Another day, another celebration

Evenin

    well its not quite as dishearteningly familiar as the title may imply, but after a 5th day of Jubilee fever I am craving a more temperate physiology. Today, despite my grand plans for travelling afar and sampling delights from Derbyshire, we have been out on a nearer to home pilgrimage to the Jubilee festivities here in Sheffield.

Except, its noticable that apart from pubs making an effort, and a free music event in Western Park, absolutely nothing civic was going on at all. Not even a flag, not bunting, not a union jack painted or hoisted or even showing in any municipal space or capacity across the whole of the centre. Excuse my text parlance here, but WTF?

Those who know me well know I am not a monarchist. Never have been, never intend to jump onto the hereditary privilege boat and never cared a jot about how the Royals might continue to stamp or smear their marks on society. However, this is the diamond Jubilee. I assure you this isn't likely to happen again (and I mean any 60th year of reign, obviously not W-Liz, as the kids probably call her) in our lifetimes. So irrespective of your views, you'd surely want to have something to declare that you did on the weekend of the Jubilee? If you are pro monarchy you'd surely want something to attend, if you are anti Royal, surely your protest by absence needs an event or happening to be absent from?

Who knows what the council's reasoning is, maybe our Chartist past in Sheffield means we are eternally dissident (I realise that dissident is usually political not monarchical opposition), or maybe our socialist republic past confirms us universally anti inherited rule and suspectly acquired wealth so we have to abstain from all celebration? Either way, its a shame that the only people making an effort are individuals and pubs.

Forum

Still, that means I could shoehorn a trip to a pub or three into the legitimate celebrations of the last day of the Jubilee Holiday.  We started by taking a trip to Western Park, and having a look around the museum and the free music event, then walked towards town. A required loo stop meant a trip to the Forum (please note, we don't have to go to the Forum everytime we need to visit the lavatory. That would be silly).

Here there were two True North brewery real ales on, First Summer (I think, not tried) and First Porter, which was a really very nice drink. I had a pint of that, Chala a Peroni, then we stopped for dinner, with which I had a pint of refreshing Franziskaner wheat. There was flags and other red white and blue theming on beams inside but it was understated. Probably looked better for it.

Fat Cat

After getting to town I pointed out to Chala that we needed a further walk after dinner and sold her on the idea of a vintage red bus ride from the Cat. We walked down past Bower Spring furnace remains and arrived at a busless pub. We enquired about there being another trip (based on a lack of info on their website) and were told it would return soon and would probably go out again.

Whilst we waited I had two halves, the Spire Queen of Diamonds, a fruity and refreshing ale, and a half of the excellent Salamander Black Eyed Boy stout, whilst Chala had a half of Erdinger Dunkel.

The bus duly arrived and we went to chat to the driver and found out it would be a bit before our tour began, so I had another half, this time the Derby Brewing Co Diamond Jubilee (unless they wrote it on the board wrong, that wins a prize for the most unimaginative Jubilee beer name) which was a pleasant enough drink.

Eventually departure time arrived and we set off on a half hour tour of the city, which, if nothing else, starkly highlighted the astounding lack of any outward recognition that it was an important day. Thank God when we returned to the Fat Cat there was a nice line in mini flags strung up and a barbecue, where we filled up on beer soaking snacks. Well done to the Cat for putting on a celebration.

Shakespeares

Our last point of call, and with rather a lot less celebratory paraphanalia than the Cat, was Shakespeares, although they did have a Jubilee beer or two on. Here I had an excellent pint of the Arbor Brigstow Bitter at 4.3% and £2.60 a pint, and Chala had a half of the Fernandes Jackdaw mild, a jet black slightly strong mild at 5.0%.  I also had time for a quick half of the Cotswold Spring Ambler, which was a pleasant malty bitter but paled in comparison to the dry fruity bitterness of the Arbor.

Just a reminder by the way that the Shakespeares beer festival starts Thursday, and a quick neb at the brewery list (posted on the wall and door) shows ales from Locale breweries including two new from Blue Bee and Steel City, along with the likes of Ironbridge, Revelations, Tynebank, Llangorse, Black Hill, Arbor and many others that I didn't write down (pushed for time, sorry, indeed these are all remembered, i.e mostly, but not entirely factual!).

