Hullabalo,
last Sunday I went out with my dear friend Vikkie for a short tour of pubs starting on Derbyshire Lane before making our way towards Chesterfield Road and who knows where after. Here are some details of what happened on that wander...
I started the trip by paying to catch a Stagecoach because the Wirst bus never showed up - we were catching the 18 at 12.35 in town so I left home at 11.30 and made it with 5 minutes to spare. The 18 was late after changing drivers, and then the new driver forgot the route. Chaos from the dreadful Wirst bus as always, but we got there on time.
From a range of real ales at the Mount Pleasant, our first stop, we both had pints of the Sadlers Drop Hammer at 4.1%. This was refreshing and easy drinking starter which went down well. The Pleasant remains an excellent traditional boozer serving 5 real ales, with a lovely view from the bench out the front and a lovely unspoilt interior.
We walked down to the Cross Scythes next where Vikkie enjoyed a bottle of the Thornbridge Versa, wheat beer, and I had a pint of their Rattlesnake. Am not sure whether my tastebuds have changed since the staff at the Bath Hotel brewed this, or whether its another less hopped weaker version of formerly excellent Thornbridge beers - which ever it was it was pleasant but underwhelming. The Scythes was a little quiet, and was also the place where I spotted my first pub Christmas tree of 2018. Mutter mumble....
From here we walked down to Archer Road Beer Stop, now owned by Richard. We had planned to go to the Ale House but information on the internet, which is a person, told me it didn't open til 16.30 so we had to miss it out. We bought some cans, and had a quick chat with Richard, before heading off down the road to the Broadfield. Here I had a half of the Brew York Hazy IPA on keg, whilst Vikkie may have had half a sour. We sat outside as the pub was boiling, but it was also packed. The Brew York beer was excellent.
We passed Hop Hideout next - ironically the windows displayed only four letters, that spelling out Hope...and then went to the Gin Bar next door. This wasn't a planned stop but it was nice to pop in for a look, and to have to halves of a beer with Shed in the name, on keg.
By now it was dark and we walked along Broadfield Road to the bridge over the river to come out on London Road - and our next stop was at Pour next to the White Lion. Here I had an excellent 8.5% DIPA from True North on keg for something like £4.20 a pint? An excellent beer, and one which accompanied our food perfectly. We both had pizza - Vikkie had the green spicy one with extra olives and I the ham mushroom and olive one. The bases were likely hand made but the dough used made them so light and incredibly tasty, they were very much appreciated. Definitely reasons for a return visit
Our penultimate stop was in the White Lion next door where we spoke to Jon and settled down in the snug on the right with what was likely pints of Abduction - always a go to fave beer of mine, although had we been staying longer am sure we would have tried some of the others. The music in the White Lion was excellent as always.
As time was getting on we caught a taxi to our final pub, the Beer Engine. In here we had beers, served in glasses, which we drank using our mouths. The beers would have been brewed by breweries and would have had names. We also saw Adam and Lucienne, although I didn't recognise her, and me and Vikkie left them to it after drunkenly thinking he was on a hot date....
Vikkie left me here to finish my quantum of liquid, after which I popped over to the Albion for a finisher, which was a can of Lupoloid from that brewery. It was nice, but slightly reflective of a poor line up of ales on offer.
We managed to miss out Guzzle, the Ale House, Tramsheds, Brothers, Sheaf View and Jabeerwocky so we may revisit starting on Woodseats on a Saturday to get them all in - in the meantime, this was a fab wander around some fab pubs selling unequivocally fab beer.
Your very best health!
Wee Beefy
Showing posts with label The White Lion Heeley. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The White Lion Heeley. Show all posts
Saturday, 8 December 2018
Tuesday, 17 January 2017
Wanderiains
Hullaballoo,
and a very Happy New Year! Aah, a phrase best used...um about 16 or 17 days ago. But never mind, have been otherwise engaged and this is my first blog post of 2017. Here is what happened when myself and Mr P did our first Wanderiains of 2017.....
Twas the first Friday and I met Mr P after work to catch the 20. Didn't wait long, didn't take long, and we ended up at a pub I have never previously visited, the Sportsman on Harvey Clough Road. I know the late, great George, or rather Keith Laycock went there to do the quiz - although that may have been the Mount Pleasant, but either way, it was my first visit and Mr P's first for a couple of decades or more. For info, before setting out, George often used to say "am just going to change a tenner" or, "am just going to see a man about a dog". We all knew he was going to the quiz....
Inside I understand little has changed, Mr P recognised the layout, and on the large bar there were two real ales, of which we both had halves of Abbeydale Moonshine at a price which may have been below £3.00. The beer was well kept and this was an enjoyable start to our crawl. I also paid on card for two halves, which very much suits me down to the ground.
Nearby we visited the Mount Pleasant. In through the front this time (!) and I didn't see Gwynneth (?) or her Sister behind the bar, instead a jolly lass who was discussing the merits or otherwise of the Chrizznussly themed ale from a National Brewery. I think Mr P had a pint and I had a pint of the excellent Adnams Ghost Ship.
The pub seems unaltered since my first visit five years or more ago and that's to its credit. Its has a traditional layout with a lovely lounge on the left and a very small bar in the...um..bar. Room. An excellent place to stop for a beer as always.
Further down the Road Mr P asked if we could go in the Prince of Wales. I can't say I was blown away by it last time but I agreed, if nothing else to hear him read his poem he wrote after being told not to come in anymore when he was in his late teens. An excellent poem, I have to say. On the bar this time were two beers and I think one of them was from Wychwood, which we had a half of each. It was OK, a bit Wychwoody, but that's not a criticism of how it was kept.
Further down the road is the Cross Scythes. Still a Thornbridge pub selling numerous real ales and kegs (and flavoured pork scratchings), I went "mad" and bought myself a pint and Mr a half of the 7 or above% Huck from Thornbridge. I have to say I really liked it, but agree with Edd that you could expect more from a hoppy pale ale at that strength.
Having bumped into Steve in the loos, we headed his way - down Derbyshire Lane, to the main road and walked along to the White Lion. A guy whose surname I think is Miles (who I saw at the Bath Hotel do an excellent version of John the Revelator, unaccompanied of course) was doing a set at the back. We got pints - myself am fairly certain of Abduction., and sat near the stage having watched the first five or six of his songs from the steps.
As always the Abduction was on top form and it was good to see the pub absolutely heaving - testament of course to the sterling work done by Jon and Mandy since they took over (and Jon may have lost an H, sorry Jon....)
So ended an entertaining and enjoyable crawl of some new and old favourite boozers in Sheffield to kick start Drinkuary in fab sunny Sheffield.
Drink! Drink! Drink!
With regards,
Wee Beefy
and a very Happy New Year! Aah, a phrase best used...um about 16 or 17 days ago. But never mind, have been otherwise engaged and this is my first blog post of 2017. Here is what happened when myself and Mr P did our first Wanderiains of 2017.....
Twas the first Friday and I met Mr P after work to catch the 20. Didn't wait long, didn't take long, and we ended up at a pub I have never previously visited, the Sportsman on Harvey Clough Road. I know the late, great George, or rather Keith Laycock went there to do the quiz - although that may have been the Mount Pleasant, but either way, it was my first visit and Mr P's first for a couple of decades or more. For info, before setting out, George often used to say "am just going to change a tenner" or, "am just going to see a man about a dog". We all knew he was going to the quiz....
Inside I understand little has changed, Mr P recognised the layout, and on the large bar there were two real ales, of which we both had halves of Abbeydale Moonshine at a price which may have been below £3.00. The beer was well kept and this was an enjoyable start to our crawl. I also paid on card for two halves, which very much suits me down to the ground.
Nearby we visited the Mount Pleasant. In through the front this time (!) and I didn't see Gwynneth (?) or her Sister behind the bar, instead a jolly lass who was discussing the merits or otherwise of the Chrizznussly themed ale from a National Brewery. I think Mr P had a pint and I had a pint of the excellent Adnams Ghost Ship.
The pub seems unaltered since my first visit five years or more ago and that's to its credit. Its has a traditional layout with a lovely lounge on the left and a very small bar in the...um..bar. Room. An excellent place to stop for a beer as always.
Further down the Road Mr P asked if we could go in the Prince of Wales. I can't say I was blown away by it last time but I agreed, if nothing else to hear him read his poem he wrote after being told not to come in anymore when he was in his late teens. An excellent poem, I have to say. On the bar this time were two beers and I think one of them was from Wychwood, which we had a half of each. It was OK, a bit Wychwoody, but that's not a criticism of how it was kept.
Further down the road is the Cross Scythes. Still a Thornbridge pub selling numerous real ales and kegs (and flavoured pork scratchings), I went "mad" and bought myself a pint and Mr a half of the 7 or above% Huck from Thornbridge. I have to say I really liked it, but agree with Edd that you could expect more from a hoppy pale ale at that strength.
Having bumped into Steve in the loos, we headed his way - down Derbyshire Lane, to the main road and walked along to the White Lion. A guy whose surname I think is Miles (who I saw at the Bath Hotel do an excellent version of John the Revelator, unaccompanied of course) was doing a set at the back. We got pints - myself am fairly certain of Abduction., and sat near the stage having watched the first five or six of his songs from the steps.
As always the Abduction was on top form and it was good to see the pub absolutely heaving - testament of course to the sterling work done by Jon and Mandy since they took over (and Jon may have lost an H, sorry Jon....)
So ended an entertaining and enjoyable crawl of some new and old favourite boozers in Sheffield to kick start Drinkuary in fab sunny Sheffield.
Drink! Drink! Drink!
With regards,
Wee Beefy
Tuesday, 29 March 2016
An Easter pub crawl
Hello all,
isn't Easter great eh? Every single last one of us gets four whole days off to relax at home. Um...apart from anyone working in the service industry. Transport, health, retail, pubs. Especially those in pubs. Despite this, myself and Matty had been chatting with Nathan from the Three Tuns and arranged to go out with him for pints on Maundy Thursday. I have no idea if he worked Good Friday. Am hoping for his sake he didn't....
We all finished work about 17.00 and met in the Three Tuns about 17.30. It was busy, and as Nathan pointed out, it was like a Friday. Nathaniel is an affable 24 year old with two PHd's in Zoo-ology and hails from a town or village in Worcestreshire with a Bathams pub. Or Birmingham. If you know anything about the Bathams tied estate that actually limits the potential answers to where I mean. Despite my awful behaviour in October, we still get on, as he does with Meathumph.
We decided to show Nathan some of the pubs he hadn't been to before in Sheffield. In one night. I started as did Nathan on a pint of Brighton Bier Southern Bitter, a gorgeously dry bitter ale with stonking piles of hops and just enough malt in the background. Matty had two pints of something as well. The rest is history, and I am the historian. Help us, made up deity!
Our next stop was Fagans. Being yoot, Nathan and Matty eschewed the delights of real ale and went for Guinness which I understand people like. I went for a good old pint of Moonshine. We were advised where to sit by the landlord, (the comfiest seats) and perched in the corner chatting about pubs and beer and all things good. Fagans is a cracking city centre boozer. Its not changed as long as I have been going in, sells a decent pint and has a wonderful atmosphere. Just what you could want from a pub.
Just up the road is Regent Terrace, and Harrisons 1854. I was telling Matty and Nathan that I used to go there a lot but did not so much now Barraharri had left. Just as we entered I saw Bob and Linda the owners. It felt like coming home. I had Moonshine again, a pint, and Matty and Nathan had pints of Bradfield Blonde. The beer range is slightly better here but the bar is nothing like Fagans and doesn't claim to be. The music is good, its chilled out and is a good place to sit and catch up.
From here we walked down towards the Beer Engine and then turned through Decathlon to the Lord Nelson. It transpired that Nathan had been in once before, but this did not diminish the pub's appeal. We all had a pint of an IPA at 5.something percent from a brewery. It was maybe Pennine or Revisionist. It doesn't matter, which is good, since I can't remember. The pub was busy with darts on, and we sat in the room on the left soaking up the atmosphere.
From here we crossed the dual carriage way and headed for a new pub for us all. The Railway on Bramall Lane, which is not despite the article wording in Beer Matters, being run by Andy Cullen, has been taken over by a family and they have done it up and put on four or five cask beers. We all had a pint of the Chantry Kaldo Pale Ale at 5.5%. We sat down near the back and after Matty had discovered that once again the kid behind the bar was one of his ex school mates, we started listening to the Sheffield quiz, which didn't seem too taxing (although being a quiz, I insisted we did not take part). The Kaldo was lovely, and the pub looks nice inside. Good luck to them running this boozer.
Its not far from there, not even if you can't remember where the path over the river goes from, to the Sheaf View. We walked past and went to the Brothers at the top of the hill. I am told in here we all had a strong pint of something at 6.5%. I am sure we did. In a consistent line, I can't remember what this was at all. We did however have a delicious curried scotch egg each, and sat outside in the wet to eat it.
Next up was a pint in the Sheaf View. The pint we had was definitely made with hops and malt and water and yeast and tasted of beer. It might have been from Whim. Or one of the thousand other UK breweries. I am led to believe it was strong. I remember I enjoyed it. We sat in the back as the front to rooms were rammed and talked, probably quite loudly about pubs and drinking and inappropriate things which I cannot divulge here. We may have been slightly tipsy by this stage...
Our penultimate stop was the White Lion. We met Tash here who was already in with a seat and a table and a beer. I am guessing we all had pints of Dancing Duck Abduction at 5.8% or whatever it is. There was live music on, and the place was busy with a great atmosphere. I understand the Dancing Duck has replaced the Thornbridge Jaipur they always used to keep so well, no doubt because of cost. Although more recently, because it tastes pants. Far better to support Dancing Duck I say.
We got a taxi from here to Shakespeares to finish the night. I had two or three halves of beers with names that they were selling, and Matty probably had a bottle. Being a pub crawl, Nathan would also have had a drink, and everything. Memories eh. What are they? Like birds, nobody knows....
As Easter was busy I didn't see Nathan until Saturday and he had similar memories, or lack thereof, of getting home. Good lad! Overall this was a highly enjoyable pub crawl with three lovely people featuring excellent traditional pubs and ales.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
isn't Easter great eh? Every single last one of us gets four whole days off to relax at home. Um...apart from anyone working in the service industry. Transport, health, retail, pubs. Especially those in pubs. Despite this, myself and Matty had been chatting with Nathan from the Three Tuns and arranged to go out with him for pints on Maundy Thursday. I have no idea if he worked Good Friday. Am hoping for his sake he didn't....
We all finished work about 17.00 and met in the Three Tuns about 17.30. It was busy, and as Nathan pointed out, it was like a Friday. Nathaniel is an affable 24 year old with two PHd's in Zoo-ology and hails from a town or village in Worcestreshire with a Bathams pub. Or Birmingham. If you know anything about the Bathams tied estate that actually limits the potential answers to where I mean. Despite my awful behaviour in October, we still get on, as he does with Meathumph.
We decided to show Nathan some of the pubs he hadn't been to before in Sheffield. In one night. I started as did Nathan on a pint of Brighton Bier Southern Bitter, a gorgeously dry bitter ale with stonking piles of hops and just enough malt in the background. Matty had two pints of something as well. The rest is history, and I am the historian. Help us, made up deity!
Our next stop was Fagans. Being yoot, Nathan and Matty eschewed the delights of real ale and went for Guinness which I understand people like. I went for a good old pint of Moonshine. We were advised where to sit by the landlord, (the comfiest seats) and perched in the corner chatting about pubs and beer and all things good. Fagans is a cracking city centre boozer. Its not changed as long as I have been going in, sells a decent pint and has a wonderful atmosphere. Just what you could want from a pub.
Just up the road is Regent Terrace, and Harrisons 1854. I was telling Matty and Nathan that I used to go there a lot but did not so much now Barraharri had left. Just as we entered I saw Bob and Linda the owners. It felt like coming home. I had Moonshine again, a pint, and Matty and Nathan had pints of Bradfield Blonde. The beer range is slightly better here but the bar is nothing like Fagans and doesn't claim to be. The music is good, its chilled out and is a good place to sit and catch up.
From here we walked down towards the Beer Engine and then turned through Decathlon to the Lord Nelson. It transpired that Nathan had been in once before, but this did not diminish the pub's appeal. We all had a pint of an IPA at 5.something percent from a brewery. It was maybe Pennine or Revisionist. It doesn't matter, which is good, since I can't remember. The pub was busy with darts on, and we sat in the room on the left soaking up the atmosphere.
From here we crossed the dual carriage way and headed for a new pub for us all. The Railway on Bramall Lane, which is not despite the article wording in Beer Matters, being run by Andy Cullen, has been taken over by a family and they have done it up and put on four or five cask beers. We all had a pint of the Chantry Kaldo Pale Ale at 5.5%. We sat down near the back and after Matty had discovered that once again the kid behind the bar was one of his ex school mates, we started listening to the Sheffield quiz, which didn't seem too taxing (although being a quiz, I insisted we did not take part). The Kaldo was lovely, and the pub looks nice inside. Good luck to them running this boozer.
Its not far from there, not even if you can't remember where the path over the river goes from, to the Sheaf View. We walked past and went to the Brothers at the top of the hill. I am told in here we all had a strong pint of something at 6.5%. I am sure we did. In a consistent line, I can't remember what this was at all. We did however have a delicious curried scotch egg each, and sat outside in the wet to eat it.
