Fondly Dave

 Afternoon readers,

  for those of you who don't pay that much attention to my blog - like - well, me, this is description number 5 in my now 4 or 5 years old "Pub fruit loops" series.

For info, we have so far had:

Man in his 60s taking his incontinent Mother out in her pygamas to have a series of ickypo air raids whilst he slags off all beer and beer drinkers (whilst doing exactly that);

Racist dog man - the chuntering Banslih bittoh drinking racist who blamed all his behavioural failings on his presumably oft replaced dog;

The erstwhile saliva spluttering Badge Hat Andrew, AKA the sadly now passed away Andrew Smith (see "Alan Chimpanzee");

And lastly, the "i'm a silent partner, don't you know" bloke, the nutcase who infuriated and creeped out both customers and staff in the Rutty in about 2019.

Number 5 - Fondly Dave - goodness - where do I start?

For info, lets make clear that this isn't to be confused with Maudlin Dave, a white haired chap whom have known for many years and sounds like Alan Bennet. I do know his real name, but it seems inappropriate to share.......

My brotaar WK, met Fondly Dave in Shakespeares one night when he had been on call for a week and was having his first beer in 8 days. Spotting us, FD joined us and within just 5 minutes he was spouting his usual nonsense about the fact that the Royal family all had lizard heads covered in paper and that all royalists were genetically matched to lizards from space. I hope you all know that am no royalist, but thats where my interest stops - Dave was like a non funny Chris Morris in Cake, and an ever so slightly more mad and even more stupid, David Ike. My brother quickly told him to stop spouting absolute nonsense and to go away, which he did.

The next time I met FD he strangely seemed to have forgotten how annoying he was, but I did kindly say hello to him before going to sit in the Clock room at Shakespeares. At this point this was the only pub that I went in that he wasn't barred from. And here's the reason why:

When FD spotted a lady, and seemingly only ever a single possibly stressed or refreshed lady, he would saunter over and say along the lines of "Hi, I can see your obviously distressed, just to let you now that I am a registered Reiki healer, would you like me to try and heal you?" The obvious response would be no, get away from me you dishonest weirdo but FD was very persistent, and usually, agreement or not, proceeded to put his hands on them to "release the bad energies".

Usually, and likely because of where he put his hands, most recipients would say no, or take your hands off me, but if bar staff didn't notice and the first victim left, he would then try it on again with the next available female. By now harassed and criticised by people who had seen what was going on, he would then be barred (often again) and removed from the premises. This is why I thought that at one stage he was barred from every pub in Sheffield, and have only ever seen him once more, where he claimed he didn't do that sort of thing anymore.

Only he did.

Which is probably why I haven't seen him in about 3 years.

With kind regards - and a happy new year

Wee Beefy

Pub

 Afternoon!      

        on Thursday I visited a public house, as you used to describe them in the 1930's. It was the first time that I had seen a beer menu for such an operation, since back in October 2020. I walked into town, principally to see the sun setting since I wasn't booked in until 20:00, and having allowed quite a while to arrive I was there by 19.55 and waited to find out if my table was ready. I was quite warm after the walk, but as Charlie advised, that wouldn't be an issue once I was sat outside in the cold...... 

I started on a pint of Abbeydale Heathen APA on cask from the past - goodness - it's like it's.......2020 all over again! Luckily the Heathen was on good form and only lasted me about 10  or 15 minutes so I quickly ordered and more slowly supped another pint. I had a quick chat with Mr Cullen  and found that one of his chums was supping a fabulous can of the St Mars of the Desert Barley wine at 9%. I assured him that he would like it - I know I certainly did.

I was supposed to be meeting up with a chum but after a few texts , and having now moved onto a 6% Full Circle IPA on Keg from the future, I discovered that they were sadly unable to join me. By this time, having moved under one of the heaters and added two further layers, I was finished with the IPA and thought about getting a canned beer from their excellent selection. Luckily they had a can of DEYA Saturated in Citra available so I decided to grab a can of that, and as I was starting that, now aware of the quality of the heated lights above me a bit more, I was joined under the cover by a group of chaps from fine, sunny, Sheffield.

