Ar'tnoo
Its been a quiet weekend, this one. Granted, it hasn't finished, but I have delighted in planning to do precisely nothing except a bit of shopping, a soupçon of social media gubbins, uploading some pics and watching telly. No beer. No public transport. No problem.
Part of the reason for this sabbatical from excess is the effects of Friday night. An absolutely great demonstration of how to end the week on a high. It wasn't an orgiastic spasm of gulping ale however, just a great night out with a friend, accompanied by astonishingly good beer. A bit like this....
We met after work, myself and fledgling pale ale drinker Middlemarch, and headed through the throngs of directionless dawdling folk around the markets to get to the Rutland Arms. We had come for food. It was just after 5. There wasn't a table to be had. The specials board had taken a hammering already as well, but we decided to get beer first, and then worry about a lack of seating. I ordered a pint of Welbeck Abbey Portland Black for me, and a pint of a Greene King beer, the shock of which' appearance made me forget what it was called.
Interestingly, a browse around their website searching for the beer's name indicated that Hardy and Hansons Dark Mild is available only in keg, (probably old news) and also, shows the pump clip for the Bitter next to it! I know that by owning a sizable chunk of Britain's regional breweries poor old Greedy King have a job keeping track, but given that their own XX Mild is only referred to as "other great beers" its surprising just how little interest the brewery has its low strength darker beers. Shameful.
Anyhoo, whilst discussing setting up a tab new guy (sorry new guy) informed us there was a table upstairs. So with tumultuous excitement we headed to a large empty room. It felt like we'd be sent upstairs in disgrace, but as it got ever more rammed downstairs other people joined us.
The food was beef and ale pie for me, which came with tremendous buttery almost sweet pastry, and a chorizo burger for Middlemarch. Both were fantastic, and really hit the spot. I also had another pint of the excellent Portland Black, before we headed off, via not spotting members of the Uni real ale society, AKA stalkers#1....
The Sheffield Tap was our next port of call and although also busy it was possible to sit in the brewery room. Middlemarch has never been in and was suitably impressed, and we set about catching up and admiring the architecture, watching a random mentalist shout at a door, and supping excellent beer. I was on a pint of Marble Stout, she on a ladies drink. Now, before you rise in uproar, I am even handedly including three possibilities in that category - soft drink; spirit and mixer, or fruit beer. Not being a research night I neglected to note which.
Next up it all got a bit silly. Middlemarch had a can of Maui coconut porter, which I had a bit of, and I got a half of Magic Rock Bearded Lady. Because it's amazing. Much like the price of the Maui.... I finished on a pint of Oakham JHB because I wanted something easy to drink, and it was once again on fine form.
I had to bade fare well to Middlemarch at this point and headed up to town. I popped in the Church House to address a need and found it, erm, exclusive. It was 22.00 on a Friday night and I think there may have been less than 20 people in. Much worse was there was no Caledonian Double Dark - in a move that the barman shared my surprise at, there was some other Caledonian guest, even though the Double Dark had been popular. I had a half of the XPA Gold, and retired to an empty corner to sigh.
My penultimate stop was the Bath Hotel. Here I was very sensible - apparently, if you have halves, then no matter how many they number nor how strong the beer they contain, that's responsible drinking. Putting this theory to the test, during an enjoyable chat with Ed and some people who adopted me later on, I had halves of Saltaire Hazelnut Coffee Porter and New World Red, and Thornbridge Juvenia and Halcyon.
The Halcyon was terrific, in that it tasted how it should, the Juvenia wasn't hoppy enough to call it a hoppy porter, but that's a trifling complaint as it was very tasty. Meanwhile the New World Red was really enjoyable, and the Hazelnut Coffee Porter was really a chocolate porter with hazelnut in. But hey, you can't win them all.
My final stop was at DAda where, in a relaxed frame of mind, I opted to not have another beer, but instead a cool and refreshing beer cocktail, Jive Juice with Chiron being the obvious choice, thus allowing me to quickly and easily sup a refreshing beer, and to be noticed by stalkers#2, Dronfield CAMRA.
This lengthy tale may perhaps serve as an illustration of why I need a couple of days of rest. A more positive message though, is that it shows the value of a great friend, and having great pubs to drink great beer in with them. AKA a Friday night in Sheffield.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
Showing posts with label The Church House St James Street Sheffield. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Church House St James Street Sheffield. Show all posts
Sunday, 24 February 2013
Monday, 28 January 2013
A lush week - part one.