Next up was a pint in the Sheaf View. The pint we had was definitely made with hops and malt and water and yeast and tasted of beer. It might have been from Whim. Or one of the thousand other UK breweries. I am led to believe it was strong. I remember I enjoyed it. We sat in the back as the front to rooms were rammed and talked, probably quite loudly about pubs and drinking and inappropriate things which I cannot divulge here. We may have been slightly tipsy by this stage...
Our penultimate stop was the White Lion. We met Tash here who was already in with a seat and a table and a beer. I am guessing we all had pints of Dancing Duck Abduction at 5.8% or whatever it is. There was live music on, and the place was busy with a great atmosphere. I understand the Dancing Duck has replaced the Thornbridge Jaipur they always used to keep so well, no doubt because of cost. Although more recently, because it tastes pants. Far better to support Dancing Duck I say.
We got a taxi from here to Shakespeares to finish the night. I had two or three halves of beers with names that they were selling, and Matty probably had a bottle. Being a pub crawl, Nathan would also have had a drink, and everything. Memories eh. What are they? Like birds, nobody knows....
As Easter was busy I didn't see Nathan until Saturday and he had similar memories, or lack thereof, of getting home. Good lad! Overall this was a highly enjoyable pub crawl with three lovely people featuring excellent traditional pubs and ales.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
Wednesday, 27 January 2016
A mooch round Abbeydale and Heeley
Hello,
last week I was out and about with Matty. Himself and my were out sampling a few pubs and the ales they sell. Its always good to take someone somewhere new, and Matty had not been to two of the intended pubs. Here's some details of what we found and saw and drank in Abbeydake and Heeley.
We started at Daves, better known as Archer Road Beer Stop. Despite rumours to the contrary, Davefromtshop is still selling real ales - he had Moonshine and Invocation on from Abbeydale when we visited. We were invited in the back for a chat and Dave insisted we try a couple of bottles between the three of us of Hambleton Thoroughbred Legend. This was a new beer, but which was a stronger version of the established golden ale but stronger and hoppier, around 6.5%. We all tried the beer, which was very tasty, and Dave intends to get the whole range in. It was good to introduce Matty to the shop, and was a great start to our night.
Down to Athol and then Little London Road next we were soon on Chesterfield and visited the Tramsheds. This is my second visit and the venue did not disappoint. Although, when we asked if there were any sour beers, I did have to name some, but they offered us a can of Magic Rock Salty Kiss which is excellent, so Matty had that, and I had a hop Oil IPA called Hophunter from Sierra Nevada which was delicious. Matty also got chatting to Alan behind the bar, who he knew from school.
We headed up to the Brothers Arms next, and lined our stomachs with two curried scotch eggs, in my first visit for months. I had a pint of the Blue Bee Ginger and am certain that Matty had something hoppy, perhaps from Revolutions brew. The Brothers was busy as always and we enjoyed sitting in he room on the left, catching up, making plans and watching a steady flow of people heading to and from the bar.
Just down the road is the Sheaf View. This was likewise busy, and we were surprised to find the room at the back virtually empty after we got our pints - a beer I can't remember the name of for me, and a beer I can;t remember the name of for Matty. We got chatting to Dave Staves and enjoyed our more memorable than this post would suggest, real ales. Another cracking visit.
Down onto Chesterfield Road was our penultimate pub the White Lion. We both had pints of Dancing Duck in here, and Matty also tried a strong dark beer which I think was a plum Porter. Details eh - who has them? The beer was reasonably priced as usual and we sat in the beautiful front snug, soaking up the atmosphere and chatting to the guy whose table we had joined.
We left here late on and went to meet Tash and Mr Scatt in the Bath Hotel. Alas we arrived after last orders but luckily halves of a beer had been bought for us. The pub was still quite busy despite it being late and we stayed here for a while before getting a taxi home.
As always, his could be part of a much longer crawl with many different pubs involved. And once again, the crawl demonstrates that there is a large number of different styles of venues selling an interesting range of beers in all formats very close to each other. Long may that continue!
Cheers
Wee Beefy
last week I was out and about with Matty. Himself and my were out sampling a few pubs and the ales they sell. Its always good to take someone somewhere new, and Matty had not been to two of the intended pubs. Here's some details of what we found and saw and drank in Abbeydake and Heeley.
We started at Daves, better known as Archer Road Beer Stop. Despite rumours to the contrary, Davefromtshop is still selling real ales - he had Moonshine and Invocation on from Abbeydale when we visited. We were invited in the back for a chat and Dave insisted we try a couple of bottles between the three of us of Hambleton Thoroughbred Legend. This was a new beer, but which was a stronger version of the established golden ale but stronger and hoppier, around 6.5%. We all tried the beer, which was very tasty, and Dave intends to get the whole range in. It was good to introduce Matty to the shop, and was a great start to our night.
Down to Athol and then Little London Road next we were soon on Chesterfield and visited the Tramsheds. This is my second visit and the venue did not disappoint. Although, when we asked if there were any sour beers, I did have to name some, but they offered us a can of Magic Rock Salty Kiss which is excellent, so Matty had that, and I had a hop Oil IPA called Hophunter from Sierra Nevada which was delicious. Matty also got chatting to Alan behind the bar, who he knew from school.
We headed up to the Brothers Arms next, and lined our stomachs with two curried scotch eggs, in my first visit for months. I had a pint of the Blue Bee Ginger and am certain that Matty had something hoppy, perhaps from Revolutions brew. The Brothers was busy as always and we enjoyed sitting in he room on the left, catching up, making plans and watching a steady flow of people heading to and from the bar.
Just down the road is the Sheaf View. This was likewise busy, and we were surprised to find the room at the back virtually empty after we got our pints - a beer I can't remember the name of for me, and a beer I can;t remember the name of for Matty. We got chatting to Dave Staves and enjoyed our more memorable than this post would suggest, real ales. Another cracking visit.
Down onto Chesterfield Road was our penultimate pub the White Lion. We both had pints of Dancing Duck in here, and Matty also tried a strong dark beer which I think was a plum Porter. Details eh - who has them? The beer was reasonably priced as usual and we sat in the beautiful front snug, soaking up the atmosphere and chatting to the guy whose table we had joined.
We left here late on and went to meet Tash and Mr Scatt in the Bath Hotel. Alas we arrived after last orders but luckily halves of a beer had been bought for us. The pub was still quite busy despite it being late and we stayed here for a while before getting a taxi home.
As always, his could be part of a much longer crawl with many different pubs involved. And once again, the crawl demonstrates that there is a large number of different styles of venues selling an interesting range of beers in all formats very close to each other. Long may that continue!
Cheers
Wee Beefy
Sunday, 27 December 2015
The Cobden View and the White Lion
Hello readers,
firstly, I would like to say that I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas, and to wish you a very merry new year, and a prosperous 2016. I was lucky enough to wake up on Christmas Day in the arms of Tash for the first time, and spent the day with her, then the Wee men at Wee Fatha's. Before all that however, blogging was temporarily suspended due to imbibing. Over the next few days, I hope to recall some of that.
On Saturday 19th December I met Wee's Fatha and Keefy, Mumrah and Martin and Matty and Tash at Crosspool for our Christmas meal out. Afterwards we went to the Punch Bowl and then were heading off to the Closed Shop and Hallamshire House to finish. More details of the first two pubs will follow. En route to School Road we were on Cobden View Road and Tash had a pressing need. Since it wasn't too late I agreed we popped in the Cobden View for a half and an obviate. In the end, we stayed all night.
The Cobden View, or the Cobden as its usually known, to me at least, is a back street boozer. Its on Cobden View Road, with houses or flats on either side and the back of Western Road houses overlooking it - there is even a jennel from the beer garden to Western Road. I first went in when I was seventeen - I used to drink Newcastle Brown in bottles, and bought and poured one hastily, causing it to be half head. Being so young, I mistakenly thought this was a Southern head, and went to see some such folks from Church (I know...) and loudly laughed at them and it. I made myself look like a tit to be honest. That never, luckily, stopped me going in.
Matty had never been in the Cobden. I told him, in a casual but believable sounding Beefy lie, that it was named after the industrialist Richard Cobden, as opposed to the guy who had a short-lived brewery and Nightclub in Stockport in the nineties. To my surprise, I found a poster in the loos confirming this was (virtually) the case. Richard Cobden was a commercial traveler then businessman, setting up near Clitheroe and then in Manchester a Calico printing factory. He later became a member of the Anti Corn Law league and a peace campaigner and campaigned for Free Trade, described as the "greatest classical-liberal thinker of International affairs". He wasn't just an industrialist, in fact his views meant he wasn't at all. Its nice to make up something which is virtually true however...!
We had halves of Belgian Blue for Tash, Hobgoblin for Matty and Copper Dragon Best for me. We sat in the room on the left and noticed a huge jug of mulled wine was nearby with mince pies. When I returned from the loo Matty and Tash were tucking into roast chestnuts. I've never had them, so joined in. The occasion? The 150th anniversary of the licensing of the Cobden View in 1865 (originally as the Cobden Tavern). There were carol singers, who sing only in pubs on request (and the woman singer leading had an incredible voice), a huge pot of stew, and regulars and newcomers alike.
We talked to the managers Andrew and Laura (am not sure, sorry!) who was a university student from Stoke. They were keen on promoting the pub and making it an inclusive part of the community - in my opinion this has been pulled off perfectly. There is an excellent mix of local students and local born residents, a former boxer who is unsteady on his feet who collects the glasses, friendly bar staff and a proper community spirit. We had stew and mulled wine and mince pies (we were encouraged to!) and carried on drinking pints of Farmers Belgian Blue and Blonde, and chatted to other punters.
One of the most amazing things about the night was that I went to the bar to ask if I could pay on card, telling the man serving me, who may have been called Chris (sorry!) that I needed the change for the taxi. "Where you going to?" he asked. "Handsworth via Arbourthorne " I replied. He said it would be fine to take us - even though, when I asked him where he lived he said it was just round the corner. When we pressed him for an explanation later he said " well, just think of it as a Christmas present". What a lovely kind gesture that was. His generosity nicely summed up the spirit of the pub and the friendliness we had been shown. For more information and news, here is a link to their Facebook page .
A short mention next about the White Lion on London Road Heeley bottom. Its short because I was only in shortly the other day. It is no lesser a pub!
Earlier this year the pub was taken over by my friends Jon and Mandy. I was surprised to say the least, because even though they were long time regulars in there, I didn't think either of them had any experience of running a pub. Going in soon after they opened, I found out this was the case. Despite that, more than 6 months on they are still there, making money, showcasing live music and have put their own individual stamp on a pub which had become a little predictable in its beer range prior to them taking over.
Initially Jon told me that he wanted to introduce his own prices as he felt the current were too high, and to make changes to the beer range. The first few times we came in that hadn't been possible, and it took a fortnight to get a card machine, but one thing that shone though was the quality of the beer - I understand the cellar is immaculately clean. However, other than seeing him run a bar at Tramlines (selling excellent Wild and Siren beer) I don't think I've been in the pub since.
On Wednesday I was up at Manhattan's Motorcycles buying a present and popped in the Sheaf View for a half of Geeves fully laden IPA - on my way to Davefromtshop's shop, I decided to pop in - and found that as promised, the prices were much reduced, and the beer range was incredible. As I was pushed for time I only tried a half - of Waen Snowball, a 7.0% chocolate, coconut and vanilla porter - a bargain, given its strength, at £3.50 a pint. Other beers on offer included Dancing Duck Hoppy Christmas, a beer from Coastal, one from XT and many more. For more info, see their Facebook page here.
Its great to see the changes that Jon and Mandy have introduced, and I wish them all the very best. I will have to start adding this to my Brothers and Sheaf View crawl from now on. Once again, Sheffield presents two excellent community pubs hosting live music, and selling excellent real ale at sensible prices. God bless the Steel City!
Cheers
Wee Beefy
firstly, I would like to say that I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas, and to wish you a very merry new year, and a prosperous 2016. I was lucky enough to wake up on Christmas Day in the arms of Tash for the first time, and spent the day with her, then the Wee men at Wee Fatha's. Before all that however, blogging was temporarily suspended due to imbibing. Over the next few days, I hope to recall some of that.
On Saturday 19th December I met Wee's Fatha and Keefy, Mumrah and Martin and Matty and Tash at Crosspool for our Christmas meal out. Afterwards we went to the Punch Bowl and then were heading off to the Closed Shop and Hallamshire House to finish. More details of the first two pubs will follow. En route to School Road we were on Cobden View Road and Tash had a pressing need. Since it wasn't too late I agreed we popped in the Cobden View for a half and an obviate. In the end, we stayed all night.
The Cobden View, or the Cobden as its usually known, to me at least, is a back street boozer. Its on Cobden View Road, with houses or flats on either side and the back of Western Road houses overlooking it - there is even a jennel from the beer garden to Western Road. I first went in when I was seventeen - I used to drink Newcastle Brown in bottles, and bought and poured one hastily, causing it to be half head. Being so young, I mistakenly thought this was a Southern head, and went to see some such folks from Church (I know...) and loudly laughed at them and it. I made myself look like a tit to be honest. That never, luckily, stopped me going in.
Matty had never been in the Cobden. I told him, in a casual but believable sounding Beefy lie, that it was named after the industrialist Richard Cobden, as opposed to the guy who had a short-lived brewery and Nightclub in Stockport in the nineties. To my surprise, I found a poster in the loos confirming this was (virtually) the case. Richard Cobden was a commercial traveler then businessman, setting up near Clitheroe and then in Manchester a Calico printing factory. He later became a member of the Anti Corn Law league and a peace campaigner and campaigned for Free Trade, described as the "greatest classical-liberal thinker of International affairs". He wasn't just an industrialist, in fact his views meant he wasn't at all. Its nice to make up something which is virtually true however...!
We had halves of Belgian Blue for Tash, Hobgoblin for Matty and Copper Dragon Best for me. We sat in the room on the left and noticed a huge jug of mulled wine was nearby with mince pies. When I returned from the loo Matty and Tash were tucking into roast chestnuts. I've never had them, so joined in. The occasion? The 150th anniversary of the licensing of the Cobden View in 1865 (originally as the Cobden Tavern). There were carol singers, who sing only in pubs on request (and the woman singer leading had an incredible voice), a huge pot of stew, and regulars and newcomers alike.
We talked to the managers Andrew and Laura (am not sure, sorry!) who was a university student from Stoke. They were keen on promoting the pub and making it an inclusive part of the community - in my opinion this has been pulled off perfectly. There is an excellent mix of local students and local born residents, a former boxer who is unsteady on his feet who collects the glasses, friendly bar staff and a proper community spirit. We had stew and mulled wine and mince pies (we were encouraged to!) and carried on drinking pints of Farmers Belgian Blue and Blonde, and chatted to other punters.
One of the most amazing things about the night was that I went to the bar to ask if I could pay on card, telling the man serving me, who may have been called Chris (sorry!) that I needed the change for the taxi. "Where you going to?" he asked. "Handsworth via Arbourthorne " I replied. He said it would be fine to take us - even though, when I asked him where he lived he said it was just round the corner. When we pressed him for an explanation later he said " well, just think of it as a Christmas present". What a lovely kind gesture that was. His generosity nicely summed up the spirit of the pub and the friendliness we had been shown. For more information and news, here is a link to their Facebook page .
A short mention next about the White Lion on London Road Heeley bottom. Its short because I was only in shortly the other day. It is no lesser a pub!
Earlier this year the pub was taken over by my friends Jon and Mandy. I was surprised to say the least, because even though they were long time regulars in there, I didn't think either of them had any experience of running a pub. Going in soon after they opened, I found out this was the case. Despite that, more than 6 months on they are still there, making money, showcasing live music and have put their own individual stamp on a pub which had become a little predictable in its beer range prior to them taking over.
Initially Jon told me that he wanted to introduce his own prices as he felt the current were too high, and to make changes to the beer range. The first few times we came in that hadn't been possible, and it took a fortnight to get a card machine, but one thing that shone though was the quality of the beer - I understand the cellar is immaculately clean. However, other than seeing him run a bar at Tramlines (selling excellent Wild and Siren beer) I don't think I've been in the pub since.
On Wednesday I was up at Manhattan's Motorcycles buying a present and popped in the Sheaf View for a half of Geeves fully laden IPA - on my way to Davefromtshop's shop, I decided to pop in - and found that as promised, the prices were much reduced, and the beer range was incredible. As I was pushed for time I only tried a half - of Waen Snowball, a 7.0% chocolate, coconut and vanilla porter - a bargain, given its strength, at £3.50 a pint. Other beers on offer included Dancing Duck Hoppy Christmas, a beer from Coastal, one from XT and many more. For more info, see their Facebook page here.
Its great to see the changes that Jon and Mandy have introduced, and I wish them all the very best. I will have to start adding this to my Brothers and Sheaf View crawl from now on. Once again, Sheffield presents two excellent community pubs hosting live music, and selling excellent real ale at sensible prices. God bless the Steel City!
Cheers
Wee Beefy
Thursday, 30 July 2015
The Tramlines's.
Hello,
many people were disappointed with the Tramlines festival. One of my Faceache chums described it as a "mega corporate money grabbing c*nt fest", but another said "got a positive reaction from lots of new faces, which is one of the great things about Tramlines, and it gets better every year". The thing is, who cares?! Nobody mentioned, or grumbled about, the beers. The beers! Crucial to any festival. Here's what I supped and where....