Make sure you go along for a pint or 6.

So, that concludes my details of a rather unusual Jubilee weekend celebration for myself, with not as many pubs as I would have preferred, but plenty of beer and celebrations to help me along.

Cheers!

Wee Beefy

Wee Beefy's Thursday through Saturday celebrations....

Oh aye,

  well mercifully this is the last week of wobbling post for tonight, as am tired and need to relax before going back to work to, well, sit in front of a better computer. So here are the details of Friday and Saturday.

Once again I had to meet Chala after work, this time I had to go to the bank first before hot footing it to the Bath Hotel for my first visit after it reopened. Arriving at 5PM I admit I have already described the finer points to you (well, all but one of you it seems) so I'll skip onto venue 2....

Forum

As it was actually Chala's birthday (and despite my having something to celebrate which I can assure you I managed on Saturday), we started in the Forum. This time I dallied with the idea of a half but in the end opted for some waaarn, which is apparently supposed to demonstrate maturity.

We got to our meal destination in good time and more wine flowed, but unfortunately, despite a planned continuation of ale celebration, the whole event cost us so much that we went home early with no beer consumed.......

Saturday - Sheffield Tap

Having left Chala to fanny about in shops with Thangor I headed off on a quest to avoid hearing any football scores, whilst also drinking to keep the thoughts at bay. Choice one, at midday, didn't herald any scores but did at least prove a poor idea in terms of avoiding Football details.

The bar at the Tap was perhaps best described as a scrum. The door policy seemed to be basically if you are wearing a football shirt keep it hidden but it was a sea of Wednesday everywhere you turned. Worse still beers were going off (running out) left right and centre.

Despite this I got a delicious pint of the Mallinsons Nelson Sauvin. They are making a determined bid for my 2012 top ten, having been a kind of begrudging choice in the past, whether by fault or accident. The Nelson Sauvin was a great chance to separate the flavour of the hop, which I was now clear didn't have the acidic, chemical bite of Simcoe.

In the room at the back there were many fans, made up with a contingent of French Owls. This rather incongruous mix was a breath of fresh air though in a busy, tense venue that was by beer 2 slightly thinning out. Just before I headed back to the bar a throng of lasses appeared en route to somewhere far away (based on their absurd amounts of stowage, and thats not a euphemism) and this perhaps proved important in the bigger scheme of things.

Meanwhile I quickly got served again and had a half of the Magic Rock High Wire IPA and Curious. The Curious was better even than it had been at Dada, with a brilliant burnt toffee flavour that mellowed into the aftertaste perfectly, making this the beer of the day so far. Alas, I cut short my visit, since the other visitors had sought to arrive with those annoying streamer things which you blow and they make a crap noise? Even with beer and reading matter to distract me, 4 people hooting at once is just annoying! So I ran away, and everything.

Shakespeares

As you know I was at the Rutland first, which was documented in a post earlier so I shall give details of my next stop, at Shakespeares on Gibraltar Street instead. Here I had a pint of Navigation brewery stout from a new concern based in Nottingham, which was a fantastic beer. Initially I thought it was an Elland beer based on the info on the board. I had this along with an essential pack of crisps and finished on a really enjoyable Dark Star Six Hop IPA, £3.20 a pint, and 6.2% ( I misread as 6.5). Despite the threat of citric and ascorbic meltdown this was a brilliant blend of hops to create a satisfying strong pale ale.

Kelham Island Tavern

My first visit for a while and I opted for old reliable -  a pint of the Thwaites Nutty Black. This was a brief visit, chatting to the guy I saw in Shakespeares about football (the results of which I now knew) and beers here in Sheffield. It was nice to slow down and enjoy another dark pint of beer and a chat, but with celebration on my mind I opted to go for a last one in the Cat round the corner....

Fat Cat

Fatty's, as it can be known (L'Chappelle) was busy as you'd expect and I got only a half in here which in the melee of rejoicing and slight cider invoked tiredness I negated to record. Still, what better way to finish my beer travels on a wonderful day (I should point out that I got promoted Friday, so this was a multi layered celebration, including the achievements of Beefy family club, in that someone once played for them, Hyde United) than with a beer at the pub where, virtually, my love of real ale began.

