Hellall,
not yesterday, as am always a week behind, but the first Friday in August, I arranged to meet Christingpher at the Portland House on Ecclesall Road. Given that he had never been there, and we hadn't seen each other for five months, he agreed. I left my appointment nearby around 14.00 and having been unable to find any opening times was surprised to see C standing uncomfortably outside the closed pub. Christingpher still hasn't been to the Portland House. Does anybody know if its still open?
We headed instead to the Ecclesall Ale Club and found Dylan behind the bar, and soon had a pint and a half of Bad Seed Juice Box on keg. I had thought of trying the Burnt Mill beer but was offered a taste of the Bad Seed and it was a perfect juicy IPA. I sat outside with C supping and chatting before he decided to head off after a half - he was driving.
My next stop was the Garden Room, which was offering a beer called Cheers at £2.00 a pint. It was a keg pale and brewed by Thwaites. It was a decent drop, and between 17 and 19.00 they have cask on at £2.50 a pint, this time including Jaipur. Alas I couldn't stay around but may pop back. I like the Garden Room, in a weird way. Its like a Brit owned Spanish bar in Yorkshire. If they don't do roast beef and Yorkie puds I will be very disappointed.
The Beer Engine came next and the pub is currently being managed by the Man of Ash. As always there was an excellent range of beers, and I had halves of BBno's session IPA and a sour, which was also brewed at a brewery. I also had a small plate to put me on til later. It was ham and manchego and Dijon mustard potato croquettas. They were fab.
A rarer stop for me next at the Clubhouse. Having ordered a tasty pale ale I was disappointed to find a five pound limit on the card machine, but stumped together over £3.00 in loose change and got the pint a little cheaper. I did think about having more snap but was conscious of time as I was headed for my second home. The beer was well kept and refreshing.
I walked to the Railway on Bramall Lane next. I may only ever have been in winter because this was the first time I had sat in their beer garden. A pint of pale cask was accompanied by a pint of Abbeydale Heathen on keg, and some snacks. A fine stop once again. I did hope to visit the Cricketers, but it was closed, and have been told by those in the know that he only opens matchdays now.
A wander onwards found me at the Lord Nelson, also a first visit for some time. I had a pint of pale ale on cask which was served in a glass, and which entered my throat through my mouth. Am just trying to provide an absurf and unnecessary level of detail in order to pretend that I have clear memories of this event. The beer was very nice as always, and I paid on card.
From here I walked to Shakespeares where I finished on other glass housed liquids. As I was too poorly organised to take any photos am not sure what I had but Friendache tells me it was Boon Kriek. So that will have been a pint then. Evidence of photos in my garden the next day also tells me that I got home, which is where I continue to live. This also what I mostly managed to achieve on Saturday and Sunday...
Its always nice to revisit pubs that one hasn't been to for some time, and with such a massive range of good quality boozers here in Sheffield that is often the case. A big three cheers to all the pubs visited for the continuing efforts to water and feed the thirsty drinkers of Sheffield.
Huzaah!
Wee Beefy
Showing posts with label Beer Engine Sheffield. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Beer Engine Sheffield. Show all posts
Saturday, 11 August 2018
Sunday, 11 September 2016
Sheffield beer survey crawl, 03 September 2016
Hellall,
I promised young Matty that I would accompany him, as young members secretary, on his part of the survey of the Sheffield pubs selling real ales on a particular day. The crawl is (mostly) chosen by CAMRA and is designed to reflect the largest number of pubs selling real ales, or rather the smallest selling the most, for the Beer Capital Survey.
Being the Young member's secretary Matty decided to rashly ignore my sage advice on how to get to the first pub, the Cross Scythes on Derbyshire Lane. He caught the 20, and the driver said he would tell him where to get off. Numerous stops later, when Matty asked, the driver said he had forgot about him and told him how to get back to where the short walk started. Matty arrived half an hour late. Luckily, the bar staff confirmed he was their first customer.
Being so late I arrived only 5 minutes after he had left - I had planned to meet him at the Abbey on Woodseats but instead hared up to the pub to have a very quick half of Thornbridge Clerks Well, an excellent hoppy pale at about 6%, one of the beers of the day, then nipped out to catch the bus up to the next pub which Matty was already at.
The Mount Pleasant Inn front door was closed but I knew to get in round the back. The pub is currently being run by Gwyneth, landlord Stuart's daughter, and her husband. Sadly Stuart passed away at the end of June and they have only been running the pub for three or four weeks. From the ales on offer me and Matty both had halves of the Adnams Samba City, a clear wheat beer brewed to celebrate the Olympics - its refreshing and very easy drinking. Lets hope the pub continues to be a successful community hub.
Down Cobnar Lane next in torrential rain, we arrived at the Abbey. Before we got there, there were more staff than customers (6 vs 5) and the pub was very quiet. We both had halves of the Moonshine from a range of two - the range of four if the others had been on however, hadn't changed since they reopened. As we chatted a staff member spotted a small rogue crumb on the table next to us and raced over to swipe it from the tabletop. He then went to clean a clean door. I know it was crap weather and mid afternoon on a day with no home matches but this doesn't bode well.
Off to the Woodseats Palace next, my first ever trip. Unless it used to be Kwik Save....I had a half of O Hanlons Yellowhammer and Matty Burton Bridge Top Dog Stout and we settled down to chat and plan the rest of our crawl. Both beers were well kept and possibly cost £2.60 a pint.
Down to Heeley next through the torrential downpour, and we ended up at the Crown Inn. Now refurbished it sells four real ales at a decent price. I had a half of something hoppy, Hop Gun which may have been from Everards, and Matt a half of the Lost Boot from Charles Wells. We dried off here and chatted to the landlady, who very kindly gave us a bag for Matty's notes. By now the rain was heavier still.
Just up the road is the White Lion and in here Matty had a half of Abduction from Dancing Duck and a half of something else, whilst I had a pint of Hopjacker's Vics secret. All the beers in here, apart from Tetleys, were £3.15 a pint, which is very good value for the stronger ones. We sat in the lovely front bar snug and I asked Dave to share updates from me with the beer crawl page, as we were, and remained, the only two persons on the CAMRA beer crawl. And I am not a CAMRA member.
Up the hill to the Brothers next and we had pints of cask and halves of keg. Regrettably the identity of the cask beers has slipped my mind (it was strong) but I recall having the excellent Rango Mango from Abbeydale on keg and loving it. The pub was busy inside what with the weather but was a great place to stop, and Matty chatted with the bar staff about upcoming beers.
Down the hill again, to the Sheaf View, where we had halves of cask which may have been the Neepsend pale ale, but also may not have been. We sat in the back and worked out our route to the next pub whilst enjoying the ales.
Its a short trek from here to the Hop Hideout - and it had virtually stopped raining. We bumped into Andy C outside (with 3 accompanying folk) and tried to ascertain where they had been and were going - we found out we did not need to visit the Broadfield. At the Hop Hideout Jules and Will were on hand to dispense two excellent halves of sour on keg - a 7.2% one possibly from Lervig Brewery, and the excellent 6.2% Oud Beersel Gueze were sampled. An excellent and palette cleansing visit.
Up the road next to the Union, a pub I have not been in for ages, and Matty may never have been. Halves of Moonshine I think in here, mainly because the Taylors was about £3.60 a pint (and the recently run out Absolution was £3.80!?). Its a lovely, if pricey place to stop, but we needed to head for London Road.
We followed the 22 route and turned down past the new Tescos and came out more or less opposite the Cremorne. Here we both halves of the excellent Alchemist from Pictish, and shared a half of Last Rites from Abbeydale on keg. As this was nearly our last pub we downed our quarters before we left, for reasons absolutely unclear. Our penultimate pub was to have been the Club House, but we popped into the Albion anyway. They had one beer on, probably Farmers Blonde, which we supped quickly.
At the Clubhouse at the end of London Road we had halves each of the Clubhouse Pale and I had something pale from somewhere. We met up with Wee Keefy and he joined us for a half before we headed to the Beer Engine, our last pub.
The pub was busy but alas we missed the food, so both had pints of the 7%+ Wild keeper of the peace pale ale on keg as a finisher, and chatted before being joined by Em R. My memories appear to fade in here a little, no doubt unrelated to my having another pint. After this we all went to the Bath Hotel, where I can't remember what we had to drink at all, before they went to the Dev cat and I finished at Shakespeares on two halves of the excellent De Molen beers from the Tap Takeover. One was the strong beer possibly called heaven and hell and over 10%, and the other was the Amarillo pale ale at 7%. At about midnight I announced I was sober enough to catch the bus home, and got on and fell asleep, waking at Woodhouse. The things I do for beer....
This was a highly enjoyable crawl, in atrocious weather conditions to start with, but it was strange to me that nobody joined us - although, Matty didn't have any charge on his phone so maybe that's why he couldn't update the young or other members, but am sure the event is well known in CAMRA circles. I was assured that nobody joined Patrick on his crawl and other people did their tours solo, but that just suggests that the Beer Capital of Britain is a crown that Sheffield CAMRA doesn't want. Combined with Sheffield council's woeful dis-interest in Sheffield's claims to be the best place to drink real ale in the UK it is clear that Sheffield is missing a trick.
Its important to point out that I have already discussed the above with David, AKA Kate, the Sheffield CAMRA wallah. So bear in mind that my concerns have already been lodged.
A shame, but nonetheless a hugely enjoyable crawl.
Hic!
Wee Beefy
I promised young Matty that I would accompany him, as young members secretary, on his part of the survey of the Sheffield pubs selling real ales on a particular day. The crawl is (mostly) chosen by CAMRA and is designed to reflect the largest number of pubs selling real ales, or rather the smallest selling the most, for the Beer Capital Survey.
Being the Young member's secretary Matty decided to rashly ignore my sage advice on how to get to the first pub, the Cross Scythes on Derbyshire Lane. He caught the 20, and the driver said he would tell him where to get off. Numerous stops later, when Matty asked, the driver said he had forgot about him and told him how to get back to where the short walk started. Matty arrived half an hour late. Luckily, the bar staff confirmed he was their first customer.
Being so late I arrived only 5 minutes after he had left - I had planned to meet him at the Abbey on Woodseats but instead hared up to the pub to have a very quick half of Thornbridge Clerks Well, an excellent hoppy pale at about 6%, one of the beers of the day, then nipped out to catch the bus up to the next pub which Matty was already at.
The Mount Pleasant Inn front door was closed but I knew to get in round the back. The pub is currently being run by Gwyneth, landlord Stuart's daughter, and her husband. Sadly Stuart passed away at the end of June and they have only been running the pub for three or four weeks. From the ales on offer me and Matty both had halves of the Adnams Samba City, a clear wheat beer brewed to celebrate the Olympics - its refreshing and very easy drinking. Lets hope the pub continues to be a successful community hub.
Down Cobnar Lane next in torrential rain, we arrived at the Abbey. Before we got there, there were more staff than customers (6 vs 5) and the pub was very quiet. We both had halves of the Moonshine from a range of two - the range of four if the others had been on however, hadn't changed since they reopened. As we chatted a staff member spotted a small rogue crumb on the table next to us and raced over to swipe it from the tabletop. He then went to clean a clean door. I know it was crap weather and mid afternoon on a day with no home matches but this doesn't bode well.
Off to the Woodseats Palace next, my first ever trip. Unless it used to be Kwik Save....I had a half of O Hanlons Yellowhammer and Matty Burton Bridge Top Dog Stout and we settled down to chat and plan the rest of our crawl. Both beers were well kept and possibly cost £2.60 a pint.
Down to Heeley next through the torrential downpour, and we ended up at the Crown Inn. Now refurbished it sells four real ales at a decent price. I had a half of something hoppy, Hop Gun which may have been from Everards, and Matt a half of the Lost Boot from Charles Wells. We dried off here and chatted to the landlady, who very kindly gave us a bag for Matty's notes. By now the rain was heavier still.
Just up the road is the White Lion and in here Matty had a half of Abduction from Dancing Duck and a half of something else, whilst I had a pint of Hopjacker's Vics secret. All the beers in here, apart from Tetleys, were £3.15 a pint, which is very good value for the stronger ones. We sat in the lovely front bar snug and I asked Dave to share updates from me with the beer crawl page, as we were, and remained, the only two persons on the CAMRA beer crawl. And I am not a CAMRA member.
Up the hill to the Brothers next and we had pints of cask and halves of keg. Regrettably the identity of the cask beers has slipped my mind (it was strong) but I recall having the excellent Rango Mango from Abbeydale on keg and loving it. The pub was busy inside what with the weather but was a great place to stop, and Matty chatted with the bar staff about upcoming beers.
Down the hill again, to the Sheaf View, where we had halves of cask which may have been the Neepsend pale ale, but also may not have been. We sat in the back and worked out our route to the next pub whilst enjoying the ales.
Its a short trek from here to the Hop Hideout - and it had virtually stopped raining. We bumped into Andy C outside (with 3 accompanying folk) and tried to ascertain where they had been and were going - we found out we did not need to visit the Broadfield. At the Hop Hideout Jules and Will were on hand to dispense two excellent halves of sour on keg - a 7.2% one possibly from Lervig Brewery, and the excellent 6.2% Oud Beersel Gueze were sampled. An excellent and palette cleansing visit.
Up the road next to the Union, a pub I have not been in for ages, and Matty may never have been. Halves of Moonshine I think in here, mainly because the Taylors was about £3.60 a pint (and the recently run out Absolution was £3.80!?). Its a lovely, if pricey place to stop, but we needed to head for London Road.
We followed the 22 route and turned down past the new Tescos and came out more or less opposite the Cremorne. Here we both halves of the excellent Alchemist from Pictish, and shared a half of Last Rites from Abbeydale on keg. As this was nearly our last pub we downed our quarters before we left, for reasons absolutely unclear. Our penultimate pub was to have been the Club House, but we popped into the Albion anyway. They had one beer on, probably Farmers Blonde, which we supped quickly.
At the Clubhouse at the end of London Road we had halves each of the Clubhouse Pale and I had something pale from somewhere. We met up with Wee Keefy and he joined us for a half before we headed to the Beer Engine, our last pub.
