Hello,
there are two Don valleys in Sheffield. The upper, which as it leaves Hillsborough starts to become the valley of beer, and the lower, which meanders its way to Rotherham past a dwindling pub stock. In between is one of Sheffield's seven hills where Herries Road takes you past Longley and Southey into Owlerton and back to the Upper Don valley. Having recently written about the trail of dead pubs between Handsworth and the Northern General, on Saturday I decided to walk some of that route and explore what the East End and the area around the hospital have to offer the intrepid real ale drinker.
Starting in Darnall with Christingpher our first stop was the Sportsman on Main Road. The Albert and the Sportsman stand next to each other facing a housing estate, defiantly serving customers in an area where almost all other pubs have failed. The Sportsman is run by Paul, and sells two real ales at very reasonable prices. When we arrived there was one beer on, Coastal Sea King at 5.5% - and £2.00 a pint. It seemed silly not to have some..
We settled down in the right hand room where the tellies are and the numerous boxing posters and supped a very easy drinking pint whilst we watched the joyous spectacle of Wednesday vs Leeds. The pub was slowly filling up and a second beer went on, but we didn't get chance to try it. We had a long walk to start, and a lot of pubs to sup in.
We had been aiming to cut across to Tinsley Park Road to visit the Friendship but sadly that was demolished some time in the last couple of years. This would have brought us out near Broughton Lane and could have also involved a visit to Fiery Fred's formerly the Greenland. Alas that also appears tp have fallen by the wayside - there is a photo of the Friendship here.
Instead we headed down Main Road past new houses and abandoned factories and arrived on Worksop Road and the canal aqueduct. Here the scene becomes similarly depressing. There are two pubs the left and two on the right. The first was a cafe after it was a pub and it had been closed for a long time but still boasts impressive carved stonework above the door. Judging by the carving, the pub may have been the Stag or White Hart. Next along is the Cocked Hat - a regular in the Good Beer Guide for many years under the Robshaws, the pub looks run down and is resolutely closed. It is for sale Freehold, but it would be a brave move to try and bring it back to life.
Over the road Fara's has aluminium shutters on the doors and windows and is for sale, while the Britannia also appeared closed but with no indication if it was for let or sale. Luckily, on Attercliffe Road, there is some good news. The Don Valley Hotel reopened a couple of years ago after the former Coach and Horses underwent numerous guises. Now it has settled on being a hotel with a public bar. The bar is on your left and is mall and cosy and traditionally furnished. There are two handpumps, on this occasion both dispensing Howard Town beers.
The Dinting Arches was about to run out so we had pints of Glotts Hop, at £2.60 a pint, and settled down in the busy pub with racing fans and pool players (its 20p a game!) and resident bulldog Bruce, who seems to be in dog heaven moving from table to table to check out the smells and be fussed. The pub is friendly and seems to be doing very well, and they also sell snacks for thirsty pub walkers to soak up their ale. Its the first time I've ever been in, and I don't think it will be the last.
Heading for the Carlton further down Attercliffe Road the familiar roll call of casualties begins again. The regional inventory listed Station Hotel appears to be closed - that said, it doesn't have a for sale or to let sign, and all the pubs on Attercliffe Road have shutters so its difficult to tell what the situation is. The same could be said for the Kings Head and the Horse and Jockey although that looks in good nick so maybe opens evenings only. The only certainty as you head towards town on Attercliffe Road is that the Carlton is the only traditional pub open until you get to the Big Gun on the Wicker.
The Carlton opened in 1845 and used to mark the start of Attercliffe Road. Old maps show the stretch of road from Washford Bridge to the Carlton as Carlton Road - so that may be where it gets its name (the sign depicts a steelworker). Inside the Carlton houses the original bar from the Yellow Lion at Apperknowle, and there are 6 hand pumps. There were two beers on, Welbeck Harley and Cross Bay Sunset. I asked for a taste of the sunset and was told, whilst having one poured, that they didn't usually give tasters since Carling and John Smiths drinkers don't get a taster. That maybe true, but unfortunately as a living product, real ale is subject to numerous factors that may make it taste less than palatable, and also there are thousands of different ones brewed to suit multiple tastes. Anyway, no-one need have worried since the Sunset was one of the beers of the day. I even allowed myself an extra half - the beer was on at £2.50 a pint.
Heading back on ourselves along Attercliffe Road onto Attercliffe Common and Carbrook, there are more skeletons of the areas past - the excellent Adelphi theatre lies abandoned on a dead end side road near Attercliffe liberal club and institute. An amazing looking frontage hides a huge building which did briefly reopen as a club in the late nineties, only to all too soon fall silent again. Across the main road is the Travellers Rest. It looks in OK condition but I can't ever recall it being open since I used to come past in an evening coming back from Rotherham in the late nineties. Christingpher however used to drink there in about 1995 when he worked locally and remembers the pub's long bar and tardis like size. Just down the road, the sign is still on the Greyhound, reopened by Marstons about three years ago, but now an IT company offices.
Respite comes in the form of two pubs at the Broughton Lane and Hawke Street roundabout. The Arena Square is a new build eatery which we popped in out of investigative need rather than desire - they sell Bombardier at £3.00 a pint. Next door on the junction of what little remains of Bright street and Milford street right next to the huge black edifice of Forgemasters, is the former Wards pub the Wentworth House Hotel. Now refurbished, with the bar resited centre right as you enter, the pub sells three real ales, and is opening a restaurant in an extension being built at the back.
The pub is currently only open Thursday, Friday and weekends unless there is an event on at the Arena but will resume more traditional hours when the restaurant opens. There is a small room with a lovely fireplace on your right and the main room is straight ahead offering a variety of seating areas, before you come to the extension and a corridor at the back housing the loos. The house beer is rebadged Thwaites Original and the two guests were Bradfield Belgian Blue and a hoppy Blonde ale from Rat brewery. I'm quite partial to a Belgian Blue, as well as to a good news story, and the saving and resurrection of the Wentworth House, a boozer since 1833, is just that. They are on Twitter as WentworthHouse1 and post their opening times on there, so check before visiting.
Carrying on up Attercliffe Common the former Pheasant across the road is a sad tale. It changed its name to the Stumble Inn around the time the arena opened (as did the Railway on Broughton lane, see below) but was still a traditional boozer for many years, selling Tetleys and featuring a Yorkshire drinking corridor and a wonderful unspoilt snooker room at the back, complete with a sink for the steelworkers to wash their hands before playing a game of snooker. In a grim chain of events the pub was bought and turned into an Indian Restaurant by a new owner who claimed the "brewery" - one assumes he meant pubco - had stipulated that it must not reopen as a pub. Unannounced work and a reluctance by English Heritage to attach any importance to the interior yielded inevitable results. Another lost regional inventory pub - there is a link to an article in The Star about the whole sorry affair.
Further on along Attercliffe Common we popped our heads round the door of the Carbrook Hall pub. This supposedly haunted old building has a beautiful panelled room on your left as you enter, but sadly, also has a very long bar with no handpumps on it - it used to sell Bass in the nineties. Or maybe Stones... the lack of anything worth supping meant we only had a cursory glance, but there is a picture and article here with some interesting info.
We backtracked again next to visit the Noose and Gibbet on Broughton lane, walking past the short stretch of tiled wall that marks the outline of the front of the Enfield Arms. The Noose and Gibbet was original called the Railway, and also known locally as the Top Common. It also changed its name briefly to the Stadium, and was known for a while as Ronnies, but now has the novelty name Noose and Gibbet despite not being built on or being the nearest pub at the time to, the spot where Spence Broughton's body was gibbeted. Inside its dark and the harsh lights don't carry so being in around 16.00 when there is nothing on at the Arena is a lonely undertaking. No real ale here but we opted to try some keg Bradfield Blonde for research purposes. It was £2.60 a pint, and nearly, but not quite, as grim as the pub.
Leaving the lower valley we headed along Hawke Street to Brightside and past the Sheffield Arms up to the Ball on Upwell Street. This large former Bentleys pub has been licensed since 1825. It appears that the pub was original at 66 Upwell Street and now at number 70, the suggestion being that this is a 1910 rebuild of the original. Inside it has very high ceilings but little, if any, original fittings to speak of, although the left hand side which I understand has a snug, was closed. No real ale, but we opted for halves of Magnet on keg at £2.65 a pint anyway. An interesting picture Sheffield link shows the Ball incongruously looming in the background next to Brook Cottages in Old Grimesthorpe.
From here on its up over the hill to rejoin the Don and Christingpher departed at Page Hall, whereas I detoured slightly to visit the Sportsman on Barnsley Road. This former Whitbread pub currently sells real ale - Doom Bar when I visited, and was friendly if not particularly busy. I met Mr P for a quick half in here before I caught the bus up Herries Road to visit the Devonshire. This is a large Greedy King pub set back from the road (and thankfully near a chippy since this was turning into a long day) and has three real ales on. Of interest was the 7.2% Double Hop Monster which was GK's take on a strong IPA. I can't say it was in particularly good nick but at least this was an interesting change from GK IPA and Old Speckled Hen.
After a long tedious trek down Herries Road I arrived in Owlerton and out on to Penistone road, through the Wednesday ground and round the corner to the last stop on my Don to Don trek, the Riverside bar and pub on Leppings Lane. Being where it is, I was surprised to find the pub almost empty - apparently fans stream in before and immediately after the match but then head off through Hillsborough, so the pub usually shuts quite early Saturday night. Alas my journalistic vigour was impaired somewhat by this stage so I never did ask when they actually open...
The pub is the upstairs part of the building with a balcony overlooking the ground and serves two or three real ales and bottled Yorkshire lager from the Cropton/Great Yorkshire Brewery. It is furnished traditionally and has plenty of old beer and brewery memorabilia on the walls - its easy when you are there to see the same hand at work refurbishing the Wentworth House, which is owned by the same person. On this occasion I had a pint of Belgian Blue, one of the last few barrels knocking around in Sheffield, and which I enjoyed in another pub I was visiting for the first time, but envisaged visiting again.
