New venue - Heist Craft, Neepsend, Sheffield

 Afternoon!

       regular readers, and certainly my chums here in fine, sunny, Sheffield, may be aware that a number of new venues have opened here quite recently. I have heard poor things about Perch by the Dead Parrot brewery, and better things about Social off Waingate, but I have never been to either. So when, following a grim day on Saturday, my great friend Mr G messaged me and asked if I fancied a few pints in Sheffield, I initially suggested the Shakespeares, my second home. But as we drove towards town I asked if he wanted to go to Heist instead. He did. And we did.

Heist Craft is a newly opened bar on Neepsend lane next door to the Gardeners Rest. I say bar - because am quite picky about using the word pub to describe what is clearly not, irrespective of it's intentions. Heist brewery started in Clowne about 5 years ago and I only got to try one of their beers, which was a bottled stout I think, that they brewed with some European visitors. I sadly never got to their haunt in Clowne so when they left I wondered what might happen to them. They now brew hear in Sheffield (you can see the brewery from the seating I think) and when they opened a pop up bar in the car park next door to their present location last year, I tried one of their cans and it was lovely. Having heard good things about this new venue I popped in as we parked across the road.

I now realise that I  have  4 friends who know people either involved with the brewery, venue or its construction - and that, along with mostly positive comments online, made me even more excited to visit. The first thing my companion noted was the small signs advertising food sellers - he had encountered the burger sellers in Manchester previously and was very complimentary. Once we got in through the door at the front the bar was busy, and there was a very good choice. I will say thought that firstly we only saw one list of beers and incorrectly assumed that was everything - which alone wouldn't have mattered, but there's another list at the other end!

Mr G also rued his not reading the description of the 3.5% drivers ale he had a half of - not least because it was a sour. He doesn't like sours as a rule, and so didn't enjoy this one alas. It was frustrating for him as it clearly described it as a fruited sour ale! I think I had a pint of Howling Hops myself and it was lovely. Sat near the entrance we were briefly joined by nutters from the ten pints o lager crowd, but when they left everything became calm once again, and we sought out the loos and then our next drinks.

Mr G this time went for a half of bitter - and confirmed that it tasted of an old school bitter. Sadly that ran out just after but I then got a pint of an NEIPA from Bethnal Green which have sadly forgotten the name of, and this once again satisfied my palate nicely. Whilst we awaited a third I got a pint of a Heist IPA at 7% or so and this was also lovely - I know they are only glasses but I have to say that the way they looked on the tables made them look even more tasty!

Finally, having assessed the second screen, including a brilliant selection of generally stronger beers, I forget what we chose but I got another plus 7% IPA and I know that I really enjoyed it.

When we had got sat down initially I said to my mate that this reminded me of the sort of Manchester bars that I assumed he went in all the time - he said it was, indeed, very similar - but that the opening of a new keg bar in Manchester would barely raise an  eyebrow, what with there already being so many. I admit that the venue may seem a little "hipster" to many - but its range of 32 keg lines, at least 2 of which ran out whilst we were there, along with the excellent food from the room next door which could be eaten at the tables, will make this a desirable place to go, for many.

Its definitely somewhere - hipster or otherwise - that I would very much fancy returning to.

Cheers!

Wee Beefy  

Beef and Dave's new bar tour

Afternoon,

  three weeks or more ago (continuing a theme of reporting tarriance) myself and Davefromtshop met up to do a crawl featuring new venues to him. Dave has lived outside Chezvegas now for years and there have been many new openings in the time since. Meeting at 18.00 as we were it wasn't possible to try them all so we started at Bar Stewards, and headed for the Blind Monkey, and saw how we did for time as we went along.

I arrived prior to Dave and had been drinking already - including the sumptuous and amazing Morning Lemon lemon lactose ale at Hop Hideout from Glen Affric brewery, based in Liverpool, not in the wonderful glen or at the top of Mam Sodhail, as you wouldn't expect. I started on a can of "Sprite", which was sufficiently alcohol free but not as good as the Morning Lemon. Soon Dave joined me and I went on to a pint of the Blue Bee Solo Geek Story which was brewed for the Bar Stewards first birthday, and laden with mosaic hops. It was expectedly excellent.

From here we headed to the Old Workshop. Dave was immediately impressed by the decor, I was immediately smitten by the beer range. We had three beers in all, one of which was Scottish, and identifiable by a a name and evidence of whom brewed it. I think it was Cromarty actually. Memories eh? What are they? Guesses. Get over it.

