Hops

 Evening readers - long time no see, I admit....

But am here now so.....

Hops eh kids? What are they? Like the future, it seems, some people, will never know.....

     last night I was in the Bar Stewards micropub and bottle shop in Sheffield for a CAMRA pub of the month. I got chatting to a bloke have known for well over 25 years, and described to him that I really liked the Gibraltar Triangle - on being asked I confirmed that this was Shakespeares, The Stewards and The Crow.

" you like the Crow then do you ?" he asked. I confirmed. He said he had only been in once and didn't like it as he couldn't find anything he wanted to drink. I assured him that they sold four cask ales as well as kegs and cans just like here - I pointed to the bar and he said " I don't like Abbeydale Heathen - its vile". A bit surprised I asked why. " well its an American style pale" I told him that I had enjoyed the Grizzly grains for three pints and he said it wasn't bad because he hadn't expected to like it because it had Citra hops in it, which he didn't like. He hates Citra Hops. He suggested it was maybe due to Azacca - a hop he had never heard of which sounded Spanish or Mexican......

He also advised he didn't try anything with Mosaic hops in - as he hated them - a trifle surprised at his dislike of one of the original foreign hop brands, as well as his dislike of one of the popular newer hop types I asked him if he liked any Sheffield beers - admittedly a bit of an over-reaction on my part!

He admitted he liked their Moonshine - although that surely has hops init? I asked him what he thought of Abbeydale's 8.5% Rye DIPA in cans and he said "oh no I wouldn't know about that". I found it strange that his principal hatred of any beers featuring Citra or Mosaic and likely also in cans or keg, was based on a lack of tolerance - and perhaps knowledge, of hops.

I worry of course that this maybe my age as am a child like 48, the type of people I go drinking with whom all love hoppy beers or sours ( I din't even bother asking about that !) or whether perhaps my preferences subdued the sensibility of my reaction. But - even though he admitted to being "an old fuddy-duddy about beer" - I couldn't avoid the old fashioned reaction to modern beers.

As I may have told you previously - having met at least three separate CAMRA member reactions to my purchase of " Evil keg" I have received some frankly ridiculous reactions to my buying keg with my own money which is my right - including having blokes I had never met chanting " Evil keg, Evil Keg" at me at an IPA Tap Takeover in Shakespeares,  and being told by a man I had never met at the Bath Hotel on finding out my beer was Keg that he had tasted keg in the seventies and had refused to try it ever again. It was 2016.....

Am not suggesting that my mate or these (and many other keg haters) represent fully the outlook of all  CAMRA members,  but I realise that one of the criticisms agsint them is not only that they appear stuck in the  past, but also that they are full of exclusively old people. The youngest man there was probably about the same age as me. The average age must have been 60. Seems a trifle - predictable?

Even when a man in his late 60s did the description of the pub he only described their 4 excellent cask ales - and then said he wasn't willing to get into an argument about the keg and cans they also sold. What is there to argue about? Surely just list the different reasons people like it? Pretending that a product doesn't exist is not a viable attack on the seemingly ghastly threat of keg on traditional beer is it.....

Sheffield CAMRA of course have a keg bar at their annual beer festival - a brilliant and in terms of previous incumbents groundbreaking change of availability which respected the likes and opinions of every single visitor whilst not in any way undermining the high sale of traditional cask. Of course the team received lots of written abuse from anonymous persons who considered it heresy to invite the vile sewage of future drinks into their glorious beer festival, but hey.......

Despite this odd approach to describing and praising a venue I should say a very well done anyway to the Stewards for their second pub of the month award.

Many congratulations!

Your kindest regards

Wee Beefy

Bar Stewards is Sheffield CAMRA pub of the month for November!

Hullabaloo,

            Its been a long time since Bar Stewards evolved with an invite only, locked door personal party in its then nowhere near ready to open premises. I had been told by Rich Hough that I could join him but it sempt a bit rude and besides, I wasn't 100% sure where it was. Two weeks of guessing which of the recently reopened units followed before I spotted a sign outside. I ventured in on their second or third temporary license opening and had a choice of Blue Bee and two others on cask, served by gravity if I recall (?), or lager, but I liked the place, and soon it grew and improved.

Three visits in and I could remember which one was Charlie and which one was Al and I started to go more often. And then there was a wait for a full license before they opened in July 2017. Rich had a stint doing their quiz and I think they were sometimes joined by the brother of one of the owners (can't remember which!) behind the bar before another period of closure took place whilst they moved the bar from the left hand side to its present location, ordered some fridges and installed some keg lines. With the shackles of restrictive ranges off, the magic balloon of Bar Stewards sailed high into the sky like a soaring eagle. Or something.

Gradually, the hours were extended, Capn Space Maths started doing a quiz, the keg range matured and improved, and the fridge offerings increased in range exponentially. A typical night in the Stews now involved starting on a pint or two of good cask, then hurling myself into a DIPA on keg before finishing on a can or three. Many many nights were spent in there helping to reduce the backlog of suppable soup. Often it was only the pictures on my phone that told me how much I had drunk.....

In July they had their successful first birthday celebration where a fab range of ales including local brewery colabs was on offer, and recently Jay has joined from the Old Workshop, bringing with him a fab taste in music, a wealth of knowledge about beer, specifically beer that I like, a calm influence behind the bar and the ability to deliver his thoughts with a quiet honesty. The final piece of success lego in their castle has been the addition of bhajis and Wateralls pork pies delivered every Thursday.  Now fully fledged, the feathers of the Stews have been recognised and rewarded by Sheffield CAMRA.

I was there with a number of friends and long time acquaintances on Tuesday night. There was a stellar line up of keg cask and can as always and a new staff member called Jonathon who used to work at the Picture House Social. Even former barkeep PJ, AKA Keith, came down to say hello.

Fine free food was available and I drank more than one pint of cask and some hoppy colder soup which tickled my tastebuds perfectly. It was an excellent night with the whole, albeit small, venue absolutely packed out from about 20.00. Well done to Al and Charlie and Jay and the rest of the expanding team at the Bar Stewards for providing a genuine alternative to the busier periods at Shakespeares when its admittedly better to go somewhere else - especially now that the range and quality of ales available matches up so well to the giant goddess og glugging glory across the road.

Huzzaaah!

Wee Beefy