Memories - what do they mean? Like, birds, we'll never know........

 Afternoon

     just to point out that when I say birds I mean the Avian ones - am not being crude.

I realise that I might have pointed this out already but just to remind you that in 2019 I had a brain injury. Without going on, it was when I started taking Tresiba, a more effective Background insulin that am still on. My then diabetic nurse encouraged me to switch from possibly Novorapid Long  Acting or worse still Humalog, which I was taking twice a day, and to take just one injection in the morning, of Tresiba. She suggested I take 40 units, but that would have been nearly twice what I was already taking so I went for just 30. I still had an overwhelming hypoglycaemic attack, and leaning against a pillar eating chocolate I blacked out, fell forwards and split my head open. I was in hospital for 6 weeks, and upon returning to the pub world I initially struggled to remember names, and actually tolerate drinking strong beers. After a whole year of testing and memory training, they said it would take a minimum of 6 years to retrieve my memories, and those of you who see me regularly, will know that I continue to often forget persons names.

Its interesting however that if you read my pre brain injury, more prolific blog posts, I was already a bit "memory light" not least about beer names - so without overexaggerating, its sadly been a slow decline......

However - I recently reminded my Lancastrian chum about Sheffield's numerous off licences, and I mentioned the Dram Shop and this, reminded me about Brendan Dobbin at West Coast Brewing in Manchester which, after its closure, it, or Mr Dobbin, moved to Marble, brewing behind the Marble Arch. I think I got 4 different bottles of West Coast Brewery beers from there before it closed, and the Dram Shop was also the first place that I spotted Fraoch, then brewed by Heather Ales.

I remember that the three Wee men visited the brewery in the early thousands - then likely at Strathaven, and it was lovely to take away 4 pints of their Scottish fruited beer which was likely Grozet - not to mention what may have also been their kelpie seaweed ale.

They gave me 12 bottles of that and asked me to give a bottle to ten of my favourite Sheffield pubs with their email address - most of which were warmly received, except the guy at the Sheaf view who said he was offended by my giving him a free 500ml bottle of beer and their email address - um - what now?

The final memory I have of the still open Dram Shop is a full bottle of 1953 (or similar) whisky stood alone on a high shelf sticking out possibly from a support pillar? I wonder what happened to that?

More (or less) memories next time!

kind regards

Wee Beefy

Bozzer has left the building

Hello,

       the best way, I find, to prepare for a leaving do is to go to the pub first. This applies even when said do is in the pub. But don,t worry, it doesn't have to be the same pub, you could go to two. So it was that myself and Miss N prepared for Doctor Bozzer's do with a couple of pints.

Robenbacher (for it was he) had warned us to arrive about half 7 so that he could guarantee to remember our being there. At 19.25 I strode into the Malin Bridge Inn for the first time ever to meet Goth John, Dev, Miss N Matty and Chris for a catch up and a drink. The do was at Shakespeares. The plan was already unfurling. But there was ale to be drunk so I didn't care.

The Malin Bridge Inn used to have an old Smiths window if I recall correctly and although now lost, still retains a traditional layout with separate rooms and furnishings. It sells two real ales, Deuchars at 2.95 and Doom Bar - I went for Deuchars. The front rooms are the smarter and the back room had music on and the gang were sat outside enjoying the warm air. I settled down with my surprisingly good Deuchars to listen in and join the conversation and to catch up with Miss N. The atmosphere was good, the landlady friendly and overall this was a good first visit, and it won't be my last.

Up into town we headed down to Shakespeares near 9pm to find Robin reasonably sober. We sat down with pints of the excellent Marble Earl Grey IPA and watched the crowds build up until Robin was given a presentation of some beer bottles and persuaded to do a speech, the finer details of which have been obliterated by several pints of Earl Grey IPA at 6.5% or similar. It was, very, very nice though.

The half of Hopcraft mosaic or citra stout wasn't up to their usual standards and Miss N felt a little unwell so I bought her a gin and tonic and more Earl Grey before we finished on a Boon perfect marriage geuze with stuff in it for about a fiver a bottle. This was a great blend of sour flavours which finished the night brilliantly, and as we sneaked into the taxi before Robin and Dave W and others headed off for late drinks, it was time to say a heartfelt goodbye.

