Good evening (night sounds like a bad start...)
I am going to begin with a caveat. Not unusual in my posts, but not usually at the beginning. I worry perhaps too much that I will tripped up, discombobulated, fooled, misinformed, or worse still wrong. And I genuinely don't like people to get the wrong idea about what I am saying. Hence, perhaps, the lenght f my posts. Anyway, to my excuse in waiting....
I follow 2 Sheffield blogs via this site, Barl Fire and Mike Grice.com. Both are very good, well written blogs packed full of information, which is something I am keen on. The content of both is, as far as I can see, exclusively bottled beer. I also tried to follow on Word Press "Get to the pub dot com" which alas is now updated only very occasionally. Interestingly, this blog, shared its focus, unequally, between pub visits and music (more the pubs). This is also a very well written blog by someone with a great turn of phrase and endearing writing style of which I am quite envious.
OK, so against the above backdrop, that makes me
the only Sheffield blogger posting about Sheffield pubs
(and real ales and bottled beers).
That sounds good, but, barring any sudden comments posted by hurt, overlooked Sheffield pub bloggers it is truly a puzzling state of affairs.
Recently, in fact for many years now, Sheffield has been tussling with the likes of Derby and Norwich to be crowned beer capital of Britain, and achieved it numerous times. It may have few late night real ale venues, and not many pubs have adopted the trend for selling a range of key-keg beers from the UK and beyond, but its still a stonking good place to drink in.
I myself have taken people on a few pub crawls of Sheffield already this year (and rashly promised a couple more) and that doesn't cover half of the best that's on offer. So why does no-one in Sheffield seem to love their pubs enough to write about them?
Over the Pennines, I know of and follow some of 7 real ale blogs in Manchester and Merseyside, many of which, for what it matters, appear to be highly ranked on various blog rating sites. West Yorkshire likewise seems positively awash with beery or rather pub paeans and similar bibulous writings. Since this in no way aims or serves to suggest one region is better than the other in terms of quality of pubs, it makes you wonder why those North and West of here are so much more vocal?
If you are a Sheffield blogger and wish to contest my claim of being the only Sheffield blogger posting about Sheffield pubs I would genuinely like to hear from you. I think that Steel City solidarity is good news, since one of the features of blogging that I am currently enjoying is the shared following of blogs, which brings their content to a wider audience.
Surely there's more of us out there?
Wee Beefy
N.B - Steve, am afraid you don't count mate, sorry - Sheffield bloggers have to be at the very least Sheffield based! Nae mind.
Thanks for the mention WB. Now you come to mention it Sheffield blogs are quite thin on the ground. Where is Reluctant Scooper based? I wondered whether he was from round these parts as alot of his Tweets are from Sheffield pubs. There's Student Drinker also, but apart from you, Mike and me I can't think of any others. I've noticed there are alot around the Leeds and West Yorkshire areas in particular.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first started the blog the intention was to mix pub trips with bottles at home but unfortunately the nights out have become few and far between in recent months and the one's I've had haven't really been worthy blog material, but now and again I'll chuck one in as they are alot more fun to write than the bottled ale reviews. I need to get out more!
Good to hear from you Barl Fire, have not seen the student drinker site so will have a peek later. Reluctant Scooper, is, am fairly certain, based in Nottingham. He got an invite to the opening of Dada, and that was the first of his posts that I saw so I too thought he may have been "one of ours" (although, ironically, I was born in Ayrshire, and you're Geordie, so what does "one of ours" actually mean?)!
DeleteRe nights out, one of the problems that I find is that my finances and body can't sustain an almost constant state of research, so this can lead to gaps, or more off topic posts. You seem to have quite a good plan in that there always seems to be beer in the garage. At least if you don't fancy going out when the weather's crap there is something to post about that you can enjoy in the warmth.
Know what you mean by 'one of ours', nearly 15 years in Sheffield now so I consider it my adopted home town even though I was knocking 30 when I moved here.
DeleteIt's money, time and a job that isn't conducive to weekday sessions that stops me from getting out more these days. But yeah keeping a tidy stock in the garage has become more of a priority of late. It's actually beginning to look a little depleted at the moment so roll on pay day!