The pub was busy but alas we missed the food, so both had pints of the 7%+ Wild keeper of the peace pale ale on keg as a finisher, and chatted before being joined by Em R. My memories appear to fade in here a little, no doubt unrelated to my having another pint. After this we all went to the Bath Hotel, where I can't remember what we had to drink at all, before they went to the Dev cat and I finished at Shakespeares on two halves of the excellent De Molen beers from the Tap Takeover. One was the strong beer possibly called heaven and hell and over 10%, and the other was the Amarillo pale ale at 7%. At about midnight I announced I was sober enough to catch the bus home, and got on and fell asleep, waking at Woodhouse. The things I do for beer....
This was a highly enjoyable crawl, in atrocious weather conditions to start with, but it was strange to me that nobody joined us - although, Matty didn't have any charge on his phone so maybe that's why he couldn't update the young or other members, but am sure the event is well known in CAMRA circles. I was assured that nobody joined Patrick on his crawl and other people did their tours solo, but that just suggests that the Beer Capital of Britain is a crown that Sheffield CAMRA doesn't want. Combined with Sheffield council's woeful dis-interest in Sheffield's claims to be the best place to drink real ale in the UK it is clear that Sheffield is missing a trick.
Its important to point out that I have already discussed the above with David, AKA Kate, the Sheffield CAMRA wallah. So bear in mind that my concerns have already been lodged.
Hic!
Wee Beefy
Saturday, 20 August 2016
The Beer Engine is the best pub in Sheffield this month
Hello readers,
the Beer Engine at the bottom of Cemetery Road round the back of Waitrose, in Sheffield, is the Pub of the Month for August. And, might I say, rightly so. I had been going in more regularly of late after a lull and was overjoyed to drink the amazing Fyne Ales Ragnarok Imperial Jarl, among other highlights, in the last month. So when I found out that Camra had recognised their achievements and awarded them pub of the month, and after finally catching up with Tom and hearing what he had lined up, I couldn't wait for Tuesday night.
Tom made it clear that the award should be presented to his staff - the bar and cellar manager, who have names, one of which begins with L, were therefore the recipients of the award, mainly to reflect their hard work running and stocking the pub, whose beer range continues to improve and impress.
I started the evening on the Wylam Jakehead IPA at 6.3% on keg. It was lovely and hoppy, but also well balanced, and only a percent above my usual starting strength. I saw Rich and Kath and me and Matty sat with them and Richard, AKA Martin, or Dave Pickersgill. Am assuming he found this misrememberance amusing. I hope for his sake he does! Soon Tom came out with his kitchen garb on and asked when the other CAMRA members were turning up - more on that later. He went to get changed, and Myself and Matty got more beers and the excellent food was served.
Five types of pinchos on five large platters were placed on the bar, and on Tom's advice I tried the anchovy and green chilli one with the amazing Cloudwater DIPA6 - an excellent food and beer pairing. Myself and Matty had a couple, I think, and I also tried a third of the Redrum from To Ol, a red ale at 10% matured over rum barrel chips. It was amazing, and Matty tried some of the cask including the one from Sonnet 43 which was on excellent form. I also tried the Baltic, a pineapple and passion fruit sour which was incredibly refreshing - and a fantastic looking beer in the glass. The pinchos were fantastic, especially the chorizo one and the cheese with what seemed like perfect squares of pickle, and the tangy anchovies.
Well done to the team at the Beer Engine for putting on such an amazing spread, and continuing to source such excellent ales. It just goes to show what brilliant food can be served with what is a very diverse range of beer styles.
I have to say however, that a big let down was Camra. I don't claim to recognise all of them but at the time of the award there were probably only 5 members there, including Matty. The do had also been rearranged for that night as the chairman was at the GBBF the week before, and now she was on holiday. Nobody had agreed who would present the award - this job went to Andy Cullen, who didn't therefore have time to prepare a speech specific to the pub, and despite there being numerous regulars there, there was way too much food, prepared with skill and love by the catering staff for the event, and specifically for the Camra members to enjoy.
I talked to Tom after he took the chef home and I am sure he won't mind me telling you how disappointed, annoyed and let down he was by this. This suggests to me that CAMRA had the vote for the pub of the month and many voted for the Beer Engine, but those who did so didn't bother to turn up, and the rest stayed away. What kind of message does that give out? I realise people are busy but this poor turn out undermined what should have been a richly deserved award for the pub.
Anyway, luckily that didn't ruin the excellent food and wonderful beers we tried, and we finished the night sat in the beer garden trying the Northern Monk marmalade beer, alas the name of which now escapes me, and finishing the excellent Cloudwater DIPA6.
With my very best wishes to all at the Beer Engine for the event, and hoping to see you all again soon. Well bloody done the lot of you - take this as recognition of your continuing hard work at the pub.
Cheers
Wee Beefy
the Beer Engine at the bottom of Cemetery Road round the back of Waitrose, in Sheffield, is the Pub of the Month for August. And, might I say, rightly so. I had been going in more regularly of late after a lull and was overjoyed to drink the amazing Fyne Ales Ragnarok Imperial Jarl, among other highlights, in the last month. So when I found out that Camra had recognised their achievements and awarded them pub of the month, and after finally catching up with Tom and hearing what he had lined up, I couldn't wait for Tuesday night.
Tom made it clear that the award should be presented to his staff - the bar and cellar manager, who have names, one of which begins with L, were therefore the recipients of the award, mainly to reflect their hard work running and stocking the pub, whose beer range continues to improve and impress.
I started the evening on the Wylam Jakehead IPA at 6.3% on keg. It was lovely and hoppy, but also well balanced, and only a percent above my usual starting strength. I saw Rich and Kath and me and Matty sat with them and Richard, AKA Martin, or Dave Pickersgill. Am assuming he found this misrememberance amusing. I hope for his sake he does! Soon Tom came out with his kitchen garb on and asked when the other CAMRA members were turning up - more on that later. He went to get changed, and Myself and Matty got more beers and the excellent food was served.
Five types of pinchos on five large platters were placed on the bar, and on Tom's advice I tried the anchovy and green chilli one with the amazing Cloudwater DIPA6 - an excellent food and beer pairing. Myself and Matty had a couple, I think, and I also tried a third of the Redrum from To Ol, a red ale at 10% matured over rum barrel chips. It was amazing, and Matty tried some of the cask including the one from Sonnet 43 which was on excellent form. I also tried the Baltic, a pineapple and passion fruit sour which was incredibly refreshing - and a fantastic looking beer in the glass. The pinchos were fantastic, especially the chorizo one and the cheese with what seemed like perfect squares of pickle, and the tangy anchovies.
Well done to the team at the Beer Engine for putting on such an amazing spread, and continuing to source such excellent ales. It just goes to show what brilliant food can be served with what is a very diverse range of beer styles.
I have to say however, that a big let down was Camra. I don't claim to recognise all of them but at the time of the award there were probably only 5 members there, including Matty. The do had also been rearranged for that night as the chairman was at the GBBF the week before, and now she was on holiday. Nobody had agreed who would present the award - this job went to Andy Cullen, who didn't therefore have time to prepare a speech specific to the pub, and despite there being numerous regulars there, there was way too much food, prepared with skill and love by the catering staff for the event, and specifically for the Camra members to enjoy.
I talked to Tom after he took the chef home and I am sure he won't mind me telling you how disappointed, annoyed and let down he was by this. This suggests to me that CAMRA had the vote for the pub of the month and many voted for the Beer Engine, but those who did so didn't bother to turn up, and the rest stayed away. What kind of message does that give out? I realise people are busy but this poor turn out undermined what should have been a richly deserved award for the pub.
Anyway, luckily that didn't ruin the excellent food and wonderful beers we tried, and we finished the night sat in the beer garden trying the Northern Monk marmalade beer, alas the name of which now escapes me, and finishing the excellent Cloudwater DIPA6.
With my very best wishes to all at the Beer Engine for the event, and hoping to see you all again soon. Well bloody done the lot of you - take this as recognition of your continuing hard work at the pub.
Cheers
Wee Beefy
Tuesday, 12 April 2016
Where has all the money gone?
Hello,
the above title is an oft used question. Industries and places and organisations and individuals have been, for years, uttering the above. It really is a puzzle - where has the money gone? In this case, despite hinting at some resonance of journalistic endeavour, the person posing this questions is myself, specifically about my funds. Intuitive, indeed regular readers, may therefore be able to quickly surmise where, in fact, my money has gone. Its gone to the bloody pub, that's where. I am keeping the beer and pub industry alive it seems. What a good bibulanthropist I am...
Since this is a blog about beer, oft remembered, oft forgotten and guessed at, sometimes made up, I thought I would provide a few details of how I reached this stage of having no money so early in the month. Yes there were bills, birthdays and saving up for holidays. And there was also.....
Shakespeares. Gawd luvvum, always providing the drinker with an excellent range of real ales, kegs and bottles. Some of their recent offerings have included the Devil Made me Brew It, a rather excellent stout brewed by the lads at Arbor. There have been a few single hopped pale ales as well, including, possibly, Mosaic, and the excellent Fyne Ales Superior IPA at 6.9% or similar. We had a number of pints of this, and it were lovely. They also sold the excellent Hyperion IPA from Lost Industry on keg at 8%. An ideal starter for me.
On Saturday I visited friends Chris, Kelly, or another female name with an E in it, sorry....and their baby. I met them in Spoons and we wandered together down to the Harlequin. Only to be told at 15.05 as I was ordering our beers that they couldn't have kids in after 15.00. This seems surprisingly early, although I am biased since its my friend's sprog and its the quietest bairn ever. So we upped sticks and went to Shakespeares, who have no such issues. As I popped in to ask if this was OK, Chris Wozzurth was pointing at a pump clip. I told him I couldn't read it but said I would have some when I came back. Minutes later, I had bought myself and Tash a pint. Each. Of Cloudwater DIPA V3 at 9.0%. Being my Brothers birthday do later that night, I wasn't, of course, drinking.....
Another pint soon followed of the magic orange liquid, half for Tash, before I went home to eat. The marvelous, hoppy, mellow-malted, yellow-orange cloudy ale was a delight. Later me and Tash headed up to the Ball on Crookes where I was on Tapped Brew Co Mojo all night to celebrate Wee Keefy's birthday - there were a couple of other beers that I might have tried but the Mojo was probably the best bet, not least having had two 9% pints earlier.
I returned to Shakespeares the next day for the last pint of the Cloudwater, which I shared with Fluff and his Dad, before popping to the KIT and then returning again, later to be blown away once more. The replacement for the Cloudwater was Kernel four hop IPA, a 7.0% beer which featured Ella, Chinook, Citra and Centennial hops and was fantastic. Probably the tastiest, easiest drinking and most well balanced hoppy IPA I have ever had. Congratulations once again to Shakespeares for their beer range and quality.
The Saturday before we met for a meal in the Ball and had a rather disappointing pint of Treboom Hop Britannia. I had really enjoyed it at the Hillsborough Hotel previously but this was not as good alas. Afterwards we headed down to the Walkley Beer Co. They had Cromarty Happy Chappy on cask plus another and Beavertown Blood Orange IPA and Burning Sky Saison Pertemps on keg. The saison was £4.20 a pint and the Bloody Ell IPA was £5.20 a pint at 6.9%. This was on fine form and was a delight to drink, so much so that I had two pints. It was good as well to catch up with Scott and Sarah, and of course to sup saison and IPA in the WBC.
Afterwards we headed into town and went to the Beer Engine's first birthday. A day late. I convinced myself, despite seeing the ad on Facebook, that it couldn't be on April Fools day. More "fool" me (!) as we turned up with the staff suffering, um, exhaustion, and no DJ set. Luckily, there was a pint of Cloudwater Hopfenweiss on keg to have along with a delicious pale on cask which was Moor Empire Pale Ale. This, as was the weiss, was on top form. Tash then had a pint of the Empire and I, foolishly or courageously, ordered a pint of Evil Twin Yin Imperial Stout at god knows what strength (its actually 10% according to their website ).
It was pricey, being Danish, and strong, at £9.00 a go. And I was told I was the first person to buy an entire pint. I can see why, except, I can also fully agree with my reasons for, and the amount I enjoyed, drinking it. This was such a perfectly balanced imperial stout which did not taste its strength. Sorry to have missed the birthday party kids - I will be there for next years though. And, um, of course, ...before.
So, there it is. The questions is answered. Where has all the money gone is explained to a large extent by the above. And I enjoyed every last bloody drop of it.
Huzzar!
Wee Beefy
the above title is an oft used question. Industries and places and organisations and individuals have been, for years, uttering the above. It really is a puzzle - where has the money gone? In this case, despite hinting at some resonance of journalistic endeavour, the person posing this questions is myself, specifically about my funds. Intuitive, indeed regular readers, may therefore be able to quickly surmise where, in fact, my money has gone. Its gone to the bloody pub, that's where. I am keeping the beer and pub industry alive it seems. What a good bibulanthropist I am...
Since this is a blog about beer, oft remembered, oft forgotten and guessed at, sometimes made up, I thought I would provide a few details of how I reached this stage of having no money so early in the month. Yes there were bills, birthdays and saving up for holidays. And there was also.....
Shakespeares. Gawd luvvum, always providing the drinker with an excellent range of real ales, kegs and bottles. Some of their recent offerings have included the Devil Made me Brew It, a rather excellent stout brewed by the lads at Arbor. There have been a few single hopped pale ales as well, including, possibly, Mosaic, and the excellent Fyne Ales Superior IPA at 6.9% or similar. We had a number of pints of this, and it were lovely. They also sold the excellent Hyperion IPA from Lost Industry on keg at 8%. An ideal starter for me.
On Saturday I visited friends Chris, Kelly, or another female name with an E in it, sorry....and their baby. I met them in Spoons and we wandered together down to the Harlequin. Only to be told at 15.05 as I was ordering our beers that they couldn't have kids in after 15.00. This seems surprisingly early, although I am biased since its my friend's sprog and its the quietest bairn ever. So we upped sticks and went to Shakespeares, who have no such issues. As I popped in to ask if this was OK, Chris Wozzurth was pointing at a pump clip. I told him I couldn't read it but said I would have some when I came back. Minutes later, I had bought myself and Tash a pint. Each. Of Cloudwater DIPA V3 at 9.0%. Being my Brothers birthday do later that night, I wasn't, of course, drinking.....
