Yo ho humbug!
yes kids its that time of year again. Twat O Clock! Fancy a pint in a normally decent pub now full of twats? You can! For every night between now and Christmas guarantees nailed on twattishness at every turn. Even quiet pubs have decked out the halls with twats of all shades of festive cheer! Vomit, urine, WKD....
OK, I admit, the above is a bit cynical really because having managed to attend three Christmas "do's" on two consecutive nights I can confirm that its still possible to have a decent night, at this time of year, even if few of the people you are sharing the occasion with are bothered about the fine drop. Thus .....
Friday I read with a heavy heart that our team Christmas do, which was otherwise admirable for featuring a scheduled five and a half hours of drinking prior to the meal, was to begin in Yates. Early considerations included - why would you drink in Yates whilst sober? In fact, why would you drink in Yates at all? Well, because not everyone is so mardy about ale as I am and some people for reasons that I can't fathom like to dance and drink coloured shit with spirits in. And it pains me to admit that I probably should get over it. I still think starting at Yates is like having a kebab and then going out however...
In the end I only wandered in as the group were leaving so alas cannot report on the ale situation. Meanwhile, over the road is Lloyds Number One. I know its a Wetherspoons type of thing but it does sell real ale and so I was straight on to a couple of pints of Bradfield Belgian Blue. A seasonal favourite of mine, which makes me think I may be going soft, it was probably £3.00 a pint or something (I wasn't researching, although I concede this is no worse than my usual level of reportage) and went down very well.
Up next was Revolution De Cuba, whose high prices seemed to have kept the place tolerably busy, and whose drinks list kept the cocktail guzzlers happy. Beer wise they had Anchor Steam Ale in bottles so it wasn't all that bad. From here I switched do's and headed to meet Miss N in All Bar One. Granted they had Doom Bar on but I went for the Meantime Pilsner at £4.30 or similar instead. It had more hops in....
Members of Miss N's entourage wandered off to the Bessemer across the road, and against our better judgement we followed suit. Alas we missed the Moonshine but I had a half of Directors out of curiosity and Miss N a half of Hobgoblin from the remaining three beers. I'm not going to pretend its my kind of place but it sold real ale and people seemed to be happy. Not that I advocate such things, but if being happy is what they like then I suppose that's fine....
Off to DAda next, albeit having shaken off the do, and it was solid. I mean, I know the building is, but in a bar queuing sense. Here was my first wall of customers of the festive season. Luckily a pint of Thornbridge Christmas ale on Cask for Miss N and a pint of Chiron for me were purchased, and we found a space to have a chat before heading off once more in true Xmas do style.
The Three Tuns once again had some good Raw beers on and the lovely Dave behind the bar. Young Patrick was also in attendance and we stopped in there for a couple of pints of the Raw porter, which I think was Anubis but am unsure. It was bloody nice whatever it was. We ended the night at Shakespeares where we both had pints of late hopped Steel City All Hallowes which had hops in it and everything, and was also quite nice. And I definitely didn't fall asleep...
The next night we started at a rammed Sheffield Tap and were spoilt for choice. Pints in here were Hardknott Katalyst, a lower gravity extra hoppy pale, Buxton Rednik Stout (many) and the excellent Magic Rock Dark Arts (at least two). Understandably, despite queues in the heaving bar, I was reluctant to leave this beer utopia behind.
Yet we did as we headed for the Dove and Rainbow to see a friend's band play. The range is always a little underwhelming here but does usually feature at least one local beer with hops in it - so I had a few pints of the Abbeydale Absolution in the three hours we were there. Not a regular haunt as I have noted before but I actually had to admit that it was far and away the least intolerable pub in terms of sheer overcrowding that I experienced over the two nights.
Our final stop was DAda once again where I laughed at signs on the walls and tables on the left stating "reserved from 19.00" for an area comprising six empty tables and with four people sat at one table. Mind you, it was nearly midnight. Here I had two pints from the promising new Burning Sky brewery based in the south. Aurora was an intensely bitter pale ale and probably only let down by the dryness of the bittering hops, whilst Plateau was also a beer, which I drank about 01.20. That serves as my excuse for having no memories more specific than "I liked it".
All of the above suggests that once you have attuned yourself to the sheer volume of punters and the real possibility but not guarantee of extreme twattishness, it is possible to have a pretty decent night out at Christmas. And in Sheffield at least, you can expect to find some decent real ales in the majority of the venues you visit.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy.
Showing posts with label Lloyds No.1 Sheffield. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lloyds No.1 Sheffield. Show all posts
Monday, 9 December 2013
Sunday, 2 December 2012
Not everything is new.
Hello,
you might be forgiven for thinking what with the tone of recent posts that my Sheffield drinking life is an endless Merry-go-round of new breweries and new pubs. Well, I occasionally go to pubs and drink beer that I have been too and tried before! This new fangled trend for not drinking only unheard of brews and visiting pubs over and over again will surely never catch on, but if it does, I've already coined a handy phrase to encapsulate the idiosyncrasies of the phenomenon - "just going out for a pint". You heard it here first...