From here I wended my way home via the shops to spend an evening with Chala and to have a fabulous surprise meal. Overall a fantastic day of highs, and almost no lows. Cheers!

Wee Beefy

Wee Beefy's Wednesdays wander.

Ay up,

    This didn't take place in two days time. Oh no, much more down to earth drinking experiences for me. This was something that is, as part of my week of imbibition, the second update on my revelry over the period of celebration just passed, starting with a few choice chalices on Wednesday.

I was to meet Chala after work for night one of her birthday celebrations. I found myself a little spare time and headed for a couple of halves prior to meeting up. I started at an old stalwart from my youth.

West End

The West End seems to be in a kaleidoscope of fuzzy and misfiled memories from my past - for a start, I always call it the Hallamshire, even though the two names don't sound the same, and the Hallamshire was in fact the boozer I migrated to a year after I gave up on the West End for being grim.

Visiting now it doesn't look radically different on the outside. But then things change. For reasons not immediately (or, really, ever) obvious to me, the interior is currently done out in a sort of faux medieval style. There is a dark wood bar with abbey style window shapes behind it, and fake castle or abbey wood ceilings, and other thematic nods to the era. Its odd, yes, but I reckon when I used to drink in here aged 17 and 18 it would have suited me quite well then and crucially gone unnoticed.

On the bar were three ales in direct opposition to current beer styles, Theakstons Lightfoot, Greedy King OSH, and Old Peculier, which, had it not been en route, I might have stayed to try. As it was I felt sensible and had a half of the Lightfoot. It was OK, cost £1.45 and was so inoffensive as to be strange, but one assumes the owners or managers have an idea what sells and if this is what does then so be it.

University Arms

I popped in for a quick half and found a plethora of tasty choices - such is life, when you have time for a session there is little to tempt, when you have ten minutes everything seems great. As it was I opted for a half of the Stroud Brewery Teasle, 4.3 % and £1.35 a half. This was a fantastic beer,  my first Stroud offering, and one which I particularly enjoyed.

Sat in the beer garden it was nice to take advantage of a rare spell of vaguely clement weather to enjoy my beer, but as was the flavour of the evening, I was all too soon off elsewhere.

Old House

I met Chala in here for a pint or two. She had already chosen a cocktail and after a taster or two I opted for a pint of my "usual" Bradfield Farmers Stout. This was quite nice, but all too soon Chala was out of Birthday drinks so I fetched a cocktail or summat and a half of Pale Rider for a change, plus a half of the Bradfield Plum Bitter. The plum wasn't that bad, but I wouldn't have a session on it, and the Pale Rider made a pleasant change. I also bought a bottle of Saison Silly, since it appears that everyone on the Internet likes Saison. It was also enjoyable, though hardly a defining moment in my beer tastes.

Forum

Having booked our table for a meal elsewhere we had a bit of time to kill so went to the Forum for a change. Here the Brew Co/Forum Group/True North First Born was on (and drinkable) so I had a pint of that. The decor has changed slightly and the wine list isn't as good but at least the beer was orate....

Rutland Arms

After our meal I persuaded Chala that the best place to sample a good jukebox and for us both to drink something we liked was the 11 minute walk away Rutland Arms. We made it in 12, but I was still broadly correct. Here I had a pint of one of the excellent Mallinsons single hop beers Amarillo 11, a fantastic and hugely quaffable bitter ale with all the best flavours afforded by amarillo hops.

Chala meanwhile commandeered the jukebox and we met up with a couple who were doing the same, Neil and , erm, oops, in the passage of time she has become Mrs Neil. Sorry both!

Time passed enjoyably and we both had another beer, before Neil very kindly bought us a drink, seeing as it was Chala's birthday. She had another Leffe (perhaps a Leffe too many?) and me a half of the mild. You know, the mild. Which was on. From er, you know. Thingy.

All in all this was a fantastic night out with great company and due to a certain somebody being a trifle refreshed we were home just after 22.00 and I had time for some food to erase any ill effects. A great night out.