Now then,
its been a busy Beefy week and, apart from doing meaningful stuff like filling out a job application, am afraid much of my endeavour has been in soaking up various potations in pubs. You'll quickly spot that this is not actually a new development - so I'll elucidate.
Tuesday saw me completing the tasks of shopping and filling out a job application form by starting in the Bath Hotel. Ruefully short in opportunities or inspiration to do either, I ended up simply "drinking" and having a conversation. Yeah, I know. Nowhere near as much fun as writing out examples of experience against a competency framework. Beer was excellent Amber Ales offerings, a pint or two of Derbyshire Gold, and half of their slightly odd (but better mixed with the Gold) Jasmine IPA.
I popped in Betty's for a now noticeably smaller fishcake butty before struggling up to Harrisons for a chat with Bob, Linda and Dave and a pint. Bradfield Farmers Blonde, was, unsurprisingly, mu tipple of choice. The countdown begins to the imminent departure of Barraharri - seems another night out will have to be had.
Down to the Red Deer and it was quiz night, hosted by a man who, alas, since the subject was enquiries and acquisitions (or similar), couldn't pronounce enquiry.being a bit sad and petty, I sniggered a little. Beers wise I had halves of Oakwell Dark Mild and Hook Norton Cotswold Lion, with the Dark probably edging it.
Rumour has it I ended up at DAda next, which makes sense since i have a hazy recollection (this is nearly a week ago, come on!) of speaking to Jamie. Luckily my camera remembered to take a pic or two, nudging my memory sufficiently to recall a pint of Hophead Galaxy, a tremendously tasty refreshing hoppy beer from Dark Star, and a half of their Smoked Porter, which isn't particularly smoked. Or portery.
My final stop was to ahve been the Church House but approaching the doorway at 22.00 I found the sugn being taken inside. Apparently they were closing early due to there being no customers. Granted it was quiet everywhere and dire weather but this is not a positive sign.
My last drinks were in the Rutland, where I had a pint of the Chantry Dark, which was excellent, and half an Ilkley Big Chief IPA, which was...enormous. I also had a chat with a bloke called Ken form Chesterfield about pubs, which is a fine way to pass half an hour, before I escaped to do the shopping that I had planned to definitely do. Alas the form would have to wait.
Wednesday was a DAda day again, this time Annie and Ems were the bar masters and I was meeting up with old friends for pints and catching up. Christingpher, Suooz and Angie made up the thirsty foursome (although some were thirstier than others, myself being in the first camp) and I enjoyed many pints of Hophead Galaxy and half a Partridge from Dark Star, plus a very slowly drunk Thorngbridge Thorny Goat on Keykeg.
I think what with recent thoughts about dispense methods its worth pointing out that it is about a pound dearer than on cask, and its extra cold chill negates the more rounded elements of the flavour. Remember - not all good beer, is good on Keykeg....*
Spo that rounds off part 1 of my weeks round up, more news later. Cheers.
Wee Beefy
*It's perhaps a cheap shot, but my spell-checker does not recognise Keykeg, instead it suggests I write EKG. Perhaps the ElectroCardioGram (ECG is the English version) is pertinent given the palputations you might feel at paying 20 or 25% more for colder beer. Ahem. I'll get me coat....
its been a busy Beefy week and, apart from doing meaningful stuff like filling out a job application, am afraid much of my endeavour has been in soaking up various potations in pubs. You'll quickly spot that this is not actually a new development - so I'll elucidate.
Tuesday saw me completing the tasks of shopping and filling out a job application form by starting in the Bath Hotel. Ruefully short in opportunities or inspiration to do either, I ended up simply "drinking" and having a conversation. Yeah, I know. Nowhere near as much fun as writing out examples of experience against a competency framework. Beer was excellent Amber Ales offerings, a pint or two of Derbyshire Gold, and half of their slightly odd (but better mixed with the Gold) Jasmine IPA.
I popped in Betty's for a now noticeably smaller fishcake butty before struggling up to Harrisons for a chat with Bob, Linda and Dave and a pint. Bradfield Farmers Blonde, was, unsurprisingly, mu tipple of choice. The countdown begins to the imminent departure of Barraharri - seems another night out will have to be had.
Down to the Red Deer and it was quiz night, hosted by a man who, alas, since the subject was enquiries and acquisitions (or similar), couldn't pronounce enquiry.being a bit sad and petty, I sniggered a little. Beers wise I had halves of Oakwell Dark Mild and Hook Norton Cotswold Lion, with the Dark probably edging it.