One of them was called Alan, or indeed, one of thousands of other human male names. Likewise, the latter applies to the others, who all sported  pronounceable noises with which to identify them. They had been sat out in the cold when I had arrived and one of them was wearing shorts like some kind of madman. They were at the same time attempting to find one of their group whom it transpired had left a near full pint having said he was going to the loo. A number of texts confirmed he had in fact gone home! What a terrible waste of lovely beer...

I chatted to this group for a good while but finding out it was nearly 22:50 I decided to head home myself, and I got to Waingate a couple of minutes before the 52A none Stenchcrotch peasant waggon arrived - weirdly carrying no bottom deck passengers but 4 members of staff.... 

I have to say that despite gaining a minor blister on my left foot (I took the extra insoles out of my boots when my feet swelled up earlier in the year and had forgotten to replace them - and the current insoles are a trifle damaged...), I have to say that I really enjoyed my visit - and once I finish my current batch of antibiotics I am returning to join Mr RJW and chums sat hopefully right at the back of the covers surrounded by warm humans!

Cheers!

Wee Beefy

Whiplash Drone Logic Simcoe DIPA

 Hello folks,

              now am well aware that some recent posts may worry the less open minded of you that all I drink is marmite and blood orange land bier, and equally, that you may, all you caring bunch, worry that all I  drink is beers above 6% - my usual starting strength. Well in truth as I worry I may have said about 50 times, whilst at home at least less so, but I always like to start on a pint of "cask from the past". Its like the 1860s , when we hde yet to learn that diseases such as cholera were transmitted by mucky water. And therefore we should all the same only drink clear cask ale.....

So to undermine that outlook I wanted to describe a beer from Whiplash brewery, whom I understand are based in Dublin. The chaps at Bar Stewards have been getting Whiplash beers in quite a lot this year and thus far have tried about 6 of their brews. I have enjoyed every one. Unsurprisingly this brew contains oats . When I was a youngster, about  7 years ago, the very suggestion of the inclusion of "modern muck" like oats and wheat malt in the mash, would have instantly made me suspicious and dismissive. But I now realise that in its right place most adjuncts have the potential and in this case the ability, to help dispense tasty beers. Am certain that Arpus from .....um...somewhere Eastern European, (Latvia?)  contain the same. And I love their beers. This one is once again extremely easy drinking.

I have always loved Simcoe hops - am not 100% sure how long they have been around, nor indeed where they might be produced in, but have always loved them along with US cascade and Citra and Columbus and similar. And as you know, I do like an easy drinking beer.

The aroma of Drone Logic is in this case quite yeasty - but that is likely down to my always washing out cans to get the chunks of non dissolved yeast elements and other physical additions mixed into my cloudy beer. The taste is actually quite honest in terms of the yeast - and the Simcoe still provides a delicious background, probably less hoppy in terms of bite due to the collaboration of both oats and wheat.

So far have more or less finished the beer in an hour - but that is related to the amount of time it takes to log onto here!

 I realise that the addition of wheat and oats no doubt is repsonsible for its easy drinkingness but its still incredibly quaffable. I also realise that I have said before that ideally I should want beers to taste of cement or unset concrete, and sadly in the last 30 years a few probably have, but this collage of features is extremely enjoyable. Who wouldn't crave the mix of suppability and hoppy delights? Well, in the absence of any actual answer, the short answer of course is myself. Cracking brew!

Last info is to confirm that tomorrow, which is a day, I will be supping in the niddering cold of the outside of Bar Stewards in the evening! I was very lucky to get a table full stop if am honest. I admit that I probably told a lot of regular drinkers that I wanted initially to avoid my favourite pubs but this is the fourth consecutive day (tomorrow) that many will have been available to us folks.

In the meantime, I may see some of you there , and if so or if not, I wish you the very best of health.

Cheers!

Wee Beefy 

Shakespeares Scandinavian Tap Takeover 2

Evenin

   when my dear friend Vikkie asked me if I was going to this event, after first thinking I was a week further ahead and this was the Thursday of the beer fest, I said no. Having correctly established it's identity, I reminded her that I had already decided not to go because I knew I would be free of funds. Vikkie very kindly offered to buy me a couple, so I decided it would be a great idea to go. It was....