Robin is to work in the brewing industry for a local producer, maybe tinkering in the tun,and I think its obvious that despite having helped Shakespeares win pub of the year in 2013, he would never have imagined working in the brewing industry if he hadn't helped me and others brew Pilcrow Porter (the people's porter, you may recall) at Blue Bee in August. I mean, yeah. Probably that.

A big three cheers to Robin then, and I wish him all the best.

Wee Beefy

Alec ale-full

Hello,

        I was recently awaah over the Pennines to see Pixies in Manchester. Not the mischievous sprites from the land of make believe, but a popular beat combo who were playing at the Manchester Apollo. Of course, being a modern band, the gig was to start quite late and so it was necessary to stay overnight in Manchester. And it would have been rude not to have had a beer or two in the 30 hours we were there....

Staying on Portland Street our first two pre gig stops were fairly obvious. About 6 doors up from our accommodation  is the Grey Horse. At some point in the last 2 years it seems to have had a bit of a revamp, and now looks rather nice, selling most of the Hydes range including their seasonal beers and output from their new small run "craft" (coughs) brewery, The Beer Studio. It was this we went for, sampling a pint of Venetian Red which uses, among other things, black and concerto malt to create a smooth biscuity flavour. I know some of you may recoil in horror at the idea of black malt but as a first beer on a cold night this was a good start.

A few doors down the Circus looks a thousand times better these days with bare wooden paneling replacing the sea of pictures, and the table service only adds to the atmosphere. They also had two beers on for the first time I can remember. Not that their Tetley was shoddy before, but we decided to try the Robinsons Dizzy Blonde at £3.00 a pint - just so I could be certain I definitely don't like it. Which I don't. Its saying something when I crave Tetley over a guest beer....

A wander to the Joshua Brookes followed via hunting for a cash machine with less than twenty people queuing at it. Arriving at the J.B I anticipated easily solving our cash dilemma by buying some beers on card and getting cash back. The first hurdle I encountered was their minimum limit for card payments was £10.00! Since we were popping in for a swift one before the gig, this presented a slight problem, but I figured a round of stronger beers and keykegs would meet the target. Frustratingly (and simultaneously impressively) the beer was incredibly good value... Gah! To add insult to injury they didn't even do cash back either, even though its the 21st century, and they are quite a modern pub. How perplexing!

Anyway, I can't complain at the beer range which was excellent - we had a pint and two halves of Anarchy Sublime Chaos Breakfast Stout (7.0% at least) at an excellent £2.70 a pint, a pint of Black Edge Treacle Stout at slightly less strong, and a half of Weird Beard Fade to Black on Keykeg. The Fade to Black was not as good chilled as it had been on cask at the Sheffield Tap, but was still a nice drop, and the Sublime Chaos was very much sublime. All we had to do now was get a taxi to the gig.

The gig was fantastic by the way. Afterwards we walked back into town to go for a last one - past an ever increasing range of renowned ale venues that shut before 23.30. I know it was a Thursday but I was quite surprised by this. Luckily, despite their absurd payment policies (there was also a "comedy" broken cash machine to mock us) the Joshua Brookes does at least open until 01.00. So more Sublime Chaos and Treacle Stout was had - after trying a Thornbridge McConnells that actually, honestly, didn't taste of anything but the bitter aftertaste of stout. After midnight the prices appear to go up - but the Sublime Chaos was still at least £1.00 cheaper than in the Sheffield Tap.

Friday saw us up late and failing to go for breakfast in the Paramount so we figured a beer would help bring us round. We opted for halves of the Howard Town Snake Ale in the sumptuous environs of the Briton's Protection. Miss N had never visited so was blown away by the decor but if truth were told we were already thinking about having a big meal. ASAP.

Moving onto Knott Bar and having secured half a Marble Ginger for Miss N and a pint of impeccable Buxton Moor Top for myself, we picked up the menu and quickly decided we were staying for a hearty meal. Excellent beef bourguignon for me and Irish stew for |Miss N really filled a gap and set us up nicely for the day ahead.

We walked up Deansgate next and joined a familiar pub trail, starting in the Gas Lamp. Another first for Miss N, this was an impressive venue in which she had a half of Blackjack Honeytrap Porter on cask and I a half of Arbor Oyster Stout on Keykeg - just because I have a bit of an Arbor fixation at present. The prices in here aren't cheap - it was £4.00 for the two halves and neither is a strong beer, but both were on good form.