Wee Beefy

Forum bars pub crawl

Aah, readers,

      last night I embarked on a mission to compare the drinking and dining experience in some of the Forum Bars chain's premises. I made 3 of the 5, before me and Chala opted for a more sedentary repose at the 1854. Here are the salient details of that hard working assessment.

The Broadfield Ale House

As we found ourselves up Nether Edge way, and seeing that the Union was closed (but not knowing if this was down to it being pre 17.00 or the rumoured ill health of the licensee), we headed down to Abbeydale road for Chala's first trip to the "new " Broadfield. Both me an err used to live nearby and given that the other nearest pubs were on Chesterfield road or further up Sheldon Road, the Broadfield was our local, even if it wasn't our most oft visited boozer. Chala reckoned that, having seen the sign and entered the large room that is now the whole of the pub, it had changed beyond recognition. Personally, I think the left hand side is very similar, but better decorated, and am reasonably certain that the bar remains in situ.

I knew that we'd have to walk round the bar to discover the secret that was the beer range, and on noticing a dearth of Chala-friendly continental draught (no wheat beer? Come on now...) I quickly chose my pint, whilst Chala eventually plumped for a bottle of Erdinger. The lass who served us was very friendly and helpful, although she missed that there were two Belgian draught beers, Westmalle Tripel and Kwak - both of which I have never seen on draught before. We went in the right hand side as we were only drinking, to find our first annoyance of the night.

Not two minutes after we had sat down a staff member came and plonked an A4 sheet on our table and informed us it was reserved for someone we didn't catch or care about's 50th birthday shindig, as if this somehow made it less irritating. Granted, this unwelcome intrusion was not happening until 19.00, nearly 2 hours away, but I can't agree with reserving an ordinary table for having a pint. That's just daft. Still, that didn't stop me enjoying my pint, although maybe that would have been a good thing since it lasted me 4 minutes. The Farmers stout was better than it can be at the Old House and was a little flat, making it deliciously and eminently suppable.

I went back to the bar to order a pint of the Leveller from Springhead, and to moan about reserved tables and the lack of a cask beer board.  I meant it half seriously but mainly in jest and it was treated like that. This meant i wanted to be served by the same lass again - quite often bar staff don't understand sarcasm, comic exaggeration, irony or just humour, so finding someone similarly tuned in was a winner.

I was back minutes later, after enjoying some of my delicious but more bitter than I recalled Leveller, to grab something so Utopian in its naming that I feared I may have dreamt it - a pie menu, and a sausage menu. Manna. Having spotted many a tempting mix of flavours from both we set about trying to get a table to eat. And here again, alas, the Broadfield came up with trumps.

Why, I hear you ask? Because there are almost no free tables (over half reserved) and even the ones reserved don't have a sign on. Here, our old friend expectation plays his hand - I expected to sit at a table I liked, in trying to do so my hopes are dashed, I expected to find a warm place to sit, but in having a choice of about 3 tables only, all in direct draught line of the doors, my hopes aren't realised once again. We select a seat at a nice table in one of the bay windows. Its really cold. Thanks for that.

We order our food and me another pint, enquire again about a real ale board which am assured is being done, which is good, and then ask for a wine list. I don't want to sound like I have forgotten that this is a pub, but I expect it to be similar to the York and The Old House. Both have excellent wine lists. The Broadfield needs to catch up. Only one Rose (for Chala, not me obviously), all the whites are dry, and there are only 3 reds.  Chala goes for a Pinot Noir which is OK, but better with food, and am never sure if that is a good sign - personally I reckon not. I go for more Farmers and a watery but tasty Acorn Yorkshire Pride.

The food comes and is delicious in decent sized portions, and only £6.50 so that's decent value. By the time we finish eating the place is rammed, but alas this extra warmth has not floated to our table and its been a cold dining experience for the most part. Paying at the bar I recommend to my chosen staff member that they should invest in some double glazing.

Overall ? Nice decor, great food, good real ale but an over reliance on standard Abbeydale and Bradfield offerings,. stupid table reservation policy, bad seating layout, excellent friendly bar staff, best pint of Farmers Stout for a very long time. 7/10.