Arriving not long after 17.00 we were being sensible and started on halves. In fact, we stayed on halves. Some of the sensibility may have been undermined by our starting on half of the O/O Bangatan (which may have had an extra a on the clip), which was a deliciously easy drinking Nelson, Mosaic, Simcoe and Citra hopped pale at 7.5%. I really like O/O brewery beers, mainly because they seem so flawlessly produced and easy to drink. This was no exception.

Sitting in the front bar we were well placed to see a trail of people we knew amassing at the bar and enjoying numerous similarly excellent ales. Messers Marshall, Cheetham and S.o.J to name but a few, and I also saw Unpro just before he left, John, Tony and Jack. The S.o.J joined us briefly as well, also on the Bangatan, and we had a good chat about beer, beers had, and beers to try.

The next we tried was the Alefarm Standing Shallow, a 5.8% IPA hopped with Mosaic and Ekuanot. This is probably my first Alefarm brew and very enjoyable it was too. One thing I did notice about the Norwegian and Swedish beers we drank was that even their IPA's weren't pale in the same way Northern UK ones are with their number 1 and 2 malts. I wondered if this was to differentiate them from the pervasive appearance of Scandinavian lagers?

The Mikkeller Spontan Elderflower was next, a 7.7% sour beer aged in oak barrels. It was sour, but not acidic, and incredibly easy to drink. In fact, its strength was somewhat lost in the hazy refreshing mix of this excellent beer.

Vikkie stayed on her second Bangatan whilst I embarked on the Amundsen Marshmallow Psycho, a huge 12.3% barrel aged stout with a massive flavour, but which once again was worryingly easy to drink. As it was a school night this was the only one of the three 12% or above stouts which we tried, but it was well worth it.

Our final beers of the takeover were halves of the Amundsen Collective Arts Basket Case,  7.5% double dry hopped DIPA. This held on to its citrus hoppiness brilliantly, although am not sure what I think of the idea of a sub 8% DIPA - I realise the double does not refer to strength but instead hops or IBU but I want to know that I have drunk a DIPA and these days my starting strength is already 6%. Well, that's my keg starting strength any road. Cask is understandably easier to start low on...

We may have ad a second of the Basket case before heading oer't road to have a can of Verdant Photon Trails and a bottle of the Track and Verdant path of least resistance, a fruited brut DIPA, which was a very interesting and enjoyable combo of styles. I also went back the next day to try a couple of pints of the excellent Beatnix Republik session IPA which had a name, and was probably about 3.8% - a wonderful beer!

All the beers we tried at the Scandinavian Tap takeover were excellent, and its always interesting to try beers from further afield and outside the normal comfort zone of Verdant Cloudwater and Northern Monk. Well done once again to Shakespeares for putting on an excellent range of beers nor previously tried, and which told us much about the Scandinavian brewing scene.

Cheers!

Wee Beefy

I'm a silent partner by the way.....

..........said the weirdo.

Beefy! I hear some of you cry, that is so judgmental!

Well, only literally. I did judge that he was mental, after all....

If you had been in the Rutland about 16.00 on the 08 March you may also have heard this or similar words uttered by this very odd man. Here's how my "chat" happened.

There I was, enjoying my second half of he frankly excellent Partizan Dank IPA at 6.7%, and a man with dark hair  and a studious look said "is it OK if I join you?" Noting that he didn't have a knife, gun, or worse, a bible, I decided to accept this seemingly harmless offer. We sat at the table for what seemed an age before he spoke.

"Is there anything that you need doing for you in your life at the moment then?" he asked. I said "No, am fine, thanks" and he shifted in his seat, failing to hold the gaze I was unwilling to give him. "Ah, OK so you are completely self sufficient in your life at the moment then?" he replied.

I wasn't quite sure what to say, but I had already started to become concerned by the oddness of these two responses. This was an awkward exchange, but not one that appeared to have a destination. I replied "Yeah". I looked away so that he couldn't clamber into my soul through my eyes. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

" Just to let you know, I am a silent partner, by the way" he continued. There was a pause whilst I thought how I might get rid of him, and also, about what on earth it might be that he was hoping to achieve.

