Wee Beefy's pub bites

Good airvernin readers

   tonight I have a few details of some pubs I have found myself frequenting of late.

     Harrisons 1854

A little less real ale than usual on offer but Harribob had managed to create another outstanding pint of Abbeydale Deception in the 1854. This poured a trifle cloudy, but mainly due to carbonation and slight coldness, but slowly cleared to reveal a lustrous pale gold body, and on tasting, a meritable hoppy bite and slight malt balance. If you are on West Street, get to the 1854 for some of Sheffield's best Deception I suggest!

Dada Trippet Lane.

All thoughts of rating beer here were of course lost when I realised the impeccable Pollard's milk coffee stout was on draught again. Having contrived to miss the Fyne stout and their Black IPA I was hoping for a distinctive taster to tide me over. Disappointingly all the beers on offer were Thornbridge, but that said the range was faultless - Black Harry, new lavender and marmite IPA Puja, Sequoia and as above my absolute favourite Pollards.

I had to sample a pint before I started on a half of the 6.7% Puja Jasmine IPA brewed in conjunction with Dark Star. This had all the hops I wanted but also some thankful balance and a velvety smooth texture making the harsher notes a little easier to ignore.  The taste was. well, Jasmine, but am sating that only because it says it on the label. If am to be honest, am unsure what Jasmine tastes like. Instead it had a weird perfumed lavender taste, which was partly but not entirely obscured by the hops, which was perhaps for the best - a single jasmine shot giving way to an excellent hoppy pale ale would have been the best design I think. Still an enjoyable beer though.

Dog and Partridge - Rallying call!

I called in the D&P on the random off chance that some real ale might be on, and to take the opportunity to talk to the man steering this ailing ship. As it turned out a cask of Tetley's was ready, if a little fresh off the waggon, but perhaps due to having been caskless on my last 4 occasions I was offered my half at a severely discounted price.

Paul who is running the pub actually does so on behalf of a holding company. So really, he doesn't work for |Punch at all. He struggles on with an absurd surfeit of stock and limited availability of cask to keep the business afloat. I have noted, and reported recently, that his efforts appear to be failing but it seems he is aware of the burden of responsibility, and the fact he manages to keep the joint trading at all given Punch's disinterest in the venue means he's probably doing as well as he can.

Granted, its not a real ale mecca, but neither was the D&P in the Flynn's time, and neither is The Grapes now, although it does sell local ales. In deference to the obvious level of expectations placed upon him, bar warder Paul told me he has set up his own website at http://www.dogandpartridge-shefield.com/, alas, on trying this tonight it seems not to be available. That said I know he set it up through Yola.com and if you want to get in touch and find out about offers bands, music etc you can call 0114 4180 441.

I say you should at least try and find space in your Trippet lane drinking for a pint if you are in the area. There are no guarantees that doing so would save this venerable old institution but its got to be worth the chance to spend time in the many authentic and once characterful rooms before its too late. Good luck to Paul in his attempts to keep this pub afloat.

Three cranes

  My last brief stop for a half was the Cranes. Things seemed different and the beer range seemed a little Lancastrian in its slant what with two Robinson's beers on, Double Hop and Robinson's (Hartleys) Cumbria way. I opted for a half of the Moonshine and wondered where regular barkeeps Luke and Rich were. I realise they could have been having a day off but something seemed different and I get a niggly feeling the difference may not be good. I hope I am proved wrong!

All in all I tried a great range of beers, crucially many local, and all in excellent condition, especially the Pollards in Dada and Deception in Harrisons 1854.

More updates soon.

Wee Beefy

I went to the pub! And everything.....

Good haveternoo,

    after a few days ensconced at home, albeit enjoying some of my Christmas bottled beers, I have finally broken free from the constraints of the domicile and recklessly ran about in town for a bit. Here are some of the details of that jaunt.


My first Sheffield centre wander of 2012.

After a long boring day at work, myself and Protest (for it is he) decided that we ought to be able to reward our sorry selves with a drink. So we made the short hop to the Harlequin, which, I concede, I haven't been to for a while now.