The Forum

This was our second venue after we had tried and failed to desire staying in the green Room - details further on. The Forum is fairly busy for what must be 20.00. All we have to do is choose where best to sit. So many times we have been frustrated at being pounced upon by zealous staff waging a secretive war against incomers choosing their table, by keeping almost every table reserved without them seeming to ever be occupied. So we head left from the bar to find seating. There is a raised settee festoooned bit which overlooks almost all of the main seating areas, which I don't recall seeing before, and we find a nice comfy place there to relax and enjoy our drinks.

In reference to which, on the bar there are two handpumps, one clip is turned round but there is an Abbeydale Gothic pump clip showing. Excitedly I ask for a taste. It smells of vinegar. It tastes sour. Its horrible. "Jesus wept" I helpfully remark, expecting the barman to be disappointed that a beer he deems suitable to sell is in fact off. Nope, he says "yeah, I don;t  really like the taste either". Its off for Gods sake - whats to like? I am mildly horrified that he may have tasted it and thought that was the beer's unique character coming through, or the idea that no-one all day had ventured to buy real ale, but I put these niggles to one side to peruse the wine list. (note, the below picture is intended to be a tiled freize depicting a jester. Although he could be a harlequin. Read into that what you will....)

Its changed quite a bit since the summer but that's not necessarily a bad thing, although I really fancied the Villa Maria NZ Sauvignon Blanc. Instead Chala has an Italian Rose and me a Chilean Pinot Noir. Despite the glass being needlessly warm, this is a nice drink.

Overall? The music is OK, the decor is best ignored but isn't encroachingly bad, and the ambiance is relaxed. The beer range uniformally disappoints, in fact its best when only Moonshine is available given their odd stewardship of guest ales. The wine is good and comes from a list, so well done there, and the food menu has changed and it looks better than it used to. 6/10.

The Old House

Twice in one week is a worrying trend for us but I'm definitely in the mood for some ale and reckon there's likely to be a Farmers Stout waiting for me. The Old House is busy and the only free table is a chilly one plonked thoughtlessly near the door but the beer cloak is knitting itself round me so I don't mind too much. Chala has a Margarita, I have a pint of the Abbeydale Epiphany having missed it on Sunday. I was right, its better than the transformation, but I have to say its hardly an outstanding beer.

The musics good in here as well so that makes us relaxed and we are soon back at the bar, Chala plumping for a reorder and me giving in to the Farmers Stout, which is better today than last time, but still can't match that I tried in the Broady.

Hopefully the brevity of this assessment will not suggest an unwillingness to fully explore the inherent merits and faults of the venue, but really I can't say much else about our experience - we came in, sat down, had great drinks, talked and enjoyed ourselves. This then, serves as the summary. 8/10. (I like the Old House).

So, that concludes our Forum bars crawl. But what does it tell us?

Well firstly, reading this back, it seems that I am 37 going on 70, but in more practical terms it suggests that:

We found contrasting approaches to real ale in all 3, we found contrasting wine selections in all 3 pubs as well. In terms of quality of beer the Forum seems mainly at sea where real ale is concerned, the Broadfield keeps it well but seems nervous of anything more radical then the Leveller, the Old House always has one dark beer on and that's got to be good for the soul.

The Forum and Old House know their wine and more importantly inform and advise customers about its range and availability, which is creditable, and the Old house beer bible makes the blank blackboard at the Broadfield seem like an unfortunate own goal. Food wise I haven't eaten at the Forum for a year or more and wasn't exactly blown away but the menu has now changed, meanwhile the snap at the Broady and Old House has been great, more especially at the Old House if I'm to be honest.

That the Forum has morphed into 2 real ale pubs selling food, 1 real ale bar, a music bar and erm, the Common Room, is tribute to their good business decision making and a positive sign of growth in the Sheffield real ale scene. If the individual venues could share info about each others strong points then the Forum quintet could well leave other competitors standing. 

The Green Green Room of woe.

Not that its Forum owned but the Green Room was our intended venue on arriving in town. I had been in on the works Christmas night out to find it busy late on, but with the disheartening sight of a single pump clip on one of two handpumps, turned round. Before the Three Cranes reopened Rick who is there now was behind the bar at the Green Room, and he had some Blue Bee beers on. All seemed well after a whole year seemingly without real ale, just a string of promises that it would be on in a fortnight or next month. So what would we find?