Rumour has it I ended up at DAda next, which makes sense since i have a hazy recollection (this is nearly a week ago, come on!) of speaking to Jamie. Luckily my camera remembered to take a pic or two, nudging my memory sufficiently to recall a pint of Hophead Galaxy, a tremendously tasty refreshing hoppy beer from Dark Star, and a half of their Smoked Porter, which isn't particularly smoked. Or portery.
My final stop was to ahve been the Church House but approaching the doorway at 22.00 I found the sugn being taken inside. Apparently they were closing early due to there being no customers. Granted it was quiet everywhere and dire weather but this is not a positive sign.
My last drinks were in the Rutland, where I had a pint of the Chantry Dark, which was excellent, and half an Ilkley Big Chief IPA, which was...enormous. I also had a chat with a bloke called Ken form Chesterfield about pubs, which is a fine way to pass half an hour, before I escaped to do the shopping that I had planned to definitely do. Alas the form would have to wait.
Wednesday was a DAda day again, this time Annie and Ems were the bar masters and I was meeting up with old friends for pints and catching up. Christingpher, Suooz and Angie made up the thirsty foursome (although some were thirstier than others, myself being in the first camp) and I enjoyed many pints of Hophead Galaxy and half a Partridge from Dark Star, plus a very slowly drunk Thorngbridge Thorny Goat on Keykeg.
I think what with recent thoughts about dispense methods its worth pointing out that it is about a pound dearer than on cask, and its extra cold chill negates the more rounded elements of the flavour. Remember - not all good beer, is good on Keykeg....*
Spo that rounds off part 1 of my weeks round up, more news later. Cheers.
Wee Beefy
*It's perhaps a cheap shot, but my spell-checker does not recognise Keykeg, instead it suggests I write EKG. Perhaps the ElectroCardioGram (ECG is the English version) is pertinent given the palputations you might feel at paying 20 or 25% more for colder beer. Ahem. I'll get me coat....
Tuesday, 1 January 2013
Contrary to my own advice....
(Hello,)
......I decided to go to a few public houses on New Years Eve. You know, that event, along with Christmas Eve, that I claimed not to have the slightest desire to go out drinking on. Just so were clear. In mitigation, a decent Christmas Eve sup at DAda did go someway to changing my mind. And, one of the primary concerns espoused, that it would be rammed, turned out to be well wide of the mark.
When I used to go drinking on New Years Eve in the nineties, in most pubs if you weren't in by 7pm you weren't getting in full stop, and you needed to arrive earlier for a seat. Last night, notwithstanding the possibility that West Street venues were rammed, only the very last pub got full (but was half empty at midnight) and had the radio not been on for the countdown I think the new year could have passed us all by! Here's what happened prior to that.
Not as bad though, I had a pint of Caledonian Double Dark and Chala and Thangor had he-ladeez drinks. You know. Ickle ones, wi stuff in. We went to sit down on comfy seats near the bar and strangely, after spending 15 minutes seemingly doing nothing the manager sat down nearby and sighed, then loudly announced that it was time for a break. Irony perhaps?
Apart from Alcy Bob here, Chala and Thangor remained steadfastly on the same drinks - Freedom Wheat for Chala and a vodka and tonic for Thangor. I meanwhile started with a pint of (and had many more pints of) Pennine Black Fell Porter - or similar. There's really no pint (edit - point!) trying to claim that I have clear memories of the night, so lets just assume this is correct and go with it. It was a really very nice dark beer anyway! I also had a few halves of Magic Rock High Wire, nicely reminding me why the NZ version was better, and a pint of Bollington White Nancy.
......I decided to go to a few public houses on New Years Eve. You know, that event, along with Christmas Eve, that I claimed not to have the slightest desire to go out drinking on. Just so were clear. In mitigation, a decent Christmas Eve sup at DAda did go someway to changing my mind. And, one of the primary concerns espoused, that it would be rammed, turned out to be well wide of the mark.
When I used to go drinking on New Years Eve in the nineties, in most pubs if you weren't in by 7pm you weren't getting in full stop, and you needed to arrive earlier for a seat. Last night, notwithstanding the possibility that West Street venues were rammed, only the very last pub got full (but was half empty at midnight) and had the radio not been on for the countdown I think the new year could have passed us all by! Here's what happened prior to that.
