Derbyshire, Cheshire and a touch of Staffordshire.....

 Evening all!

         on Sunday I was collected by my great friend Mr G for our next crawl around the best pubs in Derbyshire (and beyond). Having failed last time to adequately check out the George ta Alstonefield (lost to food and no beer) I was determined to get this right. I googled the Crag Inn at Wildboarclough and found that it had doubled up as still a pub but mainly as a water bar - having found a spring on the property. According to Whatpub it was still a pub and served two real ales. I decided to go.

After an hour and twenty minutes we arrived in the glen like Wildboarclough and turned into the Crag Inn car park. We spotted folks sat outside with beers so assumed everything was fine - and got in and found they no longer sell drauught beer, or any other draught drinks. They did however sell bottles from Nearby Wincle brewery, although, not from the fridge, and we sat down with a bottle each of Wandering Wallaby and chatted. Whilst there about 20 people came in asked what they sold on draught - qall were told the answer was none. Having passed through a room end and corrridor of bottled water I visited the loo - finding handwash but only a single wet towel to dry my hands on. Whilst Mr G went to the same I asked the guy behind the lit, blue bar, what the deal was re it being a pub - he said they hadn't been a pub for two years, and now no longer sold real ale. Sound familiar?

Back in the car I recalled this to Mr G and he said - we could have paid £15 each for a mineral water e3xperience. But who would?

Driving into Wincle we lost connection to the Sat Nav and for some reason my phone so we asked a couple sat outside the Ship if they knew where Wincle Brewery was - luckily it was just down the road on the right in Danebridge! Soon there they had a tasting room selling a large number of bottles and three handpulled beers - I went on a pint of Wincle Hen Cloud andf a half of Straight Furrowand Mr G a half of Hen Cloud and we basked in the sunshine outside. An excellent stop.

Next we drove into Macclesfield and quickly found and parked accross from the excellent Red Willow Tap. Three real ales and about 14 kegs saw Mr G on alcohol free lager and myself on a pint of their 6.7% IPA! lovely place, and selling excellent Black pudding and mustard crisps, after a half of the sadly disappointing  Kernel Porter, we used Mr G's phone to walk up to the Park Tavern on Park Road about 5 minutes away.

This is a pub ran by Bollington Breweryu and they had about 8 of their beers on, including on Keg. I went for a pint of their Eastern nights with Mr G on a soft drink before heading back to the car. One thing I will say about the Park Tavern is that it was drearily dark sinside - yet on the way out down a passage behind the bar there was a lovely, bright - yet empty - room, at the front.

Our last stop was the pub of the night - the excellent Three Stags Heads at Wardlow Mires. First visit for may years and sadly I was unable to see Pat after the sad passing of Geoff on Good Friday. The range is similar but two Abbeydale and two guests - I started on the Black Lurcher (obvs) and Mr G a half of Deception. Was absolutely fabulous to catch up with former Barman/or/Landlord Robin, whom I had a good chat with!

Just one note btw - as I always remember - the pub is cash only - just for info!

Mr G dropped me in town and I got a tram to the Welly for a pint of Kernel and then went to Tesco for scran and ended up in Shakespeares, where I saw the lovely Abbeydale couple of Jim and Laura.

Anoother fabulous and enjoyable day out with my mate.

Cheers!

Wee Beefy

Monday night crackers

Good afternoon all,

              firstly I should confirm that this post title is not an admittance of some dreadful dreary dietary masterplan - indeed, since the subject has arisen, I can happily admit to not being in possession of any crackers at all.....instead this is merely details of three different venues visited on Monday night either side of a trip out towards Hillsborough to buy scran, as I understand people do......  

Meeting Tash on High Street we decided to nip quickly into Cavells, formerly the Blue Ball, if memory serves, for a quick drink and a catch up before heading to the supermarket. They sell a couple of real ales, and on my last visit this included a 5.7% Sheffield Brewed IPA which I had two pints of. Tonight, most likely as Monday is not a busy night, there was just Ossett Yorkshire Gold, so I had a pint and a half of this, whilst Tash had a large Sauvignon Blanc. Alas they close quite early on Monday so we only had time for that whilst listening to some interesting choices of Eighties pop - possibly chosen to remind thirsty customers like me and Tash that they would be locking up in twenty minutes. The Ossett was well kept and tasted fine, and am certain Tash enjoyed her wine.