Friday started in the Shakespeares. Hardly a revelation, but its near work and had music. Me and Tash enjoyed a fantastic pint and a half each of Kernel Mosaic on keg. Or it may have been Citra. It was ace. We heard a little of Holy Moly and the Crackers before leaving the festivities and visiting the Three Tuns. Here pints of Blue Bee Phantom Geek were tried, before Tash went to the Dove and I went home.
The next day I started late. I didn't get to the Brothers Arms until half past three. Turns out this was 30 minutes before the Everly Pregnant Brothers came on. I queued 35 minutes to get to the bar, and bought two pints, Burning Sky Aurora and the 7.1% Fyne Ales Superior IPA. I found Fluffy and Trudi and Sue and Col, who waited 45 minutes to get served, and stood in a crowd of thousands watching the band.
Half way through I went to the outside bar again - and got served straight away! A pint of Dark Star Revelation at 5.7% and a pint of Hammerton No.1 (£3.00 a pint, or £6.00 for a little bottle at Craft and Dug) and after a catch up with Carlos returned to my group. It was great to catch up, enjoy beer, and I headed next for John's beer tent at the bottom. Wild Fresh and Blackjack lager were on but I had a half of the Siren Liquid Monstrous, which was ace. John suggested I went to the White Lion next, but they were queuing on the main road to get in so I headed for the Sheaf View.
Here I got a pint of something pale and lovely and went to the loo. It was good to get some time to get myself together but I needed food! I stumbled to the Beer Engine and had the most delicious and tender burger, with coleselaw and handmade sweet potato fries, along with a half of Neepsend Red, before heading into town to meet Tash. We went first to the Dove and Rainbow where Tash bought me some Hambleton Nightmare, and then via meeting Dr Johnson we headed for the Dog and Partridge. A half of something in here, alas I was a trifle refreshed.
Penultimate stop was the Bath for two pints of Chiron and to watch a mosh pit and the Velcro Teddy Bears. Cracking finish to the set, but we only saw 2 songs! We finished the night in Harrisons 1854 but after getting our pints of Moonshine they soon stopped the DJ's - I forgot their license means they have to shut at midnight!
The next day we recovered and ate and chatted and finally left after 18.00 to go to the University Arms. We watched and absolutely lobed the whole set of Jungle Lion, whilst drinking pints of Thornbridge Halcyon at £4.50 a pint. It was a fantastic gig, and was great meeting Joanne and Tara. A pint of the excellent Burton Bridge Damson Porter followed.
Down at the Bath we caught teh last 4 songs or so of the Fyreflies, a folk rock band from nearby, before heading for Shakespeares. We got pints of the excellent Brew By Numbers Nelson Sauvin Saison, a deliciously refreshing 3.9% Belgian beer, and caught the last 6 songs of a guy whose surname was McSweeney - a brilliant, haunting voice and a sharp wit made this a perfect close.
Chris B at Shakespeares stated he worked 45 hours in 3 days. I bet he was exhausted. However, I also think hat Shakespeares, the Brothers, The Bath and others made a fortune over Tramlines. Its once a year, it is rapidly becoming massive. And this year, the beer was outstanding.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy.
many people were disappointed with the Tramlines festival. One of my Faceache chums described it as a "mega corporate money grabbing c*nt fest", but another said "got a positive reaction from lots of new faces, which is one of the great things about Tramlines, and it gets better every year". The thing is, who cares?! Nobody mentioned, or grumbled about, the beers. The beers! Crucial to any festival. Here's what I supped and where....
Friday started in the Shakespeares. Hardly a revelation, but its near work and had music. Me and Tash enjoyed a fantastic pint and a half each of Kernel Mosaic on keg. Or it may have been Citra. It was ace. We heard a little of Holy Moly and the Crackers before leaving the festivities and visiting the Three Tuns. Here pints of Blue Bee Phantom Geek were tried, before Tash went to the Dove and I went home.
The next day I started late. I didn't get to the Brothers Arms until half past three. Turns out this was 30 minutes before the Everly Pregnant Brothers came on. I queued 35 minutes to get to the bar, and bought two pints, Burning Sky Aurora and the 7.1% Fyne Ales Superior IPA. I found Fluffy and Trudi and Sue and Col, who waited 45 minutes to get served, and stood in a crowd of thousands watching the band.
Half way through I went to the outside bar again - and got served straight away! A pint of Dark Star Revelation at 5.7% and a pint of Hammerton No.1 (£3.00 a pint, or £6.00 for a little bottle at Craft and Dug) and after a catch up with Carlos returned to my group. It was great to catch up, enjoy beer, and I headed next for John's beer tent at the bottom. Wild Fresh and Blackjack lager were on but I had a half of the Siren Liquid Monstrous, which was ace. John suggested I went to the White Lion next, but they were queuing on the main road to get in so I headed for the Sheaf View.
Here I got a pint of something pale and lovely and went to the loo. It was good to get some time to get myself together but I needed food! I stumbled to the Beer Engine and had the most delicious and tender burger, with coleselaw and handmade sweet potato fries, along with a half of Neepsend Red, before heading into town to meet Tash. We went first to the Dove and Rainbow where Tash bought me some Hambleton Nightmare, and then via meeting Dr Johnson we headed for the Dog and Partridge. A half of something in here, alas I was a trifle refreshed.
Penultimate stop was the Bath for two pints of Chiron and to watch a mosh pit and the Velcro Teddy Bears. Cracking finish to the set, but we only saw 2 songs! We finished the night in Harrisons 1854 but after getting our pints of Moonshine they soon stopped the DJ's - I forgot their license means they have to shut at midnight!
The next day we recovered and ate and chatted and finally left after 18.00 to go to the University Arms. We watched and absolutely lobed the whole set of Jungle Lion, whilst drinking pints of Thornbridge Halcyon at £4.50 a pint. It was a fantastic gig, and was great meeting Joanne and Tara. A pint of the excellent Burton Bridge Damson Porter followed.
Down at the Bath we caught teh last 4 songs or so of the Fyreflies, a folk rock band from nearby, before heading for Shakespeares. We got pints of the excellent Brew By Numbers Nelson Sauvin Saison, a deliciously refreshing 3.9% Belgian beer, and caught the last 6 songs of a guy whose surname was McSweeney - a brilliant, haunting voice and a sharp wit made this a perfect close.
Chris B at Shakespeares stated he worked 45 hours in 3 days. I bet he was exhausted. However, I also think hat Shakespeares, the Brothers, The Bath and others made a fortune over Tramlines. Its once a year, it is rapidly becoming massive. And this year, the beer was outstanding.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy.
Sunday, 12 April 2015
Some short Sheffield pub crawls
Now then,
just a quick round up of a few trips out I have enjoyed in the last week with Tash and others. With one exception I haven't had to travel far to get to these pubs, and as always, all have served excellent beers.
On Easter Monday Tash and I got off the bus in town and walked onto London Road, well Cemetery Road actually, and visited the Beer Engine. It was good to bump into my friend Mr Vintin, who I understand is assisting with the pub's social media, and it was nice to be able to sit outside as well. Tash had halves of Blackjack Fusion and another, and I started on a pint of the Thirst Aid from Exit 33. We finished sat inside, on a pint and a half of the excellent Bad Seed American Pale Ale on keg which was delicious. It was also our chance to try a free sample of the food. Chunks of chorizo with Spanish sweet potatoes in a piri piri sauce was a prefect match. Food now available.
We walked up London Road to the Picture House Social to discover they were selling their beers off at half price. We started with pints of the Blackjack and Arbor Live Long and Prosper, and then the Indy Man Beer House and Celt Experience Yes Way IPA. We finished on pints of that and the Weird Beard Decadence Stout - to be honest none of the beers were in tip top condition but they were all at least 6.0% and complex so that didn't matter so much.
Wednesday I walked from home to the Brothers Arms - it took me about 1 hour 45 or 50, including getting lost on Manor Top. I had several delicious pints of Tiny Rebel Loki Black IPA in here waiting to be joined by Matty and Tash. Shame there was n food though! Down the street next to the Sheaf View and we once again got the last table to sit at. I knw I had an IPA but am unsure which! All the beers we tried were in good form though. Our penultimate pub was the White Lion, where we sat in the upper end and listened in on the end of the quiz. Pints of Jaipur and Hobgoblin were the order of the day here, along with some free sandwiches. We finished the night in Shakespeares enjoying some North Riding and Five Towns OAP DIPA at 9.6%. Just a pint and a half each....
Friday saw us up on Crookes for Wee Keefy's birthday drinks. Me Tash and Matty met first in the Bath Hotel to enjoy pints of Celt Experience Selurius (?) before heading to the Ball on Crookes to be joined by Alison, WK, Carlos, Paddington, Jack, Jo and Neil. Pints included Tempest Stout and their American 5 Hop IPA from Blue Bee Brewery, and we spent four hours here before hopping on a bus into town to finish in Shakespeares. Here, obviously, it was time for more pints of the OAP DIPA, and to meet Alex Paramore and his lady friend whose name I was sure I would remember but have not. Sorry Alex's lady friend whose name I was sure I would remember but have not....
So, apart from slack reporting skills, I thin the above demonstrates that Sheffield continuously delivers on choice of pubs, and the ales they serve. A fact hopefully proven by my meeting Fluffy in an hour at the Tap and Tankard.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
just a quick round up of a few trips out I have enjoyed in the last week with Tash and others. With one exception I haven't had to travel far to get to these pubs, and as always, all have served excellent beers.
On Easter Monday Tash and I got off the bus in town and walked onto London Road, well Cemetery Road actually, and visited the Beer Engine. It was good to bump into my friend Mr Vintin, who I understand is assisting with the pub's social media, and it was nice to be able to sit outside as well. Tash had halves of Blackjack Fusion and another, and I started on a pint of the Thirst Aid from Exit 33. We finished sat inside, on a pint and a half of the excellent Bad Seed American Pale Ale on keg which was delicious. It was also our chance to try a free sample of the food. Chunks of chorizo with Spanish sweet potatoes in a piri piri sauce was a prefect match. Food now available.
We walked up London Road to the Picture House Social to discover they were selling their beers off at half price. We started with pints of the Blackjack and Arbor Live Long and Prosper, and then the Indy Man Beer House and Celt Experience Yes Way IPA. We finished on pints of that and the Weird Beard Decadence Stout - to be honest none of the beers were in tip top condition but they were all at least 6.0% and complex so that didn't matter so much.
Wednesday I walked from home to the Brothers Arms - it took me about 1 hour 45 or 50, including getting lost on Manor Top. I had several delicious pints of Tiny Rebel Loki Black IPA in here waiting to be joined by Matty and Tash. Shame there was n food though! Down the street next to the Sheaf View and we once again got the last table to sit at. I knw I had an IPA but am unsure which! All the beers we tried were in good form though. Our penultimate pub was the White Lion, where we sat in the upper end and listened in on the end of the quiz. Pints of Jaipur and Hobgoblin were the order of the day here, along with some free sandwiches. We finished the night in Shakespeares enjoying some North Riding and Five Towns OAP DIPA at 9.6%. Just a pint and a half each....
Friday saw us up on Crookes for Wee Keefy's birthday drinks. Me Tash and Matty met first in the Bath Hotel to enjoy pints of Celt Experience Selurius (?) before heading to the Ball on Crookes to be joined by Alison, WK, Carlos, Paddington, Jack, Jo and Neil. Pints included Tempest Stout and their American 5 Hop IPA from Blue Bee Brewery, and we spent four hours here before hopping on a bus into town to finish in Shakespeares. Here, obviously, it was time for more pints of the OAP DIPA, and to meet Alex Paramore and his lady friend whose name I was sure I would remember but have not. Sorry Alex's lady friend whose name I was sure I would remember but have not....
So, apart from slack reporting skills, I thin the above demonstrates that Sheffield continuously delivers on choice of pubs, and the ales they serve. A fact hopefully proven by my meeting Fluffy in an hour at the Tap and Tankard.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
Sunday, 29 March 2015
Brothers Arms Beer Festival and the Heeley Triangle
Good evening,
well, yesterday I went to the very first Brothers Arms beer festival, and to the two other pubs in the Heeley Triangle. Of ale.... and what a night it was! Probably the busiest pub event I have ever been to, and a hugely enjoyable one to boot, with friends and fanily and new folk joining in the drinking and chatting and general badinage. Here some details.....
I arrived a bit later than planned but it was still a little light as I walked up the hill to the Brothers Arms. I knew my friends in Kingfisher Blue ere playing and as a soon as I started walking up from Chesterfield Road I could hear Jake's distinctive voice. The Brothers Arms looked spectacular in its well lit position overlooking Sheffield, and there were numerous cars parked outside - and uncountable numbers of punters inside.
Having not really looked into details of the festival I foolishly assumed all the beers would be on the bar. To be fair, it was so busy when I arrived I could only see three handpulls so chose from that - a pint of Blue Bee called Brewers Gold and a half of the strong Black Mass from Abbeydale Brewery - which came to a very good value £3.90. It probably only took 5 minutes to get served - and just as long again to get outside to see Kingfisher.
Which I did, but only for the last 3 songs, although in some ways this was good because it included Plastic Jesus, a favourite of mine (and not because it includes a rude word), as well as a rousing singalong finisher before they had to leave the stage. I saw Angie, Rich , Wee Keefy, Jambon, Jo, Paddington and a lady and a lass called Caitlin who turned out to be Jambon's daughter. We chatted for a while outside (in teh cold rain and wind) before fining a small corner to stand inside near the door.
I then discovered the festival bar was outside, at the end of the tent at the opposite end to the stage. I handed back my empties and struggled outside once more and ended up with a pint of Rational Black IPA from Blue Bee and a delicious half of something dark and hoppy from Hawkshead. By this time Wee Keefy and Jambon et al had decamped to the Sheaf view having been at the Brothers for 4 hours, so I went back out and had a pint of a hoppy beer from Oakham and possibly half a Blackjack - alas, so busy was it, I didn't even get to photograph the blackboard advertising the beers!
After chatting with Ally and Malc, Rich and Carlos (and Andy - hello!) I finished up and headed down to the Sheaf View. One of the knock on effects of the Brothers being so rammed was that many people migrated to the other points of the triangle, nearest of which was the Sheaf. I know it gets very busy on a Saturday night anyway, but this was another heaving venue. In keeping with recent posts, and bearing in mind this was only last night, am afraid I can't remember what I had to drink. That's proper journalism...!
Our final stop was at the White Lion. We managed to get in the snug and sat down to enjoy a [pint of Sequoia for me (since the Jaipur had run out) and to chat and catch up. The pub was likewise busy, and there may also have been a band on when we got there. Great evidence, across the three, of the benefits of holding a beer festival in one of the pubs in he Heeley Triangle. Of ale.....
I got in a taxi towards Crookes without Carlos alas, and jumped out at Brook Hill - I did ask the taxi driver t stop of course. I then ran very quickly down Brook Hill to the Shakespeares to grab a pint and to chat to Mr Bamford who seemed a little tired.
Am hoping to nip back to the Brothers in a bit, especially as there is a Siren beer that was yet to come on last night. I may even splash out on a pizza if they are available - they smelled and looked gorgeous. Congratulations to the Brothers Arms for organising such a fantastic beer festival.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
well, yesterday I went to the very first Brothers Arms beer festival, and to the two other pubs in the Heeley Triangle. Of ale.... and what a night it was! Probably the busiest pub event I have ever been to, and a hugely enjoyable one to boot, with friends and fanily and new folk joining in the drinking and chatting and general badinage. Here some details.....
I arrived a bit later than planned but it was still a little light as I walked up the hill to the Brothers Arms. I knew my friends in Kingfisher Blue ere playing and as a soon as I started walking up from Chesterfield Road I could hear Jake's distinctive voice. The Brothers Arms looked spectacular in its well lit position overlooking Sheffield, and there were numerous cars parked outside - and uncountable numbers of punters inside.
Having not really looked into details of the festival I foolishly assumed all the beers would be on the bar. To be fair, it was so busy when I arrived I could only see three handpulls so chose from that - a pint of Blue Bee called Brewers Gold and a half of the strong Black Mass from Abbeydale Brewery - which came to a very good value £3.90. It probably only took 5 minutes to get served - and just as long again to get outside to see Kingfisher.
Which I did, but only for the last 3 songs, although in some ways this was good because it included Plastic Jesus, a favourite of mine (and not because it includes a rude word), as well as a rousing singalong finisher before they had to leave the stage. I saw Angie, Rich , Wee Keefy, Jambon, Jo, Paddington and a lady and a lass called Caitlin who turned out to be Jambon's daughter. We chatted for a while outside (in teh cold rain and wind) before fining a small corner to stand inside near the door.
I then discovered the festival bar was outside, at the end of the tent at the opposite end to the stage. I handed back my empties and struggled outside once more and ended up with a pint of Rational Black IPA from Blue Bee and a delicious half of something dark and hoppy from Hawkshead. By this time Wee Keefy and Jambon et al had decamped to the Sheaf view having been at the Brothers for 4 hours, so I went back out and had a pint of a hoppy beer from Oakham and possibly half a Blackjack - alas, so busy was it, I didn't even get to photograph the blackboard advertising the beers!
After chatting with Ally and Malc, Rich and Carlos (and Andy - hello!) I finished up and headed down to the Sheaf View. One of the knock on effects of the Brothers being so rammed was that many people migrated to the other points of the triangle, nearest of which was the Sheaf. I know it gets very busy on a Saturday night anyway, but this was another heaving venue. In keeping with recent posts, and bearing in mind this was only last night, am afraid I can't remember what I had to drink. That's proper journalism...!
