So, its nearly April and am doing my 13th or 14th post of 2014...
hardly a productive third but also not a dry one. Here are a few notable details from the last week to support the second point,
Monday I was in the Bath Hotel after seeing Wee Fatha to meet Miss N and collect my keys. which had mischievously jumped out of my pocket on Saturday when I got my camera out, Along with access to my house this also allowed me chance to sup a couple of pints of the excellent Whim Flower Power, a favourite IPA of mine with plenty of hops and a refreshing dry bitterness. We finished on halves of Hardknott Azimuth pale on Keykeg which was drier still, but a nice drop.
We followed this with a trip to Brewdog Sheffield based in the former Jacks records opposite the Forum on Division street. Inside its quite small considering how busy it was and how popular Division street gets, but we found a booth overlooking the Forum and supped Tempest marmalade IPA and Magic Rock circus of sour for Miss N. We followed this with half a hardcore IPA and a bottle of Fantome saison, a surprisingly effective combo. Back in on Saturday we shared a bottle of the Fantome but am not sure it was a tenner this time...
Yesterday I was in the Rutland supping Hopcraft Mosaic Plus at a rather hefty price, along with excellent Magic Rock Punchline chipottle porter and Summer Wine Cascade IPA at over 7% which was a very enjoyable beer. After an emergency chip butty we headed for the Sheffield Tap; I seem to have forgotten what we enjoyed, but we did bump into Tap Mum Liz.
Friday I supped a Brew Co Pioneer IPA in the Riverside for a few hours before heading to meet Miss N and Matty in Shakespeares where he had a stout and Miss N and I supped the excellent Brodies - rare that you see Brodies and this was on great form when we supped iyt. We also stopped out for a curry from West Bar Tandoori which was excellent.
Sunday me and Wee Keefy were in Crookes at the Ball and I was supping the Chatsworth Gold from Peak ales and the Naylors 1641 pale, all at £3.00 0r less and well kept. En route to meet Miss N in the Rutland I also had a quick half of Moonshine in the Red Lion which made a good change.
More news and hopefully regular posts when I get to fix my old or buy a new tomputer!
Wee Beefy
Monday, 31 March 2014
Tuesday, 25 March 2014
Puterbust
Hello,
just a short post to point out am alive but my P.C went haywire a fortnight ago or more and I only just got back on the net. So, normal service will resume in April I hope. but I need a proper computer to blog on....
The other info concerns Wee Fatha who nearly a fortnight ago left hospital for some respite care and physio for a month - he is already planning his first trip out when he gets out, to the Royal Cottage pub and the Quiet Woman at Earl Sterndale. His getting better is obviously great news as is the determination shown in getting back to the pub - all details will of course be shared on here.
My only recent ale news is that I went to the Brewdog bar in Sheffield last night with Miss N and yes its quite pricey and has no real ale, however, they do have bottles of Fantome saison, the large ones, at a rather good value £10.00 a bottle. For that reason alone, I suggest you pop your head in and stop for a drink or two. It was a pleasant surprise when we went. More details on that in April as well.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
just a short post to point out am alive but my P.C went haywire a fortnight ago or more and I only just got back on the net. So, normal service will resume in April I hope. but I need a proper computer to blog on....
The other info concerns Wee Fatha who nearly a fortnight ago left hospital for some respite care and physio for a month - he is already planning his first trip out when he gets out, to the Royal Cottage pub and the Quiet Woman at Earl Sterndale. His getting better is obviously great news as is the determination shown in getting back to the pub - all details will of course be shared on here.
My only recent ale news is that I went to the Brewdog bar in Sheffield last night with Miss N and yes its quite pricey and has no real ale, however, they do have bottles of Fantome saison, the large ones, at a rather good value £10.00 a bottle. For that reason alone, I suggest you pop your head in and stop for a drink or two. It was a pleasant surprise when we went. More details on that in April as well.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
Monday, 17 February 2014
February firsts
Hello,
its true to say that February has been resplendent - sunny days as often as howling storms, excellent ales poured straight form the cask, forced by gas pressure from a container or through a stout metal stick, or even poured from a glass container into another unsealed glass container. All have graced my days. Not to mention some first goes, which I have compiled below.
With some spare time to kill recently I made my way to the Nursery Tavern on Ecclesall Road. I had previously celebrated the Nursery's renown and its revolting horror with others without ever actually having visited it. As it was, I was in the right place about the right time and it seemed safe to pop in.
Outside its fairly as you'd expect. I'm not sure of the pub's history but I know it looks on the outside at least to be a 1920's or 1930's pub. Inside it smells of food, as you might expect given its position on Eccy Road, and there is a long bar on your left, a little similar to the old bar at the Hallamshire on West Street in the early nineties. There were three real ales to choose from, I think, so I opted for a half of Moonshine. It came in at £1.50 a half. It tasted fine, and I sat down on a comfy leather seat watching the door with a nineteen thirties style fireplace on my left. It wasn't bad, to be honest. But it was 16.00. On a Monday. I must pop back in on a Friday.....
Also on Eccy Road is Thornbridge's pub/bar/kitchen/restaurant/??? Graze Inn, seen on their website here. It was also that same Monday, it was also very quiet - and it also didn't warrant a real ale since only Brother Rabbit and Lord Marples were on. Sigh. Following the signs on the left to the "bar" I noticed it was quite un-pubby and quite...empty. I decided to try a half of the Chiron since it had tasted of lavender in the DAda the other night. Here the Chiron was also wrong but in a slightly less wrong way. The pub was in some ways engagingly quiet, and had I not been heading back into town I could have stayed to lap up the silence a little longer. I did not.
Once in town I went to Beer Central. One of the fears I expressed on Facefriend when I heard about this amazing new beer shop was prices. After all, if you have the money you can probably get any beer in the world - but it would cost you a bloody fortune. With Dave valiantly struggling on at the Archer Road Beer Stop it seemed only right to see if his second nearest competitor had his head screwed on. He did.
Row after row of shelves starting with sensibly priced (and very inexpensively priced) local beers then spreading out to huge numbers of UK beers, the tiny shop is set out in a perfect way. You'll either find a £2.50, £3.00 or £3.50 shelf (there are a few mixed) and there are tons of unusual London brews, and lots else from the UK and abroad, to delight in. I decided today was a saison day and so opted to select a "Brew by Numbers" Motueka and lime saison. It was chuffing marvelous, I can confirm. It was really very nice indeed. It was, maybe, £2.95 a bottle and so perhaps a smidgen too much but it was very drinkable. Only about 6 more saison to try now from there....!
The final stop was the night before and that was the Cavendish. Admittedly I had been in the Cav before but that was under sufferance on a team Christmas party a couple of times in the last ten years so this was my first time on my own. They had something major, like maybe Greedy King OSH, and Moonshine on Cask, with two more spaces waiting to be filled. On Keykeg, their "craft" range included 4 Keykegs at very reasonable prices. I had a half of the Red Willow heartless stout and a half of the Magic Rock Cannonball at 7.2% for about £3.50. The Red Willow was good, but not exceptional, and the Cannonball was grim at first but when replaced turned out to be very nice indeed. It may seem a little weird to sudden;y throw the pub into the mash up over Keykeg and craft, but at least it shows, if nowt else in terms of price (the Cannonball was, I think, £4.30 a pint), that thee are more than two sides to the price war. Good on the Cavendish for giving Keykeg a try. Go there and try it!
So the above shows that your expensive, awkward and possibly overpriced Keykeg nonsense doesn't just have to be found near the station, and also that you can have a quiet and enjoyable pint on Ecclesall Road - although it has to be a Monday Either way, the main message is that tasty cask or Keykeg ale is becoming even easier to find in Sheffield, and you can often enjoy the two with some very nice food. Making it, once again, a rather marvelous place to go supping.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
its true to say that February has been resplendent - sunny days as often as howling storms, excellent ales poured straight form the cask, forced by gas pressure from a container or through a stout metal stick, or even poured from a glass container into another unsealed glass container. All have graced my days. Not to mention some first goes, which I have compiled below.
With some spare time to kill recently I made my way to the Nursery Tavern on Ecclesall Road. I had previously celebrated the Nursery's renown and its revolting horror with others without ever actually having visited it. As it was, I was in the right place about the right time and it seemed safe to pop in.
Outside its fairly as you'd expect. I'm not sure of the pub's history but I know it looks on the outside at least to be a 1920's or 1930's pub. Inside it smells of food, as you might expect given its position on Eccy Road, and there is a long bar on your left, a little similar to the old bar at the Hallamshire on West Street in the early nineties. There were three real ales to choose from, I think, so I opted for a half of Moonshine. It came in at £1.50 a half. It tasted fine, and I sat down on a comfy leather seat watching the door with a nineteen thirties style fireplace on my left. It wasn't bad, to be honest. But it was 16.00. On a Monday. I must pop back in on a Friday.....