Over the Irwell past the museum of ordinary things we visited the Mark Addy to admire the harsh white Winter sunlight setting over the footbridge and making the scene almost monochrome. Beers here were halves of Dunham Massey Cherry Mild and Deeply Vale DV8 stout. Its great to see Dunham on a bar but the Addy was our second most expensive stop (taking Keykeg out of the equation) with two medium strength halves totaling £3.70.

The New Oxford is now at the limits of how far the accomplished beer taster wants to venture along Chapel Street based on dire reports of the health and quality of the Crescent. Luckily, the New Oxford also happens to be very good. From an excellent range of about 12 beers we had halves of Welbeck Henrietta and Red Willow Heartless chocolate stout for Miss N and Foxfield Golden Ale and Mallinsons the Count for me. We then moved onto half a Black Edge Treacle Stout and I had a pint of something else from Red Willow - no doubt it will have been fantastic but alas my notes have let me down regarding its identity. We also got chatting to Jean who was behind the bar when we arrived. She very kindly showed is the way to the bus stop and the buses we should catch to our next destination, and was great company to boot. Before leaving she introduced us to the owners/ managers of the pub who were likewise friendly and extended a warm welcome. Once again, the New Oxford proved a highlight in a Manchester and Salford crawl.

We hopped on the bus for a gold plated trip to Shudehill Interchange and then headed for the recently reopened Lower Turks Head on Shudehill itself. Arriving at 17.30 on a Friday means seats are at a premium but we managed to find a gap and sat down in the heat to enjoy halves of Mouselow Farm Under the Influence, another pricey do at £3.60 for two. I know there has been significant investment in the pub but the Mouselow was the only unusual or micro brewery beer on offer, and I would have been even less happy paying £3.35 upwards for Black Sheep or Landlord.

We headed to the Marble Arch next for some expensive (are you seeing a theme?) food which to be fair was absolutely excellent, and some rather good beer. First round beers were pints of Marble Ginger for Miss N and Dobber for me before I had a further half of delicious Lagonda IPA. Beer prices in here were a little more realistic at just over £3.00 for the stronger beers and they accompanied the beautiful food perfectly..

A penultimate stop (and yet another first time for Miss N) was a visit to the Crown and Kettle. By now the pubs were filling up but we still found space to sit down and had a HDM Joyous Pale for me and a half of Partners working class hero mild for Miss N. The HDM was underwhelming as they often can be, and the Partners insipid - I think it was simply a case of choosing badly rather than a reflection on the pub though.

Our final hurrah was to have been in the Port Street Beer House. We went in with beers in mind and I was rewarded with two halves of Saison - a barrel aged from Buxton, which was enjoyable but not quite what I was after - and an impeccable one from Burning Sky Brewery based at Firle in Sussex, brewed by Mark Tranter ex of Dark Star. Given that the Dark Star saison was one of my beers of 2012 I can't say I was surprised. The only downside was the price - I'm sure the saisons, although hovering around 6% and on needlessly expensive Keykeg, were about £3.00 a half, but to an extent this was mitigated by the fact that we were expecting a bit of a hit and also neither would probably have worked on cask.

In the end we also fitted in a half each at the venerable Jolly Angler on Ducie Street,  after we missed our train by 30 seconds and had an hour to wait for the next one. The Hydes Bitter was well below £3.00 a pint and in good nick and this was a pleasing antidote to the crush and costliness of the Port Street.

So an oft expensive but undoubtedly varied trip round Manchester and Salford pubs featured some memorable beers and people at some fantastic venues.Only one beer required replacing and there were some astoundingly good value beers at the Joshua Brookes, cancelling out the rather more "eclectic" pricing strategies at other venues. It was great to be able to show Miss N some of the pubs that I know, since she hadn't been drinking in Manchester or Salford for 20 years, and also to know that there is at least another full day of pubs to come back and visit next time.

Cheers!

Wee beefy.

Spoilt, by unspoiled beer

Hello,

    its been a good week in Sheff for the discerning slaker. A few fine pubs have excelled themselves in terms of choice. And a new pub is set to open very soon. I say a new pub; a previously open pub that was on its last legs, and dealt a final death knell by well kept if slightly pricey Thornbridge beers in Commonside. But more of that in my next post.

I was in The Bath Hotel (I snigger if I say  "in the Bath" but then, I am slightly immature..) on Tuesday, and was tempted, having tried one of the excellent beers in particular, to stay there all night. I could easily have, had it not been for the allure of lamb chops, and no hangover. I managed to eat the lamb chops, at least.