Soon we were on the tram and got off at Primrose View before heading down the side of the Double H. Shopping took about half an hour and as always at Aldi it didn't cost us much to walk out with four large bags of essentials. As we have done the last four times, we nipped in the Hillsborough Hotel for a few, with more Sauvignon Blanc for Tash and I had two pints of Helmsley Brewing bitter Pale possibly called Howardian Gold which was very nice, along with a dark ale from Abbeydale which was also well kept, tasty and well priced. Although, it may well have also been their excellent Heathen on glorious keg - the same description still applies. Before leaving we got chatting to Tom for a while and found out quite a lot about their role in the community at this time of year and the food they offer. I think its fair to point out that they won't be opening on Mondays in the new year because not only is January a very quiet month but also the pub is too far from other similar types of boozer to attract sufficient trade to be open 7 days a week.

Some of you may know that I used to work at the Hillsborough Hotel when Del first had it back in the nineties. I used to love going in it then and despite one or two previous declines I have to point out that it has improved and continued in that same manner over the years since Tom took over it's running. With the improvement of the Gardeners and the continued excellence of the Blake, its a shame that more folk don't walk past and into the three on weeknights and weekends more often. I wouldn't want to see the temporary loss of any of those venues in the months ahead.    

After finishing and nipping back onto the Tram we got off at the Cathedral and walked round to the Museum for a last one. As I may have mentioned before they now sell Red Willow Wreckless pale ale on a regular basis which has improved their beer range considerably. Although we were close to last orders we still had time for a large drink each and a chat before I went out at 11.20 to catch the bus home.

I think what this shows is that despite its sometimes rubbishness many of Sheffield's pubs continue to try and strive on Mondays and all offer a selection of well kept pints to wash the palate out. If you are a drinker in our fine sunny city, or even if you live nearby or far away, I would recommend popping out on a Monday to breathe a bit of life back into Sheffield boozers and to help maintain Sheffield#s excellent range of ales at all times thereafter.

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

Pics and pubs and pints o' Pollards

Evening,

     I set out on Wednesday for a trip round Neepsend taking photographs with Maureen. He is mad keen and takes it all very seriously, whereas I am frustrated with my little snapper (insert euphemism here) and take hundreds more photo's to compensate. Given that it was chuffing freezing, this trip also required warm rooms, and so morphed into yet another predictably threadbare excuse for a sup.

En route, having photographed some gloriously grim seventies tiles on the side of the Cannon brewery, and a building on the corner of Harvest Lane and Neepsend Lane which proclaims Bottled Beers above its doorway*, we popped into the Gardeners Rest. Maureen alas was pre vehicular so opted for  a girls drink, whilst I enjoyed a very drinkable and tasty Vale Red Kite.

Its good to see a wide range of the Vale beers getting in here especially since the Hadda's seasonals are rarely seen, and beyond that its nowt. Drinking my beer I was a little sad for Maure, but he quickly showed how deserving he was of his purgatory by saying he find the Gardeners amazing because "its so ful of random shit and junk". A comment, under minimal duress, he tried to pass off as being made in admiration. Bad Maureen, back in your car.

We headed off for the Ship next, not to go in as it was only half 5, but to photograph it and steer a course up the hill at teh side of the dual carriageway along Upper Allen and Beet Street to Portobello to photograph the church and the surrounding floodlit buildings. Unfortunately, after nearly 2 hours in the cold and wind our hands were unresponsive and there were needs to meet so we headed to DAda for a drink and a warm.

The excellent Pollards was back on, and also what may be the last of the Thorny Goat, so there was much to enjoy, and Maureen seemed quite taken with the Pollards, as any decent person would be. This proved to be the catalyst for a rapid improvement in beer choice at DAda and The Bath nearby, which I will catalogue further on.