Also on Eccy Road is Thornbridge's pub/bar/kitchen/restaurant/??? Graze Inn, seen on their website here. It was also that same Monday, it was also very quiet - and it also didn't warrant a real ale since only Brother Rabbit and Lord Marples were on. Sigh. Following the signs on the left to the "bar" I noticed it was quite un-pubby and quite...empty. I decided to try a half of the Chiron since it had tasted of lavender in the DAda the other night. Here the Chiron was also wrong but in a slightly less wrong way. The pub was in some ways engagingly quiet, and had I not been heading back into town I could have stayed to lap up the silence a little longer. I did not.
Once in town I went to Beer Central. One of the fears I expressed on Facefriend when I heard about this amazing new beer shop was prices. After all, if you have the money you can probably get any beer in the world - but it would cost you a bloody fortune. With Dave valiantly struggling on at the Archer Road Beer Stop it seemed only right to see if his second nearest competitor had his head screwed on. He did.
Row after row of shelves starting with sensibly priced (and very inexpensively priced) local beers then spreading out to huge numbers of UK beers, the tiny shop is set out in a perfect way. You'll either find a £2.50, £3.00 or £3.50 shelf (there are a few mixed) and there are tons of unusual London brews, and lots else from the UK and abroad, to delight in. I decided today was a saison day and so opted to select a "Brew by Numbers" Motueka and lime saison. It was chuffing marvelous, I can confirm. It was really very nice indeed. It was, maybe, £2.95 a bottle and so perhaps a smidgen too much but it was very drinkable. Only about 6 more saison to try now from there....!
The final stop was the night before and that was the Cavendish. Admittedly I had been in the Cav before but that was under sufferance on a team Christmas party a couple of times in the last ten years so this was my first time on my own. They had something major, like maybe Greedy King OSH, and Moonshine on Cask, with two more spaces waiting to be filled. On Keykeg, their "craft" range included 4 Keykegs at very reasonable prices. I had a half of the Red Willow heartless stout and a half of the Magic Rock Cannonball at 7.2% for about £3.50. The Red Willow was good, but not exceptional, and the Cannonball was grim at first but when replaced turned out to be very nice indeed. It may seem a little weird to sudden;y throw the pub into the mash up over Keykeg and craft, but at least it shows, if nowt else in terms of price (the Cannonball was, I think, £4.30 a pint), that thee are more than two sides to the price war. Good on the Cavendish for giving Keykeg a try. Go there and try it!
So the above shows that your expensive, awkward and possibly overpriced Keykeg nonsense doesn't just have to be found near the station, and also that you can have a quiet and enjoyable pint on Ecclesall Road - although it has to be a Monday Either way, the main message is that tasty cask or Keykeg ale is becoming even easier to find in Sheffield, and you can often enjoy the two with some very nice food. Making it, once again, a rather marvelous place to go supping.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
Wednesday, 12 February 2014
Chuff me! Its February!
Now then,
I read a blog a month or two ago by Mudgie highlighting the paucity of posts from prominent bloggers. With the notable exception of post-ophiles Boak and Bailey, he was musing here about his own easing off on posting. I remember thinking that as well as not being notable, this was also my experience - I seem to have slumped to an average 9 posts a month which is, if nothing else, a rather odd amount. Granted, since November there have been significant pressures on my time, but 2013 was much more sedate than 2012. So what would this year bring?
Well, this is only my second post in February.
But don't worry, that isn't it. There is also actual information. I said actual, instead of factual on purpose. Because a fortnight or more of drinking, even when making notes some of the time, is a feat to remember. Here's some notable fragments.
At Shakespeares the North Riding series continued with Mosaic which I managed to miss (Gah!), Jester, 3rd anniversary 60 minute IPA and summat else. All of which were in fine fettle, and went down alarmingly well. Other excellent grog spotted included Citra Noir from Mallinsons which was on sparkling form, a red ale from Black Iris which was a nice change from hoppy stuff, a Brewshed stout, and something with a funny name (see- "journalism", posts passim...)
On the last Friday in January and the following Friday leaving do's and birthdays occurred. Miss N had her official birthday do on 31st which was payday, meaning more people could attend.Somehow, the Dove and Rainbow had managed to secure a cask of Bradfield Belgian Blue. Between us we demolished most of it. On the next Friday I was on Blue Bee Lustin for Stout, but somehow contrived to make it last for an hour, since I was already a trifle refreshed when I arrived.
Earlier that night a sojourn to the Riverside was required as Bam Jiggot was off to get a real job, i.e not one in the farce plant that is the civil service. To my delight, the excellent Great Heck Citra was on, so I forced myself to have several very enjoyable pints of that.
The Red Deer was also visited, once after an annoying stand outside an openinghourssign-less Bath Hotel, whose opening hours I couldn't recall, but which was shut at 18.30 on a Sunday. Humph. The Deer meanwhile was open and had an excellent pint of Broadside on offer, which I supped, whilst Mr Devden and friends drank the Moorhouses Black Cat Mild, at £2.95 a pint.
The Rutland had been a handy stop off a couple of times and featured the excellent Permanent Revolution pale ale and Monkey Business Belgian style ale from Hopcraft, along with Magic Rock Cannonball, Summer Wine Mokka milk stout and their excellent Diablo pale ale - alas, as is often the case, all the Summer Wine output was key keg, but some cask was reported in DAda....
DAda also very nearly yielded an exciting pint of the Thornbridge Crimerion breakfast stout, alas this ran out before we could try it, but forced into a corner I ended up buying a pint of previously excellent but long less so Jaipur - and bloody loved it! Also notable was the Founders breakfast stout in bottle. It was probably chocolate and vanilla coffee stout or something. Either way it was chuffing ace. The Summer Wine cask came on Saturday night and I haven't made it in yet this week.
I also got to the Fat Cat where I enjoyed several excellent Wateralls pork pies and a rather splendid pint of Twisted Oak Downhill Porter, as well as visiting the Harlequin, which is a rare venue for me. Me and Miss N optimistically started on pints of the Great Heck Yakima IPA, before sharing a bottle of Sierra Nevada Torpedo. Meanwhile, the York had some very tasty food on and numerous pints of Acorn Spalter and Winter Pale plus a Belgian brew from Roosters.
The Three Tuns tempted us with Blue Bee Solidus, Lustin for Stout and excellent Welbeck Abbey Harley, as well as the company of Dave and Doctor Bob, before we headed for the Sheffield Tap, which forms the bookend of this library of libation.
On that night we drank the excellent Redemption Pale and quite a lot of excellent Roosters High Tea, which is different, if not slightly better, that their mad hatters earl grey IPA. Other pints supped in there include Magic Rock Dark Arts, as you would, Tiny Rebel Cwlch, the excellent Red Willow Faithless xxxx which we had numerous pints of, and finally we went mad and bought a bottle, of all things.
Having recently purchased a bottle of Brew By Numbers Saison, I spotted their citra saison in the Tap and decided to go for it. Washed down with an Oakham Citra for nor exactly a comparison, and though pricey, the saison was amaison. Do yo see what I did there? Good. So, whilst the above seems reckless, it represents just over two weeks of supping for two people, so its not that bad. Although, two further posts are to follow about February's exploits....
FINALLY - don't forget its the Closed Shop 1st birthday celebration tomorrow - which is being held at the Closed Shop. Seriously. I heartily recommend a visit f you have time and waterproofs.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy (hic)
I read a blog a month or two ago by Mudgie highlighting the paucity of posts from prominent bloggers. With the notable exception of post-ophiles Boak and Bailey, he was musing here about his own easing off on posting. I remember thinking that as well as not being notable, this was also my experience - I seem to have slumped to an average 9 posts a month which is, if nothing else, a rather odd amount. Granted, since November there have been significant pressures on my time, but 2013 was much more sedate than 2012. So what would this year bring?
Well, this is only my second post in February.
But don't worry, that isn't it. There is also actual information. I said actual, instead of factual on purpose. Because a fortnight or more of drinking, even when making notes some of the time, is a feat to remember. Here's some notable fragments.
At Shakespeares the North Riding series continued with Mosaic which I managed to miss (Gah!), Jester, 3rd anniversary 60 minute IPA and summat else. All of which were in fine fettle, and went down alarmingly well. Other excellent grog spotted included Citra Noir from Mallinsons which was on sparkling form, a red ale from Black Iris which was a nice change from hoppy stuff, a Brewshed stout, and something with a funny name (see- "journalism", posts passim...)
