Hello all,
don't worry, this isn't a post about short Sheffield pubs, its just the details of a short trip I had on Saturday to a few places to buy a small number of drinks. Being only yesterday there is a good chance I may even recall the details of all the beers I tried....
Having met relatives for a coffee in town earlier, and popped into Beer Central to pick something up, I headed for Hop Hideout, to wish Jules and Will a happy marriage (am not sure if that is what one says, but I said it to both!) and to have a couple of small drinks. I started on a half of the The Choice is Yours Export Porter, brewed by Blackjack, the Hop Hideouters and the Black Sheep Store at Blackjack Brewery in Manchester. Despite its strength of 6.7% the porter was really easy drinking - credit to all involved for a wonderful colab brew.
I also got a third of Magic Rock and Basqueland Brother Chucker IPA, a 6.7 colab with a wonderful aroma and a very satisfying taste. From here I caught the bus up to Archer Road Beer Stop. There were two real ales on, Wet Feb from Dancing Duck, and White Rose Blonde. As you may know you can't drink in but seeing as how I know Dave he invited me in for a catch up and very kindly bought me a couple of pints of the Dancing Duck beer, which was on top form.
From here I walked along Archer Road and up the road on the left Cawthorne Grove to come out and visit the Ale House. This is my third visit since it was taken over by new management last year and once more didn't disappoint. Here I had a pint and a half of Whitby IPA. I have never tried any of their beers before and so went for my default style, and the beer was served in a Whitby branded glass.
The IPA was hoppy, although not overly so, but was very well kept, and it was an enjoyable end to my rather short crawl of three Abbeydale and Woodseats venues.
Just a final note, and that is that next time am up in the area am going to pop in the White Lion which Jon and Mandy have now been running for three years! Congratulations to them on turning the pub round and making it into a top boozer once again.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
Showing posts with label Magic Rock Brewery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Magic Rock Brewery. Show all posts
Sunday, 25 February 2018
Sunday, 7 May 2017
The Four Degrees
Now then.....
no Lazerngennulmurn, this is not a post about a discalculate soul pop covers band, instead it is my musings on a rather magnificent collaboration IPA in a can which I purchased and supped before entering "the dark time" of no frol. Please find hereafter some observances about said luponic compound.
The first thing to mention is Boak and Bailey, erstwhile beer blogging legends, successful authors, and persons who create a host of reactions queries and debates from readers by writing in a concise but simultaneously voluminous style. I ramble, Boak and Bailey subtly, but intentionally, ask numerous questions in 30 lines. Its quite a skill.
Years ago, in the past, they wrote a brewery map or family tree starting with Kelham Island and Thornbridge breweries. There is a link to the PDf about Kelham here. Using the much over-relied-upon meter of "facts" they sewed together a tapestry of links between the starter brewery and where their former brewers had since gone. Kelham Island, it seemed, had certainly set a lot of brewers careers in motion.
It was interesting therefore to find that the 4 Degrees of Separation IPA was based on a reunion of the current and three previous brewers at Abbeydale Brewery in Sheffield. Especially given that one of the founders of Abbeydale Brewery, Patrick Morton, used to work at Kelham Island Brewery and was featured in that very same article. Abbeydale may not be a brewing family tree, but it certainly has notable links between some excellent and talented brewers. The brewers involved in this were Abbeydale, Magic Rock, Northern Monk, and Siren Craft. All worked or brewed at Abbeydale in the early stages of their career and as the list above illustrates, have since gone on to start successful enterprises of their own.
Alas the can has insufficient space (although it features amazing artwork from Yasmina Kontiki) to tell you whom it is from each so am going to guess that Stuart Ross of Magic Rock was one, since he brewed in Sheffield - I know he did at Crown and am willing to guess he did at Abbeydale too. A prize of the joy of knowledge goes to anyone who can name the other two....
Its great that Abbeydale have branched out into the kind of full on, hop laden, citrus hop smack, fruity, cloudy, and dryly bitter IPA's that I drink so many of these days. Its better still that this type of production sits so comfortably in its portfolio along with Moonshine, Deception and Absolution. Abbeydale produce cask, keg and small runs of cans (I understand they hired a canning machine for this) and whilst they may brew more cask than anything else there is no detectable "battle" for style supremacy. What they have done is forged ahead into new areas of beer style and production, whilst remaining united behind all their products.
As a footnote to this, since you are probably justifiably expecting it, the beer was fantastic. It was very very easy to drink, cloudy, or as I call it "London opaque" (thanks Nate!) and had a wonderful lingering bitterness in the aftertaste. From memory (AKA the can) I can recall tasting Amarillo, Cascade, Nelson Sauvin and Galaxy in the heady hoppy mix. That last line is simultaneously accurate and dishonest. Not because I couldn't taste any of the hops listed on the can, but because I had to look on the can to remember....
I did like as well that its initial flavour was slightly less juicy hopped than I was expecting but soon became overwhelmingly fruity and dry as I supped. It was a darkly orange 7% IPA of deliciousness, and the glass of it probably lasted me about 15 joyful minutes. A great testament to the drinkability and wonderful balanced flavours in the beer.
I understand some may still be for sale in Sheffield but I also understand it was a limited production line so I would recommend that you grab some whilst you can. Well done to Abbeydale for not only setting the three protaganists on a career in brewing, but also bringing them back together to treat us to a fantastic IPA, made, of course, in sunny Sheffield.
Your very bestest of healths!
Wee Beefy
no Lazerngennulmurn, this is not a post about a discalculate soul pop covers band, instead it is my musings on a rather magnificent collaboration IPA in a can which I purchased and supped before entering "the dark time" of no frol. Please find hereafter some observances about said luponic compound.
The first thing to mention is Boak and Bailey, erstwhile beer blogging legends, successful authors, and persons who create a host of reactions queries and debates from readers by writing in a concise but simultaneously voluminous style. I ramble, Boak and Bailey subtly, but intentionally, ask numerous questions in 30 lines. Its quite a skill.
Years ago, in the past, they wrote a brewery map or family tree starting with Kelham Island and Thornbridge breweries. There is a link to the PDf about Kelham here. Using the much over-relied-upon meter of "facts" they sewed together a tapestry of links between the starter brewery and where their former brewers had since gone. Kelham Island, it seemed, had certainly set a lot of brewers careers in motion.
It was interesting therefore to find that the 4 Degrees of Separation IPA was based on a reunion of the current and three previous brewers at Abbeydale Brewery in Sheffield. Especially given that one of the founders of Abbeydale Brewery, Patrick Morton, used to work at Kelham Island Brewery and was featured in that very same article. Abbeydale may not be a brewing family tree, but it certainly has notable links between some excellent and talented brewers. The brewers involved in this were Abbeydale, Magic Rock, Northern Monk, and Siren Craft. All worked or brewed at Abbeydale in the early stages of their career and as the list above illustrates, have since gone on to start successful enterprises of their own.
Alas the can has insufficient space (although it features amazing artwork from Yasmina Kontiki) to tell you whom it is from each so am going to guess that Stuart Ross of Magic Rock was one, since he brewed in Sheffield - I know he did at Crown and am willing to guess he did at Abbeydale too. A prize of the joy of knowledge goes to anyone who can name the other two....
Its great that Abbeydale have branched out into the kind of full on, hop laden, citrus hop smack, fruity, cloudy, and dryly bitter IPA's that I drink so many of these days. Its better still that this type of production sits so comfortably in its portfolio along with Moonshine, Deception and Absolution. Abbeydale produce cask, keg and small runs of cans (I understand they hired a canning machine for this) and whilst they may brew more cask than anything else there is no detectable "battle" for style supremacy. What they have done is forged ahead into new areas of beer style and production, whilst remaining united behind all their products.
As a footnote to this, since you are probably justifiably expecting it, the beer was fantastic. It was very very easy to drink, cloudy, or as I call it "London opaque" (thanks Nate!) and had a wonderful lingering bitterness in the aftertaste. From memory (AKA the can) I can recall tasting Amarillo, Cascade, Nelson Sauvin and Galaxy in the heady hoppy mix. That last line is simultaneously accurate and dishonest. Not because I couldn't taste any of the hops listed on the can, but because I had to look on the can to remember....
I did like as well that its initial flavour was slightly less juicy hopped than I was expecting but soon became overwhelmingly fruity and dry as I supped. It was a darkly orange 7% IPA of deliciousness, and the glass of it probably lasted me about 15 joyful minutes. A great testament to the drinkability and wonderful balanced flavours in the beer.
I understand some may still be for sale in Sheffield but I also understand it was a limited production line so I would recommend that you grab some whilst you can. Well done to Abbeydale for not only setting the three protaganists on a career in brewing, but also bringing them back together to treat us to a fantastic IPA, made, of course, in sunny Sheffield.
Your very bestest of healths!
Wee Beefy
Tuesday, 7 March 2017
Great tasting Gluten free beer shock
Hello,
I was in Shakespeares the other day (obviously) and having recently finished the last of the phenomenal cans of Magic Rock Clairvoyance - quite simply the finest beer I have had in a can for a long time - I was asking bar-meister Christopher Keith Wadsworth which can I should choose next. In a moment of apparent sobering madness he recommended Magic Rock Fantasma, a plus 6% IPA which was gluten free. I checked my pockets for smelling salts but none could be found, but his insistence it was good made me agree to buy a can. Am glad I followed his sage recommendation.
Years ago, between one and twenty, I heard about gluten free beer. It had no doubt been around longer but we in the UK are often slow to recognise, possibly distrustful of, developments and improvements, especially regarding at that time lesser known illnesses. So the first one I heard about was from Hambleton. With the greatest respect to them (I love their Nightmare and their strong pale which has a name I have since forgotten) it was a noble effort to make such a beer, but it tasted rank. As did the Greens, and less so the Wold Top one. The removal of gluten seemed to take away any resemblance to a balanced beer.
Magic Rock Fantasma is not that kind of show. Admittedly I was told it was gluten free and that came for me with its own raft of expectations, but am fairly sure if I hadn't know it prior to supping I wouldn't have known it was gluten free. The only minor difference to other Magic Rock pale ales of a similar strength was that it lacked...something, maybe a tang of sweetness from the yeast or malt used? What it did have however was a wonderful, and crucially balanced, blend of hops with a delicious tropical bitterness. It would am sure, stand up against peer pales in a blind tasting.
In a reprehensible display of lazy journalism, I haven't spoken to Stuart or anyone else at Magic Rock about how they made a masterpiece from such a potato cut outs and paint template of a beer style. And am sure if I needed to drink gluten free beer I would want to know, so if nothing else I could share that with other brewers. But I don't. And also I haven't seen Stuart in some time. Journalism, eh. Whats it all about? Like memories.
Anyway, one good thing that might come from this, as well of course of the opportunity to drink excellent gluten free ale, is greater awareness of those who have to drink gluten free beer. I refer of course to coeliacs, although that may not be all those affected. Funnily enough I was discussing the restrictions of and improvements in such beers with Liz at the Devonshire Cat last year - she was intending to have one completely gluten free handpump at the Dev. I have no idea if this has been taken on board following the refurb but if so that would be a really positive development. I understand that gluten or its constituents can still be present in the lines following the sale of non gluten free beers so a dedicated line would wipe out such a problem.
The addition of an exemplary pale ale also without gluten is a similar bonus. Lets hope brewers can start to push forward improvements in gluten free beer so it can become a product that coeliacs actually want to drink rather than feel they have to.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
I was in Shakespeares the other day (obviously) and having recently finished the last of the phenomenal cans of Magic Rock Clairvoyance - quite simply the finest beer I have had in a can for a long time - I was asking bar-meister Christopher Keith Wadsworth which can I should choose next. In a moment of apparent sobering madness he recommended Magic Rock Fantasma, a plus 6% IPA which was gluten free. I checked my pockets for smelling salts but none could be found, but his insistence it was good made me agree to buy a can. Am glad I followed his sage recommendation.
Years ago, between one and twenty, I heard about gluten free beer. It had no doubt been around longer but we in the UK are often slow to recognise, possibly distrustful of, developments and improvements, especially regarding at that time lesser known illnesses. So the first one I heard about was from Hambleton. With the greatest respect to them (I love their Nightmare and their strong pale which has a name I have since forgotten) it was a noble effort to make such a beer, but it tasted rank. As did the Greens, and less so the Wold Top one. The removal of gluten seemed to take away any resemblance to a balanced beer.
Magic Rock Fantasma is not that kind of show. Admittedly I was told it was gluten free and that came for me with its own raft of expectations, but am fairly sure if I hadn't know it prior to supping I wouldn't have known it was gluten free. The only minor difference to other Magic Rock pale ales of a similar strength was that it lacked...something, maybe a tang of sweetness from the yeast or malt used? What it did have however was a wonderful, and crucially balanced, blend of hops with a delicious tropical bitterness. It would am sure, stand up against peer pales in a blind tasting.
In a reprehensible display of lazy journalism, I haven't spoken to Stuart or anyone else at Magic Rock about how they made a masterpiece from such a potato cut outs and paint template of a beer style. And am sure if I needed to drink gluten free beer I would want to know, so if nothing else I could share that with other brewers. But I don't. And also I haven't seen Stuart in some time. Journalism, eh. Whats it all about? Like memories.
Anyway, one good thing that might come from this, as well of course of the opportunity to drink excellent gluten free ale, is greater awareness of those who have to drink gluten free beer. I refer of course to coeliacs, although that may not be all those affected. Funnily enough I was discussing the restrictions of and improvements in such beers with Liz at the Devonshire Cat last year - she was intending to have one completely gluten free handpump at the Dev. I have no idea if this has been taken on board following the refurb but if so that would be a really positive development. I understand that gluten or its constituents can still be present in the lines following the sale of non gluten free beers so a dedicated line would wipe out such a problem.
The addition of an exemplary pale ale also without gluten is a similar bonus. Lets hope brewers can start to push forward improvements in gluten free beer so it can become a product that coeliacs actually want to drink rather than feel they have to.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
Monday, 28 December 2015
Cans.
Hello
in the 1980's and 90's people really seemed to like canned beers. Almost all breweries canned their beers, from Multinationals to regional family brewers and even some new, up and coming microbreweries. Cans were available in corner shops and supermarkets and were inexpensive. My first party aged...um...an age, where canned drink was bought, was memorable as much for the antics of the guests as the number of cans and PET bottles that I disposed of the next day.
At Hagueys on Crookes you could buy cans of beer with widgets in - Castle Eden, John Smiths, Guinness, Trophy being ones I remember. These produce a silky smooth, film-like, jet of foamy beer which had almost no taste apart from a slight malt and bitter aftertaste - sometimes a lingering pharmaceutical aftertaste. Probably as bad as smoothflow beers are now.
As soon as I got into real ale aged 18 (ish) I started drinking less cans and moved onto pints and bottles - most notable when I started going to Archer Road Beer stop. Pretty soon I stopped drinking crap cans of bowze. I mean, why would I?
In the US of A, am fairly certain that breweries producing hoppy, excellent quality beers, Sierra Nevada, Brooklyn and Anchor spring to mind in this respect, have been producing their wares in cans for a long time. However, its probably only five years ago in the UK, likely with London based Microbreweries, that high quality hoppy tasting UK beers have started to appear in cans - most noticeably, in my experience, in the last eighteen months.
Given the above memories, and the often sky high cost of such products, I immediately turned my nose up - just like I did with keykeg, before I understood what it actually was. Earlier this year I tasted a couple of UK cans, I think from CamdinBev and Roosters at Sheffield beer week, and really enjoyed them, And then later, Tom, or Barry Valentine at the Beer Engine, kindly gave me and Tash a can of Roosters baby faced assassin to try. I was amazed at how hoppy and distinctive it was. Granted, the beer itself is a hoppy easy drinking strong pale ale, so right up my street, but it tasted superb. What on earth was going on?
I have since tried Beavertown cans, and Magic Rock and think that as long as they are sold at a sensible price, the can is, or rather can be, a valuable means of dispense. A case in point is Magic Rock Grapefruit High Wire. Bought from Archer Road Beer Stop for £2.00 a can, which is a sensible price given its cost on keg, I was immediately struck by just how grapefruity the beer smelled and tasted. I have had this beer on keykeg, which I expected to love, (expectation versus delivery, I know...) and found it disappointing - the grapefruit was no more than a subtle hint in the background, perhaps overwhelmed by the carbonation?
In the can, the grapefruit is a complimentary but strong flavour at the forefront and again in the aftertaste. Supping a can last night I found it was refreshing and fruity and hoppy, as well as excellent value. Is this an example of the can being the best dispense method for a particular type pf beer?
Well, alas I can't say - I have not had the beer in a bottle or on cask so its not a fair comparison. What is a fair comparison is that cans from forward thinking innovative microbreweries now seem far better than the widget weary smooth foam of the nineties. If those selling such a product could be more realistic about pricing then I may start drinking more canned beers. And cans are after all, recyclable.
I would always prefer to drink real ale though, in case anyone is worried...!
