The Anglers Rest, Richmond Park Road, Sheffield

Good Morning,

as promised last week I have been doing a little research on the Anglers Rest pub. I popped in yesterday for a pint, hoping to get some concrete factual information from the staff, such as when it was built, however this was not a successful venture, but I did get talking to a couple of regulars in the Tap Room, and between them and a friend of theirs here's what we guesstimembered...

The pub was built prior to the houses on the other side of the road and presumably about the same time as the rest of the estate. Curmudgeon had suggested a fifties build and this seemed to be the opinion here. It seems that Wards Brewery built the pub and owned it right up until their closure in 1999 (it is presently owned by Barracuda Group, which is a bit of a surprise since they are more about bars like Varsity, it has variously been or indeed is a Smith and Jones pub, and perhaps a Barnwells ?).

The pub was enlarged in the eighties - we think the snooker area in the right hand room (which is partitioned and entered through a very wide doorway), was added then. The room on the right used to be a small panelled bar , which suggests the panelling around the fireplace is original. The fireplace looks like a reclaim so its unclear when that was put in. This supports my initial suspicion that the panelling in the other room on the left may also be original - that room too has been extended further back.

In the tap room next to fireplace in the right  corner was the entrance to the ladies with the gents to the left - both are accessed in the middle now, and this further suggests that the fireplace location if nothing else is original. Behind the bar is interesting as their is a thirties style arrangement of three doors side on to the bar for the cellar, kitchen and accommodation.

The off sales hatch is still open but rarely used, but I still think its used for convenience in Summer when people are sat outside. The sign has changed as well - it now depicts an angler, perhaps walking through reeds - it always used to be three crossed fishing rods. Apparently there were three fishponds in the area, of which only one survives, at Richmond.

The beers were Morland Original at £1.79 a pint, which was well kept, and the Jennings Cumberland at £1.99 a pint which might have edged by being a bit less lively. It looks like the next of the Golden Ales guest  list to appear will be Waggle Dance .

I found out very little info on the modern day pub on the Internet but I reckon I have worked out which pub it replaced with a lot of help from the Sheffield History website (you can search the pub section and find details on both pubs on the site via the link) I had heard that the Anglers replaced (albeit in a different location) a pub called the Anglers Rest on South Lane near the bottom of London Road which was bombed in the war. It looks like the most plausible candidate is the Anglers rest at Dobson Street, formerly New George Street, just off the bottom of London Road.

Apparently this closed in 1948, and may have been a beer retailer before then - its pure conjecture but I wonder if after it was bombed, adjoining or surviving premises were retained as a retail business. The final thing I found out was that the modern pub is built on the wrong side of the road! Perhaps rumours of subsidence over the road prove this to be a sensible decision.

So, there's the gen I have, am afraid this is my first attempt at researching a pub (as is probably blindingly obvious) but if nothing else, I've enjoyed my little bit of sleuthing, and my long discussion with the three blokes in the Anglers yesterday.

Lets hope I am back in soon enjoying a decent pint of real ale ale at a very reasonable price.

Wee Beefy

The end is nigh

Hello,

   this is more a note than a blog post (you may be relieved to discover) which serves only to tell you that I have done something that I am not proud of. Lots of bloggers have done it, it seems, most of them appear to have escaped unscathed. I just hope I will not be the first to suffer.

I joined Twitter. As Wee Beefy, as it happens.

No doubt this will be tremendous fun (especially the character limit) and, having no mobile internet access, it will be great for finding out about stuff many hours after its happened, finished being discussed, been posted, tweeted, re-tweeted, or indeed anything affording it any semblance of use or need. So much like now really, when I rarely get on the Internet until 22.00....

Here's to finding stuff out.

Wee Beefy

Friday feeling

Now then,

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

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

Lescar

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

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

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

Kitkat circle

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

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

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

Kit

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

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

Cheers!

Wee Beefy.

Telling them straight?

Lunchtime greetings,

    I noticed a lot of "blog" has been uploaded about the thorny issue of naming and shaming brewers of crap beer. Boak and Bailey (for it is them) kindly recapped some of the responses from the blogosphere in this post and it seems everyone has their own approach. The impetus for this debate was some Bottle Conditioned Ales (BCA's) of vinegrous qualities.

I can assure you that waving goodbye to a foaming mass of BCA isn't unusual. I have been picking up BCA's in pubs or shops since about 1993 and I have yet to find a corner of the country that hasn't spawned a hideous swamp ale, with too many breweries to remember being involved. In terms of identifying them, I, almost always, name and shame. However that's not to say there isn't an alternative.