The day started off with a cameo at work - a 5 hour 13 minute shift making a mess of my flexi balance. Now deficit. But hey, it was New Year. Who wants to work New Year? Well, the answer is very few people, but as the rest of the day would demonstrate, a lot of people have to work long into the night. So before I go any further lets say thanks to the bar staff of the world who have to manage hoards of revellers, idiots, children, drinkers, alco's, bar room professors and barflys safely through to the next year. Well done to you!
So after leaving work, and despite the best efforts of SYPTE and Worst Mainline I did eventually get to the Hallamshire House - 50 minutes after setting off. Amazing. Luckily, the sole reason for my trip was in place - not the Man of Ash behind the bar, but the fantastic Thornbridge Hall Heather Honey Imperial Stout at 10% (and, I think, £3.60 a half), on it. Not wanting to start quite so high, I first had a half of another honey ale. Usually when I see honey listed on a pump clip I steer well clear, but the Thornbridge Craft Union seemed to pull off being both an enjoyable beer, and one with honey in it.
Now the more astute amongst you will have worked out that in having sought out a Heather Honey Stout I couldn't really claim to actively avoid honey beers, but that beer came highly recommended by people who know their stuff so I figured it would be a risk worth taking - I also imagined the Heather and stout components would save it. And they do. The HHIS as we'll call it has an astonishingly sumptuous and inviting aroma and an impressively smooth taste and texture. True, it took me 40 minutes to drink a half, but it seemed silly rushing it, even though I was pushed for time. I suspect that a pint or more of HHIS would render much of the rest of any evening blurry however, so its probably best that I had places to be. A great beer though.
Next I somehow made it to DAda in 15 minutes and found it even more deserted than usual. It seems the high up chaps at Fornbrij had decided that it wasn't busy enough last year to warrant opening past 7pm this. (lucky I popped in, since I was thinking of going later). I had a decent pint of the Dancing Duck Gold and a chat with the barman here, before heading off, bang on time, for Platillos.
Not exactly pitched as a beer wonderland, it still riles me that after an initially promising start the range at Platillos has gone steadily downhill as the years have passed. The discovery that there wasn't even over priced Budvar on keg was a blow - from a choice of Theakston keg, Thatchers cider on keg and the usual suspects, the two lagers suggested, Cruzcampo or A.N.Other did nothing for me, likewise the bottles. In the end I reluctantly parted with £4.50 for a bottle of Vedett. At least that's a decent drink. That said the food was nice and the wine OK but when Zizzis has a more interesting range of beers you are really doing something wrong....
Off next to the Church House, the well known "Bit of empty" branded pub nearby. We found it easy to get a seat in here because even with the arrival of a group of 10 ahead of us there was almost nobody in. Not that this hastened the arrival of our drinks. Whilst waiting to be served the manager asked if we were all together (me, Chala and Thangor), which we confirmed - then he just walked off. Erm..what? Why ask and then not serve us? We finally got to order after nearly 5 minutes. V pooer.
Not as bad though, I had a pint of Caledonian Double Dark and Chala and Thangor had he-ladeez drinks. You know. Ickle ones, wi stuff in. We went to sit down on comfy seats near the bar and strangely, after spending 15 minutes seemingly doing nothing the manager sat down nearby and sighed, then loudly announced that it was time for a break. Irony perhaps?
Off next to our final and by far the best venue of the night, The Rutland Arms. This wasn't stupendously busy so we got a table quite easily - and after putting several tracks on the jukebox the comfy settee came free and we headed that way to appreciate our choices a bit better.
Apart from Alcy Bob here, Chala and Thangor remained steadfastly on the same drinks - Freedom Wheat for Chala and a vodka and tonic for Thangor. I meanwhile started with a pint of (and had many more pints of) Pennine Black Fell Porter - or similar. There's really no pint (edit - point!) trying to claim that I have clear memories of the night, so lets just assume this is correct and go with it. It was a really very nice dark beer anyway! I also had a few halves of Magic Rock High Wire, nicely reminding me why the NZ version was better, and a pint of Bollington White Nancy.
Despite not seeing Mr Stephens (not the catering manager from Death Star Canteen) it was still nice to see Joe, Paultous, the other guy (sorry other guy) and the chefs, especially Rich (subject to confirmation!) who after finishing his shift was merrily supping bottles of super expensive but super excellent Goose Island Bourbon County Stout - possibly helping to demonstrate that he's a mean dancer too. Mind you, the opinion of a very relaxed man who can't dance himself is feint praise indeed...
