Lichfield Pubs and Bars: The City of Three Spires
As a Midlands based fan of independent food and drink places, as well as craft and real ale, Lichfield has been somewhere I’ve been meaning to go back to go for a while. Birmingham’s beer scene has been on an upward trajectory for some time, and Lichfield city centre appears to be keeping pace with that. Not just the pub scene either. The food scene in Lichfield is thriving, but I’ll save that for another blog post. This is just for Lichfield pubs. And when I say pubs, what I really mean is somewhere you can get a decent pint. A pint of real ale, craft beer, stout, Impy, IPA, sour, bitter, hazy DIPA, Belgian beer, or anything in between. Types of beer across the beer spectrum. Good beer, full stop.
Lichfield Pubs are accessible by Train
Lichfield City Station is only 30 mins from Birmingham New Street Station. It’s on the same line that goes to Stirchley (Bournville Station), Cotteridge (Kings Norton Station) and Bromsgrove. On that basis, the train is a no-brainer if you are travelling from Birmingham. Especially if you are going there to have a couple of finely tuned sherberts. Or maybe even a few pints of the finest strong black stuff in one of the many Lichfield pubs or bars. As a result, this is in my pubs and bars selection, not my away day page. It’s on my local train line!
So let the train do the hard work, and kick back and have a relaxing and beer based session. There are around 36 pubs and bars around Lichfield. This route is what I consider to be the best at the moment for top tier beer, and obviously I can’t do all 36 in an outing! The 5 chosen provide a good range of different types of bar and different types of beer.
The Route
Below is a map of the route I went on after a bit of local knowledge input, as well as some good old fashioned research and walking around. My route involves coming out of the train station and turning right. It’s about 7 or 8 mins walk to the first place on the map from the station. That said, you can easily do the route in reverse. (but please walk forwards, especially if you are drinking)
It also involves a big gap after pub 4. You can either walk (my preferred method of about 20 mins), or get a cab. A cab shouldn’t cost much and it’ll save on drinking time – especially if there are a number of you, as there’s always an impatient mate! There are also some other pubs on the way if you really want. They just aren’t the sort of pub for this crawl. Sadly, a 6th pub on the list closed during writing this blog. RIP The Bitter Suite. A huge loss. Anyway, have a look at the map and the list of Lichfield pubs for the route below.
5 of the best Lichfield Pubs for Craft Beer and Real Ale
WIP
WIP, or ‘Work In Progress’ is a contemporary pub. Prior to 2019, it was a games shop. When that closed, and WIP moved in, it became a pub specialising in real ale, craft beer and pizza. Eight keg lines for craft beer (including at least a cider) and three cask lines for real ale from hand pulls make this is a great starting point for any pub crawl. Some well kept cask, and some top of the range craft beer too.
The building is a few hundred years old, and has exposed timbers and low door heads, so expect a fine mix of period architecture and state of the art beer. WIP is split over two floors, and there is also a modest beer garden to the rear with a separate serving hatch for the summer months. Not sure if the name is about the fact that there is always work to do, or a comment on their high standards, but to me the name is ironic. This place is great, and when I was there it needed no more work doing at all.
The Whippet Inn
A few doors down from the WIP is The Whippet Inn. Aside from the slightly confusing clash with the names WIP and Whippet, The Whippet Inn is a classic micropub set up in a single space, focusing on cask ale. Six cask lines behind a glass wall, visible from the bar side. All on show, and nothing hidden, which isn’t surprising as the space is small, and very cosy. I love these types of micropubs. Go in strangers, leave friends. There’s a can fridge too, so if cask ale isn’t your thing, there’s something else to pick from.
There’s also a display case full of freshly made cobs. If you’ve never tried it, a pint of good cask ale and a cheese and onion cob is almost a perfect moment. I often take my mom out for a pint, and whenever we have a cob with our bev, there is total silence for the duration of the cob. Bliss.
The Whippet Inn has been around since 2014, and they obviously knows what they are doing. The cask ales are well kept, and offer a decent selection across the 6 hand pulls. A great entry on the list of best Lichfield pubs!