I arrived around 19.00 and got myself a warming pint of the Dark Star Espresso Stout. It was ace. Everything that a coffee stout should be, roasty, heavy, thick yet drinkable, creamy, and it managed to be all of these. It also wasn't a bad price (not that I have dallied with triviality like what that was) and was served in a lined glass. I looked this time, see.

Next,. I tried the highly recommended Red Willow Sleepless Amber Ale. Usually a second pint lacks the pace of the first, as the body has had its much needed initial hit, but this lasted me about 4 minutes. It was simply incredible.

Two more pints followed, admittedly a little slower (it was 5.4%), and they confirmed that this was an amazingly well balanced tasty beer. Hoppy, but not daft. Malty, in an ingeniously smooth way, with a hint of sweetness that somehow blended in so well it didn't have a sweet aftertaste or overall flavour. It was quintessentially astounding. I believe they have another barrel, so you should get down and buy some. Plenty more Red Willow and Dark Star on the way as well.

After I left and purchased supplies I needed to nip in a hostelry for the facilities and did so in the Wick at Both Ends. Three real ales were available, including to my surprise, the newly re released Matins from Abbeydale. A swift half followed, plus a look at their Beer Menu. I can't claim they heeded my advice on this subject, but its a good idea. Alas no Brewdog at the mo but plenty of decent ale, including Saison Dupont. If only the toilets didn't reek so badly of urine this pub could be the shit, as the young folk might remark.

My final stop was DAda. Jamie was holding the fort and was overseeing an admirable range of ales. No Pollards alas but that was coming on - so I had a pint of the Dark Star Espresso again. I also had two pints (against my better judgement) of the excellent Marble Lagonda. A perfect blend of hops sitting on a fabulously complimentary malt background made this tasty and refreshing and pleasingly hoppy.

I finished on half of dear old friend Thornbridge Halcyon. Just as lychee peach and melon like as I craved, and still best supped in halves. A fantastic end to the evening.

A few things made me think after this - firstly, the Lagonda. Its £3.00 a pint on cask at DAda. Its £5.20 a pint on Keykeg at the Sheffield Tap. Now, there is a slim possibility that it's a stronger version on at the Tap, but that doesn't explain the £2.20 difference. Both beers are below the HSBD levee and, I think, the traditional excise standard (who knows if that means anything nowadays!).

I can't see the Keykeg version competing with, let alone being better than, the cask version. So why is it so expensive, comparatively? I suspect we'll never know, but am open to suggestions that the fault lies with more than one party in this respect.

In other news, I have contacted Thornbridge, and they are to brew a 3.1% mild with lots of caramalt and chocolate malt and only Target Hops. Its to be called"Madness" and will be served in specially rebranded John Smith oversized WMC pots that hold about 700ml to accommodate foam.

Obviously the above isn't true, but it made me laugh.

Finally, one year ago today we had to have our cat Bruin put down. In tribute to him that day I opened a bottle of Durham Temptation. Alas the beer failed to deliver the joy I expected, as I wrote here so tonight I have opened a three year old version to try and pay my respects. This version is much better carbonated and despite that weird, possibly bretty molasses aroma, and a disconcerting flavour of cheap cola, it has a very pleasing leather and coffee and treacle taste that reminds me of Courage Imperial Russian Stout.

A fitting tribute to the wee hairy boy.

Cheers.

Wee Beefy

A real ale weekend in Manchester

Hello,

   I'm going to try and make this is as concise as possible. This tour lasted from Friday afternoon to late Sunday night (we came home Monday, and I don't think anyone had a drink!). It was the now annual trip away with Fluff and John and Si, Donny, Nat and Steve, this time joined by Col, Gonejohn and Nextdoorjohn, plus 3 others along the route. Here in beers and pubs is what happened....

Day 1

We started by having a beer in the Sheffield Tap to see us off - halves of Moor Somerland Gold and Amoor for me, both of which were excellent. Our first Manchester pub was the Salisbury. A rather unremarkable range of Hobgoblin, Deuchars et al meant I had  half of Batemans Summer Breeze. Others unwisely continued with pints.

We would have visited the Peveril of the Peak next but it was closed, so we went to the Britons Protection. A better range here, but I wasn't yet in photographing pumpclips mode, so all I know is I had something pale from Allgates - narrow that one down anyone?