Psssht click
Wee Beefy
in the 1980's and 90's people really seemed to like canned beers. Almost all breweries canned their beers, from Multinationals to regional family brewers and even some new, up and coming microbreweries. Cans were available in corner shops and supermarkets and were inexpensive. My first party aged...um...an age, where canned drink was bought, was memorable as much for the antics of the guests as the number of cans and PET bottles that I disposed of the next day.
At Hagueys on Crookes you could buy cans of beer with widgets in - Castle Eden, John Smiths, Guinness, Trophy being ones I remember. These produce a silky smooth, film-like, jet of foamy beer which had almost no taste apart from a slight malt and bitter aftertaste - sometimes a lingering pharmaceutical aftertaste. Probably as bad as smoothflow beers are now.
As soon as I got into real ale aged 18 (ish) I started drinking less cans and moved onto pints and bottles - most notable when I started going to Archer Road Beer stop. Pretty soon I stopped drinking crap cans of bowze. I mean, why would I?
In the US of A, am fairly certain that breweries producing hoppy, excellent quality beers, Sierra Nevada, Brooklyn and Anchor spring to mind in this respect, have been producing their wares in cans for a long time. However, its probably only five years ago in the UK, likely with London based Microbreweries, that high quality hoppy tasting UK beers have started to appear in cans - most noticeably, in my experience, in the last eighteen months.
Given the above memories, and the often sky high cost of such products, I immediately turned my nose up - just like I did with keykeg, before I understood what it actually was. Earlier this year I tasted a couple of UK cans, I think from CamdinBev and Roosters at Sheffield beer week, and really enjoyed them, And then later, Tom, or Barry Valentine at the Beer Engine, kindly gave me and Tash a can of Roosters baby faced assassin to try. I was amazed at how hoppy and distinctive it was. Granted, the beer itself is a hoppy easy drinking strong pale ale, so right up my street, but it tasted superb. What on earth was going on?
I have since tried Beavertown cans, and Magic Rock and think that as long as they are sold at a sensible price, the can is, or rather can be, a valuable means of dispense. A case in point is Magic Rock Grapefruit High Wire. Bought from Archer Road Beer Stop for £2.00 a can, which is a sensible price given its cost on keg, I was immediately struck by just how grapefruity the beer smelled and tasted. I have had this beer on keykeg, which I expected to love, (expectation versus delivery, I know...) and found it disappointing - the grapefruit was no more than a subtle hint in the background, perhaps overwhelmed by the carbonation?
In the can, the grapefruit is a complimentary but strong flavour at the forefront and again in the aftertaste. Supping a can last night I found it was refreshing and fruity and hoppy, as well as excellent value. Is this an example of the can being the best dispense method for a particular type pf beer?
Well, alas I can't say - I have not had the beer in a bottle or on cask so its not a fair comparison. What is a fair comparison is that cans from forward thinking innovative microbreweries now seem far better than the widget weary smooth foam of the nineties. If those selling such a product could be more realistic about pricing then I may start drinking more canned beers. And cans are after all, recyclable.
I would always prefer to drink real ale though, in case anyone is worried...!
Psssht click
Wee Beefy
Sunday, 15 November 2015
Been too busy drinking beer to write about the beer I've been drinking.....
Hello people,
in fact, despite the title suggesting I have been cast adrift on a sea of crapulence, there are actually three nights in the last two weeks when not a drop of alcohol has passed my lips. I have, however, been tired or worn out on those nights and am now, therefore, writing my first post of November. Half way through the month. Regulars readers will know that through the haze of alcohol, my memories, particularly of names, seem to get left in the fog. My memories of pubs seem like photos taken in the fog. So, if I have met you in the last two weeks or more, and have not mentioned you or the pub that you run in this or likely my next blog post, don't take offence.
Yesterday I was doing overtime. Afterwards Tash was not quite ready to join me and I decided to spend a couple of hours in good ole Shakespeares. I started on a pint of the lovely Blue Bee Centennial, one of my favourite hops, and a punchy bitter pale at 3.9%. I also had a packet pf pork scratchings and a rather lovely cheese and pickle sandwich - still 70p, and served on a lovely cob. Another followed, along with a half of Brodies Hoxton Special IPA at 6.6% and a half of the Blue Bee North Riding Little and large IPA, featuring delicious soorachi ace hops along with mosaic.
I met Tash and Matty and we ended up at the very busy Bath Hotel a few hours later. One feature of recent drinking sessions has been the appearance of the loudest people on earth. Am not suggesting this is linked to the recent finishing of the association football match but the pub was filled with the loudest people ever. Beer wise it was more sorachi - Craft Brewing Gloucester, I think and their Sorachi Red. We had a pint each plus a half for Matty and although the crowds eventually dispersed we were in a rush t get up to Walkley.
The Walkley Beer Co was also busy, as its small, as well as excellent. The only cask beer left was Dark Star Partridge, which is their least enticing beer alas. Also on was Magic Rock Cannonball on keg (7.4% and £4.80 a pint) and a Cloudwater "Summer IPA" (!) at 5% and £4.00 a pint. We started on a pint each of that and sat by ourselves initially, before the tall man with the short hair who writes and used to house share with J9 and who I have known for 6 years or more whose name I have forgotten called us over to sit with him and Dan and friends.
We had another pint and a half, this time of Cannonball and got chatting to Tim, Gemma, Pete, Kerry and Owen, whose name is spelled with an e, I think. It soon dawned on me that I met Kerry and "Owen" before - in the Bath Hotel, about three years ago, and I drank 6 pints of Oakham Hop Devil. Having checked my back catalogue I realise I met them in July 2013, as shown here. It was good to catch up with them again, along with Dan and Pete and the nameless man and the others.
Leaving late we caught the bus to town and headed towards the Shakespeares. Alas, a pressing need forced us briefly into the Church House - for a double Whisky and coke for Tash and a half of Robinsons Trooper for me. It always makes me amused to see so many pump clips turned round in the pub when they only ever seem to sell the same two real ales...
Shakespeares was busy when we got there and we got sat in the clock room with pints of the Little and Large IPA once again. We had hoped they might have some sarnies left so we could eat the fillings and take the cobs home for our tea (burgers) but alas they did not. To make up for this, we had another half of the Hoxton and a shot of Jungle gin with that good tonic water that Shakespeares sell. A fantastic end to the night this proved.
I will attempt to remember other facts in my next post - I have been on quite a few good nights out in November, some of which I intend to share some fragmented details of.
In the meantime, take care, don't stop supping and see you around.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
in fact, despite the title suggesting I have been cast adrift on a sea of crapulence, there are actually three nights in the last two weeks when not a drop of alcohol has passed my lips. I have, however, been tired or worn out on those nights and am now, therefore, writing my first post of November. Half way through the month. Regulars readers will know that through the haze of alcohol, my memories, particularly of names, seem to get left in the fog. My memories of pubs seem like photos taken in the fog. So, if I have met you in the last two weeks or more, and have not mentioned you or the pub that you run in this or likely my next blog post, don't take offence.
Yesterday I was doing overtime. Afterwards Tash was not quite ready to join me and I decided to spend a couple of hours in good ole Shakespeares. I started on a pint of the lovely Blue Bee Centennial, one of my favourite hops, and a punchy bitter pale at 3.9%. I also had a packet pf pork scratchings and a rather lovely cheese and pickle sandwich - still 70p, and served on a lovely cob. Another followed, along with a half of Brodies Hoxton Special IPA at 6.6% and a half of the Blue Bee North Riding Little and large IPA, featuring delicious soorachi ace hops along with mosaic.
I met Tash and Matty and we ended up at the very busy Bath Hotel a few hours later. One feature of recent drinking sessions has been the appearance of the loudest people on earth. Am not suggesting this is linked to the recent finishing of the association football match but the pub was filled with the loudest people ever. Beer wise it was more sorachi - Craft Brewing Gloucester, I think and their Sorachi Red. We had a pint each plus a half for Matty and although the crowds eventually dispersed we were in a rush t get up to Walkley.
The Walkley Beer Co was also busy, as its small, as well as excellent. The only cask beer left was Dark Star Partridge, which is their least enticing beer alas. Also on was Magic Rock Cannonball on keg (7.4% and £4.80 a pint) and a Cloudwater "Summer IPA" (!) at 5% and £4.00 a pint. We started on a pint each of that and sat by ourselves initially, before the tall man with the short hair who writes and used to house share with J9 and who I have known for 6 years or more whose name I have forgotten called us over to sit with him and Dan and friends.
We had another pint and a half, this time of Cannonball and got chatting to Tim, Gemma, Pete, Kerry and Owen, whose name is spelled with an e, I think. It soon dawned on me that I met Kerry and "Owen" before - in the Bath Hotel, about three years ago, and I drank 6 pints of Oakham Hop Devil. Having checked my back catalogue I realise I met them in July 2013, as shown here. It was good to catch up with them again, along with Dan and Pete and the nameless man and the others.
Leaving late we caught the bus to town and headed towards the Shakespeares. Alas, a pressing need forced us briefly into the Church House - for a double Whisky and coke for Tash and a half of Robinsons Trooper for me. It always makes me amused to see so many pump clips turned round in the pub when they only ever seem to sell the same two real ales...
Shakespeares was busy when we got there and we got sat in the clock room with pints of the Little and Large IPA once again. We had hoped they might have some sarnies left so we could eat the fillings and take the cobs home for our tea (burgers) but alas they did not. To make up for this, we had another half of the Hoxton and a shot of Jungle gin with that good tonic water that Shakespeares sell. A fantastic end to the night this proved.
I will attempt to remember other facts in my next post - I have been on quite a few good nights out in November, some of which I intend to share some fragmented details of.
In the meantime, take care, don't stop supping and see you around.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
Friday, 24 January 2014
Second century begins at Tapped
Hello,
am not suggesting that the Tapped Brew Co is about 1900 years behind the rest of us, am just trying not to use the word century or hundred in this post about their...ninety ninth plus one brew. I can see this will be a fruitless exercise however....
Anyway, on Tuesday the Tapped Brew Co had an event on at the Sheffield Tap where you could see the whole brewing process from start to finish in one night, and taste some of their hundredth brew. It was called 100 Cent, and used centennial hops. Do you see what they did?
Admittedly the merit in being twice as good as 50 Cent is difficult to measure but if we get over it not being called Centenary, we can appreciate the beer for its ingredients. I am led to believe it was Mojo with the change being to make it with 100% centennial hops.... but I wasn't paying attention. What am I, your information monkey?! Ge darda yere....! No, really, I sort of think it was Mojo rebadged. It was a very tasty brew whichever way you looked at it. Especially since I love centennial hops - Mallinsons single hopped centennial was my beer of the 2012 Sheffield beer festival, so I was instantly sold on the tastes we had.
Having been delayed by hospital responsibilities I was quite late arriving so we only wandered into see who and what was there at the end, and to soak up the wonderful smells that brewing creates. It was interesting seeing the next size of kit up from Blue Bee and to try and spot beer twitterers and bloggers (I didn't). If you want to know how to brew beer by the way, this barely factual post here tells you everything the author knew about brewing beer. That's as much as I'm willing to promise.
The evening was also an opportunity to sample some other excellent ales and formed one of the highlights of a week of rather good beer. The Magic Rock Chipotle Punchline, a mightily maverick but hugely satisfying chocolate chilli porter, had just enough bite (a difficult balance to measure) and just the right amount of bitterness to work. It was also a beer that probably worked best in its Keykeg guise, given its powerful blend of flavors. Either way it was very good.
The other notables this week were found in just two venues. DAda, as I alluded previously, had Red Willow Heartless chocolate porter featuring 85% cacoa single origin Colombian chocolate. Again, the trick here was to expertly blend the bitterness of the chocolate, the hops and the sweetness afforded by the malt, to make something palatable and eminently suppable. Heartless was just that. It was not, a Wednesday night beer. It was a beer for a long Saturday. We had a couple of pints to show willing though....
The final duo came from Shakespeares Ale and Cider House. There was a North Riding Galaxy single hop in the cellar, and I bloody love galaxy as a hop so it was nailed on that I'd have that - it was exactly what I hoped for, lovely citrus bitterness but none of the dryness that single hop beers sometimes allow to creep in with more astringent hops. This was accompanied by pints of the Hopcraft "The Beast" IPA at 6.5% and £3.30 a pint. There were plenty of hops to get your taste-buds round but it wasn't a 6.5% drink, and there were no unpleasant lingering aftertastes or other untidiness to distract you from enjoying it. As I did. Thrice.
Its often said that older and more experienced people know best. As the bairns at Tapped Brew Co roll out their 100th brew, Hopcraft are already a go-to brewery for me, and Magic Rock and Red Willow are renowned established brewers. With quality like that to aspire to, the prospects for newer breweries, and those supping their beers, look mighty fine. May things only improve!
Cheers
Wee Beefy
am not suggesting that the Tapped Brew Co is about 1900 years behind the rest of us, am just trying not to use the word century or hundred in this post about their...ninety ninth plus one brew. I can see this will be a fruitless exercise however....
Anyway, on Tuesday the Tapped Brew Co had an event on at the Sheffield Tap where you could see the whole brewing process from start to finish in one night, and taste some of their hundredth brew. It was called 100 Cent, and used centennial hops. Do you see what they did?
Admittedly the merit in being twice as good as 50 Cent is difficult to measure but if we get over it not being called Centenary, we can appreciate the beer for its ingredients. I am led to believe it was Mojo with the change being to make it with 100% centennial hops.... but I wasn't paying attention. What am I, your information monkey?! Ge darda yere....! No, really, I sort of think it was Mojo rebadged. It was a very tasty brew whichever way you looked at it. Especially since I love centennial hops - Mallinsons single hopped centennial was my beer of the 2012 Sheffield beer festival, so I was instantly sold on the tastes we had.
Having been delayed by hospital responsibilities I was quite late arriving so we only wandered into see who and what was there at the end, and to soak up the wonderful smells that brewing creates. It was interesting seeing the next size of kit up from Blue Bee and to try and spot beer twitterers and bloggers (I didn't). If you want to know how to brew beer by the way, this barely factual post here tells you everything the author knew about brewing beer. That's as much as I'm willing to promise.
The evening was also an opportunity to sample some other excellent ales and formed one of the highlights of a week of rather good beer. The Magic Rock Chipotle Punchline, a mightily maverick but hugely satisfying chocolate chilli porter, had just enough bite (a difficult balance to measure) and just the right amount of bitterness to work. It was also a beer that probably worked best in its Keykeg guise, given its powerful blend of flavors. Either way it was very good.
The other notables this week were found in just two venues. DAda, as I alluded previously, had Red Willow Heartless chocolate porter featuring 85% cacoa single origin Colombian chocolate. Again, the trick here was to expertly blend the bitterness of the chocolate, the hops and the sweetness afforded by the malt, to make something palatable and eminently suppable. Heartless was just that. It was not, a Wednesday night beer. It was a beer for a long Saturday. We had a couple of pints to show willing though....
The final duo came from Shakespeares Ale and Cider House. There was a North Riding Galaxy single hop in the cellar, and I bloody love galaxy as a hop so it was nailed on that I'd have that - it was exactly what I hoped for, lovely citrus bitterness but none of the dryness that single hop beers sometimes allow to creep in with more astringent hops. This was accompanied by pints of the Hopcraft "The Beast" IPA at 6.5% and £3.30 a pint. There were plenty of hops to get your taste-buds round but it wasn't a 6.5% drink, and there were no unpleasant lingering aftertastes or other untidiness to distract you from enjoying it. As I did. Thrice.
Its often said that older and more experienced people know best. As the bairns at Tapped Brew Co roll out their 100th brew, Hopcraft are already a go-to brewery for me, and Magic Rock and Red Willow are renowned established brewers. With quality like that to aspire to, the prospects for newer breweries, and those supping their beers, look mighty fine. May things only improve!
Cheers
Wee Beefy
Saturday, 18 January 2014
Subtle heavyweights
Now then,
over the last couple of weeks, as befits the cold wet slog of January, I've treated myself to one or two "luxuries" in the way of beers. Somehow the grim reality of coming back to work, the constantly wet feet and the dank wet washing aromas in your house, combine to persuade you that actually, you've bloody well earned a bottle - or more expensively a pint - of something strong. And recently, two such examples have particularly stood out.
The other night I was going home like a good boy to make some warming food and get an early night. No frol would pass my lips, no bar would see my money, and I'd be rested for another day pushing the dead-weight round the horse gin of failure. Or working for the civil services, as ts otherwise known. Despite these noble abstentions plans, I discovered Miss N and Matty were in the Sheffield Tap and it was suggested I might join them for one, on my way home. The Sheffield Tap is not on my way home. And one wasn't an option.
Matty had ordered me a delicious pint of Magic Rock High Wire NZ on cask so this was a pretty good start, and formed part of another night ending line up, like you see now and again at the Tap. The High Wire didn't hang around, and with my eye on the Dark Arts I was contemplating a slow, careful clamber up the ABVs to the Tapped Brew Co's excellent Roulette Imperial Stout. However, despite being able to have independent thoughts and make rational choices all of my own, when Matty asked me what I thought about the idea of having an imperial double vanilla stout at about a million percent. and despite my brain saying "No! That's madness!" my lips made other shapes and I seemed to have agreed.
