Drunken spells with a slight chance of twats later

Yo ho humbug!

        yes kids its that time of year again. Twat O Clock! Fancy a pint in a normally decent pub now full of twats? You can! For every night between now and Christmas guarantees nailed on twattishness at every turn. Even quiet pubs have decked out the halls with twats of all shades of festive cheer! Vomit, urine, WKD....

OK, I admit, the above is a bit cynical really because having managed to attend three Christmas "do's" on  two consecutive nights I can confirm that its still possible to have a decent night, at this time of year, even if few of the people you are sharing the occasion with are bothered about the fine drop. Thus .....

Friday I read with a heavy heart that our team Christmas do, which was otherwise admirable for featuring a scheduled five and a half hours of drinking prior to the meal, was to begin in Yates. Early considerations included - why would you drink in Yates whilst sober? In fact, why would you drink in Yates at all? Well, because not everyone is so mardy about ale as  I am and some people for reasons that I can't fathom like to dance and drink coloured shit with spirits in. And it pains me to admit that I probably should get over it. I still think starting at Yates is like having a kebab and then going out however...

In the end I only wandered in as the group were leaving so alas cannot report on the ale situation. Meanwhile, over the road is Lloyds Number One. I know its a Wetherspoons type of thing but it does sell real ale and so I was straight on to a couple of pints of Bradfield Belgian Blue. A seasonal favourite of mine, which makes me think I may be going soft, it was probably £3.00 a pint or something (I wasn't researching, although I concede this is no worse than my usual level of reportage) and went down very well.

Up next was Revolution De Cuba, whose high prices seemed to have kept the place tolerably busy, and whose drinks list kept the cocktail guzzlers happy. Beer wise they had Anchor Steam Ale in bottles so it wasn't all that bad. From here I switched do's and headed to meet Miss N in All Bar One. Granted they had Doom Bar on but I went for the Meantime Pilsner at £4.30 or similar instead. It had more hops in....

Members of Miss N's entourage wandered off to the Bessemer across the road, and against our better judgement we followed suit. Alas we missed the Moonshine but I had a half of Directors out of curiosity and Miss N a half of Hobgoblin from the remaining three beers. I'm not going to pretend its my kind of place but it sold real ale and people seemed to be happy. Not that I advocate such things, but if being happy is what they like then I suppose that's fine....

Off to DAda next, albeit having shaken off the do, and it was solid. I mean, I know the building is, but in a bar queuing sense. Here was my first wall of customers of the festive season. Luckily a pint of Thornbridge Christmas ale on Cask for Miss N and a pint of Chiron for me were purchased, and we found a space to have a chat before heading off once more in true Xmas do style.

The Three Tuns once again had some good Raw beers on and the lovely Dave behind the bar. Young Patrick was also in attendance and we stopped in there for a couple of pints of the Raw porter, which I think was Anubis but am unsure. It was bloody nice whatever it was. We ended the night at Shakespeares where we both had pints of late hopped Steel City All Hallowes which had hops in it and everything, and was also quite nice. And I definitely didn't fall asleep...

The next night we started at a rammed Sheffield Tap and were spoilt for choice. Pints in here were Hardknott Katalyst, a lower gravity extra hoppy pale, Buxton Rednik Stout (many) and the excellent Magic Rock Dark Arts (at least two). Understandably, despite queues in the heaving bar, I was reluctant to leave this beer utopia behind.

Yet we did as we headed for the Dove and Rainbow to see a friend's band play. The range is always a little underwhelming here but does usually feature at least one local beer with  hops in it - so I had a few pints of the Abbeydale Absolution in the three hours we were there. Not a regular haunt as I have noted before but I actually had to admit that it was far and away the least intolerable pub in terms of sheer overcrowding that I experienced over the two nights.

Our final stop was DAda once again where I laughed at signs on the walls and tables on the left stating "reserved from 19.00" for an area comprising six empty tables and with four people sat at one table. Mind you, it was nearly midnight. Here I had two pints from the promising new Burning Sky brewery based in the south. Aurora was an intensely bitter pale ale and probably only let down by the dryness of the bittering hops, whilst Plateau was also a beer, which I drank about 01.20. That serves as my excuse for having no memories more specific than "I liked it".

All of the above suggests that once you have attuned yourself to the sheer volume of punters and the real possibility but not guarantee of extreme twattishness, it is possible to have a pretty decent night out at Christmas. And in Sheffield at least, you can expect to find some decent real ales in the majority of the venues you visit.

Cheers!

Wee Beefy.

Other beers are available *

What-o!

                 all is looking good in the Beefy camp, since you ask, so much so in fact that I have ventured beyond the best pub in Yorkshire to other hostelries. With quite excellent results...