Well, cue deja-vu. There it was, that solitary handpump dressed in a clip, with its back to us. When I enquired when it would next be facing us, I was almost amused but disappointed to hear that there would not now be real ale on for a fortnight. Oh! How you mock me Green Room! The barman ventured that he was waiting for a delivery or to get hold of some ale - it turns out the much sought after beer was Moonshine. How long do you have to wait for a cask of Sheffield's most oft encountered real ale?!?! The guy then changed his story to it being a month before we'd see the glorious drink, although he claimed they were installing another 2 handpumps.

I was determined to be fair to them though so having clocked that there were no continental beers worth having I asked what wines were on offer. I plumped for reds; there were 3. They looked like they were missing only the word "lifestyle" or "Happy Shopper" from the label and although you certainly can't judge a wine by its label there wasn't anything to tempt me. So once again, no Beefy household money enters the Green Room's till. Silly Green Room.

Harrisons 1854

A quick note of praise for my favourite hometime bar (although i promise I'll make it my first stop of the night sometime soon). Whilst selecting a decent wine and ordering Chala a tequila and coke, I decided to have a half of Deception. This is not an unusual set of circumstances, but it was perhaps one of the best drinks of Deception I ever tried. Certainly the finest that has passed my lips at Haribo's anyhow. Such a shame that the rigours of the the crawl and my big meal meant I favoured a half only. Full marks to Barraharri and the team for ending our night on a hoppy high.

That's all for tonight, I need to prepare for a beery trek in wildest Derbyshire tomorrow.

Keep thirsty

Wee Beefy.

Wee Beefy's beer bites and Blue Bee Brewery too

Hello

another rapid fire round-up following my epic trip round the mid counties of England (and two in Wales ) with Mr P, Davefromtshop and Wee Fatha, ending a frenetic (but enjoyable August of trips away.

Blue Bee Brewery launch new beer - Rugbee Rugbee Rugbee!

I was lucky enough to be present and taking snaps for the launch of Blue Bee Brewery's new beer Rugbee Rugbee Rugbee. ( see http://twitter.com/#!/bluebeebrewery ) The launch took place at the excellent and now annual Abbeydale Sports Club/Shefield RUFC beer festival on the side of the pitch at the club, near Dore Station.

The club (with able assistance from Sarah Louise Morton) organised a troop of volunteer bar staff, some home made samosas and curry from a local restaurant along with the assembly of an impressive list of beers and ciders to tempt customers to the free festival where all beers were £2.50 a pint, regardless of strength.

Among the beers on sale was Blue Bee's new 4.8% beer Rugbee Rugbee Rugbee. This beer was launched at the festival, and brewed to coincide with the Rugby world cup being held in New Zealand, and brewed using Pacific Jade hops.

I started with a pint of the Blue Bee Nectar Pale by way of a comparison, and found the Rugbee had just as much hoppy bite, and a little more body than the pale, presumable because its a stronger brew. Along with some other fantastic ale this was a beer I tried a few pints of, along with (not in order) the excellent Boggart Rum Porter, Raw Anubis Porter, Spire Twist and Stout, Steel City Brewing Raw Steel IPA, Leadmill Rapture, and Thornbridge Summer ale (not all pints!). Sensibly my last beer of the night, was Thornbridge Geminus, a fearsomely hoppy 8.5% bed coaxer that meant despite heading to Dave's for a last one, I instead swiftly ended up in a taxi unable to recall the way home....

The festival was very busy especially with the crowds enjoying the band, Mahogany Newt, and runs for three days until, well, possibly 18 minutes ago, depending on when they close. Definitely a date to make in your diary for next year.

Forum Cafe Bar

A recent visit saw the beer range down to one, not that this is a venue renowned for its real ale or anything, but the surprise was the choice of beer. Springhead Olivers Army (see http://www.springhead.co.uk/olivers-army) is a ruby beer with strong malt notes that is somewhere between a bitter and a brown ale. I reckonm, if you are only to have one real ale on, this is either an edgy but confident idea, or a risky gamble. The beer was very quaffable but it was a hot day and I was dreaming of a pale ale all the way there.

