Miniature morsels of bowz neeowz....

Good tidings,

    I have just a few snippets of finely trimmed beer strands for you tonight.

Deda da da

I seem to have accidentally ensconced mi sen in the Dee Dah (Dada, if you insist) three nights running. Thursday's visit was a mission to reappraise but made all the more enjoyable by the staff so I had no reservations in bringing Waaaaarf and Thangor the Motherinlaw there on Friday, especially with the "Pub Scrawl" do being on.

That said I confess I didn't see much art apart from a penis themed scribble on the wall on the left, so perhaps I missed something. Either way, beer was the main feature as always and didn't disappoint. Thangor had a half of unfiltered Bernard Pilsner, Chala a half of Thornbridge Mechelen ( I and her thought at the time it was a Mikkeller which was a very interesting scenario given his brewing pedigree, but I concede that the malty Belgian ale style should have rung alarm bells...). It was not.

Nevermind though, I had a pint of Fyne Highlander to start then as Chala grabbed a Timmermans I ordered halves of Tzara and Versa. The Versa was far less hoppy and much more banana weighted than I recalled and the Tzara was cloudy and perhaps relatedly so, unrecognisable, yet still nice. Perhaps it was the bottom of the key-keg - no beer dispense is infallible after all....

Alas we had time only for these drinks here on Friday.

Interestingly some gents who rolled up at the bar Saturday claimed that Dee-dah was a word used to describe folks from Barnsley but I felt sure it was a Barnsley term for us -  at the risk of igniting a storm here, which one is it? 

Harrisons 1854

After a brief sojourn to have very expensive but delicious wine in the Leopold Hotel we parted company and I headed to the 1854. Here I had more wine and a delicious pint of Farmers Blonde, given that the Deception was a trifle cloudy. Much good conversation was had, including Dave showing his excellence at ice smashing, as the photo below attempts to report....

I had a goodly stint here before leaving with the intention of returning to Dada but popped in the Red Deer again instead - almost as if to welcome me, the beer range had changed again, and I had a delicious pint of Inveralmond Lia Fail, whilst talking to Jose who had been so helpful the night before. An enjoyable stop off.

Closed pubs and the Wash

It was about now that I noticed a surfeit of options. To my surprise the Beehive and Old House were closed so I headed to the Washington, via a queue at the Forum, which I decided was a step too far. Odd but enjoyable cloud fest of Moonshine in my hand I enjoyed a brief sojourn round the pub before the night bus called me.  An ever reliable fall back once again, the Washington.

Saturday.

I also ended back up in Harrisons on  Saturday having left an important personal item behind the bar.  This warranted another pint, this time a more enjoyable Deception, mainly because it was so lively that Dave agreed to serve it without a sparkler.

I also revisited Dada for a catch up, and tried the palatable Pub Scrawl from Thornbridge, along with a Kill Your Darlings Vienna style lager, and even retried the Holly Daze that I had disliked previously. The star was probably the Scrawl, hoppy and with an interesting malt flavour which suggested they had been careful to create an uncomplicated yet highly refreshing beer. The Holly Daze I concede was less horrifying than I recall.

Finally

I must metion that I have had a Dunham Massey Gold tonight. I intended to leave it for a full review but ploughed on regardless anyway. I feel the need to comment on its hoppy and sweet malt flavour and nose, making it very Belgian in style, and more than a match for some renowned Belgian Blondes. That said, it peters out a little in the long haul but is still an interesting beer.

That's all for now folks, keep supping!

Wee Beefy

Wee Beefy's Beer Bites - beer and pubs and pubs and beer

Evening,

    just a quick note or two about some beers I tried last night whilst out and about with Mr Cain.

Shakespeares 

 "I would give all my fame for a pot of ale"

Luckily that sacrifice won't be necessary, as I am in the Gibraltar Street hostelry spending a modest sum on one of their range of really good ales. Last night there was plenty that caught my eye - Sheffield Porter was the only dark offering but I decided to start light and had a pretty good choice to go at. Whilst Mr C stumped for cooking lager, which the barman protested less than vigorously was a term that didn't apply to Becks Vier, I had halves of the Ossett Winter IPA and Staithes brewery Boulby Blonde  a surprisingly punchy bitter pale ale at 3.5% which stood up admirably to the Ossett IPA at 5%.

The next round saw me get to try some Wantsum Brewery beer from Kent, something I failed to achieve when I was down there in 2010. I had a half of their dark brown 4.6% Dynamo along with another really enjoyable glug of the Winter IPA. Its strange that I almost always plump for the guests at the Hop (assuming that is, it is a guest, see posts passim) and as if to justify that trend, this IPA at Shakespeares was one of the best pints of Ossett I've ever had. Maybe I should only drink Ossett when its a guest elsewhere...

In News news, there is a beer festival coming at the end of February here with the potential that they may keep back a beer from the cellar at the moment to have then - this info not fully confirmed yet though so keep an eye out for further details.

The Cranes

No dark ales in the Cranes alas but the Blue Bee beers are still a feature so I had a pint of the Nectar Pale, back to being hoppy but somehow still tasting different to when I tried it in the Rutland in the summer. That said it didn't matter since it was a very refreshing bitter beer. The pub was moderately busy which is always a good thing and there are a few decent brews advertised on the coming soon board - looks like I'll have to pop back again later in the week for a thankful tope.

Ta-dah!

Dee-dah's on Trippet Lane has finally broken its Christmas imposed ban on selling anything new and got some new offerings to tempt us. Mr C and I were well catered for with a pint of decent lager for him and for me, the dream of all beer lovers, a whole delicious pint of Thornbridge Pollards coffee milk stout, all to myself. Not even marred by it being a trifle too cold, I enjoyed every last drop, deven though I changed my order for round 2...

Mr C had a very agreeable pint of Thornbridge's Kolsch style lager Tzara, and I had a half of the Fyne Highlander, which lived up to its name by being a gloriously malty but bitter Scottish ale, and I also tried one of their key keg offerings. Of course, vital to my making a point of trying the beer was to attempt a comparison, but I've forgotten what the hell it was! Also available was the new Thornbridge offering "Scrawl" brewed to coincide with Friday's live arts pub crawl event, where 10 artists will display their work in 10 pubs or bars around Sheffield, for free, for one night only. For more details go to Pete McKee pub scrawl .

It could have been one from Flying Dog or possibly Kill Your Darlings from Thornbridge, but am sorry, I can't recall for certain. I do remember it was quite cold which was a shame, but it meant that I probably enjoyed the Fyne a bit more, and to be honest, when it had warmed up a bit it was very enjoyable, erm, whatever it night have been.

  The 1854 overture

I still had time for a last drink in Harrisons, the beers were falling fast when I arrived as is often the case on the first night open after the weekend, but my half of fresh Farmers Blonde gave me a chance to pay it a bit of attention and try and work out what those prevalent flavours are. Its certainly quite dry, it was refreshing, but I think the off putting feature that lets it down a bit is the particular malt they use. Its still a nice well kept pint though, and in no way resulted in my falling asleep on the bus on my way home...

Do go and check out some of these pubs for yourself, and happy drinking!

Wee Beefy.