Wee Beefy's evening pub slog

Hello all,

    I thought I'd write about my evening of slogging up hill and down dale after work on Wednesday, where an unexpected visit to pubs old and new was had, along with an equal smattering of sunshine and exhaustion.

Starting point of my aleyompics was the Broadfield Ale House, which you may recall I have mentioned previously. Sadly none of the excellent Black Iris output that often features but an admirable range including the excellent Ilkley Best Bitter, at £3.00 a pint (or is that a half surcharge? Oooooh.....). I had two halves of this (and a glass of water, for reasons that will become clear) whilst sat in the glare of the sun in the beer garden, before heading up to my next pub.

Not exactly en route but the Union is always a nice spot to stop and I had a pint of impeccably well kept Abbeydale Moonshine (£3.00 a pint) in here - I would have gone half of that, half of Absolution, but I was determined this would be rewarding physical exercise not just supping. In order to maintain sobriety and to keep myself properly hydrated I had a half of iced water here as well.

Next I took an absurd route past the Byron, then headed up Brincliffe edge and walked up through the trees along the side of the valley until I came out near Ecclesall Road South. Knowing I wanted to get across, I had to walk downhill quite a bit then up into some wiggly road through housing to Carterknowle avenue or rise or something, before popping out, by luck rather than planning, at the Cherry Tree.

This was to have been my first visit. I say was, because I already know, its shut. A handwritten sign in the window states that due to a licensing error from Enterprise (gawd luvvum) the pub has had to be closed and that this was out of licensee/manager Billy's hands. At the risk of seeming rude, although the note is not dated or faded the outside of the pub does suggest its been shut for a while. Hopefully it will reopen soon for my inaugural visit.

A quick swig of warm homemade lemon and lime drink (its just the juice of half of each, some water and a little mint) didn't really slake my thirst so I walked up Carterknowle Road to the chameleon visage of the Prince of Wales, formerly the Green Pelican or Woodstock or Plum and Marmite or other nonsense.

Inside is depressingly asinine, but I wasn't expecting antiquated careworn distinctiveness. There is some seating on the left which may be for the unlikely spectacle of drinkers but I sat at the bar since this was the only recognisable spot to sup. From a choice of York Terrier, Marstons Pedigree and Leeds Pale I had the latter, a half of, at £1.55, and a half of iced water. Its a soul destroyingly staged, wearyingly clinical interior by numbers establishment, but at least it has no pretencions of being anything other than a restaurant with a bar, and at least customers get to drink a decent if unremarkable real ale with their nosh.

Off next for serious guesswork, as I did not know the address of the next pub, only its general direction and the area it was in. Luckily taking the road towards High Storrs School I was soon at the T junction with the ancient Hammer and Pincers on the left. This long, squat building is a venerable age but many had told me it was scarcely recognisable as an old pub, and expensive. True, on entering, what would have been a small cosy low ceiling possibly beamed couple of rooms, incongruously modern in their furnishings, its hard to imagine it being more than a decade old, but the fireplace and odd layout and route to the bar belied its haphazard ancient design.

On the left is a small opening with toilets on the right leading to a large room with the right angle bar facing the garden and the end of the pub with the arch. The ceiling was low in here and it was easier to imagine what the original features might have looked like, but the main plus point was the bar.

There were 5 handpumps dispensing Tetley, something else, a Wadworth themed Olympics ale, Archers Old Gold (Who brews Archers?!) and a dark beer. Not only that, but it was the cheapest beer of the crawl at £1.45 for a half of Vale Black Beauty (and of course a customary half of iced water). And I promise I kept a straight face when, not seeing the pump clip, the barmaid said
"and this is a dark one, Black Beauty"
Me  "Is it from Vale that one"
Barmaid (looking at pump clip) "yes, valet". No doubt she didn't mind my pause and walk round, to inspect the clip and pronounce Vale correctly!

I sat outside with my well kept beer and cool water and updated my notes and thought about my route. It was busy outside as you'd expect, and though it had been remodelled and refitted nearly to extinction, I was pleasantly surprised at what I found, and the staff were friendly, so all in all a pleasant visit.