I may have mentioned before that my initial opinion on Hardknott brewery was that, for whatever reason, they were weighed down by a lot of hype. I reckoned I ought to love their brews based on their excellent label designs, innovative brews and, well, I admit, their repute among my peers, but it wasn't until last year when I tried their Infra Red that I started to "get them". That night, I done gone and got completely got. Because Hardknott Vitesse Noir, perhaps absurdly, is already looking like the beer of 2014. Nurse - the screens!
If I'm right, having read a few reviews and Hardknott's website I think that Vitesse Noir is a triple imperial stout with vanilla chocolate and coffee. Now, initially there were numerous aspects to this beer that made me cautious. Not least its 11% strength, and the fact I was buying it in the Sheffield Tap, but also the prospect of the vanilla or chocolate being too overpowering and making it syrupy or cloying, or there being a burnt coffee bitterness that would wipe out the subtle sweeter and softer flavours. Luckily, with the exception of the price. none of these concerns were realised.
It was an incredibly smooth well balanced beer. Not a jarring roast malt or an overly sugary vanilla or chocolate hint to be found, this was just layers of perfectly balanced flavours enjoying each other's company in a glass. A precision crafted beer jigsaw where every piece had been made with care and passion. It was very very good indeed. Even considering that it was £152.96 a third at the Sheffield Tap*
Having assumed that the bar had been set well beyond the reach of any other beer I was quickly reminded that in an ever evolving and in my opinion improving beer scene, bars don't stay at one height forever. This week, after a lovely meal, cracking red wine and some admirable dark beers, I decided to open my bottle of Spire brewery Xtinguisher, a 12% barley wine.
One of the interesting observations about barley wine is that its a beer that never seems to sound as tempting as an imperial IPA or an imperial brown or a triple stout. This is not just a language or aesthetic consideration, I think this is a refection of the fact that when I first started drinking beer, stronger beers were, if I recall correctly, a bit, erm. Dumb? Huge sledgehammer morasses of lumbering malt and overwhelmed hops with sugar obliterating any flavour in the desperate chase for alcohol. Barley wine came in nip bottles, was inexpensive and therefore the choice tipple of wannabee outdoor lager enthusiasts, and had usually undergone a label revamp in 1975. In short it was so-o-o-o-not cool. So what would a brewery proud of producing some fairly traditional styles in it's range, do with a barley wine?
Well, the answer is succeed. With some aplomb. Despite being a few years old and starting off at a mere 12% the beer was disconcertingly easy to drink. Instead of the teeth tingling sweet honey flavours of other barley wines, there was a subtle Fullers like marmalade in the background which mingled perfectly with a sweet yet subtle mix of malts. Bottle conditioned, the beer was a great advert for why, when done right (must. not. discuss...crap...B.C.A.s.....) the conditioning can improve the beer brilliantly. The yeast added even greater complexity, and made the beer even easier to sup, and the carbonation was just right, creating a head the same size as you'd expect from a hand pulled pint.
The alcohol was also a factor, it was after all probably a smidgen above it's starting ABV, but the almost whisky punch was so delicate and sat so well with the marmalade and malt flavours in the body that not only did you feel like you were getting a treat, but you were able to tell that it was a strong beer commanding respect.
The above shows that even when you have a new beer at every turn and even when you have compiled a list of what you consider to be reliable breweries and beers, there are still surprises to be had, and expectations to be exceeded. There might not be huge similarities in terms of beer styles and online presence or even label designs to link Hardknott and Spire but both have created beers of exceptional quality which have illuminated nights where some very high quality beer was already being consumed.
Lets hope I encounter Vitesse Noir in a pub again soon - and that I can somehow get hold of another bottle of Xtinguisher to put away for a grim January night in 2018....
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
*Of course that would be ridiculous. The Sheffield Tap don't sell beer in thirds.....
over the last couple of weeks, as befits the cold wet slog of January, I've treated myself to one or two "luxuries" in the way of beers. Somehow the grim reality of coming back to work, the constantly wet feet and the dank wet washing aromas in your house, combine to persuade you that actually, you've bloody well earned a bottle - or more expensively a pint - of something strong. And recently, two such examples have particularly stood out.
The other night I was going home like a good boy to make some warming food and get an early night. No frol would pass my lips, no bar would see my money, and I'd be rested for another day pushing the dead-weight round the horse gin of failure. Or working for the civil services, as ts otherwise known. Despite these noble abstentions plans, I discovered Miss N and Matty were in the Sheffield Tap and it was suggested I might join them for one, on my way home. The Sheffield Tap is not on my way home. And one wasn't an option.
Matty had ordered me a delicious pint of Magic Rock High Wire NZ on cask so this was a pretty good start, and formed part of another night ending line up, like you see now and again at the Tap. The High Wire didn't hang around, and with my eye on the Dark Arts I was contemplating a slow, careful clamber up the ABVs to the Tapped Brew Co's excellent Roulette Imperial Stout. However, despite being able to have independent thoughts and make rational choices all of my own, when Matty asked me what I thought about the idea of having an imperial double vanilla stout at about a million percent. and despite my brain saying "No! That's madness!" my lips made other shapes and I seemed to have agreed.
I may have mentioned before that my initial opinion on Hardknott brewery was that, for whatever reason, they were weighed down by a lot of hype. I reckoned I ought to love their brews based on their excellent label designs, innovative brews and, well, I admit, their repute among my peers, but it wasn't until last year when I tried their Infra Red that I started to "get them". That night, I done gone and got completely got. Because Hardknott Vitesse Noir, perhaps absurdly, is already looking like the beer of 2014. Nurse - the screens!
If I'm right, having read a few reviews and Hardknott's website I think that Vitesse Noir is a triple imperial stout with vanilla chocolate and coffee. Now, initially there were numerous aspects to this beer that made me cautious. Not least its 11% strength, and the fact I was buying it in the Sheffield Tap, but also the prospect of the vanilla or chocolate being too overpowering and making it syrupy or cloying, or there being a burnt coffee bitterness that would wipe out the subtle sweeter and softer flavours. Luckily, with the exception of the price. none of these concerns were realised.
It was an incredibly smooth well balanced beer. Not a jarring roast malt or an overly sugary vanilla or chocolate hint to be found, this was just layers of perfectly balanced flavours enjoying each other's company in a glass. A precision crafted beer jigsaw where every piece had been made with care and passion. It was very very good indeed. Even considering that it was £152.96 a third at the Sheffield Tap*
Having assumed that the bar had been set well beyond the reach of any other beer I was quickly reminded that in an ever evolving and in my opinion improving beer scene, bars don't stay at one height forever. This week, after a lovely meal, cracking red wine and some admirable dark beers, I decided to open my bottle of Spire brewery Xtinguisher, a 12% barley wine.
One of the interesting observations about barley wine is that its a beer that never seems to sound as tempting as an imperial IPA or an imperial brown or a triple stout. This is not just a language or aesthetic consideration, I think this is a refection of the fact that when I first started drinking beer, stronger beers were, if I recall correctly, a bit, erm. Dumb? Huge sledgehammer morasses of lumbering malt and overwhelmed hops with sugar obliterating any flavour in the desperate chase for alcohol. Barley wine came in nip bottles, was inexpensive and therefore the choice tipple of wannabee outdoor lager enthusiasts, and had usually undergone a label revamp in 1975. In short it was so-o-o-o-not cool. So what would a brewery proud of producing some fairly traditional styles in it's range, do with a barley wine?
Well, the answer is succeed. With some aplomb. Despite being a few years old and starting off at a mere 12% the beer was disconcertingly easy to drink. Instead of the teeth tingling sweet honey flavours of other barley wines, there was a subtle Fullers like marmalade in the background which mingled perfectly with a sweet yet subtle mix of malts. Bottle conditioned, the beer was a great advert for why, when done right (must. not. discuss...crap...B.C.A.s.....) the conditioning can improve the beer brilliantly. The yeast added even greater complexity, and made the beer even easier to sup, and the carbonation was just right, creating a head the same size as you'd expect from a hand pulled pint.
The alcohol was also a factor, it was after all probably a smidgen above it's starting ABV, but the almost whisky punch was so delicate and sat so well with the marmalade and malt flavours in the body that not only did you feel like you were getting a treat, but you were able to tell that it was a strong beer commanding respect.
The above shows that even when you have a new beer at every turn and even when you have compiled a list of what you consider to be reliable breweries and beers, there are still surprises to be had, and expectations to be exceeded. There might not be huge similarities in terms of beer styles and online presence or even label designs to link Hardknott and Spire but both have created beers of exceptional quality which have illuminated nights where some very high quality beer was already being consumed.
Lets hope I encounter Vitesse Noir in a pub again soon - and that I can somehow get hold of another bottle of Xtinguisher to put away for a grim January night in 2018....
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
*Of course that would be ridiculous. The Sheffield Tap don't sell beer in thirds.....
Thursday, 2 January 2014
Beers in the post Christmas dead zone.
Now then,
I've noted before that the period from Boxing day to 30th December is a bit of an anomaly when it comes to getting a pint. This also applies to New years day and, when there are two days before the weekend in the new year I'd extend the have a guess period to tomorrow as well. This year, having not been so rash tas o venture out into the countryside (we once traveled to Kettleshulme and back via Staffordshire to find no pubs open and end up in the Peacock at Owler Bar in desperation), I spent some time in Sheffield. Here's what I found....
On the 27th as you know I was Crookes bound with Carlos, but on the 29th I was back...at Crookes Ale House. By this time the Magic Rock Ringmaster NZ had run out, and the other beers in the rammed pub were getting low too - not surprising then that they only opened for a couple of hours on the 30th with only a few pints and bottles on sale. On this occasion I started with a pint of Sheffield Brewing Ci porter but it was a bit thick - but not in a robust way, more a tired way. So next I had a couple of pints of their First Gold which was a bit better - I also purchased a bottle of Youngs Imperial Russian stout. Well done to Rob and Kitt for their pop up pub experiment, and best of luck to them setting it up permanently in Handsworth as promised...
We headed to the Cobden next where my brainier companions were doing and winning the quiz. Here several pints of excellent Farmers Belgian Blue were consumed before Miss H very kindly paid me home in a taxi.
On the 30th I was in town meeting Miss N at the station - it seemed rude not to celebrate her return with a pint so we nipped in the Sheffield Tap. Thankfully, Anarchy's sublime chaos breakfast stout was on (I checked the price first but it was the same as last time) so we had a couple of pints of that, along with their Blonde Star and a Firestone brewery red IPA which was very palatable. As testified by my pics on Facebook earlier, the back room was completely empty when we left before 22.00.The dead zone - it lives! (?)
Straying out of the days when punters disappear, on New Years Eve I found myself having to reluctantly go for pints at Shakespeares which is a really good pub. There were quite a few in but it wasn't raucous and there was of course some good beer on. Waiting for Miss N i had a couple of pints of excellent Mallinsons mosaic which was in fantastic form and far too quaffable - indeed it ran out after I got Miss N her pint. I moved onto Steel City Capt Morgans revenge (I think - but it may have been Unholy trinity. Whatever it was there was coffee and probably rum in it. Or something...). I didn't like it as much as I'd hoped as it tasted a bit too much of burnt coffee or filter coffee that had been stewed, which was a shame.
Finally on New Years day we found ourselves in town with an hour to kill - and Sheffield centre a ghost town. Not that I'd wish working on New Years day on anybody but it was noticeable that away from town the pubs were open. Luckily, wandering thirstily around near the station (where even the Howard was closed) we discovered the Rutland opened at 17.00. It being not long after, this was a result!
We started on pints of Brew Company Oat Stout which was a good start, and then onto halves of Solstice lager and Magic Rock Big Top. In the end, the Magic Rock was too good to resist ( I somehow missed it when it was first out) so we stopped for another couple before paying a lot pf money to get home. At least there was good beer to be had....
So, this year's dead zone looked the same as usual, yet somehow, by chance or otherwise, we seemed to land on our feet whenever we fancied a pint. In contrast, over the next couple of days, I hope to be posting about an area where the dead zone applies to pubs full stop - with the promise of at least one open pub in the mix.
Cheers and happy new year
Wee Beefy
I've noted before that the period from Boxing day to 30th December is a bit of an anomaly when it comes to getting a pint. This also applies to New years day and, when there are two days before the weekend in the new year I'd extend the have a guess period to tomorrow as well. This year, having not been so rash tas o venture out into the countryside (we once traveled to Kettleshulme and back via Staffordshire to find no pubs open and end up in the Peacock at Owler Bar in desperation), I spent some time in Sheffield. Here's what I found....
On the 27th as you know I was Crookes bound with Carlos, but on the 29th I was back...at Crookes Ale House. By this time the Magic Rock Ringmaster NZ had run out, and the other beers in the rammed pub were getting low too - not surprising then that they only opened for a couple of hours on the 30th with only a few pints and bottles on sale. On this occasion I started with a pint of Sheffield Brewing Ci porter but it was a bit thick - but not in a robust way, more a tired way. So next I had a couple of pints of their First Gold which was a bit better - I also purchased a bottle of Youngs Imperial Russian stout. Well done to Rob and Kitt for their pop up pub experiment, and best of luck to them setting it up permanently in Handsworth as promised...
We headed to the Cobden next where my brainier companions were doing and winning the quiz. Here several pints of excellent Farmers Belgian Blue were consumed before Miss H very kindly paid me home in a taxi.
On the 30th I was in town meeting Miss N at the station - it seemed rude not to celebrate her return with a pint so we nipped in the Sheffield Tap. Thankfully, Anarchy's sublime chaos breakfast stout was on (I checked the price first but it was the same as last time) so we had a couple of pints of that, along with their Blonde Star and a Firestone brewery red IPA which was very palatable. As testified by my pics on Facebook earlier, the back room was completely empty when we left before 22.00.The dead zone - it lives! (?)
Straying out of the days when punters disappear, on New Years Eve I found myself having to reluctantly go for pints at Shakespeares which is a really good pub. There were quite a few in but it wasn't raucous and there was of course some good beer on. Waiting for Miss N i had a couple of pints of excellent Mallinsons mosaic which was in fantastic form and far too quaffable - indeed it ran out after I got Miss N her pint. I moved onto Steel City Capt Morgans revenge (I think - but it may have been Unholy trinity. Whatever it was there was coffee and probably rum in it. Or something...). I didn't like it as much as I'd hoped as it tasted a bit too much of burnt coffee or filter coffee that had been stewed, which was a shame.
Finally on New Years day we found ourselves in town with an hour to kill - and Sheffield centre a ghost town. Not that I'd wish working on New Years day on anybody but it was noticeable that away from town the pubs were open. Luckily, wandering thirstily around near the station (where even the Howard was closed) we discovered the Rutland opened at 17.00. It being not long after, this was a result!
We started on pints of Brew Company Oat Stout which was a good start, and then onto halves of Solstice lager and Magic Rock Big Top. In the end, the Magic Rock was too good to resist ( I somehow missed it when it was first out) so we stopped for another couple before paying a lot pf money to get home. At least there was good beer to be had....
So, this year's dead zone looked the same as usual, yet somehow, by chance or otherwise, we seemed to land on our feet whenever we fancied a pint. In contrast, over the next couple of days, I hope to be posting about an area where the dead zone applies to pubs full stop - with the promise of at least one open pub in the mix.
Cheers and happy new year
Wee Beefy
Saturday, 9 November 2013
Beer - perfect for "when I jetmjnh aidus. (Hijjs)"
Beer text.
A message that makes perfect sense to the sender, despite a distinct lack of co-ordination between their brain, fingers and eyesight. The kind of message which is always of the utmost importance, delivered with the highest expediency, and which will always read back just fine the next day.
But, I hear you ask, what sequence of events might make one clamber aboard the magic beer typewriter? What manner of tavern haunting and amber research could warrant such an action? Here's a few details of my thirst for knowledge over the last few days to put you in the picture....
Wednesday was Wanderians day so we headed up into town with the intention of having a change - and visiting the Sportsman on Cambridge Street. On entering there were two handpumps turned round. Journalistic rigor meant I had to ask if the beer was on, even though it clearly wasn't - and the nice man informed me that Trooper and another real ale would be on tomorrow. Still, that represents a hundred percent increase in the number of real ales in the Sportsman, should it happen.
Mr P was unswayed by the suggestion of Henrys and reluctant to trek to the Bath so we adjournment to DAda. DAda have recently introduced a new concept - comfortable seating. Which means that no matter how hip, pretentious or genuine you are, you needn't sup your ale sat on a fold-able metal chair. Which is nice. To celebrate, we had pints of the rather excellent Thornbridge Otters Tears, brewed for the Indy Man beer conference that everyone but me went to. A perfect hoppy citrus bite and a very drinkable body made for an excellent drink. Mr P moved down a percentage to sup a pint of the Red Willow Headless, whilst I stuck with the tears. I finished on two halves - one of Hardknott Azimuth, which was fantastic, and one of the ever excellent Thornbridge Halcyon.