Having reached the Upper Don valley this is of course the starting point of a bibulous wander into town through the valley of beer but to be honest I'd had enough walking and libation by this time, so got a tram into town to meet up with Miss N. Obviously we went for a pint - but that's another story....
You can potentially see some photo's from the crawl here assuming you have a Facefriend account.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
Monday, 13 January 2014
Thursday, 2 January 2014
Beers in the post Christmas dead zone.
Now then,
I've noted before that the period from Boxing day to 30th December is a bit of an anomaly when it comes to getting a pint. This also applies to New years day and, when there are two days before the weekend in the new year I'd extend the have a guess period to tomorrow as well. This year, having not been so rash tas o venture out into the countryside (we once traveled to Kettleshulme and back via Staffordshire to find no pubs open and end up in the Peacock at Owler Bar in desperation), I spent some time in Sheffield. Here's what I found....
On the 27th as you know I was Crookes bound with Carlos, but on the 29th I was back...at Crookes Ale House. By this time the Magic Rock Ringmaster NZ had run out, and the other beers in the rammed pub were getting low too - not surprising then that they only opened for a couple of hours on the 30th with only a few pints and bottles on sale. On this occasion I started with a pint of Sheffield Brewing Ci porter but it was a bit thick - but not in a robust way, more a tired way. So next I had a couple of pints of their First Gold which was a bit better - I also purchased a bottle of Youngs Imperial Russian stout. Well done to Rob and Kitt for their pop up pub experiment, and best of luck to them setting it up permanently in Handsworth as promised...
We headed to the Cobden next where my brainier companions were doing and winning the quiz. Here several pints of excellent Farmers Belgian Blue were consumed before Miss H very kindly paid me home in a taxi.
On the 30th I was in town meeting Miss N at the station - it seemed rude not to celebrate her return with a pint so we nipped in the Sheffield Tap. Thankfully, Anarchy's sublime chaos breakfast stout was on (I checked the price first but it was the same as last time) so we had a couple of pints of that, along with their Blonde Star and a Firestone brewery red IPA which was very palatable. As testified by my pics on Facebook earlier, the back room was completely empty when we left before 22.00.The dead zone - it lives! (?)
Straying out of the days when punters disappear, on New Years Eve I found myself having to reluctantly go for pints at Shakespeares which is a really good pub. There were quite a few in but it wasn't raucous and there was of course some good beer on. Waiting for Miss N i had a couple of pints of excellent Mallinsons mosaic which was in fantastic form and far too quaffable - indeed it ran out after I got Miss N her pint. I moved onto Steel City Capt Morgans revenge (I think - but it may have been Unholy trinity. Whatever it was there was coffee and probably rum in it. Or something...). I didn't like it as much as I'd hoped as it tasted a bit too much of burnt coffee or filter coffee that had been stewed, which was a shame.
Finally on New Years day we found ourselves in town with an hour to kill - and Sheffield centre a ghost town. Not that I'd wish working on New Years day on anybody but it was noticeable that away from town the pubs were open. Luckily, wandering thirstily around near the station (where even the Howard was closed) we discovered the Rutland opened at 17.00. It being not long after, this was a result!
We started on pints of Brew Company Oat Stout which was a good start, and then onto halves of Solstice lager and Magic Rock Big Top. In the end, the Magic Rock was too good to resist ( I somehow missed it when it was first out) so we stopped for another couple before paying a lot pf money to get home. At least there was good beer to be had....
So, this year's dead zone looked the same as usual, yet somehow, by chance or otherwise, we seemed to land on our feet whenever we fancied a pint. In contrast, over the next couple of days, I hope to be posting about an area where the dead zone applies to pubs full stop - with the promise of at least one open pub in the mix.
Cheers and happy new year
Wee Beefy
I've noted before that the period from Boxing day to 30th December is a bit of an anomaly when it comes to getting a pint. This also applies to New years day and, when there are two days before the weekend in the new year I'd extend the have a guess period to tomorrow as well. This year, having not been so rash tas o venture out into the countryside (we once traveled to Kettleshulme and back via Staffordshire to find no pubs open and end up in the Peacock at Owler Bar in desperation), I spent some time in Sheffield. Here's what I found....
On the 27th as you know I was Crookes bound with Carlos, but on the 29th I was back...at Crookes Ale House. By this time the Magic Rock Ringmaster NZ had run out, and the other beers in the rammed pub were getting low too - not surprising then that they only opened for a couple of hours on the 30th with only a few pints and bottles on sale. On this occasion I started with a pint of Sheffield Brewing Ci porter but it was a bit thick - but not in a robust way, more a tired way. So next I had a couple of pints of their First Gold which was a bit better - I also purchased a bottle of Youngs Imperial Russian stout. Well done to Rob and Kitt for their pop up pub experiment, and best of luck to them setting it up permanently in Handsworth as promised...
We headed to the Cobden next where my brainier companions were doing and winning the quiz. Here several pints of excellent Farmers Belgian Blue were consumed before Miss H very kindly paid me home in a taxi.
On the 30th I was in town meeting Miss N at the station - it seemed rude not to celebrate her return with a pint so we nipped in the Sheffield Tap. Thankfully, Anarchy's sublime chaos breakfast stout was on (I checked the price first but it was the same as last time) so we had a couple of pints of that, along with their Blonde Star and a Firestone brewery red IPA which was very palatable. As testified by my pics on Facebook earlier, the back room was completely empty when we left before 22.00.The dead zone - it lives! (?)
Straying out of the days when punters disappear, on New Years Eve I found myself having to reluctantly go for pints at Shakespeares which is a really good pub. There were quite a few in but it wasn't raucous and there was of course some good beer on. Waiting for Miss N i had a couple of pints of excellent Mallinsons mosaic which was in fantastic form and far too quaffable - indeed it ran out after I got Miss N her pint. I moved onto Steel City Capt Morgans revenge (I think - but it may have been Unholy trinity. Whatever it was there was coffee and probably rum in it. Or something...). I didn't like it as much as I'd hoped as it tasted a bit too much of burnt coffee or filter coffee that had been stewed, which was a shame.
Finally on New Years day we found ourselves in town with an hour to kill - and Sheffield centre a ghost town. Not that I'd wish working on New Years day on anybody but it was noticeable that away from town the pubs were open. Luckily, wandering thirstily around near the station (where even the Howard was closed) we discovered the Rutland opened at 17.00. It being not long after, this was a result!
We started on pints of Brew Company Oat Stout which was a good start, and then onto halves of Solstice lager and Magic Rock Big Top. In the end, the Magic Rock was too good to resist ( I somehow missed it when it was first out) so we stopped for another couple before paying a lot pf money to get home. At least there was good beer to be had....
So, this year's dead zone looked the same as usual, yet somehow, by chance or otherwise, we seemed to land on our feet whenever we fancied a pint. In contrast, over the next couple of days, I hope to be posting about an area where the dead zone applies to pubs full stop - with the promise of at least one open pub in the mix.
Cheers and happy new year
Wee Beefy
More goldener pints
Hello.
last year, or rather at the end of the last year before last, I "went mad" and completed my list of the Golden Pints of 2012. My first foray was notable for my having not paid $4.95 to Google to increase my image storage limit so I didn't have a logo. And this year is no different. They can keep their lousy storage limits....
Anyway, having experienced almost incalculable pleasure in compiling a list of things which were good, I felt I should perhaps have a stab at it again. So I have :
Best UK cask beer - um. Is this a top twenty? God this is difficult! How does one choose? Am thinking somewhere between the bestest, and the most often tried, with a sprinkling of consistency. Revolutions Demo unfined(imfiltered) was a beauty, Thornbridge Melba was high up there, and most Mallinsons should feature but for outright consistent brilliance Anarchy Brew Co Sublime Chaos gets my vote. Just delicious.
Best UK keg beer - well, this has to be a tie between Magic Rock Human Cannonball and Thornbridge Halcyon. Possibly the ball edged it.
Best UK bottled or canned beer - Thornbridge/Dark Star EDIT - sorry, it was Brooklyn! Alliance 2007. And any of the different reserves. All were impeccable.
Best Overseas draught beer - Anchor Old Foghorn. A very very complex and powerful strong ale without raspberry, fir-cones or mace in it.
Best Overseas bottled or canned beer - Santorini Crazy Donkey IPA. Mind you, it bloody wants to be at that price.... (see here for a review of all 3 donkey beers)
Best Collaboration brew - Steel City Brewing/North Riding CC. Alas, not a beer dedicated to the gentle pursuits of county cricket, but a far ruder acronym. Lots and lots of very complimentary citrus hops combine to make this a very quaffable strong pale ale which I had far too much of.
Best Overall beer - that is Burning Sky Saison. The only way of improving on Dark Star's excellent saison from 2012 was...to have the brewer leave and set up his own brewery and brew an even better saison.
Best branding, pumpclips or label - Magic Rock, mainly because thy have a lot of material, but if it were bottle labels alone then I think Beavertown and Weird Beard Brew Co both have brilliant designs.
Best UK Brewery - Aaah. Another top 20. I'm going to say Art Brew, just because everything they brew is ace.
Best Overseas brewery - having become enlightened and joined the saison appreciation society (and continuing to be a member even though I'm supposed to like sour and gose) I'd suggest Brasserie Fantome.
Best new brewery - Burning Sky. Not just because of their saison.
Pub/bar of the year - Shakespeares ale and cider house, Gibraltar street, Sheffield. My home from home which just so happens to feature a magnificent clock, an impeccable range of whiskies, great staff and an excellent range of beer - not to mention order in curry from across the road.
Best new pub/bar - The Closed Shop Commonside - I know it was already a pub but it has no connection in terms of qualities, with it's previous incarnation.
Beer festival of the year - SIBA Beerex. Especially for Unpro and Katedave. Hugs....