Friday was just such an example. Although we did attend the, ahem, "launch" of the Church House, we first met up with people from the slave mill in Lloyds No.1 in town. Not perhaps a venue to set the pulse racing but there were 5 handpumps for real ale and one for real cider, and every one was utilised.
Highlights included Bradfield Belgian Blue, Cotleigh Kookaburra and Avery brewing from Boulder Colorado's 3.5% session beer, brewed in the UK. I had a pint of the Cotleigh at £2.09 and a half of the Avery. This was a really enjoyable American hoppy ale, probably brewed in a Burton regional (?) based on a light sulphury edge, and packing in a lot of hoppy flavour for its low strength. Perhaps this explains why I don't get on with the stronger American IPA's - the stronger they are the more the odd ascorbic dryness and ill suited Belgian sweetness seem prominent. Either way it was very good.
Off to the Old House next for the first time in ages. From a range of Moonshine, Kelham Bitter and two from the Fulstow Brewery, who's beers am not keen on, I went for a pint of the True North First Blonde. Given that its probably still brewed at Welbeck, it did seem faintly reminiscent, in flavour at least, of their Bay Middleton. And was thus very quaffable. Its good to get reacquainted with the Old House having been mysteriously absent over the last few months.
After our Church House assessment we went onto DAda. The music was good, Ems and Annie were manning the bar, and I was feeling a little reckless. So much so that after having a delicious pint of Evenlode Porter (becoming one of my beers of 2012) I splashed out an eye watering and obscene amount of cash on the Mikkeller Beer Geek breakfast. Chala then also lost her mind and bought a pile of food and we had a sumptuous and ostentatious feast in convivial surroundings, before leaving to get the bus (and returning for my scarf, the second thing I had left behind in one night!).
Yesterday, I set out in the afternoon to try and sample the Blue Bee/Real Ale Society beer that I'd heard so much about. The Rutland Arms, who is a person, had stated that it was on the bar there so I thought I'd pop out and try it. Except, I got to town near the end of the Football Association cup fixture so decided to head down later. Instead I popped in the Church House, which now no longer counts as a new pub, thus fitting in with the theme of this post.
I can provide you with a few minor clarifications whilst were here. Firstly, the Caledonian Double Dark which I had on this visit is only £2.85 a pint. A good price for any real ale in the centre these days where the norm is £3.00 for average strength, and this is about 4.6% I think. Also, the food menu comprises one side of actual meals, standard pub fare but sensibly priced. The tapas element I had remembered is actually called the Deli section and comprises various cold platters that you can combine yourself, again at a decent price.
Finally, with thanks to the keen eye of the writer K E Page, the impressive circular windows in the entrance show evidence that the pub did used to be called the Ferret and Trouserleg. So anything has to be an improvement! I also noted on the back of their menu that they have a website - of sorts. In keeping with their mysterious unfindable business theme, the website address is for a host site/blog(?) called barbook, and can be found here. The only thing that inks to the pub in Sheffield is the spiel about the food which is that which appears on the pubs menu's, and also the sign on the front of said pamphlets. The whole thing is incredibly light on detail, much like their Facebook page! You can probably find more out by visiting the pub...
I popped into DAda next and straight away started supping pints of the Evenlode which, unbelievably, still hadn't run out. It was good catching up again with Ems and Jamie, but I had other sights in mind so kidnapped Ems and we trooped off up to Harrisons 1854, which I don't go to as often as I used to. Here, as promised, the Belgian Blue was available on cask, so I had a pint, Ems sensibly a half. However, my one gripe was the price! A whopping £3.80 a pint, making it 60p a pint more expensive than the far stronger Evenlode back at DAda. Had I been more cogent and in less of a rush I would have asked Bob why the beer was quite so expensive, but on this occasion I concentrated on enjoying it. It is, after all, a very tasty beer.
Off to the Bath next where there was beer. Ems went for the General Sherman because she's hardcore, I went for something else entirely. Unfortunately, its identity escapes me. I was already unsettled by a desire for food and obviously wasn't paying attention.
Finally we were off to the Rutland hoping to eat (for me) and try the Blue Bee beer I mentioned earlier. Unfortunately, the stupid bus broke down on West Street, and this extra delay in getting to the pub meant I arrived at 20.58 (but not by the clock in the pub, humph). Racked by hunger I pleaded to be fed but the stone cold face of the mighty Rutland was unmoved. So not only did I not get to try the beer but I also had to rush back home before the supermarket shut - if I had stopped for a half, I would have missed the shops as well. Damn you the progression of time! Most annoying (and slightly embarrassing given my desperation).
So that wraps up a couple of trips around some of Sheffield's better and for me less frequently visited outlets. No doubt December will find me in many more venues that get overlooked the rest of the year.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
you might be forgiven for thinking what with the tone of recent posts that my Sheffield drinking life is an endless Merry-go-round of new breweries and new pubs. Well, I occasionally go to pubs and drink beer that I have been too and tried before! This new fangled trend for not drinking only unheard of brews and visiting pubs over and over again will surely never catch on, but if it does, I've already coined a handy phrase to encapsulate the idiosyncrasies of the phenomenon - "just going out for a pint". You heard it here first...