I say "finished" but in reality Mr P was sensible enough to go home whilst I, labouring under the self delusion of needing to "go sopping" headed to West Street where I accidentally went to the Bath Hotel. Here I had an excellent pint of Pictish Chinook, which was on good form, if steep at £3.40 a go.
Last night as an end of week reward for our having had housemaids knee for 5 days we were supposed to be going to the Tap. Arriving we noticed a party of students carrying massive models of buildings had made passage to the bar almost impossible and there was a bad smell and an even worse atmosphere. So we decamped to the Rutland Arms. We had pints of the excellent Brew Company Oat Stout and sat outside in the beer garden for a chat and some restorative fresh air.
Back inside we noted the Hopcraft New Dawn Fades we'd had our eye on had faded altogether so we had pints of Acorn Bishop IPA. Another Excellent single hop IPA (I imagine Bishop is a hop?) which didn't seem to last very long. So we had another pint, this time accompanied by a half of Magic Rock High Wire which was £2.16 a half on the Keykeg. This 5.5% beer was on top form and not served too cold, so didn't really last very long. So much so in fact that we had to order another half, along with some food - a plate of Italian cheese, meat, olives and bread which was much needed.
We had been sat upstairs but as the pub was less busy we headed down to commandeer the juke box and to buy several more pints of High Wire. For our final rounds, Miss N stayed on the High Wire and I moved onto Hop Studio XS which was also on fine form. It was nice to bump into the Sheffield Sound Collective (Pete, Dan, Mark, Daniel and Vinnie) and friends who were back from seeing seminal 90's band Cud. We hooked up with them for the last hour before having a final round of drinks and getting a rather inexpensive taxi home.
And yes, as you may have guessed, somebody did make the mistake of trying to send a text. As you do when you've had about 7 pints. And it was every bit as nonsensical as the words in the post title. In fact, it virtually was the post title....
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
Note - if you can suggest 3 English words that I might have been attempting to text then you, and indeed I, could win the prize of knowledge......
A message that makes perfect sense to the sender, despite a distinct lack of co-ordination between their brain, fingers and eyesight. The kind of message which is always of the utmost importance, delivered with the highest expediency, and which will always read back just fine the next day.
But, I hear you ask, what sequence of events might make one clamber aboard the magic beer typewriter? What manner of tavern haunting and amber research could warrant such an action? Here's a few details of my thirst for knowledge over the last few days to put you in the picture....
Wednesday was Wanderians day so we headed up into town with the intention of having a change - and visiting the Sportsman on Cambridge Street. On entering there were two handpumps turned round. Journalistic rigor meant I had to ask if the beer was on, even though it clearly wasn't - and the nice man informed me that Trooper and another real ale would be on tomorrow. Still, that represents a hundred percent increase in the number of real ales in the Sportsman, should it happen.
Mr P was unswayed by the suggestion of Henrys and reluctant to trek to the Bath so we adjournment to DAda. DAda have recently introduced a new concept - comfortable seating. Which means that no matter how hip, pretentious or genuine you are, you needn't sup your ale sat on a fold-able metal chair. Which is nice. To celebrate, we had pints of the rather excellent Thornbridge Otters Tears, brewed for the Indy Man beer conference that everyone but me went to. A perfect hoppy citrus bite and a very drinkable body made for an excellent drink. Mr P moved down a percentage to sup a pint of the Red Willow Headless, whilst I stuck with the tears. I finished on two halves - one of Hardknott Azimuth, which was fantastic, and one of the ever excellent Thornbridge Halcyon.
I say "finished" but in reality Mr P was sensible enough to go home whilst I, labouring under the self delusion of needing to "go sopping" headed to West Street where I accidentally went to the Bath Hotel. Here I had an excellent pint of Pictish Chinook, which was on good form, if steep at £3.40 a go.
Last night as an end of week reward for our having had housemaids knee for 5 days we were supposed to be going to the Tap. Arriving we noticed a party of students carrying massive models of buildings had made passage to the bar almost impossible and there was a bad smell and an even worse atmosphere. So we decamped to the Rutland Arms. We had pints of the excellent Brew Company Oat Stout and sat outside in the beer garden for a chat and some restorative fresh air.
Back inside we noted the Hopcraft New Dawn Fades we'd had our eye on had faded altogether so we had pints of Acorn Bishop IPA. Another Excellent single hop IPA (I imagine Bishop is a hop?) which didn't seem to last very long. So we had another pint, this time accompanied by a half of Magic Rock High Wire which was £2.16 a half on the Keykeg. This 5.5% beer was on top form and not served too cold, so didn't really last very long. So much so in fact that we had to order another half, along with some food - a plate of Italian cheese, meat, olives and bread which was much needed.
We had been sat upstairs but as the pub was less busy we headed down to commandeer the juke box and to buy several more pints of High Wire. For our final rounds, Miss N stayed on the High Wire and I moved onto Hop Studio XS which was also on fine form. It was nice to bump into the Sheffield Sound Collective (Pete, Dan, Mark, Daniel and Vinnie) and friends who were back from seeing seminal 90's band Cud. We hooked up with them for the last hour before having a final round of drinks and getting a rather inexpensive taxi home.
And yes, as you may have guessed, somebody did make the mistake of trying to send a text. As you do when you've had about 7 pints. And it was every bit as nonsensical as the words in the post title. In fact, it virtually was the post title....
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
Note - if you can suggest 3 English words that I might have been attempting to text then you, and indeed I, could win the prize of knowledge......
Sunday, 3 February 2013
My first Twissup, by Wee Beefy, aged 38 and a half
Hello boys and girls
when I first joined Twitter I quickly noticed that Twit-savvy folks were organising meetings, almost exclusively to drink, via Twitter. Being a man of letters (in so far as the postman delivers em and I read em), I was quick to understand that this was a popular phenomena. People were Twissing up left right and centre.
With my recent MeetIRL hobby coming along slowly, and fearing I may have missed out on the rapacious expansion of this practice, I was delighted to be invited to a Twissup with folks from the Internet. So it was I met in the Rutland Arms (where else?) with redpola, nimrod777, FeastAndGlory, and malv173 for a meal, a chat, and beer. Lots of beer.
Having got there a minute early and found everyone seated and slaking, I quickly got myself a pint of actual OnTheEdge brewery beer. For real! It even had a pumpclip and everyuthing, like what actual beer not for sale in a school does. . It was called Sovereign Gold and it was fantastic. I had a good few pints just to make sure. Meanwhile irregular beer slaker F&G was on Ilkley Chief, and some poor soul had bought a metallic tasting thing that I think was returned.
Food was scoffed (although the menu items were being picked off one by one...) and then we went on to far stronger beers - F&G insisted she didn't want anything too strong so malv bought her a Magic Rock Human Cannonball (I think! It was strong that's for certain) and I know that others had the Chief, and me the Raw/Steel City Responsibly, which was on cracking form.
As we neared half ten the Twissup split (is this a twiss out?) and myself, nimrod and redpola went to the Sheffield Tap whilst the others probably had cocktails in the Great Gatsby, I never did find out...
The Tap was once again teasing me with the rumoured "big room" being in existence. I was told on a Friday that it didn't open Friday or Saturday, but then my boss was drinking in there the following Friday, this time, on a Thursday, it was steadfastly closed again. I'm starting to think its not actually there.
I started sensibly with halves of Sheffield Toolmakers Ripsaw, which was weak and watery, and a refreshing Scottish beer, whilst red and nimrod supped Bernard and Magic Rock Magic 8 ball. This became our combined tipple of choice for the final round, and it still seems to not live up to my expectations. I've never seen it on cask so its not a Keykeg thing, but it seems to lack the balance of that first brew and remains a slightly askew beer fighting to balance its strong flavours out. Still a nice int though despite all that.
Off next to find a pub open late, which isn';t that easy in fine old Sheffield. The Rutland, Henry's and other venues were shut but hats off to the Old House for serving til 01.00. I had a couple of pints of True North(Welbeck Abbey) First Porter in here , and I can confirm that I have precisely no idea what my companions were supping.
What I do know is that this was a great night out, notable because I knew all but malv173 prior to my joining Twitter. Definitely something I'd like to do again, and as long as, like we did, you pick cracking folks to go supping with, I can highly recommend the idea.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy (@WBeefy)
when I first joined Twitter I quickly noticed that Twit-savvy folks were organising meetings, almost exclusively to drink, via Twitter. Being a man of letters (in so far as the postman delivers em and I read em), I was quick to understand that this was a popular phenomena. People were Twissing up left right and centre.
With my recent MeetIRL hobby coming along slowly, and fearing I may have missed out on the rapacious expansion of this practice, I was delighted to be invited to a Twissup with folks from the Internet. So it was I met in the Rutland Arms (where else?) with redpola, nimrod777, FeastAndGlory, and malv173 for a meal, a chat, and beer. Lots of beer.
Having got there a minute early and found everyone seated and slaking, I quickly got myself a pint of actual OnTheEdge brewery beer. For real! It even had a pumpclip and everyuthing, like what actual beer not for sale in a school does. . It was called Sovereign Gold and it was fantastic. I had a good few pints just to make sure. Meanwhile irregular beer slaker F&G was on Ilkley Chief, and some poor soul had bought a metallic tasting thing that I think was returned.
Food was scoffed (although the menu items were being picked off one by one...) and then we went on to far stronger beers - F&G insisted she didn't want anything too strong so malv bought her a Magic Rock Human Cannonball (I think! It was strong that's for certain) and I know that others had the Chief, and me the Raw/Steel City Responsibly, which was on cracking form.
As we neared half ten the Twissup split (is this a twiss out?) and myself, nimrod and redpola went to the Sheffield Tap whilst the others probably had cocktails in the Great Gatsby, I never did find out...
The Tap was once again teasing me with the rumoured "big room" being in existence. I was told on a Friday that it didn't open Friday or Saturday, but then my boss was drinking in there the following Friday, this time, on a Thursday, it was steadfastly closed again. I'm starting to think its not actually there.
I started sensibly with halves of Sheffield Toolmakers Ripsaw, which was weak and watery, and a refreshing Scottish beer, whilst red and nimrod supped Bernard and Magic Rock Magic 8 ball. This became our combined tipple of choice for the final round, and it still seems to not live up to my expectations. I've never seen it on cask so its not a Keykeg thing, but it seems to lack the balance of that first brew and remains a slightly askew beer fighting to balance its strong flavours out. Still a nice int though despite all that.
Off next to find a pub open late, which isn';t that easy in fine old Sheffield. The Rutland, Henry's and other venues were shut but hats off to the Old House for serving til 01.00. I had a couple of pints of True North(Welbeck Abbey) First Porter in here , and I can confirm that I have precisely no idea what my companions were supping.
What I do know is that this was a great night out, notable because I knew all but malv173 prior to my joining Twitter. Definitely something I'd like to do again, and as long as, like we did, you pick cracking folks to go supping with, I can highly recommend the idea.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy (@WBeefy)
Saturday, 19 January 2013
Beerollercoaster
Good afternoon,
the title doesn't relate to a rather stomach churning film shown on Jim'll Fix it (although discerning which clips would make you gip nowadays is quite difficult), instead its a nod to the strange tumult of highs and lows I had last night.
I was meeting Fluffy after work, traipsing up to West Street in snow and slippery pavements, with all bathed in off yellow light, and snow forming a frothy head in my hair. I arrived at the Bath Hotel early, and looking like a badly poured Guinness. Luckily, there was beer to drink whilst I waited, and the whole place was coat dryingly warm.
I tried standing at the bar, as if I was in DAda, but to be fair there seems a bit more footfall in the Bath so I retired to the corner next to the radiator and got settled with my pint of the excellent Amber Ales Derbyshire Gold. They also had the Amber Jasmine IPA, but, not exactly surprisingly, this tasted of jasmine.
So when Fluff arrived I had another pint of the Derbyshire Gold, as did he and he got sat next to the lava hot radiator to get dried. I once again had one of their fantastic hot roast pork sarnies (thanks Steph!) and this filled me up perfectly for the night of drinking ahead. The only downside was the dire predictions of upcoming beers - selling 5 of my least favourite Thornbridge beers, including Kipling, Brother rabbit and Puja, it looked likely that the pendulum of popularity would swing back to DAda. These last two weeks have been a great example of soaring and falling fortunes in terms of the beer range at the Bath. Perhaps I was spoilt by Red Willow, Amber and aged Beadecas Well....
We walked to the Hop next, still in the snow, and decided to only stop for a half. There's something I just can't get on with about the Hop. I loved the green hop festival and there is always a mild on the bar, but its so transient - I always feel like I'm filling in ten minutes when I', in there - this time we literally were! Halves of Rudgate Ruby Mild fr me and Ossett Treacle Scott for Fluff, to prepare us against the snowy wind ahead.
Eschewing the charms of the Dev Cat we headed into Henry's past the promising looking frontage of the Brewery proclaiming its imminent opening. Its strange that Henry's never seems to be busy because the beer is fantastic in there, and well priced. I had a pint of sumptuous Dark Star Revelation, whilst Fluff had a half of the same, and a rather earthy Bridestones Chocolate Stout, from a range of about ten. A pub crying out for a session.
Off down to the Sheffield Tap next to be annoyed, disappointed and elated in equal measure. Initially our eyes lit up at the range, Magic Rock casks plus Human Cannonball on Keykeg, a Tiny Rebel beer, and a cask Sierra Nevada beer - Heaven! I had a half of the Cosmic Daze from S.N and a half of the Steel City Hop Cluster from the other night. And this is where it all started to go wrong...
Firstly, the tiny Rebel beer was about 4.5% and yet cost £5.00 (based on the cost two halves - note, this is according to Fluff, I didn't see the price myself). Not only that, it lacked significant noticeable flavour to overcome the carbonation and pointless coldness. It was like a shandy made with half a lager and some sparkling water. And why in the name of Christ was it £5.00 a pint?! Given that Keykeg was its most unsuitable serving style, it was galling enough to pay the infamous extra Keykeg cost at possibly a pound, but it was still £4.00 without! Is it made with gold? Mores the shame we couldn't remember the name of the brew.
The Sierra Nevada meanwhile was ace and lots easier to drink on cask than it usually is on keg or in bottle. However, the Steel City tasted of furniture polish and cucumbers. That is not how that beer should taste I assure you.
I took it back to complain and the lass behind the bar finished my sentence with the word furniture polish - so why on earth was it even on sale? She went to check with the manager if I could have it replaced with drinkable beer, a puzzle in itself, and I had a Rapture instead. To be fair they also took the beer off, but I can't begin to think what had happened to it to make it taste so bad, and however briefly, be on sale.
We cheered ourselves up with halves of Magic Rock Human Cannonball which is amazing, plus a half of the excellent Oakham JHB. The Human Cannonball was a great example of a strong beer that works well when sold on Keykeg. Joyous though this was, it just highlighted how bad the Tiny Rebel beer was.
Off to the Rutland Arms last and they also had Human Cannonball on - but, and I thought I'd never have reason to say this - at a pound more expensive than the Sheffield Tap. I love the Rutland but that's a slap too far! Luckily, they had Magic Rock Dark Arts on cask, so I had a pint of that and Fluff a rather ill advised pint of a Revolutions Christmassy spiced ale. Oh dear. What have you done to your image Revolutions Brew! Spiced ale is almost always unfailingly bad.
Luckily I bought Fluff a half of the Dark Arts, which he didn't finish as is usually the case in the last pub, so I had that, along with another pint of the absolutely excellent beer again. I love Dark Arts, and its a beer that needs to be on cask a bit more often I think. Probably the beer of the night.
So there you go, an up and down beer journey in the snow. A greatly enjoyable if frustrating way to spend Friday night - and what a great excuse for me to cancel my trip to Leeds today. A dry day inside with no costs involved is much needed I think!
Cheers
Wee Beefy
the title doesn't relate to a rather stomach churning film shown on Jim'll Fix it (although discerning which clips would make you gip nowadays is quite difficult), instead its a nod to the strange tumult of highs and lows I had last night.
I was meeting Fluffy after work, traipsing up to West Street in snow and slippery pavements, with all bathed in off yellow light, and snow forming a frothy head in my hair. I arrived at the Bath Hotel early, and looking like a badly poured Guinness. Luckily, there was beer to drink whilst I waited, and the whole place was coat dryingly warm.
I tried standing at the bar, as if I was in DAda, but to be fair there seems a bit more footfall in the Bath so I retired to the corner next to the radiator and got settled with my pint of the excellent Amber Ales Derbyshire Gold. They also had the Amber Jasmine IPA, but, not exactly surprisingly, this tasted of jasmine.