Later on a group arrived from Lichfield, obviously doing some sort of pub crawl, and many of whom seemed to appreciate my choice of tunes, and they were joined by punters including L'Chapelle and Dom who I know from the Moon and other pubs. This made for a very good atmosphere, even though as alluded earlier, the pub wasn't packed. Midnight came with champagne and I was interspersing every pint or half with a pint of water by this point, before finally the drinks stopped and we got a taxi back at a surprisingly late stage.
Overall the night nicely dispelled some of my fears about going out New Years Eve (although the cab home is annoying) and most importantly, I am really glad I got to spend it with friends, family and the fine folk of the Rutland.
Happy New Year!
Wee Beefy
Saturday, 1 December 2012
The Church House, 4 St James Street Sheffield
Morning,
*ADDITION!* Stupid Blogger spellcheck is broken. Apologies for any errors, proofreading whilst hungover is tricky!
last night, I ventured to the Church House on St James Street. You know, St James Street. Everyone knows where St James street is surely? Well, erm, no, and I found it difficult enough to get people to imagine its location even using massive local landmarks. Luckily everyone has heard of the Cathedral; far fewer have heard of Sanctuary Bar though....
Anyway, I was there last night for the opening night. Except, that was Thursday. The sign had the right date but the wrong day, so I missed out on free stuff, which is a tragedy of immeasurable proportions. Humph.
Despite that, it was nice to see a range of six real ales on the bar, including some you rarely see in Sheffield. Being a Scottish and Newcastle pub (under the dirty umbrella of Heineken, alas) they had dipped into their dwindling portfolio of available cask beers, and colluded with Greedy King to bring a choice of Caledonian Deuchars IPA, Church House Bitter, Flying Scotsman, Elf Esteem and Double Dark Oatmeal Stout, plus Greedy King Olde Trip. Beer was averagely priced (due to a mix up with crisps it was unlcear in round one but I think my second pint, of Deuchars, was £3.00 - get me with me research!), and Bacon Fries were on sale at the going rate, i.e 80p a pack. Crucial info...
There's a decent wine list with a few bottles I'd like to try plus a few fillers that are easily affordable - a good mix of prices means if you take the whole thing a bit seriously as I sometimes do you can choose with confidence, but if you want wines to taste of wine and have alcohol in them you don't have to fork out a fortune only to be disappointed. The food menu looks to be bar snacks-cum-Tapas, with lots of fairly standard fare which I didn't pay a tremendous amount of attention to, but it didn't look too expensive.
Meanwhile, with thanks to Anne Greaves from Twitter for finding it, they have gone and got a Facebook page which doesn't carry much info I have to say. Puzzlingly their cover pic also appears to be a rack of thirds (although, there seems to be 4 - are these 142ml measures then?!). I didn't see or get offered any thirds whilst pondering my choice so am not sure if this is meant to be a literal representation or just a popular ale related image.
On a similar subject, when I asked about the lack of social media coverage and promotion of the reopening, the lass behind the bar said they had been handing out leaflets locally, presumably to business, but there are a lot of ecclesiastical buildings and offices nearby, so this seems a weird target audience. And also, leaflets! Why not stone tablets, telegrams or carrier pigeons? I know I was a late, reluctant convert to Twatter et al but its positively improved the numbers of people reading this blog, so I admit to being a fan of it as a promotional tool.
On a completely different subject the decor is quite good - a useful opposite to the themes most regularly encountered in similar venues like Browns (light and dark sitting awkwardly with ultra modern) and Henrys (light airy open spaces with wood and steel). The theme is quite clearly "old", but not in a gratingly twee or clumsy way, but in a homely, comfortable and quite striking in some parts, way. I particularly like the bar, a bit like what the West End have done but with more assurance and subtelty. Chala was very much wooed by the comfy chairs we were relaxing in - so much was I that I left my bag on the chair when we left!
Oh and the last important detail is about beers - Barman Jared (thats not his full name) informs me that the Deuchars, Church House Bitter and Flying Scotsman are likely to be regulars with the other three pumps changing, although the Elf Esteem, being a festive brew, should be on until Christmas. Me and chala both had the excellent Double Dark oatmeal stout, which was a very enjoyable, quite complex stout with a very pleasant aftertaste. I also tried a pint of Deuchars - now a sad facsimilie of a previously good beer.
Despite this, I think the Church House deserves credit for opening with a dark beer, which even in these enlightened times is still a woefully under represented beer style on the bars of Sheffield.