"That's nice" I said, with only the very slightest modicum of sarcasm. In reality I wanted to ask him what he was a silent partner in, but feared that this may unlock a torrent of misguided ill thought through ramblings. I returned to my far off gaze.

The man sighed, stared at the table and grumpily said under his breath "well I can see am going to get nothing here" and said goodbye, also grumpily before approaching the bar, where he said something unintelligible to the barman, who when enquiring what he had said or meant was ignored, as the fruit loop said he was going outside for a smoke.

Once outside a man sat behind me came up and said "Did he tell you he was a silent partner as well?" and I confirmed he had, and we both shared details of our assessment by Lord Moron of Incommunicable Castle. It transpired that he had been in for some time and had spoken to about three sets of people. On going out to check what was going on the barman reported that he had left. I got another Partizan Dank, a pint this time. It was delicious.

I have started to realise, perhaps admit, that I spend a little too much time in the pub for my own good. And during that time I have listened in on and joined in many conversations, far reaching and varying from the heartfelt to the passionately absurd. The pub is, after all, a warm building where the mildly deranged often shelter. Its not surprising therefore that it oft attracts a certain calibre of crazy. One thing I do know is that I am reasonably good at communicating with folks, and hopefully, never make anyone feel as uneasy as this man did me.

I never did find out what he was a silent partner in....

Wee Beefy

Serious Lervig

Morning,

      I have now managed to attend a further two and a half beer week events in sunny Sheffield. The first of which came on Wednesday when, having planned and then not gone to Huddersfield, I ended up out and about with Tash and went to the Lervig tap takeover at the Rutland Arms.

Chris and Dave have not long ago taken over the Rutland and in my two visits thereafter little has changed - its still kooky, still has an excellent jukebox, still sells an excellent range of beer in all formats, and am assuming the food remains excellent. The other trait continuing is it being chuffing rammed. Always the sign of a good show of ale.

Lervig, or Lervig Aktiebryggeri, are a brewery from Stavanger in Norway with a cool slightly understated logo and who produce very tasty beer indeed. I first heard about them in 2015 when me and Tash went to Indyman beercon. There were four or five of their beers on offer, none of which, of course, I can remember, but I do recall them being very good, against a fairly stunning selection fo ales from elsewhere. That they had a tap takeover at the Rutty was reason to celebrate and of course, attend.

One interesting thing is Tash drank their beers all night. Those of you who know us well will be aware that since June last year she has really struggled to drink beer. She still can't touch more than a taste of cask and limits herself when she feels OK to strong keg and canned beer. Its easy to guess that yeast is the issue, but much of the keg and canned beer I drink is unfined so that's not so straightforward. Whatever the cause, or found solution, Lervig was acceptable to her constitution... #rhyme

When we got there we had already missed the Magic Rock collab Farmhouse IPA. To be fair I would definitely have had a pint, but in its absence we both had a pint of Hop Drop sour IPA. This cloudy 6.5% (remember kids, these are just numbers) sour hoppy potation which hit the spot nicely. On keg it was pricey, in comparison to cask, and crucially for me, was slightly above the horrid pound a percent mark. That said, Norway is a very expensive place to drink in and but beer from, and as the alcohol level became higher the value improved. The beer was, as suggested, terrifically hoppy whilst rejuvinatingly sour in the aftertaste.

Up next was a half of the Sverd I Fjell Double IPA at a whopping 10.5%. A relative bargain for that strength at £7.80 a pint, this was a wonderful strong ale with plenty of hops but a balancing tropical tinge and good malt in the background. It was, worryingly, far easier to drink than its strength suggested. It was am American style IPA so am guessing had American hops but am not sure which but I thin Centennial featured.

Our final finisher was a half each of the Lervig collaboration with Hoppin Frog,  Slipping into darkness, a huge 12% imperial stout made with chocolate malt and aged in martini barrels. Sumptuous, wonderful and not that sweet after the first drink it tasted fantastic. Although this was more of a challenge than the previous beers, it was a wonderful way to end our three hour stint at the Rutland, once again as part of Sheffield beer week 2017.

