Conundrum saisonale

Hello,
 

           in the run up to Christmas I was asking Davefromtshop what delights he had for me to buy. Knowing I was a fan of the style he told me about the Fantome Saison. Apparently it was considered a classic, and had orgasmic and worshipful rave reviews on Ratebeer, which comes as a surprise what with reviewers on there being so shy of scaturient outpourings....
 

Then came the caveats. I listened carefully. Reviewers had almost unanimously noted it smelled really unpleasant (but tasted nothing like its aroma). Also, it was strong, and heart-stoppingly expensive.

Despite these warnings, I decided to buy a bottle, since I got the feeling it was a bit of a coup for The Archer Road Beer Stop (where I used to work, and whose owner I am a good friend of, just to provide full disclosure!) to stock it. I bought two of this enormous bottle of 8.0% beer, and tonight I'm tasting one.

The first surprise comes from the fact that on opening the cap there's a cork underneath. What is this, radioactive material! How likely is it that the contents will escape? Once I got the cork out, with a satisfying pop, I got to encounter the aroma, or, erm, smell, for myself. Hmmm. Its not foul but its a bit vegetably and tart and reminds me in some ways of compost, or more worryingly, off beer. Luckily the taste is unrelated to the above description. However, the taste is my next screwed up face making puzzle....
 

I should point out that I'm drinking this as I write. Its almost less hassle than making notes and then typing them up, and also stops me from constantly taking photos. My gut reaction is that I think the taste is the beers most surprising element - and I'm not sure if I think that's a good thing.
 

One thing's for certain - this is a strong beer and it needs to be chilled. Carbonation and sharp flavours and that lovely Belgian yeast don't need to be served at room temperature. As I have a lovely Orval glass, at least half the bottle is back in the fridge. I suspect that may restrain the flavours slightly so they meld seamlessly together. At the moment I am drinking three beers in one. Its a very confusing experience for my palate.

 

The first hit is yeast. Its that recognisable sweetish Belgian affair that really should be in a saison. Then there is orange, and bitterness, almost like a Fullers Vintage Ale. Its not terribly easy to drink either, but its 8% and not cold. I don't think its trying to ape the refreshingly light farmhouse style that I seem to lean towards, but equally I'm not sure what its trying to be.
 

The other element in here is a sweet and sour battle between barley sugar and astringent almost bitter fruit flavours. In one mouthful it goes Corsendonk Pater (note have not had this in years, this is an unreliable taste memory), gueze, Buxton Rye and an aftertaste of orange boiled sweets and the Popperings Hommelbier. To be honest, it could be described as fruit salad sweets, Kriek, Magic Rock High Wire, Marmite and Gulden Draak. That's far less accurate and a bit silly, but it performs the task of bamboozling your expectations and (on drinking), your taste-buds in a similar way. Why won't you make sense unusual saison thing!
 

I've took the glass out of the freezer now and poured slightly more chilled beer into it, and noted that the list of ingredients includes spices. Not which ones of course, that wouldn't be sufficiently "artisanal", but maybe there could be a clue in there? Other than that, the temperature exercise has achieved nothing. Where Urthel Saisonnaire and Saison Dupont have a refreshing lemony edge, this has a slightly jarring sour bitterness, more like earthy lime than zesty lemon. Its easier to drink now its cold but I'm not getting that must have, super refreshing palate cleansing mouthfeel that my favourite saisons have had.

Despite that, an hour after pouring I'm sort of warming to the ascorbic aftertaste, and liking the sour fruit that goes with it. Its complex, slightly unbalanced and surprising. Much like a lot of people I know and care about.

In conclusion then, I like this beer, but its nothing like what I expected. Its acidic bitterness is odd yet not unpleasant, but its aroma is hardly enticing and its probably not worth the price. If you had never tasted saison before I'm not sure you'd try it again after this - but if you had, I fear like me you'd spend all your time wondering why it wasn't as good as the Urthel for example - or the stupendous Dark Star cask Saison, which was epic.
 

The answer to the conundrum then? Now I think I know less about saison and more about expectation than I did before. I thought all saisons were meant to be fresh and lemony and delicately sweet and were brewed for farm workers (apologies if I have walked into some obvious beer writers in joke here!). Fantome is none of those things. And I have no confidence in the idea that the previous statement means this is not a proper saison beer either!
 

I can't even work out if that's good....

 

 

Wee Beefy
 

Never mention hairy

Hello again,

           last year, just as my blog (and my interest in other blogs) was taking off, I read a post by Reluctant Scooper about obscure search terms that had led readers to his blog. Finding the results perplexing and amusing in equal measure I dallied briefly with the idea of using Google Analytics myself, but it looked either confusing, too techy, or like you'd have to pay. Luckily my Stats page (which I never look at, ahem...) provides similar info.