So in conclusion, it was an enjoyable visit. The beer was good, the food and wine list was OK, the decor looked good, it smelled of new pubs (I love that smell!) and the clientel was mixed, and bar staff helpful.
But will it succeed? Well, based on info from Andy Lonsdale (again from Twitter) and others, it seems to have had numerous incarnations, which always points to instability and a lack of business acumen or forward planning. It was previously Sanctuary which, it was suggested, used to be a not very successful gay bar - no idea if they sold real ale. Prior to that when my friend Sheeps Head Paul used to work behind the bar, it was called Gladstones, and did sell real ale, but he used to say it was mental Friday nights and quiet the rest of the time (and the ale was often awful). Someone also suggested it had a novelty name as well over the years; and before that it was definitely offices.
I see Heineken as a regressive influence, especially where the real ales are concerned (and for the record there is nothing of even the remotest interest in bottles or on keg). As a company they don't exactly seem to push the boundaries with products or indeed their attitude towards acquisitoin and management of companies, so it could suffer from their depressing mass market, lowest common denominator outlook. On the other hand, its a beautiful building, its in a very interesting location, it sells real ales unusual to Sheffield (well some) and is possibly just shielded from Church Street enough to be a place for a comfortable drink or meal prior to a night out in rowdier haunts.
So I really can't predict if it will succeed, but I hope it does well, because if nothing else, it can now be added to my after work pub crawl of Shakespeares, Three cranes and DAda. And extra choice is what we all strive for, surely?
Wee Beefy
*ADDITION!* Stupid Blogger spellcheck is broken. Apologies for any errors, proofreading whilst hungover is tricky!
last night, I ventured to the Church House on St James Street. You know, St James Street. Everyone knows where St James street is surely? Well, erm, no, and I found it difficult enough to get people to imagine its location even using massive local landmarks. Luckily everyone has heard of the Cathedral; far fewer have heard of Sanctuary Bar though....
Anyway, I was there last night for the opening night. Except, that was Thursday. The sign had the right date but the wrong day, so I missed out on free stuff, which is a tragedy of immeasurable proportions. Humph.
Despite that, it was nice to see a range of six real ales on the bar, including some you rarely see in Sheffield. Being a Scottish and Newcastle pub (under the dirty umbrella of Heineken, alas) they had dipped into their dwindling portfolio of available cask beers, and colluded with Greedy King to bring a choice of Caledonian Deuchars IPA, Church House Bitter, Flying Scotsman, Elf Esteem and Double Dark Oatmeal Stout, plus Greedy King Olde Trip. Beer was averagely priced (due to a mix up with crisps it was unlcear in round one but I think my second pint, of Deuchars, was £3.00 - get me with me research!), and Bacon Fries were on sale at the going rate, i.e 80p a pack. Crucial info...
There's a decent wine list with a few bottles I'd like to try plus a few fillers that are easily affordable - a good mix of prices means if you take the whole thing a bit seriously as I sometimes do you can choose with confidence, but if you want wines to taste of wine and have alcohol in them you don't have to fork out a fortune only to be disappointed. The food menu looks to be bar snacks-cum-Tapas, with lots of fairly standard fare which I didn't pay a tremendous amount of attention to, but it didn't look too expensive.
Meanwhile, with thanks to Anne Greaves from Twitter for finding it, they have gone and got a Facebook page which doesn't carry much info I have to say. Puzzlingly their cover pic also appears to be a rack of thirds (although, there seems to be 4 - are these 142ml measures then?!). I didn't see or get offered any thirds whilst pondering my choice so am not sure if this is meant to be a literal representation or just a popular ale related image.
On a similar subject, when I asked about the lack of social media coverage and promotion of the reopening, the lass behind the bar said they had been handing out leaflets locally, presumably to business, but there are a lot of ecclesiastical buildings and offices nearby, so this seems a weird target audience. And also, leaflets! Why not stone tablets, telegrams or carrier pigeons? I know I was a late, reluctant convert to Twatter et al but its positively improved the numbers of people reading this blog, so I admit to being a fan of it as a promotional tool.
On a completely different subject the decor is quite good - a useful opposite to the themes most regularly encountered in similar venues like Browns (light and dark sitting awkwardly with ultra modern) and Henrys (light airy open spaces with wood and steel). The theme is quite clearly "old", but not in a gratingly twee or clumsy way, but in a homely, comfortable and quite striking in some parts, way. I particularly like the bar, a bit like what the West End have done but with more assurance and subtelty. Chala was very much wooed by the comfy chairs we were relaxing in - so much was I that I left my bag on the chair when we left!