Another pint soon followed of the magic orange liquid, half for Tash, before I went home to eat. The marvelous, hoppy, mellow-malted, yellow-orange cloudy ale was a delight. Later me and Tash headed up to the Ball on Crookes where I was on Tapped Brew Co Mojo all night to celebrate Wee Keefy's birthday - there were a couple of other beers that I might have tried but the Mojo was probably the best bet, not least having had two 9% pints earlier.
I returned to Shakespeares the next day for the last pint of the Cloudwater, which I shared with Fluff and his Dad, before popping to the KIT and then returning again, later to be blown away once more. The replacement for the Cloudwater was Kernel four hop IPA, a 7.0% beer which featured Ella, Chinook, Citra and Centennial hops and was fantastic. Probably the tastiest, easiest drinking and most well balanced hoppy IPA I have ever had. Congratulations once again to Shakespeares for their beer range and quality.
The Saturday before we met for a meal in the Ball and had a rather disappointing pint of Treboom Hop Britannia. I had really enjoyed it at the Hillsborough Hotel previously but this was not as good alas. Afterwards we headed down to the Walkley Beer Co. They had Cromarty Happy Chappy on cask plus another and Beavertown Blood Orange IPA and Burning Sky Saison Pertemps on keg. The saison was £4.20 a pint and the Bloody Ell IPA was £5.20 a pint at 6.9%. This was on fine form and was a delight to drink, so much so that I had two pints. It was good as well to catch up with Scott and Sarah, and of course to sup saison and IPA in the WBC.
Afterwards we headed into town and went to the Beer Engine's first birthday. A day late. I convinced myself, despite seeing the ad on Facebook, that it couldn't be on April Fools day. More "fool" me (!) as we turned up with the staff suffering, um, exhaustion, and no DJ set. Luckily, there was a pint of Cloudwater Hopfenweiss on keg to have along with a delicious pale on cask which was Moor Empire Pale Ale. This, as was the weiss, was on top form. Tash then had a pint of the Empire and I, foolishly or courageously, ordered a pint of Evil Twin Yin Imperial Stout at god knows what strength (its actually 10% according to their website ).
It was pricey, being Danish, and strong, at £9.00 a go. And I was told I was the first person to buy an entire pint. I can see why, except, I can also fully agree with my reasons for, and the amount I enjoyed, drinking it. This was such a perfectly balanced imperial stout which did not taste its strength. Sorry to have missed the birthday party kids - I will be there for next years though. And, um, of course, ...before.
So, there it is. The questions is answered. Where has all the money gone is explained to a large extent by the above. And I enjoyed every last bloody drop of it.
Huzzar!
Wee Beefy
Sunday, 13 December 2015
An Ale Amble round the edges of Sheffield centre
Hello,
yesterday I was pleased to meet up with Charlie, AKA renowned beer blogger from the aswiftone beer blog Ale Ambler. We had not met up for a couple of years and we decided to meet in the Sheffield Tap to start a short pub crawl.in the grey, darkening streets of sodden Sheffield
The days tarted well I had arranged to meet Charlie the night before -desit having been a trifle refreshed at the time, and despite having lost my phone, I remembered that I was meeting the AA at
12.30. I hadn't however, remembered to get ready for 11.45. I was burning my bacon at that point. And trying to contact the AA via Facebook. Luckily I found his Twitter account and messaged him. I found my dead phone 10 minutes before I left, and met the AA at 13.08. Luckily things improved form here on.
In the Sheffield Tap it was busy and I spotted the AA at the bar. He had a half of Arbor Oz Bomb and me a First Chop AVA. We repaired to the brewery room where the smell f brewing hung in the air, and I sat and gently shook whilst Double A made notes. I was still mildly drunk from the night before you see. Both beers were lovely. Especially the Arbor.
Coats and scarves done up we walked out of the Tap into a wall of water and struggled along Brown Street, Sidney Street and up onto Arundel Street. Double A is fond of street art - as opposed to graffiti (the difference between which is different to many) and we stopped off at a wall near the pub to look at some.
The Lord Nelson is a small, back street, corner local, owned by Greedy King, but still retaining its character and selling a good range of real ales and bottles - and black pudding pork scratchings. I also noticed bottles of West Brewing St Mungo's lager in the fridge - not something I have seen anywhere for a while.
We had a pint and a half of Pennine Happy New Year 2016 - maybe a little early but it isn't how I would expect a celebration ale to taste. That said. it was beautiful. Very quaffable with a balanced bitterness and very easy to drink. The AA also had a half of Bradfield Belgian Blue. This was as I predicted - poorly balanced and sweet (and with no identifiable blue). Absolutely nothing with how it was kept I should point out. It was in here as well that I decided to recharge my phone. Alas, two minutes in, the lead fell out and I didn't notice. It would be two pubs later before I got my phone charged!
The AA liked the lord Nelson - now with I love Fanny's T-shirts to order, for those confident that people would realise the pub was known as that. He liked what they had done with the space and the fact that there were four separate drinking areas still. Definitely a pub we will revisit.
Along back streets and through Decathlon car park we were soon in the underpass and heading for the Beer Engine. Sadly Tol Barry was not around - he would be in later. The AA will have to return to Sheffield to meet him.
On the bar was a great selection of real ales and kegs - sadly rather too many dark ones for me but the Siren Oatmeal Pale Undercurrent was on at £3.40 a pint so I had a half of that and the keg four Hopmen of the Hopocalypse. The AA meanwhile had a half o the Wild Beer Millionaire, a salted caramel chocolate ale which we were warned was quite sweet. It was an immensely strong flavoured beer at 4.7%, and although I preferred my delicious Oatmeal Pale and Hopmen, the AA found it quite easy to drink.
As usual there was an interesting range of music on and trade was steady, if not busy. One thing I will point out about the Beer Engine is the toilets - soft loo roll, heating, handwash and a hand dryer and hot water. None of which are difficult to provide, but usually only two of which are available in other pubs. Its nowhere near as important as the quality of the beers however. Since they are also excellent and well thought through, this makes the Beer Engine a fab place for a pint.
Up Eccy road next and we arrived from the continuing downpour at the Portland House. On the bar there were four Welbeck and Leeds best and a Celt Experience beer called something an Brett. The guy behind the bar asked of we were here to try it, and given the choice we were. The AA was not aware of brettanomyces - part of the Saccharomycetaceae family of myacies, for ease of reference! The only reference I could muster at the time was that they featured in Imperial Russian Stouts, and that breweries were now trying them out for the unique unusual flavour. The beer was certainly in possession of that - it was an unusual but possibly over-bretted beer, but definitely one that challenged our taste buds. The other thing here was that I managed to charge my phone o 26%.
We caught a bus back into town and went to collect the AA's haul of shopping from Wateralls and a cheese specialist - where I also purchased some Brampton Impy Dark Derby cheese. After a quick chat with Sean from Beer Central we headed up to the Devonshire Cat. The AA got a half of Shiny Sorachi and I the Hop Studio Obsidian Black IPA. We sat in my usual place and found that we couldn't use the sockets to charge my phone....
Never the less, we enjoyed our beers, but me rather more than the AA whose Sorachi flavoured beer was overpowering! We also bumped into new manager Liz formerly of the Sheffield Tap. December, it seems, is s busy time of year to start your new job...
Up the road next for me and The AA's final pub the Bath Hotel. I got a pint of Harbour Pale and he a half of Jaipur on keg. We sat in the back and watched the fire very slowly fail to get going and then be drowned by more coal. A shame, since we were soaked. I had a further pint of Jaipur and Matty joined us whilst we waited for Tash, but the AA admitted he had reached his limit and we soon left for him to get his train. Thanks so much for your company Ale Ambler! Glad to have introduced you to a new Sheffield pub or two.
I headed off to BrewDog next to wait for Tash - as the crawl was finished we could now drink beer in the cntre. We shared a bottle of the Fantome Saison. The bar was quite packed and the music was fantastic as it so often is. We also had two halves of the Aberdeen BrewDog Ghost Writer and the Prototype Black IPA, along with a venison pie and mash and gravy - which was very tasty, but really needed to have come on a plate as opposed to in a box.
Our final stop of the night was in the Tap and Tankard where we had two halves of the Green Jack gone fishing and a half of Double Top Shanghai. I also bought Tash a double gin and tonic as she was feeling a little unwell. The music changes from being rock and dub to awful pop later one - a deliberate ploy no doubt to persuade customers to leave. It worked, and we left about midnight.
This was another fantastic pub crawl in Sheffield featuring a mix of different pub styles and beer styles. Great to catch up with the Ale Ambler, and this day out proves that there are plenty of other Sheffield crawls for us both, and indeed us three, to do in the future.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
yesterday I was pleased to meet up with Charlie, AKA renowned beer blogger from the aswiftone beer blog Ale Ambler. We had not met up for a couple of years and we decided to meet in the Sheffield Tap to start a short pub crawl.in the grey, darkening streets of sodden Sheffield
The days tarted well I had arranged to meet Charlie the night before -desit having been a trifle refreshed at the time, and despite having lost my phone, I remembered that I was meeting the AA at
12.30. I hadn't however, remembered to get ready for 11.45. I was burning my bacon at that point. And trying to contact the AA via Facebook. Luckily I found his Twitter account and messaged him. I found my dead phone 10 minutes before I left, and met the AA at 13.08. Luckily things improved form here on.
In the Sheffield Tap it was busy and I spotted the AA at the bar. He had a half of Arbor Oz Bomb and me a First Chop AVA. We repaired to the brewery room where the smell f brewing hung in the air, and I sat and gently shook whilst Double A made notes. I was still mildly drunk from the night before you see. Both beers were lovely. Especially the Arbor.
Coats and scarves done up we walked out of the Tap into a wall of water and struggled along Brown Street, Sidney Street and up onto Arundel Street. Double A is fond of street art - as opposed to graffiti (the difference between which is different to many) and we stopped off at a wall near the pub to look at some.
The Lord Nelson is a small, back street, corner local, owned by Greedy King, but still retaining its character and selling a good range of real ales and bottles - and black pudding pork scratchings. I also noticed bottles of West Brewing St Mungo's lager in the fridge - not something I have seen anywhere for a while.
We had a pint and a half of Pennine Happy New Year 2016 - maybe a little early but it isn't how I would expect a celebration ale to taste. That said. it was beautiful. Very quaffable with a balanced bitterness and very easy to drink. The AA also had a half of Bradfield Belgian Blue. This was as I predicted - poorly balanced and sweet (and with no identifiable blue). Absolutely nothing with how it was kept I should point out. It was in here as well that I decided to recharge my phone. Alas, two minutes in, the lead fell out and I didn't notice. It would be two pubs later before I got my phone charged!
The AA liked the lord Nelson - now with I love Fanny's T-shirts to order, for those confident that people would realise the pub was known as that. He liked what they had done with the space and the fact that there were four separate drinking areas still. Definitely a pub we will revisit.
Along back streets and through Decathlon car park we were soon in the underpass and heading for the Beer Engine. Sadly Tol Barry was not around - he would be in later. The AA will have to return to Sheffield to meet him.
On the bar was a great selection of real ales and kegs - sadly rather too many dark ones for me but the Siren Oatmeal Pale Undercurrent was on at £3.40 a pint so I had a half of that and the keg four Hopmen of the Hopocalypse. The AA meanwhile had a half o the Wild Beer Millionaire, a salted caramel chocolate ale which we were warned was quite sweet. It was an immensely strong flavoured beer at 4.7%, and although I preferred my delicious Oatmeal Pale and Hopmen, the AA found it quite easy to drink.
As usual there was an interesting range of music on and trade was steady, if not busy. One thing I will point out about the Beer Engine is the toilets - soft loo roll, heating, handwash and a hand dryer and hot water. None of which are difficult to provide, but usually only two of which are available in other pubs. Its nowhere near as important as the quality of the beers however. Since they are also excellent and well thought through, this makes the Beer Engine a fab place for a pint.
Up Eccy road next and we arrived from the continuing downpour at the Portland House. On the bar there were four Welbeck and Leeds best and a Celt Experience beer called something an Brett. The guy behind the bar asked of we were here to try it, and given the choice we were. The AA was not aware of brettanomyces - part of the Saccharomycetaceae family of myacies, for ease of reference! The only reference I could muster at the time was that they featured in Imperial Russian Stouts, and that breweries were now trying them out for the unique unusual flavour. The beer was certainly in possession of that - it was an unusual but possibly over-bretted beer, but definitely one that challenged our taste buds. The other thing here was that I managed to charge my phone o 26%.
We caught a bus back into town and went to collect the AA's haul of shopping from Wateralls and a cheese specialist - where I also purchased some Brampton Impy Dark Derby cheese. After a quick chat with Sean from Beer Central we headed up to the Devonshire Cat. The AA got a half of Shiny Sorachi and I the Hop Studio Obsidian Black IPA. We sat in my usual place and found that we couldn't use the sockets to charge my phone....
Never the less, we enjoyed our beers, but me rather more than the AA whose Sorachi flavoured beer was overpowering! We also bumped into new manager Liz formerly of the Sheffield Tap. December, it seems, is s busy time of year to start your new job...
Up the road next for me and The AA's final pub the Bath Hotel. I got a pint of Harbour Pale and he a half of Jaipur on keg. We sat in the back and watched the fire very slowly fail to get going and then be drowned by more coal. A shame, since we were soaked. I had a further pint of Jaipur and Matty joined us whilst we waited for Tash, but the AA admitted he had reached his limit and we soon left for him to get his train. Thanks so much for your company Ale Ambler! Glad to have introduced you to a new Sheffield pub or two.
I headed off to BrewDog next to wait for Tash - as the crawl was finished we could now drink beer in the cntre. We shared a bottle of the Fantome Saison. The bar was quite packed and the music was fantastic as it so often is. We also had two halves of the Aberdeen BrewDog Ghost Writer and the Prototype Black IPA, along with a venison pie and mash and gravy - which was very tasty, but really needed to have come on a plate as opposed to in a box.
Our final stop of the night was in the Tap and Tankard where we had two halves of the Green Jack gone fishing and a half of Double Top Shanghai. I also bought Tash a double gin and tonic as she was feeling a little unwell. The music changes from being rock and dub to awful pop later one - a deliberate ploy no doubt to persuade customers to leave. It worked, and we left about midnight.
