Wee Beefy's evening pub slog

Hello all,

    I thought I'd write about my evening of slogging up hill and down dale after work on Wednesday, where an unexpected visit to pubs old and new was had, along with an equal smattering of sunshine and exhaustion.

Starting point of my aleyompics was the Broadfield Ale House, which you may recall I have mentioned previously. Sadly none of the excellent Black Iris output that often features but an admirable range including the excellent Ilkley Best Bitter, at £3.00 a pint (or is that a half surcharge? Oooooh.....). I had two halves of this (and a glass of water, for reasons that will become clear) whilst sat in the glare of the sun in the beer garden, before heading up to my next pub.

Not exactly en route but the Union is always a nice spot to stop and I had a pint of impeccably well kept Abbeydale Moonshine (£3.00 a pint) in here - I would have gone half of that, half of Absolution, but I was determined this would be rewarding physical exercise not just supping. In order to maintain sobriety and to keep myself properly hydrated I had a half of iced water here as well.

Next I took an absurd route past the Byron, then headed up Brincliffe edge and walked up through the trees along the side of the valley until I came out near Ecclesall Road South. Knowing I wanted to get across, I had to walk downhill quite a bit then up into some wiggly road through housing to Carterknowle avenue or rise or something, before popping out, by luck rather than planning, at the Cherry Tree.

This was to have been my first visit. I say was, because I already know, its shut. A handwritten sign in the window states that due to a licensing error from Enterprise (gawd luvvum) the pub has had to be closed and that this was out of licensee/manager Billy's hands. At the risk of seeming rude, although the note is not dated or faded the outside of the pub does suggest its been shut for a while. Hopefully it will reopen soon for my inaugural visit.

A quick swig of warm homemade lemon and lime drink (its just the juice of half of each, some water and a little mint) didn't really slake my thirst so I walked up Carterknowle Road to the chameleon visage of the Prince of Wales, formerly the Green Pelican or Woodstock or Plum and Marmite or other nonsense.

Inside is depressingly asinine, but I wasn't expecting antiquated careworn distinctiveness. There is some seating on the left which may be for the unlikely spectacle of drinkers but I sat at the bar since this was the only recognisable spot to sup. From a choice of York Terrier, Marstons Pedigree and Leeds Pale I had the latter, a half of, at £1.55, and a half of iced water. Its a soul destroyingly staged, wearyingly clinical interior by numbers establishment, but at least it has no pretencions of being anything other than a restaurant with a bar, and at least customers get to drink a decent if unremarkable real ale with their nosh.

Off next for serious guesswork, as I did not know the address of the next pub, only its general direction and the area it was in. Luckily taking the road towards High Storrs School I was soon at the T junction with the ancient Hammer and Pincers on the left. This long, squat building is a venerable age but many had told me it was scarcely recognisable as an old pub, and expensive. True, on entering, what would have been a small cosy low ceiling possibly beamed couple of rooms, incongruously modern in their furnishings, its hard to imagine it being more than a decade old, but the fireplace and odd layout and route to the bar belied its haphazard ancient design.

On the left is a small opening with toilets on the right leading to a large room with the right angle bar facing the garden and the end of the pub with the arch. The ceiling was low in here and it was easier to imagine what the original features might have looked like, but the main plus point was the bar.

There were 5 handpumps dispensing Tetley, something else, a Wadworth themed Olympics ale, Archers Old Gold (Who brews Archers?!) and a dark beer. Not only that, but it was the cheapest beer of the crawl at £1.45 for a half of Vale Black Beauty (and of course a customary half of iced water). And I promise I kept a straight face when, not seeing the pump clip, the barmaid said
"and this is a dark one, Black Beauty"
Me  "Is it from Vale that one"
Barmaid (looking at pump clip) "yes, valet". No doubt she didn't mind my pause and walk round, to inspect the clip and pronounce Vale correctly!

I sat outside with my well kept beer and cool water and updated my notes and thought about my route. It was busy outside as you'd expect, and though it had been remodelled and refitted nearly to extinction, I was pleasantly surprised at what I found, and the staff were friendly, so all in all a pleasant visit.

My traverse to my next stop was a triumph of guess work. I didn't carry straight on from the shops instead walking to the left past High Storrs School and following the bus route, checking the road names on the bus stop all the way down, and hoping this was Greystones Road. It soon became Greystones Drive, and joined Greystones Road, shortly after which I spotted the pub.