Our final stop was at the White Lion. We managed to get in the snug and sat down to enjoy a [pint of Sequoia for me (since the Jaipur had run out) and to chat and catch up. The pub was likewise busy, and there may also have been a band on when we got there. Great evidence, across the three, of the benefits of holding a beer festival in one of the pubs in he Heeley Triangle. Of ale.....
I got in a taxi towards Crookes without Carlos alas, and jumped out at Brook Hill - I did ask the taxi driver t stop of course. I then ran very quickly down Brook Hill to the Shakespeares to grab a pint and to chat to Mr Bamford who seemed a little tired.
Am hoping to nip back to the Brothers in a bit, especially as there is a Siren beer that was yet to come on last night. I may even splash out on a pizza if they are available - they smelled and looked gorgeous. Congratulations to the Brothers Arms for organising such a fantastic beer festival.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
Wednesday, 25 March 2015
Heeley
Now then,
I recently spent some time in the pubs of Heeley. Well, I say that, I actually spent some time in three pubs within a few minutes walk of each other. I am going to call this area the Heeley Green Triangle of Ale. And I won't even charge for that service.
I headed off from work to a pub called Shakespeares, a pub I may have mentioned before. This, I would hope obviously, is not in fact, in Heeley. I was however expecting Tash to come back from her Doctors appointment at Heeley and to meet me in there for a pint. I noticed I had a text from her that said please ring me. That was an hour ago. I tried calling her but didn't get through. I decided to go ahead and have a pint anyway. It seemed the only rational reaction....
On the bar were numerous delights and I went for a pint of low gravity but brilliantly refreshing Love of Work, a 3.8 or 3.6% Earl Grey pale ale from Siren Craft Brew. It was £2.80 a pint and was deliciously refreshing - not too bitter, but hoppy and tangy enough to satisfy me. Whilst I supped, I hatched a plan to meet Tash at Heeley. And so a mini pub crawl came about.
Our first stop, as we walked down past the Victoria and Waggon and Horses (inside which appeared to be tables covered in bags....?) and after admiring the amazing sky and clouds we found ourselves in the Brothers Arms. It was rammed, and there were numerous treats to taste on cask. A very friendly and enthusiastic lass behind the bar immediately offered us tasters, and we settled on pints of Potbelly hazy Daze for me, and Cluster from Pictish for Tash.
We initially sat outside in the cold to watch the sun set, but with spaces diminishing we ended up in the small room on the left as you walk in. There were plenty of football fans in as there was a match on, and its not far to the ground of Sheffield's other football team. As a result, the pub quietened down after 19.00. We had two very large slices of a local sausage herb and beery jelly pork pie for £2.50 and then shared another pint of the Cluster. The pub was warm, friendly, packed with a wide range of different punters and was the perfect place to spend an hour or two on a cold night.
Just down the hill next, and we were in the Sheaf View. The man who I know who works there but don't know his name was working there, and there was a friendly lass behind the bar offering us tasters. I had the Steel City, which was a deliciously hoppy Black IPA (and kept in perfect condition), whilst Tash had the Portobello Brewery Ginger bread, a 4.4% pale ginger ale.
We sat in the room at the back and the pub was also busy, with us grabbing the last of two remaining tables to sit at. We enjoyed our beers, and then went back for a last one to share. Cornwall's Firebrand brewery had a keg Black Saison at over 6% for £4.00 a pint so we had a half of that . It was an interesting and enjoyable taste but am not sold on the idea of a black saison - although I recall making a similar remark about black IPA's some years ago.....
Down onto the main road our final stop was at the White Lion. Also warm, also busy, we squeezed into the wonderful snug on the left to meet the Portuguese water dog - originally used to catch fish - and its owner and some regulars, and settled down to enjoy 2 pints of excellently kept Jaipur. They now have a card machine, and the Jaipur is on at £3.60 a pint - am not sure that is cheaper than before but its not a bad price for a 5.9% real ale.
We soon got chatting to John behind the bar, and also Mo from Kingfisher Blue, and more Jaipur was bought and supped. John explained that he and Mandy had never run a pub before but had dome training and were committed to selling well kept real ales. John is fanatical about cleaning his lines and his cellar, and many regulars seem to have noticed an improvement in the quality of the ales. There was once again an eclectic mix of music playing, and I understand you can now order pizzas from the Italian restaurant next door.
This was our final stop and a great end to a wonderful evening and night drinking in he Heeley Green Triangle. Of Ale. Looking forward to many more happy nights in the three corners - which doesn't make sense, I realise. Also looking forward to the Brothers, the Sheaf View and the White Lion some time soon!
Cheers
Wee Beefy
I recently spent some time in the pubs of Heeley. Well, I say that, I actually spent some time in three pubs within a few minutes walk of each other. I am going to call this area the Heeley Green Triangle of Ale. And I won't even charge for that service.
I headed off from work to a pub called Shakespeares, a pub I may have mentioned before. This, I would hope obviously, is not in fact, in Heeley. I was however expecting Tash to come back from her Doctors appointment at Heeley and to meet me in there for a pint. I noticed I had a text from her that said please ring me. That was an hour ago. I tried calling her but didn't get through. I decided to go ahead and have a pint anyway. It seemed the only rational reaction....
On the bar were numerous delights and I went for a pint of low gravity but brilliantly refreshing Love of Work, a 3.8 or 3.6% Earl Grey pale ale from Siren Craft Brew. It was £2.80 a pint and was deliciously refreshing - not too bitter, but hoppy and tangy enough to satisfy me. Whilst I supped, I hatched a plan to meet Tash at Heeley. And so a mini pub crawl came about.
Our first stop, as we walked down past the Victoria and Waggon and Horses (inside which appeared to be tables covered in bags....?) and after admiring the amazing sky and clouds we found ourselves in the Brothers Arms. It was rammed, and there were numerous treats to taste on cask. A very friendly and enthusiastic lass behind the bar immediately offered us tasters, and we settled on pints of Potbelly hazy Daze for me, and Cluster from Pictish for Tash.
We initially sat outside in the cold to watch the sun set, but with spaces diminishing we ended up in the small room on the left as you walk in. There were plenty of football fans in as there was a match on, and its not far to the ground of Sheffield's other football team. As a result, the pub quietened down after 19.00. We had two very large slices of a local sausage herb and beery jelly pork pie for £2.50 and then shared another pint of the Cluster. The pub was warm, friendly, packed with a wide range of different punters and was the perfect place to spend an hour or two on a cold night.
Just down the hill next, and we were in the Sheaf View. The man who I know who works there but don't know his name was working there, and there was a friendly lass behind the bar offering us tasters. I had the Steel City, which was a deliciously hoppy Black IPA (and kept in perfect condition), whilst Tash had the Portobello Brewery Ginger bread, a 4.4% pale ginger ale.
We sat in the room at the back and the pub was also busy, with us grabbing the last of two remaining tables to sit at. We enjoyed our beers, and then went back for a last one to share. Cornwall's Firebrand brewery had a keg Black Saison at over 6% for £4.00 a pint so we had a half of that . It was an interesting and enjoyable taste but am not sold on the idea of a black saison - although I recall making a similar remark about black IPA's some years ago.....
Down onto the main road our final stop was at the White Lion. Also warm, also busy, we squeezed into the wonderful snug on the left to meet the Portuguese water dog - originally used to catch fish - and its owner and some regulars, and settled down to enjoy 2 pints of excellently kept Jaipur. They now have a card machine, and the Jaipur is on at £3.60 a pint - am not sure that is cheaper than before but its not a bad price for a 5.9% real ale.
We soon got chatting to John behind the bar, and also Mo from Kingfisher Blue, and more Jaipur was bought and supped. John explained that he and Mandy had never run a pub before but had dome training and were committed to selling well kept real ales. John is fanatical about cleaning his lines and his cellar, and many regulars seem to have noticed an improvement in the quality of the ales. There was once again an eclectic mix of music playing, and I understand you can now order pizzas from the Italian restaurant next door.
This was our final stop and a great end to a wonderful evening and night drinking in he Heeley Green Triangle. Of Ale. Looking forward to many more happy nights in the three corners - which doesn't make sense, I realise. Also looking forward to the Brothers, the Sheaf View and the White Lion some time soon!
Cheers
Wee Beefy
Sunday, 15 March 2015
Things to do and see
Hello,
now I have run out of money, its annoying to reflect on just how many events are taking place soon. or how many places are opening to visit, now. Its reflective of the vibrant pub scene however, and although I will be unable to attend most or all the events, I very much think you should. Here is sone gen thereof.....
Next week is Sheffield Beer Week. Although it coincides wit the overpriced SIBA Beer-x event, it is not connected. It has been set up instead by Jules and Clare, a couple of blogging friends of mine - I say this not for kudos, rather transparency. They are people I know and like. And that makes no difference to the potential quality of the events. Here is a link to their website which tells you things. Many of my regular haunts are doing stuff including beer tasting and meet the brewer events, including Shakespeares, Three Tuns, The Bath hotel and the Tap and Tankard. I think a visit to some may be well worth it.
One of the events that may or may not (but most likely is not) part of the celebrations is a beer festival at the Brothers Arms. Not even open a year, he Brothers has created itself a great reputation for quality inexpensive real ales and live bands, along with excellent local snacks - for instance, curried Scotch Eggs. There is a link here to their website which is new and contains some details, and also confirms what I had forgotten - which is that its the week after Sheffield Beer Week. Um.....
Another plug is necessary am afraid. I do know people who run pubs. Publicans, as I believe they are called, run pubs as a living, and hope to make money. Sorry, this is rather obvious, but it suffices for background. Anyhoo, in order to do this, pubs have to be open, and two of them, run by good friends of mine are.
I think the above explains why I need to undertake some blog writing training....
Mandy and John have taken on The White Lion on Chesterfield Road at Heeley. I had seen a picture of them dressed as Coronation Street landlords on Faceache, but assumed it was a joke. How wrong I was! A first visit of the year last week found them manning the bar and serving a decent range of real ales - including Thornbridge Jaipur, which I almost always have whilst in there. Alas at that point they had no card machine, or indeed internet connection but once both are in place they promise to lower the prices charged for the beer.
This has to be a great development for this pub which, despite having some impeccable interior features, hasn't always been my first choice due to its high prices. And lowering them will also help compete with the Brothers Arms up the road. I don't know if either have run a pub before but they have a strong band of regulars and no doubt plenty of friends to pop in for pints. I wish them all the best.
Finally, the author of the Dimpled Mug pub photography blog has opened up a Micropub called The Grocers in Cadishead in Salford. Please note, I think its in Salford, but alas have never been to Cadishead.....
Neither it seems has real ale, not for many years, so the micropub on Liverpool Road is a great development. Known as The Grocers, I read that it was quite small - well, that is absolutely true if the pictures are anything to go by. Martin sells real ales and real ciders at sensible prices and I don't think he sells much else. Having enjoyed Sheffield's two micropubs and Chesterfield's recently, its obviously a movement that has some popularity - just somewhere to sit down, talk and drink beer.
If you want more details, and since I haven't yet visited, thankfully he has a page on Facebook.
That rounds up all the upcoming events that I know or want to share details of. Best of luck to all involved with Sheffield Beer Week, the Brothers Arms, and the White Lion and The Grocers. Lets hope I have some updates on all of the above in the next week or so.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
now I have run out of money, its annoying to reflect on just how many events are taking place soon. or how many places are opening to visit, now. Its reflective of the vibrant pub scene however, and although I will be unable to attend most or all the events, I very much think you should. Here is sone gen thereof.....
Next week is Sheffield Beer Week. Although it coincides wit the overpriced SIBA Beer-x event, it is not connected. It has been set up instead by Jules and Clare, a couple of blogging friends of mine - I say this not for kudos, rather transparency. They are people I know and like. And that makes no difference to the potential quality of the events. Here is a link to their website which tells you things. Many of my regular haunts are doing stuff including beer tasting and meet the brewer events, including Shakespeares, Three Tuns, The Bath hotel and the Tap and Tankard. I think a visit to some may be well worth it.
One of the events that may or may not (but most likely is not) part of the celebrations is a beer festival at the Brothers Arms. Not even open a year, he Brothers has created itself a great reputation for quality inexpensive real ales and live bands, along with excellent local snacks - for instance, curried Scotch Eggs. There is a link here to their website which is new and contains some details, and also confirms what I had forgotten - which is that its the week after Sheffield Beer Week. Um.....
Another plug is necessary am afraid. I do know people who run pubs. Publicans, as I believe they are called, run pubs as a living, and hope to make money. Sorry, this is rather obvious, but it suffices for background. Anyhoo, in order to do this, pubs have to be open, and two of them, run by good friends of mine are.
I think the above explains why I need to undertake some blog writing training....
Mandy and John have taken on The White Lion on Chesterfield Road at Heeley. I had seen a picture of them dressed as Coronation Street landlords on Faceache, but assumed it was a joke. How wrong I was! A first visit of the year last week found them manning the bar and serving a decent range of real ales - including Thornbridge Jaipur, which I almost always have whilst in there. Alas at that point they had no card machine, or indeed internet connection but once both are in place they promise to lower the prices charged for the beer.
This has to be a great development for this pub which, despite having some impeccable interior features, hasn't always been my first choice due to its high prices. And lowering them will also help compete with the Brothers Arms up the road. I don't know if either have run a pub before but they have a strong band of regulars and no doubt plenty of friends to pop in for pints. I wish them all the best.
Finally, the author of the Dimpled Mug pub photography blog has opened up a Micropub called The Grocers in Cadishead in Salford. Please note, I think its in Salford, but alas have never been to Cadishead.....
Neither it seems has real ale, not for many years, so the micropub on Liverpool Road is a great development. Known as The Grocers, I read that it was quite small - well, that is absolutely true if the pictures are anything to go by. Martin sells real ales and real ciders at sensible prices and I don't think he sells much else. Having enjoyed Sheffield's two micropubs and Chesterfield's recently, its obviously a movement that has some popularity - just somewhere to sit down, talk and drink beer.
If you want more details, and since I haven't yet visited, thankfully he has a page on Facebook.
That rounds up all the upcoming events that I know or want to share details of. Best of luck to all involved with Sheffield Beer Week, the Brothers Arms, and the White Lion and The Grocers. Lets hope I have some updates on all of the above in the next week or so.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
Sunday, 5 May 2013
Bank holiday sessions
Appen,
the Bank Holiday weekend started in earnest on Friday night with pints in the White Lion at Heeley. Partners Brewery Mungo Mild was a surprise find so I supped a couple of pints of that before moving onto Thornbridge Jaipur, which I was disappointed to find was a little bit bit more expensive even than the Hallamshire House. Despite this obvious financial discomfort, I consoled myself with a couple before heading back down the ABV again and finishing on a mild, prior to a boozy meal at Parthenonas for some Greek celebrations.
That meant Saturday was a day to do proper bank holiday things - namely yomp round the Peak District, sup ale and get rained on. All of which were enjoyably achieved.
I met Miss M in town and we caught the bus to a rain soaked Chezvegas and onto Matlock. Or Madlot, which is a much better name on bank holiday. Stood in drizzle at the bus stop muttering about crowds the full horror of tourist-mageddon was laid before us. Why, we wanted to know, are all these people here?
Its a precarious moral position to inhabit when bemoaning the fact that loads of people have come to Matlock and you can't see why, whilst you are also in Matlock, but in our defence, we were on a mission. Matlock was nowt but a stepping stone. We were off to Bonsall, on public transport.
We jumped off the M2 bus at the bottom of the dale and walked the short distance up to the Barley Mow in bright sunshine. It was chilly, and changeable, and whilst sitting outside looked like a good idea, it soon ominously clouded over again. Not that we minded, ensconced inside, supping hoppy ale and eyeing up some mountainous portions of food.
There were four beers on, Kelham Island Best, Black Hole Cosmic, Bumpmill Thunder Road and Blue Monkey Infinity. I started on the Infinity as did Miss M, and we started to think about how we could possibly have exerted enough energy to tackle a lasagna having done nothing more strenuous than walk uphill for 5 minutes. Our concerns were justified. The lasagna portions were ginormous.
Miss M had sourced us some more drinks and to be honest the Blue Monkey Infinity was so good it seemed pointless moving onto something else just yet, so I had another pint of that to help wash down an hours worth of food. We were then joined unexpectedly by Wee Keefy who had ridden over on his bike, arriving just in time to help finish off my meal. Now we were really in bank holiday mode. It even warmed up enough for us to sit outside.
We sat looking down the dale in the sunshine and continued supping, WK on coke and then Bumpmill, Miss M on Infinity and the Black Hole, and me on more pints of Infinity.A perfectly balanced orange tinged hoppy pale ale made for sunshine, and possibly from it.
The Barley Mow is the sort of pub you always seem to arrive at with a fixed timetable, and very quickly decide that you don't want to leave. Certain pubs sometimes just grab you and won't let go. Sat in the Clock room in Shakespeares with its heavy tick-tocking the only sound in the pub; stood next to the fire in the Duke of York at Elton; sitting on the banks of the Severn supping Salopian beers outside the Royal Hill at Edgerley. All moments which I wanted to continue well beyond the point at which was practical for them to do so. (The Duke of York at Elton is especially un-leavable....)
Against which backdrop, five pints of Infinity down and with our bus to Matlock approaching, I thought about the practicalities of catching a later bus. Or in fact, just moving to Bonsall. No practicalities were found.