This was another fantastic pub crawl in Sheffield featuring a mix of different pub styles and beer styles. Great to catch up with the Ale Ambler, and this day out proves that there are plenty of other Sheffield crawls for us both, and indeed us three, to do in the future.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
Sunday, 6 December 2015
Wanderians November 2015
Once upon a time,
long long ago, in a far away place called Sheffield, there was a man of Beef. The man went into public houses, and micro-public houses, and bars, and inside delighted (usually) in sampling drinks. Beer drinks. This made the Beefy man beefier, happier, more tired and less well off. It also gave him something to write about. Hence....
This month's Wanderians was a little longer than normal. Mr P seems less worried about restriction - or rather, potentially has less restrictions,on the amount of beer he consumes. This was demonstrated fully on Wednesday night. Our plan was to go to The Portland House so I suggested we started at the Bath Hotel. After waiting just 25 minutes for an every 10 minute 52a, we were less than soon starting our evening's voyage.
Being two days after payday meant I had real money on me. Just as well since the card machine at the Bath Hotel was not working. Mr P had a pint of (possibly) Real Deal from Blackjack and I had the 6% Arbor beer which was an IPA. We sat at the large table, mainly because a leak meant we couldn't sit anywhere else, and talked, and planned our route.
Brood is a bar at Art collective Roco nearby. Well, I say that, Roco doesn't appear open. There were lights on upstairs but the doors were locked (despite its opening November banner) and I on't care how artistic it may seem,. breaking and entering is not my scene. So we headed off down the ring road towards Eccy Road. En route I mentioned to Mr P that I'd never been in the Hanover. He had, in the early 70's, and all of a sudden we were on Hanover Street and the pub was there. Inside we went in the dark games room on the right. There were three handpumps but no evidence of any real ale being on. I asked what bottles they had and from a very limited range we opted for a can of Guinness each. We took our drinks round the back of the bar to sit in the "best room" on the left.
The Hanover used to be a Wards pub, or am sure it sold Wards. Inside it has two rooms and was perhaps originally three, and there is exposed brickwork on the left wall and a nice open fire, and an old telly on the beam in front of us showing Murder She Wrote. The loos are across some decking outside and this is to my knowledge the only Sheffield pub that I know of with this arrangement. There were a handful of locals, a bloke who looked, if this is possible, like a theatre producer, and people were chatting and socialising at the bar. I like the Hanover. Its not pretensions, and it appears to serve its local community. It would be great if it sold real ale of course, but it doesn't, and is sill trading. Good for them.
Down through the flats and out on to Eccy Road we were soon at the Portland House. We both had pints of Townhouse Green Bullet and I had a Wateralls pork pie. We chatted and soaked up the atmosphere and noticed tat actually there were a few spare handpumps. Mr P also noticed a mis-spelling on the chalk board (Wensledale...?). Hardly the end of life as we know it, but a couple of little niggles. The pub now sells food as promised and seems to have regulars, so the outlook is good.
Off next to the Beer Engine via a chat with quiz bound Mr Hough, and once again an impeccable range o ales was on offer. Mr P had something dark on cask and I had a pint of the Almasty Mango IPA - less Mango-y than I expected but still a cracking beer. The pub was a little quieter than I expected but still turns over an excellent range of bottled and cask and keg beers - hoping to get back there to eat very soon.
Our penultimate stop was at the Hermitage. Last time I went in this was called something else and didn't sell real ale - I went to see a guy about a job working for his 3d photographic company. The Hermitage now sells four or five real ales including Clubhouse ones from Milestone - Mr P had a pint of their strong mild and I a pint of the Saltaire Cascade. It was awkward to find somewhere to sit as a party of rugby players were on their way but the staff were friendly and the beer was well kept - and the pork scratchings were lovely.
Our final stop was at the Lord Nelson on Arundel Street (or Lane..). Mr P had a pint of Belhaven Porter and I a pint of the Pennine Real Blonde from a choice of four. We went and sat in the room on the left and watched some football on the telly, before Mr P shared some of his Twitter poetry with me. As I have said before, I like the Lord Nelson, and this was another enjoyable visit - although, I did leave my wallet there. This is something I found out whilst buying my tea at the checkout. Credit to them though, they found it and kept hold of it until I returned after work the next day - to have two excellent pints of the Real Blonde and a packet of Black pudding pork scratching.
Once again hen, a small area of Sheffield provides 6 very different styles of pub with a range of real ales available in all but one. Thus proving, if proof were needed, that Sheffield is a great place for a pub crawl.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
long long ago, in a far away place called Sheffield, there was a man of Beef. The man went into public houses, and micro-public houses, and bars, and inside delighted (usually) in sampling drinks. Beer drinks. This made the Beefy man beefier, happier, more tired and less well off. It also gave him something to write about. Hence....
This month's Wanderians was a little longer than normal. Mr P seems less worried about restriction - or rather, potentially has less restrictions,on the amount of beer he consumes. This was demonstrated fully on Wednesday night. Our plan was to go to The Portland House so I suggested we started at the Bath Hotel. After waiting just 25 minutes for an every 10 minute 52a, we were less than soon starting our evening's voyage.
Being two days after payday meant I had real money on me. Just as well since the card machine at the Bath Hotel was not working. Mr P had a pint of (possibly) Real Deal from Blackjack and I had the 6% Arbor beer which was an IPA. We sat at the large table, mainly because a leak meant we couldn't sit anywhere else, and talked, and planned our route.
Brood is a bar at Art collective Roco nearby. Well, I say that, Roco doesn't appear open. There were lights on upstairs but the doors were locked (despite its opening November banner) and I on't care how artistic it may seem,. breaking and entering is not my scene. So we headed off down the ring road towards Eccy Road. En route I mentioned to Mr P that I'd never been in the Hanover. He had, in the early 70's, and all of a sudden we were on Hanover Street and the pub was there. Inside we went in the dark games room on the right. There were three handpumps but no evidence of any real ale being on. I asked what bottles they had and from a very limited range we opted for a can of Guinness each. We took our drinks round the back of the bar to sit in the "best room" on the left.
The Hanover used to be a Wards pub, or am sure it sold Wards. Inside it has two rooms and was perhaps originally three, and there is exposed brickwork on the left wall and a nice open fire, and an old telly on the beam in front of us showing Murder She Wrote. The loos are across some decking outside and this is to my knowledge the only Sheffield pub that I know of with this arrangement. There were a handful of locals, a bloke who looked, if this is possible, like a theatre producer, and people were chatting and socialising at the bar. I like the Hanover. Its not pretensions, and it appears to serve its local community. It would be great if it sold real ale of course, but it doesn't, and is sill trading. Good for them.
Down through the flats and out on to Eccy Road we were soon at the Portland House. We both had pints of Townhouse Green Bullet and I had a Wateralls pork pie. We chatted and soaked up the atmosphere and noticed tat actually there were a few spare handpumps. Mr P also noticed a mis-spelling on the chalk board (Wensledale...?). Hardly the end of life as we know it, but a couple of little niggles. The pub now sells food as promised and seems to have regulars, so the outlook is good.
Off next to the Beer Engine via a chat with quiz bound Mr Hough, and once again an impeccable range o ales was on offer. Mr P had something dark on cask and I had a pint of the Almasty Mango IPA - less Mango-y than I expected but still a cracking beer. The pub was a little quieter than I expected but still turns over an excellent range of bottled and cask and keg beers - hoping to get back there to eat very soon.
Our penultimate stop was at the Hermitage. Last time I went in this was called something else and didn't sell real ale - I went to see a guy about a job working for his 3d photographic company. The Hermitage now sells four or five real ales including Clubhouse ones from Milestone - Mr P had a pint of their strong mild and I a pint of the Saltaire Cascade. It was awkward to find somewhere to sit as a party of rugby players were on their way but the staff were friendly and the beer was well kept - and the pork scratchings were lovely.
Our final stop was at the Lord Nelson on Arundel Street (or Lane..). Mr P had a pint of Belhaven Porter and I a pint of the Pennine Real Blonde from a choice of four. We went and sat in the room on the left and watched some football on the telly, before Mr P shared some of his Twitter poetry with me. As I have said before, I like the Lord Nelson, and this was another enjoyable visit - although, I did leave my wallet there. This is something I found out whilst buying my tea at the checkout. Credit to them though, they found it and kept hold of it until I returned after work the next day - to have two excellent pints of the Real Blonde and a packet of Black pudding pork scratching.
Once again hen, a small area of Sheffield provides 6 very different styles of pub with a range of real ales available in all but one. Thus proving, if proof were needed, that Sheffield is a great place for a pub crawl.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
Sunday, 6 September 2015
Four days several pubs - AKA the bank holiday
Greetings!
have been quite refreshed recently so have posted slightly less than usual. Well, slightly less than in 2012 and 2013.... Anyhoo, here are some details of a "never tried the same pub twice" four days pub crawl which I did over the bank holiday weekend, I'm told.
Friday started in the Harlequin with folks from work. I was on a couple of pints of the Exit 33 Mosaic pale ale, which is ace, not least because it has mosaic hops in it. I also tried it on keg (note, this is £3.70 a pint on keg. I.e. its a pound dearer, and that is all...). To be honest, whilst it should be better on keg, it was in fact better on cask. #science
Over to Shakespeares next to see Saara and Adele and others and to be joined by Tash and Matty. I definitely had a Blackjack beer, possibly 50 Dollar Chip, and maybe some of the Track and Squawk mango and marmalade gose. Which I made up. We finished the night in the Dove and Rainbow where, despite my age, and in celebration of Rachael's birthday, I moshed for about 3 hours. My neck and shoulders hurt for the next 3 days. Despite that, I enjoyed the do, and the company, and the Hambleton nightmare beer.
Saturday me and Tash headed for the Bath Hotel. If memory serves me right (rarely!) there were only 4 cask beers on and although the Blackjack tasted OK, the keg beers were once again the star offerings. Cloudwater had their English lager on, made with lager malts and seasonal English hops to give a refreshing, crisp and none too bitter pale lager ale. Th real star of the show however was the amazing Wiper and True Ella. A red copper colour almost, the fabulous flavours of the Ella hops and potentially red malt were stunning. Despite these being expensive beers, we both had two pints each along with some Karkli to eat. Its a shame in some ways to not find much worth drinking on cask but am sure this is a temporary blip. Either way, the Ella was amazing.
We finished the bight in BrewDog. I started on a half of Hardcore IPA, which seems a little less rounded and hoppy than the amazing version I had on cask at the Coach and Horses years ago, and Tash had 2/3rds of a Mad Hatter beer, the name of which escapes me fore a change. We finished on another of the same for Tash (!) and a mango Gose and Pineapple Berliner Weiss for me. Am not usually a fan of fruit beers but both were amazing - refreshing and sour and not too fruity. An excellent end to the night.
Sunday saw us in town shopping, before we headed for the Devonshire Cat for a change. We had pints of Abbeydale Alchemy (it had an |A in it...) which was a lower strength ale that tasted of grapefruit, an excellent and refreshing beer. I also tried a Monty's stout on keg which was perfect, along with some breadcrumb coated fried brie wedges.
We walked down next to the Beer Engine. We were just in time to catch Tom but he was soon away and we sat outside in the sun and the rain supping a range of Bad Seed Brewery cask and keg beers. I particularly liked trying their Cascade pale on both types of dispense - I think there was little difference in quality, but they tasted very different. The Espresso stout was also lovely, as was their saison. As usual, a stellar range of beers was available.
We finished the night in the Albion across the road, having a half of Camden Ink on keg and a pint of Sheffield brew Co Five Rivers on cask. An interesting mix of beers in three very different pubs on Sunday.
Bank Holiday Monday arrived, as did the rain. Luckily, when it rains, it keeps the large majority of pricks out of Bakewell. So we were able to go and have 4 hours of prickless entertainment in a refreshingly quiet Bakewell. We started in the Red Lion, and I had a pint of Chatsworth Gold and Tash, gawd luvver, a cup of tea. It came to a fiver, which is still expensive, but not for Bakerwell based on certain nearby establishments.
We went for a walk down the river and poppped in a couple of shops before retiring to the Manners for several pints of the Robinsons Hop beer - which the staff claimed wasn't as hoppy as the Blonde. Alas, I really don't get on with Robbies blonde so stuck to the Hop ale for three pints, whilst Tash had one and another of the Wizard Amber. Cracking beer and pork scratchings made this an enjoyable visit.
We finished our visit in the Castle. A depressing range of Greedy King beers awaited us (although I think they had a guest comping on) and we had halves of the Greedy King extra IPA at 5.6% or similar. The pub is probably quite old but loses a lot of its character to its food service and lack of original features. The beer was actually OK though....
We finished the quartet of quaffing in the Sheffield Tap where we had beer. I'm not even going to try and remember what I had, it was beer and it was very tasty thank you. Alas we had to leave about 22.30 for me to get the bus home and Tash to get back to hers but this had once again been a good day of travel and drinking.
So, overall, we visited 12 pubs in 4 days and had numerous delicious and completely varied types of ale in wonderful surroundings. Another, potentially not required, reminder of the merits of boozing in the Steel City and nearby.
With Cheers
Wee Beefy
have been quite refreshed recently so have posted slightly less than usual. Well, slightly less than in 2012 and 2013.... Anyhoo, here are some details of a "never tried the same pub twice" four days pub crawl which I did over the bank holiday weekend, I'm told.
Friday started in the Harlequin with folks from work. I was on a couple of pints of the Exit 33 Mosaic pale ale, which is ace, not least because it has mosaic hops in it. I also tried it on keg (note, this is £3.70 a pint on keg. I.e. its a pound dearer, and that is all...). To be honest, whilst it should be better on keg, it was in fact better on cask. #science
Over to Shakespeares next to see Saara and Adele and others and to be joined by Tash and Matty. I definitely had a Blackjack beer, possibly 50 Dollar Chip, and maybe some of the Track and Squawk mango and marmalade gose. Which I made up. We finished the night in the Dove and Rainbow where, despite my age, and in celebration of Rachael's birthday, I moshed for about 3 hours. My neck and shoulders hurt for the next 3 days. Despite that, I enjoyed the do, and the company, and the Hambleton nightmare beer.