Oh and the last important detail is about beers - Barman Jared (thats not his full name) informs me that the Deuchars, Church House Bitter and Flying Scotsman are likely to be regulars with the other three pumps changing, although the Elf Esteem, being a festive brew, should be on until Christmas. Me and chala both had the excellent Double Dark oatmeal stout, which was a very enjoyable, quite complex stout with a very pleasant aftertaste. I also tried a pint of Deuchars - now a sad facsimilie of a previously good beer.
Despite this, I think the Church House deserves credit for opening with a dark beer, which even in these enlightened times is still a woefully under represented beer style on the bars of Sheffield.
So in conclusion, it was an enjoyable visit. The beer was good, the food and wine list was OK, the decor looked good, it smelled of new pubs (I love that smell!) and the clientel was mixed, and bar staff helpful.
But will it succeed? Well, based on info from Andy Lonsdale (again from Twitter) and others, it seems to have had numerous incarnations, which always points to instability and a lack of business acumen or forward planning. It was previously Sanctuary which, it was suggested, used to be a not very successful gay bar - no idea if they sold real ale. Prior to that when my friend Sheeps Head Paul used to work behind the bar, it was called Gladstones, and did sell real ale, but he used to say it was mental Friday nights and quiet the rest of the time (and the ale was often awful). Someone also suggested it had a novelty name as well over the years; and before that it was definitely offices.
I see Heineken as a regressive influence, especially where the real ales are concerned (and for the record there is nothing of even the remotest interest in bottles or on keg). As a company they don't exactly seem to push the boundaries with products or indeed their attitude towards acquisitoin and management of companies, so it could suffer from their depressing mass market, lowest common denominator outlook. On the other hand, its a beautiful building, its in a very interesting location, it sells real ales unusual to Sheffield (well some) and is possibly just shielded from Church Street enough to be a place for a comfortable drink or meal prior to a night out in rowdier haunts.
So I really can't predict if it will succeed, but I hope it does well, because if nothing else, it can now be added to my after work pub crawl of Shakespeares, Three cranes and DAda. And extra choice is what we all strive for, surely?
Wee Beefy
Thursday, 29 November 2012
New faces in Sheffield
Hello,
despite the title, regrettably I haven't managed to snare a fresh faced buoyantly optimistic newly arrived student to write this post. It would no doubt be an interesting idea, but I find that even had I not used the word "snare", approaching persons 20 years my junior and asking them to look at my prose/help me out with a blog could be misconstrued, especially in a loud bar. Not that I particularly frequent such places, but...
Anyhoo, this is just a little bit of news really, and the first info surrounds a new pub, or rather a pub reopening, in the city centre. For years there seems to have been no life in the Sanctuary on St James Street, between Vicar Lane and the Cathedral. I rarely recall seeing it open, and before that its name escapes me, but I know I never visited it. So the fact that its reopening tomorrow as The Church House means I may be setting foot inside, finally, for the first time.
Details are, to say the least, sketchy. I photographed the pub walking past but I can't read the Facebook address on the sign, although I did find a page which might relate to the pub (but I won't share it in case it transpires to be some dreadful religious organisation). Oh, and there is nothing on it but a photo. And it aint of a pub. I also could only find one reference on the Twatter, so have had to make do with dieing of boredom reading the planning application.
In short the application relates only to some external signage and entrance lights, and that the proposer is Scottish and Newcastle (pre Sanctuary, in the mid nineties, it was Sherwood Inns). Add to this some rather overly technical architectural details I found on the British listed buildings website, and that the sign proclaims real ales and free Wi-Fi (plus irrelevances such as coffee and "food", whatever that is) and you now know as much as I do.
So, erm. Wooh! Yeah! A new pub run by Heineken in disguise is to open in Sheffield. Oh, and by the way sign writers, announcing that the pub will open on Friday the 29th November does not fill me with confidence. Just saying....
In other news, Harrisons 1854 has staged a bit of a coup by getting hold of some of Bradfield Brewery's perennial winter favourite Belgian Blue. Despite its gimmicky colour its actually a very pleasing and suitably seasonal offering and a Bradfield brew that I usually look out for. Barkeep extraordinaire Barraharri tells me (and, erm, Facebook) that it will be on the bar this weekend. So get thi sens darn theer and try it.