Supermarket of the year - can I say Booths even though I've never shopped there? Otherwise it would have to be Waitrose, beer wise.
Independent retailer of the year - a bloody strong field in Sheffield, impartiality means I shouldn't nominate my former employer - but I will, if only because I haven't (apart from buying two bottles on launch day) sampled the three newcomers yet. So its Archer Road Beer Stop. Go there!
Best beer book/magazine - I rarely read beer books but this year I am in the process of reading Pete Brown's Three Sheets To The Wind - however, since I haven't finished it, I perhaps ought to give the award to Doghouse magazine....
Best beer blog or website - Dimpled Mug. More nepotism, since Mr M is a friend of mine, but I never miss any pics he posts on his pub photo blog.
Simon Johnson award for best beer twitterer - Can he win his own award?
Best brewery website/social media - it is rare that I actually like reading a brewery website - since most of them are out of date misleading or written in poor English. However, I like the Revolutions Brew Co one for having useful info on,like what their beers are called, and Kelham Island's for the same reason.
Food and beer pairing of the year - Blue Monkey Marmoset with Moroccan chicken and saffron casserole. I just made that up.
NEW CATEGORY ALERT !
Next beer fad - OK, its got to be a popular continental style, possibly with a twist, or an obscure one which only a handful of beer geeks will have tried, having paid £15,000.00 to travel to the other side of the world to sample it. So...I dunno. Black gueze. Lemon mai bock. Unfiltered cask rauchbier (actually, that sounds lovely!)
So, that's it. That is what rocked my world in 2013. Lets hope 2014 can bring a similar cavalcade of quality cask and keg, and that I'll be struggling to single out winners in most of the categories once again in 12 months time.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
last year, or rather at the end of the last year before last, I "went mad" and completed my list of the Golden Pints of 2012. My first foray was notable for my having not paid $4.95 to Google to increase my image storage limit so I didn't have a logo. And this year is no different. They can keep their lousy storage limits....
Anyway, having experienced almost incalculable pleasure in compiling a list of things which were good, I felt I should perhaps have a stab at it again. So I have :
Best UK cask beer - um. Is this a top twenty? God this is difficult! How does one choose? Am thinking somewhere between the bestest, and the most often tried, with a sprinkling of consistency. Revolutions Demo unfined(imfiltered) was a beauty, Thornbridge Melba was high up there, and most Mallinsons should feature but for outright consistent brilliance Anarchy Brew Co Sublime Chaos gets my vote. Just delicious.
Best UK keg beer - well, this has to be a tie between Magic Rock Human Cannonball and Thornbridge Halcyon. Possibly the ball edged it.
Best UK bottled or canned beer - Thornbridge/Dark Star EDIT - sorry, it was Brooklyn! Alliance 2007. And any of the different reserves. All were impeccable.
Best Overseas draught beer - Anchor Old Foghorn. A very very complex and powerful strong ale without raspberry, fir-cones or mace in it.
Best Overseas bottled or canned beer - Santorini Crazy Donkey IPA. Mind you, it bloody wants to be at that price.... (see here for a review of all 3 donkey beers)
Best Collaboration brew - Steel City Brewing/North Riding CC. Alas, not a beer dedicated to the gentle pursuits of county cricket, but a far ruder acronym. Lots and lots of very complimentary citrus hops combine to make this a very quaffable strong pale ale which I had far too much of.
Best Overall beer - that is Burning Sky Saison. The only way of improving on Dark Star's excellent saison from 2012 was...to have the brewer leave and set up his own brewery and brew an even better saison.
Best branding, pumpclips or label - Magic Rock, mainly because thy have a lot of material, but if it were bottle labels alone then I think Beavertown and Weird Beard Brew Co both have brilliant designs.
Best UK Brewery - Aaah. Another top 20. I'm going to say Art Brew, just because everything they brew is ace.
Best Overseas brewery - having become enlightened and joined the saison appreciation society (and continuing to be a member even though I'm supposed to like sour and gose) I'd suggest Brasserie Fantome.
Best new brewery - Burning Sky. Not just because of their saison.
Pub/bar of the year - Shakespeares ale and cider house, Gibraltar street, Sheffield. My home from home which just so happens to feature a magnificent clock, an impeccable range of whiskies, great staff and an excellent range of beer - not to mention order in curry from across the road.
Best new pub/bar - The Closed Shop Commonside - I know it was already a pub but it has no connection in terms of qualities, with it's previous incarnation.
Beer festival of the year - SIBA Beerex. Especially for Unpro and Katedave. Hugs....
Supermarket of the year - can I say Booths even though I've never shopped there? Otherwise it would have to be Waitrose, beer wise.
Independent retailer of the year - a bloody strong field in Sheffield, impartiality means I shouldn't nominate my former employer - but I will, if only because I haven't (apart from buying two bottles on launch day) sampled the three newcomers yet. So its Archer Road Beer Stop. Go there!
Best beer book/magazine - I rarely read beer books but this year I am in the process of reading Pete Brown's Three Sheets To The Wind - however, since I haven't finished it, I perhaps ought to give the award to Doghouse magazine....
Best beer blog or website - Dimpled Mug. More nepotism, since Mr M is a friend of mine, but I never miss any pics he posts on his pub photo blog.
Simon Johnson award for best beer twitterer - Can he win his own award?
Best brewery website/social media - it is rare that I actually like reading a brewery website - since most of them are out of date misleading or written in poor English. However, I like the Revolutions Brew Co one for having useful info on,like what their beers are called, and Kelham Island's for the same reason.
Food and beer pairing of the year - Blue Monkey Marmoset with Moroccan chicken and saffron casserole. I just made that up.
NEW CATEGORY ALERT !
Next beer fad - OK, its got to be a popular continental style, possibly with a twist, or an obscure one which only a handful of beer geeks will have tried, having paid £15,000.00 to travel to the other side of the world to sample it. So...I dunno. Black gueze. Lemon mai bock. Unfiltered cask rauchbier (actually, that sounds lovely!)
So, that's it. That is what rocked my world in 2013. Lets hope 2014 can bring a similar cavalcade of quality cask and keg, and that I'll be struggling to single out winners in most of the categories once again in 12 months time.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
Saturday, 28 December 2013
Crookes Ale House joins Crookes Valley Crawl
Hello,
yesterday I was meeting up with Carlos for our Christmas drink. My initial plan was to meet him at Toyne Towers and then whisk him away to the Closed Shop, but as you may have heard already there was a new kid in town. A pop up ale house was opening on Crookes at 12.30. It would have been rude not to have gone, so I started there.
The Crookes Ale House is part pub, part market research exercise to see if there is enough of a call for opening a micro pub in Sheffield, most likely in the Crookes or Walkley area. Personally I think Crookes has fared pretty well having only lost two pubs (assuming you count Matlock Road as Crookes) in the last 20 years whereas as Walkley as been somewhat decimated. So that suggests Walkley maybe in more need of such a venue. That said, I'd prefer a micro pub in Handsworth. Where I live. Irrespective of any research or potential for "success". But I digress...
The Crookes Ale House is at 170 Crookes Road near the Ball and is housed in the former Mr Ben's fancy dress ship. It has an eye catching pink frontage with a large window showing the name Crookes Ale House so that you know its a pub. It has a yellow painted interior with a tiny bar at the back where three casks are stillaged, and tables set out across the front part of the shop. There were three real ales on, Sheffield Brewing Co Porter, First Gold and Magic Rock Ringmaster NZ, which I am reliably informed is the new name for their Curious pale ale. All real ales are £2.50 a pint and mulled cider, which I understand has "other ingredients" in it, is £3.00 a mug. There are a small range of bottles including Ampleforth Abbey Belgian ale and Franziskaner,along with Brooklyn and Budvar Dark lager.
Alas this is not a permanent fixture on the crawl but it is an enjoyable addition. Two and a half pints of eminently quaffable Ringmaster were supped, and, in an event that I'm welling up just thinking about, I can report that I was the FIRST CUSTOMER to use the toilet.
This, is journalism, ladies and gentleman. Journalism at its most raw. Defined by firsts...
Up the road and down Sackville and the Jennel you come to the Cobden View. Arriving at about 15.00 on a Friday there was absolutely no-one in - so me and Carlos set about playing pool, the lack of customers affording us the kind of time two rusty players need to complete a few games whilst lacking the requisite skill to bring them to a close. In the end, as Carlos noted, pool won. To accompany our potting I had a pint of the Sheffield Brew Co First Gold and Carlos some Stella in a glass egg cup. And having got settled and realised they took card payments, we stopped for another - more egg lager for Carlos and a delicious pint of Bradfield Belgian Blue for me.
Out onto School road the crawl took on a familiar look and we arrived at The Closed Shop in need of food. Alas their card machine was broken so it was only ever going to be chip butties - but they are rather fab in the shop. To accompany the nosh I had a reckless but delicious pint of the excellent Acorn Gorlovka, and noticing that we'd done nothing but sup Carlos sensibly invested in another chip butty. It was quiet in the shop but the days between Boxing Day and New Years Eve are a puzzling enigma where no-one seems to want to venture out and you can't expect to take much.
Across the road the Hallamshire House had the Thornbridge Kacho rum porter on so it was a given that I would have that. Sat in the main room we were soon joined by some of my colleagues from work but had already decided we needed a walk to sober up. The Kacho was very tasty but a little more rummy that I had hoped for but was nevertheless enjoyable.
We decided against going to the Blake only because it was nowhere near a bus home for either of us, and our early start was contributing to our feeling a trifle refreshed. So we walked down past Shamesbury's who have now opened their "vital" new supermarket at the expense of the Hadfield pub, in a frankly embarrassing charade where the pubco pretended that after having received an offer from the supermarket, they were ever going to do anything but sell the pub off.