Sunday we ventured to Crookes to see a wall of horizontal water smash against us in a drenched descent to the Closed Shop. Tharrul learn us to visit the wilds of Crookes. It pains me to say, but in the interests of this being a blog not about the people's porter, that this was what we had - although in fairness we drained the cask. Miss N also had a pint of Enville Kasitra, a laudable attempt to produce a lower gravity hoppy beer that somewhat floundered, whilst I helped mop up the last of the Pilcrow.

Next up we stayed dark with a couple of pints of the Blue Bee Lustin for stout, before undertaking the arduous trek to the Hallamshire House. Here, after a few droughty visits with only the staple range to choose from, we were spoilt for choice! A 3rd each of the Heather Honey Stout, about which I was given an informative poster to make my write up more accurate in terms of details, yet which I haven't read, was an absurd £3.00, but incredibly tasty - almost a fruit cake taste predominated, like the honey had mellowed into the other ingredients. A memorable brew.

Also brilliant was the Thornbridge Kacho, a flavoursome and complex rum porter with a pleasing colour and a really smooth finish. If the Imperial Russian Stout hadn't been on Keykeg I think I may have tried that. And moaned about the price (which is out of the hands of the pub to an extent, given that the funding for the beer has to have been stolen from the infirm and disabled. Allegedly)

A wander down the hill brought us to the Rutland and pints of Blue Bee Pilcrow Porter were enjoyed once more. Good to see it still in bars around Sheffield, albeit briefly. A great end to a fab night of drinking.

Tuesday I was in All Bar One, for my sins. Eschewing the delights of cask Doom Bar and Black Sheep I ended up having a couple of expensive pints of the Meantime Pilsner on keg. Mind you, it was on cracking form.

Meanwhile DAda had the excellent Pollards Stout on at £3.00 a pint so I had a half of that and half of the ever excellent Halcyon before a trip to the Red Deer heralded a rare lengthy stay. Mind you, part of that length came from my chips being served to another table who, demonstrating a reprehensible lack of moral turpitude, claimed them for themselves, rather than confessing they hadn't ordered any. I agree with the idea of not having food take over but some form of receipt for the delivery of food may have stopped this, and prevented my waiting 50 minutes for something to eat. That said, the excellent Springhead The Leveller Belgian Ale on cask at £3.30 was well worth a go.

Final pints came at the Bath with Buxton Bitter the star of the show, despite the usually desirable attractions of an Oakham beer - a brace in fact. The Inferno was tried but it was wiped out in terms of taste by the admirable efforts of the Buxton.

Finally, a brief sup took place in Shakespeares tonight where the mostly admirable rejection of modern comforts became a pressing concern rather than a feature - put some chuffing heating on! The visit saw me and Dave Howard from the world of music both having a pint of Rat Dunkel Rat, which was possibly a bit too sharp, before I had an excellent pint of the Steel City 7% or something Black IPA that I didn't catch the name of (to be fair, Unpro was hardly forthcoming about its nomenclature**) and a brace of Great Newsome Jem Stout. The night was completed by a half of Pixie Spring Golden Pixie and Five Towns Yorker, from the cellar. The Pixie Spring was possibly the best of the beers listed, with the Buxton and Lustin a close second and third, if only because it (Golden Pixie) packed so much hoppy goodness into a sub 4% beer.

All in all a great demonstration of the variety of real ales available in Sheffield in a handful of venues. A pleasing geographical coincidence!

Cheers

Wee Beefy

*that said the Pilcrow, or "People's" porter from Blue Bee, went on sale at the Travelers Rest at Apperknowle Tuesday night....
*turns out it was Swansong at 7.5%, according to Facebook....

Pubs around Trippet Lane, and other news.

  
   Evening,

      I have, as suggested previously, found less time to write these tomes of late due mainly to stuff, not to mention things. In short I have been busy being out, but rarely to the pub. This is a sad but ultimately much cheaper predicament, which I hope will not continue for too long.

That said a couple of outings in the last of the warm weather over the last two weeks have dug up a bit of gen, and an opinion or two, which I will share below.

Firstly, I appear to have been drawn to spend much more time frightening off young folks by standing at the bar looking thoughtful, glaring, and opining on bibulous subjects at Dada. Its testimony to their care in the community credentials and good natured outlook that no-one has sought to politely dissuade me from frightening the more timid customers, either that or no-one has noticed. Either way Dada has been a friendly house to hang around in of late and I like that.

Its interesting based on my experience that the perceived atmosphere and theme, which I myself commented on a few times in the early days, continues to be a gripe with customers of a beery slant who might enjoy the ales. Beer people, whatever the hell that means (!?) seem to be of the opinion that it loses points for its lack of guest ale, and for having a theme, making it instantly pretentious and therefore unwelcoming.

l still think the the theme is obtuse, puzzling and misplaced, but having watched a mixture of confused, enthused, bamboozled, happy and suspicious customers come and go from the bar over the last 6 months I am certain that the warm welcome isn't in doubt. Admittedly its not traditional bar fly territory, since punters, mainly groups or couples, retire to the furthest corners (and more than two stood at either bit of bar is just impractical), but if you take the time to hang around and talk to the staff, I think you'll find the banter is good. Ergo, the atmosphere is good.