Only a few hours ago, caught napping, I noticed that he'd put the details up for 2012 - here's the link. Which means I now have to finally utilise the information I have diligently saved over the last year.

I do hope Mr Scooper won't object to my borrowing the concept, but if anything doing so simply confirms what a great idea it is. Managing to find out how one ends up with so many readers in Russia, Ukraine and Latvia, and how a post mentioning the word hairy seemed to attract multiple page views above and beyond that which one could reasonably expect, may not be useful; but is nonetheless intriguing.

Here, in chronological order, are the weirdest :


Old bottled iron
Hairy pubs
Norfolk pub with peacocks in
Old hairy men
Old hairies
Men with hairy pubs
Pub friend rosta
Relax alcohol arm bier

Victorian mentalist posters

Horse ponsford Sheffield Old lady bites man wee wee Wet hairy back sarcastic Beefy Butt enlightened Snifter of Paul William Fraser Doom pub London Pebsham Lane Rottweiler Bexhill Hoppy's favourite cottage cheese lan...... Death metal bottle drunk Stork bitter intitle blog Bungalow maybank fraser hill haunted Bar Zenith wood hand cocking Swan Hotel pub good stabling Filey d..... Mores the shame that if the term is too long you can't see it in full. Or perhaps its for the best..... A very special Happy New Year to my Russian and Eastern European readers. WB

Contrary to my own advice....

(Hello,)

     ......I decided to go to a few public houses on New Years Eve. You know, that event, along with Christmas Eve, that I claimed not to have the slightest desire to go out drinking on. Just so were clear. In mitigation, a decent Christmas Eve sup at DAda did go someway to changing my mind. And, one of the primary concerns espoused, that it would be rammed, turned out to be well wide of the mark.

When I used to go drinking on New Years Eve in the nineties, in most pubs if you weren't in by 7pm you weren't getting in full stop, and you needed to arrive earlier for a seat. Last night, notwithstanding the possibility that West Street venues were rammed, only the very last pub got full (but was half empty at midnight) and had the radio not been on for the countdown I think the new year could have passed us all by! Here's what happened prior to that.

The day started off with a cameo at work - a 5 hour 13 minute shift making a mess of my flexi balance. Now deficit. But hey, it was New Year. Who wants to work New Year? Well, the answer is very few people, but as the rest of the day would demonstrate, a lot of people have to work long into the night. So before I go any further lets say thanks to the bar staff of the world who have to manage hoards of revellers, idiots, children, drinkers, alco's, bar room professors and barflys safely through to the next year. Well done to you!
 

So after leaving work, and despite the best efforts of SYPTE and Worst Mainline I did eventually get to the Hallamshire House - 50 minutes after setting off. Amazing. Luckily, the sole reason for my trip was in place - not the Man of Ash behind the bar, but the fantastic Thornbridge Hall Heather Honey Imperial Stout at 10% (and, I think, £3.60 a half), on it. Not wanting to start quite so high, I first had a half of another honey ale. Usually when I see honey listed on a pump clip I steer well clear, but the Thornbridge Craft Union seemed to pull off being both an enjoyable beer, and one with  honey in it.
 

Now the more astute amongst you will have worked out that in having sought out a Heather Honey Stout I couldn't really claim to actively avoid honey beers, but that beer came highly recommended by people who know their stuff so I figured it would be a risk worth taking - I also imagined the Heather and stout components would save it. And they do. The HHIS as we'll call it has an astonishingly sumptuous and inviting aroma and an impressively smooth taste and texture. True, it took me 40 minutes to drink a half, but it seemed silly rushing it, even though I was pushed for time. I suspect that a pint or more of HHIS would render much of the rest of any evening blurry however, so its probably best that I had places to be. A great beer though.
 

Next I somehow made it to DAda in 15 minutes and found it even more deserted than usual. It seems the high up chaps at Fornbrij had decided that it wasn't busy enough last year to warrant opening past 7pm this. (lucky I popped in, since I was thinking of going later). I had a decent pint of the Dancing Duck Gold and a chat with the barman here, before heading off, bang on time, for Platillos.
 

Not exactly pitched as a beer wonderland, it still riles me that after an initially promising start the range at Platillos has gone steadily downhill as the years have passed. The discovery that there wasn't even over priced Budvar on keg was a blow - from a choice of Theakston keg, Thatchers cider on keg and the usual suspects, the two lagers suggested, Cruzcampo or A.N.Other did nothing for me, likewise the bottles. In the end I reluctantly parted with £4.50 for a bottle of Vedett. At least that's a decent drink. That said the food was nice and the wine OK but when Zizzis has a more interesting range of beers you are really doing something wrong....