Notwithstanding mail order options there's a good range of beers to be found in Sheffield so funds permitting you should be OK to continue "blog planning" - which is my new (patented) euphemism for buying beer. And I only really get out for 1 or 2 weeknight sessions, and only brief ones after work - working 5 mins from Kelham Island and Shakespeares helps (in some ways,in others not).
DeleteSheffield is under-represented in the blogoshire, unlike Leeds.
ReplyDeleteReluctant Scooper, I think, lives in Derby, but it's fair to say he's marked his territory around Sheffield...
There's also the Student Drinker and (though he's not a blogger!) Gazza's website.
Have never been on Gazza's site, so I'll maybe have a look at that as well as Student D.
DeleteSheffield is very much a grapevine town I find. Which is frustrating when you are looking for info on pubs online.
It may be that there's more Steel City beer info on Twitter of course....
Just been on Gazza's - I already had the link! I was given it in the now sadly closed George 4th by, perhaps unsurprisingly, Dave Unpronouncable.
DeleteStudent drinker is new territory for me though so thanks for the nod.
Started a beer blog last year but forgot the password. I tweet a lot about the Sheffield/Dronfield/Chesterfield real ale scene so maybe I should start again.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure it would be galling but you could maybe start from scratch. Dronfield is much changed, albeit based on my 3 vists a decade. And there aint no pub bloggers in Chesterfield.....
DeleteYou'll need more then 3 visits a decade the way Dronfield is going. We've got the Coach & Horses (Thornbridge beer & plenty of bottled & kegged goodies), the Old Sidings is now a real ale freehouse called the Dronfield Arms and the pub that was the Massons Arms, then the Hallowes is now a Spire pub with 12 handpumps called the 3 Tuns.
DeleteTo be honest the number 43 bus route from Chesterfield to Sheffield is now a brilliant pub crawl (including the Beer Parlour, Derby Tup, Sheaf View, Rutland Arms & Sheffield Tap as well) which I would suggest to anybody.
Visits. Most sloppy of me.
DeleteOh, and we got our own CAMRA sub-branch just last week! The main bone of contention being that we would all quite like to have Barlow brewery on our patch.
DeleteYeah I did the 43 crawl, but only starting at the Hallowes and doing the Dronfield Arms (Coach and Horses was shut) then heading to Woodseats and walking round a few pubs there and in Heeley; see
Deletehttp://weebeefyspubblog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/wee-beefys-beer-crawl-bites-dronfield.html
- am afrid you'll have to copy the URL, sorry! I think if I could summon the stamina to attempt the whole crawl it would be brilliant. I love Chesterfield pubs but only ever seem to get there at night so have to pick one and then head for the train (usually the Rose and crown). I can see an imminent all day ticket is calling....
Who "got" Barlow Brewery just out of interest?
DeleteChesterfield branch got Barlow, but lot of people round here do like Barlow's beer and I think quite a few people were looking to volunteer as Brewery Liason Officer for them.
DeleteI can understand why - great beer and thoroughly nice chaps to boot it seems. Hopefully they'll have their bar open again at 3 Valleys this year.
DeleteHello, thanks for the mention! It's true that I don't post on Get to the pub.com as often as I used to, but the blog's still going. I've added a new featured pub today (the Criterion in Leicester) so pop over if you'd like a look.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, you're absolutely right about Sheffield pubs and blogs - so I shall be following this one with interest. All the best.
Hello, nice to hear from you. There was a time last year when I was kind of pushing this blog a bit when I swear we must have been in the same pubs at the same time! Which is kind of amusing, but still demonstrates the wrong coverage in Sheff - readers may have wondered why bloggers only went to the Rutland, Blake and Princess Royal in Sheffield...
DeleteI will drop by yours again soon for a peak, thanks, as I haven't seen your pub features part yet.
"Young uns" tell me Twitter is where its at, but I have resisted thus far. There is a dread inevitability that I will cave in and end up there before the summer's out though. I am interested in putting my theory to the test that news and opinion on Sjeffield's pubs is all on there now....