Lets just make it clear that I love good, well made BCA's. They bring a whole new angle to the taste of the beer as it matures and often refines its character in the bottle. Having been lucky enough to drink a few vintages of Eldridge Pope Thomas Hardy Ale I can assure you that the wonder of in-bottle fermentation is quite real, and can be truly awe inspiring.

When its crap though, I am unhappy. I feel let down. And now I have a blog, I find myself bitching about it on here. Which is fine, blogs are after all solely the embodiment of the authors comment and opinion, but before I had this mouthpiece I used to write to the brewer and express my dismay.


Actually, this is wheat beer, very good wheat beer...


I wonder if, as I have commented on the Boak and Bailey post, doing so might remove the thorny question of whether one names or shames? I know that blogging, and more so Twatter, is meant to be up to date and virtually instantaneous, but if you correspond with said producer (this applies more to BCA's than cask) and they reply you can decide then whether or not to mention it. If they are unapologetic or indeed don't reply at all, you can present a fuller picture. Better still, if they take on board your comments, then I would suggest that is a full story with a positive ending. Positivity on blogs! Whatever next...

Well, perhaps this idea of consumer/producer interaction may already be underway. The Pub Curmudgeon has set an interesting challenge on his blog here. The BCA challenge is a request to brewers to send him a bottle of their BCA which he promises to nurture and look after properly in the prime of conditions and then open, drink (hopefully) and review. I haven't seen any reviews yet, so I must drop him an email to find out how things are going, but if we assume no or very few brewers are interested, this poses an interesting question.

Why are so few brewers willing to put their BCA's up for close inspection or review?

As I commented on Boak and Bailey before, there seems a deafening silence from the smaller producers (although some welcome comments on this post ) about BCA, so one wonders if this is a tacit acceptance that their products aren't up to scratch?

Perhaps the best solution is if producers and consumers are equally vocal - with each other. Then everyone knows where they stand.

Wee Beefy

A night with Mallinsons, Kirkstall, Abbeydale, Blue Bee, and Acorn

Evenin,

  here are some details of my thirsty Thursday of beers culture and food....

Harrisons

Thursday I was having two nights out, one after the other. After a very brief pint with Mr H I was in harrisons 1854 for a very agreeable couple of pints of Deception, as well as to find out about the round and round it goes art festival they are holding. Rather than remember from Thursday I'll link you to the following Forum post for more details here.  It may even have finished by the way, but still worth a look at the idea if nothing else I reckon.

It was nice to be stood at the bar with the constant hubbub of coming and going artists, and the occasional musical interlude form the brass band upstairs, but unfortunately despite the lure of the Deception I was off to meet Mr L at the Sheffield Tap.

Tap

Mr L is from Ooop North even more than Sheffield could be considered so, and it may have been this credential that led him down the crazy avenue of thinking we should sit outside (actually, that was my bright idea), but more specifically for him to be in short sleeves and seemingly unmoved. Its a few years since I was immune to cold, despite a substantial investment in a flesh fleece, yet despite this I battled manfully on in the sunless trap of the forecourt.....

Here we enjoyed a fantastic pint of the Mallinsons Centennial Single hop ale. This is now the 3rd Mallinsons single hop beer I've had and I have to say they have all been brilliant. Its funny but for some reason I never really rated Mallinsons much before, possibly a conspiracy of beer line ups meant I always ended up with something brown or golden with a Yorkshire square flavour. Conveniently I can't remember a single one of those beers so I have instead to tell you that you should definitely try a Mallinsons beer when you see one ( In Sheffield the Tap and the Rutland seem to stock them).

On getting back in from the cold, there was an empty pump or two, and perhaps because I was temporarily confused by the heady buzz of warmth, in a moment of pondering I suggested we went to the Rutland for a pint or two instead.

Rutland of the butties

Here Paultous and Stu(ew)art were manning the bar and there was a goodly choice of dark beers to be had. Eschewing the wild unpredictability of different pints per round we both had a pint of the Blue Bee Lustin for Stout which was on fine form. It was quiz night so we were aware that eventually it might be time to move on, but not before we'd had a pint of the Acorn Darkness as well.

Meanwhile, noting a slight sense of "tiredness" creeping upon me I ordered again the fantastic bacon butty, and it didn't disappoint. I think that having a sarnie in here is going to be a part of my essential beer plan from now on, its pretty damn filling so mops up any excess alcohol that you may have accidentally consumed. After this Mr L opted to join his native friends and I headed off for an unspecified event at an unspecified place.