 

Off next to the Church House, the well known "Bit of empty" branded pub nearby. We found it easy to get a seat in here because even with the arrival of a group of 10 ahead of us there was almost nobody in. Not that this hastened the arrival of our drinks. Whilst waiting to be served the manager asked if we were all together (me, Chala and Thangor), which we confirmed - then he just walked off. Erm..what? Why ask and then not serve us? We finally got to order after nearly 5 minutes. V pooer.

Not as bad though, I had a pint of Caledonian Double Dark and Chala and Thangor had he-ladeez drinks. You know. Ickle ones, wi stuff in. We went to sit down on comfy seats near the bar and strangely, after spending 15 minutes seemingly doing nothing the manager sat down nearby and sighed, then loudly announced that it was time for a break. Irony perhaps?

Off next to our final and by far the best venue of the night, The Rutland Arms. This wasn't stupendously busy so we got a table quite easily - and after putting several tracks on the jukebox the comfy settee came free and we headed that way to appreciate our choices a bit better.

Apart from Alcy Bob here, Chala and Thangor remained steadfastly on the same drinks - Freedom Wheat for Chala and a vodka and tonic for Thangor. I meanwhile started with a pint of (and had many more pints of) Pennine Black Fell Porter - or similar. There's really no pint (edit - point!) trying to claim that I have clear memories of the night, so lets just assume this is correct and go with it. It was a really very nice dark beer anyway! I also had a few halves of Magic Rock High Wire, nicely reminding me why the NZ version was better, and a pint of Bollington White Nancy.

Despite not seeing Mr Stephens (not the catering manager from Death Star Canteen) it was still nice to see Joe, Paultous, the other guy (sorry other guy) and the chefs, especially Rich (subject to confirmation!) who after finishing his shift was merrily supping bottles of super expensive but super excellent Goose Island Bourbon County Stout - possibly helping to demonstrate that he's a mean dancer too. Mind you, the opinion of a very relaxed man who can't dance himself is feint praise indeed...
 

Later on a group arrived from Lichfield, obviously doing some sort of pub crawl, and many of whom seemed to appreciate my choice of tunes, and they were joined by punters including L'Chapelle and Dom who I know from the Moon and other pubs. This made for a very good atmosphere, even though as alluded earlier, the pub wasn't packed. Midnight came with champagne and I was interspersing every pint or half with a pint of water by this point, before finally the drinks stopped and we got a taxi back at a surprisingly late stage.
 

Overall the night nicely dispelled some of my fears about going out New Years Eve (although the cab home is annoying) and most importantly, I am really glad I got to spend it with friends, family and the fine folk of the Rutland.
 

Happy New Year!
 

Wee Beefy

Breweries of note

Greetings,

    now I know I sort of already did my Golden Pint awards spiel but I have, not accidentally, been mentioning my favourite, most impressive and consistent breweries in various posts throughout the year. So, with only tomorrow left of 2012, I have decided to compile my top ten breweries list, off the top of my head, without referring back to any previous posts. After all, if you rate a brewery, that shouldn't be necessary. Here's the shining stars, for your delectation..

1. Well, its got to be Mallinsons, not only because I already said that in my Golden Pints list, which is carved into a stone tablet and can never be changed (much how some breweries appear to regard their website), but because am still waiting for that first bad Mallinsons, beer, and can't see it arriving.
 

2. Revolutions Brew : once, and only once, I had a beer from this brewery that I didn't like. But that's a rare thing, and most of the time its a pleasure to sample their beer - even if I don't like or haven't heard of the band! Doing a collaboration with Brass Castle also earns them points, as does their impeccable unfined beer.
 

3. Magic Rock : not difficult to find, and despite a bit of a wobble where I had a few lacklustre pints (possibly a hop supply chain problem) its been another year where theirs have been the stand out beers - and they are only 18 months old. Still one of the few breweries whose beers aren't disappointing on KeyKeg, and whose Bearded Lady is my beer of the year.
 

4. Dark Star : If Bearded Lady hadn't redefined my feelings about Keykeg then 2012 would still have been memorable, mainly for the Dark Star Saison, and Revelation. The Saison was easily the most quaffable beer ever! The only thing that could have made it more perfect would have been a Summer to enjoy it in.
 

5. Black Iris : I hope this isn't influenced by their pumpclips but this is another go to producer for me - the Peregrine Pale and the Intergalactic IPA are two regularly faultless beers, along with their darker offerings.
 

