Artanoo yall,
the last two weekends have been a great opportunity to try new places to sup, including Chester, and Nottinghamshire - here are a few scarcely remembered details from the last two weeks....
Last Saturday I joined the lovely Vikkie along with Jill and Rich at the Industry Tap. Sadly I never got when it was owned and run by Lost Industry but they still supply a lot of the excellent beers there and despite the gusting wind it was a glorious place to sit outside in the bright sunshine. I started on a can of excellent Clamp from Sheffield's St Mars and finished on a half of the equally excellent Abbeydale Deliverance DIPA.
From here we walked to the Rutland for my first post lockdown visit and we sat on the last available bench in the beer garden where I definitely had a half of IPA......it was simultaneously busy and well managed and everyone enjoyed the drinks. From here we got two taxi for the four of us to the Crow Inn where I had at least one half, maybe two, of the excellent BBNO IPA which was on excellent form. Lovely to sit in the garden there for the first time in ages, and to see Paul and Lisa, who may have other names......
We went to Bar Stewards next where I may have had a pint of Cask from the Past, and got a few cans to take out, and we once again enjoyed our drinks sat in the beer garden. We finished our crawl in the mighty Shakespeares where I had a pint of something whose name sadly escapes me.
On Sunday me and WK went for a walk around Newstead and the related pit sight where there was lots to see, but also alas a lot of rain - and I hadn't bought a coat. Before heading back to Sheffield I popped in the Pit Micropub in the sports hall and had a choice of three real ales, all from Magpie, as well as a keg of Northern Monk. Sadly as I was soaking wet and short of time I didn't tell them the 5.2% Magpie summer ale was at best very tired - and at worst off. So I am both an awful customer and a dreadful blogger. Am surprised nobody else had noticed it but am well aware I should have said something.
Back in fine sunny Sheffield and me and WK popped in the White Lion - although I almost always go for Dancing Duck both me and WK had pints of a Salopian 3.6% session ale which the barman recommended. Am always a fan of their brews and this did not disappoint. We sat in the small room on the right and although we had to get off after just one we enjoyed our sup along with the excellent new exit down the passage at the side.
This weekend me and WK took a surprise trip to Chester - a place which I last went to aged 17 to watch a play with the janitor from Grange Hill in it which was by Shakespeare, but was also a place I have never been drinking in. Having booked last minute accommodation at a hotel about 20 minutes or less walk from the centre we arrived at 1500 and by 16.00 we had wandered into town. Seeing the crowd outside the Lodge on the way down I thought I had wandered into Crosspool, with some well rehearsed toffy-nosedness on display, but then having passed a few outdoor cider enthusiasts I thought I was back in Sheffield city centre - that aside though Chester has an amazing centre and we started our trip at the Old Hawkers Arms by the canal.
From an excellent range of beers I started on a pint of Abbeydale Aftershave at about 4.2%, and followed this with a pint of Hobsons stout - a brewery whose beer I haven't had for years! Whilst here we found out about micropubs and similar places to visit and headed with a mix of success to the 18.00 closing Beer Heroes where we had arranged a table for 17.30. The combination of Google maps and some confusion over the name of separate venues meant wqe got a little lost but Soon found it and WK was on a pint of session ale and I was on a pint of excellent Shindigger, sat on a small table inside. Sadly we only had time to stop for one as we had to leave just after six but from here it was a leisurely walk up Northgate and just out of the centre to what turned out to be the best pub of the trip.
Goat and Munch was a micropub selling about 5 kegs as well as two local cask beers and we sat in the back room along with regulars and a dog called Rory, with WK on half a Marble stout and myself on a fabulous pint of Kernel IPA at 6.8%. Rory was very well behaved and loved by the customers and the atmosphere was relaxing, warm and friendly. After having got some directions we headed to the Brewery Tap next which I think may have been in a former Linen hall - 6 Cask from the Past by Spitting Feathers along with a couple of keg - I had a pint of the strongest pale on cask and finished on an excellent half of Hacker Pschoor!
After this WK went for some scran whilst I headed own the road to the Bear and Billet where having given my details I quickly got a pint of Adnams whilst awaiting WK before getting him a pint of Weetwood Eastgate and myself a pint of Okells - another brewery whose output I haven't tried for ages.
Our last stop was the Cellar Bar where WK had a cloudy half of something refreshing and I had a fabulous pint of excellent Manchester Lagonda IPA in a venue where we initially sat outside but were later allowed back in. Excellent end to the night!
Yesterday although we nipped to the Oakwood pub next door for breakfast, we only made one pub stop - we nipped in the Lockkeepers next to the canal and WK was on tea as he was driving and I had a rather dire pint of BrewDog Punk IPA. The staff were nice but overall the visit was quite disappointing, since as well as the garbage selection of beers they also didn't offer the 50% off discount having only opened a week earlier. We nipped into henious Co-op en route back to pick up the car to get some local take out, and made it back to fine sunny Sheffield in good time - where I had a can of a Northern Monk collab IPA at 7.2% with Alpha Delta and Pomona Island and others which was absolutely delicious!
Overall I continue to enjoy my lockdown drinking and am looking forward to finding some new places this week as am off. And Chester was a fabulous place to go for both cask and keg and scran, along with excellent architecture.
Your very best of health!
Wee Beefy
Showing posts with label White Lion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label White Lion. Show all posts
Tuesday, 1 September 2020
Monday, 22 April 2019
Two new ones and two old ones.
Hulloo,
Its much more likely these days that I will visit a newly opened venue than revisit an old haunt, especially given the searing pace at which Sheffield's beer scene is evolving and expanding. In the past fortnight however I have, amongst rather too many, visited an old pub new to me, a new pub in an existing licensed venue which was also new to me, and revisited two pubs that had previously gone somewhat daarn ill....