It will be interesting to see if Lervig show up in Sheffield again soon and what ales are on offer - there were three or four others on sale at the takeover. I understand one or two may still be on at the Rutty as well so do pop down and have a try for yourself.

More details of Sheffield beer week 2017 events to follow. Huzaah!

Cheers

Wee Beefy

Sheffield pubs - rare and first visits

Hulloo,

     of late I have been branching out a little in my range of pubs. Not because am fed up of my regular haunts, far from it. Instead, I wanted to try a few new places to find out if I have been missing out. Here are some details of what I found.

I went to the Museum near Orchard Square recently. They were having an Oktoberfest - with no German beers! (they may have Becks Vier....) Admittedly getting German Oktoberfest beers in bottle or on draught is probably quite expensive, but their absence, and the fact that only two English Oktoberfest style beers were on, took the edge off the event. As it was I had pints of what I assume is Greedy King Oompah, having decided I wouldn't like the Milestone Oktoberfest beer on account of it being from Milestone. I didn't try the Curry Wurst with chips and salad for £7.00, but I was tempted. I probably only go to the Museum once or twice a year and I don't see that changing, but it was a decent pint . The pub was quiet, and it is better than All Bar One and the Bessemer nearby.

Another irregular venue is the Graduate on Surrey Street. This used to be a Mansfield House and sold their range of special real ales in the 90's which, if I recall, were all named after game - alas time and lack of access to beermats rids of me of any idea of their names but one had a stag on it and may have been called Royal Game or indeed stag, and one had a boar on it and was likely called Wild Boar....

Anyhoo, I did think that September after freshers week would be a bad time to go to this student boozer so it was two weeks ago we went, and found they were also having an Oktoberfest. Better than the Museum since there were 5 keg beers including Erdinger and another from Germany - I went for a pint of the West Brewery Glasgow Oktoberfest bier which was excellent, if a little pricey. And that's the puzzle for me, since its a student pub, why are the prices so high? Jaipur was on cask at £4.10 or 4.20 a pint, which is more expensive than the Sheffield Tap!

Tash was on the Sauvignon Blanc which was a nice drop and we had gone in for food - Tash I think had a spicy bean burger and I had smothered chicken. It was meant to be a chargrilled chicken breast topped with bacon, onions, cheese and BBQ sauce. It was actually burnt on one side and had no cheese on it! To be fair they replaced it without question with a less burnt one (I know what chargrilled means before anyone says) and it was quite tasty, but there wasn't much of it for £8.45 and it was served on a tray covered with grease proof paper, making cutting it difficult. Perhaps if I go in again I will stick to booze...

Until two weeks ago I had never been in the Penny Black. And now I have. The pub serves cheap food and the beer is also inexpensive however they don't sell cask or anything in keg or in bottles I would want to drink - this was very much a brief visit! Tash had a half of cider and me and Meathouse had halves of Greedy King IPA on keg. Now, making such an underwhelming beer colder and more fizzy is a recipe for disaster, and so it turned out. The beer was anonymous and lacked flavour, apart from a hint of background malt in the cream. That said though, the pub was busy, mainly with older couples, the food selection looked OK and apart from the crackling speaker above us the pub is in good nick.

The final irregular venue is the Sworddancer at Handsworth. They had three or four real ales on, and we had Stowford Press cider for Tash, whilst Matty had Birra Moretti and I had a pint of Abbot. Am not sure if its a case of my tastebuds having changed but it lacked the qualities that Abbot used to possess in the 90's when I drank it in the Red Deer.

We sat in one of the corners near the end of the bar and there was a group of lasses having a birthday drink in the area next to us. I have been in about 5 times now and never seen the pub rammed but as I have found out its not a bad place to pop in for a quick pint. Its probably busier in the evenings when they do food as well. I had another pint of Abbot as did Meathouse this time whilst I got Tash a double Sipsmith gin and tonic for not a bad price.

In Sheffield, it seems, there are all pubs for all people. And that is one of the (many) hings that make it a great place to live. And Sheffield Beer Festival starts tonight, hopefully confirming that fact.

