Pint sized review - The Crown, Corporation Street, B2

Inside it's brand spanking new, painty with touched-p boards and shiny metalwork, like the 'traditional' section of an Ikea kitchen showroom. And surprisingly spacious, with even the guests and crowds of staff carryng drinks and canapes failing to fill up some of the cavernous seating areas.

The Crown is just around the corner from Birmingham's courthouses, so you can expect to see some of Birmingham's most villainous scumbags hanging
round (and their clients, ho ho... I'm sorry, I'm kidding Stuart). Actually, it seems like a pretty trendy crowd for the opening night, certainly trendier than me.

Bored of champagne - oh the travils of being a journalist - I move on to a pint and go for Black Sheep Bitter, from the Yorkshire brewery of the same name. Now I've always been a huge fan of this in bottles, but for some reason I can't put my finger on, it doesn't quite match up in draft tonight - a most unusual thing. There's another couple of ales on, and the usual high-end lager selection.

If you're in the area, and I won't ask why, you could do a lot worse than to drop into the Crown for a pint.