Tarlequin

We were only stopping for one so chose carefully. Protest ordered, accidentally as it turns out, a pint of Budvar Dark (always read the label!) and myself, a delicious Spire 1909 Porter which was a nice heavy brew that I thought I'd still finish before lager boy Protest had chewed his way through the fizzy Budvar. In the end we finished at the same time, pleased and sate with our choice. Not sure for definite about the Spire beer identity by the way - it ended in the word 1909 but haven't been able to substantiate this using the tinterweb.....

Cranes

Protest later abandoned me in a retail monstrosity and I grabbed some crap food and headed into town for a sit down on a windy bench to cram the substance in my mouth whilst waiting for my drinking partners - Chala, and Thangor the Motherinlaw. I was to meet them in the 3 Cranes, where I popped in for an OK pint of Blue Bee Lustin for Stout - the bitterness was there but none of that lovely balancing creaminess. Tiring of the company of a swearing addicted football cretin howling abuse at the TV I opted to meet the ladies outside. This plan was somwehat scuppered however because Thangor didn't want to wander down to the next pub, so we did pop back in for one - Thangor reckoned it was her first visit in 40 years. Chala had Birra Moretti and me a half of the Camerons Strongarm. It makes an interesting change but wilted in the face of the Blue Bee, owing mainly to a distinct over reliance on malt.

Shakespeares

Thangor was only stopping out for one, so under my expert tutelage headed off through the back streets to arrive opposite Shakespeares on Gibraltar Street.  Having bought a refreshing pint of Summer Wine Brewery erm, something pale (the only dark on offer was Copthorne and I find their beer isn't to my taste), and Chala having opted for a Peroni, we went in search of a seat - and found a brewer into the bargain.

Rich from Blue Bee was in the "school room" (not depicted in the pic) round the back with his friend Rhys, and it soon materialised that as well as merciful confirmations of Rich and his dearests good health, his friend was a bit of an expert on National Inventory pubs. Luckily, Chala and Rich know each other well which is good, as I think I discussed my specialist subject with Rhys, an amiable and incredibly knowledgeable Welsh enthusiast of all that's good about pubs, for about an hour! So much hot air was expelled that I didn't even venture towards a second ale, and that was probably one of the slowest dispatched pints of 2012 (admittedly there haven't been many). Alas, time waits for no man so we decided to head off to a nearby hostelry for a catch up and a pint.




The Venerable Cat

A welcome return for Chala, (and even I haven't been in for ages), we enjoyed our visit to the Cat all the more after I led us through several lake sized puddles dotted around the car park between the KIT and the Cat. Stephen was in, and so was Diane, so it was exactly what we had hoped for, and we soon got on with the important business of chatting and securing our drinks. Chala opted for a fairly heavy Framboise, and I had a pint of Welbeck Abbey Portland Black - which is weird, because that's the pint I had on my last visit...

Chala was busy meticulously planning her 40th birthday which is well over 500 days away, I meanwhile was enjoying my 3rd dark pint of the night and summarising the late license options for drinking back towards the city centre.

Dee-daa's.

We walked back past the Cranes and the D&P and Grapes to enable Chala to have her first visit to Dada. Curiously, except for some of the loudest men on earth (football fans, quel surprise) taking advantage of the echoey design to crassly amplify their nonsensical views through the whole pub, it was pretty much dead. This enabled us to make an observation about the cavernous acoustics of the venue.

Whilst mega echo might be a godsend for any bands that they eventually put on (I think I saw Hummingbirds advertised, but at a fiver?) it seems very strange to have employed an interior designer with a love of metal furniture. With our backs to the entrance in the seating area to the right before the bar, it sounded like the staff were chucking a filing cabinet down a multistorey car park stairwell. Surely if you want to create a cool relaxed vibe, the screeching and crashing of unwieldy metal artefact's isn't going to achieve that? Most puzzling, but not necessarily a good puzzle...

Beers wise I had a half of the Thornbridge Lord Marples and their Yule, which is 7.2% I think. Chala had a half of their Versa, which I thought was an excellent beer - refreshing, malty wheat but with enough bitterness to make it well balanced, like a pilsner with wheat malt. The Marples was alas very disappointing, clearly on its last legs and warm, the beer was afforded none of the support it needs to shine on the bar.