Back in Matlock, with WK off to the Sheffield Student Union beer fest, we popped in MoCa Bar for a pint of Abbeydale Dark Congregation which we drank whilst sat outside on the terrace/balcony thing, watching the less than salubrious scene in front of us. I don't think Moca's beer terrace will win any awards for the view but it was nice to still be out in the fresh air.
Before we left I grabbed a quick half of Oakham Hare and the Hedgehog, a delightfully punchy, fruity, hop fest at 3.9% which was dispatched quickly. Alas, we couldn't hang around (always a feature of Moca bar) as we had to head off to the bus station to escape back to Sheffield.
Once back in the beer capital I went straight to the White Lion to undertake an even more epic session whilst celebrating Chala's 40th. We had the right hand snug to ourselves, all decorated for the occasion, and to my and many others joy, Raw Dark Peak Stout was on. Chala was on shandy to begin with, perhaps sensibly plotting to remain mostly compus mentus until the end of the night. I, on the other hand, was past the point where switching to soft drinks or lower gravity beer was going to make any difference, having put away numerous lovely pints before I arrived.
The solution to this was technical and very scientific. What one does, is to drink a very large quantity of the same beer, thus mysteriously not getting drunk! That's an actual fact. That I made up.
Several hours and pints of Dark Peak and a couple of pints of water later, I was being given a lift home by Thangor, and a fantastic sunny bank holiday Saturday featuring three brilliant pubs was over.
What a tremendously pleasing start to May. Things can only get worse.....!
Wee Beefy
the Bank Holiday weekend started in earnest on Friday night with pints in the White Lion at Heeley. Partners Brewery Mungo Mild was a surprise find so I supped a couple of pints of that before moving onto Thornbridge Jaipur, which I was disappointed to find was a little bit bit more expensive even than the Hallamshire House. Despite this obvious financial discomfort, I consoled myself with a couple before heading back down the ABV again and finishing on a mild, prior to a boozy meal at Parthenonas for some Greek celebrations.
That meant Saturday was a day to do proper bank holiday things - namely yomp round the Peak District, sup ale and get rained on. All of which were enjoyably achieved.
I met Miss M in town and we caught the bus to a rain soaked Chezvegas and onto Matlock. Or Madlot, which is a much better name on bank holiday. Stood in drizzle at the bus stop muttering about crowds the full horror of tourist-mageddon was laid before us. Why, we wanted to know, are all these people here?
Its a precarious moral position to inhabit when bemoaning the fact that loads of people have come to Matlock and you can't see why, whilst you are also in Matlock, but in our defence, we were on a mission. Matlock was nowt but a stepping stone. We were off to Bonsall, on public transport.
We jumped off the M2 bus at the bottom of the dale and walked the short distance up to the Barley Mow in bright sunshine. It was chilly, and changeable, and whilst sitting outside looked like a good idea, it soon ominously clouded over again. Not that we minded, ensconced inside, supping hoppy ale and eyeing up some mountainous portions of food.
There were four beers on, Kelham Island Best, Black Hole Cosmic, Bumpmill Thunder Road and Blue Monkey Infinity. I started on the Infinity as did Miss M, and we started to think about how we could possibly have exerted enough energy to tackle a lasagna having done nothing more strenuous than walk uphill for 5 minutes. Our concerns were justified. The lasagna portions were ginormous.
Miss M had sourced us some more drinks and to be honest the Blue Monkey Infinity was so good it seemed pointless moving onto something else just yet, so I had another pint of that to help wash down an hours worth of food. We were then joined unexpectedly by Wee Keefy who had ridden over on his bike, arriving just in time to help finish off my meal. Now we were really in bank holiday mode. It even warmed up enough for us to sit outside.
We sat looking down the dale in the sunshine and continued supping, WK on coke and then Bumpmill, Miss M on Infinity and the Black Hole, and me on more pints of Infinity.A perfectly balanced orange tinged hoppy pale ale made for sunshine, and possibly from it.
The Barley Mow is the sort of pub you always seem to arrive at with a fixed timetable, and very quickly decide that you don't want to leave. Certain pubs sometimes just grab you and won't let go. Sat in the Clock room in Shakespeares with its heavy tick-tocking the only sound in the pub; stood next to the fire in the Duke of York at Elton; sitting on the banks of the Severn supping Salopian beers outside the Royal Hill at Edgerley. All moments which I wanted to continue well beyond the point at which was practical for them to do so. (The Duke of York at Elton is especially un-leavable....)
Against which backdrop, five pints of Infinity down and with our bus to Matlock approaching, I thought about the practicalities of catching a later bus. Or in fact, just moving to Bonsall. No practicalities were found.
Back in Matlock, with WK off to the Sheffield Student Union beer fest, we popped in MoCa Bar for a pint of Abbeydale Dark Congregation which we drank whilst sat outside on the terrace/balcony thing, watching the less than salubrious scene in front of us. I don't think Moca's beer terrace will win any awards for the view but it was nice to still be out in the fresh air.
Before we left I grabbed a quick half of Oakham Hare and the Hedgehog, a delightfully punchy, fruity, hop fest at 3.9% which was dispatched quickly. Alas, we couldn't hang around (always a feature of Moca bar) as we had to head off to the bus station to escape back to Sheffield.
Once back in the beer capital I went straight to the White Lion to undertake an even more epic session whilst celebrating Chala's 40th. We had the right hand snug to ourselves, all decorated for the occasion, and to my and many others joy, Raw Dark Peak Stout was on. Chala was on shandy to begin with, perhaps sensibly plotting to remain mostly compus mentus until the end of the night. I, on the other hand, was past the point where switching to soft drinks or lower gravity beer was going to make any difference, having put away numerous lovely pints before I arrived.
The solution to this was technical and very scientific. What one does, is to drink a very large quantity of the same beer, thus mysteriously not getting drunk! That's an actual fact. That I made up.
Several hours and pints of Dark Peak and a couple of pints of water later, I was being given a lift home by Thangor, and a fantastic sunny bank holiday Saturday featuring three brilliant pubs was over.
What a tremendously pleasing start to May. Things can only get worse.....!
Wee Beefy
Tuesday, 19 March 2013
Beers not drunk at festivals
Hello,
after my refreshing beer festival visits and a mildly unimpressive fortnight of stress inspired over indulgence, I can finally take a breather and tell you about what happened when I visited pubs recently.
The day of my fretful job interview saw me "relaxing" (I was unexpectedly very thirsty afterwards) in Shakespeares, who recently and unfairly planned a beer fest to coincide with SIBA BeerX, having some fine pints. Most notable amongst those on offer was the rather unfortunately named Uranus from Mallinsons. Having not spotted it on Pumpclip Parade yet I'd like to think it shows a planet. And no black hole. Etceterra.
Luckily despite the potential for groansome despondence the beer was unsurprisingly brilliant, zesty but well balanced and very moreish. Before Wee Keefy came down to wish me well, I also tried a pint of Salamander Zulu Bride which was no doubt a porter, and against my better judgement, a Rat Brewery beer, their collaboration with Brew Co, Brewtown Rats, which is a wheat beer. Erm, probably. It was ages ago.....
After my jaunts on Tuesday and Thursday I was meeting Angie at The Bath Hotel for pints on Friday afternoon, yer know, practising for the beer fest and all that. As I was off that day this occurred at 14.00 and I arrived to an empty pub. Frustratingly other people arrived but I suppose Friday is a bad day for an exclusive pint. As is one when you invite a friend.
Steff was on hand to dispense beers and exciting news about Thornbridge collaborations with their staff. Two new beers are soon (well, May-ish) to hit the bars, with the names a complete secret. One is a pineapple and marmite gueze called Agadon't, and will be brewed by the Man of Ash, the other an ice cream and paracetamol mild called Nurofun Light, brewed with Ed and Steff at the Bath. Both promise to have real names, and exist.
On the bar here I tried a pint of the Saltaire Cascade to ease me into things followed by something very enjoyable from Dark Star which I can't possibly remember. I also had, amongst crisps and halves of Thornbridge Colorado Red, which is far better this time round, a fantastic roast pork sandwich to guard against sudden sleep or lack of cohesion later. It didn't completely work, but tasted lovely as always.
Sunday was supposed to be a day of rest but I had reluctantly agreed to go on a walk with Chala. Having run into monetary confusions (i.e. where the hell has it gone?) I opted to take enough change for a warm drink and a snack and we headed off to meander, a plan postponed slightly by the dumplings at Wirst Mainline running the 17 15 minutes late. Well done.
We alighted at Norton Church and walked into Graves park, and soon arrived at the Rose Garden Cafe. Cracking bacon sarnies in here, and my coffee was nice, but one thing that struck me was they sell bottled beers. A range of small Thornbridge offerings including Jaipur, and larger Wentworth bottles. Not sure what restrictions apply (if any) but it would be a great place to sit in the summer with a cool beer looking out over the park.
A longish circular walk followed before we came out onto Derbyshire Lane and into the Mount Pleasant. Landlord Stuart doesn't yet know the dates of his next beer festival but expect a Summer one to be announced soon. Five beers were on, the Tetley Rebadge Mount Pleasant, Milestone Sherwood Stag, Greene King IPA, Kelham Easy Rider and Adnams American IPA. I had the latter whilst Chala had a pint of the Easy Rider, both were sensibly priced at under £3.00.
Seeing as how we were walking down to Chesterfield Road next, it seemed churlish not to pop in the Cross Scythes, since they erm, take cards. I quickly bought a pint of Halcyon on cask, alas this was, as I suppose I should have guessed given its run out most other places, a little tired, but still a great drink. Chala meanwhile had the Craft Union, a beer she took quite a shine to, having decided against Black Harry.
As time passed we accidentally had more beer - me a pint of the surprisingly sweet Dark Star Festival, Chala plenty more Craft Union, whilst I also tried the Hopfweizen Dunkel and a pint of Jaipur, before heading back to the safety of Halcyon. Deliciously decadent afternoon removal.
One last stop beckoned, that being the White Lion where we saw Mandy, John, a bloke in a tiger suit and Aussie John, whilst supping Jaipur and something called Celtic Dark. I got some great pics sat in the snug, and it was a really nice way to finish a lazy Sunday.
So its been a boozy old time of late, but nice to get in some rarely visited venues as ever, and to be reassured by the commendable reliability of old friends like Shakespeares and Mallinsons.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
after my refreshing beer festival visits and a mildly unimpressive fortnight of stress inspired over indulgence, I can finally take a breather and tell you about what happened when I visited pubs recently.
The day of my fretful job interview saw me "relaxing" (I was unexpectedly very thirsty afterwards) in Shakespeares, who recently and unfairly planned a beer fest to coincide with SIBA BeerX, having some fine pints. Most notable amongst those on offer was the rather unfortunately named Uranus from Mallinsons. Having not spotted it on Pumpclip Parade yet I'd like to think it shows a planet. And no black hole. Etceterra.
Luckily despite the potential for groansome despondence the beer was unsurprisingly brilliant, zesty but well balanced and very moreish. Before Wee Keefy came down to wish me well, I also tried a pint of Salamander Zulu Bride which was no doubt a porter, and against my better judgement, a Rat Brewery beer, their collaboration with Brew Co, Brewtown Rats, which is a wheat beer. Erm, probably. It was ages ago.....
After my jaunts on Tuesday and Thursday I was meeting Angie at The Bath Hotel for pints on Friday afternoon, yer know, practising for the beer fest and all that. As I was off that day this occurred at 14.00 and I arrived to an empty pub. Frustratingly other people arrived but I suppose Friday is a bad day for an exclusive pint. As is one when you invite a friend.
Steff was on hand to dispense beers and exciting news about Thornbridge collaborations with their staff. Two new beers are soon (well, May-ish) to hit the bars, with the names a complete secret. One is a pineapple and marmite gueze called Agadon't, and will be brewed by the Man of Ash, the other an ice cream and paracetamol mild called Nurofun Light, brewed with Ed and Steff at the Bath. Both promise to have real names, and exist.
On the bar here I tried a pint of the Saltaire Cascade to ease me into things followed by something very enjoyable from Dark Star which I can't possibly remember. I also had, amongst crisps and halves of Thornbridge Colorado Red, which is far better this time round, a fantastic roast pork sandwich to guard against sudden sleep or lack of cohesion later. It didn't completely work, but tasted lovely as always.
Sunday was supposed to be a day of rest but I had reluctantly agreed to go on a walk with Chala. Having run into monetary confusions (i.e. where the hell has it gone?) I opted to take enough change for a warm drink and a snack and we headed off to meander, a plan postponed slightly by the dumplings at Wirst Mainline running the 17 15 minutes late. Well done.
We alighted at Norton Church and walked into Graves park, and soon arrived at the Rose Garden Cafe. Cracking bacon sarnies in here, and my coffee was nice, but one thing that struck me was they sell bottled beers. A range of small Thornbridge offerings including Jaipur, and larger Wentworth bottles. Not sure what restrictions apply (if any) but it would be a great place to sit in the summer with a cool beer looking out over the park.
A longish circular walk followed before we came out onto Derbyshire Lane and into the Mount Pleasant. Landlord Stuart doesn't yet know the dates of his next beer festival but expect a Summer one to be announced soon. Five beers were on, the Tetley Rebadge Mount Pleasant, Milestone Sherwood Stag, Greene King IPA, Kelham Easy Rider and Adnams American IPA. I had the latter whilst Chala had a pint of the Easy Rider, both were sensibly priced at under £3.00.
Seeing as how we were walking down to Chesterfield Road next, it seemed churlish not to pop in the Cross Scythes, since they erm, take cards. I quickly bought a pint of Halcyon on cask, alas this was, as I suppose I should have guessed given its run out most other places, a little tired, but still a great drink. Chala meanwhile had the Craft Union, a beer she took quite a shine to, having decided against Black Harry.
As time passed we accidentally had more beer - me a pint of the surprisingly sweet Dark Star Festival, Chala plenty more Craft Union, whilst I also tried the Hopfweizen Dunkel and a pint of Jaipur, before heading back to the safety of Halcyon. Deliciously decadent afternoon removal.
One last stop beckoned, that being the White Lion where we saw Mandy, John, a bloke in a tiger suit and Aussie John, whilst supping Jaipur and something called Celtic Dark. I got some great pics sat in the snug, and it was a really nice way to finish a lazy Sunday.
So its been a boozy old time of late, but nice to get in some rarely visited venues as ever, and to be reassured by the commendable reliability of old friends like Shakespeares and Mallinsons.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
Sunday, 12 August 2012
Mount Pleasant beer festival and other tales
Hello
yesterday I continued my walking theme and managed to get to another new pub, and a recently refurbished one into the bargain.
I had seen a few beer festivals advertised at the Mount Pleasant on Derbyshire Lane at Norton Lees over the last year and since I had never been to the pub before this seemed like a good opportunity to make my first visit. To save myself the princely sum of £2.00, I opted to walk there from Handsworth and then down to Heeley and into town, hoping to stop at the Cricketers on Bramall Lane.
Legs still aching from the other night I was slow getting going as I walked along Richmond Park Road and up and down the hills of Richmond Road to Intake chippy. I cut across to Ridgeway road and with most of my climbing now done picked up pace walking through Gleadless Townend then cutting up Raeburn and two lefts past my first pub of the day, the Nailmakers, set well back from the road in a area of dispiriting modern housing. It is I think, the longest licensed public house in Sheffield, not the oldest building, and years of shortsighted clumsy modernisations inside have made it look like a small 19th century pub on one side and a fake Hungry Hedgehog chain pub on the other.
I wasn't going to go in but since I also wasn't pushed for time I nipped in past the solitary customer outside. On the bar were two handpumps with the clips turned round. When I asked if that was the choice of real ale the man behind the bar said that he hadn't got any at the moment, so I said never mind, and went on. A warm Saturday afternoon and only a solitary customer plus no real ale you say? There's an equation in there somewhere....
I came out on Hemsworth Road next and walked past the New Inn. I hadn't visited before and there were customers sat outside and in, so I ventured across the threshold and was hit by the looming waft of the smell of chips, which despite my description, I don't mind as it makes me nostalgic for pubs I visited with my parents on holiday. Alas, having spotted two pumps with the clips turned round, and having to ask 4 times if there was any hand pulled available, I was informed that they didn't do it anymore, so I thanked the guy and walked onto my destination. I wondered how the recent Thornbridgification of the Cross Scythes would affect the fortunes of my intended target the Mount Pleasant, and to be fair if two of the 5 pubs in the area don't sell the good stuff I think that's wind in their sails.
I arrived at my destination, the Mount Pleasant on Derbyshire Lane, 1 hour 48 minutes after setting off and set about ordering a half of Phoenix Arizona and a half of water. I was met at the bar by Stuart and I think the Lady behind the bar was the other half of the management team at this cosy and traditional pub. I was handed a programme and told what was on the bar and what beer was available from the outside bar, plus what was waiting to come on.
After a quick chat about my walk it was time to sit down in the spacious car park in the bright sunshine and admire the range of beers, whilst already noticing the small of food, thinking dreamily about what I could snaffle.
All beers were £3.00 or under per pint which is a decent price, especially for the first and only pint I tried, which was an impeccably kept, smooth and slightly chocolaty Black Pearl Stout from Wooden Hand brewery in Cornwall. I also bought 4 tokens for the other beers I wanted to try outside, and got chatting to a couple on my table, who were drinking Titanic White Star and the Phoenix Arizona (the White Star wasn't on the programme, so was a bit of a bonus).