After waving Maureen off I nipped into Henry's for an excellent half of Great Heck porter and Crouch vale Yakima Gold. I don't know why but having tasted it on gravity and hand pulled I don't like this beer anywhere near as much as my senses tell me I should!

Straight of to the Rutland Arms next for a sandwich, which had become smaller but cost less, and some great beer, which was nice but not deemed worthy of recording (slack of me), followed by a very enjoyable half of Magic Rock Human Cannonball. Which was tremendous, of course.

On Thursday I popped in Shakespeares after work for pints of Steel City Brewing Nuclear bomb, an excellent hoppy pale ale highlighting the almost cereal like characteristics of Cluster Hops (in a good way, despite that description), along with Oldershaw Grantham Stout. I also had time for a couple of halves, of Toolmakers Brewery Apprentice, at £1.25 a half, and the excellent Raw Endeavour, at £1.30. It seems it doesn't have to break the bank to sup in Sheffield after all.

My final ports of call over the last week were a couple of visits to the Bath Hotel, where the brilliant Marble Stouter Stout was on, and the Thornbridge Pollards, both of which I enjoyed, along with pints of the Dark Star Espresso Stout and a Red Willow beer that ended in "less" and had red malt in in it, and which I forgot the name of.

Finally it was DAda's turn to welcome me and I noted with joy unbounded that Halcyon was back on as well as Pollards, I also had the Dark Star in here, although, being approaching 1am when I left you'll forgive me for forgetting whether or not it was the stout.

This is a great recent show from my two regular haunts, and long may it continue. And what a great advert for beer choice in Sheffield.

Cheers!

Wee Beefy 

*UPDATE: I have found via the rather excellent Lost pubs Project website that this pub used to be the Britannia Inn. However, further down the page is information and a photo of it purporting to be the sawmakers . If the Britannia closed in the 1940's it maybe was on the left hand side in the photo. Allegedly, the Sawmakers didn't close until the 1990's.

Confounding Iain Duncan Smith

Now then,

        recently the 3 main political parties seem to have been simultaneously battling for and railing foolishly  against beer and its place in society. While Chuka Umunna and Greg Mulholland were tweeting about the positive statements made in the parliamentary beer duty debate, Tyson posted here regarding Diane Abbot's ill informed out pourings about pubs and drinking, and lovable out of touch toff Iain Duncan Smith made "an hilarious" joke cum simile when he claimed "Labour wasted money like drunks on a Friday night".

Oh, stop it. The thing is Duncypops, we proles don't, for the most part, have bars selling discounted real ales at work, and so usually end up drinking after we finish toiling, usually on Friday and Saturday nights. And not out of choice but necessity, since we have to be up early for work during the week. So there.
 

Of course, the only effective way to fight ignorance like this is to prove the Quiet Man wrong. So, I subjected myself to a midweek tipple after work, just to spite him. See how you like this tale of recklessness, Iain Bunkum Smith! (do you see what I did there? I simultaneously implied that what he was saying was bunkum, i.e. rubbish, whilst changing his initials to IBS, also known as Irritable Bowel Syndrome. He'd do well to learn from my wordsmithery, am sure you'd agree...)
 

But I digress.

Myself and Mr P started our night of subtle protest at the University Arms. From a decent range Mr P sensibly had a pint of the lower gravity Acorn Thirst Degree, whilst I had a pint of the Abbeydale Dr Morton's Anti Freeze. Another cracking Dr Morton offering, although one worries that these may soon supersede the core range in terns of market appeal and product desirability.

I also squeezed in a half of Vigilante Brewing Chocolate Strike, which one assumes isn't a euphemism, but is undoubtedly a very nicely balanced chocolate stout, with plenty of bitterness to counteract the unfortunate and unavoidable sweetness. Very nice.

Off next to the Bath Hotel where Steph was holding the reigns, and where Mr P had a pint of Thornbridge Warp and I tried a pint of the excellent Red Willow Heartless (which I'd sampled Saturday) along with the last of the Fathomless oyster stout. The Heartless is an excellent chocolate Stout, better even than the earlier lauded merits of the Vigilante offering. Made with 85% cacoa Colombian chocolate its a hugely tasty and satisfying drink which manages to pack in masses of flavour without becoming cloying.
 