On the last Friday in January and the following Friday leaving do's and birthdays occurred. Miss N had her official birthday do on 31st which was payday, meaning more people could attend.Somehow, the Dove and Rainbow had managed to secure a cask of Bradfield Belgian Blue. Between us we demolished most of it. On the next Friday I was on Blue Bee Lustin for Stout, but somehow contrived to make it last for an hour, since I was already a trifle refreshed when I arrived.
Earlier that night a sojourn to the Riverside was required as Bam Jiggot was off to get a real job, i.e not one in the farce plant that is the civil service. To my delight, the excellent Great Heck Citra was on, so I forced myself to have several very enjoyable pints of that.
The Red Deer was also visited, once after an annoying stand outside an openinghourssign-less Bath Hotel, whose opening hours I couldn't recall, but which was shut at 18.30 on a Sunday. Humph. The Deer meanwhile was open and had an excellent pint of Broadside on offer, which I supped, whilst Mr Devden and friends drank the Moorhouses Black Cat Mild, at £2.95 a pint.
The Rutland had been a handy stop off a couple of times and featured the excellent Permanent Revolution pale ale and Monkey Business Belgian style ale from Hopcraft, along with Magic Rock Cannonball, Summer Wine Mokka milk stout and their excellent Diablo pale ale - alas, as is often the case, all the Summer Wine output was key keg, but some cask was reported in DAda....
DAda also very nearly yielded an exciting pint of the Thornbridge Crimerion breakfast stout, alas this ran out before we could try it, but forced into a corner I ended up buying a pint of previously excellent but long less so Jaipur - and bloody loved it! Also notable was the Founders breakfast stout in bottle. It was probably chocolate and vanilla coffee stout or something. Either way it was chuffing ace. The Summer Wine cask came on Saturday night and I haven't made it in yet this week.
I also got to the Fat Cat where I enjoyed several excellent Wateralls pork pies and a rather splendid pint of Twisted Oak Downhill Porter, as well as visiting the Harlequin, which is a rare venue for me. Me and Miss N optimistically started on pints of the Great Heck Yakima IPA, before sharing a bottle of Sierra Nevada Torpedo. Meanwhile, the York had some very tasty food on and numerous pints of Acorn Spalter and Winter Pale plus a Belgian brew from Roosters.
The Three Tuns tempted us with Blue Bee Solidus, Lustin for Stout and excellent Welbeck Abbey Harley, as well as the company of Dave and Doctor Bob, before we headed for the Sheffield Tap, which forms the bookend of this library of libation.
On that night we drank the excellent Redemption Pale and quite a lot of excellent Roosters High Tea, which is different, if not slightly better, that their mad hatters earl grey IPA. Other pints supped in there include Magic Rock Dark Arts, as you would, Tiny Rebel Cwlch, the excellent Red Willow Faithless xxxx which we had numerous pints of, and finally we went mad and bought a bottle, of all things.
Having recently purchased a bottle of Brew By Numbers Saison, I spotted their citra saison in the Tap and decided to go for it. Washed down with an Oakham Citra for nor exactly a comparison, and though pricey, the saison was amaison. Do yo see what I did there? Good. So, whilst the above seems reckless, it represents just over two weeks of supping for two people, so its not that bad. Although, two further posts are to follow about February's exploits....
FINALLY - don't forget its the Closed Shop 1st birthday celebration tomorrow - which is being held at the Closed Shop. Seriously. I heartily recommend a visit f you have time and waterproofs.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy (hic)
Sunday, 9 February 2014
Ten important people in the 1980's
Hello,
in the roller-coaster of social and family events of late I have forgotten to post my annual round up of frankly bizarre search terms that have led folks to these hallowed pages. Its perhaps worth reminding you that I borrowed this idea from the sadly missed Simon Johnson - I was a fan of his Googlefail round ups, not least by the consistent appearance in his search terms list of "Sue Holdernesses's cleavage" having brought up his blog.
In the last two years the internet, mainly via Indian hosted sex sites, has made quite an effort to lead people to mine, and I have been recording some of the search terms used throughout 2013. Below is a list of the strangest:
Barmaid garden of Eden
Beautiful Scottish beefy men
Bar sandalwood fanny
Civic crown winner beefy
10 important people in the 1980s
What is expectation dichotomy
He weee eeh
Big beefy truckers
Are there ever monks in buxworth
Woman found dead in Crosspool
Delicensed pubs for sale in crewe
Division smegma
Beefy mongers
Which artist painted the cow picture....
All hail the beeflords review
Cobden peach festival
How to have a wee at a festival
Antidisestablishmmentariansim colin j
Premier Inn Shotts dirty women
Unwashed penis photos of beefy men
My absolute favourite, with apologies to her family, has to be "woman found dead in Crosspool". Quite how disappointed one might be with finding a beer blog after searching out such information is difficult to measure. But at least it doesn't reference hairy penises. So, hey. things are looking up....
Here's to less hairiness in 2014!
Beefalot x
in the roller-coaster of social and family events of late I have forgotten to post my annual round up of frankly bizarre search terms that have led folks to these hallowed pages. Its perhaps worth reminding you that I borrowed this idea from the sadly missed Simon Johnson - I was a fan of his Googlefail round ups, not least by the consistent appearance in his search terms list of "Sue Holdernesses's cleavage" having brought up his blog.
In the last two years the internet, mainly via Indian hosted sex sites, has made quite an effort to lead people to mine, and I have been recording some of the search terms used throughout 2013. Below is a list of the strangest:
Barmaid garden of Eden
Beautiful Scottish beefy men
Bar sandalwood fanny
Civic crown winner beefy
10 important people in the 1980s
What is expectation dichotomy
He weee eeh
Big beefy truckers
Are there ever monks in buxworth
Woman found dead in Crosspool
Delicensed pubs for sale in crewe
Division smegma
Beefy mongers
Which artist painted the cow picture....
All hail the beeflords review
Cobden peach festival
How to have a wee at a festival
Antidisestablishmmentariansim colin j
Premier Inn Shotts dirty women
Unwashed penis photos of beefy men
My absolute favourite, with apologies to her family, has to be "woman found dead in Crosspool". Quite how disappointed one might be with finding a beer blog after searching out such information is difficult to measure. But at least it doesn't reference hairy penises. So, hey. things are looking up....
Here's to less hairiness in 2014!
Beefalot x
Thursday, 30 January 2014
21st century Rotherham pubs
Naa then,
word on the street is that Rovvrum, which is how you actually spell it, and the place that I worked for some 5 years, has gone and got its sen some pubs. This wouldn't have been a surprise to me last century when there were a number of city centre pubs selling real ale, although admittedly nothing of the micro brewery type, however it seemed from intermittent 21st century reports that one by one those boozers had closed down or changed hands. So I forgot about Rotherham's pubs. Now, I felt it was time to head back and take a look.
Arriving in persistent drizzle I was heading for the Crinoline Bridge pub. I was fairly certain (and still am) that this must have been the only pub in the UK with that name - and was even more certain that the bridge you crossed to reach it from the Interchange wasn't made of crinoline. Heading for wjere it was I was surprising to find there was no bridge - perhaps it had indeed been crafted entirely from fabric and succumbed to the elements? Either way, in its place is a subway and arriving on the other side of the ring road I discovered there was no longer a pub. Instead, a cafe called Havanas. Having drank Landlord in the Crin at my leaving do in 2003 this was quite a sad discovery, but there were other pubs to see and pints to be supped.
I was planning on going to the Kingfisher but couldn't for the life of me remember how to get there - I was probably in the right place where I was to be honest but returned to the Interchange side and ended up at the club behind the Bridge Inn. Kind of knowing the way, I decided instead to amble uphill to the Crofts, and the Blue Coat. Inside it was warm and friendly and there was real ale in one of Rotherham's two Wetherspoons. From a fairly decent range I had a pint of the Dukeries Gun smoke, a reddish brown 5.5% beer that didn't seem particularly smokey, or as dark as I'd hoped. However, it was £1.99 a pint and went down very nicely.
Next I wandered out past the town hall and popped my head round the door of the Top House, now F.U.B.A.R, to see a gleaming bar devoid of handpumps. Although I was only there to drink real ale I eschewed the delights of this as well as the Lloyds Cornlaw Rhymer, and headed for my furthest pub, via a pub graveyard.
There's no reason why Rotherham should be any better placed than other Yorkshire towns and cities to avoid a reduction in its pub stock, but Westgate encompasses both sides of the story of urban pubs spectacularly in a short stretch. On the one hand, the road has two fantastic old pubs right next to each other, the Alma, and the Cutlers. Both have impressive frontages but for different reasons. The Cutlers is sturdy and functional and has beautiful carved stonework and terracotta looking Stones branding above the central door and windows, with a pleasing reddish theme throughout. Meanwhile, the Alma is taller and more ostentatious but has some fantastic detail and Bentleys Rotherham Ales signage (and on the side) with a "rebuilt 1903" sign on the very top. It also sports some intricate foliage and small shrubs and is very much resolutely closed. Both are no doubt ripe for ruination. Sorry, development....