So when Fluff arrived I had another pint of the Derbyshire Gold, as did he and he got sat next to the lava hot radiator to get dried. I once again had one of their fantastic hot roast pork sarnies (thanks Steph!) and this filled me up perfectly for the night of drinking ahead. The only downside was the dire predictions of upcoming beers - selling 5 of my least favourite Thornbridge beers, including Kipling, Brother rabbit and Puja, it looked likely that the pendulum of popularity would swing back to DAda. These last two weeks have been a great example of soaring and falling fortunes in terms of the beer range at the Bath. Perhaps I was spoilt by Red Willow, Amber and aged Beadecas Well....
We walked to the Hop next, still in the snow, and decided to only stop for a half. There's something I just can't get on with about the Hop. I loved the green hop festival and there is always a mild on the bar, but its so transient - I always feel like I'm filling in ten minutes when I', in there - this time we literally were! Halves of Rudgate Ruby Mild fr me and Ossett Treacle Scott for Fluff, to prepare us against the snowy wind ahead.
Eschewing the charms of the Dev Cat we headed into Henry's past the promising looking frontage of the Brewery proclaiming its imminent opening. Its strange that Henry's never seems to be busy because the beer is fantastic in there, and well priced. I had a pint of sumptuous Dark Star Revelation, whilst Fluff had a half of the same, and a rather earthy Bridestones Chocolate Stout, from a range of about ten. A pub crying out for a session.
Off down to the Sheffield Tap next to be annoyed, disappointed and elated in equal measure. Initially our eyes lit up at the range, Magic Rock casks plus Human Cannonball on Keykeg, a Tiny Rebel beer, and a cask Sierra Nevada beer - Heaven! I had a half of the Cosmic Daze from S.N and a half of the Steel City Hop Cluster from the other night. And this is where it all started to go wrong...
Firstly, the tiny Rebel beer was about 4.5% and yet cost £5.00 (based on the cost two halves - note, this is according to Fluff, I didn't see the price myself). Not only that, it lacked significant noticeable flavour to overcome the carbonation and pointless coldness. It was like a shandy made with half a lager and some sparkling water. And why in the name of Christ was it £5.00 a pint?! Given that Keykeg was its most unsuitable serving style, it was galling enough to pay the infamous extra Keykeg cost at possibly a pound, but it was still £4.00 without! Is it made with gold? Mores the shame we couldn't remember the name of the brew.
The Sierra Nevada meanwhile was ace and lots easier to drink on cask than it usually is on keg or in bottle. However, the Steel City tasted of furniture polish and cucumbers. That is not how that beer should taste I assure you.
I took it back to complain and the lass behind the bar finished my sentence with the word furniture polish - so why on earth was it even on sale? She went to check with the manager if I could have it replaced with drinkable beer, a puzzle in itself, and I had a Rapture instead. To be fair they also took the beer off, but I can't begin to think what had happened to it to make it taste so bad, and however briefly, be on sale.
We cheered ourselves up with halves of Magic Rock Human Cannonball which is amazing, plus a half of the excellent Oakham JHB. The Human Cannonball was a great example of a strong beer that works well when sold on Keykeg. Joyous though this was, it just highlighted how bad the Tiny Rebel beer was.
Off to the Rutland Arms last and they also had Human Cannonball on - but, and I thought I'd never have reason to say this - at a pound more expensive than the Sheffield Tap. I love the Rutland but that's a slap too far! Luckily, they had Magic Rock Dark Arts on cask, so I had a pint of that and Fluff a rather ill advised pint of a Revolutions Christmassy spiced ale. Oh dear. What have you done to your image Revolutions Brew! Spiced ale is almost always unfailingly bad.
Luckily I bought Fluff a half of the Dark Arts, which he didn't finish as is usually the case in the last pub, so I had that, along with another pint of the absolutely excellent beer again. I love Dark Arts, and its a beer that needs to be on cask a bit more often I think. Probably the beer of the night.
So there you go, an up and down beer journey in the snow. A greatly enjoyable if frustrating way to spend Friday night - and what a great excuse for me to cancel my trip to Leeds today. A dry day inside with no costs involved is much needed I think!
Cheers
Wee Beefy
Monday, 31 December 2012
Breweries of note
Greetings,
now I know I sort of already did my Golden Pint awards spiel but I have, not accidentally, been mentioning my favourite, most impressive and consistent breweries in various posts throughout the year. So, with only tomorrow left of 2012, I have decided to compile my top ten breweries list, off the top of my head, without referring back to any previous posts. After all, if you rate a brewery, that shouldn't be necessary. Here's the shining stars, for your delectation..
now I know I sort of already did my Golden Pint awards spiel but I have, not accidentally, been mentioning my favourite, most impressive and consistent breweries in various posts throughout the year. So, with only tomorrow left of 2012, I have decided to compile my top ten breweries list, off the top of my head, without referring back to any previous posts. After all, if you rate a brewery, that shouldn't be necessary. Here's the shining stars, for your delectation..
1. Well, its got to be Mallinsons, not only because I already said that in my Golden Pints list, which is carved into a stone tablet and can never be changed (much how some breweries appear to regard their website), but because am still waiting for that first bad Mallinsons, beer, and can't see it arriving.
2. Revolutions Brew : once, and only once, I had a beer from this brewery that I didn't like. But that's a rare thing, and most of the time its a pleasure to sample their beer - even if I don't like or haven't heard of the band! Doing a collaboration with Brass Castle also earns them points, as does their impeccable unfined beer.
3. Magic Rock : not difficult to find, and despite a bit of a wobble where I had a few lacklustre pints (possibly a hop supply chain problem) its been another year where theirs have been the stand out beers - and they are only 18 months old. Still one of the few breweries whose beers aren't disappointing on KeyKeg, and whose Bearded Lady is my beer of the year.
4. Dark Star : If Bearded Lady hadn't redefined my feelings about Keykeg then 2012 would still have been memorable, mainly for the Dark Star Saison, and Revelation. The Saison was easily the most quaffable beer ever! The only thing that could have made it more perfect would have been a Summer to enjoy it in.
5. Black Iris : I hope this isn't influenced by their pumpclips but this is another go to producer for me - the Peregrine Pale and the Intergalactic IPA are two regularly faultless beers, along with their darker offerings.
6. Thornbridge : I might mock their position as "the new Ember Inns" and scoff at their fear of UK brewed KeyKeg beer but Halcyon, Pollards, McConnells, Yule, Evenlode and Thorny Goat simply can't be matched - and almost make up for how dire Kipling, Marples, St Petersburg and Jaipur have become. See, am at it again! Their inclusion in this list is also out of admiration for their incredible bottled beers, especially those that I have aged.
7. Steel City : their 666 IBU festival alone warrants their inclusion, but when I see a Steel City beer I always find myself buying it. If they could just do a mild and a porter without too many hops they'd be much further up the list.
8. Blue Bee : Lustin For Stout, apart from a minor wobble, is consistently one of the best dark beers in Sheffield. And anyone who brews a black bitter,without any sense of irony is going to brewers heaven. The Shake Rattle and Roll was fairly awesome as well.
9. Blue Monkey : Love it! Great pumpclips and great beers which never disappoint, and now I can get there stuff in bottles as well its happy days. BG Sips is almost as faultlessly quaffable as Dark Star Saison.
10. Summer Wine : A huge range of bottles covering many styles is one reason why I like Summer Wine, even if they sometimes get a bit silly with hops. Their run of beers in Shakespeares and other Sheffield pubs earlier this year means I had plenty of their offerings to become enamoured with them - their red ale and Teleporter standing out.
11. You can't have a top 11, that's just silly. And besides, eleven comprises seven nearly's : Abbeydale, Fyne Ales, Acorn, Welbeck Abbey, Little Ale Cart, Hop Studio and Red Willow. All excellent breweries with a lot to offer. And heres a link to the list I compiled in April, just for comparison.
So that wraps up the list and the year for me, I have about a pint of Deception left which am saving for New Years Day, and then its back to the search for unspoilt pubs and amazing beers that has defined much of 2012.
Happy New Year!
Wee Beefy
Tuesday, 20 November 2012
The week in Utopian beers.
Hello,
despite my rather bold forays out soon after I contracted an illness which had clearly intended to steal my internal organs via my throat and break my ribs from heaving (sorry for the graphic description!), its been an otherwise quiet week, during which I have been out and about only twice, but with excellent beers found on each occasion. Here's what happened either side of the ebola virus.
Drinks for the workers
On Tuesday a wearying exercise in work based indoctrination made me and Mr C remember that alcohol is a great soother of sore brains, even if ironically, its also the path to making sore their housing. So we escaped from work and headed for Shakespeares. You know, for a change. Bearing in mind that I mentioned my surprise on Friday at discovering that the beer festival was on, its worth admitting that Robin and Chris were actively preparing the line up just 2 days earlier, on the Tuesday. Clearly the inner head sieve wasn't up to retaining that.
One salient piece of info however was that having sorted Mr C out with a lager, I immediately found myself awash on a sea of hoppy goodness. Without even first checking which brew it was, as so often happens when I spot a Mallinsons pumpclip, I went for a pint of that. Which was Chinook, a fantastically well balanced fruity, hoppy, delight with layers of perfectly matched sweet, dry, and citrus hops and complimentary malts.
On arriving on Friday night it was no surprise to find that the Mallinsons Bramling Cross had been the first to go. If it was even a patch on the Chinook it would have been surprising if it lasted more than a couple of hours. Whilst here, I also had a half of the tasty Blue Bee 5o'choc shadow, and, inevitably, more yummy Mallinsons.
Off to DAda next and it was time for pork pie and olives and beers, with Mr C going for a Bernard Light, myself a pint of the Blue Bee Bees Knees, followed by an entire pint of Thornbridge Halcyon. Despite a mishap with some slippery bush fruit and an unforgiving incline, we had a fantastic hour or more talking nonsense sat on a leather settee at an impossibly low table. Just as a night out should be.
Next on our route was the Red Deer, and it was halves only, and mine possessed mind altering, or more precisely mind wiping qualities. Sorry for the umpteenth time to the Red Deer for failing to remember, in this case even the slightest bit of information about my visit.
Harrisons 1854 beckoned after that and it was nice to pop in for a pint after quite a spell without attending, I was on a very enjoyable jar of Abbeydale Deception. We had a good catch up here and a brief chat with Dave, before heading off to the Bath Hotel. I know this, because I had Thornbridge Brock on the understanding that it was better than usual. I was assured it was. Alas, owing to the late hour, the parameters of said thermometer of quality were undefined....
On Sunday, myself and my soon to be Giant amongst Chinese men, met in the Rutland for a pint or few. I was meeting at 18.00 and had enough time to pop in the Sheffield Tap for a "quick one". Choosing halves of the excellent Truefitt Ironopolis Stout (nice to see its brilliance first time out wasn't a flash in the pan) and Arbor Yakima Valley American IPA, I was a bit surprised, even at Tap prices, to be charged £3.95 for the privilege, so belatedly looked at the Arbor pumpclip. It was 7.0%. Good.
Despite this we converged on time at the bar in the Rutland and after initial disappointment at the mild running out my companion Mr J opted for a pint of Marstons EPA to start, and I a fantastic dry, bitter pint of Blue Bee Shake Rattle and Roll. I was surprised to find this on (ahem, someone was supposed to let me know...) but was glad I did, and had two pints. Mr J on the other hand made a slight climb in ABV in his unbounded youthful recklessness, buying a half of Magic Rock Human Cannonball. This was so incredible that on the next round, he had a further half, and I followed suit, despite its strength.
BOOM! And the doubts are gone...*
Human Cannonball, brewed to 9.3%, is probably about 10 times better than the Magic Rock Cannonball, and represents the better aspects of UK American influenced super hopped pale ale brewing. Whereas Cannonball has an awkward dryness fighting throughout with a needless sweetness, making me think it was neither what I had wanted or expected, Human Cannonball is so well balanced as to almost be a lesson in strong ale brewing.
And, whilst it may pack as much alcohol into a pint as three of session beer, its not difficult to drink. Indeed, really the only thing to slow the drinker down is advisable and understandable caution. Were it 4% I think both of us could happily have drank it all night.
Human Cannonball has a tantalising aroma of spicy, floral hops. It delivers everything you could want from a strong pale ale by unleashing wave after wave of juicy zesty bitterness that mingles on the palate, lingering long in a heavenly aftertaste, before joining an understated but formidably well executed mellow, balanced malt in the background. Its bittersweet, potent and rewarding, and theres no jarring sweetness or ascorbic bitterness in there to spoil things, just a seamless procession of glorious flavour.
Once again, Magic Rock, who's output I have been disappointed with quite a lot of late, have produced a superlative strong beer. And the fact that it was a strong UK brewed pale ale, served from Keykeg with a nod to the USA style of pale ales, and which I really loved, made it all the more pleasing.
Next, if only to prevent us succumbing to the cost and impact of yet more Human Cannonball, we headed to the Tap to get the end of the Arbor Yakima Valley IPA, which was a shame, since I had made quite a job of recommending it. I also had a half of the Ironopolis again, whilst my companion had a half of some fearsome sounding Hardknott offering on Keykeg. Its not really fair to offer any kind of specific details of any of the post Human Cannonball beers - because there was no way they could match it.
So, a great way to spend four hours on a Sunday, and a perfect way of wiping away the memories and feelings of dread experienced during the middle of last week. I might have had to drag my sorry arse into work the next day but the buzz of the Human Cannonball kept me going, as I thought about whether or not I could persuade Mr P to go to the Rutland on Wednesday instead of our usual Wanderiains route...
Cheers!
Wee Beefy.
*please note, this is in no way intended as a subtle endorsement of a well known branded product, neither is it meant to claim that "all of a sudden" Magic Rock are back to their very best. That said, it goes a damn long way towards doing so....
despite my rather bold forays out soon after I contracted an illness which had clearly intended to steal my internal organs via my throat and break my ribs from heaving (sorry for the graphic description!), its been an otherwise quiet week, during which I have been out and about only twice, but with excellent beers found on each occasion. Here's what happened either side of the ebola virus.
Drinks for the workers
On Tuesday a wearying exercise in work based indoctrination made me and Mr C remember that alcohol is a great soother of sore brains, even if ironically, its also the path to making sore their housing. So we escaped from work and headed for Shakespeares. You know, for a change. Bearing in mind that I mentioned my surprise on Friday at discovering that the beer festival was on, its worth admitting that Robin and Chris were actively preparing the line up just 2 days earlier, on the Tuesday. Clearly the inner head sieve wasn't up to retaining that.
One salient piece of info however was that having sorted Mr C out with a lager, I immediately found myself awash on a sea of hoppy goodness. Without even first checking which brew it was, as so often happens when I spot a Mallinsons pumpclip, I went for a pint of that. Which was Chinook, a fantastically well balanced fruity, hoppy, delight with layers of perfectly matched sweet, dry, and citrus hops and complimentary malts.
On arriving on Friday night it was no surprise to find that the Mallinsons Bramling Cross had been the first to go. If it was even a patch on the Chinook it would have been surprising if it lasted more than a couple of hours. Whilst here, I also had a half of the tasty Blue Bee 5o'choc shadow, and, inevitably, more yummy Mallinsons.
Off to DAda next and it was time for pork pie and olives and beers, with Mr C going for a Bernard Light, myself a pint of the Blue Bee Bees Knees, followed by an entire pint of Thornbridge Halcyon. Despite a mishap with some slippery bush fruit and an unforgiving incline, we had a fantastic hour or more talking nonsense sat on a leather settee at an impossibly low table. Just as a night out should be.
Next on our route was the Red Deer, and it was halves only, and mine possessed mind altering, or more precisely mind wiping qualities. Sorry for the umpteenth time to the Red Deer for failing to remember, in this case even the slightest bit of information about my visit.
Harrisons 1854 beckoned after that and it was nice to pop in for a pint after quite a spell without attending, I was on a very enjoyable jar of Abbeydale Deception. We had a good catch up here and a brief chat with Dave, before heading off to the Bath Hotel. I know this, because I had Thornbridge Brock on the understanding that it was better than usual. I was assured it was. Alas, owing to the late hour, the parameters of said thermometer of quality were undefined....
On Sunday, myself and my soon to be Giant amongst Chinese men, met in the Rutland for a pint or few. I was meeting at 18.00 and had enough time to pop in the Sheffield Tap for a "quick one". Choosing halves of the excellent Truefitt Ironopolis Stout (nice to see its brilliance first time out wasn't a flash in the pan) and Arbor Yakima Valley American IPA, I was a bit surprised, even at Tap prices, to be charged £3.95 for the privilege, so belatedly looked at the Arbor pumpclip. It was 7.0%. Good.
Despite this we converged on time at the bar in the Rutland and after initial disappointment at the mild running out my companion Mr J opted for a pint of Marstons EPA to start, and I a fantastic dry, bitter pint of Blue Bee Shake Rattle and Roll. I was surprised to find this on (ahem, someone was supposed to let me know...) but was glad I did, and had two pints. Mr J on the other hand made a slight climb in ABV in his unbounded youthful recklessness, buying a half of Magic Rock Human Cannonball. This was so incredible that on the next round, he had a further half, and I followed suit, despite its strength.