Red Lion

Luckily I have a mobile phone with a camera on and a pen and paper, or else I might never have properly remembered my visit to the Red Lion on Charles Street. It was very quiet and I got a seat and a table to myself at which to enjoy my half of Abbeydale Deception, whilst also getting a pic or two  of the red Lion interior, thereby increasing my stash of Red Lion pics by 100%...

The Hop

I had actually walked up Division and then Devonshire Street to go and get another wonderful bit of food since I was feeling hungry again, even after my fantastic butty. On arriving at the chip shop I found that no Yorkshire fishcakes were to be had - if I wanted Yorkshire Fishcake butty, I'd have to wait. I boldly took up the challenge and went in the Hop to fill in 15 minutes.

The pub wasn't too busy and to my delight there was a genuine guest on, in the form of Kirskstall Pale. Not only is Kirkstall brewery not owned by Ossett (as far as I know) but also its one of my favourite breweries, so this was a no brainer. Better still my half of their pale ale only cost £1.20 - I'd suggest £2.40 is a pretty good price for any pint of real ale in the city centre, and it was a very pleasant drink as well (this is sot-speak for "I know I liked it, but that's all I know").

Note of discombobulation

Now, on my notes, where I had diligently recorded, in varying degrees of legibility, all the events of the evening, I made a worrying discovery. I know that I got my long desired butty in the end, and that it was boiling hot having just been cooked, and that it took me a while wandering around to eat it - the cool night air just wasn't cool enough to chill the crispy beast sufficiently. I didn't recall going anywhere else but home though...

So imagine my horror when my notes advised  "FCB - Bettys £1.60". Shit I thought, how drunk must I have been to have gone in to the Forum Cafe Bar, on my own, and besides which, who brews Bettys?

I searched Beermad, Quaffale and Google, found a brewery in Maidstone via Facebookcalled Betty's which didn't really seem to exist, and a few beers which came from breweries with the initials F or B. I also thought about Fat Cat Brewery, but to no avail, no plausible (i.e not skinners Betty Stogs) Betty beer was to be found in the UK. There was a hole in my memory and a magical beer named after a tea shop was in its place. I was ashamed.

Unitil I remebered I bought my Fish Cake Butty from - Betty's!

My new favourite chippy. Well, I say new, I've never had a favourite chippy before. So Betty's must be extra special. Its not a brewery though....

Wee beefy.

Shakespeares snifter

Hello again,

    it seems I have wound up in (or maybe been washed up in) Shakespeares quite a lot of late. The benefit of which has been some very nice beer and company, and friendly helpful service from the staff.

I was in briefly on Wednesday on a gloriously quiet afternoon enjoying a surprisingly nice pint of Bartrams Galena, a quaffable 3.8% blonde beer with plenty  of hops and on at a decent price of £2.50, making oit probably the cheapest of the guests. I have always had reservations about Bartrams, not least because I have one or two dreadful beers of theirs, and because I am always concerned about small breweries who bottle condition their beers (they may not do now, am not sure). They used to brew a range of about thirty beers and they seemed very samey and not very good.

The Galena however, although retaining the Bartrams flavour (is this the yeast?) was a much better offering than anything I'd had before. Almost yellow gold and really easy to drink, but all the time with that pleasing hoppy fizz in the aftertaste rounding the beer off very well.

I also tried a half of the Salamander Practical Pipsqueak Porter, 4.8% and £2.70 a pint. This was everything I wanted it to be, with characteristic roast malt bitterness, and was, thankfully after some reddy dark brown finds recently, as black as sin. One thing you can say about Salamander's output is that they are brilliant at dark beers.

I was in again last night with Middlemarch and had a whole session on the Galena, I even got my fruit fancier drinking partner to try Abbeydale Deception, which she stuck on for the duration. The Galena was still on and on good form, and I finished with a really nice half of the Revolutions Brewery Esca bitter. I remember hearing a band of the same name on John Peel in the early nineties, with a track called Trucking and Paving. I never knew if it was Eska or Esca - given Revolutions musical interests I wonder if this beer is named after the band?

Its great to work near to and regularly have chance to visit a classic boozer, with probably Sheffield's cheapest sandwiches on the bar, real cider, 8 real ales, a changing keykeg guest, lager wheat and fruit beer on draught, and a great range of whiskies and bottle beers.