6. Thornbridge : I might mock their position as "the new Ember Inns" and scoff at their fear of UK brewed KeyKeg beer but Halcyon, Pollards, McConnells, Yule, Evenlode and Thorny Goat simply can't be matched - and almost make up for how dire Kipling, Marples, St Petersburg and Jaipur have become. See, am at it again! Their inclusion in this list is also out of admiration for their incredible bottled beers, especially those that I have aged. 

 

7. Steel City : their 666 IBU festival alone warrants their inclusion, but when I see a Steel City beer I always find myself buying it. If they could just do a mild and a porter without too many hops they'd be much further up the list.
 

8. Blue Bee : Lustin For Stout, apart from a minor wobble, is consistently one of the best dark beers in Sheffield. And anyone who brews a black bitter,without any sense of irony is going to brewers heaven. The Shake Rattle and Roll was fairly awesome as well.
 

9. Blue Monkey : Love it! Great pumpclips and great beers which never disappoint, and now I can get there stuff in bottles as well its happy days. BG Sips is almost as faultlessly quaffable as Dark Star Saison.
 

10. Summer Wine : A huge range of bottles covering many styles is one reason why I like Summer Wine, even if they sometimes get a bit silly with hops. Their run of beers in Shakespeares and other Sheffield pubs earlier this year means I had plenty of their offerings to become enamoured with them - their red ale and Teleporter standing out.
 

11. You can't have a top 11, that's just silly. And besides, eleven comprises seven nearly's : Abbeydale, Fyne Ales, Acorn, Welbeck Abbey, Little Ale Cart, Hop Studio and Red Willow. All excellent breweries with a lot to offer. And heres a link to the list I compiled in April, just for comparison.

 
 

So that wraps up the list and the year for me, I have about a pint of Deception left which am saving for New Years Day, and then its back to the search for unspoilt pubs and amazing beers that has defined much of 2012.
 

Happy New Year!
 

Wee Beefy

How to follow a tipsy boxing day

Hello,

    the answer, of course, is get back on the ale. No point putting yourself through the achy pain of sobriety when New Years eve is just round the corner. And then its Drinkuary of course....

Alas, the pong of work hung over my calendar so I had to take my foot off the bottle for another day before beginning three days of Christmas relaxation starting today. In order to soften the impact of this needless distraction, I arranged to meet up with friends after work for, ahem "a couple of pints". Whilst you struggle to guess what may have actually happened in relation to that description, I'll fill you in on the important details....

We started around 4 at Shakespeares. Not too busy, but that's often the curse of the days between Christmas and New Year - no-one seems able to work out whether to expect a working day or weekend trade. Which was good, because we were able to grab a large table in the left hand room and settle down for a few pints.

I was joined by Jazz and Dave, Mr C, Maureen and Suzie Wish and started on a pint of Axholme Dark Lager. It was a very nice dark mild. It wasn't a schwarzbier or anything similar though! From here I moved onto pints (3 or so) of the excellent Welbeck Abbey Brewery Coco Noel, a fantastic chocolate stout with just the right balance of sweetness and crisp bitterness. This really loosened up those drinking it and put us in good spirits for our next stop.

DAda was atypical in its exclusivity so we also got a decent spot to sit in here. I had another enjoyable pint of Dancing Duck Gold, J9 alas missed out on the Rauchbier because she was distracted by a fruity offering (stop it..) and overall the drinks on offer were good, although Wish and C didn't rate the Bernard, so we (I, grumpily) decided to move on.

The Red Deer was our final stop, which makes a nice change for me, and it was here from a choice of two guests (there are about 5 or 6 regulars) I finally made the acquaintance of a beer that lots of people rate highly - the incredibly tasty and satisfying Santa Baby, a 5.9% IPA from Welbeck Abbey Brewery. This is another excellent Christmas ale from Welbeck, (although its festive relevance isn't exactly apparent in the taste! I'll let the brewery explain...) and one which, I confess, pretty much finished me off. I don't know how many glasses of the glorious brew passed my lips but it was a fantastic way to end a great night out with good friends.

By the way, Welbeck have even gone and got themselves a website so you can follow this link to see what has replaced their blog - and read a little about Santa Baby into the process.

So, that rounds up the details of  my proper works night out, a tale that serves as an illustration of why you shouldn't drink almost exclusively beers of 5.0% and higher all night, as well as highlighting the money saving benefits of keeping ones underlying levels up throughout Christmas.

Which reminds me, that Abbeydale Deception isn't going to drink itself....

Cheers!

Wee Beefy

Yo Ho glow

    Hello,

hope you are all having a fab Christmas  day.