Onto West Street we headed for the Bath Hotel where there was, given this was our last stop, a frustratingly good range of beers to be had. Burning Sky Aurora, as recommended by Mr Ed, was indeed rather brilliant, but had I had more time I could easily have supped a pint of their Saison. Also available, on cask, was an aged Thornbridge Raven (note it wasn't wild raven...) which I had to have a half of. Both beers were in excellent nick and it was just a shame that my mind was wandering to thoughts of home and cheese on toast.
As well as being a great catch up with Carlos this was an enjoyable take on the Crookes Valley Crawl and it will be interesting to see what the research at the Crookes Ale House tells them about the potential for opening a micro pub permanently in the area. Does Sheffield need a micro pub? Why not. Could it be sighted in Crookes or Walkley. No. It needs to be in Handsworth like I said...
For now though, its a great starting point on a crawl that throws up a handful of traditional pubs with a varied range of real ales along the way.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy.
yesterday I was meeting up with Carlos for our Christmas drink. My initial plan was to meet him at Toyne Towers and then whisk him away to the Closed Shop, but as you may have heard already there was a new kid in town. A pop up ale house was opening on Crookes at 12.30. It would have been rude not to have gone, so I started there.
The Crookes Ale House is part pub, part market research exercise to see if there is enough of a call for opening a micro pub in Sheffield, most likely in the Crookes or Walkley area. Personally I think Crookes has fared pretty well having only lost two pubs (assuming you count Matlock Road as Crookes) in the last 20 years whereas as Walkley as been somewhat decimated. So that suggests Walkley maybe in more need of such a venue. That said, I'd prefer a micro pub in Handsworth. Where I live. Irrespective of any research or potential for "success". But I digress...
The Crookes Ale House is at 170 Crookes Road near the Ball and is housed in the former Mr Ben's fancy dress ship. It has an eye catching pink frontage with a large window showing the name Crookes Ale House so that you know its a pub. It has a yellow painted interior with a tiny bar at the back where three casks are stillaged, and tables set out across the front part of the shop. There were three real ales on, Sheffield Brewing Co Porter, First Gold and Magic Rock Ringmaster NZ, which I am reliably informed is the new name for their Curious pale ale. All real ales are £2.50 a pint and mulled cider, which I understand has "other ingredients" in it, is £3.00 a mug. There are a small range of bottles including Ampleforth Abbey Belgian ale and Franziskaner,along with Brooklyn and Budvar Dark lager.
Alas this is not a permanent fixture on the crawl but it is an enjoyable addition. Two and a half pints of eminently quaffable Ringmaster were supped, and, in an event that I'm welling up just thinking about, I can report that I was the FIRST CUSTOMER to use the toilet.
This, is journalism, ladies and gentleman. Journalism at its most raw. Defined by firsts...
Up the road and down Sackville and the Jennel you come to the Cobden View. Arriving at about 15.00 on a Friday there was absolutely no-one in - so me and Carlos set about playing pool, the lack of customers affording us the kind of time two rusty players need to complete a few games whilst lacking the requisite skill to bring them to a close. In the end, as Carlos noted, pool won. To accompany our potting I had a pint of the Sheffield Brew Co First Gold and Carlos some Stella in a glass egg cup. And having got settled and realised they took card payments, we stopped for another - more egg lager for Carlos and a delicious pint of Bradfield Belgian Blue for me.
Out onto School road the crawl took on a familiar look and we arrived at The Closed Shop in need of food. Alas their card machine was broken so it was only ever going to be chip butties - but they are rather fab in the shop. To accompany the nosh I had a reckless but delicious pint of the excellent Acorn Gorlovka, and noticing that we'd done nothing but sup Carlos sensibly invested in another chip butty. It was quiet in the shop but the days between Boxing Day and New Years Eve are a puzzling enigma where no-one seems to want to venture out and you can't expect to take much.
Across the road the Hallamshire House had the Thornbridge Kacho rum porter on so it was a given that I would have that. Sat in the main room we were soon joined by some of my colleagues from work but had already decided we needed a walk to sober up. The Kacho was very tasty but a little more rummy that I had hoped for but was nevertheless enjoyable.
We decided against going to the Blake only because it was nowhere near a bus home for either of us, and our early start was contributing to our feeling a trifle refreshed. So we walked down past Shamesbury's who have now opened their "vital" new supermarket at the expense of the Hadfield pub, in a frankly embarrassing charade where the pubco pretended that after having received an offer from the supermarket, they were ever going to do anything but sell the pub off.
Onto West Street we headed for the Bath Hotel where there was, given this was our last stop, a frustratingly good range of beers to be had. Burning Sky Aurora, as recommended by Mr Ed, was indeed rather brilliant, but had I had more time I could easily have supped a pint of their Saison. Also available, on cask, was an aged Thornbridge Raven (note it wasn't wild raven...) which I had to have a half of. Both beers were in excellent nick and it was just a shame that my mind was wandering to thoughts of home and cheese on toast.
As well as being a great catch up with Carlos this was an enjoyable take on the Crookes Valley Crawl and it will be interesting to see what the research at the Crookes Ale House tells them about the potential for opening a micro pub permanently in the area. Does Sheffield need a micro pub? Why not. Could it be sighted in Crookes or Walkley. No. It needs to be in Handsworth like I said...
For now though, its a great starting point on a crawl that throws up a handful of traditional pubs with a varied range of real ales along the way.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy.
Friday, 27 December 2013
We're on the road to go-where?
Now then,
my recent trips to and from the Northern General Hospital have shown a familiar but unfortunate picture of pub life in the S4 and S9 areas of Sheffield. The areas along the route present an increasing roll call of closed and demolished pubs which have either been put to alternative use, struggle on in defiance of their circumstances. or worse still have been bulldozed.
The route starts in Darnall where The Industry, still showing obvious pub tiling, and the Ball, further down Main Road, are notable losses from the last two decades. The route taken doesn't go down Main Road or indeed York Road in Darnall, but York Road has two boozers worth a mention. The Duke Of York has been closed for many years now, having undergone a name change (possibly, and very ironically to "Goldmine"...) and succumbed to a theme makeover, before succumbing to a rather more pernicious theme. Of pub closures. Across the road the Terminus Tavern, previously called the Bradley Well, still survives and I even heard once that it sold real ale. I haven't been in to find out, but its notable for being the only open pub in that part of Darnall.
On the corner of Prince of Wales and Staniforth roads is the Wellington, still for sale through Colliers CRE and once mooted as the siting of a new medical centre. This has been closed for nearly as long as the Duke, 2008 potentially, but before I moved to the area was the winner of the Community pub of the year in the late nineties. Diagonally across, the Rose and Crown, a former Wards Irish themed pub closed its doors sometime after being renamed Connells and is currently a community centro and post office. Most depressing though is the site of the former Halfway House.
This was off Senior Road near the allotments on a dead end beside Greenland Road. It was closed, its bowling green grew over and it was left to lose its windows and large amounts of roof before it was flattened in about 2009. The question is...why? The site remains unused and there is no evidence that anyone plans to do anything with it. A pub of the month winner in the nineties, if memory serves, which sold Glentworth beer at one stage, it seems to have been easy to flatten the pub but having taken that drastic step, harder to use the space it left behind.
After Greenland Road things start to improve - but only slightly. Broughton Lane comes next and towards where it joins Attercliffe Common the Bing maps for the area fails to mention the surviving Noose and Gibbet but rather optimistically notes the Enfield Arms. This pub was built in 1825 but was likewise demolished, in 2008 to make way for....nothing. Except they left about a foot of tiled walls as an outline. I went in the Enfield a couple of times and it seemed to be a decent honest boozer with three real ales. Once again, someone seems to have prioritised flattening it without having any firm ideas (or possibly firm finances) to do anything afterwards.
Crossing Attercliffe Common there is an old and new pub combo of the Arena Square and the Wentworth House. The Wentworth was doing really well when I went a few times in 2007 and 2008 although it hasn't sold real ale for years. Its new build neighbour sells one or two real ales but is ostensibly a large restaurant. The positive thing is both are still open. With the senseless loss of the regional inventory listed Stumble Inn to an Indian Restaurant just up the road, and the demolition of the Commercial at the junction with Weedon Street, its good to see that there is still a traditional pub to go drinking in round there.
Down Hawke Street you pass the site of the Wellington which had stopped trading but was still standing in the late nineties, and joining Upwell Street there are further tales of woe. The Sheffield Arms seems to have closed down although I understand it was open recently, but the Ball, a sturdy looking pub which appears to inhabit half of a much larger red brick building, with a decent Bentleys sign on the Page Hall end, is certainly open. Alas the Firth Park Hotel a little further on is now a community centre - although I suspect the banner advertising bed and breakfast, function room and bar meals is a legacy from its days as a pub. Finally, as you come out onto Barnsley Road you are nearly at the hospital - and slightly up hill on your left is the site of the former Cannon Hall pub, which I remember being Whitbread, and which I recall drinking Castle Eden in around 1994....
In essence there are three areas which have seen some sort of change, and a decline in pubs as a result. Certainly Darnall and Fir Vale/Page Hall have seen what would best be described as a change in their cultural make up. Darnall perhaps less so, but no less bereft of pubs for also having an increasingly tee total population. Sandwiched in between which is Attercliffe Common, a hub of heavy industry which surprisingly isn't a beer desert but is a pale shadow of its former self in terms of boozers.
However, don't be disheartened. Because, even against this backdrop of increasing depletion of pub stock, its pleasing to find out that in addition to the already admirable selection of pubs to be found elsewhere in Sheffield, there is to be a new pub.
A "pop up" micro pub is to open at number 170 Crookes Road in what used to be Mr Ben's fancy dress shop. Called the Crookes Ale House, it opens at 12.30 on 27th December (today) and is open until 22.00 and keeps those hours everyday until it closes on 30 December. There isn't a website but as you find so often these days they have a "social media presence" - here is a link to their Facebook page, and they are on Twitter as well.