On the bar were 6 Thornbridge beers (none of them new-fangled guests here, not since the opening month) and I think probably the same range as back in March or April, so I had a half of Black Harry, with a glass of water, which was £1.40. Clearly as I headed downhill the price was descending with me.

Off down the steep hill to Sharrow next and the Lescar was inevitably rammed with people soaking up the warm late evening sunshine. Inside there were 6 beers to choose from, 5 of which I wanted to drink, so I ditched my precautionary water and singlr half plan  to order a selection of 4. They were, in order of strength, Ilkley Mary Jane, Sunny Republic Beach Blonde, XT Dark Roast and Hopdaemon Green Daemon, which came to £6.20. Given the relative strengths (Ilkley 3.5 and Hopdaemon 5.0) this may have been comparatively cheaper than the Prince of Wales.

I sat in the beer garden at the back, and despite deliberately sitting in a smallish space on a table made for 8, seemed to be giving the impression that only one half was mine, as I sat reading, so this remained a solitary repose. Either that or my red sweaty face and straggly beard frightened off the young folk ....

My penultimate stop came on my way into town, after popping into Spar to find nothing I wanted to eat (although the visit wasn't wasted, as I got to watch a zombie like employee push a trolley into a display, and then reverse, pulling it with him, which made me laugh) and Sainsbury's where I did (but cucumber in a chicken wrap? Eeeugh) and also, after pausing temporarily to consider entering the unappetising environs of serial student haunt the Nursery (no pun). I headed instead, and I concede I surprised myself, for the ex Pomona which is now Champs, a bar I had never visited.

Luckily I knew what to expect and to be honest this visit was inspired more by a pressing need than a desire to watch ferret tickling and amputee pinball on one of 452 large screens, but to their credit there was real ale, an odd mix of Wild Swan (I had  half, £1.35), Jaipur and er, Tetleys. And at least I got to sit outside where it was cool, and slightly less testosterone filled.

My final stop in this long slog was up the hill from Moorfoot, and into the Devonshire Cat, a pub I haven't been in this year, and mainly because I heard from The Twitter (you've seen the Twitter) that Axholme Brewery beer might be available. It was, I had a half of their Bitter, it was surprisingly inexpensive for the Dev Cat at about £2.60 a pint (?) and was a pleasant and refreshing brew with an endearing slightly earthy flavour.

All in all I was bloody exhausted but had visited some new pubs and tried some exciting new beers (and revisited old favourites) on my lengthy crawl. Now to walk over Woodseats way tomorrow for the Mount Pleasant beer festival.

Wee Beefy

Friday feeling

Now then,

      I have made the sensible decision to take a few days off work lately. Not because I necessarily have anything on, (although I do now) but because its sometimes easier to catch up on stuff (research) with no school next morning. Also, I wondered whether some surprise beery event might appear on my radar last minute so I wanted to be primed for such a happenstance. As it was I had a wander around Sheffield and enjoyed some great pints along the way.

I started the day at the Anglers Rest as I mentioned yesterday, and then after dinner headed into town and oop Ecclesall road way. I dallied with the idea of popping into the Ecclesall, formerly the Pomona, but it didn't tempt. Instead, based on the excellent beers on my last visit (and those advertised as coming soon) I headed up to the Lescar.

Lescar

I was in around dinner and it was pleasingly quiet. With diners creating an olfactory distraction in the front I went to sit in the back looking at the bar, taking my pint and essential crisps with me. I say essential because, at approximately £1..20 a bag (60p at my local shop, nice mark up!) they would have to be pretty damned good. Instead they were OK - but this is interesting, because although the Lescar has hardly been cheap (or often sure if its own prices), the beer hasn't really gone up since last summer. I know its difficult to compare when you are almost always on guests but in general it seems to be £3.05 - 3.10 a pint. No more galling than usual.

The beer I had was the excellent Windsor and Eton brewery Knight of the Garter, a 3.8% golden ale with a pleasing malt and subtle balancing hoppinesss. I would have stayed on this all day but I had my eye on two others in a range of six (or seven, if Moonshine is back and front bar), including Brew Company Blackout stout, which having just seen the ingredients on the tinterweb I wished I had tried.

The reason I didn't was that I was smitten instead with the Moor Brewing Company Somerland Gold, a refreshing 5.0% golden beer that I had tasted in bottle back in March (funnily enough it was bottle conditioned). This was a delightfully rounded, dry bitter beer which went down very well. Too well, as is the technical term. The addition of wheat malt was noticeable (although I kind of remembered it from the beer tasting as well), and this probably made it that little bit extra tasty.