Not Stupid Blogger though, whose "amazing" new post editor causes my computer to have 20 kinds of fit, thus exponentially increasing the time taken to write to almost absurd levels. I think I need a beer...

Which is fine actually because my Abbeydale Deception polypin is giving up its goods regularly, even though to get at the grapefruit and melon rich flavours I have to put up with a slow tap. Humph.

Anyhoo, this is just a quick (surprise) post to wish the folks and customers at DAda all the very best.

Having forsworn to avoid any pubs on Christmas Eve, I decided to head in for a last couple (before the 27th at any rate!) to set me up for the enforced merriment and expected gluttony to come. Initially I was a little concerned - firstly on passing a brace of outdoor cider enthusiasts brawling on Campo Lane, and then because I worried that propping up the bar, by myself, on Christmas Eve, was perhaps the very epitome of sadness.

 I needn't have worried though. I was made to feel fantastically welcome by James and Steph, and after having a pint of Dancing Duck Gold and a bottle of Brewfist Fear I bumped into a BadPanda who very kindly invited me to join his friends Dunc, Amy, a man from far away, the Bobs and Mrs Panda for a few drinks and a chat.

I even got to try a new beer - Thorny Peter. A specially blended (erm, roughly a third of each, in guesstimeasures) of Thorny Goat and St Petersburg. It was better than the now peaty dry St Petersburg. But then, so is Thorny Goat. Pointless, but enjoyable science.

Alas, after a few hours, and numerous loops of the 80's Christmas music mix I had to awaah to Thangors for roast pork sarnies and wine, but my last visit to Dada before Christmas was a real feel good pub experience, just like a proper pub visit should be.

Its also one which I look forward to repeating throughout 2013.

Wee Beefy

Final flourish, and best wishes

Now then,

           one of the usual gripes about Christmas drinking is that pubs are "filled up wi twats oo dornt drink normle-h". Well, thats sort of true. Half slurping, G&ampT snorting, table hogging bores who get shit faced on a pint and a half and then ruin everyones night by puking and groggily stumbling about before being ejected, arrested or left to die in the street. An all too familiar blight, but one avoided by A: drinking in real ale pubs away from the town centre, and B: not going out Christmas or New Years Eve.

Against that backdrop, this year I intend to follow my own advice and so am now officially "done" for Christmas. The house is full of booze (more details to follow), the polypin of Deception has settled clear in 24 hours, the decorations are up, the warm lighting is set, and the food is bought in readiness. The last thing I want to be doing is fannying around in a pub.

However, to keep me from going insane without its social interaction, here's a round up of my pub visits and other booze news from the last week.

Wednesday saw me and Mr P meet for our last sup before the festival of lies. We headed straight for the Rutland where, mercifully, the excellent Raw/Steel City collaborations were still on the bar - not that we were tempted to risk our sobriety on them, as we had bigger plans ahead.

We opted instead for a pint of Blue Bee Nectar for Mr P and a pint of the excellent Foxfield Dark Mild for me. The mild is a decent strength at around 4.2% and was very roasty and smooth and malty, always a good sign in a dark mild. Unfortunately, a distinct but not unsurprising lack of relaxing space (although we did get a table) meant we opted to only stay for one. So erm, Merry Christmas to the Rutland, who is a person. Hope to see you before the new year....

Our next final Christmas stop was at the Sheffield Tap, although I had planned to return, but things didn't pan out. The Internet had told me that Oakham Green Devil IPA, seemingly a large number of peoples fave beer of 2012, was on the bar. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it had run out long before we got there. So I had a pint of the Ilkley licorice porter, which was excellent, and Mr P an Oakham JHB.

Despite knowing that people also rate JHB, I was surprised at just how fruity and bitter this was - perhaps its widespread availability has led to some less than careful stewardship because its been fairly disappointing whenever I've tried it recently - but this was tremendous. Mr P opted to stick with the JHB for the next round whilst I went for the big one. One whole half, at £4.20, of Magic Rock Bearded Lady. I also had a mitigating refresher - of Sunny Republic 5 malt hibiscus pale ale, which was, interesting, but needfully refreshing.

The Bearded Lady was just as extravagantly glorious in its sheer mass of flavour and alcoholic strength, and still, thankfully, as well balanced and rewarding as the bourbon aged epiphany that was the highlight of my birthday weekend. It still took 50 minutes to sup, but was pleasing and satisfying to the last drop. A spectacular beer.

We parted ways at this point and after refuelling I found time to have a quick half of Thornbridge Yule in DAda, a warming pagan potation that finished off the night nicely.