My traverse to my next stop was a triumph of guess work. I didn't carry straight on from the shops instead walking to the left past High Storrs School and following the bus route, checking the road names on the bus stop all the way down, and hoping this was Greystones Road. It soon became Greystones Drive, and joined Greystones Road, shortly after which I spotted the pub.

On the bar were 6 Thornbridge beers (none of them new-fangled guests here, not since the opening month) and I think probably the same range as back in March or April, so I had a half of Black Harry, with a glass of water, which was £1.40. Clearly as I headed downhill the price was descending with me.

Off down the steep hill to Sharrow next and the Lescar was inevitably rammed with people soaking up the warm late evening sunshine. Inside there were 6 beers to choose from, 5 of which I wanted to drink, so I ditched my precautionary water and singlr half plan  to order a selection of 4. They were, in order of strength, Ilkley Mary Jane, Sunny Republic Beach Blonde, XT Dark Roast and Hopdaemon Green Daemon, which came to £6.20. Given the relative strengths (Ilkley 3.5 and Hopdaemon 5.0) this may have been comparatively cheaper than the Prince of Wales.

I sat in the beer garden at the back, and despite deliberately sitting in a smallish space on a table made for 8, seemed to be giving the impression that only one half was mine, as I sat reading, so this remained a solitary repose. Either that or my red sweaty face and straggly beard frightened off the young folk ....

My penultimate stop came on my way into town, after popping into Spar to find nothing I wanted to eat (although the visit wasn't wasted, as I got to watch a zombie like employee push a trolley into a display, and then reverse, pulling it with him, which made me laugh) and Sainsbury's where I did (but cucumber in a chicken wrap? Eeeugh) and also, after pausing temporarily to consider entering the unappetising environs of serial student haunt the Nursery (no pun). I headed instead, and I concede I surprised myself, for the ex Pomona which is now Champs, a bar I had never visited.

Luckily I knew what to expect and to be honest this visit was inspired more by a pressing need than a desire to watch ferret tickling and amputee pinball on one of 452 large screens, but to their credit there was real ale, an odd mix of Wild Swan (I had  half, £1.35), Jaipur and er, Tetleys. And at least I got to sit outside where it was cool, and slightly less testosterone filled.

My final stop in this long slog was up the hill from Moorfoot, and into the Devonshire Cat, a pub I haven't been in this year, and mainly because I heard from The Twitter (you've seen the Twitter) that Axholme Brewery beer might be available. It was, I had a half of their Bitter, it was surprisingly inexpensive for the Dev Cat at about £2.60 a pint (?) and was a pleasant and refreshing brew with an endearing slightly earthy flavour.

All in all I was bloody exhausted but had visited some new pubs and tried some exciting new beers (and revisited old favourites) on my lengthy crawl. Now to walk over Woodseats way tomorrow for the Mount Pleasant beer festival.

Wee Beefy

Wee Beefy's weekend wandering

Good evening,

     yesterday I had my dear friend Christingpher over for a meal and some wine and beer, so I decided a daytime yomp around part of Sheffield sampling pubs along the way would be a good "practice" before the feasting started. Despite the fact that it was St Patricks day, so pubs were likely to be full of wearying behatted hobby drinkers, I was determined not to let this put me off my quest.

Union

I started at Nether Edge, getting off the bus at the terminus, its just a minutes walk to my first pub. The Union was open, allaying fears I may have been harbouring about its long term prospects, and just to confirm how erroneous some of my assumptions had been, the barman clarified that they didn't open until 17.30 each night (except Sundays) for their evening session. So 10 to 5, which is when I am usually at Union Road, was never going to enable a pub visit.

On the bar were 5 beers, GK IPA, Taylor's Landlord, something else, and Abbeydale Moonshine and Absolution. I decided it was probably a little early at 1PM for an Absolution so opted for Moonshine. This was a well kept pint which I enjoyed sitting secluded in the right hand corner of the pub near the back entrance. Saturday really wanted to be warm and sunny, and the sunlight streaming in across my table kept urging me outside, but I remained where I was, appreciating another of the pubs many nooks and  crannies.