Kitkat circle

All too soon I had to leave and as you know from my earlier post I was in Shakespeares next with my dear friend Middlemarch. After she had left, I quickly finished up and headed for the Cat for a pork pie. Not only a pork pie you understand, that would be weird. I also had a pint of Pennine Brewery mild, the actual identity of which is proving very difficult since my notes say just that, and stupid arse Internet Explorer is playing silly buggers. Out of interest, following some confusion regarding the former Porter Brewery, it appears this Pennine is newly formed in 2012 and based near Batley, not in Haslingden like Porter (Pennine) - hope that's clear!

Never mind though it was very enjoyable and despite suddenly becoming nesh I sat outside near a heated light with a couple (until that point!) enjoying an evening of imbibing in the beer garden. I had wanted to stand inside but it was so packed that even standing was too much of an ask, so I braved it for a bit, before giving in on finishing my pint and going to stand behind beer legend Martin at the bar.

Here I had a chat about the Bath Hotel with Martin and a former regular, and had a very nice half of Navigation Pale to finish off my super busy Cat visit. The pale was refreshing but lacked the oomph and quality of their dark beers at Shakespeares.

Kit

My last port of call was the Kelham Island Tavern where I started very sensibly with a half of the Derby Brewing Co Penny's Porter, a very enjoyable luscious dark brew as recommended by Mr W. I also had chance to nibble a much needed sandwich and relax, before I felt compelled to see what else was on offer.

So it was that my last of the night was a pint of the excellent Banks and Taylors Edwin Taylors Extra Stout, one of my long tome favourite dark beers which did not disappoint. This was a fantastic end to a long day of great beer and great company in some of Sheffield's best pubs.

Cheers!

Wee Beefy.

Wee Beefy's pub bites. Again.

Good evening,

   heres just a few crumbs of info on some Sheffield pubs.


Unchanged Cranes

Rumours of uncorroborated difference and unsettling unusualness in the 3 Cranes appear greatly over exaggerated. By myself. In on Tuesday evening with Waaarf, I noted Moonshine, Camerons Strongarm and Doom Bar were on out of the regulars, so I went for Moonshine. However, Luke confirmed that there was a Blue Bee Tangled Up IPA on the way, and a dark and a light Welbeck Abbey brewery beer to come. If I get chance to get in Friday or Saturday I hope I'll have chance to sample one of them. As an aside, in case not previously reported, there is a card machine at the Cranes, albeit with a £5.00 limit, but as more and more pubs are catching on to its convenience, that can only be a good thing. I was able to go straight in from work without detouring to a cash machine, and thus not wasting valuable beer time.

The Lescar, Sharrowvale.

Not been in the Lescar Hotel for a while, not since a leaving do in August. I can't really escape form the fact that i have had a mixed bag of experiences in there, with some fascinating approaches to keeping and serving beer, but also some notably excellent pints, like a pint of White Shield on my first visit, and a bevvy of stunners last night (Chala, Jacqui and Mandy, you can all share this accolade with the beers....).

First up was a pint of Box Steam Tunnel Vision, a refreshing, delicate but not weakly flavoured 4.2% session beer which lasted an expensive dearth of time. Next up I had a pint of Mike Halls (Dark Angel Brewery/Cropton) Cherry Porter, which was powerful in the roast malt and creamy in the finish, and had just enough cherry to be honest, but not enough to make me cringe. Brilliant.

I also tried the Wold Top Grain of Truth, which was a typical Wold Top offering (and I mean that in a good way), but alas it was quite "advanced" in proceedings by the time I did, so my recollections amount to it being a nice beer! Even so, that's an excellent range (also York Terrier and I think Moonshine); not least because I only got to try the Box Steam brewery's offerings for the first time in September at the excellent North Star in Steventon Oxfordshire, so I consider it a rare visitor to these parts.

We were sat at the right of the bar near the doorway to the back room and there is a very large blackboard on the wall advertising current and upcoming beers. On this visit every one was served in tip top condition, and the breadth of choice seen and promised persuades me I'll be back again soon.

DAda

I have written their name different to normal because of some Thornbridge promo material I spotted printing the name as above. I don't care which way it is personally, but I wouldn't want to be getting it wrong. That would be too much to bare...