Yesterday was me and Wee Keefy's trip out to Derbyshire to buy a couple of last presents. After stopping in a ludicrously packed Bakewell to purchase whisky for Wee Fatha we headed for the Three Stags Heads at Wardlow Mires so that WK could pick up some bottles of Abbeydale Black Lurcher. This turned out to be a fantastic visit, not least because it was quiet and so allowing me to get a few pics of this excellent pub, which is on the national inventory of unspoilt pub interiors, but also because we got chatting to the barman and the landlord and a couple who had come to see his renowned pottery.

Coupled with being sat in flickering dim light opposite the open fire drinking excellent beer this was a great way to fill in an hour. And on the subject of ale, it was just a half for delicate flower WK, of Deception, and two pints (in the end!) for me - Brimstone at £2.60, and a very well kept Absolution at £3.00. Nicely dispelling the myth that the Three Stags is expensive into the bargain.

Alas we had to get on because we were off to Archer Road Beer Stop to pick up my Christmas polypin of Abbeydale Deception, and some bottles. Highlights included a bottle of bottle conditioned Ilkley Cranberry milk stout, 2 bottles of the legendary Fantome saison, a Thornbridge Thorny Goat, a Blue Monkey Fat Ape and Durham Temptation, which is now a firmly established Wee Beefy tradition.

Dave very kindly invited us in for a pint but we'd arrived at a busy purple patch so try as we might we couldn't make our respective pint and half of Bradfield Belgian Blue last long enough for him to get to talk to us. Still, it was nice to sample the Belgian Blue and briefly see Dave into the bargain.

So, that's its folks! Barring an amazing nugget of info or a life changing bottle crossing my path I won't be updating the blog now until after Christmas.

So I hope you have a fantastic festive period, and in case I am otherwise engaged in between times, a fantastic new year.

Cheers!

Wee Beefy.

Showing them the best

Hello

     its an unavoidable side effect of being known as a beer blogger that acquaintances and work colleagues either demand information from you about every facet of beer and pubs, or simply assume that you would be willing to lead them on a wide ranging tour of hostelries and highlights of the local beer scene. Presumptuous as this may be, I actually like showing people what Sheffield has to offer, and a chance arrangement to meet with a friend gave me the ideal opportunity to show someone what, as an irregular beer drinker, they might be missing.

I was due to meet up with Miss M for a pint or two after work, and intended, what with it being Black Friday, to avoid nobhead rich aggro warehouses on West Street in favour of my regular haunts nearby. As with all good plans, things went a little askew as Miss M was delayed, so having put up with work as long as was tolerable I headed for Shakespeares to meet up with Wee Keefy, Steve Prewash, Bob, Bill, Bob, Bob, Bob, Bob, Bob and Kevin, from the NGH.

I fancied a half of Arbor something I couldn't read but it was 10%, so in the absence of Revolutions or Hop Studio or other guaranteed excellent brewers offerings I went for an old reliable - a pint of Deception, which may have been only £2.30 a pint. It was very quaffable - the perfect start. It was busy in Shakespeares, but not as rammed as it would have been had the pub been nearer town. Hence, my theory was proved to be correct.

Being as I had more than an hour to fill before meeting my intended companion I stuck with the team to the next pub, the Three Tuns. I don't often get in here so despite my fears about its busyness (and it was rammed) I opted to pop in for a pint. Bradfield Farmers Blonde was my choice in here - but only because the Absolution was a tad too strong.

Off to the Three Cranes next where there were three beers on and plenty of happy customers soaking up the excellent atmosphere. I started with half a Blue Bee Tangled Up IPA on the basis I would be heading off to meet Miss M, but she joined us in the pub after all, so I quickly ordered another two. A very easy drinking beer for its strength, the Tangled Up was back to its best, and selling at around £3.30 a pint.

Soon we were off to DAda, and I was determined to give my companion a taste of a wide range of tastes and styles from the excellent beers on offer. We started with a pint of th Dancing Duck Abduction IPA at 5.5%, which was a gentle starter for Miss M, who usually drinks stronger but more lager malted beers. I then decided to to buy a couple of slightly more off the wall drinks.

We had a glass of GluhKriek between us, along with a beer cocktail made with Thornbridge Chiron, which I can't recall the name of. I am ashamed, dear readers, to admit, that the cocktail was simply fantastic. More interestingly though was the fact that we couldn't quite detect the beer element in the mix but noting it had Chiron it it I ordered two halves of this immediately after and we could recognise it straight away. It feels wrong to champion the idea of a beer cocktail, but given how bloody boiling it can get in DAda, its a highly recommended way to cool off and enjoy an easy drinking, erm, beer. Cocktail. 

We finished with halves of the excellent Schlenkerla Rauchbier before the frustrating passage of time harried us out and back yto the bus stops to escape home - on returning to which I had one of my stash of Dunham Massey bottles, this being their porter.