BOOM! And the doubts are gone...*
Human Cannonball, brewed to 9.3%, is probably about 10 times better than the Magic Rock Cannonball, and represents the better aspects of UK American influenced super hopped pale ale brewing. Whereas Cannonball has an awkward dryness fighting throughout with a needless sweetness, making me think it was neither what I had wanted or expected, Human Cannonball is so well balanced as to almost be a lesson in strong ale brewing.
And, whilst it may pack as much alcohol into a pint as three of session beer, its not difficult to drink. Indeed, really the only thing to slow the drinker down is advisable and understandable caution. Were it 4% I think both of us could happily have drank it all night.
Human Cannonball has a tantalising aroma of spicy, floral hops. It delivers everything you could want from a strong pale ale by unleashing wave after wave of juicy zesty bitterness that mingles on the palate, lingering long in a heavenly aftertaste, before joining an understated but formidably well executed mellow, balanced malt in the background. Its bittersweet, potent and rewarding, and theres no jarring sweetness or ascorbic bitterness in there to spoil things, just a seamless procession of glorious flavour.
Once again, Magic Rock, who's output I have been disappointed with quite a lot of late, have produced a superlative strong beer. And the fact that it was a strong UK brewed pale ale, served from Keykeg with a nod to the USA style of pale ales, and which I really loved, made it all the more pleasing.
Next, if only to prevent us succumbing to the cost and impact of yet more Human Cannonball, we headed to the Tap to get the end of the Arbor Yakima Valley IPA, which was a shame, since I had made quite a job of recommending it. I also had a half of the Ironopolis again, whilst my companion had a half of some fearsome sounding Hardknott offering on Keykeg. Its not really fair to offer any kind of specific details of any of the post Human Cannonball beers - because there was no way they could match it.
So, a great way to spend four hours on a Sunday, and a perfect way of wiping away the memories and feelings of dread experienced during the middle of last week. I might have had to drag my sorry arse into work the next day but the buzz of the Human Cannonball kept me going, as I thought about whether or not I could persuade Mr P to go to the Rutland on Wednesday instead of our usual Wanderiains route...
Cheers!
Wee Beefy.
*please note, this is in no way intended as a subtle endorsement of a well known branded product, neither is it meant to claim that "all of a sudden" Magic Rock are back to their very best. That said, it goes a damn long way towards doing so....
Thursday, 21 June 2012
I really loved a KeyKeg beer - should I kill myself now?
Now then,
I posted a few days ago about one of the best beers I've ever had, Magic Rock Bourbon cask Bearded Lady, on KeyKeg. Since that day, as well as dreaming about finding myself back there drinking it, I have been puzzling over my relationship with the weird expensive cold stuff. Why did I like a beer so much that was served by a method of dispense I don't rate, and crucially, would the beer have tasted as good in cask?
Before I answer that I should point out that me and cask go way back. I started drinking around 1991 and apart from parties, or occasional pubs with no cask when I defaulted to Guinness, I always drank real ale. Its brilliant. Gravity, hand pump, air pressure, electric font but from cask, I love it all. And this statement is still true, even after Saturdays eye opener.
However, over the last few years I've had a few beers on KeyKeg. I still haven't had chance to compare the cask version and the KK version side by side but in most cases I have had both versions at different times, which is a start, at least, in making a comparison.
Like Thornbridge Kipling and Jaipur I didn't like the Kipling on KK because it lacked the depth of the cask and the hops were prominent, but in a way that just made the aftertaste bitter instead of lending citrus flavours to the whole taste. I didn't like Jaipur for similar reasons on KK (and it seemed to take away some of the sweeter balancing flavours, leaving it harsh).
Clearly, these are strong bitter pale beers, and they don't seem to be suited to KK. So these are examples of beers that would have tasted as good, indeed better, in cask.
I have also tried High Wire, Dark Arts, Rapture, Magic 8 Ball and Bearded Lady from Magic Rock on KK. I wasn't mad keen on the High Wire, but that was late in the evening at the Grove for the brewery launch night, the Dark Arts was alright on KK, but the Rapture was the unfiltered version and was brilliant, the Magic 8 Ball was fantastic and the Bearded Lady was unparallelled.
So, these are also stronger beers but mainly darker and the last three that I had have been really good. And heres the contentious bit : I actually don't think the Bearded Lady would have been as good on cask,
because it was too damned heavy and strong and wouldn't have retained sufficient condition in the time it took to drink it.
Yet the 8 Ball and Rapture would be, and in the case of Rapture are better on cask, and definitely so the Dark Arts....
So do I now have a proven formula which will guarantee the KeyKeg beer I'm buying is as good as the cask? No. All this demonstrates is that whilst the old style 1970's and 1980's keg beers were crap because the beer itself was crap, KeyKeg proves that really good beer can taste equally crap or excellent in that format.
I dunno, this KeyKeg stuff is as inconsitent as real ale.....
Wee Beefy
I posted a few days ago about one of the best beers I've ever had, Magic Rock Bourbon cask Bearded Lady, on KeyKeg. Since that day, as well as dreaming about finding myself back there drinking it, I have been puzzling over my relationship with the weird expensive cold stuff. Why did I like a beer so much that was served by a method of dispense I don't rate, and crucially, would the beer have tasted as good in cask?
Before I answer that I should point out that me and cask go way back. I started drinking around 1991 and apart from parties, or occasional pubs with no cask when I defaulted to Guinness, I always drank real ale. Its brilliant. Gravity, hand pump, air pressure, electric font but from cask, I love it all. And this statement is still true, even after Saturdays eye opener.
However, over the last few years I've had a few beers on KeyKeg. I still haven't had chance to compare the cask version and the KK version side by side but in most cases I have had both versions at different times, which is a start, at least, in making a comparison.
Like Thornbridge Kipling and Jaipur I didn't like the Kipling on KK because it lacked the depth of the cask and the hops were prominent, but in a way that just made the aftertaste bitter instead of lending citrus flavours to the whole taste. I didn't like Jaipur for similar reasons on KK (and it seemed to take away some of the sweeter balancing flavours, leaving it harsh).
Clearly, these are strong bitter pale beers, and they don't seem to be suited to KK. So these are examples of beers that would have tasted as good, indeed better, in cask.
I have also tried High Wire, Dark Arts, Rapture, Magic 8 Ball and Bearded Lady from Magic Rock on KK. I wasn't mad keen on the High Wire, but that was late in the evening at the Grove for the brewery launch night, the Dark Arts was alright on KK, but the Rapture was the unfiltered version and was brilliant, the Magic 8 Ball was fantastic and the Bearded Lady was unparallelled.
So, these are also stronger beers but mainly darker and the last three that I had have been really good. And heres the contentious bit : I actually don't think the Bearded Lady would have been as good on cask,
because it was too damned heavy and strong and wouldn't have retained sufficient condition in the time it took to drink it.
Yet the 8 Ball and Rapture would be, and in the case of Rapture are better on cask, and definitely so the Dark Arts....
So do I now have a proven formula which will guarantee the KeyKeg beer I'm buying is as good as the cask? No. All this demonstrates is that whilst the old style 1970's and 1980's keg beers were crap because the beer itself was crap, KeyKeg proves that really good beer can taste equally crap or excellent in that format.
I dunno, this KeyKeg stuff is as inconsitent as real ale.....
Wee Beefy
Sunday, 17 June 2012
Best beer of 2012 spotted in Sheffield Tap
Now Then,
after watching the Docfest films about pubs in the past I decided to go and make my own artistic contribution to the enjoyment of ale. I popped into the Sheffield Tap to partake in a live installation of a man drinking beer, and to simultaneously see what they had to offer.
A couple of real ales caught my eye, not least the excellent Dark Arts from Magic Rock, but it felt early (it was actually about 12.15) so I opted for two halves of sensibly moderate strength beers to begin my worship at the altar of ale.
First up was a half of the St Peters Bitter, along with a half of Brewsters Hophead. I drank the St Peters first as I was convinced that despite a noticeable harshness in bottle it was going to be maltier and sweeter than the Brewster's. It was, but that wasn't to its detriment, it was the perfect starter, a refreshing mellow lightly hopped bitter. The Hophead was an altogether different affair.
Despite being weaker, it packed in a dramatic sackful of dry sharply bitter hops, the prominent flavour was one that I recognised - I have tasted it in Brass Monkey and Grafton Brewery beers to name but a few, and its not my favourite, but I was impressed by the amount of sheer bitter flavour crammed into a beer of this strength.
Aloha to the bank manager
Next things became a but weird, and very expensive. I had a half of the Maui Coconut Porter, 6.0% and £3.30 a half. I understand the cans, which caused a bit of a buzz when they were first spotted over here, retail for a fiver. All this is tremendously silly in terms of cost to the consumer versus cost to the manufacturer, but it was worryingly easy, especially buying halves, to legitimise the expense.
Yes, given its £6.60 a pint you need to at least have a reason for drinking it - I figured my impending birthday and a smidgen of hype, plus innate curiosity of how the two flavours would combine met that requirement. I am, however, fully aware that I paid an absurd sum of money for 268ml of beer (although, it was so lively, that with the kindly proffered top up glass I got more than a half in the end, but shhhh, don't tell anyone).
The Maui porter was exactly as and everything that I had expected. It was a scrumptious luscious creamy porter, a little bit like the Nogne, and it somehow managed to glide elegantly into the sweet coconut flavours like it was the most natural combination in the world. It was not a heavy beer for 6.0%, but nevertheless it was probably not something I'd have a session on. Besides, next I was about to attempt to drink something far stronger.
Bearded Lady
Having purchased a sandwich in preparation for the sudden intake of a bit too much alcohol, and having checked the price of this behemoth in advance (so that I knew beforehand that I was about to buy the most expensive drink of beer I had ever), I was ready to try a half of the Magic Rock Bourbon cask Bearded Lady, 10.5%. I think I might never be able to consider anything a beer of the year again.
Bearded lady bourbon cask stout is an epochal brew. A staggering wall of flavoursome delight which made me want to stay sat where I was for the rest of forever. I bought a half, am not mental after all, and it took me about 50 minutes of persistent sipping to finish it. It did not cloy, it did not wain, it did not disappoint. Christ, it was so tasty that it was barely credible. It is the end of beer.
I think I may struggle to convey the finer points of its taste but having just last week enjoyed the incredible tastes of a 5 year vintage of Durham Temptation I think I'm well qualified to state that this is the best stout I ever tasted. Better even than a 4 year vintage of the Thornbridge Islay cask reserve, even than the 11% headiness of a Rogue coffee porter (yes, I realise that's not a stout). It was like the best stout you ever tasted, but then better again, with an unbelievable satisfying rich and lingering finish, joined by a bite of bourbon which quickly mellowed into a rapturous melee of soothing , comforting malt loveliness.
Tremendous.
I should point out by the way that it was expensive. Very expensive, at over £8.00 a pint. And yes, I remember that I nearly bust a lung with anger at Thornbridge Bracia being over £9.00 a pint, but without tasting that, I would be amazed if it could have equalled the matchless excellence of this immense beer. To put it in perspective, I paid £4.25 to have 50 minutes of unbridled pleasure, and it was legal. What's not to love?
And in other keykeg news
Nicely ignoring the fact that this years finest ale was on keykeg, for which I dislike my self a little, it was unfair play from the Tap to have had such an amazing line up on - St Peters IPA, Odell and Thornbridge Pondhopper and Mikkeller Big Worse Barley Wine were also available on keykeg, for those with an entire day to drink their way through the offerings. Along with Magic Rock Rapture and Dark Arts, and Thornbridge Black Harry, all on cask, this was possibly the best line up of beers I have ever seen.
To the Rutland...
What to do after drinking the best beer ever? Wh-hy, head off to the Rutland to try and better it of course! Entering the quite busy pub I immediately noticed that those scamps at Steel City had brought out another 2.7% beer. Perfect! I thought, and I'll just get a half of that Arbor Ales beer whatever its called. When Paultous charged me I assumed, naturally, that in his youthful exuberance he had made a critical error in ringing the sale into the till. Unfortunately I was wrong. I had just bought a half of a 10% beer. Oh dear.
I jokingly said I'd down it in one and have the Steel City afterwards as I was sure it would be packed with flavour. True to my word I tasted the Arbor Down Deeper Sports IPA, enjoyed its initial bite of hops but perhaps less so its lingering sweet finish, and downed it. Childish it may sound, but I really thought the longer I lingered over it the more my body would remind me that this was all a tremendously bad idea.
The Bolshevik Revolution from Steel City was not as good as Parasite God but still a good lesson in flavour, and I finished off my visit with a half of the Blue Bee Red White and Blue which was in excellent nick. And then I went for a walk.
This was mainly to clear my head and also to search out food, which I did at a disreputable global conglomerate, before sitting down near the bottom of Fargate for a nosh and a brief spell of thinking. Clearly the additives in the distasteful muck I was eating had addled my brain, because I decided to go for a last one.
Ta Dah!
I arrived at Dada much the better for my mastication and perambulation and spotted James on the way in - even though it was not required, I quickly apologised for leaving my three quarters of a pint of Revelation from the night before - details of that yomp to come tomorrow. Once inside, noting that it was still on, it seemed silly to miss out, so I had a half this time, a very pleasing and not exactly out of place given the earlier consumptions, pale ale at £1.65.
I also had a nice half of the Brock, and gleaned some upcoming news about beers at Dada, where they also had Purity Mad Goose on the bar. Apparently, Magic Rock Cannonball, High Wire and their new Wheat beer Clown Juice should all be popping up soon - I can't be certain which ones were on keg so its perhaps best to find out by popping in over the next couple of weeks just to make absolutely certain.
And so ends a tale of strong beers, steep prices and unbounded joy in the hostelries of Sheffield. Wishing myself many happy returns!
Wee Beefy
after watching the Docfest films about pubs in the past I decided to go and make my own artistic contribution to the enjoyment of ale. I popped into the Sheffield Tap to partake in a live installation of a man drinking beer, and to simultaneously see what they had to offer.
A couple of real ales caught my eye, not least the excellent Dark Arts from Magic Rock, but it felt early (it was actually about 12.15) so I opted for two halves of sensibly moderate strength beers to begin my worship at the altar of ale.
First up was a half of the St Peters Bitter, along with a half of Brewsters Hophead. I drank the St Peters first as I was convinced that despite a noticeable harshness in bottle it was going to be maltier and sweeter than the Brewster's. It was, but that wasn't to its detriment, it was the perfect starter, a refreshing mellow lightly hopped bitter. The Hophead was an altogether different affair.
Despite being weaker, it packed in a dramatic sackful of dry sharply bitter hops, the prominent flavour was one that I recognised - I have tasted it in Brass Monkey and Grafton Brewery beers to name but a few, and its not my favourite, but I was impressed by the amount of sheer bitter flavour crammed into a beer of this strength.
Aloha to the bank manager
Next things became a but weird, and very expensive. I had a half of the Maui Coconut Porter, 6.0% and £3.30 a half. I understand the cans, which caused a bit of a buzz when they were first spotted over here, retail for a fiver. All this is tremendously silly in terms of cost to the consumer versus cost to the manufacturer, but it was worryingly easy, especially buying halves, to legitimise the expense.
Yes, given its £6.60 a pint you need to at least have a reason for drinking it - I figured my impending birthday and a smidgen of hype, plus innate curiosity of how the two flavours would combine met that requirement. I am, however, fully aware that I paid an absurd sum of money for 268ml of beer (although, it was so lively, that with the kindly proffered top up glass I got more than a half in the end, but shhhh, don't tell anyone).
The Maui porter was exactly as and everything that I had expected. It was a scrumptious luscious creamy porter, a little bit like the Nogne, and it somehow managed to glide elegantly into the sweet coconut flavours like it was the most natural combination in the world. It was not a heavy beer for 6.0%, but nevertheless it was probably not something I'd have a session on. Besides, next I was about to attempt to drink something far stronger.
Bearded Lady
Having purchased a sandwich in preparation for the sudden intake of a bit too much alcohol, and having checked the price of this behemoth in advance (so that I knew beforehand that I was about to buy the most expensive drink of beer I had ever), I was ready to try a half of the Magic Rock Bourbon cask Bearded Lady, 10.5%. I think I might never be able to consider anything a beer of the year again.
Bearded lady bourbon cask stout is an epochal brew. A staggering wall of flavoursome delight which made me want to stay sat where I was for the rest of forever. I bought a half, am not mental after all, and it took me about 50 minutes of persistent sipping to finish it. It did not cloy, it did not wain, it did not disappoint. Christ, it was so tasty that it was barely credible. It is the end of beer.
I think I may struggle to convey the finer points of its taste but having just last week enjoyed the incredible tastes of a 5 year vintage of Durham Temptation I think I'm well qualified to state that this is the best stout I ever tasted. Better even than a 4 year vintage of the Thornbridge Islay cask reserve, even than the 11% headiness of a Rogue coffee porter (yes, I realise that's not a stout). It was like the best stout you ever tasted, but then better again, with an unbelievable satisfying rich and lingering finish, joined by a bite of bourbon which quickly mellowed into a rapturous melee of soothing , comforting malt loveliness.