Harrisons 1854 was our next stop, if nothing else so that Mr P could get to meet Bob, who he figured he may well know or at least know of from his ties with the world of engineering. One pint of Farmers Blonde (alas the Deception wasn't on) for me and a pint of Moonshine for Mr P later and we were clear on many things, including the fact that the beers were on good form, and Mr P did indeed recognise Bob from somewhere. The shrinking world of Sheffield encroaches ever further...
 

Our final (and my penultimate) stop was at the Red Deer where I can't recall Mr P's choice, but I had a pint of the Caledonian Double Dark. Trying it outside the comfort of its spiritual home at the Church House I am pleased to report that it was once again excellent.
 

My final stop after Mr P had reached his limit was DAda, where Ems and Annie were on hand to dispense beer and conversation Io a painfully quiet (well, I say painfully, but joyously so for me) venue. I had a pint of the excellent Amber Ales Derbyshire Gold and a half of Chiron to finish off before wending my way home for some food and a bit of telly.

 

In the end, I concede this exercise has probably had little impact on the life that Iain Duncan Smith lives in his privileged bubble, but I was once again contributing to the Drinkuary campaign. And, in my own small misunderstood way, quietly raising two fingers to the naysayers of wonderful British beer.

 

Cheers!
 

Lades

Good evening,

     yesterday I decided to do something that I'd been intending to for a while. I had made the first faltering steps back in June 2011 (described at length here ) but now I decided I should go the whole hog and spend a day visiting some of Leeds' city centre watering holes. I photographed the excellent Leeds CAMRA city centre beer guide and set off with a thirst and an insatiable curiosity.

On arriving I tried to find a cash machine, without success. A Leodisian glitch that would also affect procedures later on, however soon, by luck rather than planning, I arrived at  my intended first stop, Friends of Ham, on New Station Street.

Friends of Ham describes itself as a bar and charcuterie. It sells real ales, Keykeg and bottled exotica, a selction of unrivalled meats and cheeses and good wine. Beer, meat and cheese. Heaven.

Upstairs you enter a small busy bar area with limited seating. This is where you do important things like buy beer. You can stay up here if you want (and its quiet) but assuming its not too hot and stuffy its best to head downstairs for a more comfy and less "off the wall" selection of seating (annoying bar stools, humph). That said, downstairs its still not run of the mill.

Here it was busy and warm and featured the all important menus. I won't go into too much detail about the decor as that's already been done with aplomb by the Beer Prole here , instead I'll concentrate on the beer. I had a pint of Tynebank Cherry Stout, 5.2% to start, at an "interesting" £3.80 a pint, AKA about 80p too much. It soon became obvious that this wasn't the place to come if you were watching the pennies. The Tynebank was well kept and delicious, but a look through the beer menu showed fearful numbers such as Thornbridge Halcyon at £7.00 and Moor Old Freddy Walker (albeit in a 660ml bottle) at £10.00.

I think its a case of if you want to try something unusual or difficult to get, and there was oodles of that from breweries such as Redchurch, Beavertown, Quantum and Hawkshead, you may well be less concerned with things like the price. The only reason I can compare the price of Halcyon for example is its quite easy to get, but the fact that its under £5.00 a bottle at Dada makes this a less enjoyable comparison.

Still, I went back for a more reasonably priced Magic Rock Curious at £3.20 a pint. The Curious was enjoyable, but lacking in balance and not really reminiscent of the amazing examples encountered earlier in the year, which was disappointing. What was good though was my splashing out on a selection of three of the meats, which was £11.00. And that wasn't bad value. Because this was a porcine treasure box of delicious flavours and incomparable quality the likes of which I have never encountered before. Quite simply, the meat selection I tried, including the instant heart attack that is Lardo, was mesmerisingly brilliant.

And its for that reason that I will ignore the absurdities of the cost of the beers and remember my visit fondly with a determination to return. For more info see their new website.