It occurred to me that it was the Alma that used to sell Acorn beers many moons ago and that I had been in a number of times around that period. I don't recall it having any particular stand out features in the interior, but I know for certain that I never ventured in the Cutlers, which was open at the time, and that I also never made it into the Wellington, a former Wards pub across the road. This is occupied by the academy of music, so at least it isn't being reclaimed by nature. Further down Westgate, where the road splits stands the pub, now also seemingly an empty building, known at one time as the Dusty Miler, while the building next to the baths was a pub at some point in the last century but I never remember it being so. However, the other side of the pub story on Westgate comes from its only survivor. The Prince of Wales Feathers, now owned by Chantry brewery and renamed the New York Tavern.
The New York is an attractive looking corner pub, long and narrow throughout, with some 1950/60's looking loos at the far end. On the bar are are two ciders, one Chantry brewery ale and one guest, plus five more on the left sporting the full Chantry range, Iron and Steel bitter, Diamond Black stout, and New York Pale Ale. There are also two pub specials, including Mighty Millers at 5.5%. And all real ale is £2.00 a pint. I had a half of the Millers (it felt wrong to drink a beer of that name) and a pint of the New York Pale and it was in fantastic condition. I also tried the 18 eighteen which was a ruby ale, but the New York stood out. It was the beer of the day.
On the left there is seating facing the bar and an end room similar to the front of the Talbot in Ripley, with groups of drinkers sat in both sections. A friend mentioned to me that it didn't seem very friendly but I think it's just a traditional boozer, with the odd raucous drinker and some loud banter. More importantly its a (virtually) town centre pub selling well kept, sensible priced, local micro brewery beers. So its gets full marks for that.
A quick detour to a pub that I think used to be the Devonshire followed - now the Urban Tap or similar, and resolutely real ale free. So I finished where I intended to, in the Bridge Inn, formerly Nellie Denes. I'd heard good things about this (former?) Old Mill brewery pub and I wasn't disappointed. It was rather ace. From a range of about 7 real ales including Landlord and Reverend James and some more common local guests, there was the Demo red ale from Revolutions and the Chantry New York Pale. So I had a pint each of these, at a bargain £5.20, and sat near the bar in a busy pub with a friendly landlord. They do steak pies and peas and gravy for two quid, and the beer was well kept. A great end to my brief wet wander round Rotherham town centre.
One thing I do hope is that there aren't any more pub casualties to come. The grim tale of abandoned boozers was a stark contrast to the recent resurgence in Rotherham and means I came away with as many highlights as low points. So its perhaps not going to become a first choice place for a nights drinking, but I have friends in Rotherham and promised to go over and sup on their turf soon. So maybe it won't be too long before I'm back.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy.
word on the street is that Rovvrum, which is how you actually spell it, and the place that I worked for some 5 years, has gone and got its sen some pubs. This wouldn't have been a surprise to me last century when there were a number of city centre pubs selling real ale, although admittedly nothing of the micro brewery type, however it seemed from intermittent 21st century reports that one by one those boozers had closed down or changed hands. So I forgot about Rotherham's pubs. Now, I felt it was time to head back and take a look.
Arriving in persistent drizzle I was heading for the Crinoline Bridge pub. I was fairly certain (and still am) that this must have been the only pub in the UK with that name - and was even more certain that the bridge you crossed to reach it from the Interchange wasn't made of crinoline. Heading for wjere it was I was surprising to find there was no bridge - perhaps it had indeed been crafted entirely from fabric and succumbed to the elements? Either way, in its place is a subway and arriving on the other side of the ring road I discovered there was no longer a pub. Instead, a cafe called Havanas. Having drank Landlord in the Crin at my leaving do in 2003 this was quite a sad discovery, but there were other pubs to see and pints to be supped.
I was planning on going to the Kingfisher but couldn't for the life of me remember how to get there - I was probably in the right place where I was to be honest but returned to the Interchange side and ended up at the club behind the Bridge Inn. Kind of knowing the way, I decided instead to amble uphill to the Crofts, and the Blue Coat. Inside it was warm and friendly and there was real ale in one of Rotherham's two Wetherspoons. From a fairly decent range I had a pint of the Dukeries Gun smoke, a reddish brown 5.5% beer that didn't seem particularly smokey, or as dark as I'd hoped. However, it was £1.99 a pint and went down very nicely.
Next I wandered out past the town hall and popped my head round the door of the Top House, now F.U.B.A.R, to see a gleaming bar devoid of handpumps. Although I was only there to drink real ale I eschewed the delights of this as well as the Lloyds Cornlaw Rhymer, and headed for my furthest pub, via a pub graveyard.
There's no reason why Rotherham should be any better placed than other Yorkshire towns and cities to avoid a reduction in its pub stock, but Westgate encompasses both sides of the story of urban pubs spectacularly in a short stretch. On the one hand, the road has two fantastic old pubs right next to each other, the Alma, and the Cutlers. Both have impressive frontages but for different reasons. The Cutlers is sturdy and functional and has beautiful carved stonework and terracotta looking Stones branding above the central door and windows, with a pleasing reddish theme throughout. Meanwhile, the Alma is taller and more ostentatious but has some fantastic detail and Bentleys Rotherham Ales signage (and on the side) with a "rebuilt 1903" sign on the very top. It also sports some intricate foliage and small shrubs and is very much resolutely closed. Both are no doubt ripe for ruination. Sorry, development....
It occurred to me that it was the Alma that used to sell Acorn beers many moons ago and that I had been in a number of times around that period. I don't recall it having any particular stand out features in the interior, but I know for certain that I never ventured in the Cutlers, which was open at the time, and that I also never made it into the Wellington, a former Wards pub across the road. This is occupied by the academy of music, so at least it isn't being reclaimed by nature. Further down Westgate, where the road splits stands the pub, now also seemingly an empty building, known at one time as the Dusty Miler, while the building next to the baths was a pub at some point in the last century but I never remember it being so. However, the other side of the pub story on Westgate comes from its only survivor. The Prince of Wales Feathers, now owned by Chantry brewery and renamed the New York Tavern.
The New York is an attractive looking corner pub, long and narrow throughout, with some 1950/60's looking loos at the far end. On the bar are are two ciders, one Chantry brewery ale and one guest, plus five more on the left sporting the full Chantry range, Iron and Steel bitter, Diamond Black stout, and New York Pale Ale. There are also two pub specials, including Mighty Millers at 5.5%. And all real ale is £2.00 a pint. I had a half of the Millers (it felt wrong to drink a beer of that name) and a pint of the New York Pale and it was in fantastic condition. I also tried the 18 eighteen which was a ruby ale, but the New York stood out. It was the beer of the day.
On the left there is seating facing the bar and an end room similar to the front of the Talbot in Ripley, with groups of drinkers sat in both sections. A friend mentioned to me that it didn't seem very friendly but I think it's just a traditional boozer, with the odd raucous drinker and some loud banter. More importantly its a (virtually) town centre pub selling well kept, sensible priced, local micro brewery beers. So its gets full marks for that.
A quick detour to a pub that I think used to be the Devonshire followed - now the Urban Tap or similar, and resolutely real ale free. So I finished where I intended to, in the Bridge Inn, formerly Nellie Denes. I'd heard good things about this (former?) Old Mill brewery pub and I wasn't disappointed. It was rather ace. From a range of about 7 real ales including Landlord and Reverend James and some more common local guests, there was the Demo red ale from Revolutions and the Chantry New York Pale. So I had a pint each of these, at a bargain £5.20, and sat near the bar in a busy pub with a friendly landlord. They do steak pies and peas and gravy for two quid, and the beer was well kept. A great end to my brief wet wander round Rotherham town centre.
One thing I do hope is that there aren't any more pub casualties to come. The grim tale of abandoned boozers was a stark contrast to the recent resurgence in Rotherham and means I came away with as many highlights as low points. So its perhaps not going to become a first choice place for a nights drinking, but I have friends in Rotherham and promised to go over and sup on their turf soon. So maybe it won't be too long before I'm back.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy.
Tuesday, 28 January 2014
Drinking what I said I'd drink, and what happened.
Hello,
as reward for her covering my stint at the NGH I decided to treat Miss N, and lets face it, Mi Sen, to a trio of aged or otherwise interesting beers that I had around the house. In the end, we tried 4. The weakest was 8% and all of them came with the weight of expectation upon them. There were contrasts, conundrums and contention. And, as is only right, there was a winner.