Given the tales of decline and closure above, its nice to see a pub spring into life and close in a positive way. Magic Rock and Sheffield brewery Co beers are to be on sale and bottles form Europe and America, so get up there for a look whilst you can.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
my recent trips to and from the Northern General Hospital have shown a familiar but unfortunate picture of pub life in the S4 and S9 areas of Sheffield. The areas along the route present an increasing roll call of closed and demolished pubs which have either been put to alternative use, struggle on in defiance of their circumstances. or worse still have been bulldozed.
The route starts in Darnall where The Industry, still showing obvious pub tiling, and the Ball, further down Main Road, are notable losses from the last two decades. The route taken doesn't go down Main Road or indeed York Road in Darnall, but York Road has two boozers worth a mention. The Duke Of York has been closed for many years now, having undergone a name change (possibly, and very ironically to "Goldmine"...) and succumbed to a theme makeover, before succumbing to a rather more pernicious theme. Of pub closures. Across the road the Terminus Tavern, previously called the Bradley Well, still survives and I even heard once that it sold real ale. I haven't been in to find out, but its notable for being the only open pub in that part of Darnall.
On the corner of Prince of Wales and Staniforth roads is the Wellington, still for sale through Colliers CRE and once mooted as the siting of a new medical centre. This has been closed for nearly as long as the Duke, 2008 potentially, but before I moved to the area was the winner of the Community pub of the year in the late nineties. Diagonally across, the Rose and Crown, a former Wards Irish themed pub closed its doors sometime after being renamed Connells and is currently a community centro and post office. Most depressing though is the site of the former Halfway House.
This was off Senior Road near the allotments on a dead end beside Greenland Road. It was closed, its bowling green grew over and it was left to lose its windows and large amounts of roof before it was flattened in about 2009. The question is...why? The site remains unused and there is no evidence that anyone plans to do anything with it. A pub of the month winner in the nineties, if memory serves, which sold Glentworth beer at one stage, it seems to have been easy to flatten the pub but having taken that drastic step, harder to use the space it left behind.
After Greenland Road things start to improve - but only slightly. Broughton Lane comes next and towards where it joins Attercliffe Common the Bing maps for the area fails to mention the surviving Noose and Gibbet but rather optimistically notes the Enfield Arms. This pub was built in 1825 but was likewise demolished, in 2008 to make way for....nothing. Except they left about a foot of tiled walls as an outline. I went in the Enfield a couple of times and it seemed to be a decent honest boozer with three real ales. Once again, someone seems to have prioritised flattening it without having any firm ideas (or possibly firm finances) to do anything afterwards.
Crossing Attercliffe Common there is an old and new pub combo of the Arena Square and the Wentworth House. The Wentworth was doing really well when I went a few times in 2007 and 2008 although it hasn't sold real ale for years. Its new build neighbour sells one or two real ales but is ostensibly a large restaurant. The positive thing is both are still open. With the senseless loss of the regional inventory listed Stumble Inn to an Indian Restaurant just up the road, and the demolition of the Commercial at the junction with Weedon Street, its good to see that there is still a traditional pub to go drinking in round there.
Down Hawke Street you pass the site of the Wellington which had stopped trading but was still standing in the late nineties, and joining Upwell Street there are further tales of woe. The Sheffield Arms seems to have closed down although I understand it was open recently, but the Ball, a sturdy looking pub which appears to inhabit half of a much larger red brick building, with a decent Bentleys sign on the Page Hall end, is certainly open. Alas the Firth Park Hotel a little further on is now a community centre - although I suspect the banner advertising bed and breakfast, function room and bar meals is a legacy from its days as a pub. Finally, as you come out onto Barnsley Road you are nearly at the hospital - and slightly up hill on your left is the site of the former Cannon Hall pub, which I remember being Whitbread, and which I recall drinking Castle Eden in around 1994....
In essence there are three areas which have seen some sort of change, and a decline in pubs as a result. Certainly Darnall and Fir Vale/Page Hall have seen what would best be described as a change in their cultural make up. Darnall perhaps less so, but no less bereft of pubs for also having an increasingly tee total population. Sandwiched in between which is Attercliffe Common, a hub of heavy industry which surprisingly isn't a beer desert but is a pale shadow of its former self in terms of boozers.
However, don't be disheartened. Because, even against this backdrop of increasing depletion of pub stock, its pleasing to find out that in addition to the already admirable selection of pubs to be found elsewhere in Sheffield, there is to be a new pub.
A "pop up" micro pub is to open at number 170 Crookes Road in what used to be Mr Ben's fancy dress shop. Called the Crookes Ale House, it opens at 12.30 on 27th December (today) and is open until 22.00 and keeps those hours everyday until it closes on 30 December. There isn't a website but as you find so often these days they have a "social media presence" - here is a link to their Facebook page, and they are on Twitter as well.
Given the tales of decline and closure above, its nice to see a pub spring into life and close in a positive way. Magic Rock and Sheffield brewery Co beers are to be on sale and bottles form Europe and America, so get up there for a look whilst you can.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
Tuesday, 24 December 2013
The first beer of Christmas
Now then.
firstly: I know, I know. Its supposed to be the first beer of Christmas on December the 1st. Yet, its Christmas Eve. What is wrong with this man, you ask? Why is he reviewing a "Christmas" beer on day 24?
Well the simple answer is, because I can.
Also, my Christmas 2013 beer stash wasn't collected until last night and its only now that I have started to tap into it. There are 18 pints of sedimented Abbeydale Absolution and 12 bottles of rather excellent and at times expensive beer to get through. Not that my supplier, Archer Road Beer Stop is expensive - its just I bought a couple of strong Durham beers and a bottle of Fantome Saison. Which is approximately a million pounds....
So, after an hour of festively moshing to Cathedral and Acid Reign, what better way to cool off than in a spare room chilled to below room temperature (although arguably am in said room and erm...well, its the temperature that it is?....) with a cold-ish bottle of excellent beer.
The first of my box, part of a series of potentially two reviews of the 12, is Blue Monkey Bludolph. Its 5% and an orange hued golden colour and it smells rather fab. Dave told me in the shop that its three lots of three types of hops which are chosen by the brewer every year. It's been a very long 24 hours since yesterday however so you may be better off looking at the link here from real ale store - since he brewery are. um, too busy to update their website....
It has a lovely tangerine kick with some dry bitterness, a hint of lemon and a pleasing soft malt in the background which means the bitterness settles back into the beer rather than jarring at the forefront throughout; although the aftertaste is lingeringly bitter, after the more calming malt has dissipated.
Obviously better than your average brown spiced nonsense, it wins plaudits foe being umpologetically hoppy and not remotely interested in Christmas pudding or berry fruit.
In conclusion, a great example of a Christmas beer that doesn't taste of sherry and rum and raisin chocolate with treacle, like so many of the ilk have a tendency to do. And it was so good that I didn't take a picture.
This is virtually anti blogging.....
Merry Merry Christmas!
WB
firstly: I know, I know. Its supposed to be the first beer of Christmas on December the 1st. Yet, its Christmas Eve. What is wrong with this man, you ask? Why is he reviewing a "Christmas" beer on day 24?
Well the simple answer is, because I can.
Also, my Christmas 2013 beer stash wasn't collected until last night and its only now that I have started to tap into it. There are 18 pints of sedimented Abbeydale Absolution and 12 bottles of rather excellent and at times expensive beer to get through. Not that my supplier, Archer Road Beer Stop is expensive - its just I bought a couple of strong Durham beers and a bottle of Fantome Saison. Which is approximately a million pounds....
So, after an hour of festively moshing to Cathedral and Acid Reign, what better way to cool off than in a spare room chilled to below room temperature (although arguably am in said room and erm...well, its the temperature that it is?....) with a cold-ish bottle of excellent beer.
The first of my box, part of a series of potentially two reviews of the 12, is Blue Monkey Bludolph. Its 5% and an orange hued golden colour and it smells rather fab. Dave told me in the shop that its three lots of three types of hops which are chosen by the brewer every year. It's been a very long 24 hours since yesterday however so you may be better off looking at the link here from real ale store - since he brewery are. um, too busy to update their website....
It has a lovely tangerine kick with some dry bitterness, a hint of lemon and a pleasing soft malt in the background which means the bitterness settles back into the beer rather than jarring at the forefront throughout; although the aftertaste is lingeringly bitter, after the more calming malt has dissipated.
Obviously better than your average brown spiced nonsense, it wins plaudits foe being umpologetically hoppy and not remotely interested in Christmas pudding or berry fruit.
In conclusion, a great example of a Christmas beer that doesn't taste of sherry and rum and raisin chocolate with treacle, like so many of the ilk have a tendency to do. And it was so good that I didn't take a picture.
This is virtually anti blogging.....
Merry Merry Christmas!
WB
Monday, 23 December 2013
The good and the bad on the weekend of the mad
Hello,
against my better judgement and infused with a decent amount of surprise I found myself out on black Friday and Twaturday. I hadn't planned to do either, mot properly anyway. However, much like I "definitely" wasn't going out last Christmas Eve (I was in DAda for 3 hours) I seemed to inexorably gravitate to the pub - and in doing so waded through the sea of crapulent chaos that somewhat inevitably raged around it.
I'll start with the good stuff. I was hoping to meet a refreshed Miss N in some undecided venue after a visit to the hospital but found she was orf home to recover, so ended up meeting Wee Keefy and his mates for some pints in the Dog and Partridge.
Slowly getting back to the kind of melee of punters that used to define any Christmas or New Year trip to the Dog, the pub is winning back drinkers who drifted away in the dark days when real ale disappeared and the developers got interested. A good range of local and further afield micro brewery guests along with Black Sheep are available, and the first beer I tried was the Okells St Nick. A pint of which was bought for me by Connor, who I'm not sure if I should describe as the landlord or manager (along with Sarah, who knows her bloggers....), to replace a tired half of some Cross Bay I'd had a few weeks ago. I said then on being offered a replacement that unfortunately I hadn't time for a replacement half on that occasion, so this was a pleasant surprise.