Off next for a fruitless search for a working cash machine (15 bloody minutes, Grrr!) only to come all the way back to New Station Street to pop in the equally untraditional, but nonetheless enjoyable Leeds Brewery Tap. There were 6 Leeds beers on the bar here with a few guests. I started with a pint of Leeds Gathering Storm (£3.00) which was an enjoyable strong dark ale, although it faded a little toward the end, followed by halves of Leeds 7 spires, which was dry and hoppy but ultimately lifeless, and Hawkshead Cumbrian 5 Hop, which was fantastic - one of the best beers of the day.

It was starting to get really busy in the Tap so I decided to head off for pastures new, using my camera to find addresses of pubs and the numerous street maps to navigate my way to Whitelocks First City Luncheon Bar.

Its a good few years since I was last here (last century) and my overwhelming impression, that being that it was rammed, has not changed. I did manage to get a beer quite quickly, halves of a 4.2% Goose Eye beer that I could not read the name of, and Kirkstall Pale, which I supped sat on benches outside. I really must come back on a Monday in February to really get a look at this place!

I dallied with the idea of visiting some of the other alleyway pubs further on, the Packhorse did nothing to tempt me and a bilious drunk burping in my face in the Sam Smiths Angel was hardly a recommendation, but the Ship was a great pub. Also completely rammed, I somehow made my way to the back where there was seating and took with me two excellent real ales from a range of about 5 - halves of Ilkley Fireside Porter and Ilkley Siberia Saison.

The staff seemed knowledgeable (and helpful in the seething scrum) and the beer was well kept and interesting. I also got directions to my next pub from here, which wasn't too far away.

Admittedly in the dark and with my poor eyesight I missed North Bar, but luckily a helpful soul pointed me in the right direction. Inside it was busy, but most noticeably dark, making choosing my tipple a lengthy squinty process. I settled on halves of North Prototype 3, and Ridgeside Black Night, and repaired to the back of the pub to share a table.

The prototype was uninteresting but the Ridgeside was really good. Also excellent was the music - much better to have interesting "edgy" (dear god!) music played loud than the tired old MOR fare that dirties the airwaves at an irritating just discernable volume in some pubs. At this stage I also decided, quite unwisely, to have a half of Red Willow Ageless- £2.20 a half but then it is 7.2%, and was incredibly good. The only down side was that it left significant holes in some of my later recollections....

Off along the Headrow next to Mr Foleys where I have no idea what I had to drink, but it was very nice. Presumably. That's literally all I have to say on that one! I then headed back down Briggate and off to the Duck and Drake on Kirkgate.

Firmly a more traditional music led pub, this reminded me of the (Grinning?) Rat in Keighley or the Shakespeare in Sheffield. Large, with bare boards and no frills but homely and with an emphasis on good beer. I had halves of Naylors Pinnacle Mild and Revolutions Brew Bela Lugosi's Dead, named after the iconic Bauhaus song of the same name - alas none was plated at the time.

Things were getting a little tiring now and I ended up in the Scarborough where I had a half of, erm...dark beer. I don't mind the Scarborough but also have a niggling dislike of the place that I can't explain. Still, the doorman was friendly and gave me an estimate of how long it would take to get to my last intended stop, the Adelphi. I decided instead to sensibly get the train home.

Once back in Sheffield after my sleep, I decided to finish on a few beers in the Sheffield Tap. I chose halves of Williams Bros 7 Giraffes, their Fraoch, and Magic Rock Rapture. To my disappointment the Magic Rock was poor, very one dimensional and ill at ease with itself. Perhaps the brilliance couldn't last forever? That's a good few Magic Rock I've had recently which, even taking into consideration vagaries such as cellar skills and wacky weather, have been quite poor. Lets hope this is just a temporary blip, the likes of which every brewery has. The Fraoch was dreadful by the way.

So, a fantastic trip out featured some new pubs to me and some great beers. Pub (or bar) of the day was a tie between North Bar and Friends of Ham, but the beer was far better in the North Bar - F.O.H wins plaudits mostly for its amazing food.

And beer of the day? The Hawkshead Cumbrian 5 Hop. Better even than the Red Willow.

Cheers!

Wee Beefy

Wee Beefy's weekend pub bites

Greetings once again,

  as promised here are a few details of my weekend boozers and boozings....