Otherwise though, no real changes, with cocktails and wines still taking centre stage (and some decent continental draught). My only gripe - table service - sort it out!

Drinks seem to spend upwards of 10 minutes on the bar when they are busy, going warm or worse still, going nowhere - after waiting 15 minutes they then told me that they didn't have the product I ordered after all. A badly executed good plan am afraid....

York, beer from the shire.

Over the bank holiday weekend I was in sunny (and torrential rainy ) York, the capital of our county (that's right, its not chuffin Leeds) and beholder of an excellent range of pubs. Primarily this was a weekend away for me and Chala so tricky excursions to pubs on the outskirts was out of the question, we just wandered around and went in those we found, mostly.

On day one we holed up for an hour in the excellent Pivni near Newgate market and Swinegate. This fabulous old building has a wonderfully quirky tiled floor downstairs, some disconcertingly warped wood upstairs, and a beer to suit all tastes on the bar. In addition to an unusual selection of continental draught, and 77 lager in keg from BrewDog, there were 4 or 5 real ales on the bar.

I tried a pint of a low gravity Salamander Brewing Co beer which may have been their Axolotl but i concede I don't remember, as well as a half of the BrewDog (cask) Alice Porter, which was fantastic. Its a shame we didn't have more time to stick around, but on our way out later we stopped at a typically rammed Maltings, to sample a pint of Dow bridge mild, and half a Kirkstall Pale, both of which were very suppable.

On the Sunday we got to the Blue Bell at just gone midday to be puzzled that they had hired the front bar out for a private party - that's half of the pub! We did however get a seat in the back and enjoyed a Roosters Yankee, which is a beer I haven't had for a while, and Chala had to settle for coke as the Erdinger was all gone.

Later on we finally found the York brewery Yorkshire Terrier pub on Stonegate - not because its necessarily difficult to find, but because Chala had imagined it was accessed from the shambles. This excellent little pub has 4 separate drinking areas and a range of about 7 real ales. I had a very quaffable pint of the York Yorkshire Terrier, which unless am mistaken, seems to have lost a little hoppiness over the years ? Come on the York Brewery, terriers have bite!

Further up Stonegate is the excellent but real ale free Evil Eye lounge, an uber cool cocktail and tapas bar with a range of good bottled beers and a 4 page menu of cocktails and slammers for those who like the harder stuff. As well as trying some truly unwise and quaffable drinks, like a few B52's for yours truly, I also had a refreshing bottle of Schlenkerla Rauchbier. York bottled beers are also available, and there is a specialist off licence at the front. Well worth a look if in York...

Our penultimate pub stop was new to me, the Brigantes bar, a real ale pub similar in style to the Harlequin in good old Sheff, serving a range of about 8 real ales and once again some continental draught. I tried a half of the Kostritzer Schwarzbier from Germany which was a delicious if unusual find, along with pints of York Guzzler and a Brew Company IPA that tasted very faintly, but enjoyably, of oranges.

We did have a real ale with our meal - a half of Sharps Doom Bar at All bar One, a beer now starting to taste more and more malty and less like something I would choose to drink, but ABO only has one pump.

On Monday we somehow contrived to visit no real ale pubs, but with time to spare at the station made the mistake of visiting the coopers Bar. 6 Handpumps, all turned round and having sold 3 beers, Grim King IPA and Abbot, and Theakstons best. Not a continental lager in sight (not even a Kronenburg wheat or similar) and nowt more inspiring in bottle than Newky Brown. In the end, if only to fill in time, I opted for a tonic water and Chala a coke. That really was as food as the place got!

All in all (despite the lack of a decent station bar) York is a magnet for lovers of real ale and pubs, not forgetting of course my absence from the Golden Ball, Swan, 3 Legged Mare, Last Drop Inn, Fleece, Three Cranes and Rook and Gaskill to name but a few.

That's all the beer news I have for now, not withstanding that I have more Scottish cask ale travels to tell of, and our trip round the shires of England and Wales.

Take care and thirst no more

Wee Beefy