As well as being an enjoyable trip round some great pubs, this proved to be a great example of the breadth and quality of beers available in Sheffield today. With two locally brewed Pale session beers, 2 locally brewed IPA's, a German smoked beer, a warm Belgian ale, a Derbyshire fruity pale Keykeg beer and a beer cocktail, I had the opportunity to try wildly contrasting styles, all served in excellent condition, at decent prices. And all withing about 10 minutes walk of where I work. A joyous microcosm of beer brilliance to render any nights drinking a success.

Cheers!

Wee Beefy

Eeh, responsible drinking

Now then,

     before walking off some of my hangover and then reinstating it, I was off art Friday and Saturday with folks, round my local and not so regular haunts. Old friends, family and pubs followed, with a reckless strong ale theme flowing throughout, thus....

Tuesday was a good night out after work, starting at DAda, wherever that is. I had a pint of the Fullers Bengal Lancer and a half of the Thornbridge Yule, which mysteriously became a second half of the same whilst chatting with bar stranger Steph, who has run away to be immersed in bubbles and surrounded by shampoo. Good catching up with Ems and James, TYMITW as well.

The Rutland Arms offered a fab range as usual and I had a pint of the Magic Rock Rapture and for the first  of the week's themed beers partook of a half of the excellent Raw/Steel City Responsibly at 7.3%. Do you see what they did? Yep, they called a beer Responsibly. Its clever see, coz yer might drink a pint, or even 3 halves, neither of which would be "drinking responsibly" yet conversely responsible in intent. Good.

The Sheffield Tap was my last refuge and I had a pint of Kirkstall Bogus Official and the excellent Marble Decadence. A fab way to relax, perhaps more than was justifiable, with an excellent brace of ales.

On Friday I met members of the Crookes Crew (Respeck, word, etcetera) in the Rutland to start on a pint of delicious Potbelly Beijing Black and finish, not literally, on two halves of the excellent Raw/Steel City Irresponsibly. Mr Stephens, from the Eddie Izzard Death Star Canteen sketch, was quick to point out the fallacy of a responsible half (as I had two) of the Irresponsible, but these were just words, and besides socialising was ahead, hence my second.

At DAda next, Angie was bought a Gluhkriek by Jambon whilst me and him followed an oft trodden pattern by having the Bengal Lancer in pints and the Yule in halves. Good to see the DA busy, even if we only popped in for one or two. Off to Crookes therafter and we met Jack and Wee Keefy in the heaving Cobden, where I had two pints of the Bradfield Bitter for something like £2.80 a pint, before heading to the Ball for a rather slowly consumed Kelham Island Christmas beer and much revelry.

Saturday saw me and Chala at the newly reopened and not as good as its predecessor Marmaduke's (AKA 22a) before we headed to the Church House for a pint and a half of the Double Dark and Caledonian XPA. The XPA, which was not all that pale in colour, nicely demonstrated both the yawning gap between the pale hoppy output of smaller brewers and larger concerns, plus the not unlikeable familiar malt photofit of the average Caledonian beer. I enjoyed both by the way.

Back in the Rutland yet again and this time I had a half each of the Raw/Steel City Ir and Responsibly to compare flavours. The Ir probably edged it, perhaps the additional fermentation in rum casks (which I may have imagined) helped to contribute.

On to the Sheffield Tap once more and a half of Kirkstall Contemplation at 7.0%  and a pint of the Red Willow Mirthless plus chorizo crisps was the order of the day, although at £6.00 nearly, one of the ales had to be overpriced. The Mirthless was OK but uninteresting whilst the Contemplation was aptly named.

I finished my Saturday excursion in DAda (where else!?) supping a half of the Thornbridge Chiron, at least a pint of the excellent Yule and a bottle of the wincingly expensive but joyously excellent Brewfist Fear Milk Chocolate Stout, which did everything it said on the bottle, and was extremely enjoyable. A perfect pleasing creamy end to a night.

And that's not a euphemism....

Cheers!

Wee Beefy

Dronfield and Barlow pub crawl

I dunno readers,

     if am socialising theres no time to blog; if am not socialising there's nowt to blog about; if am blogging theres no time to socialise. A tawdry, ruddy nosed cycle of face drying monitor rays and nose reddening toxins that ends in RSI and liver damage. Merry Christmas!

Still, its not all bad you know, and one of the perks missing from that seemingly perpetual flowchart is those days when I get to do something new, in this case as a direct result of a tip off form other folk in the world of beer. Last month Dronfield CAMRA mentioned a pub that I ought to visit in Barlow Commonside, given my interest in unspoilt pubs. I thought I might have been before but if I had that would still have been ten years ago so it seemed prudent to construct a walk with it in the middle and head off into the countryside.