As already (sort of) covered yesterday, one of my weekend destinations was the Old House. Having commented in some detail already all I can really add is a reminder of how good the Farmers Stout is - just think, its not just a late opening venue that serves any real ale, but a range of 5 always including a dark. We are truly spoilt....

Kelham Island Tavern

No photo am afraid as for whatever reason I don't seem to have any photo's of this boozer apart from 1 I used before. Since I strive not to use a pic twice am going to remember to get a snap next time, but leave this segment text only for now. In around 22.00 on Saturday there was a good selection of ales on offer as always. Mind you, I was surprised to see an Adnams offering (alas not tried) and a Greedy King? {Perhaps I imagined the latter)

Arriving after a modicum of earlier refreshment our first drinks were perhaps an unsuitable choice. Me and Mr Robbery had both decided to have a pint of quaffable low gravity Thwaites Nutty Black but caved in and had  Derby Brewing Co Porter (there was also Old Moor and Gorlovka from Acorn, but we erroneously assumed tey'd be too strong). For whatever reason we both found the Derby beer hard work.

Mr R didn't help his cause by switching to a Nutty Black afterwards, and I caved in and had a pale beer. Mr Williams recommended Abbeydale Deception, which in fact fitted the bill perfectly, and demonstrated some unusual perfumed notes that I hadn't previously noted. Mr R then moved onto the Deception as well after that, and I the Pictish Brewers Gold which I haven't had for years. It didn't taste as I remembered, much drier and less rounded, but still enjoyable. In the end I finished on another Deception.

It's still notable that the Kelham has a fantastic range of beers even if there seemed to be a Derby and Acorn theme that night, and its a great place for a late-ish pint of a weekend. We ended up going form here to Bungalows and Bears. One downside, out of the pubs control, was the fact that some idiots had turned up intent on causing an argument. I didn't get to see how the disagreement unfolded but it was clear that someone or maybe more than one had seriously lost the plot. Considering that the parting shot of one of the hysterical group was that the beer was shit, I think its safe to say these were untypical as well as unwelcome visitors to the Kelham Tav....

Bungalows and still real Beers

We had headed for the Old House initially but the venue was completely rammed and we weren't allowed, in, so having ignored the B&B for months I suggested we popped in. Inside it was loud and busy but not unpleasantly so and we were able to get a seat at a table affording some interesting people watching on the street catwalk outside. The York Terrier was still available so have to consider this the regular beer. Also available was Moonshine, which I had a pint of. It was kept in good condition as well. Its a shame if they have decided not to pursue a guest beer policy such as when they had the Hopleaf beer on but it was still nice to get a proper pint.

Sunday sleepy pints - Sheffield Tap

The next day Fluffy, who I had been out to meet on Saturday, was off home. He had met up with SMS and John his Dad at the Rutland about 13.00 but was finding it hard going after a weekend of excess - join the club mate! I met him in a refreshingly empty Sheffield Tap around 2PM for a restorative tincture.

Although not clarified previously, it was at te Tap that I had the brilliant Brodies Citra. Not only that, but it formed part of probably the best beer range I have encounterd in a pub this year. I had a pint of the excellent Moorhouses Pendle Porter next, whilst John was on the Black Harry from Thornbridge and Fluff sampled  many of the offerings as well.

My next pint was the Kirkstall Dissolution, which was  a pleasant pale beer but not up to the standard of some of their recent excellent ales. I also had a half of the Thornbridge Galaxia which was a refreshing but less hoppy than expected pale ale, and then to finish, the truly fantastic Red Willow Brewery Faithless Black IPA at 7.2%.

It had all the astringent hoppiness and necessary bite of its style but was brilliantly rounded with warming and creamy malt flavours, making a strong velvety bitter dark beer that was in the peak of condition. It was also very easy to drink for such a strong beer, and even the stronger flavours didn't jar. Notwithstanding that there were also two Magic Rock beers and 3 other Thornbridge to choose from, I think this was essentially a beer lovers heaven. Full marks to the team at the Sheffield Tap for allowing me to escape from my hangover alive and providing me with two of the best beer experiences I have had in 2012.

Wee Beefy.