We really are spoilt here in Sheffield it seems.

Wee Beefy

Handsworth real ale gain

Now then,

   the gain of the title is not the new build pub near Asda off Richmond Park Road (seemingly not a Wetherspoons after all, seems my reliable source was misinformed) but one not too far away from there either.

I have been walking in Bowden woods on both sides of the Parkway for ten years now and often I come out at the shops on Richmond Park Road and walk past the Anglers Rest. On my one previous visit about 5 years ago, there was a lone handpump and no real ale. I got the distinct impression it was a bar feature, indicative if a long term absence of the fine drink, so never bothered going in again.

Yesterday, I walked past it twice on a circular walk and in the first instance mused over how convenient it would be if the pub sold real ale. On my second wander past I noticed a sign (not the main one) on the side of the pub advertising cask ales. So I went in for a look.

The pub places emphasis on food but more importantly (!) sells two real ales at very good prices. I was in the left hand bar, the handpumps are in the right, but there is a small blackboard at the right hand end of the bar showing the two real ales that are on. These were Morland Original, and Jennings Cumberland. I had a half of the Cumberland, and considering this was probably only half an hour after they opened, it was clearly not a drink that had slept all night in the lines. It was clear, and poured to perfection  with just enough head. Difficult to do in a half pint glass.

Interestingly, that the pub sells real ale is not exactly news - in the sense that, as with all Sleepy Beefy "exclusives", they have been doing so for six months. In some ways that makes the news all the better - it suggests there is a market for it, and that its worth them continuing.

I sat down in the window and there was a small sign advertising the real ales coming on, which I understand change every month. This includes the new Greene King IPA Gold, and Old Golden Hen along with Ringwood Boondoggle, to name but a few. Its clearly a pubco list comprising mainly Greedy King and Marstons/Banks empire, but its a tied house, and from what is likely a restricted choice for them, I think there are some decent enough beers (I had the Boondoggle in bottle last week and it was really nice).

The main feature though is the prices - my half of Cumberland cost a pound, but the board on the bar showed the Morland on at £1.79 a pint. "Its our best seller" advised the lady behind the bar - I'm not surprised at that price. And its kept as well as the Jennings then that's all the better.

The pub is a "new" estate pub build, but I think new maybe a little misleading  - I understand it was named after a pub of the same name on South street at Moorfoot that was bombed in the war, but I'll have to look into that. The local estate that I live on is mainly 1930 and 40's houses so it maybe that the same applies to the areas that this pub serves, making it a venerable 70 years old.

The inside comprises two large rooms with a central bar, and as you enter there is an open hatch for service - I don't know if its in use but it looks very much like an off sales - if the pub was a 1950's build that would be interesting, because I'd have though it wasn't long after this that off sales hatches fell out of use. Its placement in the entrance lobby reminds me a little of  the interior layout of the Crown and Glove in Stannington. Inside, there is some panelling to the left hand end, but its unclear whether this survives from the original build, or is part of successive later makeovers - I'll investigate next time.

So overall this is great news, a community pub within walking distance with very competitively priced real ales on. Just what every community should have.

Wee Beefy

Home is where I'm harshest?

Hello,

    I was interested in a comment on the write up of my Cheshire pubs visit on Bank Holiday Sunday. I have been going to the Swan With Two Nicks at Little Bollington for about as long as Dunham Massey brewery have been going (since 2007 I understand) and had never really given any of its credentials, other than the beer range, a second thought.

This is weird for me, because usually I am keen on the whole picture - the interior layout, the fixtures, the historical integrity (rarely relevant alas) the type of pub, the mix of clientele. And yet someone local to the pub mentioned it was a bit expensive and foody.

It was interesting to read this from Curmudgeon, because myself and Mudgie are two of the only bloggers I know of interested in unspoilt pubs and specifically  the CAMRA/English Heritage National Inventory of Unspoilt Pub Interiors. By extension, we both therefore prefer more basic, traditional pubs.

I still like the Swan just as much of course, but when I thought about it, the pub is quite foody actually. And am not sure the beer is particularly inexpensive either. And, its been extended so many times as to be internally at least, no doubt radically different to 40 or 50 years ago when my Dad would have first started going in. So how come I didn't notice?