Cheers!

Wee Beefy

Odes of March

So, its nearly April and am doing my 13th or 14th post of 2014...

      hardly a productive third but also not a dry one. Here are a few notable details from the last week to support the second point,

Monday I was in the Bath Hotel after seeing Wee Fatha to meet Miss N and collect my keys. which had mischievously jumped out of my pocket on Saturday when I got my camera out, Along with access to my house this also allowed me chance to sup a couple of pints of the excellent Whim Flower Power, a favourite IPA of mine with plenty of hops and a refreshing dry bitterness. We finished on halves of Hardknott Azimuth pale on Keykeg which was drier still, but a nice drop.

We followed this with a trip to Brewdog Sheffield based in the former Jacks records opposite the Forum on Division street. Inside its quite small considering how busy it was and how popular Division street gets, but we found a booth overlooking the Forum and supped Tempest marmalade IPA and Magic Rock circus of sour for Miss N. We followed this with half a hardcore IPA and a bottle of Fantome saison, a surprisingly effective combo. Back in on Saturday we shared a bottle of the Fantome but am not sure it was a tenner this time...

Yesterday I was in the Rutland supping Hopcraft Mosaic Plus at a rather hefty price, along with excellent Magic Rock Punchline chipottle porter and Summer Wine Cascade IPA at over 7% which was a very enjoyable beer. After an emergency chip butty we headed for the Sheffield Tap; I seem to have forgotten what we enjoyed, but we did bump into Tap Mum Liz.

Friday I supped a Brew Co Pioneer IPA in the Riverside for a few hours before heading to meet Miss N and Matty in Shakespeares where he had a stout and Miss N and I supped the excellent Brodies - rare that you see Brodies and this was on great form when we supped iyt. We also stopped out for a curry from West Bar Tandoori which was excellent.

Sunday me and Wee Keefy were in Crookes at the Ball and I was supping the Chatsworth Gold from Peak ales and the Naylors 1641 pale, all at £3.00 0r less and well kept. En route to meet Miss N in the Rutland I also had a quick half of Moonshine in the Red Lion which made a good change.

More news and hopefully regular posts when I get to fix my old or buy a new tomputer!

Wee Beefy

Other beers are available *

What-o!

                 all is looking good in the Beefy camp, since you ask, so much so in fact that I have ventured beyond the best pub in Yorkshire to other hostelries. With quite excellent results...

Sunday we ventured to Crookes to see a wall of horizontal water smash against us in a drenched descent to the Closed Shop. Tharrul learn us to visit the wilds of Crookes. It pains me to say, but in the interests of this being a blog not about the people's porter, that this was what we had - although in fairness we drained the cask. Miss N also had a pint of Enville Kasitra, a laudable attempt to produce a lower gravity hoppy beer that somewhat floundered, whilst I helped mop up the last of the Pilcrow.

Next up we stayed dark with a couple of pints of the Blue Bee Lustin for stout, before undertaking the arduous trek to the Hallamshire House. Here, after a few droughty visits with only the staple range to choose from, we were spoilt for choice! A 3rd each of the Heather Honey Stout, about which I was given an informative poster to make my write up more accurate in terms of details, yet which I haven't read, was an absurd £3.00, but incredibly tasty - almost a fruit cake taste predominated, like the honey had mellowed into the other ingredients. A memorable brew.

Also brilliant was the Thornbridge Kacho, a flavoursome and complex rum porter with a pleasing colour and a really smooth finish. If the Imperial Russian Stout hadn't been on Keykeg I think I may have tried that. And moaned about the price (which is out of the hands of the pub to an extent, given that the funding for the beer has to have been stolen from the infirm and disabled. Allegedly)

A wander down the hill brought us to the Rutland and pints of Blue Bee Pilcrow Porter were enjoyed once more. Good to see it still in bars around Sheffield, albeit briefly. A great end to a fab night of drinking.

Tuesday I was in All Bar One, for my sins. Eschewing the delights of cask Doom Bar and Black Sheep I ended up having a couple of expensive pints of the Meantime Pilsner on keg. Mind you, it was on cracking form.