Saturday me and Tash headed for the Bath Hotel. If memory serves me right (rarely!) there were only 4 cask beers on and although the Blackjack tasted OK, the keg beers were once again the star offerings. Cloudwater had their English lager on, made with lager malts and seasonal English hops to give a refreshing, crisp and none too bitter pale lager ale. Th real star of the show however was the amazing Wiper and True Ella. A red copper colour almost, the fabulous flavours of the Ella hops and potentially red malt were stunning. Despite these being expensive beers, we both had two pints each along with some Karkli to eat. Its a shame in some ways to not find much worth drinking on cask but am sure this is a temporary blip. Either way, the Ella was amazing.
We finished the bight in BrewDog. I started on a half of Hardcore IPA, which seems a little less rounded and hoppy than the amazing version I had on cask at the Coach and Horses years ago, and Tash had 2/3rds of a Mad Hatter beer, the name of which escapes me fore a change. We finished on another of the same for Tash (!) and a mango Gose and Pineapple Berliner Weiss for me. Am not usually a fan of fruit beers but both were amazing - refreshing and sour and not too fruity. An excellent end to the night.
Sunday saw us in town shopping, before we headed for the Devonshire Cat for a change. We had pints of Abbeydale Alchemy (it had an |A in it...) which was a lower strength ale that tasted of grapefruit, an excellent and refreshing beer. I also tried a Monty's stout on keg which was perfect, along with some breadcrumb coated fried brie wedges.
We walked down next to the Beer Engine. We were just in time to catch Tom but he was soon away and we sat outside in the sun and the rain supping a range of Bad Seed Brewery cask and keg beers. I particularly liked trying their Cascade pale on both types of dispense - I think there was little difference in quality, but they tasted very different. The Espresso stout was also lovely, as was their saison. As usual, a stellar range of beers was available.
We finished the night in the Albion across the road, having a half of Camden Ink on keg and a pint of Sheffield brew Co Five Rivers on cask. An interesting mix of beers in three very different pubs on Sunday.
Bank Holiday Monday arrived, as did the rain. Luckily, when it rains, it keeps the large majority of pricks out of Bakewell. So we were able to go and have 4 hours of prickless entertainment in a refreshingly quiet Bakewell. We started in the Red Lion, and I had a pint of Chatsworth Gold and Tash, gawd luvver, a cup of tea. It came to a fiver, which is still expensive, but not for Bakerwell based on certain nearby establishments.
We went for a walk down the river and poppped in a couple of shops before retiring to the Manners for several pints of the Robinsons Hop beer - which the staff claimed wasn't as hoppy as the Blonde. Alas, I really don't get on with Robbies blonde so stuck to the Hop ale for three pints, whilst Tash had one and another of the Wizard Amber. Cracking beer and pork scratchings made this an enjoyable visit.
We finished our visit in the Castle. A depressing range of Greedy King beers awaited us (although I think they had a guest comping on) and we had halves of the Greedy King extra IPA at 5.6% or similar. The pub is probably quite old but loses a lot of its character to its food service and lack of original features. The beer was actually OK though....
We finished the quartet of quaffing in the Sheffield Tap where we had beer. I'm not even going to try and remember what I had, it was beer and it was very tasty thank you. Alas we had to leave about 22.30 for me to get the bus home and Tash to get back to hers but this had once again been a good day of travel and drinking.
So, overall, we visited 12 pubs in 4 days and had numerous delicious and completely varied types of ale in wonderful surroundings. Another, potentially not required, reminder of the merits of boozing in the Steel City and nearby.
With Cheers
Wee Beefy
Saturday, 29 August 2015
A Sunday sup in Sheffield
Now then,
last week I went out for a few beers with lovable rogue Matthew, AKA Meathumph, Matty, Oi, and other names. The original plan was to meet at midday in the Brothers Arms, travel to some local and further away hostelries, and end up being joined by Tash. Only one of those concepts was correct alas.
Matt rang me and said he was hungover and suggested we meet at 14.00, in the Brothers Arms. Setting off at 13.05, it took me an astonishing 1 hour 15 minutes to get there by bus. I could have walked it in 10 minutes longer. Still, the sun was shining (initially), the weather was warm and I was thirsty. Me and Matty sat on the back in the sunshine drinking pints of Cromarty Red Rocker Rye Red ale and all was well. We even went back fro a couple of halves - more Red for me and a Pictish Wakau pale for Matt. Was good seeing John from the White Lion as well - must visit soon!
Down the hill the other way is the Sheaf View. A Red Willow Ageless Double IPA was on at 7.2%. We ordered 2 pints but it ran out so got 1 and a half, nearly, and paid for one. We sat initially in the child free beer garden, before, as it had Saturday, it started raining. Heavily. We sat in the back room and listened to the downpour and I went and got a half of Victory Dirt Wolf Double IPA at 8.7%. A truly stunning and brilliantly hoppy, slab of a beer.
We walked next along the river and headed for the London Road area. We paused at the Railway across from Sheffield United's ground. This was advertising "Coffee and Casks" on the windows - being a pub I have never previously visited, maybe a first one may have to take place soon.
Out onto London Road and we visited the Albion. Four Sheffield Brewing Co beers and a Clarkes were the choice - we both went for halves of 5 Rivers and settled down to chat and sup and receive phone calls.
Soon we arrived at the Beer Engine. Tom was in as always and we asked him what food they were serving. As timings isn't our speciality, its no surprise that they had stopped serving, but Tom very kindly did us two hot pork sandwiches with homemade apple sauce and roast potatoes on brioche. It was just what we needed!
Beers wise we had a couple each. I know Matty had a Magic Rock Salty Kiss, an excellent and unusual beer, and I had a strong cascade, possibly from Wiper and True, but am not sure what we had on cask - I#m thinking it was a Neepsend Brew Co beer? Either way, the two keg offerings stuck in my memory a little more.
Next we visited the Brewery Tap next to Henrys. The latter is closed for refurbishment but the Tap remains open. Still the brewery is redundant, still the trial brews are, I imagine this time, poor. We both had a pint of cask each and it was pale and from Derby Brew Co, in fact we had one each of their offerings, but am unable to recollect which! Don't worry - there are memories later I promise.
We walked up to High Street beneath glowering angry black clouds, to catch the 95 to Walkley, and to walk down in the fading light to the Blake. A good selection of ales were available including Neepsend Brewery Co but we both had a pint of something different. To contradict my earlier comment, I can't recall what it was . It was £2.70 a pint whatever it was.
This was one of our favourite pubs but it could have been our worst visit. We got chatting to a Slovakian bloke called Filip. He offered to buy us two whiskies so we accepted, thinking at that points that he was not, in fact a racist violent lunatic. Alas he was. Its not often these days that you hear the word nigger in a conversation, but he used the word three times to describe his f***ing black b**tard doctor". We were quite shocked, and seeing this he said "don't you tell me I'm racist because you won;t live more than a few seconds if you do". Brilliant. A drunk, aggressive, racist simpleton. As we carried on listening and hastily finishing our drinks he went outside to make a call so we legged it down the hill. A revolting person that marred an otherwise exellent experience.
Our next stop was the Double H. Matty has never been to the Hillsborough Hotel so I thought this would be a good chance fr him. On the bar was the Potbelly Beijing Black which is a beer I really like but having a tried it tasted sour. "I don't like it, it tastes sour" the man behind the bar said. Well done = maybe its, um...off? Anyway we had a try of other mediocre beers and opted for two pints of Wentworth Clock ale or similar. From here we walked down the main road to our penultimate stop.
The Wellington was quiet but am not sure Sunday is a good day to judge any pub in terms of numbers of customers. Excellent real ale was on offer as always and we both had pint of the excellent Green Arrow from Little Ale Cart. Was lovely sitting in the room on the left getting our thoughts together and enjoying the refreshing hoppy ale.
Walking past the Ship Inn Matty found out he could catch a bus home any minute so I left him there and walked on to Shakespeares. I know I had a half, and maybe a pint of the excellent but hefty Mad Hatter mild at 7.4% but am not sure what else, although, by this time I was on pint number 9 of a rather thirsty day. And after leaving Shakespeares to get the last First bus home, the Beefdozer cometh, so I had to get a taxi back from Woodhouse Station.....
So, overlal this was a fantastic pub crawl with Matty providing good comapny and where we enjoyed some excellent beers along the way - best beer ramge probably came at the Sheaf View and the Beer Engine. I would recommend a visit to all of the pubs we tried, but some more than others.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
last week I went out for a few beers with lovable rogue Matthew, AKA Meathumph, Matty, Oi, and other names. The original plan was to meet at midday in the Brothers Arms, travel to some local and further away hostelries, and end up being joined by Tash. Only one of those concepts was correct alas.
Matt rang me and said he was hungover and suggested we meet at 14.00, in the Brothers Arms. Setting off at 13.05, it took me an astonishing 1 hour 15 minutes to get there by bus. I could have walked it in 10 minutes longer. Still, the sun was shining (initially), the weather was warm and I was thirsty. Me and Matty sat on the back in the sunshine drinking pints of Cromarty Red Rocker Rye Red ale and all was well. We even went back fro a couple of halves - more Red for me and a Pictish Wakau pale for Matt. Was good seeing John from the White Lion as well - must visit soon!
Down the hill the other way is the Sheaf View. A Red Willow Ageless Double IPA was on at 7.2%. We ordered 2 pints but it ran out so got 1 and a half, nearly, and paid for one. We sat initially in the child free beer garden, before, as it had Saturday, it started raining. Heavily. We sat in the back room and listened to the downpour and I went and got a half of Victory Dirt Wolf Double IPA at 8.7%. A truly stunning and brilliantly hoppy, slab of a beer.
We walked next along the river and headed for the London Road area. We paused at the Railway across from Sheffield United's ground. This was advertising "Coffee and Casks" on the windows - being a pub I have never previously visited, maybe a first one may have to take place soon.
Out onto London Road and we visited the Albion. Four Sheffield Brewing Co beers and a Clarkes were the choice - we both went for halves of 5 Rivers and settled down to chat and sup and receive phone calls.
Soon we arrived at the Beer Engine. Tom was in as always and we asked him what food they were serving. As timings isn't our speciality, its no surprise that they had stopped serving, but Tom very kindly did us two hot pork sandwiches with homemade apple sauce and roast potatoes on brioche. It was just what we needed!
Beers wise we had a couple each. I know Matty had a Magic Rock Salty Kiss, an excellent and unusual beer, and I had a strong cascade, possibly from Wiper and True, but am not sure what we had on cask - I#m thinking it was a Neepsend Brew Co beer? Either way, the two keg offerings stuck in my memory a little more.
Next we visited the Brewery Tap next to Henrys. The latter is closed for refurbishment but the Tap remains open. Still the brewery is redundant, still the trial brews are, I imagine this time, poor. We both had a pint of cask each and it was pale and from Derby Brew Co, in fact we had one each of their offerings, but am unable to recollect which! Don't worry - there are memories later I promise.
We walked up to High Street beneath glowering angry black clouds, to catch the 95 to Walkley, and to walk down in the fading light to the Blake. A good selection of ales were available including Neepsend Brewery Co but we both had a pint of something different. To contradict my earlier comment, I can't recall what it was . It was £2.70 a pint whatever it was.
This was one of our favourite pubs but it could have been our worst visit. We got chatting to a Slovakian bloke called Filip. He offered to buy us two whiskies so we accepted, thinking at that points that he was not, in fact a racist violent lunatic. Alas he was. Its not often these days that you hear the word nigger in a conversation, but he used the word three times to describe his f***ing black b**tard doctor". We were quite shocked, and seeing this he said "don't you tell me I'm racist because you won;t live more than a few seconds if you do". Brilliant. A drunk, aggressive, racist simpleton. As we carried on listening and hastily finishing our drinks he went outside to make a call so we legged it down the hill. A revolting person that marred an otherwise exellent experience.
Our next stop was the Double H. Matty has never been to the Hillsborough Hotel so I thought this would be a good chance fr him. On the bar was the Potbelly Beijing Black which is a beer I really like but having a tried it tasted sour. "I don't like it, it tastes sour" the man behind the bar said. Well done = maybe its, um...off? Anyway we had a try of other mediocre beers and opted for two pints of Wentworth Clock ale or similar. From here we walked down the main road to our penultimate stop.
The Wellington was quiet but am not sure Sunday is a good day to judge any pub in terms of numbers of customers. Excellent real ale was on offer as always and we both had pint of the excellent Green Arrow from Little Ale Cart. Was lovely sitting in the room on the left getting our thoughts together and enjoying the refreshing hoppy ale.
Walking past the Ship Inn Matty found out he could catch a bus home any minute so I left him there and walked on to Shakespeares. I know I had a half, and maybe a pint of the excellent but hefty Mad Hatter mild at 7.4% but am not sure what else, although, by this time I was on pint number 9 of a rather thirsty day. And after leaving Shakespeares to get the last First bus home, the Beefdozer cometh, so I had to get a taxi back from Woodhouse Station.....
So, overlal this was a fantastic pub crawl with Matty providing good comapny and where we enjoyed some excellent beers along the way - best beer ramge probably came at the Sheaf View and the Beer Engine. I would recommend a visit to all of the pubs we tried, but some more than others.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
Thursday, 30 July 2015
The Tramlines's.
Hello,
many people were disappointed with the Tramlines festival. One of my Faceache chums described it as a "mega corporate money grabbing c*nt fest", but another said "got a positive reaction from lots of new faces, which is one of the great things about Tramlines, and it gets better every year". The thing is, who cares?! Nobody mentioned, or grumbled about, the beers. The beers! Crucial to any festival. Here's what I supped and where....
Friday started in the Shakespeares. Hardly a revelation, but its near work and had music. Me and Tash enjoyed a fantastic pint and a half each of Kernel Mosaic on keg. Or it may have been Citra. It was ace. We heard a little of Holy Moly and the Crackers before leaving the festivities and visiting the Three Tuns. Here pints of Blue Bee Phantom Geek were tried, before Tash went to the Dove and I went home.
The next day I started late. I didn't get to the Brothers Arms until half past three. Turns out this was 30 minutes before the Everly Pregnant Brothers came on. I queued 35 minutes to get to the bar, and bought two pints, Burning Sky Aurora and the 7.1% Fyne Ales Superior IPA. I found Fluffy and Trudi and Sue and Col, who waited 45 minutes to get served, and stood in a crowd of thousands watching the band.