The first beer we tried was Durham Brewery Something Blue. This was a 10% bottle conditioned beer brewed to celebrate someone's wedding or something. I had bought it and laboured for a few years under the delusion that keeping it, with its noteworthy provenance, may make it a sought after item in years to come. In the end, after a frank and searching exploration of the merits of such an undertaking, I couldn't be arsed.
The beer had a lovely ruby colour to it and an aroma of marmalade and something vaguely but not unpleasantly woody. Miss N considered the malt predominated, and described it as a great big malt comfort blanket. There was quite a lot of carbonation, and taste wise it had a noticeable bitter aftertaste, some malt flavours that reminded me of a Belgian yeast influence, and an initial sweetness that gave way to quite a dry finish. It said on the label that there were fuggles hops in the brew, and there was something of that pungency that comes to the fore when you drink green hop fuggles beers ,but crucially all these tastes combined perfectly. And it didn't really taste or drink like it was 10%.
Next up was the wild card. The Something Blue had a couple of years on its best before date but our next beer didn't even have one. Nor, indeed, did it have anything so superfluous as a description. Or even an ABV.
Courage 1977 Jubilee Ale was a bit of a gamble to say the least. Beer rarely excels after more than 25 years in the bottle, less so 30 years, but this was asking for trouble, having likely been brewed around the beginning of 1977 in time for the jubilee some months later. Would it even be beer?
In terms of appearance it had a very pleasing silver foil cover over the cap and had purple coronets printed on the foil on the neck, and there was 275ml of it. Taking the top off the bottle there was no carbonation whatsoever - a hardly unforgivable state of affairs, given its age. What there was aroma wise didn't disappoint however. A huge blast of sherry. Sweetness, but crucially no off aromas.
Storage is the key with aged bottled beers. I once bought a 26 year old bottle of Charles and Diana Royal Wedding Ale form Greenwich market and should have paid attention to where it was stored - since all the vendors wares appeared to be locked in a metal container and the bottle itself was standing in a metal drawer. As it was, the beer had plenty of suggestions of what it should have tasted like but predominantly tasted of metal. In this case, bearing in mind I was sacrificing this as I had two bottles, I probably opened the well kept one - because it didn't taste of anything but sherry, malt and, if you tried really hard, hops.
One interesting feature, and I don't know what the proper term is, was that it seemed to have "split". After the strong alcoholic punch of sweet malt and other flavours, there appeared to be water at the end. Almost as if the beer was 90% of the content and the rest of the bottle was water. As we drank more there also appeared to be a caramel flavour which I associate with aged or out of date bottled beers, and once you got past the waft of sherry there was an interesting aroma of leather - again, unlikely to be a positive feature, but interesting nonetheless. Miss N thought its basic flavour characteristics, bottle label design and gentlemen's club mustiness made it seem very much of the age in which it was brewed. Overall though, it was fascinating to try.
Our third beer was to have been the last. We let bias and the gaunt spectre of expectation trick us into thinking we'd need to pour the jubilee ale away and that our saviour would be the Ilkley Brewery Worlds End, an 18 year old whisky barrel aged version of the Mayan Chipotle chocolate porter. All the ingredients were there - Ilkley's pedigree, chilli, chocolate, dark beer and whisky. This had to be the winner. Except it wasn't.
I really enjoyed the Mayan and just as much appreciated the Magic Rock Chipotle Punchline earlier last week. So imagine my disappointment at encountering a lack of fire, and a distinct lack of any balance. Things didn't start that well with an aroma of wood, burnt malt and phenols from the whisky. The first taste was promisingly peaty, earthy as well, and then I expected the chocolate to balance it out and the bite of the chipotle to zip on the tongue with the malt and hop flavours, but that didn't happen. The peat was actually quite harsh and the chocolate non existent, and even after adding the yeast it was still difficult to drink. The aftertaste was almost acrid and the longer the drink went on the more we could smell peat. We had made a crucial error in assuming that this would be the winner before we started. So now we needed another beer.
Its fair to say that the quandary of shall I shan't I regarding keeping bottled beers of strength crops up quite a lot - over the last 18 months the stunning Thornbridge and Brooklyn Alliance bottles I'd kept since 2007 rewarded me richly, suggesting that there were benefits to the aging process. So surely I could dip into another from my collection...
One of the bottles I'd kept had a surprisingly short best before date on given its 10% strength. And having been impressed over the years by their Temptation and since we enjoyed the Something Blue, it seemed like a good idea to drink a bottle of Durham Brewery Decade, brewed to celebrate their 10th anniversary. Presumably before 2006, since that was its best before date. I was going to prove them wrong - it was going to be ace.
Lessons that go unlearned are a matter for some frustration I find and the Decade was no different. Initially the signs were very promising - even though the beer was 8 years out of date the lovely sweet malt aromas that escaped from the bottle suggested a hugely satisfying beer. However, the proof of the matter was in the difference between the aroma and the taste. There wasn't a difference. It tasted exactly as it smelled, and although it smelled inviting, you can't identify all of the complex flavours that go to make up and ultimately balance a beer in the aroma alone.
A reflection of the lack of complexity is the brevity of my notes. My notes are quite concise. "Smells sweet. Tastes very sweet. Strange aftertaste. Reminds me of the sweetness of De Dolle Stille Nacht without the soft Belgian yeast". That was it.
So, what we learned is, being out of date is no reason to write a bottled beer off. Neither is it a reason to hope to enjoy drinking it. Meanwhile, reputations count for nothing, because even the best make mistakes, and sometimes you can't get better than what you started with. So Durham's accomplished Something Blue was the winner.
Now don't get me started on expectation again....
Cheers!
Wee Beefy.
as reward for her covering my stint at the NGH I decided to treat Miss N, and lets face it, Mi Sen, to a trio of aged or otherwise interesting beers that I had around the house. In the end, we tried 4. The weakest was 8% and all of them came with the weight of expectation upon them. There were contrasts, conundrums and contention. And, as is only right, there was a winner.
The first beer we tried was Durham Brewery Something Blue. This was a 10% bottle conditioned beer brewed to celebrate someone's wedding or something. I had bought it and laboured for a few years under the delusion that keeping it, with its noteworthy provenance, may make it a sought after item in years to come. In the end, after a frank and searching exploration of the merits of such an undertaking, I couldn't be arsed.
The beer had a lovely ruby colour to it and an aroma of marmalade and something vaguely but not unpleasantly woody. Miss N considered the malt predominated, and described it as a great big malt comfort blanket. There was quite a lot of carbonation, and taste wise it had a noticeable bitter aftertaste, some malt flavours that reminded me of a Belgian yeast influence, and an initial sweetness that gave way to quite a dry finish. It said on the label that there were fuggles hops in the brew, and there was something of that pungency that comes to the fore when you drink green hop fuggles beers ,but crucially all these tastes combined perfectly. And it didn't really taste or drink like it was 10%.
Next up was the wild card. The Something Blue had a couple of years on its best before date but our next beer didn't even have one. Nor, indeed, did it have anything so superfluous as a description. Or even an ABV.
Courage 1977 Jubilee Ale was a bit of a gamble to say the least. Beer rarely excels after more than 25 years in the bottle, less so 30 years, but this was asking for trouble, having likely been brewed around the beginning of 1977 in time for the jubilee some months later. Would it even be beer?
In terms of appearance it had a very pleasing silver foil cover over the cap and had purple coronets printed on the foil on the neck, and there was 275ml of it. Taking the top off the bottle there was no carbonation whatsoever - a hardly unforgivable state of affairs, given its age. What there was aroma wise didn't disappoint however. A huge blast of sherry. Sweetness, but crucially no off aromas.
Storage is the key with aged bottled beers. I once bought a 26 year old bottle of Charles and Diana Royal Wedding Ale form Greenwich market and should have paid attention to where it was stored - since all the vendors wares appeared to be locked in a metal container and the bottle itself was standing in a metal drawer. As it was, the beer had plenty of suggestions of what it should have tasted like but predominantly tasted of metal. In this case, bearing in mind I was sacrificing this as I had two bottles, I probably opened the well kept one - because it didn't taste of anything but sherry, malt and, if you tried really hard, hops.
One interesting feature, and I don't know what the proper term is, was that it seemed to have "split". After the strong alcoholic punch of sweet malt and other flavours, there appeared to be water at the end. Almost as if the beer was 90% of the content and the rest of the bottle was water. As we drank more there also appeared to be a caramel flavour which I associate with aged or out of date bottled beers, and once you got past the waft of sherry there was an interesting aroma of leather - again, unlikely to be a positive feature, but interesting nonetheless. Miss N thought its basic flavour characteristics, bottle label design and gentlemen's club mustiness made it seem very much of the age in which it was brewed. Overall though, it was fascinating to try.