Beerbohm
If you like a good Belgian beer gaff, this place is for you. Beerbohm isn’t exclusively Belgian, so if Belgian beers aren’t for you, there are some more traditional cask beers as well. In addition to the great range of kegged and bottled Belgian beers, there’s also a pretty spectacular range of gins and whiskys too, and a tidy wine list.
There are two floors, ground and more seating and a loo at first floor, and the ground floor bar is adorned with authentic enamel beer signs, mirrors and tasteful pictures. The atmosphere here is superb, and there is a good mix of all ages. A really fun place to visit.
The Beacon
Formerly The Pig until mid 2024, The Beacon is now a brewery pub, and a Titanic one at that. Much more standard, in terms of its appearance (it looks like a pub), but the beer selection is very decent indeed. As well as a wide range of Titanic beers on cask and keg, they also have a handful of rotating guest beers on too. When I last popped in, they had a Signature Brew beer on and a Verdant too. There are some fine bar snacks behind the bar, with some locally made pork pies and sausage rolls.
And how about this, fact fans – It’s called The Beacon after Lichfield’s ‘Beacon Park’, but that’s not all! In Beacon Park, there’s a statue of Edward John Smith, the ill-fated captain of the Titanic. He was actually born in Stoke, 30 miles north. There aren’t any solid reasons as to why the statue is there and it’s been debated since 1914. Maybe it was for the the convenient naming of The Beacon all along. Circle closed.
Trinity Brew Co
On the route, this place is the furthest out. It’s a destination on its own, but does work as part of the wider beer offering. If you want to walk, and break up the journey with other pubs, there are a couple on the way. I’d probably get a cab from the previous pub on this list. That said, you may want to start here and end up in town as it is slightly nearer the train station. Either way, it’s a must visit for beer in Lichfield.
When I knew John had moved over and set Trinity up, I was over there in no time. (remember the superb ‘Lab Culture’ brewery in Redditch?) I think I first went over to see John back in maybe 2019/2020, and I’ve been back a number of times since, so this is a shoe in for the crawl route. The only brewtap on the route, (The Beacon is a brewery pub or taproom, rather than a brewtap),
Trinity is a classic industrial unit with the brew kit in and a bar. These types of breweries are always on the outskirts. And that’s what makes this great – similar to the newish Handley Tap in York, from Brew York, Beak in Lewes…etc etc. You just don’t get places this big right in town.
The Trinity name comes from a combo of the three spires in Lichfield, and also the combination of hops, malt and water. The holy trinity! (of beer)
As well as own beers, they get some pretty good guest beers on too. Trinity has great passion for the brewing process and you’ll often find a great selection of different styles of own beer on.
I was lucky enough to have been invited to a private birthday party there last weekend of an Instagram beer mate – Andros from Andros’ Beer Selfies (it was a big one), and the food was on just as normal. Trinity also have regular music on, and other social events, so keep an eye out.
Open Thursday, Friday and Saturdays (always check socials before going), the taproom is child friendly, dog friendly and has a resident food outfit on too. Rub Me Tender BBQ is a street food, Texas style smoked meats outfit. Brisket, ribs, burnt ends, and much more.
Summary of my fave Lichfield pubs
Lichfield is a compact city centre, with everything walkable in no time at all. There’s a brewery, a Belgian beer bar, a cask ale micropub, and even a Titanic Brewery boozer. And if you don’t like anything on the list above, there are another 30 odd Lichfield pubs to choose from!
Happy crawling, and remember, only have one pint! Well, have a couple more than that, but drink responsibly. And play nice.
All of the Birmingham (and slightly wider) based independent based places and pubs I write about in my blogs or on social media can be found on my interactive map so you can easily find them for yourselves and support local. Everywhere on the list above is on the map too. Happy exploring!
I hope you enjoyed this post as much as you will enjoy the fry-ups! If you want to read more, explore the B Town Social website and find new independent places and pubs in Birmingham to visit and support!
For more pub crawls, check out the Hockley, Birmingham crawl, and the Stirchley Beer Mile crawl too! Check out my blog pages for more crawls in and around the Birmingham area. Happy pinting!
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