I soon got fed (hot dog and onions £1.50) and set about trying the following beers :
Dark Star Partridge 4.0%
Pictish Alchemist 4.3%
Wylam Magic 4.2%
Salopian Hop Twister 4.5%
All the beers were well kept, some were served on gravity from the outside bar, although as it turned out only the Salopian and Dark Star were of the ones I tried. The best beers of the day were probably the Wooden Hand, the Wylam and the Dark Star, in that order. There were also ales from Oldershaw, Abbeydale, Bradfield, Derventio, Slaters, Brampton, Idle and Wolf in a selection of about 18 if you include the Mount Pleasant Tetley re badge on the bar.
Its great to see a small traditional pub thriving (it was very busy when I left) and able to sell an interesting and desirable range of ales despite the pub being leased from Punch, whose logo along with that of Camra, adorns the programme. A final point is that they are Cask Marque accredited. Where this usually means a pub sells decent examples of the dullest beers ever produced, it does not seem to be the case at the Mount Pleasant, a pub well deserving of a trip if you are in the area, or not.
I headed off for Scarsdale Road next, eschewing the chance to visit the Prince of Wales across the road, but not for any negative reason. I was soon at the smart looking Cross Scythes, with customers enjoying the sun outside at the front and back, and inside, a revelation. Quality wooden floors, light woodwork, a bar with 10 handpumps on (I think, and two were for guests, from breweries what aren't Thornbridge) comfy seating as well as traditional, 3 distinct drinking areas, and a large function room with its own bar access, through which you walk to the beer garden. And crucially, not very much dark grey paint!
I sat outside (one gripe, why have a weighted sprung door on the entrance to the beer garden? Staff coming in and out were struggling as much as I was with my two glasses) with halves of Thornbridge Pollards (of course!) a glass of water and a half of the excellent Saltaire Cascade. The beer garden had always been a neglected and wasted resource at the Scythes as long ago as 1994 when I worked across the road, and it has been done up nicely if a little unnaturally, and there is now parking round the back.
Overall this is one of the more subtle and admirable Thornbridge makeovers and a welcome return to their habit of returning dreadful boozers to brilliance instead of interfering with already excellent boozers.
I walked down next to the Archer Road Beer Stop to see Dave and have a quick beer (not in the shop of course!) and had a very well kept pint of Moonshine from a choice of that and a Salamander beer. Some good recent additions are on the shelves, so I must pop back when I have some money, and just a note to remember if you are visiting, there are Bradfield mini casks for sale, but they are kept in the back where its cooler. Thanks to Dave for his hospitality, and also the chance to watch Mo Farrah win gold whilst sat in the back talking beer.
My penultimate call was a 15 minute walk away at the White Lion on Chesterfield Road. I was meeting Fluffy and John for a quick catch up before next weekend's trip to Manchester and managed to get a seat in the snug. It was great to see Blue Bee available from the range of excellent Sheffield area beers, plus Osset Silver King, and I had a half of Nectar Pale and a glass of water whilst waiting.
Soon after my companions arrived, they were on Sequoia and Silver King respectively, latterly the Nectar as well. It was great to sit in the snug chatting and drinking quality beer in this excellent traditional boozer, with a decent band playing rock covers at the other end of the pub.
All too soon though we were off for our last stop at the Sheaf View. Despite my dire warnings that we'd never get a seat, arriving about 22.00 it wasn't too busy and we got sat down easily at the front of the pub with pints of Salamander for Fluff, something dark but less strong for John and an excellent earthy pint of Burton Bridge Golden Delicious for me.
With time getting on, and having established that the Ale House was shut by 22.45 (established was not quite the right word, there seemed palpable confusion about the actual state of affairs) we decided to stop for a last one, which for me was a pint of the Salamander Stout, before heading down the hill to the main road and getting on a bus straight away into town.
This was a fantastic day out taking in some fine pubs (even if I still haven't made it to the Cricketers....) and a well attended well run beer festival which was a great way to spend my Saturday.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy.
yesterday I continued my walking theme and managed to get to another new pub, and a recently refurbished one into the bargain.
I had seen a few beer festivals advertised at the Mount Pleasant on Derbyshire Lane at Norton Lees over the last year and since I had never been to the pub before this seemed like a good opportunity to make my first visit. To save myself the princely sum of £2.00, I opted to walk there from Handsworth and then down to Heeley and into town, hoping to stop at the Cricketers on Bramall Lane.
Legs still aching from the other night I was slow getting going as I walked along Richmond Park Road and up and down the hills of Richmond Road to Intake chippy. I cut across to Ridgeway road and with most of my climbing now done picked up pace walking through Gleadless Townend then cutting up Raeburn and two lefts past my first pub of the day, the Nailmakers, set well back from the road in a area of dispiriting modern housing. It is I think, the longest licensed public house in Sheffield, not the oldest building, and years of shortsighted clumsy modernisations inside have made it look like a small 19th century pub on one side and a fake Hungry Hedgehog chain pub on the other.
I wasn't going to go in but since I also wasn't pushed for time I nipped in past the solitary customer outside. On the bar were two handpumps with the clips turned round. When I asked if that was the choice of real ale the man behind the bar said that he hadn't got any at the moment, so I said never mind, and went on. A warm Saturday afternoon and only a solitary customer plus no real ale you say? There's an equation in there somewhere....
I came out on Hemsworth Road next and walked past the New Inn. I hadn't visited before and there were customers sat outside and in, so I ventured across the threshold and was hit by the looming waft of the smell of chips, which despite my description, I don't mind as it makes me nostalgic for pubs I visited with my parents on holiday. Alas, having spotted two pumps with the clips turned round, and having to ask 4 times if there was any hand pulled available, I was informed that they didn't do it anymore, so I thanked the guy and walked onto my destination. I wondered how the recent Thornbridgification of the Cross Scythes would affect the fortunes of my intended target the Mount Pleasant, and to be fair if two of the 5 pubs in the area don't sell the good stuff I think that's wind in their sails.
I arrived at my destination, the Mount Pleasant on Derbyshire Lane, 1 hour 48 minutes after setting off and set about ordering a half of Phoenix Arizona and a half of water. I was met at the bar by Stuart and I think the Lady behind the bar was the other half of the management team at this cosy and traditional pub. I was handed a programme and told what was on the bar and what beer was available from the outside bar, plus what was waiting to come on.
After a quick chat about my walk it was time to sit down in the spacious car park in the bright sunshine and admire the range of beers, whilst already noticing the small of food, thinking dreamily about what I could snaffle.
All beers were £3.00 or under per pint which is a decent price, especially for the first and only pint I tried, which was an impeccably kept, smooth and slightly chocolaty Black Pearl Stout from Wooden Hand brewery in Cornwall. I also bought 4 tokens for the other beers I wanted to try outside, and got chatting to a couple on my table, who were drinking Titanic White Star and the Phoenix Arizona (the White Star wasn't on the programme, so was a bit of a bonus).
I soon got fed (hot dog and onions £1.50) and set about trying the following beers :
Dark Star Partridge 4.0%
Pictish Alchemist 4.3%
Wylam Magic 4.2%
Salopian Hop Twister 4.5%
 |
| Stuart in the outside bar |
All the beers were well kept, some were served on gravity from the outside bar, although as it turned out only the Salopian and Dark Star were of the ones I tried. The best beers of the day were probably the Wooden Hand, the Wylam and the Dark Star, in that order. There were also ales from Oldershaw, Abbeydale, Bradfield, Derventio, Slaters, Brampton, Idle and Wolf in a selection of about 18 if you include the Mount Pleasant Tetley re badge on the bar.
Its great to see a small traditional pub thriving (it was very busy when I left) and able to sell an interesting and desirable range of ales despite the pub being leased from Punch, whose logo along with that of Camra, adorns the programme. A final point is that they are Cask Marque accredited. Where this usually means a pub sells decent examples of the dullest beers ever produced, it does not seem to be the case at the Mount Pleasant, a pub well deserving of a trip if you are in the area, or not.
I headed off for Scarsdale Road next, eschewing the chance to visit the Prince of Wales across the road, but not for any negative reason. I was soon at the smart looking Cross Scythes, with customers enjoying the sun outside at the front and back, and inside, a revelation. Quality wooden floors, light woodwork, a bar with 10 handpumps on (I think, and two were for guests, from breweries what aren't Thornbridge) comfy seating as well as traditional, 3 distinct drinking areas, and a large function room with its own bar access, through which you walk to the beer garden. And crucially, not very much dark grey paint!
I sat outside (one gripe, why have a weighted sprung door on the entrance to the beer garden? Staff coming in and out were struggling as much as I was with my two glasses) with halves of Thornbridge Pollards (of course!) a glass of water and a half of the excellent Saltaire Cascade. The beer garden had always been a neglected and wasted resource at the Scythes as long ago as 1994 when I worked across the road, and it has been done up nicely if a little unnaturally, and there is now parking round the back.
Overall this is one of the more subtle and admirable Thornbridge makeovers and a welcome return to their habit of returning dreadful boozers to brilliance instead of interfering with already excellent boozers.
I walked down next to the Archer Road Beer Stop to see Dave and have a quick beer (not in the shop of course!) and had a very well kept pint of Moonshine from a choice of that and a Salamander beer. Some good recent additions are on the shelves, so I must pop back when I have some money, and just a note to remember if you are visiting, there are Bradfield mini casks for sale, but they are kept in the back where its cooler. Thanks to Dave for his hospitality, and also the chance to watch Mo Farrah win gold whilst sat in the back talking beer.
My penultimate call was a 15 minute walk away at the White Lion on Chesterfield Road. I was meeting Fluffy and John for a quick catch up before next weekend's trip to Manchester and managed to get a seat in the snug. It was great to see Blue Bee available from the range of excellent Sheffield area beers, plus Osset Silver King, and I had a half of Nectar Pale and a glass of water whilst waiting.
Soon after my companions arrived, they were on Sequoia and Silver King respectively, latterly the Nectar as well. It was great to sit in the snug chatting and drinking quality beer in this excellent traditional boozer, with a decent band playing rock covers at the other end of the pub.
All too soon though we were off for our last stop at the Sheaf View. Despite my dire warnings that we'd never get a seat, arriving about 22.00 it wasn't too busy and we got sat down easily at the front of the pub with pints of Salamander for Fluff, something dark but less strong for John and an excellent earthy pint of Burton Bridge Golden Delicious for me.
With time getting on, and having established that the Ale House was shut by 22.45 (established was not quite the right word, there seemed palpable confusion about the actual state of affairs) we decided to stop for a last one, which for me was a pint of the Salamander Stout, before heading down the hill to the main road and getting on a bus straight away into town.
This was a fantastic day out taking in some fine pubs (even if I still haven't made it to the Cricketers....) and a well attended well run beer festival which was a great way to spend my Saturday.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy.
Sunday, 12 February 2012
Wee Beefy's beer crawl bites - Dronfield Woodseats and Heeley
Afternoon be alikers
See below details of a pub crawl by bus using the 43 Sheffield to Chesterfield Service
on Thursday 9th February I used up some of the last of my annual leave to embark on a days drinking in that Dronfield, where, legend has it, whilst most pubs were almost always uniformly disappointing, there are now a few good boozers these days. It sempt like a good time to venture out to put this theory to the test. With me was Mr M, a doughty alesman with a healthy interest in pubs.
Hallowes be thy name
Of course "a good time to venture out" is a purely personal interpretation. In reality, it was only a good day based on the fact that I had secured leave to do so. It was chuffin freezing on Thursday, and much like when me and Christingpher had ventured out the other weekend, the ne-ersayers were quick to warn me of the meteorological perils ahead. As it turned out, initially the most perilous aspect of the trip was the ball aching trundle through standing traffic on Woodseats en route to pub 1.
The obvious choice was a pint of one of my favourite Spire beers, Dark Side of the Moon, while Mr M had a pint of Barlow Heath Robinson. Having recounted my experience to a few folks who have been, it has been confirmed that the pumps at the Tuns are a bit rubbish, with really very short pulls that make you think the beer is running out. This is a potentially unhelpful feature since the second my Dark SOTM didn't taste exactly as I remembered I convinced myself it was the end of the barrel - but it probably wasn't. Next time I may ask them to take the sparkler off...
Soon we were warming up, and after a quick trip to obviate via the nice looking 1930's style toilet doors (you notice the small details in 1930's pubs I find) I was ready for another half. This turned out to be a quite significant one, since I wanted to try almost all of the rest of the beers on offer.
In the end I narrowed it down to and plumped for the Barlow Ebeneezer Scrooge porter, so had that, along with a half of Intergalactic from Black Iris brewery with its beautifully designed pumpclp. Alas, the extravagance of the writing hid from me its true strength, 6.0%, so I insisted Mr M partake of some as well. This hoppy bitter pale ale was the best of all the beers we tried in the Tuns.
Siding with the Dronny Arms
Next we trudged in the damp sapping cold through sleet to the Dronfield Arms, another first visit for me, and Mr M. Its an odd shaped long establishment not unlike a turn of the century Scottish bar in layout, but with a sleek modern blue and pale wood interior. All the handpumps, I think there were 4 beer and 1 cider, were at the end of the pub, and there was a board listing the ales on offer. Mr M opted for a safe Farmers Blonde and even though I suspected the Dronfield Arms bitter was likely from Thornbridge I opted for the sensibly weak Thwaites Nutty Black, which was £2.10 a pint, and thus £4.60 for the round.
We sat at the end of the pub listening in on a chat about the Three Valleys festival and the pubs of Holmesfield (theres another crawl, maybe in addition to the festival) and admiring the comfy surroundings and light airy space in which to drink or eat. The barman/landlord told us they were opening up the bottom floor.cellar bar room which was to be a restaurant. This fits in with what some people had told me about the former Sidings pub which I think this used to be. A pleasant visit, with a surprisingly tame beer range, but a warm relaxing place to drink.
Swan
Our penultimate Dronfield stop was to have been the older White Swan across the road. Still showing scars of Whitbreadifying in the early nineties I suspect, the maroon sign board mentioning traditional ales and the gold letters of th pub sign told me instantly that Sherwood Inns had clasped their grubby fingers round this venerable old building in the past.
Inside is a really old bar, alas laden with multiple shiny gas filled fonts, but affording space for two handpumps. Mr M lost control of his senses and ploughed straight into a reckless and unwise pint of Bombardier, and me a half of the strangest Adnams Bitter I ever tasted. It wasn't off, but just tasted of malt and fatigue. It didn't even appear to be the right colour. That said, it was still better than the dread horror of trying to enjoy Bombardier, the asinine homogenised beer by numbers which you must have to work really hard at to sell in a condition that would attract compliment.
We sat under a Sky Sports screen grimacing at the interchangeable images of Fabio's blind cobblers thumb and Redknapp's melted landslide faces as reaction to the former's acquittal and Capello's resignation was raked over tediously by "faces" from the world of the beautiful gane. Welcome to the brain poison world of repetition which is Sky Sports. The pub was quiet, but crucially, warm, and very comfortable. There was quite a lot of pub to look at actually and had we had more time I would like to have seen one of the other rooms. Alas we had to press on to our next destination down the main road.
Coach and Horses - now replaced by bus.
We arrived at the coach before 15.00 assuming as any rational person would that being a Thursday not a Friday or weekend they would open restricted hours like 12 til 15.00. Alas, the Coach opens at 17.00 or some random hour so we met neither our thirst or toiletry needs. We skulked around at the bus stop for a while instead, the only brief highlight being that the beer carriage turned up earlier than it said on my up to date timetable.
Chantrey Chuntering.
Fifteen minutes later we were in Woodseats and heading for the Chantrey. The last time I had visited it had been, erm, well at least 1997, and there had been Tetley on, and a club singer who was so "club", that we had to leave half way through from laughing. Now the pub has a slightly more adventurous approach to beer, although I can't say what the entertainment promises.
Mr M once again plumped for Bombardier, which was a trifle better than in the Swan, and I had a very nice pint of Kelham Island Easy Rider in a Kelham branded glass. My only gripe was that the Easy Rider seemed to be lacking hops, but I think this is actually how its meant to taste - like Pale rider with the hops and alcohol reduced. It was in good condition though, so were able to warm up in here, trying to ignore the radio being played over the pub speaker system (always a bad sign), before venturing out once more.
A view of the Sheaf.
We decided to take the opportunity to grab some snap before we headed for the Ale House on Fraser road which was to open at 16.00. We got our supplies then called the pub to make sure we were on track to find it open - unfortunately they were going to open at nearer 17.00 due to a deliveries mix up so we spent a rather long stint cowering in the bus shelter eating our food, although this of course did keep us dry.
Eventually we headed off slowly for the pub and found that Tony's love of Saltaire had continued unabated, with 4 of the 5 cask ales on offer being from that brewery. Not that we were complaining, but I really fancied a stout, and there was none in the range to be found. Instead we both opted for a pint of the Cascade which was once again on good form.
Conversation soon drifted to the pub quiz. Tony was mortified that the wining score in the last one had been 11. Really, we should have taken this as a hint that it had been really difficult, but bravado got the better of us and we unwisely agreed to be read the questions, have an aimless pop at answering them, before he gave us the actual answer. Estimates of our tremendous score were between 4 and 6 out of 20. I think Tony should simply accept that questions about betting odds and the name of the band the father of an upcoming act was in are just a little too difficult. But what do I know...