Not that there is any such clarity on the outside of the pub mind. Anyarr, beers wise it was as you were the other day in terms og "guests" ( I consider left hand pumps 3 and 4 thus), but on the regular pulls Wild Swan replaced Sequoia and Lord Marples the Black Harry. I obviously had the rather more scintillating delights of Pollards coffee milk stout, a kind of disorientating beer manna that makes me smile and cancel plans, and another half of their oddly enjoyable pecan and oyster pale ale Puja. This time the perfumed notes were lost a little, but its still an interesting beer. The fact that I insist on taking the piss out of the concept of the ingredients and then insist on buying it should perhaps demonstrate that I am trying to pretend I don't like it...

Jamie informs me that some of them thar Magic Rock beers will be on the bar soon including Cannonball, on cask. Am looking forward to trying that since it was only available in key keg on the brewery launch night. Worth a pop in if only to get the Pollards which I predict the Magic Rock will dislodge.

Cheers!

Wee Beefy

Wee Beefy's beer bites part 2

Hello suppers of ale,


developments and trips out continue a-pace for Beefy at the moment so am afraid its a whistlestop rundown of recent news rather than polished prose.

Whitby Ales.

First weekend in August I was with Bert on his stag do in the seaside town of Whitby. I have been many times and had fallen out of love with the place considerably, a situation inescapably linked to its dearth of good pubs. Things have changed in the last few years though as this trip proved. On our first night we ventured out after midnight and still found a pub or two open - the Ship, on the station side of the harbour, had an acceptable pint of Black Sheep on offer.

Saturday saw us slow off the mark but our fist stop in the afternoon was The Shambles over the shops in the market place. A large lofty room with comfy seating, a snooker room and a small quay side balcony this pub had 9 real ales on, mainly from super regionals but some unusual offerings from Cotleigh and Wold Top. I also managed to sneak in a very enjoyable pint of Black Dog Whitby Abbey Ale in the Station, formerly the Tap N Spile.

Later we headed out and stopped off (having walked past the Granby/Gatsby? advertising 5 beers including Snecklifter) at the Little Angel. This is a multiroomed very old pub up from the station selling Tetley and Mordue Workie Ticket which was a nice surprise. Being a large group we couldn't visit the tiny Black Horse over the bridge so headed up to the Duke of York at the bottom of the Abbey Steps. This had 5 or more beers on including Deuchars IPA and Taylors Golden Best. The less said about final real ale free stop the Wellington the better.

On the final day only I walked into town for beer (was not that thirsty it turned out!) and I visited the Black Horse. Definitely saving the best for last, i sat at the far end of the back bar room and then next to the entrance in the front bar supping two excellent pints of the Black Dog again. Overall most pubs seemed to advertise real ale and I would suggest that Whitby is well worth a visit.

Robin Hood Little Matlock, Stannington

There is less than a week now until the pub is closed forever, I was in a fortnight ago with Mr P and the sole beer on offer was Tetley, although it was a good pint of it. Usually there are Bradfield and Burton bridge beers if you are considering a last visit - however it might pay to ring and check they have real ale on if they are thinking of exhausting their cellar stocks prior to closing - there were beer glasses and plates and cutlery for sale when I was last in. Only 6 more nights of trading starting tomorrow if you fancy a look.

Walkley news.

Most recent Walkley trips have centred on the Blake so have no recent news or visits to report on, however, on a frustrating hunt for a bus to town recently I noted that the Freedom House had closed. I understand that some of the staff have moved to the Walkley Cottage but as yet do not know what the plans are for the Freedom. It would be a crying shame to lose it, but I would suggest that pivotal to any revival is the retention and availability of the comfy left hand room, which is the antithesis of the stark and less welcoming environment in the bar on the right. Customers love choice - so give em a choice of rooms and all is well.

Trippets, Trippet Lane.

Continue to serve a decent range of real ale although reduced slightly midweek on a recent visit. I tried the excellent Kelham Island Festival Ale and Thornbridge Chiron pale ale, both in excellent form although with contrasting flavours. Across the road I note the Dog and Partridge does not appear to open Monday lunchtimes.


The Lescar

Gawd love um the Lescar are striving to win an award I haven't yet created called "most disorganised and /or perplexing pub experience". On my last visit I was caught out by a yo yo price for the Moonshine, as were the bar staff. On a recent visit it was virtual chaos behind the bar. I spotted the excellent St Peters brewery IPA on handpump and opted for a pint. Although cloudy I wasn't concerned until I smelt and tasted vinegar. The pint was swapped graciously for an excellent pint of Northern Star from Moor Beer Co in Somerset - note this was also served in a handled beer mug, an increasingly common sight in pubs once again. So far so good...