Stagger from Stage to Stag

I couldn't hang around as, having planned my route on the tinterweb I wasn't completely sure of how long my walk was going to take. So I carried on next past the Union and up past the Merlin theatre (sort of) and then up Cherry Tree Lane to Psalter Lane. My next port of call was a 100 yards or so on the right, The Stag.

I have only been to the Stag once before. It was 1994 and I had been to see Oliver Stone's "Nixon" at the Showroom. The film was, if I recall accurately, about 7 hours long. We were exhausted and damaged internally by the length of time we had postponed taking a trip to the loo. Having said all this, I am not sure if this in any way affected my experience then, but I don't remember liking it much.

These days the Stag looks much like it probably did in the nineties, and quite modern inside. There was a strong influence (both olfactorily and as advertised) on food, and there were plenty of people sat in the conservatory enjoying a spot of lunch. It was quite warm inside, which is good when you are eating, but after my walk I decided I wanted to enjoy my beer outside. The range of 3 real ales was Courage Directors, something national, and Thornbridge Wild Swan. I had the swan, and this proved to be an interesting choice - I usually only see it in Thornbridge pubs where their range inevitably draws me to something a little stronger, so I rarely have it. Sat outside in the fresh air this was a very drinkable well kept pint which I devoured quickly.

Banner Cross

Next I waked along Psalter Lane to Ecclesall Road South. Along the way I spotted a pub that filled me with a quite unexpected determination to not even cross the road to take a look. To try and put this irrational disgust into some sort of context, I think it ,must have been the Psalter Tavern's wearisome pastel greys, creams and dirty white colour scheme coupled with its chain restaurant appearance and the ugly buildings it was housed in. Not an especially balanced reason to avoid a pub but one which I suspect won't turn out to have denied me a memorable pub experience.

On reaching Eccy road I turned right downhill and made my first (unplanned originally) visit to the Banner Cross Hotel. I opted for the lounge on the left having never been in before - which is a bit weird since the bar is usually the most unspoilt part of any pub, nut there you go.

Inside was a bery large room, one assumes it would have previously been two with bar service in the right corner in the left hand of the two rooms. The unnatural size of this room makes it an ideal spot to sit and watch live sport, and being an important 6 Nations weekend there was a large contingent in to watch the rugby. However, the most notable feature of the pub was the bar.

It was quite large and central and served both sides, with a dram shop hatch in the centre facing the door. Something about it reminded me of the one at the Commercial in Wheelock, or in some of the Holts houses in Manchester. I have no idea if this is an original bar structure but I would like to go back and see it from the bar room to perhaps get a clearer idea.

Beer wise the choice was Tetley, Doom Bar and Kelham Island Easy Rider. Having picked Kelham's least hoppy ale there was a clear malt bias in the range, but an Easy Rider suited my needs perfectly, not too strong, not too heavy. I was only stopping for a half, but to be fair, the pub was very warm, so had I not been mid trek I think I may have stopped for a pint at least.

Greystones

Off next towards Greystones road, via Glenalmond, Dobbin Hill and Greystones drive (there seems to be no convenient roads across so I had to gain height to walk down to the pub without exerting too much effort). The Greystones was bathed in sparkling, erm, grey cloud whenever I got my camera out - the sun was playing hide and seek throughout the day so my Greystones pics are decidedly and appropriately grey.

Inside there was a range of 7 or 8 Thornbridge beers of all strengths to choose from, including Marples, Jaipur and Pica Pica. However, unlike on my first visit, there was no guest beer. Given the many collaborations and tie ups and therefore one presumes business relationships Thornbridge have with other brewers, its strange that they seem so reticent to let them get their products on their bars (and yes, in order to validate this point, am going to have to ask you to believe that this is a Thornbridge pub, even thought its not).