From here we headed along Burton Road and over the Don to Church. They had a Cloudwater on keg, but it was 6.5% and £8.00 a pint. Dave went for a half a Black Iris Endless Summer which was also over a pound a percent, but less noticeable, and I had the last of a pint of Hopjacker, which is unfined. A fact which completely eluded the barman who warned me that it was near the end of the barrel because it was cloudy. Erm.....

Once again the architecture and design wowed but there appears to be a significant gap in beer knowledge between Church and the Old Workshop. Next was a lengthier walk to the Double H. Not a new pub as a such but when Dave had last visited it was owned by Wood Street brewery. We definitely had two pints of a pale beer in here, and they were sensibly priced and well kept. Identities thereof have as yet to filter through the haze of misrememberance which is my memory. I think they were both the Yorkshire Pale from Helmsley brewery. Or something similar.....

A stout yomp up the hill brought us to the Blind Monkey. Dave hadn't been to its former guise as the Firwood Cottage since the 1980s so the transformation was even more stunning to him. We both had pints of heathen on keg. Well, at least, I did. We sat out in the crowded beer garden supping and taking pictures. One thing the Blind Monkey is doing really well is attracting a local crowd, all of whom seem to love it. Sterling work on their part.

Further up the hill alas the Walkley Beer Co is back to its Thursday opening so as this was a Wednesday it was shut, so we jumped on the bus to town and went for a last one in the Sheffield Tap, just because it was nearer Dave's train. Am not going to even try and guess what we had. I know I had a pint and a half though, as I stayed behind after Dave had left.

There is an Ecclesall Road, Beer Engine Clubhouse and then 95 to Walkley section of the crawl to do next time, and by then one would hope the micropub on Crookes may have opened. As ever, drinking venue options in Sheffield ebb and flow and ultimately increase with every coming season, keeping us all on our libationary toes!

Cheers!

Wee Beefy

Sheffield gets another new bar.....

Hello readers,

     some of you may read into the title of the post. that I don't see any need, maybe any justification, for another new drinking venue in fab sunny Sheffield. That isn't the case at all. In fact, its a little word trap that I have set, and now entirely dismantled. And as you will see, I happen to rather like this new venue.

I say venue because Church, Temple of Fun is not just a bar by any stretch of the imagination. The building itself, on Rutland Road, houses a clothing store called drop dead and the bar features along with a frankly excellent range of bose, a vegan menu from make no bones, and there are retro video games to play, along with quirky seating (too much so for me, I didn't want to have to be rescued, although once I regain some mobility I will try out the hexagonal "tubes" which you can sit in....) The main highlight on my first and thus far only visit was the music.

The Osborn factory, or more likely Osborn woks, have terrifically high ceilings. This affords a cool atmosphere, and some frankly excellent acoustics, and the choice of music played then, mainly dub reggae and a sprinkle of ska, was perfectly suited to the surroundings. When not shopping, dancing or walking around in awe of the vast cathedralesque qualities of the venue, there is a small outside drinking area positioned over the river Don from where one can espy the fabulous Gardeners Rest beer garden.

But what of the bose? I hear you cry....

There are two handpulls, one for cider and one for Dark Star Hophead on my visit, and possibly six keg fonts. selling high quality beers such as Black Iris endless summer session IPA, Highwire Grapefruit, and the first beer I had there, which may have had a name, and been Lervig Tasty Juice. Or not. I looked at the wine list as well and it sounded fantastic, although on this occasion it was strictly a beer visit. The staff recommendation board features Cloudwater in cans, maybe as a collab, so the can and bottle selection is pretty good too. I have been told by friends Helen and Chele and also judging by the pics on their website, that they are rather good at cocktails. As an unreformed death metaller, the idea of putting activated charcoal into a drink to make it black sounds like an excellent idea!

A quick search on Google lead me to an article in the Sheffield Star, whose website I cant access except for in cache. I found out from that the person behind the bar is Sheffield musician Oli Sykes from the band Bring me the Horizon. Yep. Me too. Now am in my dotage I know very little about current Sheffield popular beat combos. There is a link here to the bar's website, and you can find them on Friendache....

I also discovered the name of the architect who designed the original works, William John Hale. There is also a link here to an article about Hale and listing his Sheffield buildings. As a former Crookes resident its interesting to see how I have followed his architecture to near where I live now. Or not.....

I will be returning to Church, a great name for any pub as used by many a person as a euphemism for the pub or club, in August and am looking forward to encountering more excellent music and more wonderful beers. In the meantime I highly recommend a visit.

Cheers!

Wee Beefy