Well, that diversion did at least mean that we had another in here, this time I had the fantastic Saltaire Challenger which was a lovey dark strong bitter with a very defined hop character. This went down a treat, although, once again, with snow now starting to fall, we had to move on.
Archer Road Beer Stop.
En route to pub 6 we popped into the ARBS, which regular readers may recognise as Sheffield's premier bottled and draught real ale off license. Davefromtshop was welcoming as always and invited us in for a wee snifter in the back before we gilded ourselves for another chilly wander. There were 3 draught beers on offer and we both opted for the excellent Thorne Pale Ale, which was in good form and had a very pleasant lingering hoppy taste. Alas we could not stop long catching up, not least because I was coming back the day after for a beer tasting.
Broady
Just like the popular England cricketer of the same name the lovable old Broadfield is not without its flaws. Still there is a surfeit of seating, still no cask beer list and on this occasion am not even sure there was a dark beer to tempt me. Both me and Mr M grabbed two stools and a tiny table near the door and had a pint each of the Acorn USA Northern Brewer IPA. This was a nice drop but despite its name was still a slightly astringent bitter rather than a gloriously hoppy IPA, but we didn't let that trouble us. Since we had to change course at this stage to get over to Heeley it became clear that we could stretch to a re run at some point, starting at the Sheaf and taking in the Broady en route to the Union, Cherry Tree, Greystones and Lescar.
Tap route
Having also finished my Jaipur I caught the 43 using my cheap all day ticket to get off near the Sheffield Tap for a couple of last halves. There was a noticeable Marble theme again, so I had half of Lagonda 4th IPA (this is based on my "eclectic sloping and wavy writing style that I adopt whilst processing alcohol) and Thornbridge Black Harry. The Tap was mercifully quiet which meant i didn't have to hide away in a back room,. but it was a brief visit on account of my having a pressing need to get home and lie down.
Overall we got to 9 pubs if you count ARBS and tried a number of beers from a diverse range of breweries, all at sensible prices, i.e below £3.00 a pint (apart maybe from the Black Iris, but it wouldn't be overpriced since it was 6.0%). Its a shame that we couldn't get to the Coach and Horses and that we didn't have time for the Sheaf View but all in good time, we can always do this again sometime. A highly recommended pub selection.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy.
See below details of a pub crawl by bus using the 43 Sheffield to Chesterfield Service
on Thursday 9th February I used up some of the last of my annual leave to embark on a days drinking in that Dronfield, where, legend has it, whilst most pubs were almost always uniformly disappointing, there are now a few good boozers these days. It sempt like a good time to venture out to put this theory to the test. With me was Mr M, a doughty alesman with a healthy interest in pubs.
Hallowes be thy name
Of course "a good time to venture out" is a purely personal interpretation. In reality, it was only a good day based on the fact that I had secured leave to do so. It was chuffin freezing on Thursday, and much like when me and Christingpher had ventured out the other weekend, the ne-ersayers were quick to warn me of the meteorological perils ahead. As it turned out, initially the most perilous aspect of the trip was the ball aching trundle through standing traffic on Woodseats en route to pub 1.
Eventually I stepped off the bus across from the Three Tuns, formerly the Hallowes, a pub I had never visited before. I had heard that the new owners Spire had retained or maybe restored some of the original features and there were still one or two subtle nods to its 1930's origins, in addition of course to its mock Tudor frontage. Inside, they had sought to make the pub naturally atmospheric by making it as chuffin freezing as it was outside - an interesting touch. I was briefly warmed however by the sight of 12 handpumps in front of me (2 for Zoider), and decided I wanted to start dark.
Soon we were warming up, and after a quick trip to obviate via the nice looking 1930's style toilet doors (you notice the small details in 1930's pubs I find) I was ready for another half. This turned out to be a quite significant one, since I wanted to try almost all of the rest of the beers on offer.
Siding with the Dronny Arms
Next we trudged in the damp sapping cold through sleet to the Dronfield Arms, another first visit for me, and Mr M. Its an odd shaped long establishment not unlike a turn of the century Scottish bar in layout, but with a sleek modern blue and pale wood interior. All the handpumps, I think there were 4 beer and 1 cider, were at the end of the pub, and there was a board listing the ales on offer. Mr M opted for a safe Farmers Blonde and even though I suspected the Dronfield Arms bitter was likely from Thornbridge I opted for the sensibly weak Thwaites Nutty Black, which was £2.10 a pint, and thus £4.60 for the round.
Swan
Our penultimate Dronfield stop was to have been the older White Swan across the road. Still showing scars of Whitbreadifying in the early nineties I suspect, the maroon sign board mentioning traditional ales and the gold letters of th pub sign told me instantly that Sherwood Inns had clasped their grubby fingers round this venerable old building in the past.
We sat under a Sky Sports screen grimacing at the interchangeable images of Fabio's blind cobblers thumb and Redknapp's melted landslide faces as reaction to the former's acquittal and Capello's resignation was raked over tediously by "faces" from the world of the beautiful gane. Welcome to the brain poison world of repetition which is Sky Sports. The pub was quiet, but crucially, warm, and very comfortable. There was quite a lot of pub to look at actually and had we had more time I would like to have seen one of the other rooms. Alas we had to press on to our next destination down the main road.
Coach and Horses - now replaced by bus.
We arrived at the coach before 15.00 assuming as any rational person would that being a Thursday not a Friday or weekend they would open restricted hours like 12 til 15.00. Alas, the Coach opens at 17.00 or some random hour so we met neither our thirst or toiletry needs. We skulked around at the bus stop for a while instead, the only brief highlight being that the beer carriage turned up earlier than it said on my up to date timetable.
Chantrey Chuntering.
Fifteen minutes later we were in Woodseats and heading for the Chantrey. The last time I had visited it had been, erm, well at least 1997, and there had been Tetley on, and a club singer who was so "club", that we had to leave half way through from laughing. Now the pub has a slightly more adventurous approach to beer, although I can't say what the entertainment promises.
Mr M once again plumped for Bombardier, which was a trifle better than in the Swan, and I had a very nice pint of Kelham Island Easy Rider in a Kelham branded glass. My only gripe was that the Easy Rider seemed to be lacking hops, but I think this is actually how its meant to taste - like Pale rider with the hops and alcohol reduced. It was in good condition though, so were able to warm up in here, trying to ignore the radio being played over the pub speaker system (always a bad sign), before venturing out once more.
A view of the Sheaf.
We decided to take the opportunity to grab some snap before we headed for the Ale House on Fraser road which was to open at 16.00. We got our supplies then called the pub to make sure we were on track to find it open - unfortunately they were going to open at nearer 17.00 due to a deliveries mix up so we spent a rather long stint cowering in the bus shelter eating our food, although this of course did keep us dry.
Eventually we headed off slowly for the pub and found that Tony's love of Saltaire had continued unabated, with 4 of the 5 cask ales on offer being from that brewery. Not that we were complaining, but I really fancied a stout, and there was none in the range to be found. Instead we both opted for a pint of the Cascade which was once again on good form.
Conversation soon drifted to the pub quiz. Tony was mortified that the wining score in the last one had been 11. Really, we should have taken this as a hint that it had been really difficult, but bravado got the better of us and we unwisely agreed to be read the questions, have an aimless pop at answering them, before he gave us the actual answer. Estimates of our tremendous score were between 4 and 6 out of 20. I think Tony should simply accept that questions about betting odds and the name of the band the father of an upcoming act was in are just a little too difficult. But what do I know...
Archer Road Beer Stop.
En route to pub 6 we popped into the ARBS, which regular readers may recognise as Sheffield's premier bottled and draught real ale off license. Davefromtshop was welcoming as always and invited us in for a wee snifter in the back before we gilded ourselves for another chilly wander. There were 3 draught beers on offer and we both opted for the excellent Thorne Pale Ale, which was in good form and had a very pleasant lingering hoppy taste. Alas we could not stop long catching up, not least because I was coming back the day after for a beer tasting.
Broady
Just like the popular England cricketer of the same name the lovable old Broadfield is not without its flaws. Still there is a surfeit of seating, still no cask beer list and on this occasion am not even sure there was a dark beer to tempt me. Both me and Mr M grabbed two stools and a tiny table near the door and had a pint each of the Acorn USA Northern Brewer IPA. This was a nice drop but despite its name was still a slightly astringent bitter rather than a gloriously hoppy IPA, but we didn't let that trouble us. Since we had to change course at this stage to get over to Heeley it became clear that we could stretch to a re run at some point, starting at the Sheaf and taking in the Broady en route to the Union, Cherry Tree, Greystones and Lescar.The Lion
Next Mr M unexpectedly showed me a brilliant shortcut over the Sheaf to come out at Heeley almost at our next destination the White Lion. To our surprise the pub was busy (wait, that's not where the surprise emanates) but the snug was free - so we went in there and settled down to a pint and a review of the days events. I had a pint of Jaipur and Mr M sensibly a pint of Abbeydale Daily Bread. It was here we worked out that my up-to-date timetable supplied by Wee Fatha was, in fact, printed in April 2010. Which explained why the 43's had been a little early throughout our visit. This did however afford us enough time to dispatch our beers at a sensible pace, in fact Mr M was awaah before me, having decided he'd had enough and needed the safety of his home.
Tap route
Having also finished my Jaipur I caught the 43 using my cheap all day ticket to get off near the Sheffield Tap for a couple of last halves. There was a noticeable Marble theme again, so I had half of Lagonda 4th IPA (this is based on my "eclectic sloping and wavy writing style that I adopt whilst processing alcohol) and Thornbridge Black Harry. The Tap was mercifully quiet which meant i didn't have to hide away in a back room,. but it was a brief visit on account of my having a pressing need to get home and lie down.
Overall we got to 9 pubs if you count ARBS and tried a number of beers from a diverse range of breweries, all at sensible prices, i.e below £3.00 a pint (apart maybe from the Black Iris, but it wouldn't be overpriced since it was 6.0%). Its a shame that we couldn't get to the Coach and Horses and that we didn't have time for the Sheaf View but all in good time, we can always do this again sometime. A highly recommended pub selection.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy.
Tuesday, 3 January 2012
New years beers in West Sheffield, Crosspool and nearer home.
Ay up beer monsters,
I have quite a lo to tell you about today so will do two posts in order to make the info more easy to digest. First, here are the details of my trip to West Sheffield yesterday, and some beer news from way back in December which eluded me.
Sportsman, Crosspool
Back in 2011 I was in here to meet up with Bobert, Coops, Big G and Mick amongst others, for a pre Christmas drink. The Sportsman, whilst never having been my hostelry of choice in the area (I used to go in the Bell Hagg in the nineties, and never really felt compelled to drink in the Crosspool Tavern at any time) and its a while since I was last in before this visit - I seem to remember it was early nineties and me and pathos Brian were in to share a half prior to meeting friends. It wasn't resolutely traditional then, but did at least have the now novel feature of separate rooms, as all pubs should.
It was with some dismay that I noticed the homogenised signatures of the Ember Inns chain, indicating to me that i would virtually know the much changed interior already : lots of pale wood, a big dark chunky bar, many dividing walls replaced with boxes of sawn down pine logs, and much soft furnishings. And so it was to be, my Mystic Meg predictions came true, but what I hadn't forseen was the beer range.
On the bar were Tetleys cask (now brewed in Northampton or somewhere ), Leeds Pale, Keltek King, Orkney Dark Island and another offering that I have managed to forget. Both the Leeds and the Orkney were tried, and were found to be in good nick, and not too expensive either - I think the Leeds came in at about £2.60 a pint. Round the corner of the bar, the upcoming brews were advertised by being on the furthest pump clips. This practice is guaranteed to wind me up as it creates a false expectation but at least I was intercepted en route to inspecting the pumps by a member of staff who made it clear they were coming soon (and on closer inspection there were small "flags " atop each pump clip attesting the same).
So, overall this was a surprising and quite pleasant discovery. I thank my lucky stars that i don't have to make a food pub my local, since its atmosphere vacuum means its a transient rather than a long comfortable session venue, but the beer range shows imagination and the pricing is logical and sensible. At least you can be assured of something worth drinking if you end up in the Sportsman.
West of Sheffield wander.
I went up to see Davefromtshop in his native Woodseats and we went on a brief but interesting crawl around some of the pubs that the area had to offer, starting on Fraser Road at the Ale house, previously known as the Sheaf.
The Ale House
Owing to the period between New Years day and the first proper weekend of the new year also being a weird time in terms of pub openings, we approached the pub with trepidation - partly because of its design, a modern possibly 1960's bungalow style estate pub making it seem dark and unopen almost all of the time during the day. Luckily and gratefully we spotted the door open and went inside for a look.
The bar sports 7 handpumps, but two beers had run out over the busy new year period. As Tony the gaffer pointed out, he is a massive fan of Saltaire beers so there were 4 of them, and one other, that being Gorlovka stout from Acorn. I tried the Saltaire Winter Tipple but despite it not being listed sniffed out some unwarranted spice shenanigans, so I went for a pint of the Cacscade, described as the Ale House beer of the year, and fully deserving the accolade. Dave had a half of the winter and the Triple chocolate. All 3 beers were very well kept, and having enjoyed a chat with Tony we decided to stop for an extra half - both of us had the excellent Gorlovka.
If you want to stay up to date with the pub and bands that they may be having on, or sometimes details of upcoming ales, you can find them on Facebook at Ale House Sheffield .
White Lion, Heeley
Next we took a walk down Cawthorne Grove out onto Archer road and down Little London Road to the White Lion at Heeley. This was reassuringly lit up, which was good news, since we had figured we had plenty of time to kill before we could be sure that our final destination was going to be open. A range of about 7 real ales was on, and to our delight, the bar snug was empty so we had chance to sit in there and soak up the atmosphere.
I had a pint of the Thornbridge Sequoia, which am warming to, and Dave the Ossett Silver King. Both were in good form, with the Sequoia perhaps edging it for me. It was also nice to soak up the sense of history in this redoubtable old boozer in the impressively retained original snug, a credit to Tetley that they took enough interest in the pub to retain its original layout (even if the rooms at the back are a recent addition).
The grim spectre of expectation
This visit allowed us chance to discuss and see in actinon the concept of expectation and opinion, in relation to pubs. Expectation, I think, plays a crucial and unavoidable role in your assessment of a pub or its beers. It also of course prevails in other aspects of daily life, which was manifest in the coming discourse, and in an interesting rule I noticed pinned up behind the bar. It advised that persons wearing a hoodie or baseball cap (and assuming not politely offering to remove them) will be asked to leave the premises.
Me and Dave both thought this was a rarely seen edict, and this is what started our discussion over two delicious halves of Thornbridge Jaipur. The rule was not one that either of us disagreed with - but then you have to ask yourself - why is this an issue? Well, because once more, expectations, perhaps here crossing over into prejudice, are at work.
I can only assume that the rule came about because of either perceived behaviour associated with persons wearing such attire, or actual encountered behaviour from the same. I have always found dress codes a contentious issue, but this seems to conveniently open apply when they affect me! I was once denied entry to a Wetherspoons in Ayr because I was wearing walking boots - behind the bouncer were people chucking fag ends and ash onto the floor, swilling from bottles and using a breathtaking array of middle English. Luckily, for the sake of humanity, none of them had stooped so low as to wear boots, thank God!
Curiously here though, I recognised that I like the rule writer had an expectation that a person wearing the above attire may well be one bringing trouble, and that's interesting - I don't own a hoodie or a baseball cap, because I am a mature adult not a 12 year old boy - but here was an expectation that I had, matched by the licensee, which quite blatantly painted a huge group of persons as being unsuitable visitors to the pub. I wondered how many other pubs carried out so specific a dress code,and what the reasons were - does anyone know of any others in Shiny Sheffield?
Our next study of expectations surrounded our final destination, the Broadfield Ale House on Abbeydale Road. I used to visit the pub a lot in the days when it was run by an experienced landlord, under the iron grip of Pub maniacs Sherwood Inns. I remember its faux antique furnishings, expensive beer, and odd layout, but also its excellent jukebox and the helpful bar staff who used to give us tastes of increasingly perilously hot chilli sauces that they kept buying. Meanwhile, I have been to the Old House and the York, and their shared ownership with the Broadfield meant I had a clear expectation of what I would find.
The snug was quickly filled up with drinkers returning from a visit to said pub. One was quick to provide a soundbite "shite" and was quickly backed by his companions who elucidated further. Choice comments included "its not how I remember it", "I had a lager served in a warm glass" and, tellingly "the stout was an OK drink of beer, but it didn't taste of chocolate at all, it was nothing like the description on the sign in front of the pump". This nugget was most interesting because the story changed when repeated to the licensee, to "I had two shit pints of beer", which could have been to appease the person dispensing their pint, but was a notable shift in recollection in just a couple of minutes. Notwithstanding the fact that I noted the complainants listed a Guinness and a Carlsberg in their menu of favourite drinks, it occurred to me that there were at least 3 faults which were likely tthe result of expectations not met.
If the lager is warm, use the magic of speech to convey this, and get it replaced - it only needs a slightly colder glass after all. If you expect a beer to taste of chocolate, firstly, that's a slightly odd flavour to desire, but if it doesn't, then advise a staff member, and maybe enquire if something similar is available (bearing in mind that the detection of flavours in beer is entirely subjective). Finally, if your overall expectation is that nothing will have changed, or if its made up of a series of expectations set in narrow parameters that must be met, take a step back! I myself am regularly guilty of making an assessment based purely on what I had expected not being so, rather than whether something is good in its own right. Its the devil on my shoulder all too often and am starting to realise now that it plays an important role in my and most oher peoples assessments.