There are two regulars who go in on a Tuesday which is my default visiting day. I feel I should know them because I have seen them in the Dog and Partridge, Red Deer and Bath Hotel for as long  as I can remember. The above list of boozers has little in common with Dada so its testament to the qualities mentioned that they seem to be  as happy as me sitting at the bar and enjoying good conversation.

Beer recently spotted includes Thornbridge Kipling, Bradfield Stout and they have been having beers from Sheffield Brewery. There has also been some decent Keykeg choice, if such things float your boat, such as Nogne O barley wine, Magic Rock High Wire and on my last visit the excellent Schlenkerla Rauchbier. And for those unsure, Steph, Emily Jamie and James know their stuff when it comes to the beer. Its a shame their aren't more guest cask ales but I suspect this is out of their hands, thus more a blot on Thornbridge's copybook. If they could just sell less of my "sigh beers" Brother Rabbit and Sequoia, I'd find it hard to stay away.

Other pubs do exist of course and on a recent unexpected visit I found that the the Wig and Pen still sells real ale (and not a bad price). I say this because it was starting to get a bit grim and I wondered if the expensive tastes of their clientele might see it stop being sold. Admittedly it was only Wentworth, WPA and a Wentworth guest on Tuesday, but it means a drop of the real stuff can be found to accompany the food if you are there for snaffling.

Its interesting though that I am now in a position where I feel the need to say "only Wentworth". When it was launched and for years after it was reliable stuff with Oyster Stout, Gun Park Dark and WPA standing out. WPA used to have a big hop finish, lots of grainy dry bitterness that realy hit the spot. However, I don't think I've had a good Wentworth beer in years. WPA now tastes like a beer of 3.0% and more malty, with almost no hoppy bite in the finish. Is this a case of familiarity breeds contempt or have they changed the recipes?  Either way its a groan beer  Which is a shame.

Talking of not exactly renowned venues for real ale, I was in All Bar One (not by choice) the other day and noted they once again only had 1 real ale on. I get the feeling two is unsustainable. This time it was Black Sheep, and to be honest its difficult to decide which is the more average of the two offered across their estate (the other being Doom Bar) - perhaps the Sheep edges it for being independent. And, even having said all that, contrary as I am, I didn't even try the real ale!

 Instead I had a pint of Rothaus wheat beer, and was quietly amused by the barmaid telling me when I asked for a drop more that the line was a pint - I could see the beer was well below and after my top up it settled just on, meaning my request was perfectly judged. The thing is, the line is on my side only, so how would she have known it was already at the line? I've moved on now though....

In developing news, as I think I mentioned previously, the Dog and Partridge finally closed in July but to continue my Kevin Keegan-esque predictive talents, is now set to reopen under the management or potentially ownership (a bit fact light I'm afraid this particular segment) of those running the Sportsman in town. I hear they intend that the venue will operate along similar lines,and they are hoping to sell good value beers. I couldn't be sure if it was open when I went past earlier in the week, so will update you when I know more.

Finally, this weekend (23rd to 26th August in fact) sees Potfest held at the Flowerpot at Derby. The idea of a beer festival at the Flowerpot is a bit like a sand festival at a beach, since there;s always a festival sized selection of beers at any given time. Expect an emphasis on the excellent Black Iris brewery output and guests from Yorkshire and Lancashire, and also perhaps the sight of a lesser spotted blogger or two. Well worth a visit.

Thats all I have for now, hopefully the last week of the month will herald some further beer adventures.

Wee Beefy.

News from sheffield and west yorkshire pubs

Hello,

    during the (literally and metaphorically ) foggy days of the Christmas break, I did manage to to visit a few pubs that i don't usually do, and some new ones, so here is a quick run down.

Between Christmas and new year me and Wee Keefy went out for a drive between Barnsley and Penistone, coming off the M1 at Darton. We were soon out into countryside heading for a very British experience, going for a drive and then a a walk in dense fog, and visiting a pub renowned for its views.

The Cherry Tree at High Hoyland has been in the GBG for a good few years now ( possibly not 2011 ) and is a traditional long stone building, which, i am assured, affords spectacular views to the visitor. Alas, the fog put paid to that idea, but I was feeling good about my choice when I saw a chalkboard sign outside advertising a husband creche. Inside is a long bar and 3 different areas, the end two being intended, I think for diners.