Half way through I went to the outside bar again - and got served straight away! A pint of Dark Star Revelation at 5.7% and a pint of Hammerton No.1 (£3.00 a pint, or £6.00 for a little bottle at Craft and Dug) and after a catch up with Carlos returned to my group. It was great to catch up, enjoy beer, and I headed next for John's beer tent at the bottom. Wild Fresh and Blackjack lager were on but I had a half of the Siren Liquid Monstrous, which was ace. John suggested I went to the White Lion next, but they were queuing on the main road to get in so I headed for the Sheaf View.
Here I got a pint of something pale and lovely and went to the loo. It was good to get some time to get myself together but I needed food! I stumbled to the Beer Engine and had the most delicious and tender burger, with coleselaw and handmade sweet potato fries, along with a half of Neepsend Red, before heading into town to meet Tash. We went first to the Dove and Rainbow where Tash bought me some Hambleton Nightmare, and then via meeting Dr Johnson we headed for the Dog and Partridge. A half of something in here, alas I was a trifle refreshed.
Penultimate stop was the Bath for two pints of Chiron and to watch a mosh pit and the Velcro Teddy Bears. Cracking finish to the set, but we only saw 2 songs! We finished the night in Harrisons 1854 but after getting our pints of Moonshine they soon stopped the DJ's - I forgot their license means they have to shut at midnight!
The next day we recovered and ate and chatted and finally left after 18.00 to go to the University Arms. We watched and absolutely lobed the whole set of Jungle Lion, whilst drinking pints of Thornbridge Halcyon at £4.50 a pint. It was a fantastic gig, and was great meeting Joanne and Tara. A pint of the excellent Burton Bridge Damson Porter followed.
Down at the Bath we caught teh last 4 songs or so of the Fyreflies, a folk rock band from nearby, before heading for Shakespeares. We got pints of the excellent Brew By Numbers Nelson Sauvin Saison, a deliciously refreshing 3.9% Belgian beer, and caught the last 6 songs of a guy whose surname was McSweeney - a brilliant, haunting voice and a sharp wit made this a perfect close.
Chris B at Shakespeares stated he worked 45 hours in 3 days. I bet he was exhausted. However, I also think hat Shakespeares, the Brothers, The Bath and others made a fortune over Tramlines. Its once a year, it is rapidly becoming massive. And this year, the beer was outstanding.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy.
many people were disappointed with the Tramlines festival. One of my Faceache chums described it as a "mega corporate money grabbing c*nt fest", but another said "got a positive reaction from lots of new faces, which is one of the great things about Tramlines, and it gets better every year". The thing is, who cares?! Nobody mentioned, or grumbled about, the beers. The beers! Crucial to any festival. Here's what I supped and where....
Friday started in the Shakespeares. Hardly a revelation, but its near work and had music. Me and Tash enjoyed a fantastic pint and a half each of Kernel Mosaic on keg. Or it may have been Citra. It was ace. We heard a little of Holy Moly and the Crackers before leaving the festivities and visiting the Three Tuns. Here pints of Blue Bee Phantom Geek were tried, before Tash went to the Dove and I went home.
The next day I started late. I didn't get to the Brothers Arms until half past three. Turns out this was 30 minutes before the Everly Pregnant Brothers came on. I queued 35 minutes to get to the bar, and bought two pints, Burning Sky Aurora and the 7.1% Fyne Ales Superior IPA. I found Fluffy and Trudi and Sue and Col, who waited 45 minutes to get served, and stood in a crowd of thousands watching the band.
Half way through I went to the outside bar again - and got served straight away! A pint of Dark Star Revelation at 5.7% and a pint of Hammerton No.1 (£3.00 a pint, or £6.00 for a little bottle at Craft and Dug) and after a catch up with Carlos returned to my group. It was great to catch up, enjoy beer, and I headed next for John's beer tent at the bottom. Wild Fresh and Blackjack lager were on but I had a half of the Siren Liquid Monstrous, which was ace. John suggested I went to the White Lion next, but they were queuing on the main road to get in so I headed for the Sheaf View.
Here I got a pint of something pale and lovely and went to the loo. It was good to get some time to get myself together but I needed food! I stumbled to the Beer Engine and had the most delicious and tender burger, with coleselaw and handmade sweet potato fries, along with a half of Neepsend Red, before heading into town to meet Tash. We went first to the Dove and Rainbow where Tash bought me some Hambleton Nightmare, and then via meeting Dr Johnson we headed for the Dog and Partridge. A half of something in here, alas I was a trifle refreshed.
Penultimate stop was the Bath for two pints of Chiron and to watch a mosh pit and the Velcro Teddy Bears. Cracking finish to the set, but we only saw 2 songs! We finished the night in Harrisons 1854 but after getting our pints of Moonshine they soon stopped the DJ's - I forgot their license means they have to shut at midnight!
The next day we recovered and ate and chatted and finally left after 18.00 to go to the University Arms. We watched and absolutely lobed the whole set of Jungle Lion, whilst drinking pints of Thornbridge Halcyon at £4.50 a pint. It was a fantastic gig, and was great meeting Joanne and Tara. A pint of the excellent Burton Bridge Damson Porter followed.
Down at the Bath we caught teh last 4 songs or so of the Fyreflies, a folk rock band from nearby, before heading for Shakespeares. We got pints of the excellent Brew By Numbers Nelson Sauvin Saison, a deliciously refreshing 3.9% Belgian beer, and caught the last 6 songs of a guy whose surname was McSweeney - a brilliant, haunting voice and a sharp wit made this a perfect close.
Chris B at Shakespeares stated he worked 45 hours in 3 days. I bet he was exhausted. However, I also think hat Shakespeares, the Brothers, The Bath and others made a fortune over Tramlines. Its once a year, it is rapidly becoming massive. And this year, the beer was outstanding.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy.
Thursday, 25 June 2015
Beer Engine, the
Hello!
thank goodness, regular readers must be thinking, at least Mr Beefdozer isn't going to report half remembered details of some beers he tried recently, or ages ago, or last night. No, this is going to be a forthright and informative post about that stalwart of the bar, the good old beer engine, tirelessly taking beer from cask to glass for centuries. Of course, that would be an erroneous expectation. This is a post about a pub. And the half remembered details of some beers I tried recently, or ages ago, or last night.
I first went to the Beer Engine in 1994. It was expensive. It was £3.00 a pint for Orkney Raven. Actually, no, it was £2.30 a pint. A fortune in 1994. I went in twice, and never again. I never visited Dulos, so don;t know anything about it, but I did visit Delaneys a few times, and now am becoming a regular at the all new Beer Engine.
The pub has a large comfy beer garden, a bar, tables which attract debate and posts on Sheffield Forum, very tasty food, 5 or 6 real ales, key keg guests and regulars and bottled beers. I rather like it.
Having visited on its reopening day I was quite taken by the place, and went back soon after with Tash. I have visited with Mr P, and also with J9, on the day before my birthday. I've never had a bad beer in there and particularly appreciate the range of beer styles available - bitters, red ales, pale ales, stouts, sours, saisons, imperial IPA's. imperial stouts, wheat beers - you name a style and I reckon they will have had an example of it. There is also a good mix of local brewery fare, as well as interesting producers from further afield, such as Crate brewery in London, Bad Seed in Malton and others that, in a change from previous posts, I can't remember.
I can also recommend the tapas - its about £4.00 a dish but you seem to get plenty, and every time I've tried it I have gone for the chorizo, served with horseradish sauce, and the delicious patatas bravas. I realise there is a fear that tapas is pretensions and over priced - goodness knows I've had some that fits that description, but not at the Beer Engine.
Recent treats beer wise have included the Neepsend Brewing Co Pale Ale which featured Brewers Gold and Mosaic, Magic Rock Rapture, Hand Drawn Monkey Orange Cream Soda, Pioneer Special Edition Double IPA, Beavertown Red Rye IPA, Dark Star Revaluation and many more. As usual, the above claims are made on a mixture of guesswork, memories and a quick look at their Twitter account. I remember the Pioneer best as I had it last week....
So, if you haven't popped in yet I suggest you give it a go. Tom is in charge and likes beer and food, and many of the staff will be recognisable to Sheffield real scene drinkers. Its also a good finish to a London Road or Heeley Triangle crawl - the starting point to 2 of my last 3 visits.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
thank goodness, regular readers must be thinking, at least Mr Beefdozer isn't going to report half remembered details of some beers he tried recently, or ages ago, or last night. No, this is going to be a forthright and informative post about that stalwart of the bar, the good old beer engine, tirelessly taking beer from cask to glass for centuries. Of course, that would be an erroneous expectation. This is a post about a pub. And the half remembered details of some beers I tried recently, or ages ago, or last night.
I first went to the Beer Engine in 1994. It was expensive. It was £3.00 a pint for Orkney Raven. Actually, no, it was £2.30 a pint. A fortune in 1994. I went in twice, and never again. I never visited Dulos, so don;t know anything about it, but I did visit Delaneys a few times, and now am becoming a regular at the all new Beer Engine.
The pub has a large comfy beer garden, a bar, tables which attract debate and posts on Sheffield Forum, very tasty food, 5 or 6 real ales, key keg guests and regulars and bottled beers. I rather like it.
Having visited on its reopening day I was quite taken by the place, and went back soon after with Tash. I have visited with Mr P, and also with J9, on the day before my birthday. I've never had a bad beer in there and particularly appreciate the range of beer styles available - bitters, red ales, pale ales, stouts, sours, saisons, imperial IPA's. imperial stouts, wheat beers - you name a style and I reckon they will have had an example of it. There is also a good mix of local brewery fare, as well as interesting producers from further afield, such as Crate brewery in London, Bad Seed in Malton and others that, in a change from previous posts, I can't remember.
I can also recommend the tapas - its about £4.00 a dish but you seem to get plenty, and every time I've tried it I have gone for the chorizo, served with horseradish sauce, and the delicious patatas bravas. I realise there is a fear that tapas is pretensions and over priced - goodness knows I've had some that fits that description, but not at the Beer Engine.
Recent treats beer wise have included the Neepsend Brewing Co Pale Ale which featured Brewers Gold and Mosaic, Magic Rock Rapture, Hand Drawn Monkey Orange Cream Soda, Pioneer Special Edition Double IPA, Beavertown Red Rye IPA, Dark Star Revaluation and many more. As usual, the above claims are made on a mixture of guesswork, memories and a quick look at their Twitter account. I remember the Pioneer best as I had it last week....
So, if you haven't popped in yet I suggest you give it a go. Tom is in charge and likes beer and food, and many of the staff will be recognisable to Sheffield real scene drinkers. Its also a good finish to a London Road or Heeley Triangle crawl - the starting point to 2 of my last 3 visits.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
Friday, 1 May 2015
More walkies in Walkley, and beyond
Hullabaloo!
just time to tell you about another couple of nights out in the suburban slake-holes of Sheffield. A return to two pubs not visited for a good while, and a couple of bright new things on London Road.
As promised, myself and Tash decided to visit the Palm in Walkley. As we were meeting in town first, and I was early (or rather, Tash was late), we met in the Red Deer. I had two halves initially - Flack Manor Hedge Hop and Salopian Darwin's Origin. Unfortunately, although similar, the Darwin was in fact much better - something I discovered when I bought myself and Tash two pints of the Flack Manor....
A further pint and a half of the Salopian followed before we headed across the road to catch the 95. Soon enough we were walking down Palm Street to the Palm Inn. There were two real ales on the bar - Tetley and Farmers Blonde. We both went for a pint of the latter. We settled down on chairs on the left hand side of the small front room and got chatting to a singer and cat whisperer and his companion who were visiting for the first time. The Cat, incidentally, was called Mr or Mrs P - Mr P they said, had cared for the cat when he lived across the road and when he died, the cat came to the pub, and stayed. He, or she, certainly loved the cat whisperer.
Two more pints followed of the Blonde and Tash went outside to find someone from her road waiting for a taxi - helping to confirm Sheffield, once again, as the biggest village in the world. I understand that the current tenants are to leave very soon, and the new lady behind the team taking over was chatting across from us. I get the feeling very little will change, and with real ale at £2.60 a pint that is welcome news.
Up the hill next we went to the Walkley Cottage. I haven't been in for a few years but found apart from a lack of lighting at the side entrance, that very little has changed. There are still 5 or more real ales on and I suspect they still do food. The lass behind the bar was friendly and gave us a couple of tasters of the beers and we plumped for Landlord for me and something Blonde for Tash. We then sat down in the corner and chatted and soaked up the atmosphere.
It was admittedly quiet, although it was a midweek night so maybe that's not surprising. The pub is built in 1930's roadhouse style and used to be divided into two with an entrance on each side and no way through at the front - alas its now been opened out, well, many years ago, but retains separate areas for drinking.
Last night I found myself at Heeley Green collecting something for Tash, and nipped into the Brothers Arms. Disappointingly, there was nothing hoppy on the bar at all, as the barman admitted, although a Liverpool Organic beer was coming on in 20 minutes time. Instead, I opted for a half of Nethergate Suffolk County bitter and Farmers Decade. According to their website, this is a celebration of their ten year anniversary. I have to say, it drinks very easy at 5.5% but is quite underwhelming as a celebration of ten years brewing! The Suffolk County was a traditional lower ABV brown bitter which was a nice change - alas, a meeting on London Road and an influx of horrendously loud screaming children prompted my swift exit.
I met Tash in town and we walked slowly to the Beer Engine. No Mr V this time but as usual a good range of beers on the bar. Tash had a pint of Celt Experience Silures, and I a pint of the Raw Grey Ghost at 5.9%. We sat out in the beer garden trying to pretend it wasn't cold, and thoroughly enjoyed our beers.
Eventually, hypothermia was setting in so we headed inside to have another Grey Ghost for me and two halves, one of Marble Lagonda and one of Bad Seed India Lager on keg for Tash. We supped these slowly in what was a fairly busy pub, warmed considerably after the chill outside.
