Reetaleless

Hello,

     I was going to write this last post of March 2017 about two real ale pub crawls, a beer fest, incompetent fuckwitted staff at Wetherspoons putting their fingers in drinks, but now am going to address in some way, the demise of Reet ale pubs.

I say that, but in fact I know nothing about their demise.

There will be accusations, allegations and no doubt, recriminations, but I don't know what has happened. So instead I will try and provide an assessment of the three pubs affected before Reet Ale took over.

I should say first of all that there are some persons suggesting that declaring bankruptcy on the 30th or 31st of March is a beneficial way of doing so as it escapes or avoids some taxes or fines. Am not sure this is true, but if it is then so be it. This post serves ostensibly to celebrate.

The Closed Shop was a shambles prior to being taken over by Reet Ale pubs. The Hallamshire regularly supplied staff to lock up whilst the incumbent at the time was pissed, drugged asleep or all three upstairs. His tenure was rightly cut short, not long after I went in to find one real ale on, a nineteen year old manager who had started that day and no prospects of improvement.

The Punch Bowl was popular on Crookes but not necessarily with beer drinkers. Cask ale was limited to one or two and was poor in terms of choice. There wasn't any chance of an in house cooked pizza, and though it improved slowly the beer range after Andy took it over was far better than before.

The Three Tuns struggled for many years.  It usually had a few real ales but seemed to exist entirely for HSBC staff and local solicitors and so was a less often visited venue. There were numerous changes of owner with various similar outcomes of ale, food and design but to be fair, bar a rare visit at Christmas, I rarely went in.

As you may know, in recent years the Three Tuns, especially, has been one of my favourite pubs.

This makes the announcement today or yesterday that it (and am led to believe the other pubs) will be closed indefinitely hard to take. And that doesn't even start to address the issues and concerns of current staff at all 3 venues which must number fifteen or twenty. I just hope however that all involved can find alternative employment, and in some cases accommodation, elsewhere in Sheffield ASAP.

In short its a sad, sad day for Sheffield. However, Blue Bee seems safe, and the Rutland is in Chris and Dave's hands. So, in fact, all is not lost. What remains however is tainted.

Thank you Reet Ale pubs.

You did well in your role. Until yesterday.

Yours

Wee Beefy

The Three Tuns is pub of the month!

Hello,

        as per usual with my blog am behind the times - after all, its Friday and the award was made on Tuesday night. That's not actually that bad by recent standards. So here's what happened on Tuesday at the Three Tuns public house Silver Street Head in Sheffield.

The Three Tuns public house Silver Street Head in Sheffield is a lovely long, thin, almost ships bow shaped pub not unlike the Talbot Tap or similar in Ripley. You've all been there. It has a bar opposite the top and bottom entrance, the lower being where all the lovely real ales are kept, the upper where the less meritable lagers ciders and one keg ale live.

The pub is fitted out to a high standard with lots of old woodwork and a wonderful area which I call the bow, probably erroneously, at the right end of the pub. The seating is mostly fixed in the right end and with stools and more fixed seating at the left where the entrance to the loos are. The sating is form the lovely wooden and brass bar. Its really rather attractive I have to say. A lovely place, assuming the quiz isn't on, to go for a quiet pint.

They also do food - much less now Phil has left, but the pork pies an chip butties with bacon and blue cheese are excellent, and I believe they still do a stew or curry - a note though, food is only served til 19.00. On Tuesday I asked Ethan if there would be any food - it was 19.15 so he said he would have thought not. Gawd blezzim. He was "pulling my leg". It was a POTM award night. Food was on its way!

On the bar I and Tash had pints of the interesting Ashover Fabrick Pale Ale, and Matty the Blue Bee Tempest Stout. After this opener, all of us moved onto the 6% Blue Bee Into the Void, a delicious Black IPA. Several, if not numerous, pints were supped, as the pub started to fill up, and we were soon joined by Mr P and Sean. Soon after the food arrived,and thronged by CAMRA folks and regulars alike, everyone massed to celebrate the recent achievements of one of my most frequently visited pubs.