Meanwhile DAda, who are people, have news of some Thornbridge Yule coming on soon, and also a couple of casks of the excellent Fullers Bengal Lancer. Fullers Past Masters and seasonals don't seem to make it oop North, not to Sheffield at least, so in addition to this being a very competent exploration of the brewing styles of the past this is also a quite unusual beer for the area. No specific dates for its appearance, but you could always go in and sup the absolutely excellent Thornbridge Evenlode Brown Porter whilst waiting for the Fullers to appear.
Finally, Black Lurcher, a beer brewed for the Three Stags Heads at Wardlow Mires by Abbeydale brewery, has appeared in bottles, and everything. Intrepid explorer Wee Keefy returned from a recent visit with a bottle for us to sup. Some confusion surrounds its antecedence since I have a sneaking suspicion that its bottled at the pub, although, am not sure how long it would last if that was the case.
I know from my days working at Archer Road Beer Stop that Abbeydale weren't keen on bottling of any kind so I'd be interested to know the story behind this bottle, but to be fair, I haven't got round to asking them yet!
So, that's all for now, hopefully with payday arriving in a couple of hours I will have a bit more news to bring you over the coming week.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
despite the title, regrettably I haven't managed to snare a fresh faced buoyantly optimistic newly arrived student to write this post. It would no doubt be an interesting idea, but I find that even had I not used the word "snare", approaching persons 20 years my junior and asking them to look at my prose/help me out with a blog could be misconstrued, especially in a loud bar. Not that I particularly frequent such places, but...
Anyhoo, this is just a little bit of news really, and the first info surrounds a new pub, or rather a pub reopening, in the city centre. For years there seems to have been no life in the Sanctuary on St James Street, between Vicar Lane and the Cathedral. I rarely recall seeing it open, and before that its name escapes me, but I know I never visited it. So the fact that its reopening tomorrow as The Church House means I may be setting foot inside, finally, for the first time.
Details are, to say the least, sketchy. I photographed the pub walking past but I can't read the Facebook address on the sign, although I did find a page which might relate to the pub (but I won't share it in case it transpires to be some dreadful religious organisation). Oh, and there is nothing on it but a photo. And it aint of a pub. I also could only find one reference on the Twatter, so have had to make do with dieing of boredom reading the planning application.
In short the application relates only to some external signage and entrance lights, and that the proposer is Scottish and Newcastle (pre Sanctuary, in the mid nineties, it was Sherwood Inns). Add to this some rather overly technical architectural details I found on the British listed buildings website, and that the sign proclaims real ales and free Wi-Fi (plus irrelevances such as coffee and "food", whatever that is) and you now know as much as I do.
So, erm. Wooh! Yeah! A new pub run by Heineken in disguise is to open in Sheffield. Oh, and by the way sign writers, announcing that the pub will open on Friday the 29th November does not fill me with confidence. Just saying....
In other news, Harrisons 1854 has staged a bit of a coup by getting hold of some of Bradfield Brewery's perennial winter favourite Belgian Blue. Despite its gimmicky colour its actually a very pleasing and suitably seasonal offering and a Bradfield brew that I usually look out for. Barkeep extraordinaire Barraharri tells me (and, erm, Facebook) that it will be on the bar this weekend. So get thi sens darn theer and try it.
Meanwhile DAda, who are people, have news of some Thornbridge Yule coming on soon, and also a couple of casks of the excellent Fullers Bengal Lancer. Fullers Past Masters and seasonals don't seem to make it oop North, not to Sheffield at least, so in addition to this being a very competent exploration of the brewing styles of the past this is also a quite unusual beer for the area. No specific dates for its appearance, but you could always go in and sup the absolutely excellent Thornbridge Evenlode Brown Porter whilst waiting for the Fullers to appear.
Finally, Black Lurcher, a beer brewed for the Three Stags Heads at Wardlow Mires by Abbeydale brewery, has appeared in bottles, and everything. Intrepid explorer Wee Keefy returned from a recent visit with a bottle for us to sup. Some confusion surrounds its antecedence since I have a sneaking suspicion that its bottled at the pub, although, am not sure how long it would last if that was the case.
I know from my days working at Archer Road Beer Stop that Abbeydale weren't keen on bottling of any kind so I'd be interested to know the story behind this bottle, but to be fair, I haven't got round to asking them yet!
So, that's all for now, hopefully with payday arriving in a couple of hours I will have a bit more news to bring you over the coming week.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
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