Pubs, ex-pubs and patches.

Now then,

            I have a few droplets of beer news to share, what with it having been the weekend, as well as details of a beer splashed celebration.

I was out and about on Saturday with Wee Keefy celebrating Wee Fatha's 70th birthday. Chosen eatery was the Ladybower Inn, which I have reviewed before, here , and which does a rather fantastic bit of steak. I say "bit", am not sure this is accepted butchers parlance, but for the record, its fillet and its fantastic. Indeed, the last time Wee Keefy went he organised a trip with a few friends solely on the basis of the meaty delights.

That said, to focus on which is neither fair nor wholly comprehensive, in terms of the inn's charms. They also happen to sell five real ales, at usual Derbyshire prices of £3.00  a pint (although I was on the same all night so am unsure if that applies to all beers). Not only that, but on all three of my visits the beer has been in very good nick, and whats more, is usually in the main, locally sourced.

On Saturday the range was Ruddles County, Bradfield Farmers Blonde, Bradfield Poppy Ale, Acorn Barnsley Bitter and Howard Town Snake Ale. The latter was a pleasant well balanced pint, admittedly short of a hop or two, but interestingly perhaps more palatable than the incredibly pale (h) poppy offering from over the hill. All in all you can't escape the pub's food led intent (and we were glad of that on a special occasion) but I think its got to be worth a stop if you are in the area and after a well kept locally brewed beer.

Later that night I was deposited in town to try and search out Fluffy who was celebrating a mate's stag do. An early phone call and text did not help identify their whereabouts but I assumed at some point they'd be in the Rutland.

Starting at DAda, I was shocked to discover that someone was playing a selection of my CD's (if you're unsure what these are, they're like gramophone records or cylinders, or at least they carry the same outdated stigma if you are under 30). At least two of my ska collections had been borrowed whilst I was out, plus a few tracks I wished I had.

This pleasing smorgasbord of sound was washed down with pints of the excellent Fyne Ales Jarl, a beer I'd heard plenty of and seen none. Add to this some cracking olives and a half of yummy fruity Halcyon and this was a great start to my late night socialising.

Alas, no trace could be found of Fluff as the minutes ticked on and I set off for the Bath Hotel for just before 23.00 to find it less than busy. I avoided the hopelessly hopless Kipling and went instead for an Allgates beer that I forget the name of. It tasted fine in the tasting glass but its exposure to the pint pot made it tired and taste of biscuits, or cheap cornflakes. I decided, on the basis of being in a similar state of tiredness, to eschew the obvious draw of the Rutland and head home like a good boy.

In other news, what there is, I noticed that the long drawn out extinction of the East House on Spital Hill has reached a rueful conclusion, at least in terms of it remaining open as a pub. As with so many nearby hostelries, what one might describe as a change in the cultural demographic has seen Pitsmoor and Burngreave stripped of pubs. The latest fate to befall one is that the East House is now yet another "vital" Kebab shop, without who's contribution the very bedrock of Sheffield's trade and financial security would crumble. I can't see anything but further utilisation as an unlicensed premises from here on to be honest.

Finally, much gnashing of teeth proceeded news on Friday of the sale of a hangover cure patch in the UK. The Bytox patch makes some scientifically implausible and even at a casual glance highly dubious claims about wiping out hangovers before they happen by infusing the wearer with various vitamins and nutrients throughout the drinking period.

Apparently the product claims, in this report peppered by over reaction from do-gooders and joyless Methodists here, to do something that somehow enables users to therefore drink without effect. Hence, the reaction in today's  Mailtro letters page was full of the rather predictable moralistic outpourings from people convinced that this would lead to more drinking, and therefore directly the destruction of family life and the sanctity of the festive period.

The point they miss is that people who regularly drink absurd quantities of frol to the detriment of their families, ergo the people apparently harming the nation's children, will do so irrespective of the availability of this mugs game wonder cure. The only heinous aspect of its sale is that the company responsible  could potentially make money out of hocus pocus,  rather than as feared, from any forceful pushing of society into a mire of reckless ebriosity.

No doubt this new attack on family, and the church and the Easter bunny (erm, or some other story?) will only embolden those seeking to swipe aimlessly at every aspect of alcohol production, sale and purchase. How foolish they would feel if they realised that the attacks on the average man's drinking are already being led quite successfully by the Chancellor of the exchequer and the Pubco's!

How we cried in our pints....