Our third beer was to have been the last. We let bias and the gaunt spectre of expectation trick us into thinking we'd need to pour the jubilee ale away and that our saviour would be the Ilkley Brewery Worlds End, an 18 year old whisky barrel aged version of the Mayan Chipotle chocolate porter. All the ingredients were there - Ilkley's pedigree, chilli, chocolate, dark beer and whisky. This had to be the winner. Except it wasn't.
I really enjoyed the Mayan and just as much appreciated the Magic Rock Chipotle Punchline earlier last week. So imagine my disappointment at encountering a lack of fire, and a distinct lack of any balance. Things didn't start that well with an aroma of wood, burnt malt and phenols from the whisky. The first taste was promisingly peaty, earthy as well, and then I expected the chocolate to balance it out and the bite of the chipotle to zip on the tongue with the malt and hop flavours, but that didn't happen. The peat was actually quite harsh and the chocolate non existent, and even after adding the yeast it was still difficult to drink. The aftertaste was almost acrid and the longer the drink went on the more we could smell peat. We had made a crucial error in assuming that this would be the winner before we started. So now we needed another beer.
Its fair to say that the quandary of shall I shan't I regarding keeping bottled beers of strength crops up quite a lot - over the last 18 months the stunning Thornbridge and Brooklyn Alliance bottles I'd kept since 2007 rewarded me richly, suggesting that there were benefits to the aging process. So surely I could dip into another from my collection...
One of the bottles I'd kept had a surprisingly short best before date on given its 10% strength. And having been impressed over the years by their Temptation and since we enjoyed the Something Blue, it seemed like a good idea to drink a bottle of Durham Brewery Decade, brewed to celebrate their 10th anniversary. Presumably before 2006, since that was its best before date. I was going to prove them wrong - it was going to be ace.
Lessons that go unlearned are a matter for some frustration I find and the Decade was no different. Initially the signs were very promising - even though the beer was 8 years out of date the lovely sweet malt aromas that escaped from the bottle suggested a hugely satisfying beer. However, the proof of the matter was in the difference between the aroma and the taste. There wasn't a difference. It tasted exactly as it smelled, and although it smelled inviting, you can't identify all of the complex flavours that go to make up and ultimately balance a beer in the aroma alone.
A reflection of the lack of complexity is the brevity of my notes. My notes are quite concise. "Smells sweet. Tastes very sweet. Strange aftertaste. Reminds me of the sweetness of De Dolle Stille Nacht without the soft Belgian yeast". That was it.
So, what we learned is, being out of date is no reason to write a bottled beer off. Neither is it a reason to hope to enjoy drinking it. Meanwhile, reputations count for nothing, because even the best make mistakes, and sometimes you can't get better than what you started with. So Durham's accomplished Something Blue was the winner.
Now don't get me started on expectation again....
Cheers!
Wee Beefy.
Friday, 24 January 2014
Second century begins at Tapped
Hello,
am not suggesting that the Tapped Brew Co is about 1900 years behind the rest of us, am just trying not to use the word century or hundred in this post about their...ninety ninth plus one brew. I can see this will be a fruitless exercise however....
Anyway, on Tuesday the Tapped Brew Co had an event on at the Sheffield Tap where you could see the whole brewing process from start to finish in one night, and taste some of their hundredth brew. It was called 100 Cent, and used centennial hops. Do you see what they did?
Admittedly the merit in being twice as good as 50 Cent is difficult to measure but if we get over it not being called Centenary, we can appreciate the beer for its ingredients. I am led to believe it was Mojo with the change being to make it with 100% centennial hops.... but I wasn't paying attention. What am I, your information monkey?! Ge darda yere....! No, really, I sort of think it was Mojo rebadged. It was a very tasty brew whichever way you looked at it. Especially since I love centennial hops - Mallinsons single hopped centennial was my beer of the 2012 Sheffield beer festival, so I was instantly sold on the tastes we had.
Having been delayed by hospital responsibilities I was quite late arriving so we only wandered into see who and what was there at the end, and to soak up the wonderful smells that brewing creates. It was interesting seeing the next size of kit up from Blue Bee and to try and spot beer twitterers and bloggers (I didn't). If you want to know how to brew beer by the way, this barely factual post here tells you everything the author knew about brewing beer. That's as much as I'm willing to promise.
The evening was also an opportunity to sample some other excellent ales and formed one of the highlights of a week of rather good beer. The Magic Rock Chipotle Punchline, a mightily maverick but hugely satisfying chocolate chilli porter, had just enough bite (a difficult balance to measure) and just the right amount of bitterness to work. It was also a beer that probably worked best in its Keykeg guise, given its powerful blend of flavors. Either way it was very good.
The other notables this week were found in just two venues. DAda, as I alluded previously, had Red Willow Heartless chocolate porter featuring 85% cacoa single origin Colombian chocolate. Again, the trick here was to expertly blend the bitterness of the chocolate, the hops and the sweetness afforded by the malt, to make something palatable and eminently suppable. Heartless was just that. It was not, a Wednesday night beer. It was a beer for a long Saturday. We had a couple of pints to show willing though....
The final duo came from Shakespeares Ale and Cider House. There was a North Riding Galaxy single hop in the cellar, and I bloody love galaxy as a hop so it was nailed on that I'd have that - it was exactly what I hoped for, lovely citrus bitterness but none of the dryness that single hop beers sometimes allow to creep in with more astringent hops. This was accompanied by pints of the Hopcraft "The Beast" IPA at 6.5% and £3.30 a pint. There were plenty of hops to get your taste-buds round but it wasn't a 6.5% drink, and there were no unpleasant lingering aftertastes or other untidiness to distract you from enjoying it. As I did. Thrice.
Its often said that older and more experienced people know best. As the bairns at Tapped Brew Co roll out their 100th brew, Hopcraft are already a go-to brewery for me, and Magic Rock and Red Willow are renowned established brewers. With quality like that to aspire to, the prospects for newer breweries, and those supping their beers, look mighty fine. May things only improve!
Cheers
Wee Beefy
am not suggesting that the Tapped Brew Co is about 1900 years behind the rest of us, am just trying not to use the word century or hundred in this post about their...ninety ninth plus one brew. I can see this will be a fruitless exercise however....
Anyway, on Tuesday the Tapped Brew Co had an event on at the Sheffield Tap where you could see the whole brewing process from start to finish in one night, and taste some of their hundredth brew. It was called 100 Cent, and used centennial hops. Do you see what they did?
Admittedly the merit in being twice as good as 50 Cent is difficult to measure but if we get over it not being called Centenary, we can appreciate the beer for its ingredients. I am led to believe it was Mojo with the change being to make it with 100% centennial hops.... but I wasn't paying attention. What am I, your information monkey?! Ge darda yere....! No, really, I sort of think it was Mojo rebadged. It was a very tasty brew whichever way you looked at it. Especially since I love centennial hops - Mallinsons single hopped centennial was my beer of the 2012 Sheffield beer festival, so I was instantly sold on the tastes we had.
Having been delayed by hospital responsibilities I was quite late arriving so we only wandered into see who and what was there at the end, and to soak up the wonderful smells that brewing creates. It was interesting seeing the next size of kit up from Blue Bee and to try and spot beer twitterers and bloggers (I didn't). If you want to know how to brew beer by the way, this barely factual post here tells you everything the author knew about brewing beer. That's as much as I'm willing to promise.
The evening was also an opportunity to sample some other excellent ales and formed one of the highlights of a week of rather good beer. The Magic Rock Chipotle Punchline, a mightily maverick but hugely satisfying chocolate chilli porter, had just enough bite (a difficult balance to measure) and just the right amount of bitterness to work. It was also a beer that probably worked best in its Keykeg guise, given its powerful blend of flavors. Either way it was very good.
The other notables this week were found in just two venues. DAda, as I alluded previously, had Red Willow Heartless chocolate porter featuring 85% cacoa single origin Colombian chocolate. Again, the trick here was to expertly blend the bitterness of the chocolate, the hops and the sweetness afforded by the malt, to make something palatable and eminently suppable. Heartless was just that. It was not, a Wednesday night beer. It was a beer for a long Saturday. We had a couple of pints to show willing though....
The final duo came from Shakespeares Ale and Cider House. There was a North Riding Galaxy single hop in the cellar, and I bloody love galaxy as a hop so it was nailed on that I'd have that - it was exactly what I hoped for, lovely citrus bitterness but none of the dryness that single hop beers sometimes allow to creep in with more astringent hops. This was accompanied by pints of the Hopcraft "The Beast" IPA at 6.5% and £3.30 a pint. There were plenty of hops to get your taste-buds round but it wasn't a 6.5% drink, and there were no unpleasant lingering aftertastes or other untidiness to distract you from enjoying it. As I did. Thrice.