Christingpher and I arrived in Dronfield dan walked up to Hill Top, over the bypass and down towards Barlow Lees. Only 20 minutes from Dronfield you are in fantastic unspoilt countryside stretching for miles ahead with only the faintest echoes of the bypass in the background. We strode on through fields and woodland down ancient green lanes to Barlow Brook then up onto the road the Barlow Brewery is on, and finally into Barlow Commonside to our fist stop, the Hare and Hounds on Commonside Lane.

Despite my suspicions this was my first visit and it was perhaps better than I'd been expecting. With the greatest of respect tp Dronfield CAMRA, most people recommend "unspoilt" pubs to me that are simply old but which have been ripped out, expanded or had their age overemphasised. The Hare and Hounds is not such a pub.

I didn't get much sense for how old it was but the tap room on the right is very traditional, if only because of its small size, and the small snug that sits to the right of the bar. There are two further rooms to the left, front and back. The seating and tables are basic and, I mean this in a complimentary way, it seems to have been refurbished and furnished mainly in the 1960's or 70's, giving it a pleasing careworn feel.

There are two real ales on the bar (it may have been three, possibly I misunderstood). On this occasion we ha on pints of the Barlow Heath Robinson, £2.60 a pint and a great session beer to start. We were then kindly given free sandwiches (much appreciated!) before we went back for a pint each  of the Barlow IPA, which I think is the Three Valleys one at 5.0%, £3.00 a pint.

The pub was very busy when we arrived around 12.30 but was quieter by the time we left an hour later, and was a fantastic place to people watch, sup great beer and soak up the warmth and atmosphere. You'd especially appreciate this if you a dog lover, as there were nearly as many of them as humans. The beer was well kept, and no doubt had we wanted we could have sat in the back room and admired the views across towards Holmesfield - it must be a great spot in summer. Here's a link to their website .

We cracked on down past the puzzling shut Trout next and then off up Far Lane, in crisp wintry sunshine before heading across to Johnnygate Lane on dwindling quality paths before joining a path that was actually a stream, into Millthorpe. The Royal Oak was open and warm and welcoming and we got sat down chatting with the manager and a regular whilst supping pints of Gales Seafarers (£3.00). We were kindly given a lot of information about the pub - that it was a Berry's House, that Berry's only owned 6 pubs, how it was extended and what formed the original parts of the 17th C building, and lots more. To be honest, the rather basic style of the above detail reflects how unclear my recollections are, and since they don't have a website I recommend you pop along and find the facts out for yourself.

We slogged up Cartledge Lane into Holmesfield next and went straight to the Horns Inn. Three beers were on, Greedy King IPA, Bradfield Farmers Blonde and Ossett Nervous Turkey - my pint of the latter was £2.70. This was a busy pub with a warm welcome and well kept beer that was one of the unexpected stars (based on previous form) of the Three Valleys beer festival 2012. Well worth a visit at other times I'd suggest.

Along the slightly dangerous dark lanes to Northern Common next and the Hearty Oak. A slightly depressing sight to see only 2 out of 5 handpumps in use, even if it was a Sunday, and more so to spot more Greedy King, but the Sheffield Brewery Co NZPA 2 was a nice pint at around the £3.00 mark. There was also possibly another real ale about to come on.

Off down Carr Lane to the Talbot we caught the bus to the Coach and Horses for our penultimate stop. Great to see Buxton guest beers here, we had a pint of Buxton English Pale Ale and  a half of their American Red Rye Ale, plus a half of Halcyon - well - you had to. To finish we had another half of Halcyon, for Christingpher, and a bottle of Urthel Saisonairre, but not before I'd laboured to have the member of staff find or agree to the existence of said bottle. That said it was an exemplary range and all tasted fantastic, most notably the Buxton Rye.

Back in Sheffield we alighted the bus near the Rutland Arms so it would have been churlish not to have gone in. In true Beefy day out finishing style I had a whole damn pint of the Raw/Steel City Irresponsibly - it would have been irresponsible to have drunk it responsibly after all. It may not have been my finest decision though, given my rather lengthy sleep inspired trip home...

So this was a great trip out round some new and rarely visited pubs, coupled with some conveniently fantastic weather. Its well worth trying the walk for yourself and visiting some of the other pubs along the way - the Old Pump in Barlow, Rutland and Miners in Holmesfield and Victoria and Three Tuns in Dronfield for example.

Thanks to Dronfield CAMRA for the tip.

Cheers!

Wee Beefy