Wee Keefy and Mr Pre-wash were in residence along with other of WK's colleagues and we got sat down to continue making a dent in the real ale . Halves of Blackjack Ginger Stout and Tring Moongazer followed - I had been on the latter at the Three Tuns earlier. The stout was impressive if sightly overpowering and he Moongazer was a very enjoyable drop. So much so that further pints of it followed, and I should point out in the interests of honest and fair reporting, that I didn't pay for many of them, along with a whole pint of the fearsome but impressive stout.
As well as focusing on real ales, the Dog aims to be more of a locals pub, a move that quite apart from the geographical separation, would show it to be different from the throngs of West Street boozers that are as homely as a cactus settee. I can see a few more trips will be called for over the coming months to test out this claim...
The other plus point was my unexpected Saturday sojourn. Having been out for a cracking meal at the Sportsman at Crosspool we had repaired with Miss N to Wee Keefy's for some entertainment. At the Sportsman, beer of choice was Top of the Hops (which I thought was a Great Yorkshire Brewery beer?) but would, had it come on an hour earlier, have been Fullers and Steel City Steel. When I asked when it would come on the manager said "its still a bit cloudy" which elicited a wry smile and the word over-hopping from myself...
Later, having been persuaded to go out "just for one" we needed up in the maelstrom which is the Bee Hive with WK, Miss N, Carlos, Alison, Paddy, Jambon, Half Pint and Jack, and after an epic struggle made it to the bar to buy a pint of Bee Hive bitter, AKA Bees Knees. Despite this not being exactly my favourite venue I stayed for another, mainly because WK very kindly paid for it - after, it was suggested that we went for a pint in the Bath Hotel. So it was settled. The night was not yet finished...
Thornbridge Pollards was on the bar along with a few other tempting treats but as soon as I spotted the Burning Sky Saison I knew it was a no-brainer. It was going to be an enjoyable but rather expensive end to the night. We were probably in the pub for three hours, catching up and sharing great company and supping, in mine and Miss N's case, copious quantities of saison. This was a fantastic night with good friends which may even have got me into the Christmas spirit.
Alas there are two sides to black weekend or whatever its called. And so as not to ruin the joyous tales before it, I'll summarize the downside in a few lines :
A fight outside at least two pubs and inside one.
The already widely reported but no less horrendous damage to the last remaining full size Wards window at Shakespeares.
And a pint of 5.9% beer costing £4.60 at the Sheffield Tap, coupled with my not having looked at the price (or been warned of it) before asking for it. Not attributable to any particular event of course, just an unpleasant surprise for customers enjoying finishing their weekend with a couple of drinks.
Humph.
Anyway, there is a lot coming up over the next week or two so hopefully I can finally finish work for the year and get some blogging done, but in the event that I don't make to the keyboard, then I would like to wish everyone a very happy Christmas.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
against my better judgement and infused with a decent amount of surprise I found myself out on black Friday and Twaturday. I hadn't planned to do either, mot properly anyway. However, much like I "definitely" wasn't going out last Christmas Eve (I was in DAda for 3 hours) I seemed to inexorably gravitate to the pub - and in doing so waded through the sea of crapulent chaos that somewhat inevitably raged around it.
I'll start with the good stuff. I was hoping to meet a refreshed Miss N in some undecided venue after a visit to the hospital but found she was orf home to recover, so ended up meeting Wee Keefy and his mates for some pints in the Dog and Partridge.
Slowly getting back to the kind of melee of punters that used to define any Christmas or New Year trip to the Dog, the pub is winning back drinkers who drifted away in the dark days when real ale disappeared and the developers got interested. A good range of local and further afield micro brewery guests along with Black Sheep are available, and the first beer I tried was the Okells St Nick. A pint of which was bought for me by Connor, who I'm not sure if I should describe as the landlord or manager (along with Sarah, who knows her bloggers....), to replace a tired half of some Cross Bay I'd had a few weeks ago. I said then on being offered a replacement that unfortunately I hadn't time for a replacement half on that occasion, so this was a pleasant surprise.
Wee Keefy and Mr Pre-wash were in residence along with other of WK's colleagues and we got sat down to continue making a dent in the real ale . Halves of Blackjack Ginger Stout and Tring Moongazer followed - I had been on the latter at the Three Tuns earlier. The stout was impressive if sightly overpowering and he Moongazer was a very enjoyable drop. So much so that further pints of it followed, and I should point out in the interests of honest and fair reporting, that I didn't pay for many of them, along with a whole pint of the fearsome but impressive stout.
As well as focusing on real ales, the Dog aims to be more of a locals pub, a move that quite apart from the geographical separation, would show it to be different from the throngs of West Street boozers that are as homely as a cactus settee. I can see a few more trips will be called for over the coming months to test out this claim...
The other plus point was my unexpected Saturday sojourn. Having been out for a cracking meal at the Sportsman at Crosspool we had repaired with Miss N to Wee Keefy's for some entertainment. At the Sportsman, beer of choice was Top of the Hops (which I thought was a Great Yorkshire Brewery beer?) but would, had it come on an hour earlier, have been Fullers and Steel City Steel. When I asked when it would come on the manager said "its still a bit cloudy" which elicited a wry smile and the word over-hopping from myself...
Later, having been persuaded to go out "just for one" we needed up in the maelstrom which is the Bee Hive with WK, Miss N, Carlos, Alison, Paddy, Jambon, Half Pint and Jack, and after an epic struggle made it to the bar to buy a pint of Bee Hive bitter, AKA Bees Knees. Despite this not being exactly my favourite venue I stayed for another, mainly because WK very kindly paid for it - after, it was suggested that we went for a pint in the Bath Hotel. So it was settled. The night was not yet finished...
Thornbridge Pollards was on the bar along with a few other tempting treats but as soon as I spotted the Burning Sky Saison I knew it was a no-brainer. It was going to be an enjoyable but rather expensive end to the night. We were probably in the pub for three hours, catching up and sharing great company and supping, in mine and Miss N's case, copious quantities of saison. This was a fantastic night with good friends which may even have got me into the Christmas spirit.
Alas there are two sides to black weekend or whatever its called. And so as not to ruin the joyous tales before it, I'll summarize the downside in a few lines :
A fight outside at least two pubs and inside one.
The already widely reported but no less horrendous damage to the last remaining full size Wards window at Shakespeares.
And a pint of 5.9% beer costing £4.60 at the Sheffield Tap, coupled with my not having looked at the price (or been warned of it) before asking for it. Not attributable to any particular event of course, just an unpleasant surprise for customers enjoying finishing their weekend with a couple of drinks.
Humph.
Anyway, there is a lot coming up over the next week or two so hopefully I can finally finish work for the year and get some blogging done, but in the event that I don't make to the keyboard, then I would like to wish everyone a very happy Christmas.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
Thursday, 19 December 2013
Simian and ape thought procesess in beer rating
Hello,
a few weeks a go me and Davefromtshop had our biannual beer tasting - this time it was at Chez Boeuf, and comprised an odd mixture of aged beers, beers bought in pubs, beers shipped across Europe, beers from Supermarkets and beers form specialist beer shops. This time, to ensure a fair reviewing and reporting process, we recorded everything we said and slurred, about the beers, on video. What follows is the *potentially* choice excerpts form he untranscribable nonsense we uttered, along with salient points about which beers were best...
a few weeks a go me and Davefromtshop had our biannual beer tasting - this time it was at Chez Boeuf, and comprised an odd mixture of aged beers, beers bought in pubs, beers shipped across Europe, beers from Supermarkets and beers form specialist beer shops. This time, to ensure a fair reviewing and reporting process, we recorded everything we said and slurred, about the beers, on video. What follows is the *potentially* choice excerpts form he untranscribable nonsense we uttered, along with salient points about which beers were best...
I described the first four beers, noting that Santorini Yellow Donkey was unfiltered and refreshing. Ilkely Dinner Ale was a hoppy and refreshing low gravity beer which was very very hoppy...Geeves Presidents Ale was very nice actually, pleasingly hoppy, but probably could have done with being a but stronger, and Shepherd Neame Mainbrace IPA was in effect, a bit poor. It didn't really have an aftertaste, and was not really an IPA, whatever an IPA is....
Dave reckoned the Santorini Red Donkey was very fruity and very satisfying. It followed on well form their Yellow Donkey but the IPA crowned the whole set (see later). Tatton Obscure was really interesting with lots of licorice flavours which provably shouldn't have been there but tasted all the better for it. Dave would have liked to try a fresher beer to compare. He also liked the Blue Monkey Marmoset, considering it a valuable addition to their range. Its low gravity emphasised the hop nature of the beer, and it was totally different to anything else they brew. Meanwhile
Shepherd Neame IPA (6%) was a great contrast to the Mainbrace, as there was nice hoppiness, good aroma, and it balances well. Lastly, we both thought Santorini Crazy Donkey was a very interesting beer in a nice way, with prickly hoppiness, and fruitiness to support it. It had good texture, and was really a good classic beer.
Nogne imperial Brown was reviewed by us both at some stage but "somebody" forgot to video almost all of our reviews - I thought it was very strong but smooth with quite intense flavours but Dave felt it didn't go anywhere, dropping away towards the end. Meanwhile Dave reviewed 60 Degrees North lager from the Hebrides a lager that "wasn't necessarily complex but is remarkably clean and does a good job of cleansing the palate but it does stop right dead there. It was a worthy beer however.
On next to the big hitter - Thornbridge and Dark Star Coalition Old Ale, a beer which was no doubt about £10.00 a bottle and which I had been preciously refusing to open for years on account of nobody else I knew owning one. Here are the "highlights" of our increasingly tangential musings on a much anticipated drink:
Beefy: its not that dark...
Dave: lots of carbonation which is always a good sign,
Beefy: ooh God it smells nice! (note, this is a professional beer sommelieres phrase).
Dave: ooh! That's not bad at all.