I got some photos of the staff behind the bar, showing off their award proudly. At this point a bloke in the crowd at the front said to Kate, or Dave as you will know her if you read this blog and don't visit the Tuns "Get yer tits out love". I wasn't aware of this, I just saw Kate look at someone and say "why the hell would you say that to me?". Apparently the sexist prick thought it was hilarious and looked around us for support, as if it were 1951 in a town called Retard. It was not. He was still a prick. When confronted about it, he said that the pub was shit - despite having been there four or five hours and spending £40.00. Like I said. A prick.

Still, this din;t put a downer on the evening and after Tash and Mr P went, I finished off some of the excellent Blue Bee Geek (I did not see which one because it wasn't officially on yet, if you get me) and left about 23.30, five hours after arriving, whilst Siobhan and Methane took down the bunting and balloons.

Well done once again to Andrew Inns and their hard working staff, Nathan, Ethan, Mark (possibly?) Kate, Jamie and a lady with a French name which I have forgotten since last night (sorry lady with a  French name that I have forgotten since last night). Its great to see for their customer service, hard work, choice of beer and tolerance, rarely I am happy to report, of simpletons from the past rewarded. Long may this excellent recipe for success continue.

Cheers!

Wee Beefy

The Punchbowl, Crookes, reopens!

Hello,

         I was in the Punchbowl last night, on Crookes here in sunny Sheffield. It reopens to the public on Saturday but in the meantime people were invited to try out the free food last night, and some to the VIP event tonight. This is the work of Andy Stephens and his Reet Ale Pubs company here in Sheffield. They took on the Punchbowl on Bank Holiday Monday and have refurbished it in under three weeks. So what is it like?

Well, the first thing is, its size. The three pubs already run by Andrew Inns, which is what I call them, are quite small in comparison - the Rutland is largest in terms of building size, but the seating areas are virtually the same  - the Punchbowl is much larger. There are three different seating areas, one near the pizza oven, one on the left, and one split area near the back.

The pub is set out in a mix of traditional and modern styles - as a lover of pub architecture, I don't mind what has been done - the bar remains in the same place and following extensive brutal and clumsy remodeling previously, nothing remains of the 1930's roadhouse design other than the frontage. The bar has a simple tile floor in front of it and to the right is the pizza oven and preparation section - near this is further seating and, I understand, the opportunity to watch the pizzas being made. The raised section at the back is plain but comfortable and there are views from here over Sheffield. The rest of the furniture is a mix of high and low tables and chairs.

The food menu is mostly pizzas - and as last night was a free tasting night me and Tash had one each. She had Yorkshire Goats Cheese with beetroot and mushrooms and olives, and I had the pulled pork in cider pizza. It was, I have to say, delicious - I would happily pay £9.95 to eat that any day of the week. As long as that day was at the beginning of the month of course...

Beer wise there are 8 handpumps and 5 keg lines. There are also a number of interesting bottled ales from Kernel and Mikkeller and others. Last night I started on a pint of Shankar IPA from Great Heck, whilst Tash had the excellent Blue Bee Ginger Beer - after this, we both moved on to having pints of that. This was followed by a pint each of the Magic Rock Grapefruit High Wire on keg. Its 5.5% and £4.50 a pint - so basically a pound more than on cask. Which is what I would expect. We finished on a half of the excellent, hoppy, Shankar to share between us.

It will be interesting to see what the regulars make of the pub. It had a very long and sorry period as a Mr Q's. during which time I never went in, and then reopened following a refurbishment as a slightly more traditional pub with a couple of real ales. Tash thought it was a brave move - opening a pub relying so strongly on its pizza, across the road from a pizza shop, but that doesn't sell real ale and is fr take out. I don't think they will compete with each other (and I suspect the Punchbowl pizzas are better...?).

The pub also forms part of a slightly longer Crookes Valley Crawl - encompassing the Closed Shop, and depending on the route you take, potentially finishing at the Three Tuns.