Wee Beefy

Pub review - Ladybower Inn

Evenin,

    I don't often do a pub review, but then, I don't often go to new pubs, not in Sheffield anyway (Caveat 1 : given that, despite its grand remote setting, the Ladybower Inn is only 15 minutes drive from Crookes, I'd say this is a Sheffield pub, and further, its one that I have only ever been to once before Monday.)

The Ladybower Inn is actually in a kind of Bermuda Triangle of Dark Peak pubs for me. At one vertex (don't let me down brief Internet search!) is the Snake Pass Inn, it's the furthest point away, and I have only been once, certainly as a drinking adult. At vertex two is the Yorkshire Bridge Inn - I went there when I was in my early 20's and was so horrified by the prices I never went back. The third point is the Ladybower, with a similar number of visits chalked up. Its safe to say then that I am overdue a visit and assessment of all of these pubs, and the first is the Ladybower Inn for a celebration meal - 20 years for my Dad in his salubrious flat! (Caveat 2: I haven't checked on a map to see if there are 3 equal points between each pub, and that's before we consider the different characteristics of different triangles, which, erm, I'll just leave well alone...)

One of the striking things about the pub is that parking up in the car park across the road, its fairly obvious that the lie of the land makes this the absolute best view afforded from the premises (as confirmed when looking back from outside the pub). The above image may well fail to convey this point, being a camera phone photo shot in fading light, but I was already wondering whether our meal could be served in the car...

The exterior of the pub is quite plain and shows quite a few additions to what was presumably the original pub. There is seating outside, and accommodation in converted out buildings on the left. I remembered it looking modern but think I had just returned from a very old traditional pub on that last visit, because to be fair its quite pleasant to look at. Weirdly, its stonework reminds me of a number of Robinson's houses, but I can't really explain how that would be the case.... (except perhaps the red signage?)

Inside is a rather modern bar slightly out of place hiding behind a truly enormous beam leading its length. The right hand room (in so far as it can be described thus, in essence every internal wall has been taken out or at least knocked through ) is a room with slightly more traditional tables and a big fireplace. To the left is a long room leading to the extension which then curves down some steps to the toilets and a fire exit. Its quite chilly down here, and I sense this is the last part of the pub to fill up, unless some diners are after privacy. The decor is country pub with a modern twist, some a little contrived but a lot of the features are plain and understated which is a nice change. And unless this was a failing of my famous lack of eyesight, I didn't see shelves and sides cluttered with "rural" bric a brac either.

We sat on the right hand side and ordered food from a reasonably extensive menu, with quite a few pub staples but a few more interesting options (some of the vegetarian dishes looked interesting, although there weren't that many - and no tomato and basil penne pasta my veggie friends will be relieved to hear). The specials board was very good and all the choices appeared to be available. Me and Wee Fatha had pot roast brisket in Guinness gravy, which came with green beans, carrots, roast parsnip and mashed potato, Wee Keefy had medium rare fillet steak with chips and veg, Chala had gammon steak with local eggs, chips and veg.

The bar was stocked with 5 real ales, one of which, the Acorn Barnsley Bitter had run out. This left Greedy King Ruddles County, Greedy King something else, Brains Reverend James and Bradfield Farmers Blonde. WF was just back from Wales so surprisingly went for a half of the Rev James, Chala was on wine, and me and WK both had pints (several it turned out) of the Blonde. I think it was £2.65 a pint - quite a good price full stop, and more especially so in this part of the peak District.

 Our Brisket was a tenner, WK's fillet was £16.00 but it looked like an £8.00 piece of steak to be honest, Chala's gammon was around the £11.00 or £12.00 mark. When the plates came (about a foot wide), it was clear that there was a very large serving of each, but better still it was also soon obvious that the food was very nice indeed. The pot brisket melted in the mouth and was set off by the Guinness sauce, and the veg were perfectly well done, al dente, but crucially, not cold or raw.

The gammon was the size of a large tea cosy and cooked to perfection, i.e tender but with a crispy edge, WK's fillet was cooked exactly as requested and, having tasted a bit, was packed with bags of flavour. In the end we were all too full to attempt a dessert (£4.85), but luckily me and WK had room for many pints of Bradfield. There was also a decent wine list.

When we had arrived about 19.30 there was only us in, which is not surprising on a lonely road on a cold Monday, but there were several groups of diners in when we left, filling half the pub, with quite a few staying there, so that seems like a good sign.

The beer was well kept and topped up without asking, and to be fair its a decent range for what is a pub with quite an emphasis on eating.

*

I would definitely consider going again for a meal or even just for a summertime pint.

Wee Beefy.


*Caveat 3: I only took 3 photo's all night. I think this is perhaps obvious!