The Knott bar was next, SWB Gorilla Cash and Buxton Rye stood out but the SWB Teleporter was off. The barman claimed it tasted different because of the smoked malt, the sharp acid vinegar of the offering slightly giving away his assumption that we knew nothing about beer. He did change it for us though. The Deansgate was next, Unicorn and 2 guests in here, one of which was rancid, all but one of us had the alternative which I think was another local beer.

Off next for an excursion, AKA getting lost trying to find our digs, the Salutation off Oxford Road near the University - I would say thank god for maps on phones but you need to know how to follow the directions..... Here we had an annoying wait for our rooms (at about 18.00?) and supped Magic Rock Curious, or Cloudiest as it should have been called whilst we waited, and were joined by Manchester John and Paul. The accommodation was OK in 2 rooms, and positively eclectic in the other. They also didn't do food and recommended a sister pub - that didn't do real ale. They didn't shower themselves with glory on the first night I have to say.

So we ate at Troff where some people were slightly shocked by the cost of BrewDog on keg - I had water! Our next pub was the Marble Arch, plenty of beer on in here although not a huge number of guests, I had a Marble mild (6.0%) and a something from Blackjack whose beers we saw a lot of. I also had water - clever eh? Nat was really smitten with the Marble Dobber in here.

Round the corner to a packed Angel for halves of exotic sounding beer that my camera forgot to record, then onto the Smithfield. This seems to be on a downward slide, having always been a bit tired and tatty, there was now an issue with undrinkable beer. The Piddle in the hole was that, as was the Burscough offering and another, in fact we reckon only the Adnams Gunhill Dark (£2.00) and the Robinsons Old Tom (which some tried) should have been on sale.

The Crown and Kettle welcomed us next, we said goodbye to Manchester John and Paul, and I had  halves of West Berkshire Maggs Mild and Dunham Massey Bollington Bitter from an excellent range, before we persuaded trip organiser Fluff, now quite tired by events, to walk with us and final visiting guest Anthony to the Port Street Beer House. Here a plethora of Keykeg and cask Cromarty ales was on offer, but I went with a Red Willow Smokeless (pint! I must have been confident...) and a half of the excllent Cromarty brewed awakening which was fantastic.

Me and Nat walked back via the Grey Horse for what I think was Robinsons not Hydes? Anyone? And met up with Col at the Salutation for a last pint of the Pennine Salutation ale.

Day 2 - the Rail Ale Trail

Hangovers were cured in the Paramount Wetherspoons with big breakfasts, and our first stop at 11.00 was the Circus. We all had pints of excellently kept Tetley and tried to persuade ourselves that we were ready for a day of trains and beers and time constraints.

We met Si at the station, and then Trevor from Crewe, and got the train to Dewsbury (the whole trip was £13.40 I think) and started in the West Riding Licensed Refreshment Rooms, where I unwisely started on Hawkshead NZ IPA (6.0%). The sheer size of the crowd leaving the station should have prepared us for the trip ahead. Off to Mirfield next for a very long wait to be served (not the staffs fault) at the Navigation - I had the Mallinsons Sorachi Ace lemongrass and their Mudstopper from a good range, although it wasn't immediately obvious what was on the other bar.

In Huddersfield we went to the Kings Head for Brown Cow Frazzles celebration and Pictish Columbus, which we drank in the sunshine outside. Alas the Head of Steam was really rammed and the beer range disappointing so we went back to the Kings for me to try an Owenshaw Mill SWP, whilst everyone else was on pints of the excellent Magic Rock Curious, this time crystal clear.

Slaithwaite saw us in the brilliant Commercial enjoying Naylors Black and Tan (one of the beers of the weekend) and Kingstone Classic from Tintern, along with good company and redoubtable fishcake buttys. This was also one of the best pubs of the trip, despite the yomp back up the hill.

To Marsden next and the choice of three pubs was always going to be the excellent Riverhead Brewery Tap. From a good range I had a pint of Titanic chocolate and vanilla stout whilst sat in the grass on the riverbank in an idyllic setting. Mind you the crawl back up hill nearly killed us. Off next to Greenfield for the second best beer garden in terms of views at the impressively situated Railway. It was becoming obvious here that some of the 100 strong revellers had not paced themselves and it was all getting a bit rowdy but Millstone Tiger Rut hit the spot. Last stop Stalybridge was suitably chaotic with halves of Tiger Rut again and Abbeydale Revelation from an average line up in the Station Buffet, plus my customary water.

