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
Showing posts with label Sword dancer Handsworth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sword dancer Handsworth. Show all posts
Wednesday, 19 October 2016
Wednesday, 25 May 2016
Head of steam, Garrison and Sword dancer
Hello strangers,
what have the three venues in the title all got in common? The answer is, as well as them all selling real ale, I have visited them for the first time in the last few weeks. Here is what I found.
I was in the Head of Steam, which I keep calling Smoke Barbecue, last week. I met Tash and Matty and bumped into Phil Vintin, who I used to work with. Lovely to see Vimto, who is a very nice chap. I also met Uncle Mo. I had a pint of tea beer which was a little underwhelming and although there were 5 casks to choose from (and I hadn't seen four of them before) I decided to move quickly on to the Chimay Red on keg. Its £3.75 a half so pretty expensive, but I have never seen it on keg before, and really really enjoyed it.
The pub does barbecue food from Longhorns smokehouse or similar but I did not try any - maybe another day. They also do American keg beers and a range of bottles. It appears that the Head of Steam chain is owned or operated by Camerons Brewery. I don't dislike Camerons, but am surprised at this being their work.
The venue has been done out really well and, although its not difficult, is many times better than the dreadful Old Monk that preceded it. I know that Head of Steam is a chain, but it seems like a nice place to stop off for a pint or two, potentially does good food, and if they could charge slightly less for their keg and sell pork scratchings I could get to quite like it.
Friday night I was at Micheal and Lauren's evening do for their wedding at the Garrison Hotel in Hillsborough. This was my first visit, and luckily I saw Jambon outside when I arrived, a little late admittedly, at about 21.30. He told me there were two bars, and that one sold real ale. Naturally I went there.
There were three handpumps, maybe two, and they were serving Bombardier and Moonshine. My choice was the latter, naturally. It was £3.30 a pint, which isn't bad for a wedding venue, likewise the fact that they serve real ale at all. The venue itself is open to the public as a bar, if desired, or as a function suite, and I think it sells food. The bar is, as I found out, open until midnight. I probably had six or seven pints in the three hours I was there, and the beer seemed well kept. They also sold some bottles from around the world, not all of which I had heard of, and Caledonian triple hop on keg.
Its not the sort of place I would choose to go for a night out normally but I have to say, a least they are making an effort, and at least they, or some marketing department somewhere, recognize that people may not only want to drink Carling Fosters or Strongbow.
My final first is the Sword dancer on Handsworth. Rumours were around before this was built that the pub would be a Wetherspoon, but instead it opened as a Greedy King Hungry Hippo or similarly named outlet. My mate Christingpher went and described it as one of the worst pubs he had ever been in, wit no real ale or any other drinks of note and terrible food. Mr Shape, a nearby resident, also went in only once to find it very disappointing.
The other night I was in the Old Crown enjoying a pint of something pale and hoppy and decided to pop in. Mainly, having checked the tinterweb to discover they sold real ale. Could this be true? I had to find out. On arriving at gone half eleven the pub wasn't too busy and the customers were mainly sat in the right hand side surrounded by TV screens. That side of the bar has three or four handpumps selling Greene King Abbot, Old Speckled Hen and Belhaven Golden Bay. I ordered a half of that, having never tried it. but alas it was running out, so had a half of the Abbot instead.
I sat outside, in the beer garden, with my half an inexpensive but not unpleasant bottle of wine. No-one bothered me, and no trouble was witnessed. Obviously I did not try the food but I have to say the place was OK. Given that the Turf is currently sadly closed, this now means that as far as I know every pub in Handsworth sells real ale. I may only occasionally go out locally but this is great news.
None of the above pubs are going to compete with the likes of the Bath or Shakespeares but I wish them all the very best of luck. Its refreshing to find venues making an effort and selling in some cases, beers you don't usually find anywhere else, and catering for the needs of the numerous real ale drinkers.
Sheffield once again stands out as a great place to go almost anywhere and enjoy a decent pint.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
what have the three venues in the title all got in common? The answer is, as well as them all selling real ale, I have visited them for the first time in the last few weeks. Here is what I found.
I was in the Head of Steam, which I keep calling Smoke Barbecue, last week. I met Tash and Matty and bumped into Phil Vintin, who I used to work with. Lovely to see Vimto, who is a very nice chap. I also met Uncle Mo. I had a pint of tea beer which was a little underwhelming and although there were 5 casks to choose from (and I hadn't seen four of them before) I decided to move quickly on to the Chimay Red on keg. Its £3.75 a half so pretty expensive, but I have never seen it on keg before, and really really enjoyed it.
The pub does barbecue food from Longhorns smokehouse or similar but I did not try any - maybe another day. They also do American keg beers and a range of bottles. It appears that the Head of Steam chain is owned or operated by Camerons Brewery. I don't dislike Camerons, but am surprised at this being their work.
The venue has been done out really well and, although its not difficult, is many times better than the dreadful Old Monk that preceded it. I know that Head of Steam is a chain, but it seems like a nice place to stop off for a pint or two, potentially does good food, and if they could charge slightly less for their keg and sell pork scratchings I could get to quite like it.
Friday night I was at Micheal and Lauren's evening do for their wedding at the Garrison Hotel in Hillsborough. This was my first visit, and luckily I saw Jambon outside when I arrived, a little late admittedly, at about 21.30. He told me there were two bars, and that one sold real ale. Naturally I went there.
There were three handpumps, maybe two, and they were serving Bombardier and Moonshine. My choice was the latter, naturally. It was £3.30 a pint, which isn't bad for a wedding venue, likewise the fact that they serve real ale at all. The venue itself is open to the public as a bar, if desired, or as a function suite, and I think it sells food. The bar is, as I found out, open until midnight. I probably had six or seven pints in the three hours I was there, and the beer seemed well kept. They also sold some bottles from around the world, not all of which I had heard of, and Caledonian triple hop on keg.
Its not the sort of place I would choose to go for a night out normally but I have to say, a least they are making an effort, and at least they, or some marketing department somewhere, recognize that people may not only want to drink Carling Fosters or Strongbow.
My final first is the Sword dancer on Handsworth. Rumours were around before this was built that the pub would be a Wetherspoon, but instead it opened as a Greedy King Hungry Hippo or similarly named outlet. My mate Christingpher went and described it as one of the worst pubs he had ever been in, wit no real ale or any other drinks of note and terrible food. Mr Shape, a nearby resident, also went in only once to find it very disappointing.
The other night I was in the Old Crown enjoying a pint of something pale and hoppy and decided to pop in. Mainly, having checked the tinterweb to discover they sold real ale. Could this be true? I had to find out. On arriving at gone half eleven the pub wasn't too busy and the customers were mainly sat in the right hand side surrounded by TV screens. That side of the bar has three or four handpumps selling Greene King Abbot, Old Speckled Hen and Belhaven Golden Bay. I ordered a half of that, having never tried it. but alas it was running out, so had a half of the Abbot instead.
I sat outside, in the beer garden, with my half an inexpensive but not unpleasant bottle of wine. No-one bothered me, and no trouble was witnessed. Obviously I did not try the food but I have to say the place was OK. Given that the Turf is currently sadly closed, this now means that as far as I know every pub in Handsworth sells real ale. I may only occasionally go out locally but this is great news.
None of the above pubs are going to compete with the likes of the Bath or Shakespeares but I wish them all the very best of luck. Its refreshing to find venues making an effort and selling in some cases, beers you don't usually find anywhere else, and catering for the needs of the numerous real ale drinkers.
Sheffield once again stands out as a great place to go almost anywhere and enjoy a decent pint.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
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