Beefy: orange as well, in a really really good way, that's good its ever so slightly ascorbic which is brilliant, because its actually quite sweet. There's definitely orange in there.
(I think this is why no-one writes blogs entirely from transcribed reviews. I mean, who is this guy?)
Dave: very floral, quite well balanced, for its strength you'd expect some sort of punch there. It is very mellow and I suppose that's what the brewer would want to achieve with an aged beer. Ooh with a bit of a candy follow through,.
Beefy: its a really accomplished mix of sort of orange and then there's a kind of candy sort of a flavour and also a little dry bitterness but thats not as strong as you would expect.....
Dave: its got good depth, its got a deal of fruit to it, I would have expected a bit more but nevertheless its a good beer,
Beefy: I think that you expect it to be dark for a start, and expecting more kind of dark malt and you think of Harveys old ale from the same county as Dark Star - its more like a Belgian to me
Dave: It probably epitomises the expectation versus delivery point. It does seem to have altered a little bit, there are notes there that weren't there before but nevertheless its not the full package.
Beefy : I like it but like you say its not what I was expecting it to be, its expected to be a smooth malty dark beer and its not, but its still good.
And finally, with increasingly ponderous assessments - the conclusions!
Dave: Its between Crazy Donkey and the Nogne Brown
Beefy: its a tie between Red Donkey and Crazy donkey and Marmoset.
Dave: Marmoset, on a blow for blow account because it delivers much more than you expect....
Beefy: Crazy Donkey has a lot to it, its incredibly impressive but does tail off to the end a little, the Red Donkey I could drink all night basically and Marmoset is just a victory of delivery over expectation; and expectation is the key.
Dave: tonight has been exceptionally good because there are no beers there that are bad but there are some that deliver more than the others and I think given the range that we've tried that is where we will get a winner and.......
Beefy: Marmoset could be the winner....?
Dave: it gets my vote!
Beefy: in which case I go for that; Marmoset beer of the day, donkeys red and silver and Nogne imperial brown and Coalition all brilliant but actually Marmoset is more ballsy, it does more than you expect it to do, it confounds your expectations and therefore, Marmoset is the winner.
For reference, prior to tasting the last two beers here are our top four beers.
Me:
1. Santorini Red Donkey
2. Blue MonkeyMarmoset
3. Ilkley Dinner ale
4. Santorini Crazy Donkey
Dave :
1. Santorini Crazy Donkey
Equal 2nd: Shepherd Neame IPA/Blue Monkey Marmoset
Equal 3rd: Red donkey/Tatton Obscure
4. Santorini Yellow Donkey
I'm not sure whet this tells us, apart from suggesting that the limbic brain which is possibly more prevalent in simian and ape thought processes (I'm making this up by the way but it sound convincing...) helps us to identify beers named after monkeys as the best...?
Or, alternatively, it might not....
Wee Beefy
Monday, 16 December 2013
Barred?
Good heavening
am going to share a story that happened back in February. Those that know me will probably twig what event I am about to describe, if nothing else based on how much I wittered about it since. I think there is also a small chance that this post may potentially become a confession. But we're all friends on the blog aren't we? We can share....
One night in February I had ended up in the Bath Hotel and they had made me drink beer. Obviously, every single action I perform thereafter is their fault. And the Ball on Crookes. And the Sportsman at Crosspool. Just so we know I'm innocent...
Anyhoo, in the good old days there was an N52 night bus which, for a small fee, would magically transport me from West Street to near my home (or much further on than my home depending on snoozing) around 20 past the hour, and having just missed such a chariot, I opted to wander into the....pub which is part of a group, and opens late, the name of which you can never ever guess.
It was rammed as it usually is around midnight on a Friday and since I needed my real money for the ale tractor set up a tab and purchased a delicious pint of Bradfield Stout. Having failed to find a seat and being in urgent need of a trip to the facilities, in desperation, I placed my full pint of real ale in, erm... a rather large pot. Containing a small tree or similar.
Now, I realise this sounds daft. It was. So to ensure that even if the location of my pint seemed perplexing, said drink could be identified as belonging to someone, I wrapped my scarf round it, and placed the other end in the top of my work bag, and asked the youngsters on the nearest table to watch my drink. And there is no way you can guess what happened....
For those unused to the vociferous enthusiasm of glass collectors, and/or random ale thieves, someone unwrapped the scarf and waltzed off with my pint in the 90 seconds it was out of my sight. I asked the people nearby if they had seen what happened and they suggested someone had probably collected it, and it didn't seem like they'd nicked it. So I went to the bar to pay my tab, even though I had in essence purchased nothing more than the concept of a pint. This was a deliberate set up on my part to prompt them to tell me I was below the limit for a card payment, so that I could then moan endlessly that someone, possibly a member of their staff, had snaffled my ale. It worked a treat.
Except it was very loud and I had to raise my voice. This alerted the staff to my perhaps being pissed and so the manager stepped in to have the same conversation all over again. If I'm honest, this wasn't making me feel any better, especially when he suggested that I simply buy another pint. A quick chat with a colleague meant he turned his back on me for a while and my limbic brain was quick to note that I was now being ignored. So I raised my voice. A lot. In a Yorkshire accent that I don't possess.
I have worked behind a bar so I know that there is nobody who enjoys being shouted at by drunks but the response was (and I quote) "No-one screams at me. Take your card and get the fuck out of my pub". Now, that's quite rude. And it is owned by a large company, so if we want to be factual it is also not his pub. However, the shock brought me back into a more sensible state and on being passed my card back having not paid for my stolen pint I said "oh brilliant! and smiled, before a very large person ( a professionally trained very large person) gently escorted me to the street outside.
On my ale tractor home I thought about my experience and decided this wasn't me. I don't scream and shout and I don't say Naaaa-then unless I am having a laugh. Well, apart from that night, obviously. So upon returning home more or less sober, I emailed the "pub in question" with some precise details and caveats and apologised. I also pointed out I'd like to pop in the next night to do so in person and to draw a line under the matter. Inevitably the very large person on the door had been pre-warned about me and refused me entry. I explained about the email which I considered quite a polite manner of behavior but to no avail. I was told I had to wait for the manager to tell me I wasn't barred.
And this is where I'm confused. You may, having become used to my bleary and inaccurate recollections, think that I mis-remembered an important slice of discourse but I assure you I was never told I was barred. Not only that, but I never received a reply to my impeccably drafted email. Nor any written, verbal or otherwise communicated disbarring notice. So I boycotted them. For like, months. And then gave up and went in the other night to find that no-one cared.
The point of this is - does this sound like your experience (not that I dare to suggest you've had any) of being barred? Only I spoke to a few upstanding citizens in the months after and found some who had been barred twice in the same night from said establishment. So with all this being new to me I couldn't figure out if this was normal?
Oh, and of course the other perhaps more important point is that this serves as a cathartic exploration of my errant ways one night. So I consider the whole episode, having enjoyed a lovely pint of dark ale in there last night, closed.
And I also reckon I win....
Sir Beefalot
am going to share a story that happened back in February. Those that know me will probably twig what event I am about to describe, if nothing else based on how much I wittered about it since. I think there is also a small chance that this post may potentially become a confession. But we're all friends on the blog aren't we? We can share....
One night in February I had ended up in the Bath Hotel and they had made me drink beer. Obviously, every single action I perform thereafter is their fault. And the Ball on Crookes. And the Sportsman at Crosspool. Just so we know I'm innocent...
Anyhoo, in the good old days there was an N52 night bus which, for a small fee, would magically transport me from West Street to near my home (or much further on than my home depending on snoozing) around 20 past the hour, and having just missed such a chariot, I opted to wander into the....pub which is part of a group, and opens late, the name of which you can never ever guess.
It was rammed as it usually is around midnight on a Friday and since I needed my real money for the ale tractor set up a tab and purchased a delicious pint of Bradfield Stout. Having failed to find a seat and being in urgent need of a trip to the facilities, in desperation, I placed my full pint of real ale in, erm... a rather large pot. Containing a small tree or similar.
Now, I realise this sounds daft. It was. So to ensure that even if the location of my pint seemed perplexing, said drink could be identified as belonging to someone, I wrapped my scarf round it, and placed the other end in the top of my work bag, and asked the youngsters on the nearest table to watch my drink. And there is no way you can guess what happened....
For those unused to the vociferous enthusiasm of glass collectors, and/or random ale thieves, someone unwrapped the scarf and waltzed off with my pint in the 90 seconds it was out of my sight. I asked the people nearby if they had seen what happened and they suggested someone had probably collected it, and it didn't seem like they'd nicked it. So I went to the bar to pay my tab, even though I had in essence purchased nothing more than the concept of a pint. This was a deliberate set up on my part to prompt them to tell me I was below the limit for a card payment, so that I could then moan endlessly that someone, possibly a member of their staff, had snaffled my ale. It worked a treat.
Except it was very loud and I had to raise my voice. This alerted the staff to my perhaps being pissed and so the manager stepped in to have the same conversation all over again. If I'm honest, this wasn't making me feel any better, especially when he suggested that I simply buy another pint. A quick chat with a colleague meant he turned his back on me for a while and my limbic brain was quick to note that I was now being ignored. So I raised my voice. A lot. In a Yorkshire accent that I don't possess.
I have worked behind a bar so I know that there is nobody who enjoys being shouted at by drunks but the response was (and I quote) "No-one screams at me. Take your card and get the fuck out of my pub". Now, that's quite rude. And it is owned by a large company, so if we want to be factual it is also not his pub. However, the shock brought me back into a more sensible state and on being passed my card back having not paid for my stolen pint I said "oh brilliant! and smiled, before a very large person ( a professionally trained very large person) gently escorted me to the street outside.