Because I only visit on holiday or on a day out. And the minute I leave Sheffield beer prices behind, I adjust my expectation of what I will be charged to allow myself to be paying what I would consider unreasonable at home. A £3.60 pint in Aberdeenshire? No problem. A £3.40 pint in Dundee? No surprise. An average round of a pint and two halves in Kent for £7.50? Unexceptional. And I reckon I also drop my expectation of other pub credentials, thus accepting my own arbitrarily set higher food prices, and even ignoring the fact that very occasionally, the pub I am visiting, if transplanted to the Peak District or Sheffield, would not be my pub of choice.

I was fairly surprised to reach this conclusion, not least because I thought I always applied strict criteria to whether or not I would or did enjoy a visit to a pub, irrespective of where it was. And also because, turning this theory on its head, am I therefore unnecessarily harsh on pubs that don't qualify for these concessions?

Maybe this is simply a demonstration that I'm getting older, becoming more willing (or maybe able) to spend money on pub meals, and being rendered blind by the grass is always greener wanderlust of the pub lover.

Either way, as highlighted over the last week, I'm clearly not enjoying pubs any less as a result...

Wee Beefy

Wee Beefy's Thursday through Saturday celebrations....

Oh aye,

  well mercifully this is the last week of wobbling post for tonight, as am tired and need to relax before going back to work to, well, sit in front of a better computer. So here are the details of Friday and Saturday.

Once again I had to meet Chala after work, this time I had to go to the bank first before hot footing it to the Bath Hotel for my first visit after it reopened. Arriving at 5PM I admit I have already described the finer points to you (well, all but one of you it seems) so I'll skip onto venue 2....

Forum

As it was actually Chala's birthday (and despite my having something to celebrate which I can assure you I managed on Saturday), we started in the Forum. This time I dallied with the idea of a half but in the end opted for some waaarn, which is apparently supposed to demonstrate maturity.

We got to our meal destination in good time and more wine flowed, but unfortunately, despite a planned continuation of ale celebration, the whole event cost us so much that we went home early with no beer consumed.......

Saturday - Sheffield Tap

Having left Chala to fanny about in shops with Thangor I headed off on a quest to avoid hearing any football scores, whilst also drinking to keep the thoughts at bay. Choice one, at midday, didn't herald any scores but did at least prove a poor idea in terms of avoiding Football details.

The bar at the Tap was perhaps best described as a scrum. The door policy seemed to be basically if you are wearing a football shirt keep it hidden but it was a sea of Wednesday everywhere you turned. Worse still beers were going off (running out) left right and centre.

Despite this I got a delicious pint of the Mallinsons Nelson Sauvin. They are making a determined bid for my 2012 top ten, having been a kind of begrudging choice in the past, whether by fault or accident. The Nelson Sauvin was a great chance to separate the flavour of the hop, which I was now clear didn't have the acidic, chemical bite of Simcoe.

In the room at the back there were many fans, made up with a contingent of French Owls. This rather incongruous mix was a breath of fresh air though in a busy, tense venue that was by beer 2 slightly thinning out. Just before I headed back to the bar a throng of lasses appeared en route to somewhere far away (based on their absurd amounts of stowage, and thats not a euphemism) and this perhaps proved important in the bigger scheme of things.

Meanwhile I quickly got served again and had a half of the Magic Rock High Wire IPA and Curious. The Curious was better even than it had been at Dada, with a brilliant burnt toffee flavour that mellowed into the aftertaste perfectly, making this the beer of the day so far. Alas, I cut short my visit, since the other visitors had sought to arrive with those annoying streamer things which you blow and they make a crap noise? Even with beer and reading matter to distract me, 4 people hooting at once is just annoying! So I ran away, and everything.

Shakespeares

As you know I was at the Rutland first, which was documented in a post earlier so I shall give details of my next stop, at Shakespeares on Gibraltar Street instead. Here I had a pint of Navigation brewery stout from a new concern based in Nottingham, which was a fantastic beer. Initially I thought it was an Elland beer based on the info on the board. I had this along with an essential pack of crisps and finished on a really enjoyable Dark Star Six Hop IPA, £3.20 a pint, and 6.2% ( I misread as 6.5). Despite the threat of citric and ascorbic meltdown this was a brilliant blend of hops to create a satisfying strong pale ale.

Kelham Island Tavern

My first visit for a while and I opted for old reliable -  a pint of the Thwaites Nutty Black. This was a brief visit, chatting to the guy I saw in Shakespeares about football (the results of which I now knew) and beers here in Sheffield. It was nice to slow down and enjoy another dark pint of beer and a chat, but with celebration on my mind I opted to go for a last one in the Cat round the corner....