My second pint was Moonshine in the same glass but that ran out and my replacement, back to Northern Star was in a straight glass. Its may seem unimportant but surely my handing back the mug means I require a mug? Although I admit I did not stipulate. My friend asked for an Erdinger from the same barman and he told us they didn't sell it any more, despite us having had two already and him going straight to the pump when I asked. And throughout, the IPA remained on the bar, on sale.

If you have a drinks menu, which the Lescar do, and I have to say its very good and offers a brilliant choice of beers and wines; then any claims made about the real ale need to be supported in real life. The menu proclaims " we know our beer "(unq.) and references Cask Marque accreditation but am not sure that the blurb matched my experience. On returning later the Northern star had run out so it was Doom bar, now a Coors puppy that travels poorly, or the IPA from earlier. I tried a mouthful in the sample glass and here's my admission - it tasted OK, so I ordered a pint. The thing is, as soon as I tasted the now clear pint I realised it was not in fact, any better. I have no idea how I made this mistake and am aware it made my argument a little weak thereafter.....

To their credit they refunded my money and I bought another none real ale - they didn't have to since I had tried the beer - but no-one would admit the St Peter's beer tasted of vinegar (albeit slightly, but noticeably ), and claimed that IPA tastes sharp - as opposed to astringent, or bitter one assumes. When I'd mentioned the yukky taste earlier they suggested it was because it was fresh on - erm, what?

Either that means they don't clean the lines (and I have had too many good beers in there to believe that) or they think that beer at the beginning of the cask is normally sour. I think perhaps a better knowledge of IPA is in order and perhaps a top up of staff and management product knowledge would bring the pub in line with its printed claims, and we could all be happy then. Must try harder, 6/10.

The Firth Hall, Sheffield University

On Saturday I attended a wedding bash at the above and noted that, even on a bar crammed in a corner, the length of a school bench, they had real ale in the form of Kelham Island Pride of Sheffield. Not that this is a venue open to the public (as far as I understand ) but I have to say I was surprised and pleased to be at a wedding with something worth drinking on offer. The Firth hall shows the way, wedding venues!

Real ale to take away

The Crookes branch of Rhythm and Booze has started doing take away real ale, usually from Kelham Island brewery. Whilst this is a welcome development for Crookesians and visitors alike, lets remember who the daddy of take away real ale in Sheffield is, and always will be. The Archer Road beer stop still carries a range of real ales to take away along with cider and bottle conditioned or otherwise conditioned British and world beers. Go there now and buy some beers!

Am awaah in York this weekend then in the Home Counties and Midlands in September so after that normal service will hopefully resume. In the meantime, drink well and live long

Wee Beefy.

Sheffield crawl and news

Hello,

news from the cradle of Chartism (this may well be incorrect, but hey, not everything on the Internet is factually accurate) and news of a memory lane pub crawl and a new pub for yours truly.

I had planned to travel over the Pennines to marvel at Manchester's magnificent unspoilt and beer replete hostelries, but instead overslept and felt grim, so a jaunt around the home turf was required

After catching up with a friend and grabbing food at Gusto Italiano, we initially headed for Trippets for a quiet pint, which is more or less possible if you grab a pew on the left as you enter. The Bradfield Farmers Stout was tasty as always but inexplicably cold so had to put it near the radiator for 10 minutes to get the proper flavour.

Alas this first post hangover pint put me out of sorts and my companion was coming down with the plague so she headed to the comfort of home and I weighed up my options. I had thought about a quick jaunt to Chesterfield but decided instead to visit a few Sheffield pubs for a change.

I walked onto Arundel Gate towards St Mary's Gate and headed down past The Scream through the back lanes to the Rutland. Here I had a slow supped and much enjoyed half of Blue Bee brewery Lustin For Stout at 4.8%. This gave me chance to take stock and begin a fruitless search for a copy of beer matters, since I fancied gracing a new (to me) venue on my journey.

Alas no magazine but I headed to the Sheffield Tap and had a half of Great Ridge Moonlight Shadow, a beer that usually comes in keg as far as I know, since its stronger stable mate was on the row of fonts further down. A strange taste, perhaps, assuming its American, reflective of the low gravity which you rarely find in U.S beers ( it may have been 3.4 or 3.5%). No beer matters mind...