Shakespeare Well Road
With our brains tired from our discussion, we left the White. Our penultimate venue was a brisk uphill walk from Ponsfords. Having decided that the Sheaf View would be rammed, and that the Shakespeare was likely worthy of a reassessment since I visited in the summer, we had decided to pop in here for a half. On entering up the steps I noted a cider handpump but no signs of real ale. Nervous disappointment spread across our faces as we contemplated having to sneak back out unnoticed - but I spotted the landlady and asked about the availability of the glorious drink, and the option was Doom Bar from Coors. We sighed and decided to stop for a half.
We sat as always (well, that is only twice) in the room that sticks out opposite the bar and overlooks the sheaf valley, and having secured the football results, enjoyed what was a surprisingly decent drink of Doom Bar. What the cellar person had done, was turn a drab market saturated brown beer and made it interesting. Not wishing to overuse the expectation concept, its worth mentioning our expectations that there would be a couple of real ales on at least, and that the Doom Bar would be crap. Neither were met, and our visit was still an enjoyable one. Time now to try and have them met at the Broadfield....
Broadfield Ale House
We entered through the right hand door which used to take you into the separate and far less salubrious right hand games room, but now it takes you into the left hand side, which, erm, well now isn't, its all one large albeit multi-textured and full of different areas, single room. Earlier in the day Dave had remarked that it was hard to find all the handpumps and this proved accurate, they were in 3 separate sections all round the bar and there was no indication that you needed to seek them out because there was no list of the real ales on sale. This was a flawed approach, but one we had expected!
My obvious beer choice was the Abbeydale Chocs Away stout - the unchocolatey beer maligned in the White. Dave had the equally dark and interestingly more stout like Springhead Leveller which was very nice, and both beers were £2.85, which is on par with other pubs nearby. And the stout? Well, it did taste of chocolate, but chocolate malt, not actual dairy milk. Perhaps the description should have made this clear (I didn't see one) but its subjective like I said. And honestly, who expects beer to taste like chocolate anyway? Beer tastes of beer and its inclusive ingredients, any similarities except in the case of an actual chocolate beer are therefore entirely co-incidental.
We found a seat in the busy pub over to the left of the pub facing the bar with the whisky selection behind - curiously, the visitors we saw earlier had failed to pick up on this incredible and impressive collection, although, with a beer tasting ahead, I neglected to try one. Although a couple of tables were reserved, which is incredibly frustrating if all you want is to sit down and sup a pint, a kind couple, Sadie and Gareth, let us squeeze onto their table, and even shared a taste of their food with us. It was now that I noticed teher was a delectable menu of comforting fare available. Lets face it, any pub with a separate pie and sausage menu is onto a winner..
We enjoyed our friendly company and our beers and despite being a little disappointed with the beer selling approach, its clearly a pub to revisit in the future. Alas, all too soon we had to escape to Handsworth for our tea, which afforded us a last pub expectation experiment on the way home.
White Rose, Handsworth Road
The White Rose, by virtue of being physically nearer to my house than any other licensed building, is therefore my local. However, apart from a brief mid noughties period where we often went in after work for a meal, I almost never go in, because its really not to my taste. A large modern bungalow style new build, but with none of the character attempted and achieved in the Ale House. A pool table, a restaurant, legions of smokers outside, massive noisy TV screens and a bar groaning with mass market dross. Despite this, it did seem to always at least sell one real ale. So we expected to fit in a quick half of whatever was on offer before we arrived at Beefy Towers (note - this is not a euphemism).
Tetley was the only cask on offer, and having been served and paid £2.25 for our 2 halves, we sat down at the table to discuss where we thought the Tetley's was brewed before simultaneously smelling our beers and pulling a face like a man biting into a mouldy sandwich. It was truly foul. Never mind that it was soupy in appearance, I had been in and had a half of soupy Black Sheep last year which was tolerable, but this was rank.
We took it back to someone who may have been the manager. "Your Tetley's off mate" I helpfully advised. Straightaway the man tried to discredit our claim, by saying it had been tapped for 4 days. Erm, what? This had nothing to do with anything since it was clearly rancid. Dave asked him to taste the beer but he insisted a number of times that it was against company policy, in fact I'm not even sure he accepted our invitation to smell it. He was quite happy to get us something else, but having established that there was no other cask on offer, we asked for our money back instead. The question that bothers me here is, how long has that been on sale, with no-one noticing its foul smell when pulling it through, even assuming anyone had bought any at all since it went on? And why had no-one thought to taste it at anytime? Does company policy forbid the cellarman to test if the beer is suitable for consumption, never mind sale?
Overall, the White Rose may well not be the most suitable pub to sell cask. I have heard staff comment in the past that it sells OK "because the older folks drink it" which is always a a nice thing to hear after you have just ordered it, but its clear that those punters are either staying away or switching to smooth. Once again, expectations kill an experience if they are, in this case so profoundly, not met. So best keep punters expectations to a minimum by making it clear that real ale is not available.
More details later of me and Davefromtshop's beer tasting...
Wee Beefy.
I have quite a lo to tell you about today so will do two posts in order to make the info more easy to digest. First, here are the details of my trip to West Sheffield yesterday, and some beer news from way back in December which eluded me.
Sportsman, Crosspool
Back in 2011 I was in here to meet up with Bobert, Coops, Big G and Mick amongst others, for a pre Christmas drink. The Sportsman, whilst never having been my hostelry of choice in the area (I used to go in the Bell Hagg in the nineties, and never really felt compelled to drink in the Crosspool Tavern at any time) and its a while since I was last in before this visit - I seem to remember it was early nineties and me and pathos Brian were in to share a half prior to meeting friends. It wasn't resolutely traditional then, but did at least have the now novel feature of separate rooms, as all pubs should.
It was with some dismay that I noticed the homogenised signatures of the Ember Inns chain, indicating to me that i would virtually know the much changed interior already : lots of pale wood, a big dark chunky bar, many dividing walls replaced with boxes of sawn down pine logs, and much soft furnishings. And so it was to be, my Mystic Meg predictions came true, but what I hadn't forseen was the beer range.
On the bar were Tetleys cask (now brewed in Northampton or somewhere ), Leeds Pale, Keltek King, Orkney Dark Island and another offering that I have managed to forget. Both the Leeds and the Orkney were tried, and were found to be in good nick, and not too expensive either - I think the Leeds came in at about £2.60 a pint. Round the corner of the bar, the upcoming brews were advertised by being on the furthest pump clips. This practice is guaranteed to wind me up as it creates a false expectation but at least I was intercepted en route to inspecting the pumps by a member of staff who made it clear they were coming soon (and on closer inspection there were small "flags " atop each pump clip attesting the same).
So, overall this was a surprising and quite pleasant discovery. I thank my lucky stars that i don't have to make a food pub my local, since its atmosphere vacuum means its a transient rather than a long comfortable session venue, but the beer range shows imagination and the pricing is logical and sensible. At least you can be assured of something worth drinking if you end up in the Sportsman.
West of Sheffield wander.
I went up to see Davefromtshop in his native Woodseats and we went on a brief but interesting crawl around some of the pubs that the area had to offer, starting on Fraser Road at the Ale house, previously known as the Sheaf.
The Ale House
Owing to the period between New Years day and the first proper weekend of the new year also being a weird time in terms of pub openings, we approached the pub with trepidation - partly because of its design, a modern possibly 1960's bungalow style estate pub making it seem dark and unopen almost all of the time during the day. Luckily and gratefully we spotted the door open and went inside for a look.
The bar sports 7 handpumps, but two beers had run out over the busy new year period. As Tony the gaffer pointed out, he is a massive fan of Saltaire beers so there were 4 of them, and one other, that being Gorlovka stout from Acorn. I tried the Saltaire Winter Tipple but despite it not being listed sniffed out some unwarranted spice shenanigans, so I went for a pint of the Cacscade, described as the Ale House beer of the year, and fully deserving the accolade. Dave had a half of the winter and the Triple chocolate. All 3 beers were very well kept, and having enjoyed a chat with Tony we decided to stop for an extra half - both of us had the excellent Gorlovka.
If you want to stay up to date with the pub and bands that they may be having on, or sometimes details of upcoming ales, you can find them on Facebook at Ale House Sheffield .
White Lion, Heeley
Next we took a walk down Cawthorne Grove out onto Archer road and down Little London Road to the White Lion at Heeley. This was reassuringly lit up, which was good news, since we had figured we had plenty of time to kill before we could be sure that our final destination was going to be open. A range of about 7 real ales was on, and to our delight, the bar snug was empty so we had chance to sit in there and soak up the atmosphere.
I had a pint of the Thornbridge Sequoia, which am warming to, and Dave the Ossett Silver King. Both were in good form, with the Sequoia perhaps edging it for me. It was also nice to soak up the sense of history in this redoubtable old boozer in the impressively retained original snug, a credit to Tetley that they took enough interest in the pub to retain its original layout (even if the rooms at the back are a recent addition).
The grim spectre of expectation
This visit allowed us chance to discuss and see in actinon the concept of expectation and opinion, in relation to pubs. Expectation, I think, plays a crucial and unavoidable role in your assessment of a pub or its beers. It also of course prevails in other aspects of daily life, which was manifest in the coming discourse, and in an interesting rule I noticed pinned up behind the bar. It advised that persons wearing a hoodie or baseball cap (and assuming not politely offering to remove them) will be asked to leave the premises.
Me and Dave both thought this was a rarely seen edict, and this is what started our discussion over two delicious halves of Thornbridge Jaipur. The rule was not one that either of us disagreed with - but then you have to ask yourself - why is this an issue? Well, because once more, expectations, perhaps here crossing over into prejudice, are at work.
I can only assume that the rule came about because of either perceived behaviour associated with persons wearing such attire, or actual encountered behaviour from the same. I have always found dress codes a contentious issue, but this seems to conveniently open apply when they affect me! I was once denied entry to a Wetherspoons in Ayr because I was wearing walking boots - behind the bouncer were people chucking fag ends and ash onto the floor, swilling from bottles and using a breathtaking array of middle English. Luckily, for the sake of humanity, none of them had stooped so low as to wear boots, thank God!
Curiously here though, I recognised that I like the rule writer had an expectation that a person wearing the above attire may well be one bringing trouble, and that's interesting - I don't own a hoodie or a baseball cap, because I am a mature adult not a 12 year old boy - but here was an expectation that I had, matched by the licensee, which quite blatantly painted a huge group of persons as being unsuitable visitors to the pub. I wondered how many other pubs carried out so specific a dress code,and what the reasons were - does anyone know of any others in Shiny Sheffield?
Our next study of expectations surrounded our final destination, the Broadfield Ale House on Abbeydale Road. I used to visit the pub a lot in the days when it was run by an experienced landlord, under the iron grip of Pub maniacs Sherwood Inns. I remember its faux antique furnishings, expensive beer, and odd layout, but also its excellent jukebox and the helpful bar staff who used to give us tastes of increasingly perilously hot chilli sauces that they kept buying. Meanwhile, I have been to the Old House and the York, and their shared ownership with the Broadfield meant I had a clear expectation of what I would find.
The snug was quickly filled up with drinkers returning from a visit to said pub. One was quick to provide a soundbite "shite" and was quickly backed by his companions who elucidated further. Choice comments included "its not how I remember it", "I had a lager served in a warm glass" and, tellingly "the stout was an OK drink of beer, but it didn't taste of chocolate at all, it was nothing like the description on the sign in front of the pump". This nugget was most interesting because the story changed when repeated to the licensee, to "I had two shit pints of beer", which could have been to appease the person dispensing their pint, but was a notable shift in recollection in just a couple of minutes. Notwithstanding the fact that I noted the complainants listed a Guinness and a Carlsberg in their menu of favourite drinks, it occurred to me that there were at least 3 faults which were likely tthe result of expectations not met.
If the lager is warm, use the magic of speech to convey this, and get it replaced - it only needs a slightly colder glass after all. If you expect a beer to taste of chocolate, firstly, that's a slightly odd flavour to desire, but if it doesn't, then advise a staff member, and maybe enquire if something similar is available (bearing in mind that the detection of flavours in beer is entirely subjective). Finally, if your overall expectation is that nothing will have changed, or if its made up of a series of expectations set in narrow parameters that must be met, take a step back! I myself am regularly guilty of making an assessment based purely on what I had expected not being so, rather than whether something is good in its own right. Its the devil on my shoulder all too often and am starting to realise now that it plays an important role in my and most oher peoples assessments.
Shakespeare Well Road
With our brains tired from our discussion, we left the White. Our penultimate venue was a brisk uphill walk from Ponsfords. Having decided that the Sheaf View would be rammed, and that the Shakespeare was likely worthy of a reassessment since I visited in the summer, we had decided to pop in here for a half. On entering up the steps I noted a cider handpump but no signs of real ale. Nervous disappointment spread across our faces as we contemplated having to sneak back out unnoticed - but I spotted the landlady and asked about the availability of the glorious drink, and the option was Doom Bar from Coors. We sighed and decided to stop for a half.
We sat as always (well, that is only twice) in the room that sticks out opposite the bar and overlooks the sheaf valley, and having secured the football results, enjoyed what was a surprisingly decent drink of Doom Bar. What the cellar person had done, was turn a drab market saturated brown beer and made it interesting. Not wishing to overuse the expectation concept, its worth mentioning our expectations that there would be a couple of real ales on at least, and that the Doom Bar would be crap. Neither were met, and our visit was still an enjoyable one. Time now to try and have them met at the Broadfield....
Broadfield Ale House
We entered through the right hand door which used to take you into the separate and far less salubrious right hand games room, but now it takes you into the left hand side, which, erm, well now isn't, its all one large albeit multi-textured and full of different areas, single room. Earlier in the day Dave had remarked that it was hard to find all the handpumps and this proved accurate, they were in 3 separate sections all round the bar and there was no indication that you needed to seek them out because there was no list of the real ales on sale. This was a flawed approach, but one we had expected!
My obvious beer choice was the Abbeydale Chocs Away stout - the unchocolatey beer maligned in the White. Dave had the equally dark and interestingly more stout like Springhead Leveller which was very nice, and both beers were £2.85, which is on par with other pubs nearby. And the stout? Well, it did taste of chocolate, but chocolate malt, not actual dairy milk. Perhaps the description should have made this clear (I didn't see one) but its subjective like I said. And honestly, who expects beer to taste like chocolate anyway? Beer tastes of beer and its inclusive ingredients, any similarities except in the case of an actual chocolate beer are therefore entirely co-incidental.
We found a seat in the busy pub over to the left of the pub facing the bar with the whisky selection behind - curiously, the visitors we saw earlier had failed to pick up on this incredible and impressive collection, although, with a beer tasting ahead, I neglected to try one. Although a couple of tables were reserved, which is incredibly frustrating if all you want is to sit down and sup a pint, a kind couple, Sadie and Gareth, let us squeeze onto their table, and even shared a taste of their food with us. It was now that I noticed teher was a delectable menu of comforting fare available. Lets face it, any pub with a separate pie and sausage menu is onto a winner..
We enjoyed our friendly company and our beers and despite being a little disappointed with the beer selling approach, its clearly a pub to revisit in the future. Alas, all too soon we had to escape to Handsworth for our tea, which afforded us a last pub expectation experiment on the way home.
White Rose, Handsworth Road
The White Rose, by virtue of being physically nearer to my house than any other licensed building, is therefore my local. However, apart from a brief mid noughties period where we often went in after work for a meal, I almost never go in, because its really not to my taste. A large modern bungalow style new build, but with none of the character attempted and achieved in the Ale House. A pool table, a restaurant, legions of smokers outside, massive noisy TV screens and a bar groaning with mass market dross. Despite this, it did seem to always at least sell one real ale. So we expected to fit in a quick half of whatever was on offer before we arrived at Beefy Towers (note - this is not a euphemism).
Tetley was the only cask on offer, and having been served and paid £2.25 for our 2 halves, we sat down at the table to discuss where we thought the Tetley's was brewed before simultaneously smelling our beers and pulling a face like a man biting into a mouldy sandwich. It was truly foul. Never mind that it was soupy in appearance, I had been in and had a half of soupy Black Sheep last year which was tolerable, but this was rank.
We took it back to someone who may have been the manager. "Your Tetley's off mate" I helpfully advised. Straightaway the man tried to discredit our claim, by saying it had been tapped for 4 days. Erm, what? This had nothing to do with anything since it was clearly rancid. Dave asked him to taste the beer but he insisted a number of times that it was against company policy, in fact I'm not even sure he accepted our invitation to smell it. He was quite happy to get us something else, but having established that there was no other cask on offer, we asked for our money back instead. The question that bothers me here is, how long has that been on sale, with no-one noticing its foul smell when pulling it through, even assuming anyone had bought any at all since it went on? And why had no-one thought to taste it at anytime? Does company policy forbid the cellarman to test if the beer is suitable for consumption, never mind sale?
Overall, the White Rose may well not be the most suitable pub to sell cask. I have heard staff comment in the past that it sells OK "because the older folks drink it" which is always a a nice thing to hear after you have just ordered it, but its clear that those punters are either staying away or switching to smooth. Once again, expectations kill an experience if they are, in this case so profoundly, not met. So best keep punters expectations to a minimum by making it clear that real ale is not available.
More details later of me and Davefromtshop's beer tasting...
Wee Beefy.
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