Its often said that older and more experienced people know best. As the bairns at Tapped Brew Co roll out their 100th brew, Hopcraft are already a go-to brewery for me, and Magic Rock and Red Willow are renowned established brewers. With quality like that to aspire to, the prospects for newer breweries, and those supping their beers, look mighty fine. May things only improve!
Cheers
Wee Beefy
Tuesday, 21 January 2014
Happenings and openings
Hulloo
As I career aimlessly towards my dotage (I'll be 80 in just 40 odd years) I find that remembering stuff is quite difficult. Especially important pub related stuff, and more so, when one is distracted by celebratory events like Christmas and birthdays and New Year. A few of those events played a part in my weekend, as Alibob Jack and Miss N celebrated their recent milestones on the same night. And continuing last night's theme, as the damp cloth of sobriety falls over my head, I've ended up remembering some long out of date pub and beer sorta news that I was supposed to share with you. Probably.
Saturday I was dutifully up at the hospital thinking about how I'd like to walk back down Rock Street to photograph the long closed Rock Inn before it falls down, and how since the Bay Horse at Pitsmoor sold Wentworth WPA about twelve years ago, it had to be worth popping in now to see if they still did. These are the sort of beery thoughts that preoccupy me on the soul destroying public transport marathon to and from the hospital but all these noble plans were dashed by Wee Keefy giving me a lift to DAda. Later I would be seeing WK in our childhood environs of Crookes. Well, the pub environs of our...um...childhood environs. I know I ought to cut short this bit but I can't. Anyway....
After meeting Miss N for a coffee and no beer at Sellers Wheel we spent some time acquiring a taste for beer (it took no sips) at the Rutland, before both heading to Crookes for pints and a meal. The Crookes clan all met up in the Princess Royal but they had it easy. They only need to walk out their front doors and they're virtually there. We had yet another bus trek to undertake. So we met them in The Ball instead.
A few good guests adorned the bar and we both went for pints of Rudgate Ruby Mild at £2.90 a pint. This was in very good nick and was proving popular, although I'm sure the Kelham Island guest was selling at pace as well. We were meeting here for food and it was good to have them serve until 22.00. A lot of pubs stop selling food at 20.00 or earlier but that's just daft. At one stage I recall the Bridge Inn at Ford served food until 19.00 - for who!?! The sensible timings meant we could meet for drinks first and still get a few in the pub with our meals, which we did.
The Ball might be a Greedy King pub and the pub food is very much standard fare but you know, it was two for a tenner, its still a locals pub, and you get to sit in an area at the back away from the busiest spots and actually, the food aint bad. Especially when washed down with more excellent Ruby Mild. Its the first time I've had it for a while and it was a really enjoyable change.
As time was getting on we decamped, as is the tradition when Paddington, Jack, Jambon and the like meet up, to the Noahs Ark. This pub has changed management again in the last 6 months, at an educated guess that's probably the 8th time in a few years, but you can't bloody tell - and I mean that as a compliment. One of the slippery slopes that pubs get onto is the revolving door of landlords who all bring their own ideas, plans, misgivings and regulars to a pub that never establishes an identity. The lack of continuity and the inconsistent quality attached usually spells the end for a pub but somehow the Noahs seems to consistently be the place to go if you want one or two inexpensive real ales in a proper boozer, open late, with terrible, yet somehow brilliant, karaoke.
And so it was that we sat in our usual place (ish) with the karaoke music list whilst the long standing Karaoke compere introduced the songs in her highly individual style, and we supped inexpensive pints of real ale in a thronging pub. On this occasion, both myself and Miss N were on Jennings Cumberland at £2.50 a pint and it was in perfectly good nick. The proof of my appreciation was in the fact that I normally loathe karaoke but somehow, and it must be down to dark arts, I don;t mind it at the Noah's. Long may it continue to be the case.
Whilst celebrating the delights of my former haunts its time to reflect on two pub changes coming up soon. Firstly, and I'm not sure if this is a secret, but I found out on the 3rd January that the Devonshire Cat had been bought by a brewery and everything. That's all I know. Or am willing to tell. Its too late to text "them"and check its not a secret after all. Lets just hope it improves is all I can say!
Lastly, Barlow brewery what make nice beer are opening a venue on Chatsworth Road in Chesterfield called the Tap House in soon. Their unofficial brewery Tap is the Hare and Hounds at Barlow Commonside which is a pub I really rate. Yet even I have to concede that a pub in he beer centre of Chesterfield would provide a higher profile for Barlow's wares. The Tap House are on Facebook as of last week, here is their page, however that seems to be about it at the mo. If my "legendary" sleuthing is to be believed, the Tap House will be where the Brampton Ale House used to be, based on the Post Code, but am once again already out of info on this one. I would keep looking at their facebook page for updates.
What this shows, along with the Buxton Tap House (which, in a disappointing theme, I have also neglected to visit) is that some notable local breweries are opening dedicated outlets for their real ales. If you take the examples of Spire, Brampton and Acorn, to name but a few, I would suggest this is another positive development for the wider area.
It also justify's, as if that were needed, the selection of Sheffield as a top beer destination by the New York Times. Clearly chaps with their heads screwed on, and a love of eclectic public transport links....
Wee Beefy.
As I career aimlessly towards my dotage (I'll be 80 in just 40 odd years) I find that remembering stuff is quite difficult. Especially important pub related stuff, and more so, when one is distracted by celebratory events like Christmas and birthdays and New Year. A few of those events played a part in my weekend, as Alibob Jack and Miss N celebrated their recent milestones on the same night. And continuing last night's theme, as the damp cloth of sobriety falls over my head, I've ended up remembering some long out of date pub and beer sorta news that I was supposed to share with you. Probably.
Saturday I was dutifully up at the hospital thinking about how I'd like to walk back down Rock Street to photograph the long closed Rock Inn before it falls down, and how since the Bay Horse at Pitsmoor sold Wentworth WPA about twelve years ago, it had to be worth popping in now to see if they still did. These are the sort of beery thoughts that preoccupy me on the soul destroying public transport marathon to and from the hospital but all these noble plans were dashed by Wee Keefy giving me a lift to DAda. Later I would be seeing WK in our childhood environs of Crookes. Well, the pub environs of our...um...childhood environs. I know I ought to cut short this bit but I can't. Anyway....
After meeting Miss N for a coffee and no beer at Sellers Wheel we spent some time acquiring a taste for beer (it took no sips) at the Rutland, before both heading to Crookes for pints and a meal. The Crookes clan all met up in the Princess Royal but they had it easy. They only need to walk out their front doors and they're virtually there. We had yet another bus trek to undertake. So we met them in The Ball instead.
A few good guests adorned the bar and we both went for pints of Rudgate Ruby Mild at £2.90 a pint. This was in very good nick and was proving popular, although I'm sure the Kelham Island guest was selling at pace as well. We were meeting here for food and it was good to have them serve until 22.00. A lot of pubs stop selling food at 20.00 or earlier but that's just daft. At one stage I recall the Bridge Inn at Ford served food until 19.00 - for who!?! The sensible timings meant we could meet for drinks first and still get a few in the pub with our meals, which we did.
The Ball might be a Greedy King pub and the pub food is very much standard fare but you know, it was two for a tenner, its still a locals pub, and you get to sit in an area at the back away from the busiest spots and actually, the food aint bad. Especially when washed down with more excellent Ruby Mild. Its the first time I've had it for a while and it was a really enjoyable change.
As time was getting on we decamped, as is the tradition when Paddington, Jack, Jambon and the like meet up, to the Noahs Ark. This pub has changed management again in the last 6 months, at an educated guess that's probably the 8th time in a few years, but you can't bloody tell - and I mean that as a compliment. One of the slippery slopes that pubs get onto is the revolving door of landlords who all bring their own ideas, plans, misgivings and regulars to a pub that never establishes an identity. The lack of continuity and the inconsistent quality attached usually spells the end for a pub but somehow the Noahs seems to consistently be the place to go if you want one or two inexpensive real ales in a proper boozer, open late, with terrible, yet somehow brilliant, karaoke.
And so it was that we sat in our usual place (ish) with the karaoke music list whilst the long standing Karaoke compere introduced the songs in her highly individual style, and we supped inexpensive pints of real ale in a thronging pub. On this occasion, both myself and Miss N were on Jennings Cumberland at £2.50 a pint and it was in perfectly good nick. The proof of my appreciation was in the fact that I normally loathe karaoke but somehow, and it must be down to dark arts, I don;t mind it at the Noah's. Long may it continue to be the case.
Whilst celebrating the delights of my former haunts its time to reflect on two pub changes coming up soon. Firstly, and I'm not sure if this is a secret, but I found out on the 3rd January that the Devonshire Cat had been bought by a brewery and everything. That's all I know. Or am willing to tell. Its too late to text "them"and check its not a secret after all. Lets just hope it improves is all I can say!
