It takes a good bottle of wine to get me going but to be fair, on most nights out I'll drink just…read moreabout anything. For those living in Erdington or near there, Six Ways Food & Wine convenience store is really handy. It opens really early in the morning, you talking from 6am and doesn't close until midnight; now how great is that! So, this was an added bonus when me and friends were driving to a friends house, for a girls night in and the store was still open at 10pm. We didn't realise that it would be open so late, until we got to my friends house and then an hour later we realised we needed to get some snacks. This was at around 11.15pm! We were over the moon that the store was still opened and the gentleman behind the counter had great customer service.

I'm not sure whether St Thomas is the patron saint of tipples, but the choice here may be enough to…read moreget someone with a more discerning palate to cry Hallelujah. Taking the cue from surrounding supermarkets and convenience stores, many of the drinks have a Caribbean and eastern European flavour, with Jamaican stouts joined by crisp Polish beer. Not all these brands are as familiar as you'd expect. It is not resolutely specialist, but there is, for the most part, a change from the usual suspects - this is in itself as refreshing as the pilsner on sale. A movement towards single, individually-priced cans, not uncommon in this part of town, is continued here. But it all seems like practical assistance rather than a means to encourage boozy customers. It would be difficult to imagine making a specialty trip to this stockist, but those sick of the tried and not particularly trusted standards may find it worth their while.

Open from 10am-10pm every single day and offering an impressive selection of lagers, ciders and…read morespirits from across the globe, this handy local off-licence is a great place to stop by whenever you need to stock up on booze. The store's range is remarkably extensive considering its limited size and space and loads of great offers are available (Strongbow, Tyskie and Carling cans are all on offer for either 4 for £3.99, or 8 for £6.50!) The store's main pitfall is its cleanliness, but there's also a big problem with its layout. The floor inside is filthy, wine bottles are caked in layers of dust and it's difficult to browse the store comfortably when any more than 3 customers are present, as shelving is limited and cans of beer are haphazardly stacked in awkward piles in the middle of the room.