Open Arms - More real ale in Birkenhead

External works are ongoing

Birkenhead has gained another pub selling a range of cask beers. The Avenue was a pub in Claughton, Birkenhead surrounded by terraced housing. It was built by Birkenhead Brewery to their usual template in the 1950s on the site of The Avenue cinema which took a direct hit during a 2nd World War bombing raid. Birkenhead suffered badly from German raids due to its shipyard, industry and proximity to Liverpool.

Picked up for a song by the owners of the successful Cock & Pullet, on opening day the beers on offer were Brimstage Trapper's Hat, Liverpool Organic's Cascade, Phoenix Spotland Gold (!) and Thwaites' Wainwright. Observing the customer preference for fizzy lagers and the lack of cask ale heritage in the area it will be interesting to see if cask ale is a success.

Gone and soon forgotten

You don't need me to tell you that pubs have been closing at an alarming rate. What I've noticed is that a disproportionate number of newer pubs have closed. A period of approximately 15 years from the late 1950s to the start of the 1970s was the last era of pub building on a large scale. The brewer were granted licences to replace those pubs demolished because of inner city clearance schemes. The new pubs were of a substantial size with large car parks sited on main roads or on new housing estates.

                                              THE LIVINGSTONE ¹

These new pubs paid lip service to tradition, usually comprising a bar and separate lounge. Fittings were luxurious (tacky?) but the layout was usually stark with drinking areas comprising utilitarian rectangles. Note that most were built without cellars to save money. A storage area was provided on the ground floor for kegs and the tanks that were the future of beer dispense. They thrived at first but the rush to 'open plan' that soon followed resulted in large drinking barns which lacked atmosphere and became a breeding ground for rowdy behaviour.

                                                     CORSAIR ¹

Unemployment and drugs made the situation worse giving many of these pubs a deserved bad reputation. The typical design of these pubs provided living accommodation on the first floor that had a smaller floor area than the pub below. This made the pubs vulnerable to robbery with an inviting flat roof  allowing access to less secure windows.  Cheap supermarket booze and the Wetherspoons effect has been the final nail in the coffin for many of these 'community pubs' and their design  and situation does not readily lend itself to other uses. This means that they are more likely to be demolished that older pubs that become shops or apartments. Without the history of our Victorian pubs they won't be missed.

                                                  THE ABBOTSFORD

The photos of demolished or soon to be demolished pubs are in Birkenhead but they are representative of an urban area. I lived in one of the pubs shown, The Abbotsford, for a number of years. It was new and well maintained at that time. It was obvious in recent times that the pub was on its last legs, with dwindling custom and a seedy atmosphere. It's still standing, but not for long.

¹ Photographs courtesy of The Lost Pubs Project

Wirral Whisperings

I live in Wirral. There is perception in Liverpool that the peninsula is a leafy oasis inhabited by posh types who look down their noses at the scousers over the water. Well, the well-heeled residents on the Deeside may think like that but the conurbations of Birkenhead, New Ferry and Seacombe on the banks of the Mersey form one of the most deprived areas in the country.

This divide impinges on the beer scene. Conservative West Wirral has numerous country inns and suburban pubs offering real ale, although it is only since the emergence of Brimstage brewery in 2007 that that the market for beers from micros has taken off. Peerless brewery in Birkenhead followed and is expanding its market while breweries from the Liverpool and Chester areas are starting to make their presence felt.

The working class conurbation centered around Birkenhead is a different matter. 10-15 years ago there was a decent real ale crawl to be had in Birkenhead town centre The long term decline of the area has resulted in the sad state of affairs whereby this town of over 80,000 people has no pubs in the 2010 or 2011 GBGs. Hope may be on the horizon with the re-opening of a couple of pubs offering a choice of beers (see Cock & Pullet) but the overall situation is still bad.

Wirral suffers in beer choice for two main reasons. Historically, Wirral pubs were owned a few large players. Birkenhead Brewery was the largest player but was swallowed up by Threlfall’s in the early 60s which was itself already a part of the Whitbread ‘Umbrella’. These keg and tank beer pubs resisted the march of real ale in the late 70’s and early 80s longer than most.

The remaining pubs were mostly former Bent’s and Yates’ houses which eventually became part of the Bass and Allied-Tetley empire. Real ale was hard to track down in these pubs. The only shining light was Higson’s which had a smattering of pubs throughout Wirral, mostly with good beer. Unfortunately, Higson’s were taken over by Boddington’s who themselves were swallowed up by Whitbread, delivering a further portfolio to the bloated behemoth.

Although sales of pubs in the 80’s introduced pockets of exotic beer from Wilson’s and Wolverhampton & Dudley, the dismantling of the big breweries left most of Wirral’s pubs in the hands of the new pub companies. To this day there are few true free houses in Wirral, restricting the choice of real ale.

The lack of good beer in Birkenhead and parts of Wallasey may also be down to the proximity of Liverpool. There are any number of excellent pubs on the other side of the Mersey with superb rangers of beer. A five minute train journey from Birkenhead means that the town is by-passed by drinkers looking for a good pint. Not until critical mass is reached with enough good pubs in a small area for a night out will Birkenhead have reason to be proud of its beer culture.

The Cock & Pullet, Birkenhead

I'm preparing a blog which discusses the quality of beer in Wirral with emphasis on Birkenhead. It's a little out of date already because a new real outlet has just opened its doors. That statement is incorrect on two counts. It's always been a pub and always sold real ale. But the change is definitely worth shouting about.

The Cock & Pullet on Woodchurch Road used to be called The Royal. It was a slightly shabby locals' pub that somehow retained a market for John Smith's cask bitter. The 'For Sale' sign appeared in the summer and there were were soon whisperings that it was going to be a dedicated cask beer pub. The rumours were correct because the Cock and Pullet looks destined to be a much needed addition to the local real ale scene.

Owner Alan Tuohey tells me that the pub is a true Free House, rare in these parts. There are three handpumps to start with, although he hopes to increase this in future. One pump is intended to dispense Brimstage Trapper's Hat on a semi-permanent basis. That would be note-worthy in itself. Pump two will offer a beer from Liverpool Organic brewery with a rotating guest beer from the third pump. This afternoon St Austell Tribute was on sale, a beer not often seen in Wirral.

The pub is still a work in progress with re-decoration continuing during closing hours. The refurbishment is tasteful utilising traditional pub colours of dark reds and browns.  At first glance the situation doesn't seem that inspiring, on a main round surrounded by run down terraced housing. However, bohemian Oxton Village is less than a quarter of a mile away so the market is there. Birkenhead desperately needs this pub to succeed.