Lastly, Barlow brewery what make nice beer are opening a venue on Chatsworth Road in Chesterfield called the Tap House in soon. Their unofficial brewery Tap is the Hare and Hounds at Barlow Commonside which is a pub I really rate. Yet even I have to concede that a pub in he beer centre of Chesterfield would provide a higher profile for Barlow's wares. The Tap House are on Facebook as of last week, here is their page, however that seems to be about it at the mo. If my "legendary" sleuthing is to be believed, the Tap House will be where the Brampton Ale House used to be, based on the Post Code, but am once again already out of info on this one. I would keep looking at their facebook page for updates.
What this shows, along with the Buxton Tap House (which, in a disappointing theme, I have also neglected to visit) is that some notable local breweries are opening dedicated outlets for their real ales. If you take the examples of Spire, Brampton and Acorn, to name but a few, I would suggest this is another positive development for the wider area.
It also justify's, as if that were needed, the selection of Sheffield as a top beer destination by the New York Times. Clearly chaps with their heads screwed on, and a love of eclectic public transport links....
Wee Beefy.
Sunday, 19 January 2014
Reasons to be cheerful
Evening
its been a fortnight of firsts and two weeks of reassuring regulars here at Beefotronic PLC. Having trekked through the East end to find new and untried boozers last weekend, in between times and thereafter I have been sticking to what I know. Below is a sample of some of the ales and pubs encountered in Sheffield lately, and news of a new brewery tap for you to try out.
Immediately after my Don walk I met Miss N in the Red Deer. It was entirely rammed, as it is on a Saturday night but we patiently acquired a seat and plenty of company, to sup pints of excellent Roosters Wild Mule. I haven't always got on with Roosters beers for one reason or another but this one really hit the spot.
Afterwards, and a couple of other times recently, we were in DAda. On every occasion it was on I sampled the excellent Burning Sky saison which was on at a price cheaper than the Bath and the Sheffield Tap. When that ran out I sought solace in redoubtable old stager Halcyon from Thornbridge. There's a Red Willow chocolate stout in the cellar but over the last week there has been nothing but Thornbridge cask wise, yet in a moment of recklessness I tried a pint of Kipling for the first time in ages. Having dismissed it as being past its best and no longer a decent beer I was pleasantly surprised to find it in good nick and I even admit to having had a few pints of it. Like I said to Jamie, you can't complain a beer is shit without trying it. Other quality ales sampled recently include the Schlenkerla Rauchbier at £4.00 a pint, which is possibly too heavy for a whole pint but an excellent finisher nonetheless.
The Rutland was my destination yesterday and I tried the Magic Rock Rapture on cask, and the 8 Ball and High Wire NZ on keykeg. Both are quality beers but I was annoyed with myself for not remembering that I didn't rate Magic 8 Ball on keg - with any luck it will resurface on cask one day...
Meanwhile Shakespeares continues to be good at being good. Recent treats have included the excellent Cross Bay Zenith, which is a really well balanced beer, and the cask De Ranke Pere Noel at a very reasonable price - £3.40 for a 7% beer. I also finally got to try (and enjoy) Potion Number 9 from Penzance brewing Co, beloved of Boak and Bailey, along with the excellent Tornado from the Little Ale Cart brewery, and the Geeves Imerial Stout at 8% - an excellent finisher. On my last visit on Friday, the Imperial brewery Burning Amber was a very palatable session beer, and the Great Heck Black Jesus specifically wasn't - yet was every bit as good as it was at the Sheffield beer festival.
The Sheffield Tap nearly provided the beer of 2014 with the impeccable Hardknott Vitese Noir, as covered in my last post and also recently sold a palatable Bristol Beer factory UPA, and a rather chewy Buxton Dark Knights. The Buxton was potentially too bitter for a stout but the UPA was very well balanced. Despite this am still not sure I "get" Bristol Beer factory's cask output.
An impromptu trip to the University Arms heralded a rather fine pint of Crouch Vale Anchor Street Porter at £3.00 a pint. It was notable that as well as the Acorn Old Moor Porter that had been on earlier that day, all the real ales were below £3.00 a pint. Definitely something to bear in mind if you are thinking of having some real ale in the area.
Finally, the new brewery tap I mentioned. In Rotherham, the Prince of Wales Feathers on Westgate has been bought (seemingly months ago - get me for being up with developments!) by Chantry brewery and reopened and renamed as the New York Tavern. Selling the full range of Chantry brewery beers the pub is, I read with horror. the last on Westgate - I know its a long time since I traveled to Rotherham but that's ridiculous! Here is a link to their website should you need details that I am short of having never visited - although, I may never venture in, based on them advertising "world bottle beers". I don't want to seem pedantic, but it should be "bottled"....
Either way this reopening is further great news in a town with, if we are to be brutally honest, little to offer the real ale drinker beyond the Bridge Inn and the Blue Coat. So, there you have it, choice and value for money and reasons for optimism. What more could you want from January?
Cheers!
Wee Beefy.
its been a fortnight of firsts and two weeks of reassuring regulars here at Beefotronic PLC. Having trekked through the East end to find new and untried boozers last weekend, in between times and thereafter I have been sticking to what I know. Below is a sample of some of the ales and pubs encountered in Sheffield lately, and news of a new brewery tap for you to try out.
Immediately after my Don walk I met Miss N in the Red Deer. It was entirely rammed, as it is on a Saturday night but we patiently acquired a seat and plenty of company, to sup pints of excellent Roosters Wild Mule. I haven't always got on with Roosters beers for one reason or another but this one really hit the spot.
Afterwards, and a couple of other times recently, we were in DAda. On every occasion it was on I sampled the excellent Burning Sky saison which was on at a price cheaper than the Bath and the Sheffield Tap. When that ran out I sought solace in redoubtable old stager Halcyon from Thornbridge. There's a Red Willow chocolate stout in the cellar but over the last week there has been nothing but Thornbridge cask wise, yet in a moment of recklessness I tried a pint of Kipling for the first time in ages. Having dismissed it as being past its best and no longer a decent beer I was pleasantly surprised to find it in good nick and I even admit to having had a few pints of it. Like I said to Jamie, you can't complain a beer is shit without trying it. Other quality ales sampled recently include the Schlenkerla Rauchbier at £4.00 a pint, which is possibly too heavy for a whole pint but an excellent finisher nonetheless.
The Rutland was my destination yesterday and I tried the Magic Rock Rapture on cask, and the 8 Ball and High Wire NZ on keykeg. Both are quality beers but I was annoyed with myself for not remembering that I didn't rate Magic 8 Ball on keg - with any luck it will resurface on cask one day...
Meanwhile Shakespeares continues to be good at being good. Recent treats have included the excellent Cross Bay Zenith, which is a really well balanced beer, and the cask De Ranke Pere Noel at a very reasonable price - £3.40 for a 7% beer. I also finally got to try (and enjoy) Potion Number 9 from Penzance brewing Co, beloved of Boak and Bailey, along with the excellent Tornado from the Little Ale Cart brewery, and the Geeves Imerial Stout at 8% - an excellent finisher. On my last visit on Friday, the Imperial brewery Burning Amber was a very palatable session beer, and the Great Heck Black Jesus specifically wasn't - yet was every bit as good as it was at the Sheffield beer festival.
The Sheffield Tap nearly provided the beer of 2014 with the impeccable Hardknott Vitese Noir, as covered in my last post and also recently sold a palatable Bristol Beer factory UPA, and a rather chewy Buxton Dark Knights. The Buxton was potentially too bitter for a stout but the UPA was very well balanced. Despite this am still not sure I "get" Bristol Beer factory's cask output.
An impromptu trip to the University Arms heralded a rather fine pint of Crouch Vale Anchor Street Porter at £3.00 a pint. It was notable that as well as the Acorn Old Moor Porter that had been on earlier that day, all the real ales were below £3.00 a pint. Definitely something to bear in mind if you are thinking of having some real ale in the area.
Finally, the new brewery tap I mentioned. In Rotherham, the Prince of Wales Feathers on Westgate has been bought (seemingly months ago - get me for being up with developments!) by Chantry brewery and reopened and renamed as the New York Tavern. Selling the full range of Chantry brewery beers the pub is, I read with horror. the last on Westgate - I know its a long time since I traveled to Rotherham but that's ridiculous! Here is a link to their website should you need details that I am short of having never visited - although, I may never venture in, based on them advertising "world bottle beers". I don't want to seem pedantic, but it should be "bottled"....
Either way this reopening is further great news in a town with, if we are to be brutally honest, little to offer the real ale drinker beyond the Bridge Inn and the Blue Coat. So, there you have it, choice and value for money and reasons for optimism. What more could you want from January?
Cheers!
Wee Beefy.
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