Nice traditional pub but the welcome was frosty. I am not a local, perhaps that is why. 9 beers on but here's the pity. 1 stout, 1 porter, 1 proper bitter Amber in colour but 6 pale even described as lagerish on the bar.this lack of a decent choice meant one drink only then moved on. I had Oak by Grain, well kept, good session beer, nice colour and taste. Score reflects the poor staff attitude, lack of choice for those of us that remember what beer should be like but also scored up as the 1 I had was good.Fairly busy, nice range of customers young, old, male female. Staff frosty to say the least, but I am not local. 9 beers on. 1 stout, 1 dark, 6 pale even described as lagerish! God help us. Only 1 Amber trad bitter, so I only stayed for 1. That 1 was good. Well kept, good flavour, nice colour so that drags the score up a point. When will pubs and Brewers realise that there is still a need to provide decent English bitters and not an overwhelming flood of American pale, citrus lagerish ale?
Nice traditional pub but the welcome was frosty. I am not a local, perhaps that is why. 9 beers on but here's the pity. 1 stout, 1 porter, 1 proper bitter Amber in colour but 6 pale even described as lagerish on the bar.this lack of a decent choice meant one drink only then moved on. I had Oak by Grain, well kept, good session beer, nice colour and taste. Score reflects the poor staff attitude, lack of choice for those of us that remember what beer should be like but also scored up as the 1 I had was good.

Excellent ale house with a great choice of beers in excellent condition. Enjoyed an excellent pint of Titanic Raspberry Wheat. Friendly, knowledgeable staff and a relaxing atmosphere. A must visit when in the city centre. 10/10.The Wellington is always worth a visit in Birmingham, if you're into real ale. There's plenty of them - Wye Valley HPA, Black Country BFG, Pig on the Wall & Fireside, Purity Mad Goose, Froth Blowers Piffle Snonker, Malvern Hills Radar Love, Burton Bridge Top Dog Stout, Kendricks Winter Warmer, Derby Penny's Porter, Abbeydale/Brewdog/Skull and Bones Boys Club Chockwork Orange, Elland White Prussian, Beowulf Dark Raven & Small World Long Moor Pale. Ciders were Springfield Wobbly Monk, Hairy Ferret Cherry & Farmer Jims Copper Top. The clientele was as varied as ever, with people gathering for a folk evening and mingling with football fans. It was busy for a Tuesday evening. Quality pub.Wednesday night. Quite busy. 14 of 16 pumps on. 9 yes 9 of these graded by the landlord as pale, 2 were pale verging on not so pale, 1 porter, 1 dark. That left only 1 beer that could be described as classic British bitter. Skaters Autumn Red at 5.0%. That meant 1 drink then off. Regrettably landlords with 16 pumps need to cater for good old fashioned bitter drinkers and not just pander to new age lager drinkers. It is a shame, because this pub could be a cracker.

The Walsall Arms is situated in an old industrial street to the east of the town centre. It doesn't look promising at all. The interior has the feeling of a club and there is a skittles alley at the rear. Just the landlord and two local gents were in. They were soon replaced by two younger ladies on the wine. Timothy Taylor Landlord, Wye Valley Bitter & HPA, Ludlow Gold & Holdens Golden Glow were the ales.Reasonable small locals' pub with two or three ales on. No food apart from filled rolls. Friendly enough.Brilliant pub. Great range of ales, lovely interioramd friendly staff. One of those when you wonder why you havent usedit more

I'm really not sure about this one. The beer was fine and the service adequate but as another reviewer commented, there was an unfriendly air to the place that I couldn't put my finger on. Unsociable, yes. Missed opportunity, definitely. I usually like BCA pubs and they've done more for real ale in the region than anyone else in the past thirty years but this one just doesn't do it for me.

Then, when I got home I realised I'd had a 20 cent piece worked off in my change instead of a pound coin. Probably not the barman's fault but it summed the place up. Another quality Black Country Ales Pub.

13 Hand Pulls On and a Menu (+ colour indicator bottles) to help you choose.

Decent music on.

Friendly Locals.

I really liked this place and the 3rd BCA Pub I have been to. None have disappointed.

Photos at my walking Blog - Story and Photos at my [blog](http://mappiman.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/060616-outer-circle-route-11-stage-2.html) An impressive (or intimating) bank of 15 or so ale choices with the ones I sampled kept in fine fettle. There my recommendations end as this high ceilinged pub formerly a branch of Midland Bank had a decidedly lifeless, unsociable atmosphere with tables occupied by groups encased in their own seal proof bubbles and solitary drinkers either glowering or staring into space. The service although efficient was brusque, even curt, and there was something depressing about the general ambience. It felt like a missed opportunity but at least the Midland offers a decent pint. Although I tried hard to find more merit with the pub, 5/10 is the best I can score it.

Oh an extra point for losing the apostrophe I erroneously included in my previous post. Now operating as a Two Towers outlet in much the same way as the ill fated Brown Lion over the road in the Jewellery Quarter. Smart, comfortable, discreetly lit but rather minimalistic. All five pumps had Two Towers product, not my favourite brews I have to admit, but I gather guest beers do show up. Prices are good by edge of city standards, and I think I spied a couple of table football machines resting at the rear of the pub. One feels the Gunmaker's will have to so some creative thinking to attract regular punters to this somewhat obscure location, or find a stronger identity for itself especially as its immediate competition is provided by the well established The Bull, just a minute's walk around the corner. Still a resurgent, traditional pub representing a local brewery is always encouraging and I hope it is supported. It's early days for the Gunmaker's but at the moment it's a safe 6/10.I understand that it should reopen in December 2015.

Nick S Phillips

Ventured into the New Inn one evening recently. As mappiman has pointed out, on entering at what appears to be the only entrance, there is a strange sign pointing you in the direction of the main bar. In a way this was a blessing as it forced you to the larger more open part of the pub rather than the smaller room. It just seemed a bit strange though.

On reaching this "main bar" there were 5 pumps, 2 were off at the time of my visit. Ales available were New Inn Ale, Ubu Purity and Enville Ale. I was tempted by the Enville but decided to chance the New Inn Ale instead - £3.30 for the pint. The ale was fine.

This has more of a traditional pubby feel to it than the Junction nearby, though food seems to be a big thing here too.

I noticed a shelf in the gents above the urinals, presumably for the purpose of resting one's pint on.Chosen as the starting point of a 4 pub crawl in Harborne.

May have peaked early.

Tiny front bar, with a sign asking to punters to go in the main bar. At least four real ales on and I went for an Ubu Purity, which was the best example of this brew that I have ever had.

Nice interior - main bar set out more for food - but a nice little drinking area in the small bar around a fire.

Recommended. Apart from the rather loud Robbie Williams swing album.

Some photos at bit.ly/1OLHiaR Part of the bitters and twisted chain which includes the victoria and jekyll and hyde in brum tc. Very good pubs but this one had a slight gloomy feel to it. Quite expensive and more food orientated. Still a decent choice of ales