On my ale tractor home I thought about my experience and decided this wasn't me. I don't scream and shout and I don't say Naaaa-then unless I am having a laugh. Well, apart from that night, obviously. So upon returning home more or less sober, I emailed the "pub in question" with some precise details and caveats and apologised. I also pointed out I'd like to pop in the next night to do so in person and to draw a line under the matter. Inevitably the very large person on the door had been pre-warned about me and refused me entry. I explained about the email which I considered quite a polite manner of behavior but to no avail. I was told I had to wait for the manager to tell me I wasn't barred.
And this is where I'm confused. You may, having become used to my bleary and inaccurate recollections, think that I mis-remembered an important slice of discourse but I assure you I was never told I was barred. Not only that, but I never received a reply to my impeccably drafted email. Nor any written, verbal or otherwise communicated disbarring notice. So I boycotted them. For like, months. And then gave up and went in the other night to find that no-one cared.
The point of this is - does this sound like your experience (not that I dare to suggest you've had any) of being barred? Only I spoke to a few upstanding citizens in the months after and found some who had been barred twice in the same night from said establishment. So with all this being new to me I couldn't figure out if this was normal?
Oh, and of course the other perhaps more important point is that this serves as a cathartic exploration of my errant ways one night. So I consider the whole episode, having enjoyed a lovely pint of dark ale in there last night, closed.
And I also reckon I win....
Sir Beefalot
Monday, 9 December 2013
Drunken spells with a slight chance of twats later
Yo ho humbug!
yes kids its that time of year again. Twat O Clock! Fancy a pint in a normally decent pub now full of twats? You can! For every night between now and Christmas guarantees nailed on twattishness at every turn. Even quiet pubs have decked out the halls with twats of all shades of festive cheer! Vomit, urine, WKD....
OK, I admit, the above is a bit cynical really because having managed to attend three Christmas "do's" on two consecutive nights I can confirm that its still possible to have a decent night, at this time of year, even if few of the people you are sharing the occasion with are bothered about the fine drop. Thus .....
Friday I read with a heavy heart that our team Christmas do, which was otherwise admirable for featuring a scheduled five and a half hours of drinking prior to the meal, was to begin in Yates. Early considerations included - why would you drink in Yates whilst sober? In fact, why would you drink in Yates at all? Well, because not everyone is so mardy about ale as I am and some people for reasons that I can't fathom like to dance and drink coloured shit with spirits in. And it pains me to admit that I probably should get over it. I still think starting at Yates is like having a kebab and then going out however...
In the end I only wandered in as the group were leaving so alas cannot report on the ale situation. Meanwhile, over the road is Lloyds Number One. I know its a Wetherspoons type of thing but it does sell real ale and so I was straight on to a couple of pints of Bradfield Belgian Blue. A seasonal favourite of mine, which makes me think I may be going soft, it was probably £3.00 a pint or something (I wasn't researching, although I concede this is no worse than my usual level of reportage) and went down very well.
Up next was Revolution De Cuba, whose high prices seemed to have kept the place tolerably busy, and whose drinks list kept the cocktail guzzlers happy. Beer wise they had Anchor Steam Ale in bottles so it wasn't all that bad. From here I switched do's and headed to meet Miss N in All Bar One. Granted they had Doom Bar on but I went for the Meantime Pilsner at £4.30 or similar instead. It had more hops in....
Members of Miss N's entourage wandered off to the Bessemer across the road, and against our better judgement we followed suit. Alas we missed the Moonshine but I had a half of Directors out of curiosity and Miss N a half of Hobgoblin from the remaining three beers. I'm not going to pretend its my kind of place but it sold real ale and people seemed to be happy. Not that I advocate such things, but if being happy is what they like then I suppose that's fine....
Off to DAda next, albeit having shaken off the do, and it was solid. I mean, I know the building is, but in a bar queuing sense. Here was my first wall of customers of the festive season. Luckily a pint of Thornbridge Christmas ale on Cask for Miss N and a pint of Chiron for me were purchased, and we found a space to have a chat before heading off once more in true Xmas do style.
The Three Tuns once again had some good Raw beers on and the lovely Dave behind the bar. Young Patrick was also in attendance and we stopped in there for a couple of pints of the Raw porter, which I think was Anubis but am unsure. It was bloody nice whatever it was. We ended the night at Shakespeares where we both had pints of late hopped Steel City All Hallowes which had hops in it and everything, and was also quite nice. And I definitely didn't fall asleep...
The next night we started at a rammed Sheffield Tap and were spoilt for choice. Pints in here were Hardknott Katalyst, a lower gravity extra hoppy pale, Buxton Rednik Stout (many) and the excellent Magic Rock Dark Arts (at least two). Understandably, despite queues in the heaving bar, I was reluctant to leave this beer utopia behind.
Yet we did as we headed for the Dove and Rainbow to see a friend's band play. The range is always a little underwhelming here but does usually feature at least one local beer with hops in it - so I had a few pints of the Abbeydale Absolution in the three hours we were there. Not a regular haunt as I have noted before but I actually had to admit that it was far and away the least intolerable pub in terms of sheer overcrowding that I experienced over the two nights.
Our final stop was DAda once again where I laughed at signs on the walls and tables on the left stating "reserved from 19.00" for an area comprising six empty tables and with four people sat at one table. Mind you, it was nearly midnight. Here I had two pints from the promising new Burning Sky brewery based in the south. Aurora was an intensely bitter pale ale and probably only let down by the dryness of the bittering hops, whilst Plateau was also a beer, which I drank about 01.20. That serves as my excuse for having no memories more specific than "I liked it".
All of the above suggests that once you have attuned yourself to the sheer volume of punters and the real possibility but not guarantee of extreme twattishness, it is possible to have a pretty decent night out at Christmas. And in Sheffield at least, you can expect to find some decent real ales in the majority of the venues you visit.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy.
yes kids its that time of year again. Twat O Clock! Fancy a pint in a normally decent pub now full of twats? You can! For every night between now and Christmas guarantees nailed on twattishness at every turn. Even quiet pubs have decked out the halls with twats of all shades of festive cheer! Vomit, urine, WKD....
OK, I admit, the above is a bit cynical really because having managed to attend three Christmas "do's" on two consecutive nights I can confirm that its still possible to have a decent night, at this time of year, even if few of the people you are sharing the occasion with are bothered about the fine drop. Thus .....
Friday I read with a heavy heart that our team Christmas do, which was otherwise admirable for featuring a scheduled five and a half hours of drinking prior to the meal, was to begin in Yates. Early considerations included - why would you drink in Yates whilst sober? In fact, why would you drink in Yates at all? Well, because not everyone is so mardy about ale as I am and some people for reasons that I can't fathom like to dance and drink coloured shit with spirits in. And it pains me to admit that I probably should get over it. I still think starting at Yates is like having a kebab and then going out however...
In the end I only wandered in as the group were leaving so alas cannot report on the ale situation. Meanwhile, over the road is Lloyds Number One. I know its a Wetherspoons type of thing but it does sell real ale and so I was straight on to a couple of pints of Bradfield Belgian Blue. A seasonal favourite of mine, which makes me think I may be going soft, it was probably £3.00 a pint or something (I wasn't researching, although I concede this is no worse than my usual level of reportage) and went down very well.
Up next was Revolution De Cuba, whose high prices seemed to have kept the place tolerably busy, and whose drinks list kept the cocktail guzzlers happy. Beer wise they had Anchor Steam Ale in bottles so it wasn't all that bad. From here I switched do's and headed to meet Miss N in All Bar One. Granted they had Doom Bar on but I went for the Meantime Pilsner at £4.30 or similar instead. It had more hops in....
Members of Miss N's entourage wandered off to the Bessemer across the road, and against our better judgement we followed suit. Alas we missed the Moonshine but I had a half of Directors out of curiosity and Miss N a half of Hobgoblin from the remaining three beers. I'm not going to pretend its my kind of place but it sold real ale and people seemed to be happy. Not that I advocate such things, but if being happy is what they like then I suppose that's fine....
Off to DAda next, albeit having shaken off the do, and it was solid. I mean, I know the building is, but in a bar queuing sense. Here was my first wall of customers of the festive season. Luckily a pint of Thornbridge Christmas ale on Cask for Miss N and a pint of Chiron for me were purchased, and we found a space to have a chat before heading off once more in true Xmas do style.
The Three Tuns once again had some good Raw beers on and the lovely Dave behind the bar. Young Patrick was also in attendance and we stopped in there for a couple of pints of the Raw porter, which I think was Anubis but am unsure. It was bloody nice whatever it was. We ended the night at Shakespeares where we both had pints of late hopped Steel City All Hallowes which had hops in it and everything, and was also quite nice. And I definitely didn't fall asleep...
The next night we started at a rammed Sheffield Tap and were spoilt for choice. Pints in here were Hardknott Katalyst, a lower gravity extra hoppy pale, Buxton Rednik Stout (many) and the excellent Magic Rock Dark Arts (at least two). Understandably, despite queues in the heaving bar, I was reluctant to leave this beer utopia behind.
Yet we did as we headed for the Dove and Rainbow to see a friend's band play. The range is always a little underwhelming here but does usually feature at least one local beer with hops in it - so I had a few pints of the Abbeydale Absolution in the three hours we were there. Not a regular haunt as I have noted before but I actually had to admit that it was far and away the least intolerable pub in terms of sheer overcrowding that I experienced over the two nights.
Our final stop was DAda once again where I laughed at signs on the walls and tables on the left stating "reserved from 19.00" for an area comprising six empty tables and with four people sat at one table. Mind you, it was nearly midnight. Here I had two pints from the promising new Burning Sky brewery based in the south. Aurora was an intensely bitter pale ale and probably only let down by the dryness of the bittering hops, whilst Plateau was also a beer, which I drank about 01.20. That serves as my excuse for having no memories more specific than "I liked it".
All of the above suggests that once you have attuned yourself to the sheer volume of punters and the real possibility but not guarantee of extreme twattishness, it is possible to have a pretty decent night out at Christmas. And in Sheffield at least, you can expect to find some decent real ales in the majority of the venues you visit.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy.
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