Our final stop of the night was the Albion. Its safe to say that on non football days, this is a quiet pub. We got in at 21.30 or so and were more or less the only customers until our friends joined us later. There were two Clarks real ales and Brimstone and Deception from Abbeydale, at £3.00 a pint, so we went for a pint each of Deception, and a pile of Bombay mix for a pound. We chatted with the Irish guy behind the bar for a while before Paul came in for his friend's birthday with a few others, but they only stayed for one.
Later we were joined by Clare, Gav, Rico and Gaz for last drinks. We sat at the table slightly lower down on the left and chatted about food and booze and much more. More pints of Deception and Brimstone were supped, a fantastic way to end the night.
Another example of excellent real ale venues in sunny Sheffield!
By the way, I am becoming aware that with reduced funds, my trips to the pub are not only becoming fewer, but also seem to concentrate on specific areas. West Street from the Bath to Shakespeares seems to be a favourite. Luckily the Heeley Triangle. Of Ale, has seen a slight change, as has the continued excellence of Crookes and as above, Walkley. However, if anyone could nominate an area more or less in Sheffield where I could find 3 or 4 real ale pubs close together I would be more than willing to try them out - either leave a comment on here or put one on Facefriend.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
just time to tell you about another couple of nights out in the suburban slake-holes of Sheffield. A return to two pubs not visited for a good while, and a couple of bright new things on London Road.
As promised, myself and Tash decided to visit the Palm in Walkley. As we were meeting in town first, and I was early (or rather, Tash was late), we met in the Red Deer. I had two halves initially - Flack Manor Hedge Hop and Salopian Darwin's Origin. Unfortunately, although similar, the Darwin was in fact much better - something I discovered when I bought myself and Tash two pints of the Flack Manor....
A further pint and a half of the Salopian followed before we headed across the road to catch the 95. Soon enough we were walking down Palm Street to the Palm Inn. There were two real ales on the bar - Tetley and Farmers Blonde. We both went for a pint of the latter. We settled down on chairs on the left hand side of the small front room and got chatting to a singer and cat whisperer and his companion who were visiting for the first time. The Cat, incidentally, was called Mr or Mrs P - Mr P they said, had cared for the cat when he lived across the road and when he died, the cat came to the pub, and stayed. He, or she, certainly loved the cat whisperer.
Two more pints followed of the Blonde and Tash went outside to find someone from her road waiting for a taxi - helping to confirm Sheffield, once again, as the biggest village in the world. I understand that the current tenants are to leave very soon, and the new lady behind the team taking over was chatting across from us. I get the feeling very little will change, and with real ale at £2.60 a pint that is welcome news.
Up the hill next we went to the Walkley Cottage. I haven't been in for a few years but found apart from a lack of lighting at the side entrance, that very little has changed. There are still 5 or more real ales on and I suspect they still do food. The lass behind the bar was friendly and gave us a couple of tasters of the beers and we plumped for Landlord for me and something Blonde for Tash. We then sat down in the corner and chatted and soaked up the atmosphere.
It was admittedly quiet, although it was a midweek night so maybe that's not surprising. The pub is built in 1930's roadhouse style and used to be divided into two with an entrance on each side and no way through at the front - alas its now been opened out, well, many years ago, but retains separate areas for drinking.
Last night I found myself at Heeley Green collecting something for Tash, and nipped into the Brothers Arms. Disappointingly, there was nothing hoppy on the bar at all, as the barman admitted, although a Liverpool Organic beer was coming on in 20 minutes time. Instead, I opted for a half of Nethergate Suffolk County bitter and Farmers Decade. According to their website, this is a celebration of their ten year anniversary. I have to say, it drinks very easy at 5.5% but is quite underwhelming as a celebration of ten years brewing! The Suffolk County was a traditional lower ABV brown bitter which was a nice change - alas, a meeting on London Road and an influx of horrendously loud screaming children prompted my swift exit.
I met Tash in town and we walked slowly to the Beer Engine. No Mr V this time but as usual a good range of beers on the bar. Tash had a pint of Celt Experience Silures, and I a pint of the Raw Grey Ghost at 5.9%. We sat out in the beer garden trying to pretend it wasn't cold, and thoroughly enjoyed our beers.
Eventually, hypothermia was setting in so we headed inside to have another Grey Ghost for me and two halves, one of Marble Lagonda and one of Bad Seed India Lager on keg for Tash. We supped these slowly in what was a fairly busy pub, warmed considerably after the chill outside.
Our final stop of the night was the Albion. Its safe to say that on non football days, this is a quiet pub. We got in at 21.30 or so and were more or less the only customers until our friends joined us later. There were two Clarks real ales and Brimstone and Deception from Abbeydale, at £3.00 a pint, so we went for a pint each of Deception, and a pile of Bombay mix for a pound. We chatted with the Irish guy behind the bar for a while before Paul came in for his friend's birthday with a few others, but they only stayed for one.
Later we were joined by Clare, Gav, Rico and Gaz for last drinks. We sat at the table slightly lower down on the left and chatted about food and booze and much more. More pints of Deception and Brimstone were supped, a fantastic way to end the night.
Another example of excellent real ale venues in sunny Sheffield!
By the way, I am becoming aware that with reduced funds, my trips to the pub are not only becoming fewer, but also seem to concentrate on specific areas. West Street from the Bath to Shakespeares seems to be a favourite. Luckily the Heeley Triangle. Of Ale, has seen a slight change, as has the continued excellence of Crookes and as above, Walkley. However, if anyone could nominate an area more or less in Sheffield where I could find 3 or 4 real ale pubs close together I would be more than willing to try them out - either leave a comment on here or put one on Facefriend.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
Sunday, 26 April 2015
A lovely weekend in the city of ale
Now then,
do you see what I did? I put "the city of ale", knowing that those of you who live in Sheffield will at once correctly identify Sheffield as the city of ale, and that those of you who don't, may have other, erroneous assumptions about it. Its no more than a lure, of course. Its obviously Sheffield.....
Last Sunday, despite both of us being injured, myself and Tash decided to walk into town to meet Wee Keefy at the station. We took an unusual route, down to Darnall, over the railway, up to and over the Parkway and up Manor Lane to the castle then down City Road, Granville and along Norfolk Road to the station. Considering our injuries it didn't take too long. And once there, we headed for the Sheffield Tap.
Inside Wee Keefy was patiently waiting, and had been for 30 minutes. I got us both a pint of Oakham JHB and we chatted to WK about Scotland, the ttrip to which we were discussing and were given the tickets for. I thought about trying the non German and non mild German Mild from Kirkstall but went instead for delicious pints of Loki Black IPA from Tiny Rebel, in fact we all did. WK then lost control of his wallet and made a rash but ultimately delightful purchase.
We had been laughing at the absurd price of the Harviestoun Ola Dubh whisky aged reserve stout at 10.5%. It was nearly a tenner a bottle. Nobody would pay that wild they? Well,. WK did and got three third glasses and shared it between us. Gawd Blezzim! I understand from the blurb on the bottle that it was brewed in 1991. Or, at least, that is when they first did their increasing by 0.1% strong beer up until 2000. It could, therefore have been the 2000 brew, bottled in 1991 whisky casks, but to be fair its not clear. What was clear, was the absolutely beautiful beer the bottle contained.
Absolutely jet black, with a strong aroma of whisky - Highland Park casks were used - its difficult to convey just how easy drinking it was. At 10.5% you expect a bit of chewiness, but this was so smooth and ultimately very well balanced. Looking at the back of the bottle I see now - the beer was aged in oak barrels used previously to age Highland Park's 1991 vintage scotch whisky - and the front tells me it was bottled in April 2013. Irrespective of when the beer was brewed, it tastes amazing. It contains oats and barley by the way, but also is not a stout. Its a strong dark ale.
To finish, and now joined by Mr Devden, we had haves f the Magic Rock Human Cannonball at 9.3 %. I shan't disclose the price. It was a lovely end to a fantastic drink with WK in the Sheffield Tap.
Up next, after we had seen Matty off, we went to the Tap and Tankard. Sunday nights in the TnT are always quiet but all other drinkers had left by about 22.00. Me and Tash sat in the little alcove at the end of the bar for an hour or two enjoying perfect pints of the Hand Drawn Monkey Aussie Red, a deliciously smooth, easy drinking, but hoppy and bitter red ale from the Huddersfield brewers.
There was excellent tunes from female blues singers in the 30's to the 50.s and as it got quieter the atmosphere became more soothing, making us feel right at home. There were other beers on than the Aussie Red but we didn't want anything else. It was the perfect, mildly soporific finisher, to an excellent session of drinking.
Out of interest, we were given a free 3rd of the Harviestoun Old Engine Oil, which is more likely a stout, with our free food tasters at the Beer Engine a couple of weeks ago. It complemented the chorizo and sweet potato perfectly. I think I may have unknowingly fallen out of love with Harviestoun recently but along with Schiehallion their cask lager, I think the above displays a fantastic quality of products from the brewery. One to look out for, I think, across all formats.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
do you see what I did? I put "the city of ale", knowing that those of you who live in Sheffield will at once correctly identify Sheffield as the city of ale, and that those of you who don't, may have other, erroneous assumptions about it. Its no more than a lure, of course. Its obviously Sheffield.....
Last Sunday, despite both of us being injured, myself and Tash decided to walk into town to meet Wee Keefy at the station. We took an unusual route, down to Darnall, over the railway, up to and over the Parkway and up Manor Lane to the castle then down City Road, Granville and along Norfolk Road to the station. Considering our injuries it didn't take too long. And once there, we headed for the Sheffield Tap.
Inside Wee Keefy was patiently waiting, and had been for 30 minutes. I got us both a pint of Oakham JHB and we chatted to WK about Scotland, the ttrip to which we were discussing and were given the tickets for. I thought about trying the non German and non mild German Mild from Kirkstall but went instead for delicious pints of Loki Black IPA from Tiny Rebel, in fact we all did. WK then lost control of his wallet and made a rash but ultimately delightful purchase.
We had been laughing at the absurd price of the Harviestoun Ola Dubh whisky aged reserve stout at 10.5%. It was nearly a tenner a bottle. Nobody would pay that wild they? Well,. WK did and got three third glasses and shared it between us. Gawd Blezzim! I understand from the blurb on the bottle that it was brewed in 1991. Or, at least, that is when they first did their increasing by 0.1% strong beer up until 2000. It could, therefore have been the 2000 brew, bottled in 1991 whisky casks, but to be fair its not clear. What was clear, was the absolutely beautiful beer the bottle contained.
Absolutely jet black, with a strong aroma of whisky - Highland Park casks were used - its difficult to convey just how easy drinking it was. At 10.5% you expect a bit of chewiness, but this was so smooth and ultimately very well balanced. Looking at the back of the bottle I see now - the beer was aged in oak barrels used previously to age Highland Park's 1991 vintage scotch whisky - and the front tells me it was bottled in April 2013. Irrespective of when the beer was brewed, it tastes amazing. It contains oats and barley by the way, but also is not a stout. Its a strong dark ale.
To finish, and now joined by Mr Devden, we had haves f the Magic Rock Human Cannonball at 9.3 %. I shan't disclose the price. It was a lovely end to a fantastic drink with WK in the Sheffield Tap.
Up next, after we had seen Matty off, we went to the Tap and Tankard. Sunday nights in the TnT are always quiet but all other drinkers had left by about 22.00. Me and Tash sat in the little alcove at the end of the bar for an hour or two enjoying perfect pints of the Hand Drawn Monkey Aussie Red, a deliciously smooth, easy drinking, but hoppy and bitter red ale from the Huddersfield brewers.
There was excellent tunes from female blues singers in the 30's to the 50.s and as it got quieter the atmosphere became more soothing, making us feel right at home. There were other beers on than the Aussie Red but we didn't want anything else. It was the perfect, mildly soporific finisher, to an excellent session of drinking.
Out of interest, we were given a free 3rd of the Harviestoun Old Engine Oil, which is more likely a stout, with our free food tasters at the Beer Engine a couple of weeks ago. It complemented the chorizo and sweet potato perfectly. I think I may have unknowingly fallen out of love with Harviestoun recently but along with Schiehallion their cask lager, I think the above displays a fantastic quality of products from the brewery. One to look out for, I think, across all formats.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
Sunday, 12 April 2015
Some short Sheffield pub crawls
Now then,
just a quick round up of a few trips out I have enjoyed in the last week with Tash and others. With one exception I haven't had to travel far to get to these pubs, and as always, all have served excellent beers.
On Easter Monday Tash and I got off the bus in town and walked onto London Road, well Cemetery Road actually, and visited the Beer Engine. It was good to bump into my friend Mr Vintin, who I understand is assisting with the pub's social media, and it was nice to be able to sit outside as well. Tash had halves of Blackjack Fusion and another, and I started on a pint of the Thirst Aid from Exit 33. We finished sat inside, on a pint and a half of the excellent Bad Seed American Pale Ale on keg which was delicious. It was also our chance to try a free sample of the food. Chunks of chorizo with Spanish sweet potatoes in a piri piri sauce was a prefect match. Food now available.
We walked up London Road to the Picture House Social to discover they were selling their beers off at half price. We started with pints of the Blackjack and Arbor Live Long and Prosper, and then the Indy Man Beer House and Celt Experience Yes Way IPA. We finished on pints of that and the Weird Beard Decadence Stout - to be honest none of the beers were in tip top condition but they were all at least 6.0% and complex so that didn't matter so much.
Wednesday I walked from home to the Brothers Arms - it took me about 1 hour 45 or 50, including getting lost on Manor Top. I had several delicious pints of Tiny Rebel Loki Black IPA in here waiting to be joined by Matty and Tash. Shame there was n food though! Down the street next to the Sheaf View and we once again got the last table to sit at. I knw I had an IPA but am unsure which! All the beers we tried were in good form though. Our penultimate pub was the White Lion, where we sat in the upper end and listened in on the end of the quiz. Pints of Jaipur and Hobgoblin were the order of the day here, along with some free sandwiches. We finished the night in Shakespeares enjoying some North Riding and Five Towns OAP DIPA at 9.6%. Just a pint and a half each....