Tonight is a VIP night by invite only and the pub reopens to the public fully on Saturday. I don't know if they have a website or FB page yet but am sure one will appear soon. Meanwhile, I wish Andy and his staff all the best for their latest pub venture in Sheffield.

Cheers!


Wee Beefy 

Give a sausage to someone cho love

Hello,

         its the yearly orgy of fake messages of love, over priced cards and horrendous meals in places that normally might offer a decent service, but for this weekend, become incapable of doing so. There is schmaltzy cheese music playing, couples in their later years squeezed into clothes they loved when they met decades earlier, fake hearts everywhere you look, and everyone is ordering stuff to eat ans drink like their lives depend on it. If only there was a more agreeable way to spend Valentines day?

Well, luckily, there is. The Three Tuns, Silver Street Head, Sheffield, is until Sunday having Sausage Fest 2015. I did ask if this was the 2015th consecutive festival they had run but this was deemed to be a "joke" so I can't confirm, but it does at least take place in 2015, so points there for accuracy. I have to say however, am annoyed that they didn't realise this enquiry was representative of my renowned journalistic rigour....

I went on Thursday night to find Reet Pale on the bar from Blue Bee, their Tempest Stout and also Blue Bee Sausage Fest 2015, a dry hopped 5.0% IPA. This was deliciously hoppy, pale (obviously) and surprisingly easy to drink, so myself and the musician Mr David Howard had numerous pints of this beer. To be fair, and with the greatest respect to The Tuns, who is a person, the first night was slightly chaotic.

We definitely needed to drink a number of pints in the time we waited for our food. Well, my food. I'm not convinced that young David actually eats, instead subsisting on tobacco and alcohol. Issues with delays in food times included missing catering staff and a table of gluttons who, I was told by David, had ordered approximately 1 thousand courses of sausage, piled high on their table.

Whatever the reason for the delay, I am happy to confirm that the lovely Dave behind the bar apologised and recompensed us, and the three sausages and chips I had were delicious. And according to Faceache, many people have visited since and really enjoyed the food and beer on offer.

For those interested, I chose a chorizo, a game and venison and a pork and apple sausage. All were cooked to perfection and incredibly tasty. The range includes ones made with Blue Bee Brewery beer, with Sheffield Honey Co honey, steak and Guinness, smokey BBQ, caramelised onion and balsamic vinegar, a gluten free, 3 vegetarian sausage types, and many more. There is also a trio of Sheffeld sausages, and sausage and cider casserole. Its a porcine (or tofu) dream. The link to the pub on Twatter is here, for details, and their website is here.

So, if you have a loved one, an elderly relative, child or pet, or someone you care about at all, please take them to Sausage Fest today. Show them how you really feel with tubes of flavoured meat. It makes "porkfect"* sense.

*Clears throat.

Wee Beefy

Beer. Twixt Christmas and New Year....

Ay up,

    well, having finally gone mad after 3 or 4 days virtually exclusively in the house, today I ventured out to collect a prescription from town. Despite this well meaning intent, that is not what predominated my trip out. or, indeed, what happened. Here's what did.....

I met up with Angie instead. Myself and Angie have known each other for many years and today was a great chance to catch up for the first time in months and have some drinks.

Meeting on High Street we negotiated slippy slopes down to Bank Street, along Queen Street and then eventually up to the Three Tuns. They aren't normally open on a Sunday* but I'd seen a pic on Faceache which suggested they were - I'd already found out the Bath wasn't, so this was an ideal starting point.

On arrival Dave welcomed us and we opted for a coffee for Miss H and a pint of Cliffhanger for me, and we began supping and catching up. The Brass Castle cliffhanger was possibly the most bitter beer on despite being only 3.9%, and was a perfect starter. As the conversation continued we repeated the round and also bought a portion of chips and cheese, before we left the pub which, having been the only punters on arrival, was now filing up.