Fat Cat

Fatty's, as it can be known (L'Chappelle) was busy as you'd expect and I got only a half in here which in the melee of rejoicing and slight cider invoked tiredness I negated to record. Still, what better way to finish my beer travels on a wonderful day (I should point out that I got promoted Friday, so this was a multi layered celebration, including the achievements of Beefy family club, in that someone once played for them, Hyde United) than with a beer at the pub where, virtually, my love of real ale began.

From here I wended my way home via the shops to spend an evening with Chala and to have a fabulous surprise meal. Overall a fantastic day of highs, and almost no lows. Cheers!

Wee Beefy

Wee Beefy's Wednesdays wander.

Ay up,

    This didn't take place in two days time. Oh no, much more down to earth drinking experiences for me. This was something that is, as part of my week of imbibition, the second update on my revelry over the period of celebration just passed, starting with a few choice chalices on Wednesday.

I was to meet Chala after work for night one of her birthday celebrations. I found myself a little spare time and headed for a couple of halves prior to meeting up. I started at an old stalwart from my youth.

West End

The West End seems to be in a kaleidoscope of fuzzy and misfiled memories from my past - for a start, I always call it the Hallamshire, even though the two names don't sound the same, and the Hallamshire was in fact the boozer I migrated to a year after I gave up on the West End for being grim.

Visiting now it doesn't look radically different on the outside. But then things change. For reasons not immediately (or, really, ever) obvious to me, the interior is currently done out in a sort of faux medieval style. There is a dark wood bar with abbey style window shapes behind it, and fake castle or abbey wood ceilings, and other thematic nods to the era. Its odd, yes, but I reckon when I used to drink in here aged 17 and 18 it would have suited me quite well then and crucially gone unnoticed.

On the bar were three ales in direct opposition to current beer styles, Theakstons Lightfoot, Greedy King OSH, and Old Peculier, which, had it not been en route, I might have stayed to try. As it was I felt sensible and had a half of the Lightfoot. It was OK, cost £1.45 and was so inoffensive as to be strange, but one assumes the owners or managers have an idea what sells and if this is what does then so be it.

University Arms

I popped in for a quick half and found a plethora of tasty choices - such is life, when you have time for a session there is little to tempt, when you have ten minutes everything seems great. As it was I opted for a half of the Stroud Brewery Teasle, 4.3 % and £1.35 a half. This was a fantastic beer,  my first Stroud offering, and one which I particularly enjoyed.

Sat in the beer garden it was nice to take advantage of a rare spell of vaguely clement weather to enjoy my beer, but as was the flavour of the evening, I was all too soon off elsewhere.

Old House

I met Chala in here for a pint or two. She had already chosen a cocktail and after a taster or two I opted for a pint of my "usual" Bradfield Farmers Stout. This was quite nice, but all too soon Chala was out of Birthday drinks so I fetched a cocktail or summat and a half of Pale Rider for a change, plus a half of the Bradfield Plum Bitter. The plum wasn't that bad, but I wouldn't have a session on it, and the Pale Rider made a pleasant change. I also bought a bottle of Saison Silly, since it appears that everyone on the Internet likes Saison. It was also enjoyable, though hardly a defining moment in my beer tastes.

Forum

Having booked our table for a meal elsewhere we had a bit of time to kill so went to the Forum for a change. Here the Brew Co/Forum Group/True North First Born was on (and drinkable) so I had a pint of that. The decor has changed slightly and the wine list isn't as good but at least the beer was orate....

Rutland Arms

After our meal I persuaded Chala that the best place to sample a good jukebox and for us both to drink something we liked was the 11 minute walk away Rutland Arms. We made it in 12, but I was still broadly correct. Here I had a pint of one of the excellent Mallinsons single hop beers Amarillo 11, a fantastic and hugely quaffable bitter ale with all the best flavours afforded by amarillo hops.

Chala meanwhile commandeered the jukebox and we met up with a couple who were doing the same, Neil and , erm, oops, in the passage of time she has become Mrs Neil. Sorry both!

Time passed enjoyably and we both had another beer, before Neil very kindly bought us a drink, seeing as it was Chala's birthday. She had another Leffe (perhaps a Leffe too many?) and me a half of the mild. You know, the mild. Which was on. From er, you know. Thingy.

All in all this was a fantastic night out with great company and due to a certain somebody being a trifle refreshed we were home just after 22.00 and I had time for some food to erase any ill effects. A great night out.

Wee Beefy