Final Manchester stops of the day were the Peveril of the Peak where I have no idea what I had, the Lass O Gowrie where I had the dreadful "Outstanding" Bettys best and Bridgehouse Gold, then onto Joshua Brookes where a pint of Brodies White IPA was 7.3% and £2.50 a pint! I had a half of that and a half of Little Valley Ginger Pale, but the half of Brodies was £1.75. A misleading literal advert caused little amusement, and the DJ was poor. Just time to leave here for junk food and then Pennine in the Salutation.

Day 3 - Salford

More Wetherspoons breakfast then walking in torrential rain to our first stop the Sawyers Arms, whose cask marque accreditation cursed it to sell two of the dullest beers we tried all trip - Ruddles County and Bombardier. Next was the excellent Gas Lamp on Bridge Street. Just two pumps here, dispensing malt madness in the form of Great Orme Orme, and Little Valley's Two Lads bitter in this atmospheric cellar bar.

Over the Irwell near the Peoples History Museum next (amusingly renamed by me the Museum of Ordinary Life, which made us snigger for the rest of the day, imagining exhibits such as a chair, a kettle and a carpet....) to Salford and the Mark Addy. This is a really nice place to hide from the rain and "admire" the river, with a great range of beers - Merlin Merlins Gold and Red Willow Mark Addy is Fearless for me, which was excellent. More Blackjack stuff in here as well.

Our longest stint in any pub was the three hours we resided at the New Oxford. This excellent pub didn't disappoint despite "only" having 10 beers on, plus key kegs from the UK and Europe.

The jukebox was 10p a track for the first hour so we were well catered for and we tried everything that was on - I especially loved Empire Extra Stout at 6.0% which was sublime (a pint and a half's worth). The Dunscar Bridge Clocking off, Conwy brewery's excellent Beachcomber ale, Blakemere Summer Breeze were also sampled, along with a half of SWB Teleporter on key keg, which unsurprisingly tasted of smoke and roast malt as opposed to vinegar.

Round to the Crescent next via a depressing itinerary of derelict and closed pubs. John (in)famously described the Crescent as a derelict shambles, perhaps a tad harsh but the walls did wobble and there was an especially "unique" aroma to the place, made all the more tolerable by a chip cob for me and Boggart Rum Porter for us all (too much Cottage on the bar though folks...).

Back to the Salutation for excellent Hornbeam Galaxy Pale, before we headed out by taxi ( a farcical journey including the cabbie asking if we minded if he stopped to fill up, which we did, then ignored us and charged us more than we paid for a very similar journey later) to 57 Thomas Street, the Marble bar. Three casks (on) on stillage plus bottles and taps afforded us a great choice, and I had a pint of Marble Lagonda, and of course, a half of water.

By this time Si and Steve had gone home, Donny and Nat were in search of food or something, and Gonejohn had stormed off in a huff on morning 1, so only the 5 of us enjoyed a wild goose chase to almost no pubs as Fluff's return train time approached. The Hare and Hounds appeared to have no real ale and some dreadful entertainment, then Mother Macs was described by advance party Nat and Donny as being hostile and also having no real ale. We ended up in the Waldorf trying to hear ourselves over a crowd of rpwdy football fans making idiots of themselves and tolerated a dire pint of Holts seasonal, before we ended up in the Bulls Head near the lower Piccadilly entrance.

Slightly better range and better kept ale in here included Ringwood Boondoggle and Martson/Banks etc French Hop, before we waved Fluff off home and got a taxi (£3.00) to the Salutation for more Pennine - (the Magic Rock High Wire, at 5.5%, was £4.00 a pint. What? Where did they find a price like that? And it was cloudy!). We finished the night in here and did in fact get a free drink or two since it had only emerged Saturday night that we were entitled to a discount on pints. I bear no malice to the friendly staff at the Salutation, but it seems incredibly disorganised.

None of us braved a pub on Monday, and so came to an end a fantastic weekend of beer, including the excellent rail ale trail and some great pubs, the highlights including the New Oxford, Crown and Kettle, Circus, Gas Lamp, Commercial at Slaithwaite, Marble Arch and Mark Addy. Highly recommended!

Wee Beefy.

A pub crawl of new (to some) pubs in Sheffield Part 1

Greetings,

     yesterday I was a busy lad. I had to meet my friend of 34 years Christingpher at the Sheffield Tap at lunch (well, I say had, perhaps preferred to) for a catch up and then later I was off out with Davefromtshop for a tour of Sheffield's newer real ale venues that he had never visited before. Since Christingpher has never been int Tap, this makes our visit the start of my crawl, which involves taking people to pubs for the first time. (Not literally. Not reformed Methodists or anything. Or Puritans neither. You get the picture though....)