A treacherous tiptoe across the ice landed us at Shakespeares where things were a little busier. I had a pint of the Arbor Transatlantic Pale ale and Miss H a half of Cherry beer, and we retired to the clockroom to continue catching up. Peace was temporarily disturbed by a pub crawl of folk who virtually blocked access to the toilets - ample indication that they hadn't yet been - but otherwise even as other crowds joined, this was ideal.

My penultimate pint was the excellent Siren Craft Brew 10 finger discount IPA at 7.2% on keg, whilst Angie stuck to the fruit beer, and we finished our evening of refreshment with another pint of the same for me and a coke for her.

Overall, it was a quiet but enjoyable evening, and great to see that, as expected, despite the pressures of Christmas, there was still a range of excellent beers available to those braving the ice and cold.

Cheers!

Wee Beefy

*David informs me, just now, that nowadays they are. So there! Pop down......

3TPOTMA

Hello,

       on Thursday 18 September 2014 in Sheffield, the persons in the CAMRA (you've seen the CAMRA) awarded a Pub of the Month, erm, award....to a Sheffield pub. For September this was the Andrew Inns owned Three Tuns on Silver Street Head. Here are some details of what happened when we got there. At, admittedly, 21.20....

We found Mr Andrew outside and he told us we'd missed the award presentation. Apparently, Dave had not needed a microphone and had used his considerable voice to deliver the speech. With the greatest respect, I hadn't persuaded my Mum and Step Dad to drop me off in town for the chance to hear a speech. Oh no. I was here to buy beer and catch up with friends. First reason achieved.....

Myself and Miss N went to the bar and bought two pints of the Blue Bee Simcoe IPA. As you may now know, Blue Bee is owned by Andrew Inns* and their recent beers have had a very strong hop presence. Their other beers on the bar included the Light Blue, which is excellent, Inov the Black and the Nycto Black IPA, and having tried this previously I felt it, along with their red ale, had too much bittering hops in to make it enjoyable. The Simcoe IPA however seems to have the prefect balance of acerbic hops and mellowing malt to make it a cracking pint.

We were quickly directed to the food table which, to our absolute surprise, had the joyous face of Mr Cullen next to it. Phillip the chef had offered to warm up the food as the cider pig was described as excellent - it really was. We had it with cheese and the crispest salad and a sauce or chutney and retired to a table near the bar to eat it. We later found out some of the recipe, so I think I will attempt a cider pig soon!

Next we moved onto a pint each of the 7% Inov the Black imperial stout. This was on excellent form, and both it and the Simcoe ran out whilst we were there. Having caught up with Ally, and Robin, once of Shakespeares, and placed brightly coloured arty hats on pints and heads and, erm, other bits, we were now ready to move up to the ships bow seating area and to catch up with more customers and staff.

The lovely Dave was working and she was also socialising, Phillip the chef won 5 beers in the raffle, Dave W and Josh discovered a shared love of balloons, and we got talking to the resolutely sensible Mr Alex Korner and his friend (insert name of friend who is chemist - sorry man with name who is a friend who is a chemist), and Laura who recognised me from when I used to drink in Trippetts. Which must be about 4 years ago. We moved onto pints of the Reet Pale from Blue Bee and watched the crowd get a little bit more drunk and to cheer the rather odd selection of music on the Juke Box.

We finished the night on two halves of mixed Reet Pale and Nycto which was better than the Nycto if nothing else, just as the music became more dancey and people lost their inhibitions and started dancing in attempted formation.

The Three Tuns has improved immeasurably under the Andrew Inns stewardship and this was a great chance to celebrate that achievement. Well done to all involved for putting on a fantastic  spread and selling some excellent beers.

Cheers!

Wee Beefy


*Andrew Ins, of course, doesn't exist. However. the Reet Ale  Pubs company most likely does, and more likely owns blue Bee. That's a brewery ownership factoid. Y'r welcome.

Birra To' welco meto

Wha?

     alas, not a "cool" new uber expensive Greek or Spanish nano brewery with their own kooky yet modernist bar in a tourist host spot. Oh no. Instead, the above is my proposed name for a beer brewed at Shakespeares ale and cider house. Not that they have a brewery. Or presumably any intention of installing one. However regular visitors to the pub may well recognise the inspiration behind my continental sounding concoction...