Friday was just such an example. Although we did attend the, ahem, "launch" of the Church House, we first met up with people from the slave mill in Lloyds No.1 in town. Not perhaps a venue to set the pulse racing but there were 5 handpumps for real ale and one for real cider, and every one was utilised.
Highlights included Bradfield Belgian Blue, Cotleigh Kookaburra and Avery brewing from Boulder Colorado's 3.5% session beer, brewed in the UK. I had a pint of the Cotleigh at £2.09 and a half of the Avery. This was a really enjoyable American hoppy ale, probably brewed in a Burton regional (?) based on a light sulphury edge, and packing in a lot of hoppy flavour for its low strength. Perhaps this explains why I don't get on with the stronger American IPA's - the stronger they are the more the odd ascorbic dryness and ill suited Belgian sweetness seem prominent. Either way it was very good.
Off to the Old House next for the first time in ages. From a range of Moonshine, Kelham Bitter and two from the Fulstow Brewery, who's beers am not keen on, I went for a pint of the True North First Blonde. Given that its probably still brewed at Welbeck, it did seem faintly reminiscent, in flavour at least, of their Bay Middleton. And was thus very quaffable. Its good to get reacquainted with the Old House having been mysteriously absent over the last few months.
After our Church House assessment we went onto DAda. The music was good, Ems and Annie were manning the bar, and I was feeling a little reckless. So much so that after having a delicious pint of Evenlode Porter (becoming one of my beers of 2012) I splashed out an eye watering and obscene amount of cash on the Mikkeller Beer Geek breakfast. Chala then also lost her mind and bought a pile of food and we had a sumptuous and ostentatious feast in convivial surroundings, before leaving to get the bus (and returning for my scarf, the second thing I had left behind in one night!).
Yesterday, I set out in the afternoon to try and sample the Blue Bee/Real Ale Society beer that I'd heard so much about. The Rutland Arms, who is a person, had stated that it was on the bar there so I thought I'd pop out and try it. Except, I got to town near the end of the Football Association cup fixture so decided to head down later. Instead I popped in the Church House, which now no longer counts as a new pub, thus fitting in with the theme of this post.
I can provide you with a few minor clarifications whilst were here. Firstly, the Caledonian Double Dark which I had on this visit is only £2.85 a pint. A good price for any real ale in the centre these days where the norm is £3.00 for average strength, and this is about 4.6% I think. Also, the food menu comprises one side of actual meals, standard pub fare but sensibly priced. The tapas element I had remembered is actually called the Deli section and comprises various cold platters that you can combine yourself, again at a decent price.
Finally, with thanks to the keen eye of the writer K E Page, the impressive circular windows in the entrance show evidence that the pub did used to be called the Ferret and Trouserleg. So anything has to be an improvement! I also noted on the back of their menu that they have a website - of sorts. In keeping with their mysterious unfindable business theme, the website address is for a host site/blog(?) called barbook, and can be found here. The only thing that inks to the pub in Sheffield is the spiel about the food which is that which appears on the pubs menu's, and also the sign on the front of said pamphlets. The whole thing is incredibly light on detail, much like their Facebook page! You can probably find more out by visiting the pub...
I popped into DAda next and straight away started supping pints of the Evenlode which, unbelievably, still hadn't run out. It was good catching up again with Ems and Jamie, but I had other sights in mind so kidnapped Ems and we trooped off up to Harrisons 1854, which I don't go to as often as I used to. Here, as promised, the Belgian Blue was available on cask, so I had a pint, Ems sensibly a half. However, my one gripe was the price! A whopping £3.80 a pint, making it 60p a pint more expensive than the far stronger Evenlode back at DAda. Had I been more cogent and in less of a rush I would have asked Bob why the beer was quite so expensive, but on this occasion I concentrated on enjoying it. It is, after all, a very tasty beer.
Off to the Bath next where there was beer. Ems went for the General Sherman because she's hardcore, I went for something else entirely. Unfortunately, its identity escapes me. I was already unsettled by a desire for food and obviously wasn't paying attention.
Finally we were off to the Rutland hoping to eat (for me) and try the Blue Bee beer I mentioned earlier. Unfortunately, the stupid bus broke down on West Street, and this extra delay in getting to the pub meant I arrived at 20.58 (but not by the clock in the pub, humph). Racked by hunger I pleaded to be fed but the stone cold face of the mighty Rutland was unmoved. So not only did I not get to try the beer but I also had to rush back home before the supermarket shut - if I had stopped for a half, I would have missed the shops as well. Damn you the progression of time! Most annoying (and slightly embarrassing given my desperation).
So that wraps up a couple of trips around some of Sheffield's better and for me less frequently visited outlets. No doubt December will find me in many more venues that get overlooked the rest of the year.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
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