I headed on diagonally to the Royal Standard on St Mary's Gate, easily reached from the station by following Leadmill Road. Chala did her cellarmanship course here many moons ago, and I know Davefromtshop supped his first Darleys here as well, but neither would likely recognise the style and type of pub now, even if the layout might not have changed - I was last in about 12 years ago!

The pub appears aimed at students and offers a discount card, pool is popular and they seem to attract a mix of students and locals. There was one real ale on, St Austell tribute, so at least I had something decent to sup, but mid afternoon is not the Standard's cue to sparkle, and sat on a neutral coloured modern leather sofa surrounded by dark shaded areas of block colour and modern furnishings, I felt out of place. The size of the room on the right means that all but a full pub makes it seem bare and unenticing so I lingered only briefly before heading on.

Walking between Bramall lane and Queens Road I joined the main road at the Earl of Arundel and Surrey ( though I note its shared name now, which I forget ) - another pub from the past, perhaps 12 years ago as well, once a Wards pub used to trial seasonal real ales form the Vaux range. i didn't tarry as it looked shut and , perhaps unfairly since I didn't try and visit, assumed no real ale would be sold.

Further up Chesterfield road I reached the White Lion, a pub I have more recently visited when there have been bands on, still retaining its interesting and in Sheffield fairly unusual surviving multiroom layout. It also still serves real ales - 3 or 4 regulars and a couple of guests, my choice being Saltaire Blonde which was fantastic.

Here I picked up a copy of said beer tome and sat down to see where I might venture next. The February edition is perhaps prone to December and January news as its the first of the year, so that might explain why my next stop didn't work out - the Crown further up the road was apparently selling real ale but the two bare handpumps in the back room attested otherwise and I couldn't really quiz the barman since he was asking what I'd like whilst he was on the phone.

From here I took a slightly odd detour to Nether Edge, and the Union, bypassing the Broadfield, not on a beer basis but assuming that now 18.00, it would be heaving and no place for a quiet solitary pint.

I found the Union despite not having visited for perhaps 13 years, and I have to say was pleasantly surprised. I had recalled that it was traditional in decor and layout, but seemed to have remembered the bar somewhere else ( probably erroneously) and offering nowt but Whitbread and Greedy king on the bar. Thankfully this time there was Landlord, Pedigree and an Abbeydale brew on amongst others, with 7 handpumps in use.

The Abbeydale was very drinkable, as was the reassuringly Burton smelling Pedigree, although I worry that this statement may hide a misconception - is it still brewed in Burton ? You'd hope so....

I enjoyed a couple of pints watching the pub fill up with regulars and enjoying listening to gentle banbter at the bar, before heading off via purchasing fuel to the Byron, another long lost acquaintance. Last time i had visited the barmaid was murdering a pint of Tanglefoor through a sparkler and even after I suggested she remove it must have pulled 3 pints for me to end up with one

Now the pub has a good ale selection, including Kelham Island Riders on the storm which I enjoyed nearly as much as the song, whilst sitting in the bar on the right.

My trip took a more boomerang route now as I returned to Chesterfield Road and up to the Sheaf View, packed to the rafters and offering only a smoking shelter table to sit at. I bumped into a friend and enjoyed several pints of Phoenix porter and even managed to find a seat near the bar before caving in and ordering a taxi home about 23.30.

Overall I had some excellent beer and mostly really enjoyed my revisits of former haunts.

One final word on a new pub for me, the Lescar. Everyone has probably heard of the above and many probably visited, but eating at Greedy Greek at Hunters bar on Saturday provided me a chance to try it at last. Very busy, which I had expected, the decor and range of drinks was a big surprise to me, including (perhaps a fleeting nod to Valentines night) subtle red lighting and candles and range of seating and old furniture. Better stil drinkers were well catered for what with Leffe and other continental classics on draught and regular regional real ales, plus on that night 2 Saltaire brewery beers including their Triple Chocolate stout. Best of all, was the fantastic Museum Brewing Co. White Shield, which despite its chewy, hoppy bite I demolished two of prior to eating.

Tomorrow am banished from my own home whilst Thangor the Mortherinlaw and wife take a sledgehammer to all we own, or tidying up as she calls it, so am off to the Blake and hopefully a couple of Crookes and Walkley pubs, before they knock anymore of the buggers down.

Wee Beefy.