What with it having just been Christmas, I was hoping the cheer would have survived into 2012 and they would have gone back to  two Thornbridge and two guest real ales, but the guest was still Holly Days. Also, the 7% plus Yule was £3.40 a pint - and came with a price warning! Surely if the staff at Dada caution customers about the cost, but justify that £3.40 isn't bad for a beer of that strength, there is some serious differences in opinion across the complicated to understand Thornbridge estate. I mentioned the infamous Brachia, which I was assured was excellent and had been matured for a couple of years, but there still seems to be a discrepancy when the extra 2.3% of beer weighs in at over £6.00! Even the shit witted knee jerk ploy of HSBD can't surely have taken the price of Brachia out of the stratosphere, can it?

The grand ol 1854

Our last stop, which we somewhat hurried to in recognition of how late it had become, was Harrisons 1854 on Regent Terrace. The crowds were dwindling when we arrived and we were able to get one of the better seats after a quick chat with fellow beer explorer Dave Barraharri. I only had half of the Farmers Blonde from the Range of three that included Moonshine and Deception, owing to being a trifle full after my Yule experiment, but I also had a refreshing glass of Hugo Cassanova Sauvignon Blanc.

Chala opted for a glass of wine as well, always a sensible finisher since it doesn't bloat you, and we stayed until throwing out time enjoying our drinks and talking music and pubs. Although we were reluctant to leave, our timing was impeccable as soon after walking round the corner the night bus turned up, saving us significant taxi fares in the process.

Start the year as you mean to continue they say - looks like I have set my stall out to drink good beer (and the occasional fine wine) in an eclectic mix of modern and traditional pubs and bars, so I think all bodes well!

Wee Beefy.

Christmas bottle selection, Harrisons 1854, Three Cranes, Beehive, Crispin Ashover, and Shakespeares

Hello, and Merry Christmas readers.


            owing to an unfortunate spell of crap telly am ensconced in Thangor's kitchen so will endeavour, despite this cumbersome alien keyboard, to give you a few days worth of updates on beer and pubs in Sheffield.

Shakespeares Gibraltar Street Beer festival.

   its too late for this to be advice but I have to concede that actually there was a beer fest on at the above from 21st to 23rd December. Beers seemed to have been intended for purchase from the separate upstairs bar but I understand this is not open yet - hence you read a beer list (written. with that personal touch, in biro ) and having made and paid for your choice staff fetch it from upstairs for you. On my visit I had a half of Atomic Winter (which was supposed to be white!) and a spiced beer from Revolution brewery, in addition to another fine pint of the Raw Black Ghost dark IPA.

Crispin Inn, Ashover.

On the Tuesday before Christmas me, Wee Fatha, Wee Keefy and Chala went to the Crispin for a meal. Ashover is fairly unique in terms of Derbyshire villages in that it has 3 pubs (5 if you include the two at Milltown), all of which serve a range of real ales, serve good food, and one even has a brewery. When walking and seeking refreshment in the area,  it has to be the Old Poets Corner every time, but, despite their excellent food, we have started a family tradition of visiting the Crispin when we fancy eating out.

Beers wise there are 4 handpumps selling Jennings Cumberland, Cocker Hoop, Marstons Pedigree and a guest - on our visit the Wychwoof/Refresh Bah Humbug Christmas Ale was on at a bargain £2.00 a pint. Generally real ales are about £2.90 depending on strength. I warmly recommend this and indeed any of the Ashover pubs for a bite to eat or a pint of the real stuff if you are in the area.


Harrisons 1854

     I was in the 1854 twice in the run up to Christmas, on the 23rd (Friday) there were free pork scratchings and mince pies cooked by the inimitable barman extraordinaire Dave, plus the lovely Joanna behind the bar (both in civvies) and, crucially both Abbeydale Deception and Moonshine were on at £2.00 a pint! (pics to follow when I get back on my own computer).

Add to this other drinks offers and live DJ's and it was a merry night on Regent Terrace. Hopefully 2012 will see a much deserved increase in patrons and the 3 real ale beer range maintained in this "hidden" city centre venue. Below : Barraharri and Joanna wish readers all the best.