Tremendous.
I should point out by the way that it was expensive. Very expensive, at over £8.00 a pint. And yes, I remember that I nearly bust a lung with anger at Thornbridge Bracia being over £9.00 a pint, but without tasting that, I would be amazed if it could have equalled the matchless excellence of this immense beer. To put it in perspective, I paid £4.25 to have 50 minutes of unbridled pleasure, and it was legal. What's not to love?
And in other keykeg news
Nicely ignoring the fact that this years finest ale was on keykeg, for which I dislike my self a little, it was unfair play from the Tap to have had such an amazing line up on - St Peters IPA, Odell and Thornbridge Pondhopper and Mikkeller Big Worse Barley Wine were also available on keykeg, for those with an entire day to drink their way through the offerings. Along with Magic Rock Rapture and Dark Arts, and Thornbridge Black Harry, all on cask, this was possibly the best line up of beers I have ever seen.
To the Rutland...
What to do after drinking the best beer ever? Wh-hy, head off to the Rutland to try and better it of course! Entering the quite busy pub I immediately noticed that those scamps at Steel City had brought out another 2.7% beer. Perfect! I thought, and I'll just get a half of that Arbor Ales beer whatever its called. When Paultous charged me I assumed, naturally, that in his youthful exuberance he had made a critical error in ringing the sale into the till. Unfortunately I was wrong. I had just bought a half of a 10% beer. Oh dear.
I jokingly said I'd down it in one and have the Steel City afterwards as I was sure it would be packed with flavour. True to my word I tasted the Arbor Down Deeper Sports IPA, enjoyed its initial bite of hops but perhaps less so its lingering sweet finish, and downed it. Childish it may sound, but I really thought the longer I lingered over it the more my body would remind me that this was all a tremendously bad idea.
The Bolshevik Revolution from Steel City was not as good as Parasite God but still a good lesson in flavour, and I finished off my visit with a half of the Blue Bee Red White and Blue which was in excellent nick. And then I went for a walk.
This was mainly to clear my head and also to search out food, which I did at a disreputable global conglomerate, before sitting down near the bottom of Fargate for a nosh and a brief spell of thinking. Clearly the additives in the distasteful muck I was eating had addled my brain, because I decided to go for a last one.
Ta Dah!
I arrived at Dada much the better for my mastication and perambulation and spotted James on the way in - even though it was not required, I quickly apologised for leaving my three quarters of a pint of Revelation from the night before - details of that yomp to come tomorrow. Once inside, noting that it was still on, it seemed silly to miss out, so I had a half this time, a very pleasing and not exactly out of place given the earlier consumptions, pale ale at £1.65.
I also had a nice half of the Brock, and gleaned some upcoming news about beers at Dada, where they also had Purity Mad Goose on the bar. Apparently, Magic Rock Cannonball, High Wire and their new Wheat beer Clown Juice should all be popping up soon - I can't be certain which ones were on keg so its perhaps best to find out by popping in over the next couple of weeks just to make absolutely certain.
And so ends a tale of strong beers, steep prices and unbounded joy in the hostelries of Sheffield. Wishing myself many happy returns!
Wee Beefy
Thursday, 17 May 2012
A crawl of some new pubs, and a new angle on Keykeg beers
Hello,
me and Davefromtshop met up to sample a few more beers in pubs that either he has never been to here in sunny Sheffield, or hasn't been in for ages. Measuring your last visit in decades in a city where almost no pub remains unspoilt means you may as well have never been in! So both of the above meet the criteria for our pub crawl (and we finished in some classics, for beer reasons). Here are the details of our trip out.
Bath! And the thirst is gone (sorry)...
We started in the "new" Bath Hotel and Dave had beaten me too it. He was already on the Allgates Napoleon's Retreat. I should really have tried it having not really got on with it first time, but I had my eye on the Thornbridge Frank as Apollo, brewed for the Nicholsons pub chain. This was a very pleasant bitter and seemed a little more balanced, by which I mean a smidgen less hoppy, perhaps to suit those delicate London palates?
We also had time for a half each of the Dark Star Revelation, which seemed to be running out unfortunately. This was every bit as good as I remembered it and Dave was I thought, suitably impressed.
Bowery
On leaving it suddenly seemed as monsoon like as our last crawl so we decided that our next stop would be the Bowery. They started selling real ale last year, I thought maybe for the Tramlines festival only, but either way it was on now. Here we had two halves of Moonshine (£2.80 a pint) in a virtually empty venue. This is interesting for me because I'd never even seen the floor on my last couple of visits.
The Moonshine was a little cold but enjoyable enough, and as we were to find out quite a lot, it and other Abbeydale beers noticeable resilience once connected up was probably a deciding factor in just how many times we saw it throughout the night. There are also a decent range of bottled beers, and depending on your outlook, now and again some decent tunes.
Green Room
This was my second visit this month and once again I ended up with Moonshine, seemingly more reliable than the guests they have had on. Last time Abbeydale Resurrection was beyond being so, this time Kelham Island Riders on the Storm came out the colour of rainclouds, with a piquant olfactory bite to match. A shame, because i rate the beer, but it had to be swapped for Moonshine, on at £3.00 a pint.
This visit on a rainy Tuesday was also an opportunity to get to see the interior of the Green Room. Not least because of my strange battle of wills with them over the last 18 months (almost resolutely always missing the cask!) and also because last time I was in I had too little time to stop for a look around.
I was surprised just how spacious it was and with many different seating areas. They told me they have just started opening during the day, and they serve food during the day as well.
May be a great time to get in and have a look round, and enjoy a pint of the real stuff of course. Hopefully they can continue with the real ales and there will be another decent late night venue that you can go in and not be expected to part with cash for bland UK brewed copy lagers you don't want.
Wick at Both Ends
To give you a last visit timescale here, last time Dave was in it was the Mail Coach. So nothings changed then....
There was only one real ale on here so we both had halves of Deception, at £3.20 a pint. We found a table without school chairs and sat down for a chat listening to a decent selection of tunes. The Deception was on very good form, and although not trying them side by side, I can say quite certainly that I much prefer this beer to Moonshine. Hoppy, citrussy and with a little fruit, a perfect pale session ale.
Bungalows and Bears, of Sheffield and Liverpool fame
Our next stop was not actually a first for Dave. He had visited the Division Street Fire Station many many years ago. Once again, little had changed...
On the bar was Moonshine or Deception (sorry, can't recall, it seems equally likely to have been either) and the Robinsons Elbow beer, unlikely to be called that, but brewed by one of the blokes in the band Elbow (a popular beat combo from the North West I understand) who may also have a connection to the Hop Franchise. We found ourselves a table and set about reading the beer bottle menu, slightly less choice then the Bowery (and the Wick ,which is very good) and watching different people repeatedly make the erroneous decision to walk up some stairs to a barrier, then back down again. Little things...
Roebuck
Next we walked down towards the Rutland and along the way dallied with the idea of a visit to Henry's. Instead though we ended up in the Roebuck, which its a fair few years since I've been in, and longer than you need know for Dave. Here we sat in what was a very quiet pub, which alas somewhat accentuated the vastness of the premises, and supped a decent half of Kelham Island Pale Rider (£3.20) from a choice of 2, on four handpumps.
Rutland
Our penultimate stop was the Rutland, where it was possible to get a table this time, which was good because we were tiring by now. We each had a pint of the Blue Bee Turned out Mild Again, which Dave seemed very taken by. I also snaffled him some Phoenix Brewery beer mats (a tegestological treasure no doubt) and set about snacking and supping. Its probably about that time that elsewhere in the UK editors were putting the finishing touches to articles reporting the employment tribunal involving the Rutland. Without expanding on any details here, its clear that many people will have some soul searching to carry out in terms of how they and the Rutland continue. Enough said for now I think.
The Sheffield Tap
Our final port of cal was carefully organised so that we had time to try a few beers rather than rushing in before last orders and buying too many halves. Here initially we had a pint (for me) and a half of the truly excellent tempest Cresta, and a half of the Phoenix Black Bee. This honey porter was not really a hit with either us am afraid, it just started with honey and malt and then got sweeter.
Better though were our next round of beers. We had half each of the excellent super hoppy Summer Wine Brewery Kahuna 6.0%, a Camden Hells, and a half of the Magic Rock Brewery Rapture. I think this all came to £7.20, which with a keykeg or two thrown in and given the strength of the Kahuna isn't bad.
The real star of this was the unfiltered, unpasteurised (as written in pen I think on the font label!) Rapture . Gloriously cloudy, and with an amazing array of complimentary flavours that showcased the red hops brilliantly (although I wondered if there was red malt that was coming through?). Either way this was possibly the best keykeg beer I've ever had - the other contender also being from Magic Rock, their Magic 8Ball.
I confess that if there was to be any minor fault, it was a little bit too cold for me. That's one of the infuriating features of keykeg dispense it seems, in my admittedly limited experience. However, putting that aside, far and away the most incredible thing about this beer was the easy drinking quaffable nature afforded by its unfiltered and unpasteurised condition. Normally, as well as being let down slightly by chill, I find keykeg can also be a trifle over carbonated. This wasn't.
I can honestly say that this was a revelation - an easy drinking keykeg beer, and made all the better by the way its flavours burst through. It may be the case that some flavours are lost by colder or more carbonated serving, so the amazing array of malty and hoppy notes, pepping up in the drink intermittently like pogo-ing punks, bringing waves of fabulous flavour across the palate, was a dreamy surprise.
I came away thinking that if keykeg could become popular in this unfiltered form, it would be a much more appealling prospect for the real ale drinker. It would certainley be of equal interest for me to taste an unfiltered and unpasteurised keykeg offering along with the finest cask beers. I just hope that Magic Rock and other breweries are interested enough to do more of the same.
This was a fitting end to a brilliant night, featuring three or four of the best beers I've tried this year.
Now for a much needed rest from imbibing, in preparation for a visit to the Gardeners Rest beer festival on Saturday.
Wee Beefy.
me and Davefromtshop met up to sample a few more beers in pubs that either he has never been to here in sunny Sheffield, or hasn't been in for ages. Measuring your last visit in decades in a city where almost no pub remains unspoilt means you may as well have never been in! So both of the above meet the criteria for our pub crawl (and we finished in some classics, for beer reasons). Here are the details of our trip out.
Bath! And the thirst is gone (sorry)...
We started in the "new" Bath Hotel and Dave had beaten me too it. He was already on the Allgates Napoleon's Retreat. I should really have tried it having not really got on with it first time, but I had my eye on the Thornbridge Frank as Apollo, brewed for the Nicholsons pub chain. This was a very pleasant bitter and seemed a little more balanced, by which I mean a smidgen less hoppy, perhaps to suit those delicate London palates?
We also had time for a half each of the Dark Star Revelation, which seemed to be running out unfortunately. This was every bit as good as I remembered it and Dave was I thought, suitably impressed.
Bowery
On leaving it suddenly seemed as monsoon like as our last crawl so we decided that our next stop would be the Bowery. They started selling real ale last year, I thought maybe for the Tramlines festival only, but either way it was on now. Here we had two halves of Moonshine (£2.80 a pint) in a virtually empty venue. This is interesting for me because I'd never even seen the floor on my last couple of visits.
The Moonshine was a little cold but enjoyable enough, and as we were to find out quite a lot, it and other Abbeydale beers noticeable resilience once connected up was probably a deciding factor in just how many times we saw it throughout the night. There are also a decent range of bottled beers, and depending on your outlook, now and again some decent tunes.
Green Room
This was my second visit this month and once again I ended up with Moonshine, seemingly more reliable than the guests they have had on. Last time Abbeydale Resurrection was beyond being so, this time Kelham Island Riders on the Storm came out the colour of rainclouds, with a piquant olfactory bite to match. A shame, because i rate the beer, but it had to be swapped for Moonshine, on at £3.00 a pint.
This visit on a rainy Tuesday was also an opportunity to get to see the interior of the Green Room. Not least because of my strange battle of wills with them over the last 18 months (almost resolutely always missing the cask!) and also because last time I was in I had too little time to stop for a look around.
May be a great time to get in and have a look round, and enjoy a pint of the real stuff of course. Hopefully they can continue with the real ales and there will be another decent late night venue that you can go in and not be expected to part with cash for bland UK brewed copy lagers you don't want.
Wick at Both Ends
To give you a last visit timescale here, last time Dave was in it was the Mail Coach. So nothings changed then....
There was only one real ale on here so we both had halves of Deception, at £3.20 a pint. We found a table without school chairs and sat down for a chat listening to a decent selection of tunes. The Deception was on very good form, and although not trying them side by side, I can say quite certainly that I much prefer this beer to Moonshine. Hoppy, citrussy and with a little fruit, a perfect pale session ale.
Bungalows and Bears, of Sheffield and Liverpool fame
Our next stop was not actually a first for Dave. He had visited the Division Street Fire Station many many years ago. Once again, little had changed...
On the bar was Moonshine or Deception (sorry, can't recall, it seems equally likely to have been either) and the Robinsons Elbow beer, unlikely to be called that, but brewed by one of the blokes in the band Elbow (a popular beat combo from the North West I understand) who may also have a connection to the Hop Franchise. We found ourselves a table and set about reading the beer bottle menu, slightly less choice then the Bowery (and the Wick ,which is very good) and watching different people repeatedly make the erroneous decision to walk up some stairs to a barrier, then back down again. Little things...
Roebuck
Next we walked down towards the Rutland and along the way dallied with the idea of a visit to Henry's. Instead though we ended up in the Roebuck, which its a fair few years since I've been in, and longer than you need know for Dave. Here we sat in what was a very quiet pub, which alas somewhat accentuated the vastness of the premises, and supped a decent half of Kelham Island Pale Rider (£3.20) from a choice of 2, on four handpumps.
Rutland
Our penultimate stop was the Rutland, where it was possible to get a table this time, which was good because we were tiring by now. We each had a pint of the Blue Bee Turned out Mild Again, which Dave seemed very taken by. I also snaffled him some Phoenix Brewery beer mats (a tegestological treasure no doubt) and set about snacking and supping. Its probably about that time that elsewhere in the UK editors were putting the finishing touches to articles reporting the employment tribunal involving the Rutland. Without expanding on any details here, its clear that many people will have some soul searching to carry out in terms of how they and the Rutland continue. Enough said for now I think.
The Sheffield Tap
Our final port of cal was carefully organised so that we had time to try a few beers rather than rushing in before last orders and buying too many halves. Here initially we had a pint (for me) and a half of the truly excellent tempest Cresta, and a half of the Phoenix Black Bee. This honey porter was not really a hit with either us am afraid, it just started with honey and malt and then got sweeter.
Better though were our next round of beers. We had half each of the excellent super hoppy Summer Wine Brewery Kahuna 6.0%, a Camden Hells, and a half of the Magic Rock Brewery Rapture. I think this all came to £7.20, which with a keykeg or two thrown in and given the strength of the Kahuna isn't bad.
The real star of this was the unfiltered, unpasteurised (as written in pen I think on the font label!) Rapture . Gloriously cloudy, and with an amazing array of complimentary flavours that showcased the red hops brilliantly (although I wondered if there was red malt that was coming through?). Either way this was possibly the best keykeg beer I've ever had - the other contender also being from Magic Rock, their Magic 8Ball.
I confess that if there was to be any minor fault, it was a little bit too cold for me. That's one of the infuriating features of keykeg dispense it seems, in my admittedly limited experience. However, putting that aside, far and away the most incredible thing about this beer was the easy drinking quaffable nature afforded by its unfiltered and unpasteurised condition. Normally, as well as being let down slightly by chill, I find keykeg can also be a trifle over carbonated. This wasn't.
I can honestly say that this was a revelation - an easy drinking keykeg beer, and made all the better by the way its flavours burst through. It may be the case that some flavours are lost by colder or more carbonated serving, so the amazing array of malty and hoppy notes, pepping up in the drink intermittently like pogo-ing punks, bringing waves of fabulous flavour across the palate, was a dreamy surprise.
I came away thinking that if keykeg could become popular in this unfiltered form, it would be a much more appealling prospect for the real ale drinker. It would certainley be of equal interest for me to taste an unfiltered and unpasteurised keykeg offering along with the finest cask beers. I just hope that Magic Rock and other breweries are interested enough to do more of the same.
This was a fitting end to a brilliant night, featuring three or four of the best beers I've tried this year.
Now for a much needed rest from imbibing, in preparation for a visit to the Gardeners Rest beer festival on Saturday.
Wee Beefy.
Friday, 13 April 2012
A pub crawl of new (to some) pubs in Sheffield, Part 2
Hello again,
here are the rest of the details of my pub crawl in shiny Sheffield. Note I didn't say sunny Sheffield. Not even ironically. As some of the pictures may identify, it was a very wet evening for going out walking between pubs....