I opted for a refreshing pint of the Black Harry mild, which I noticed, for the first time, has a rather weird and not entirely nice aroma. Still, it watered me well as I sat near the Backroom venue surveying the bar and decor in fitful sunshine.

The Greystones scores well on having a good beer range and I admit that this was a bit of a quandary. I didn't want to get drunk, but I did want to fit in another pub at least. In the end, I decided to get the bus down to the end of Eccy road and pop in the ex Pomona, now renamed the Ecclesall. At least, that's what I wanted to do.... However, a 35 minute wait for a missing bus meant it was gone half three before I set off so I changed my plans. I decided to get off in town and walk to the Sheffield Tap. Since I had to go to the shops for some booze supplies for the night ahead I thought that if nothing else, I could get some draught beer to take out from there.

Sheffield Tap - land of the Stouts

It was quite busy at the Tap but not unpleasantly so, and I didn't have to wait too long to get served. The problem was, there was just too much nice beer to choose from. U opted for a half each of the Dark Star Sussex Extra Stout and Hardknott Atomic Narcicuss. The problem was, I also wanted to try the Dark Star Dark Lager, the Cromarty brewing co coffee infused stout and the Dark Star Revelation IPA that I had heard so much about. Why so many good beers The Tap?!?

The Hardknott was the first of their beers that I have tried, and had all the dry possibly Simcoe or Nelson Sauvin hop bitterness that I was expecting. That said however, it wasn't quite as dynamic as i though it would be, but it was still an enjoyable beer. The Dark Star also missed a few expectation markers by being slightly less full bodied than I had expected (although it is only 4.87%). It did though have a lovely creamy and roasted malt flavour that I liked, not dissimilar to some aspects of the aftertaste in a milk stout.

Alas, by this stage, I had recognised that as well as costing me extra money for a container, my take away beer idea was also based on me trying another, and then carting the beer to the supermarket (Sheffield Tap don't sell potatoes and mushrooms; come on lads, make an effort). So I tore myself disappointedly away from the cavalcade of beer and promised myself I would get back tomorrow (which is today, and I haven't).

Overall this was a pleasant 4 hours or so wandering round Nether Edge and Greystones, and one which I would do again, and can highly recommend. Some of the beer range may have been a bit safe and reliant on stalwart brews but that doesn't matter when the beer is well kept, and across the board, prices were generally £2.80 - £3.00 a pint.

And most importantly of all, I didn't encounter a twat in a hat all day....

Cheers!

Wee Beefy.

BrewDog timid IPA, Greystones Greystones Road, Porter Cottage and Lescar Sharrowvale Road, Sheaf Island Ecclesall Road, Rutland and Sheffield Tap.

Hello Readers

I have now purchased and drank a BrewDog newly weakened Middle Aged rocker IPA, a beer now competing in an uninspiring market of mass produced regionals and conglomerates such as Marston's Ringwood, Polish Tyskie, Theakstons Old Peculier and slightly better ales from smaller concerns such as Bath Wild Hare and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.

Thing is, there is nothing wrong with tweaking a recipe, nor, as demonstrated by the last two beers above, along with the fantastic Worthington White Shield, is there anything wrong with a 5.6% IPA. However, with a brewery that grew its reputation on unflinching defiance of conformity, the lessening of the alcoholic potency of this beer suggests its brewers aren't confident enough of its staying power. What could this mean ?

Well, firstly, this change of market position, for that is what the reduction is and what it spells, is especially prescient in the face of an almost never ending list of 5.0% "premium" ales, as marketed and produced to a non-negotiable cost savings and market share recipe for success by every medium to large sized brewer in the UK.

Secondly, and quite frustratingly, the fact that 5.6% is an untrendy strength in terms of shelf coverage means it could be the forerunner of great beers in its style, but, its not - this is punk IPA light. And yet still, it has the same blurb - come on BrewDog! We know you bolted in the face of savings - why pretend your beer is the same ? What less maverick an action could there be than to effectively neuter the dog for the sake of a potential alcohol duty saving ?