The beer was Black Sheep and something Greedy King based, and possibly another national. Much is made in the last 2 beer guides about the Eastwood and Sanders beers, which, from personal experience, i can confirm are excellent. There didn't look much chance of a guest beer though so opted for the Sheep, which was a well kept if uninspiring choice.

In keeping with the British theme, we were able to witness some archetypal British service when a customer rang requiring a table for 20 or so for that afternoon. The lady at the bar was very helpful and went to chck the bookings in what is a notoriously quiet period after Christmas, but the bloke at the bar, who i wished for the pub's sake was a customer but later it seemed more like he worked there, chuntered loudly about the potential customers lack of planning and called them wankers. When the lady returned it seemed that was not heard by the customer on the phone, but that is a miracle. The grumpy bloke carried on complaining after she had finished the conversation, which gave the bar person chance to say just how few customers they had of late, and to suggest that it was customers that helped him get paid. We left thinking that this wouldn't happen in other places in Europe, where thy appreciate the custom and sometimes the company of visits, and do not share our bizarre mind set of customers being an inconvenience that keeps us away from doing what we love.

Anyway, we headed on through the soup and into West Yorkshire and the village of Emley. The fog was so thick here that even when we found the White Horse you almost couldn't see it through the mists. Inside there were about 8 ales on the bar as you enter and a long room with a real fire and a large tastefully decorated Christmas tree, with another room off and one at the end.

We had the Ossett Christmas beer and a strong stout from Fernandes and another porter, which I think was from Ossett. Adding friendly and helpful staff and customers meant we would, with hindsight, have come straight here. A must return to pub I reckon.

Next we headed for Ingbirchworth and the reservoir, where we had our walk in the fog. The dense plumes on the frozen reservoir made an eerie and surprisingly photogenic subject and it was an enjoyable if brief couple of miles round and back to the car. From here we headed to Victoria - by accident, and the pub wasn't open anyway - before making our way to flouch and on to the Dog and Partridge at Hazelhead.

 Inside this very large roadside inn is a comparatively small old wooden bar, with 4 handpumps dispensing Barnsley bittier ( which I had ) a regional and a Robinsons guest - Wee Keefy had a hot drink since he was driving. There is also an enormous fireplace with a fire roaring away, although you probably have to queue to get a seat at the table nearest to it. For all its old world features there's no escaping that this is a food orientated pub, but it was a decent pint of Acorn nonetheless, and a nice change.
Sheffield

Back to Sheffield news, and in January I visited the Sportsman at Lodge moor, heading out to Redmires. I was meeting for a family meal, and this too is a pub that makes a lot of its money and attracts a lot of its patrons from food. The Sunday lunch comes highly recommended ( not stingy with the meat ) and there are two real ales, tetley and Landlord. I had a few pints of the landlord which was nice, but the price is steep - £3.20 a pint (if my maths is right) making it nearer to town prices.

The thing is though, the pub is always full when I have been in the last 4 times, and I'd rather have sensibly priced food with two albeit standard expensive real ales, than expensive food and nothing to sup.

My final news is of them what er in town. To my surprise, the other night All bar One was selling real ale with two somewhat overly modern handpumps in evidence, Black Sheep and Sharps Doom Bar being on offer, not sure of the price. This is supplemented with some excellent continental draught beers such as Rothaus wheat beer and Paulaner lager from Germany, and Sierra Nevada from the U.S, a fine strong hoppy pale ale ( which is orange in colour, but will let them off ) which packs in a huge amount of flavour. Granted its not everyones idea of a pub, and it can be pricey, but its still a positive development to see cask available.

Round on Trippets lane, the Trippets wine bar (above) is open as a pub, with predominantly Thornbridge and Kelham beers on, but all locally brewed. We go in fairly regularly, probably once a fortnight, and the picture above us from our anniversary drinks back in October last year.

Over the road, the Grapes, for decades a music pub with a strangely ultra traditional interior, has always had a Flynns sign on the side. It turns out the Flynns own the Grapes but leased it, as well as the Dog and Partridge. The Grapes now has a traditional carpeted interior and, alas, no pool table, but one piece of excellent news is that they have reopened the snug bar on the left. I admit that regulars of the Grapes who went for the music are likely to be bewildered and disappointed by what is quite a big change, but the bigger impact appears to be on the dog and partridge.

Visiting the other night was like stepping into an empty house, with almost nobody in, only Tetley on the bar ( I know it was never renowned for real ale but usually had some Abbeydale on, which has been retained at the Grapes ) and absolutely no atmosphere. Hopefully this won't see the decline of this great old building, with its fantastic and unusual back snug, and the small room on the left. I will certainly go to the dog and partridge again to see how it is going, but I can't overemphasise the change. So overall positive real ale news and some new pubs that i have tried. I will update again soon on South Derbyshire and elsewhere.

Wee Beefy.