Dave's tour will be in Part 2.

Tap Rout

I was a trifle late having crammed some last minute food into me to soak up the beers I expected to have (although my achy heavy head wasn't exactly suggesting I have anything more than a glass of water). As I entered my drinking companion was enthusiastically coming out of the pub to greet me - I had to explain that I was delicate and at risk of sudden unconsciousness, which is usually a status I achieve at the end of the evening. We went inside and got served straight away by a barman with a dry sense of humour. I watched Christingpher eyeing up the beer and recommended the Marble Stout - then I had half an orange juice. The barman passed the stout over describing it as manly and went to get my "kids orange" - I asked for a balloon and a sweet, and was given a free biscuit. Bless.

We sat down in the seat next to the fireplace that overlooks the bar. We had much to catch up on, but due to a minor misunderstanding, Christingpher had come on his motorbike, and thought I was only staying for one. He made a great job of slowly supping his pint but I soon finished my OJ and admitted defeat - I would be having beer...

I opted for a pint of Marble Pint (hur hur, it sez pint, and it is (etc)...) which was a nice enough drink, but, if am to be honest, nothing like the beer I was expecting. It seemed a little dull actually, which surprised me. We tried moving seats to the booth in front of the bar, to see if a change of scene would improve things, but all this did was present me with a vista of beers and prompted another purchase.

I gave Christingpher the last quarter of my Pint and bought a new pint of Marble Stout. This was a far better beer, with coffee and smokey malt bitterness and a short but pleasant finish. Our discussions soon turned to Magic Rock, - as Christingpher is an artist I figured he'd love their artwork, and he did. We looked at the Magic Rock bottled beers on the beer menu and having decided they were too expensive, finally I caved in and went to buy a half of the Magic 8 ball (7%) on keykeg dispense.

Crikeykeg

I knew that keykeg was more expensive than cask, (never really understood why) and, with all due respect to the Tap, in a venue not afraid of expense, this could be a bad combination. Worse still, as I bought something else at the same time, I wasn't entirely sure of its price. I can reason however that a half cost me between £3.60 and £4.00. Now, I'll come to describing the beer in a moment but lets be clear. That, is fecking expensive. No mincing of words here, thats more than twice as expensive as anything they have on cask and nearly as expensive as the barrel aged 9% Bracia they had at the Hallamshire House.  It felt wrong and reckless to spend so much money on one half of beer. It would have to be very very damn good.....

And it was, of course. Even for a keykeg, a dispense method which I don't rate that much. Don't get me wrong, keykeg beers can taste good, but its so rare you get to try a beer in keg and cask side by side to make any kind of meaningful comparison. Even if you could, I can't see room temperature, conditioned cask ale tasting worse than higher carbonated colder keykeg, and vice versa. Quite simply, this was fantastic.

More importantly, having tried numerous Black IPA's now, I think it was a really very good example. None of the imbalance of dry ascorbic hops and no finish, or dry stout flavours with odd peaks of hoppy bite, this was bitter, yes, initially, but then followed instantly by a smooth and creamy warming taste, much like a rich lustrous stout, and finishing with a joyous mix of malt and hops that followed the creamy taste perfectly, rather than being crowbarred onto the end. Brilliant, and nearly as good as Red Willow Faithless.

Christingpher figured a half was in order and he had the Nogne Porter, also 7%, partially based on my recommendation, verging on insistence. I warned him it would be pricey, and he uttered not a word on the price. If you transposed the cost percentage difference between Magic Rock and Nogne bottled beers (although they may be different sizes) I think he could have parted with £4.50. Jeee-eee-zus.

I tried a bit and it was very nice, not as good as the Magic 8 Ball, but with an endearing and curiously brilliant taste which was suggested to be Bubblegum. I couldn't for the life of me work out for certain what it was, but it was a central flavour of the beer, and really enjoyable. We sipped our wares slowly, me enthusing about the 8Ball every time I went back to sip it (I probably spent an hour or more drinking it) and although I had to go by 4PM I'd had 2 and a half pints in 3 hours (how sensible!) and a fantastic time catching up with a great friend.

Roll on 18.30 in the Hop!

Wee Beefy