Three Cranes Queen Street

     just a brief note, in addition to the excellent Bees Knees and Bradfield Belgian Blue on offer, the Cranes were selling Abbeydale Black Mass (6.6%) at a very competitive £3.25 a pint. Obliged as I was to investigate, I can confirm that said finisher was in excellent form.

Beehive, West Street

    I have made two albeit brief sojourns into the hive in the last week, and found some not to be sniffed at offers in their real ale range. On Thursday Thornbridge Jaipur was £2.60 a pint (5.9%) in addition to the Blue Bee Pale and Bitter rebadge offerings which I understand were cheaper (but need to confirm this -can you help?). On Friday, as well as mercifully not being overrun, a well kept pint of the Thornbridge Kipling was also £2'60; so now you can get a decent pint of real ale on West Street without having to pay over the odds in doing so!

Christmas bottle selection

      my Christmas beer list has taken shape nicely after a visit to the Archer Road Beer Stop and presents and deliveries from Wee Fatha, not to mention trips to Tesco and Waitrose. Amongst many highlights (in addition to those listed in my last post) are Dunham Massey Dark, Gold and Winter Warmer, Tatton Yeti and Ale, Derby Business As Usual, Brampton Winter Bock, Sierra Nevada Torpedo IPA, and Harviestoun Porter. Virtually all these beers came from the Archer Road Beer Stop. Give them a call on 0114 2551356 to check availability. And don't forget to get your orders in ASAP for New Year, or indeed any celebration, polypins, and enjoy pints of real ale at home.

Finally, rumour mill miss.......

     it seems almost irrefutable that the Broadfield, following a period of apparent soul destroying mediocrity, has closed and reopened as the Broadfield Ale House, selling real ales and an enviable range of whiskeys. I intend to be up in the New Year so expect a review soon.


In the meantime, Merry Christmas and Happy New year to all you readers and everyone who has helped and supported me in my ongoing blogging adventure - Slainte!

Wee Beefy.

Breaking beer bite news!

Just a quick extravasation of pulsing beer facts tonight.....

The Three Cranes, Queen Street, Sheffield, Reopens!

(Rumour Mill win....)

Its official launch night is still 48 hours away but as of Monday 10th October 2011 the 3 Cranes was open and serving a range of real ales and most other drinks (snacks en route ) accompanied by a decent selection of piped music ( so often dreadful but, as demonstrated by the Red Deer, potentially brilliant) to test customer interest and levels of trade.

Inside there doesn't appear to have been radical change, likely just a clean up, but the island bar has been retained, and flyers are available now proclaiming this new addition to the real ale scene in Sheffield, in an area sparse on choice, despite obvious bibulous choices Fagans and the Three Tuns being nearby.

Friday i am told promises live music and a full selection of real ales and draught continental beers and crucially snacks. For this visit, it was notable that nearly all the handpumps were in use, dispensing : Stones Bitter (£2.55 a pint ), Westons Old Rosie, Sharps Doom Bar (possibly not yet on ) Abbeydale Moonshine, Blue Bee Bees Knees bitter (pending) and an excellent pint of Blue Bee Nectar Pale Ale (£2.70 a pint).

Although its not strictly in the city centre, the prices bode well, since previously, despite the efforts of numerous licensees, the strangulating policies of the pubco's made beer expensive, and even as long ago as 1995 I considered the Three Cranes the most expensive pint in Sheffield, long ago breaching the £3.00 a pint mark for real ale. The recent sensible pricing policy will hopefully entice customers back to this venerable paradise quarter venue.

And in other news....

Anglers Rest Millers Dale

Omitted from my last essay was news of the Anglers Rest Millers Dale. Out on a Monsal trail amble appreciating the tunnels recently, I forgot to mention that I visited the Anglers for a mid walk pint. On the bar were 3 real ales, including Adnams Southwold and local brewery Storm Silk of Amnesia, at below £3.00 a pint. This proves that you can get decent local ale from within 50 miles in a traditional pub and not pay bistro prices. Looking forward to visiting again in the next few months.

Wee Beefy.