Friday saw us up on Crookes for Wee Keefy's birthday drinks. Me Tash and Matty met first in the Bath Hotel to enjoy pints of Celt Experience Selurius (?) before heading to the Ball on Crookes to be joined by Alison, WK, Carlos, Paddington, Jack, Jo and Neil. Pints included Tempest Stout and their American 5 Hop IPA from Blue Bee Brewery, and we spent four hours here before hopping on a bus into town to finish in Shakespeares. Here, obviously, it was time for more pints of the OAP DIPA, and to meet Alex Paramore and his lady friend whose name I was sure I would remember but have not. Sorry Alex's lady friend whose name I was sure I would remember but have not....
So, apart from slack reporting skills, I thin the above demonstrates that Sheffield continuously delivers on choice of pubs, and the ales they serve. A fact hopefully proven by my meeting Fluffy in an hour at the Tap and Tankard.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
just a quick round up of a few trips out I have enjoyed in the last week with Tash and others. With one exception I haven't had to travel far to get to these pubs, and as always, all have served excellent beers.
On Easter Monday Tash and I got off the bus in town and walked onto London Road, well Cemetery Road actually, and visited the Beer Engine. It was good to bump into my friend Mr Vintin, who I understand is assisting with the pub's social media, and it was nice to be able to sit outside as well. Tash had halves of Blackjack Fusion and another, and I started on a pint of the Thirst Aid from Exit 33. We finished sat inside, on a pint and a half of the excellent Bad Seed American Pale Ale on keg which was delicious. It was also our chance to try a free sample of the food. Chunks of chorizo with Spanish sweet potatoes in a piri piri sauce was a prefect match. Food now available.
We walked up London Road to the Picture House Social to discover they were selling their beers off at half price. We started with pints of the Blackjack and Arbor Live Long and Prosper, and then the Indy Man Beer House and Celt Experience Yes Way IPA. We finished on pints of that and the Weird Beard Decadence Stout - to be honest none of the beers were in tip top condition but they were all at least 6.0% and complex so that didn't matter so much.
Wednesday I walked from home to the Brothers Arms - it took me about 1 hour 45 or 50, including getting lost on Manor Top. I had several delicious pints of Tiny Rebel Loki Black IPA in here waiting to be joined by Matty and Tash. Shame there was n food though! Down the street next to the Sheaf View and we once again got the last table to sit at. I knw I had an IPA but am unsure which! All the beers we tried were in good form though. Our penultimate pub was the White Lion, where we sat in the upper end and listened in on the end of the quiz. Pints of Jaipur and Hobgoblin were the order of the day here, along with some free sandwiches. We finished the night in Shakespeares enjoying some North Riding and Five Towns OAP DIPA at 9.6%. Just a pint and a half each....
Friday saw us up on Crookes for Wee Keefy's birthday drinks. Me Tash and Matty met first in the Bath Hotel to enjoy pints of Celt Experience Selurius (?) before heading to the Ball on Crookes to be joined by Alison, WK, Carlos, Paddington, Jack, Jo and Neil. Pints included Tempest Stout and their American 5 Hop IPA from Blue Bee Brewery, and we spent four hours here before hopping on a bus into town to finish in Shakespeares. Here, obviously, it was time for more pints of the OAP DIPA, and to meet Alex Paramore and his lady friend whose name I was sure I would remember but have not. Sorry Alex's lady friend whose name I was sure I would remember but have not....
So, apart from slack reporting skills, I thin the above demonstrates that Sheffield continuously delivers on choice of pubs, and the ales they serve. A fact hopefully proven by my meeting Fluffy in an hour at the Tap and Tankard.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
Sunday, 5 April 2015
Two new pubs and a club
Greetings,
I said on Friday that I wasn't going to drink. This may seem an implausible statement to make, but I meant it. I had said it Thursday morning as well - any FB followers will have recognised an emerging pattern of determination to remain sober when, in the end, the slightest test of my strength, or indeed, a day at work, send me into a spiraling oblivion of libation. Anyway, with that in mind, soon after waking up I spotted two adverts from chums on Faceache regarding beer and pub type-a-things. And so, once again, I decided to ditch my temperance plan....
Old people will remember that in the 1990's there was an "ale house" on the bottom of Cemetery Road, behind what is now the Chinese fireworks place, called the Beer Engine. I remember it for two reasons: 1. It was like an ale house, but not as good as the Ball on Crookes (then called the Ale house) 2. It was very Whitbread inspired expensive. It wasn't, to be fair, very good. It closed, and became amongst other incarnations, Dulo (s?) bar and Delaneys.
On Good Friday at midday it reopened as the Beer Engine. Run by Tom Harrington and with Alice from the Brothers Arms and other staff previously incumbent at the Sheaf View, the pub is returning to its former name and role of purveyor of ales. There are 6 handpumps, 4 permanent keg lines and 3 guest keg pumps along with handpulled and Aspalls cider. There will very likely also be food such as Sunday lunches - but not today.
The venue has three rooms, one on the right as you come in with books and a fire and lovely new wooden tables, one on the right towards the back, with the spacious bar area on your left, sporting a lovely looking bar. When I arrived, to find myself the customer behind Andy Cullen, the place still smelled of paint and varnish. There is something lovely and evocative about this smell. The sun was trying to shine. The music was grand. The staff were friendly. The beers were good.
To note which, I tried a half of Exit 33 Thirst Aid or similar, a quaffable hoppy starter, and followed this with a Bass. Tom asked me what it was like and I said it was OK, and it was. Maybe not as good, in fact not as good, as that at the Station in Derby, but it was a pleasant quaffable beer. I was joined by Angie and we sat and chatted, with her on Aspalls, and then I got a pint of Buxton Axe Edge on keykeg. It was £5.25 a pint and that is probably about right considering its 6.9% and from Buxton and on keg. And this was a fantastic finisher!
Up the road next and I made my first visit to the Picture House Social. About the time the Beer Engine was first around Bar Abbey opened. I went to see Spithead there, with their tracks such as "Call the Police" and "Skascraper". I was young, skinny and in good shape and walked home half undressed after 3 hours or more of dancing to ska punk. I don't, however, remember much about the beers. Or indeed much else....
The bar is downstairs and features 3 rooms. The main room is larger and the bar is down the right, selling 3 real ales. to the end are the stairs up to the gents and an original Czech Staropramen advert, and there is a seating area and the kitchen. Immediately left is the room where a man from a cocktail bar was manning the festival bar. The Social club is, as far as I can work out, a pub. I don't think you can join, you just visit. The atmosphere as friendly, the lighting was subtle, and the food smelled amazing.
The pub had very helpfully printed a list of beers, which I have somehow contrived to retain. Since I wasn't drinking, and was meeting Tash off the coach a few hours later, I decided to have just a few beers. I started with Hawkshead NZPA at 6%. This was a little less hoppy than I had remembered or expected, but it was also a little young so would probably be perfect now. I also tried a half of the collaborative Blackjack and Arbor "Live long and prosper" a strong pale at 6.1%. They guy serving me said "of course, you know why its called that don't you?". Alas, the answer he gave me when I admitted I did not was not written down on the beer menu. Its something to do with a film. or TV show. or something...
I finished on a Fyne Ales and Siren Wee Milky Way milk black IPA - at least, there is a tick by it on the list. In fact, I actually finished on a 3 way collaboration, which therefore would heave been on keg. In reality, I have no idea hat I finished on. I bet it was nice though.
Yesterday Wee's B K and F along with Matty, Tash and Mum and Martin congregated in Crookes for a double birthday meal. Afterwards we were attending a wdding do at Whitley Hall near Grenoside - for info, no real ale, and Farmers Blonde a whopping £4.95 a bottle - prior to which Wee Fatha drove us across the back lanes to Oughtibridge and onto Wortley.
Wortley Mens Club is the recent recipient of an award from the CAMRA for being good at being a club selling real ale. WF had forgotten to bring the article with the address on but Wortley isn't a big place so we thought it would be easy to find. Having driven down every street and not found it or a soul to ask we gave up and turned up the side of the Worth;ey Arms - and there the club was! Seemingly built onto the back of the pub (but am thinking its not) the beautiful and unusual building houses a friendly club with good beer. So we went in.
The book to sign is behind the bar - WF is a CAMRA member so can sign in, but me and Tash were allowed to be signed in with him as his guests. There were three real ales on - Landlord, Butcombe Bitter and Help for Heroes. WF had a half of the latter and myself and Tash pints of the Butcombe. The small wood panneled bar area was busy so we went and sat at the end of the large high ceiling room, behind which is the snooker room and the gents. The Association Football was on, and the beer tasted lovely.
As Tash pointed out, this was the most attractive working mens club she'd ever been to, and it was mine as well. Although we didn't have long to stay as we had to get off to the do, it was a really pleasant place to sit and relax and savour some quality beer. I understand they have a beer festival on the 18th and 19th July - check their Facebook page for details soon. It is a members club, but CAMRA members can sign in and they seem quite relaxed about who can visit, so it may be worth getting in touch for more details.
So rounds up details of 2 old but new and one entirely new venue, visited s far this Easter. Time for a rest methinks......
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
I said on Friday that I wasn't going to drink. This may seem an implausible statement to make, but I meant it. I had said it Thursday morning as well - any FB followers will have recognised an emerging pattern of determination to remain sober when, in the end, the slightest test of my strength, or indeed, a day at work, send me into a spiraling oblivion of libation. Anyway, with that in mind, soon after waking up I spotted two adverts from chums on Faceache regarding beer and pub type-a-things. And so, once again, I decided to ditch my temperance plan....
Old people will remember that in the 1990's there was an "ale house" on the bottom of Cemetery Road, behind what is now the Chinese fireworks place, called the Beer Engine. I remember it for two reasons: 1. It was like an ale house, but not as good as the Ball on Crookes (then called the Ale house) 2. It was very Whitbread inspired expensive. It wasn't, to be fair, very good. It closed, and became amongst other incarnations, Dulo (s?) bar and Delaneys.
On Good Friday at midday it reopened as the Beer Engine. Run by Tom Harrington and with Alice from the Brothers Arms and other staff previously incumbent at the Sheaf View, the pub is returning to its former name and role of purveyor of ales. There are 6 handpumps, 4 permanent keg lines and 3 guest keg pumps along with handpulled and Aspalls cider. There will very likely also be food such as Sunday lunches - but not today.
The venue has three rooms, one on the right as you come in with books and a fire and lovely new wooden tables, one on the right towards the back, with the spacious bar area on your left, sporting a lovely looking bar. When I arrived, to find myself the customer behind Andy Cullen, the place still smelled of paint and varnish. There is something lovely and evocative about this smell. The sun was trying to shine. The music was grand. The staff were friendly. The beers were good.
To note which, I tried a half of Exit 33 Thirst Aid or similar, a quaffable hoppy starter, and followed this with a Bass. Tom asked me what it was like and I said it was OK, and it was. Maybe not as good, in fact not as good, as that at the Station in Derby, but it was a pleasant quaffable beer. I was joined by Angie and we sat and chatted, with her on Aspalls, and then I got a pint of Buxton Axe Edge on keykeg. It was £5.25 a pint and that is probably about right considering its 6.9% and from Buxton and on keg. And this was a fantastic finisher!
Up the road next and I made my first visit to the Picture House Social. About the time the Beer Engine was first around Bar Abbey opened. I went to see Spithead there, with their tracks such as "Call the Police" and "Skascraper". I was young, skinny and in good shape and walked home half undressed after 3 hours or more of dancing to ska punk. I don't, however, remember much about the beers. Or indeed much else....
The bar is downstairs and features 3 rooms. The main room is larger and the bar is down the right, selling 3 real ales. to the end are the stairs up to the gents and an original Czech Staropramen advert, and there is a seating area and the kitchen. Immediately left is the room where a man from a cocktail bar was manning the festival bar. The Social club is, as far as I can work out, a pub. I don't think you can join, you just visit. The atmosphere as friendly, the lighting was subtle, and the food smelled amazing.
The pub had very helpfully printed a list of beers, which I have somehow contrived to retain. Since I wasn't drinking, and was meeting Tash off the coach a few hours later, I decided to have just a few beers. I started with Hawkshead NZPA at 6%. This was a little less hoppy than I had remembered or expected, but it was also a little young so would probably be perfect now. I also tried a half of the collaborative Blackjack and Arbor "Live long and prosper" a strong pale at 6.1%. They guy serving me said "of course, you know why its called that don't you?". Alas, the answer he gave me when I admitted I did not was not written down on the beer menu. Its something to do with a film. or TV show. or something...
I finished on a Fyne Ales and Siren Wee Milky Way milk black IPA - at least, there is a tick by it on the list. In fact, I actually finished on a 3 way collaboration, which therefore would heave been on keg. In reality, I have no idea hat I finished on. I bet it was nice though.
Yesterday Wee's B K and F along with Matty, Tash and Mum and Martin congregated in Crookes for a double birthday meal. Afterwards we were attending a wdding do at Whitley Hall near Grenoside - for info, no real ale, and Farmers Blonde a whopping £4.95 a bottle - prior to which Wee Fatha drove us across the back lanes to Oughtibridge and onto Wortley.
Wortley Mens Club is the recent recipient of an award from the CAMRA for being good at being a club selling real ale. WF had forgotten to bring the article with the address on but Wortley isn't a big place so we thought it would be easy to find. Having driven down every street and not found it or a soul to ask we gave up and turned up the side of the Worth;ey Arms - and there the club was! Seemingly built onto the back of the pub (but am thinking its not) the beautiful and unusual building houses a friendly club with good beer. So we went in.
The book to sign is behind the bar - WF is a CAMRA member so can sign in, but me and Tash were allowed to be signed in with him as his guests. There were three real ales on - Landlord, Butcombe Bitter and Help for Heroes. WF had a half of the latter and myself and Tash pints of the Butcombe. The small wood panneled bar area was busy so we went and sat at the end of the large high ceiling room, behind which is the snooker room and the gents. The Association Football was on, and the beer tasted lovely.
As Tash pointed out, this was the most attractive working mens club she'd ever been to, and it was mine as well. Although we didn't have long to stay as we had to get off to the do, it was a really pleasant place to sit and relax and savour some quality beer. I understand they have a beer festival on the 18th and 19th July - check their Facebook page for details soon. It is a members club, but CAMRA members can sign in and they seem quite relaxed about who can visit, so it may be worth getting in touch for more details.
So rounds up details of 2 old but new and one entirely new venue, visited s far this Easter. Time for a rest methinks......
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
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