The Hop
The idea was to take Davefromtshop to some pubs he hadn't been in before, at least not in their current guise. In all honesty, there wasn't actually enough time to do all of those that would qualify, perhaps a sign of the burgeoning number of pubs dabbling in the finer end of the beer sector. So, having been home for some important food I was actually back out and at the Hop early - Dave, on the other hand, had been there ten minutes already, and had enjoyed a half of the Goose Eye thimgymabob. I didn't have room to write down his beers until later you see.
Anyhoo, . I was once again feeling a little peculiar so had an orange juice. Dave decided to try a half of the Banks and Taylor's beer, which definitely had a name. Dave, if you're reading this, do let me know what it was...
We sat in the area normally reserved for bands looking at the increasingly dreadful wet weather outside, and I was telling myself that if I didn't feel any better after my first beer this was going to be the world's shortest pub crawl. As it turned out I realised I'd gone hypo, so we decided to set off for a shop.
Great Gatsby
This radical departure threatened to upset my carefully planned route and take up time with unlegislated errands, since we hadn't spotted anywhere to buy sugary items of any kind on West Street. Before getting to Tesco I took us down onto Devonshire Street, into the shop there and then on to our next pub, the Great Gatsby.
There were two beers on, Kelham Easy Rider and Thornbridge Sequoia. I think its interesting that this has become such a popular beer in pubs that never used to sell real ale. Usually, the transition to selling a decent pint is done subtly and seamlessly by introducing a lager type ale such as an Abbeydale beer or Farmers Blonde. Lately though, pubs seem to have been jumping at the chance to stock Sequoia, a very enjoyable dark reddish brown malty beer with resinous notes and a heavy mouthfeel. This is a very good beer of its type but its hardly a bridge between lager and Ale.
Still, looking on the bright side, many of the pubs adopting this as a regular continue to serve real ales so its got to be good. And me and Dave felt we should give it our seal of approval by having a half each (since early on we were sticking to halves to pace ourselves). As hoped, the beer was just as described above, with the malt prominent in the taste. Outside, a lake sized puddle was worrying pedestrians and drivers alike as it continued hammering it down. The Gatsby was warm and lively, a perfect antidote to the grey despair outside.
Oh, Behave
Next we went back to West Street and into the Beehive. Except for a visit with me to the Foundry and Firkin in the late nineties, the last visit Dave had made here was when it was still the Beehive. I am guessing that may have been 1992, or earlier still. In fairness, not much has changed apart from the incorporation of the adjoining building, and the beer prices now aren't likely much off what you'd have paid in its Tetley owned days. Or are they?
I say this because, having arrived at the bar, and noted that every pump has a price on the front (£1.99) plus a blackboard proclaiming all ales £1.99, we expected to be paying that for our two halves of Beehive bitter, brewed by Blue Bee. The barman started to say something then changed his mind and pulled our beers. He then said that what he'd intended to advise us was it was actually £2.40 a pint if you bought it in halves because it was only £1.99 a pint.
This throws up a few interesting issues. Firstly, its hardly an incentive to drink sensibly if all beers are the same price regardless of strength (and that's not a complaint!) but buying only half a beer costs you more. Also, saying that beer is £1.99 a pint but not mentioning half pint measure prices is cheeky. If you can find space to advertise the pint price (especially on a blackboard) you can find space to be honest about the price of a half, especially if it turns out that relying on the barstaff to inform you (and they should still be advising that prior to pulling your beer even if the half price is advertised) isn't working.
However, looking at this rationally, an advertisement stating that real ale is £1.99 a pint is semantically correct. I like that. Also, since when was £2.40 an expensive pint in town? It was that price in there two weeks ago. My advice would be to be more honest, but I shalln't lose any sleep over it.
Me and Dave retired to a comfy spot to update our beer lists, catch up on texts and plan the route. The Beehive bitter may be a unique beer am not sure, but its incredibly similar to their Bees Knees if not. Mind you, given that we expected to see Blue Bee in the Gatsby it was nice to get what we were after.
The 1854
Round the corner next to Harrisons1854 in a brightly wet dusk, and I was greeted by people aware of my slip of foot foolishness from the night before. I usually ask Barraharri for a recommendation re what real ale has been selling best, but having enjoyed the Blonde Wednesday I ordered two pints of that, having agreed with Dave to break our halves rule. Having asked him to find a seat I was then having a brief chat with Barraharri and Bob when Dave came to ask if I'd tried the beer - one sniff worried me, and it tasted grim.
This was a kind gesture but we were both still in half mode really so not all the beer was drunk. The Moonshine however improved slightly as it went down, and the Blonde tasted OK to me, so in the end we had an enjoyable catch up in here and a good rest before setting off again in the dry (then immediately the wet!)
Dada
I took Dave the quick way to Dada as a seasoned traveller of the route, and when we got in, after first being virtually knocked out by the heat, we noted that the beer range was par excellence. Thornbridge Wild Swan and Harry Noir, Magic Rock Rapture and Black Arts. Admittedly, my joy at spotting this did temporarily make me forget that I'd had it on Good Friday in the Tap, but nonetheless I was really pleased to see it. Dave got a half of the Wild Swan, and me the smoked meat darkness of Harry Noir and we repaired to the left hand room to devour them.
We started with a half each of White Horse Bitter for me and Maypole Wellow Gold for Dave. The White Horse was a refreshing malty bitter, admittedly perhaps better suited to being the first beer of the evening. The Wellow was a lighter refreshing beer that Dave said had a very distinct flavour of apples. I concur, Dave reckons this is perhaps a new hop variety giving the flavour since he's noticed it in quite a few beers lately - perhaps I was picking some up in Archangel on Wednesday?
Next up a half of Imperial Brewery Imperial Stout for me and a half of the Oldershaw Alchemy for Dave (£2.80). The stout was delicious, if a little less well balanced than prevoiusly, but, after a worrying pause, Dave declared the Oldershaw the best beer of the night so far. I tried it and there was a mass of flavours present from fruity bitterness to stronger warming flavours that came through one by one in a very large mouthfeel. This was a very enjoyable beer to round off our visit to Henry's.
Tap Speed
We were quickly down at our final destination, the Sheffield Tap. Dave and me have been in here loads of times, so at the risk of leeching credibility from my criterion, its best to confess that fact, and point out that the beer in the Tap is fab, and Dave doesn;t go in that often, so whay not?
Originally we had intended to have a pint of real ale each and then to finish with a half each of some of the keykeg, likely the Nogne. However, Dave really only had about 25 minutes before he needed to sprint for his bus, so whilst I got a pint of Marble Stout he went for halves of Thornbridge Pivni (3.2%), Marble Draft (3.9%,) and Peak Ales Summer Sovereign (4.0%)
We aimed to go in the rooms furthest from the bar but they were closed - I reckon they "shut them" near to closing time to make it easier to get people out. I have to say that the maniacal enthusiasm of their drinking up and closing time policy is admirable in its efficiency, but surprisingly and annoyingly rigorous in equal measure. Anyhoo, it wasn't too busy so we got sat down in the panelled room at the entrance and started trying the beer.
Thornbridge Pivni is their inexpensive session beer. Its 3.2% and tastes it. Perhaps the wheat malt in the beer means it doesn't really work, i.e its too light and lemony without having a bit of alcoholic (and balancing malt and hop) oomph in it. The Peak Ales, which Dave liked, was really most disappointing. Maybe it suffered form the Marble and Magic Rock assault from earlier, but even at 4% it was woefully lacking in body or flavour for me. I fully understand the draw of a lighter beer in Summer (whatever that is) but there has to be something to carry it off and this didn't seem to have it.
The Stout was just as good as earlier and the Marble Draft was a revelation. At 3.9% the same strength as Pint, but with much more assertive hop bite and a really nice malt flavour that complimented rather than defined the beer.
Alas Dave had to escape just before they called time, but not before we had agreed on our beers of the night - Magic Rock Dark Arts and Oldershaw Alchemy. Two brilliant examples of the brewers art purchased in two very different venues in Sheffield - a great place to drink beer!
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
here are the rest of the details of my pub crawl in shiny Sheffield. Note I didn't say sunny Sheffield. Not even ironically. As some of the pictures may identify, it was a very wet evening for going out walking between pubs....
The Hop
The idea was to take Davefromtshop to some pubs he hadn't been in before, at least not in their current guise. In all honesty, there wasn't actually enough time to do all of those that would qualify, perhaps a sign of the burgeoning number of pubs dabbling in the finer end of the beer sector. So, having been home for some important food I was actually back out and at the Hop early - Dave, on the other hand, had been there ten minutes already, and had enjoyed a half of the Goose Eye thimgymabob. I didn't have room to write down his beers until later you see.
Anyhoo, . I was once again feeling a little peculiar so had an orange juice. Dave decided to try a half of the Banks and Taylor's beer, which definitely had a name. Dave, if you're reading this, do let me know what it was...
We sat in the area normally reserved for bands looking at the increasingly dreadful wet weather outside, and I was telling myself that if I didn't feel any better after my first beer this was going to be the world's shortest pub crawl. As it turned out I realised I'd gone hypo, so we decided to set off for a shop.
Great Gatsby
This radical departure threatened to upset my carefully planned route and take up time with unlegislated errands, since we hadn't spotted anywhere to buy sugary items of any kind on West Street. Before getting to Tesco I took us down onto Devonshire Street, into the shop there and then on to our next pub, the Great Gatsby.
There were two beers on, Kelham Easy Rider and Thornbridge Sequoia. I think its interesting that this has become such a popular beer in pubs that never used to sell real ale. Usually, the transition to selling a decent pint is done subtly and seamlessly by introducing a lager type ale such as an Abbeydale beer or Farmers Blonde. Lately though, pubs seem to have been jumping at the chance to stock Sequoia, a very enjoyable dark reddish brown malty beer with resinous notes and a heavy mouthfeel. This is a very good beer of its type but its hardly a bridge between lager and Ale.
Still, looking on the bright side, many of the pubs adopting this as a regular continue to serve real ales so its got to be good. And me and Dave felt we should give it our seal of approval by having a half each (since early on we were sticking to halves to pace ourselves). As hoped, the beer was just as described above, with the malt prominent in the taste. Outside, a lake sized puddle was worrying pedestrians and drivers alike as it continued hammering it down. The Gatsby was warm and lively, a perfect antidote to the grey despair outside.
Oh, Behave
Next we went back to West Street and into the Beehive. Except for a visit with me to the Foundry and Firkin in the late nineties, the last visit Dave had made here was when it was still the Beehive. I am guessing that may have been 1992, or earlier still. In fairness, not much has changed apart from the incorporation of the adjoining building, and the beer prices now aren't likely much off what you'd have paid in its Tetley owned days. Or are they?
I say this because, having arrived at the bar, and noted that every pump has a price on the front (£1.99) plus a blackboard proclaiming all ales £1.99, we expected to be paying that for our two halves of Beehive bitter, brewed by Blue Bee. The barman started to say something then changed his mind and pulled our beers. He then said that what he'd intended to advise us was it was actually £2.40 a pint if you bought it in halves because it was only £1.99 a pint.
This throws up a few interesting issues. Firstly, its hardly an incentive to drink sensibly if all beers are the same price regardless of strength (and that's not a complaint!) but buying only half a beer costs you more. Also, saying that beer is £1.99 a pint but not mentioning half pint measure prices is cheeky. If you can find space to advertise the pint price (especially on a blackboard) you can find space to be honest about the price of a half, especially if it turns out that relying on the barstaff to inform you (and they should still be advising that prior to pulling your beer even if the half price is advertised) isn't working.
However, looking at this rationally, an advertisement stating that real ale is £1.99 a pint is semantically correct. I like that. Also, since when was £2.40 an expensive pint in town? It was that price in there two weeks ago. My advice would be to be more honest, but I shalln't lose any sleep over it.
Me and Dave retired to a comfy spot to update our beer lists, catch up on texts and plan the route. The Beehive bitter may be a unique beer am not sure, but its incredibly similar to their Bees Knees if not. Mind you, given that we expected to see Blue Bee in the Gatsby it was nice to get what we were after.
The 1854
Round the corner next to Harrisons1854 in a brightly wet dusk, and I was greeted by people aware of my slip of foot foolishness from the night before. I usually ask Barraharri for a recommendation re what real ale has been selling best, but having enjoyed the Blonde Wednesday I ordered two pints of that, having agreed with Dave to break our halves rule. Having asked him to find a seat I was then having a brief chat with Barraharri and Bob when Dave came to ask if I'd tried the beer - one sniff worried me, and it tasted grim.
Basically, Bob was in the process of finding out if the new (old) beer he had (re)connected was any good. Unfortunately that process was unfinished (started?) and we had been the guinea pigs for the plan. The beer was off, so we plumped for Moonshine instead. Dave remarked that it didn't taste of Moonshine, and I thought it tasted unusual, but it was OK. Bob then brought us over a free half each of a new barrel of Blonde.
Dada
I took Dave the quick way to Dada as a seasoned traveller of the route, and when we got in, after first being virtually knocked out by the heat, we noted that the beer range was par excellence. Thornbridge Wild Swan and Harry Noir, Magic Rock Rapture and Black Arts. Admittedly, my joy at spotting this did temporarily make me forget that I'd had it on Good Friday in the Tap, but nonetheless I was really pleased to see it. Dave got a half of the Wild Swan, and me the smoked meat darkness of Harry Noir and we repaired to the left hand room to devour them.
This was Dave's first visit to Dada (and possibly even Trippets?) although of course that is implicit in the post title, and it was also one of few occasions he'd had Wild Swan, and his first taste of Harry Noir. All too soon the camera was out and I was trying to capture our visit through a pint glass - as I always do (with varying levels of success).
Soon we were sharing a half of the two magic Rock beers - since both of us would otherwise probably have gone for Black Arts. This was a really good idea, since I remembered Dave had rated the Rapture on the brewery launch night (less than a year ago, it seems ages ago!) and I was impressed by how much hoppy bite it had, balanced out with the interesting array of malts used. Being old friends, it was easy to share by putting both halves on the Jaipur advert table top in front of us and helping ourselves at will. The Dark Arts, as perhaps goes without saying was excellent. In fact, I might even venture that it tasted better than at the Tap (sharp intake of breath). All in all a very enjoyable visit.
Henry the hungry beer monster
Next it was up the alleyway to West Street, down Carver Street, Back lane and out next to Cutlers then into Henry's. Here too someone had won a years supply of central heating and was intent on using most of it, and the whole place smelled very strongly pf smoked food, like someone was warming a pot of Harry Noir over some wood chips. On the bar were ten real ales and two ciders with plenty to catch the eye.
Next up a half of Imperial Brewery Imperial Stout for me and a half of the Oldershaw Alchemy for Dave (£2.80). The stout was delicious, if a little less well balanced than prevoiusly, but, after a worrying pause, Dave declared the Oldershaw the best beer of the night so far. I tried it and there was a mass of flavours present from fruity bitterness to stronger warming flavours that came through one by one in a very large mouthfeel. This was a very enjoyable beer to round off our visit to Henry's.
Tap Speed
We were quickly down at our final destination, the Sheffield Tap. Dave and me have been in here loads of times, so at the risk of leeching credibility from my criterion, its best to confess that fact, and point out that the beer in the Tap is fab, and Dave doesn;t go in that often, so whay not?
Originally we had intended to have a pint of real ale each and then to finish with a half each of some of the keykeg, likely the Nogne. However, Dave really only had about 25 minutes before he needed to sprint for his bus, so whilst I got a pint of Marble Stout he went for halves of Thornbridge Pivni (3.2%), Marble Draft (3.9%,) and Peak Ales Summer Sovereign (4.0%)
We aimed to go in the rooms furthest from the bar but they were closed - I reckon they "shut them" near to closing time to make it easier to get people out. I have to say that the maniacal enthusiasm of their drinking up and closing time policy is admirable in its efficiency, but surprisingly and annoyingly rigorous in equal measure. Anyhoo, it wasn't too busy so we got sat down in the panelled room at the entrance and started trying the beer.
Thornbridge Pivni is their inexpensive session beer. Its 3.2% and tastes it. Perhaps the wheat malt in the beer means it doesn't really work, i.e its too light and lemony without having a bit of alcoholic (and balancing malt and hop) oomph in it. The Peak Ales, which Dave liked, was really most disappointing. Maybe it suffered form the Marble and Magic Rock assault from earlier, but even at 4% it was woefully lacking in body or flavour for me. I fully understand the draw of a lighter beer in Summer (whatever that is) but there has to be something to carry it off and this didn't seem to have it.
The Stout was just as good as earlier and the Marble Draft was a revelation. At 3.9% the same strength as Pint, but with much more assertive hop bite and a really nice malt flavour that complimented rather than defined the beer.
Alas Dave had to escape just before they called time, but not before we had agreed on our beers of the night - Magic Rock Dark Arts and Oldershaw Alchemy. Two brilliant examples of the brewers art purchased in two very different venues in Sheffield - a great place to drink beer!
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
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