Taste and appearance wise - and this could be the third strand of the sea change - the bottle still pours cloudy; seemingly the lessened alcohol content has done nothing to help the beer fall crystal clear. Mercifully it still has that ostensibly brutal fizz of hops in the initial flavour, but the problem is that the reluctance of BrewDog to maintain Punk IPA's gravity suddenly gives me doubts about the overall and ongoing evolution of the beer.

Had it always kept that harsh astounding zingy bite up until the strength was reduced, or had the beer's inherent and unhindered hop blast been steadily on the decline since its inception ?

The point is, the 5.6 % beer is not radically different to the 6. That's my opinion.
And moreover, I admit, the potential impact of the post reduction cost is muddied by Asda reducing the price, meaning that no-one can be sure what, if anything, the duty saving is about.

I would however be interested to know why BrewDog swapped the impressive venom of Brutal Truth for the asinine strains of Good Charlotte, something we might only know in a few months time, when market pressures have been allowed to affect the costs and a true and reflective new price is proffered by the brewery.

In the meantime, to paraphrase the young bucks themselves " its quite doubtful that you have the taste or sophistication to appreciate the affect of the sudden decrease in alcohol, you probably don't even care that because Asda constantly fanny about with the price its almost impossible to notice an impact on your wallet. So just go back to drinking your almost mass produced watered down in strength cloudy BrewDog and assume everything is OK, closing the door behind you.....


So, wanderings.

On Wednesday, having survived yellow fever or similar, it was time to meet Dave for a wander to Greystones and a catch up with what Ecclesall Road had to offer the discerning drinker.

Owing to having left work early I had 20 minutes to kill so went for a half of Kelham Island Riders on the Storm at the Bessemer on Pinstone street. Davefromtshop thought this was a Wetherspoons, and I don't want to fall foul of my own ignorance here, but I reckon its not.

Mind you, there are similarities in the high ceilings and vast open plan drinking areas, but the beer is more averagely priced ( £1.30 for my half) and there does not seem to be the ubiquitous food options available.

Onto the bus and we were drawing up outside the Greystones in little time at all, noting a spare table in the warm sunshine, and marvelling at the views over the city. Inside is a long bar with 8 handpumps and various continental and lager fonts, with distinct drinking areas on each side, notably a raised area to the left. We went outside having purchased, after having tried, a pint each of the fantastic Marble Ginger.

" Everybody's talking about it" Dave informed me, before inserting a numerical caveat which indicated that only 3 customers had taken up the mantle of the subject of this ale. Either way, notoriety is only right for this beer - I had reservations about ruining my palate with a strong ginger episode, but needn't have worried.


Although the inclusion of ginger lends a refreshing edge, there is sufficient bitterness and overall beery notes to make the ginger a complimentary bonus rather than an intrusive interloper on the palate. We supped our pints outside, trying hard not to earwig in a conversation between a man in Thornbridge staff attire and someone who was likely sales profligate Sheffield wine shifter John Mitchell.

Clearly my modest journalistic decorum forbids me from writing the salient points of said talk here, but it was interesting enough a chinwag that we had to go inside for our next pint so as we could actually hold a conversation. Inside we had pints of Bracia - all but the Marble on the guest handpump are Thornbridge beers - which was probably very nice, but despite my earlier praise, I have to concede that the astringent flavours of the ginger do impinge on the taste of your next drink.

Both pints were £3.00 each, leading us to speculate that all beer was that price regardless of strength- alas, our timetable and some confusion meant we were unable to be certain of the veracity of such a claim.

Afterwards we headed downhill to Sharrowvale and went first to the Porter Cottage. Inside the interior is slightly dark, and there are two large bay window seating areas on either side, and noticeably, more bar like features meaning that the further you get from the front door the less traditional and more unpub-like the outlook becomes. The bar was a depressing modern design (except for the diamond patterns ) with bright lighting and a bar rather than pub feel. That said, our window seat was a nice alcove, and an excellent vantage point to see what the legendary - and for once deservedly so - jukebox had to offer.

