Birmingham – Purecraft Bar and Kitchen

Excuse the poor quality photo, it was raining when I left the pub…. One thought about this bar is that I wouldn’t have visited it based on the exterior because the whole set-up gave the impression of a food orientated venue. The only reason that I did go in was because of their entry into the Good Beer Guide and in retrospect I’m pleased that it had that mention.

This set me thinking as to where I had heard of the name before, and it was on my visit to Nottingham in 2017. And, I didn’t go in the pub then because I thought it was food orientated and not just suitable for a quick drink. Unfortunately, this second location from the company closed down shortly after I hadn’t visited it (I don’t link the two events).

The industrial looking interior was on-trend and also surprisingly quiet for a Saturday night.

Bright and cheerful, there was a surprising amount of seating downstairs as well. I didn’t order food as we were already booked in elsewhere, but looking at the menu later on I was quite impressed, there were some intriguing options. I might come again for the food, which is slightly ironic given that I nearly didn’t come in here because I thought it was food orientated.

But, this is the main event of the pub as far as I’m concerned, the beer selection. I couldn’t read this board when I ordered because the bar was busy, but one of the team members was knowledgeable and gave me three recommendations based on my preference for dark beers. There are some really interesting options on these boards, although the ordering of the beers seemed a little random. Not that that matters…..

I opted for the oatmeal stout from Fourpure brewery, which is based in Bermondsey in London. I’m not sure that I’d have tasted the strength of the 5.1% ABV that the stout had as it was quite drinkable and smooth, with quite a chocolatey taste to it. All very drinkable and the beer was also well kept, although just a little colder than I’d have ideally liked.

The sign on the toilets, with the male toilets being on the left and the females on the right. Fortunately for those who don’t want puzzles and games when trying to visit the toilets, there were also more conventional signs on the doors as well.

All in all, this was a pub almost in the style of Brewdog, although I doubt that they’d like that comparison. But, the customer service was friendly, the surroundings were industrial, the beer choice was interesting and everything felt informal and comfortable.