Meanwhile DAda had the excellent Pollards Stout on at £3.00 a pint so I had a half of that and half of the ever excellent Halcyon before a trip to the Red Deer heralded a rare lengthy stay. Mind you, part of that length came from my chips being served to another table who, demonstrating a reprehensible lack of moral turpitude, claimed them for themselves, rather than confessing they hadn't ordered any. I agree with the idea of not having food take over but some form of receipt for the delivery of food may have stopped this, and prevented my waiting 50 minutes for something to eat. That said, the excellent Springhead The Leveller Belgian Ale on cask at £3.30 was well worth a go.

Final pints came at the Bath with Buxton Bitter the star of the show, despite the usually desirable attractions of an Oakham beer - a brace in fact. The Inferno was tried but it was wiped out in terms of taste by the admirable efforts of the Buxton.

Finally, a brief sup took place in Shakespeares tonight where the mostly admirable rejection of modern comforts became a pressing concern rather than a feature - put some chuffing heating on! The visit saw me and Dave Howard from the world of music both having a pint of Rat Dunkel Rat, which was possibly a bit too sharp, before I had an excellent pint of the Steel City 7% or something Black IPA that I didn't catch the name of (to be fair, Unpro was hardly forthcoming about its nomenclature**) and a brace of Great Newsome Jem Stout. The night was completed by a half of Pixie Spring Golden Pixie and Five Towns Yorker, from the cellar. The Pixie Spring was possibly the best of the beers listed, with the Buxton and Lustin a close second and third, if only because it (Golden Pixie) packed so much hoppy goodness into a sub 4% beer.

All in all a great demonstration of the variety of real ales available in Sheffield in a handful of venues. A pleasing geographical coincidence!

Cheers

Wee Beefy

*that said the Pilcrow, or "People's" porter from Blue Bee, went on sale at the Travelers Rest at Apperknowle Tuesday night....
*turns out it was Swansong at 7.5%, according to Facebook....

Some Sheffield pubs you might not know.....

Sheffield pubs recent visits.

When not traipsing around Derbyshire or the rest of the UK I am very lucky that here in Sheffield we have some excellent pubs, selling fantastic beer, and some retaining interesting original features.

Since December I have visited a few new ones, seen one close down and visited some old favourites. Here are a few that should appeal to real ale and real pub fans...

The Hallamshire House, Commonside.

This is a former Wards pub selling 3 or 4 real ales, with two large games rooms, an old fashioned snug and lounge, all laid out in different rooms, just like they should be. If you visit on a match day then its fair to say you may only have the corridor or the snug to sit in, but overall its always been possible to grab a seat and be in your own world.

I went in on a December Saturday and was pleasantly surprised to find that the Sheffield brew Co beers were £1.60 a pint. There was a good range, two Sheffield BC, 1 Kelham Island and another.

We got sat down in the snug and noticed just how cosy the size of the rom made it. Looking at the fittings we admired the tiled fireplace and he old Wards leaded windows and the bar, which is a traditional design, quite long and open on 3 sides. We soon got chatting to a couple sat under the window, and discovered that they had been visiting for decades - always a good sign, since this often indicates that rash changes have been avoided.

There was an FA cup match on featuring one of the minnows, and people were thronged in the back rooms, but we were ensconced in this tiny room and enjoying its comfort and the friendliness of the regulars.

We only had time for a few pints but it was a nice haven away from the busier student orientated pubs on Crookes where we had just been. I don't know if beer is always such good value but even if not, I would warmly recommend a visit. The important retention of traditional separate room layout means that if a quiet cosy pint does not attract you and you want to be in front of the TV watching a match, you can also do that. And if you got bored, you could always try the closed Shop just opposite.

The University Arms, Brook Hill.

I have been visiting this pub ever since it opened to the public a few years ago, having previously been the 192 Club owned by or certainly open for, the University. Inside is a gleaming dark wood fitted bar which looks like it may have been there ever since it opened.

There are snob screens to break up the main seating area, with a tiny semi-private seating area next to the far side of the bar, along with a conservatory and beer garden. There are 4 real ales and foreign draught beers and bottles, as well as inexpensive light meals at dinner and evenings.