Tellingly, given my previou concerns over costs in Sharrowvale, our choices from the range of three Bradfield beers - Dave had Brown Cow and I the blonde, were £2.85 a pint, making it marginally cheaper for the area.

Our next stop was the Lescar. The same range of beers was on as Thursday last week, and I had primed Dave on my concerns over the cost issues. He asked what the prices of the real ales were and the barman stated that Sharps Doom bar was £2.80 (reflecting its role as the most disappointing beer of the range perhaps?), the moonshine and Ashford £3.00 and the Atlantic IPA£3.05. I queried why I had paid £3.10 for moonshine last time and the prices were reiterated, so it must have been a mistake....

Information now stored, we ordered 1 pint of Atlantic IPA (£3.05) and 1 Ashford (£3.00) and it was somehow £6.10 !?! As a result (and I know we should have pointed this out but we didn't) I therefore don't know the true extent of how expensive the Lescar is because the staff seem unsure themselves - either way its at least and likely more expensive than the Greystones, more so than the Sheaf Island ( see later in post ) and more than the Porter Cottage. So hey, why not digest these facts and reach your own conclusion ?

So, having grabbed fuel from the greedy Greek we headed down Sharrowvale road, and down a jennel to Ecclesall Road, and finally onto the Wetherspoons adventure in irony that is the Sheaf Island.

Housed as it is in the former Wards brewery, it serves Samson brewery (or similar ) Wards bitter which tastes unlike the original, and of course is the first proper bar to appear on the site dispensing real ale since the Wards tasting room was mothballed with the brewery in 1999. But, on the plus side does at least bring the building agreeably towards its original use of providing beer. It was bit difficult to figure out what parts, if any, of the original buildings the pub occupied, and even more difficult to solve the riddle of how to get in through one of the four double doors, only one of which was unlocked.

Inside is a long bar and a high ceiling lounge area at the left side and along open plan seating area with separate seating to the right. There were a number of real ales on tap, a combination of regionals and unusual guests. Alas our order of choice meant we missed out on the intriguing plum beer but sate ourselves instead with pints of Titanic light Fog Mild and Lymestone Gold, which, even with Dave's discount cards, were £3.90 for 2 pints.

Now, that's not expensive at all, especially if you have just invested in a drink at the Lescar, but its a little bit steep for Wetherspoons. Usually you can get two pints for a little over £3.00 ( real ale at least) - so perhaps this is a deliberate attempt by the chain to define the direction and target clientele of the venue ?

Its perhaps contentious, but there was a noticeable surfeit of refreshed characters propping up tables and the bar and deafeningly holding court across the venue with friends imaginary or otherwise.

At this stage its unclear whether we had halves first and halves again - in fact i think we did, but its not unfair to mention that the lengthy escapades of our sojourn had left us a trifle tipsy. Despite that, I was able to procure Dave's camera to take couple of photo' which I hope to upload in the near future.

We were soon off into town trying to guesstimate which 80 service stop we disembarked at to be nearest the Rutland. We got it half right, of course the answer is, neither potential escape points are really any good.

Once in the pub we had halves of Blue Bee Lustin for stout and their red white and blue bitter. I have tried the stout before and was a big fan, but only had a half on both occasions - Dave and I agreed that despite its admirable qualities it might in fact be a half rather than pint option in future, owing to its mass of flavours and vinous qualities. Soz Rich...

So, our final resting place was the Tap, which had their usual Gamut of splendid Thornbridge offerings, as well as 3 from Buxton Brewery in gosh, no idea where. We both, perhaps unwisely, opted for their 6.2% Axe Edge dark ale. In the end, this formidable mighty beast was our match, and we quickly abandoned plans to sample the rest of the Buxton portfolio, and instead wend our way home - a suggestion I took perhaps a little too literally since I had to walk home from Woodhouse terminus for somnambulistic reasons....

A fantastic night all the same, and a nice change from the usual Handsworth run and booze at Chez Nut....

Wee Beefy.