In this week's Top Ten we look at Birmingham's top ten pubs.

As ever we want to hear your thoughts, do you agree with our list or do you have a different venue for your favourite tipple?

1. Hare & Hounds, Kings Heath

This thriving pub doubles as a music venue and still manages to serve up a colourful soul food menu with dishes from America’s Deep South.
The pub is a beautiful 19th Century listed building with a welcoming traditional interior given a homely feel by a roaring fire on cold winter evenings. It’s a favourite with drinkers, students, foodies and music fans.
Reggae kings UB40, ska outfit The Beat and comic Frank Skinner all performed at this iconic city venue during the early part of their careers.

2. The Wellington, Bennetts Hill

The city centre’s go-to pub for real ale enthusiasts. It’s not a place to purchase a pint produced by the major breweries.
Landlord Nigel Barker sources brews from some of the country’s best independent producers, including craft and artisan breweries.
There’s always 16 different ales on tap and normally more than 75 beers on stillage ready for drinking.
The Wellington has won countless awards and is the current CAMRA Pub of the Year in Birmingham.

3. Old Joint Stock, Temple Row West

Walk inside the huge front doors and you step back in time to Victorian splendour. The magnificent bar is dominated by an imposing glass-domed high ceiling  to add to the opulence.
This pub, which also serves as a theatre venue, is located among the banks and the city’s commercial centre.
Built in 1864, this Grade II-listed building was designed by Julius Alfred Chatwin, best known as a builder of many Victorian churches. Prior to being taken over by Lloyds Bank in 1889 it was the Birmingham Joint Stock Bank.

4. The Black Eagle, Factory Road, Handsworth

The Black Eagle’s impressive building stands in marked contrast to the heavily fortified metal gates of the factory opposite with spirals of razor wire guarding the top.
The pub, which boasts of selling some of Birmingham’s best-kept ales and tasty home-cooked food, was rebuilt towards the end of the Victorian era and retains many features such as  Minton tiles.
The pub has won the CAMRA Birmingham Pub of the Year on several occasions 

5. Prince of Wales, Moseley

A Moseley institution, The Prince started serving up pints of ale in 1861.
Rumoured to have been one of the favourite haunts of Lord of the Rings author J.R.R Tolkien, the pub could very well be the inspiration behind some of the alehouse scenes in the Hobbit series, given its proximity to a number of Birmingham locations that are known to have inspired the author in his descriptions of Middle Earth.
The pub is a popular community venue but also an attraction for visitors from further afield. It has recently undergone an extensive refurbishment to upgrade facilities, including opening a chic cocktail bar.

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