The pub has bands on at weekends form time to time, and also has a rather eclectic collection of blues played in the background. Thornbridge Brewery seem to be the main payers - their Wild Swan ids a mainstay, along with guests from local breweries.

The toilets are located off a corridor on your right as you enter - it’s quirky that they are housed in a very large high ceilinged room, where old tables and chairs go to retire, and reminds me of school toilets for some reason. This adds to the feeling that you are in a private venue that hasn't altered very much over the years, although it’s worth pointing out that it would appear to have been refurbished quite recently and is clean and bright throughout. Don’t forget that they don't open Sundays.

The Sportsman, Main Road, Darnall.

I read abut this pub in Beer Matters, having passed it a couple of times and noted that it and its next door neighbour boozer the Albert were now the only ones of 5 or possible many more pubs on main road heading to Darnall.

It’s fair to say that it doesn't look like a palace; there's no up and coming or large brewery bank rolling this pub, but then there's none of the annoying preoccupation with gimmicks and branding that come with it. The other plus point is the fact that the landlord has made an effort to get a varied range of beers and lagers and other drinks at sensible prices, making this probably the cheapest place to drink for miles.

On a recent visit they had Harviestoun Engine Oil (4.5%) and a light Springhead beer of similar strength, for £1.80 a pint. There was Leffe and Hoegarden for Chala, at nearer supermarket prices, and pool at 50p a game. Had it been a Marston's or Greene King pub it would be £2.50 or more a pint, £1.00 a game of pool, a corporate jukebox at 2 songs for a pound, and there would be a raised floor for the pool table, upstairs toilets and faux olde-worlde bar fronts and seating.

The pub has a central entrance into the bar with a door on the left leading to the games room. There is a side entrance on the left now disused, that would have taken you straight into the games room - although this may have been the bar or Tap room, with the room on the right originally being the lounge. The gents are entered from both rooms, so there are two ladies loos, one on each side. The pub therefore retains a classic traditional two room layout, which is good to see.

It’s quite difficult to ignore the fact that this is a proper working men's pub where people don't mince their words - I think if you were of a nervous disposition or allergic to swearing you might not like it. However, the fact that it survives and appears to do well relies on the regulars and latecomers like us going in day in day out and spending cash.

The mark up on the ale might be a little less than in other pubs but its competitive pricing encourages you to drink more - or at least that's my excuse.


The Masons Arms, Carson Road, Crookes.

I only visited this pub for the first time last week - having grown up in Crookes and been there of drinking age ( ish ) for 3 years, and visiting regularly.

The Masons is off the main road and seems to have fluctuating fortunes based on info supplied by my Brother and other friends living in Crookes. I heard discouraging things about it being unfriendly and a boring old mans pub when I was 18 ( put me right off then, but wouldn't so much now ), and decided that I owed it to myself to go have a look and a few games of pool.

We went in the room on the right which houses the pool table and the darts, it sounds like there’s a telly in the other room and that seemed a bit noisier later on, but we didn't go in. The loos are along a passage running behind a bar, and there’s some space on the front for outdoor refreshments.

On the bar there were 3 handpumps, with Black Sheep Best, Copper Dragon Golden Pippin and another more ubiquitous option. We all wanted the Pippin but unfortunately it ran out, but the landlord was at pains to make sure we got a replacement, which is good to see.

We enjoyed a few games of pool and a rather, ahem epic game of darts (none of us can play, and we took an hour to get from 301), along with several pints of very well kept Black Sheep.

The pub was quiet but Sunday nights are awkward to call, we were allowed to finish our game of pool and sup up at a sensible speed before we had to leave. Its difficult to get a sense of a pub in a couple of hours on a Sunday night but I saw enough to convince me that I should go back and try the Pippin and maybe even learn how to play darts.

With the possible exception of the University Arms, these pubs might not be familiar to readers of this blog, but it shows that in addition to established high quality award winning pubs, Sheffield has traditional back street boozers and quirky watering holes to suit a wide range of people.

And just to somewhat devalue that statement, my next posts should be from Wales, Bradfield, Cheshire and Staffordshire and the Peak District.

Seizure, Yan