Anyhoo, over the past week, despite commitments to family and fannying around in the Manchestershire, I have found time to pop into Shakespeares for a pint or two. First up was a late night at work last week. Having successfully clawed back some flexi I found myself stood outside in the cold with Miss N, tired and in need of urgent obviation. Luckily, there was a pub only a few minutes away that we could visit. How perfectly pleasant!

We were soon in Shakespeares and started with pints of Thwaites Phelan fine, a tasty hoppy stout from Thwaites ickle brewery what makes better beers. A very pleasant start to the evening, but we soon moved onto stronger stuff - Miss N choosing a pint of Abbeydale Speculation (OK so that isn't stronger...) and I waded into a beer with an expertly hand-drawn pumpclip. That being the Arbor and Brew Dog Pirate Badger Attack imperial brown coconut black IPA saison with unfined English hops grown underground. OK, maybe not all of that description is correct, but most of it is.

Our final jars were of Brooklyn Smash IPA, which was distinctly disappointing, and the rather excellent Muirhouse Mango IPA which was excellent. Only nonsense like having work the next day prevented us sinking  a raft of these.

On Saturday we were in for a last couple of the night. Obviously that is only sort of what happened. On the bar were a couple of ales from the rather lovely Art Brew who seem to have a knack, starting with their delicious orange IPA, of consistently producing interesting beers. We both had pints of their Snerge Bergusson (my notes say cuddy summat but I saw this name on the board so it must be right...) which was a brown ale. It takes a damn good brewery to produce a brown ale that I want to drink (Brooklyn Brown being an example of a good brewery with a bad brown) and this 6% beauty was exactly what I was after.

Later we discovered there was a cloudy Art Brew ready-ish in the cellar, which Robin claimed was called Art Now, was 6.5% and was an IPA.  So naturally we had pints of this before more of the excellent brown again. All in all, in consideration of a hard day featuring some fairly unpleasant news, this cosy riposte in the behind the bar snug with Miss N and Origami Tom and Dave for company, was exactly the tonic we needed. So relaxing was it in fact, that we left our bag hanging on the coat rack....

Sunday inevitably saw us return to locate said item. and having got back to town for 20.00 we wandered round in the icy cold to find a warm and welcoming pub with a Dave W and a space at the back of the bar where we could sit on bar stools like cool kids. There was also a coat rack boasting a plastic bag with gloves and a bottle of pink grapefruit juice and 2 get well cards in. Two pints of celebratory Art brew purchased, we set about admiring the till messages and trying not to distract young Robin form his important work.

We also tried a half of the Allgates Blue Tea Pale which may have been "an joke" but tasted, mainly, like Allgates, and we finished off with yet more excellent and tasty Art Brew, on account of it being fantastic. Evidence, if any were required, that Shakespeares is a needful haven and hideaway from crap when you most need it. Sniff....

Finally a quick mention of the Andrew Inns pub empire's latest addition the Three Tuns. Firstly, I have cunningly worked out their roadmap for domination. If your local has a bar on one level with the majority of the pumps on, then another bit of bar on another higher level with a couple of pumps on, expect it to be Andrewfied soon - coz Mr Stephens luuuurves that split level thang. Think about it - Closed Shop? Yup. Three Tuns? Yup. Rutland? Um... well, anyway, this only applies to new acquisitions obviously...

Beer wise there was a decent range as always including two fab beers from Welbeck Abbey Brewery. Miss N sampled a pint of the Portland Black and me a lovely hoppy pint of Cavendish, before we both had a pint of the Portland. The pub has a fascinating design and is very pleasing on the eye and  now serves (although it has for a while) excellent real ales at reasonable for town prices. Well worth popping in for a look, unless you fancy a Sunday pint Since they don't open Sundays. Probably....

More news coming soon!

Wee beefy