVs playing sport, but not too loud. Quite an old place originally, but no historic features inside, and big modern extension outside.

Birmingham, Digbeth

The Spotted Dog

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Digbeth, Birmingham:

Lovely, traditional Birmingham pub. Multi-roomed, so the entertainment at times need not disturb people after a quiet pint. Lovely friendly staff, great beer (Fixed Wheel No Brakes when we visited), good bar snacks, and a nice vibe. Benches out front with a (urban!) view to the city. About the only problem is the limited hours in the week (no lunchtime opening Mon-fri).

Birmingham, Digbeth, Revisits

Revisit: The Anchor

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Digbeth, Birmingham.

The Anchor has long been one of the go-to pubs in Brum: it’s a typical, magnificent terracotta James & Lister Lea Birmingham pub: traditional, with great beer.

That’s mostly still true. The beer’s great, the staff are friendly, but the creeping gentrification of Digbeth has put a bit of a shine on it (when I preferred it without). There’s some middle-class-green paintwork that looks a bit out of place, and some “quirky” decoration that has the faint whiff of hipster. It’s still a great pub overall though: great staff and beer, OK music, nice outside space. No food now, though.