Nearly two weeks ago, prior to the first venue, I caught the bus up to Heeley and visited the Brothers Arms, which has remained a cracking boozer, and where I had a pint of Bad Seed Imperial lager, sat outside in their wonderful beer garden, enjoying the fabulous cloud patterns in the sky, and, of course, the beer. I then nipped to the Sheaf View where I had a pint of Neepsend and Lost Industry Spruce Almighty on cask, and a half of their dry hopped sour shutter speed on keg. The Shutter Speed was served flat, which didn't suggest it was OK at all, although upon finding out it was a sour the aroma and flavours, when mixed with the dry hopping, made more sense. Evidence I should read beer labels more carefully methinks! I also caught up with Jon and Mandy in the continuously excellent White Lion, next, and had two excellent pints of Abduction, sat in the snug on the left, before getting a taxi to Jabeerwocky.
This new bar is housed in the former Bar Ambassada PL on London Road, a Polish venue. There is still a similar theme to some of the beers sold and Eastern European dishes feature on the excellent food menu. I discovered whilst reading up on the venue after visiting that it is owned or run by Chris who used to be manager at the Bath Hotel. I got to know Chris whilst visiting there and it was ages ago that I spotted him in Bar Stewards (or he me) and he, probably, told me about his new venture. I understand that his partner is in charge of sourcing the food. This puts an extra glint on my single visit, where although the card machine wasn't working, I still had a pint of Gipsy Hill Partizan Pale on keg, and a meal which I often eat at the Czech run Old Queens Head, the name of which currently escapes me. The food was delicious (and much needed), as was the beer, so I will definitely be arranging a return visit soon.
Early last week I was catching up with the wonderful Tash and after meeting in town for a wander and some shopping we decided to pop into the Roebuck on Charles Street, now renamed (perhaps recently?) as the Roebuck Tavern and Kitchen. I used to go in here in the nineties, ended up there during quite a few team nights out in the Noughties, and gave it a go when it was owned by Wood Street Brewery (now no more). The last time I went in was probably three or four years ago and it was fairly terrible. Walking past, we saw boards advertising craft (shudder) beers and food from Yorkshire, and were swung by it's promise to serve proper Yorkshire fishcakes, not rissoles....
On entering there seems to have been a subtle redecoration, and true to their claim the beers on cask did seem to be from Yorkshire - I didn't check them all though as I noticed they had Blue Bee Centennial IPA on at 5.0% so went for a pint of that and a large glass of white for Tash. We tried sitting inside on some stools next to a shelf but there was a red hot radiator on right next to the seats so we headed out onto the terrace for a more comfortable drink and a catch up.
The Blue Bee was a little odd - it was not off but seemed to somehow taste like two separate concoctions. Knowing the breweries wares as I do I was unconvinced that this was how they had intended the beer to taste, but it was palatable so I decided not to mention it.
I did however go inside to the obviatorium, and found there was no working hand drier and the cold tap was rammed firmly and fully on and un-turn-off-able. I managed to turn my tap off with some wrangling so when I went past the bar I pointed out that the tap was on full and couldn't be turned off and that there was no working hand drier. The response I received encapsulated a complaint made by my friend Dougie about younger people being unable to apologise. He had encountered dire service and rooms at an expensive hotel and the starlet behind the counter had said thankyou, instead of, for example, "am really sorry to hear that", or, "we will knock something off your bill, or give you a voucher", or similar. The response to my reporting the above was met with "thanks for letting us know". Well, thanks back. I will go and sit outside with my wet hands whilst your bathroom fills with water. Its such a shame that getting two basic features of a pub right eluded the people at the Roebuck, especially when their beer range has improved and their food sounds very tempting.
The Saturday before I had gone to the Grindstone in Crookes with WK and many of his and our friends to finish his birthday celebrations. I had started drinking in this pub in 1991 when it was still owned by Wards. It was the first and only place I ever tasted Wards Kirby Ale, and also the first place I read Beer Matters magazine. Its fair to say that as well as a different number of previous reputations, the pub has since also had a number of different owners, and rumours that Greedy King were going to sell it may or may not have ousted, perhaps the third management team to walk out and leave the pub closed in the last couple of years. Whether related or not this pub is now owned by Stancill.
Arriving at 22.45 on a Friday night we expected the pub to open til 23.30 or midnight, in line with other venues in Crookes but after my half jokingly telling Wee Keefy to hurry up, they called last orders at 22.55, with the pub already starting to empty by 23.20. I know that in the last thirty years most pubs used to shut at this time but things have surely moved on? That said, although the keg was expensive, all the real ales were £2.50 a pint so I had a couple of pints of Stancill India Ale, and sat around a giant table in a bay window with the gang. In effect we didn't really spend long enough to make a detailed assessment but if nothing else, at least its open, and out of Greedy King's hands....
My final stop was yesterday in Penistone, a place I have only been to the pub in once before. Myself and WK walked from Royd Moor in the warm Easter Sunday sunshine and knowing their beer festival was on we stopped for a couple of halves each in the White Heart, who were hosting the free festival, before walking back to the car. WK tried a half of the Penistone Amber (I think) and I the same brewery's Back Oil stout which had a very distinctive and overpowering burnt taste to it. WK then had a half of Ashover Font which was excellent and myself a Fernandes Blue something, which was very enjoyable. The beers at the festival are all £3.20 a pint but I am told that normally in the bar all the beers are £4.00 a pint, which is pretty pricey for a 3.8% bitter on cask. WK went on Good Friday and expected to enjoy the Hog Roast which was advertised but was told that they weren't having one on Good Friday, and there was no evidence that there had been one on Sunday or was going to be. Again, little things, but puzzling why nobody has sorted them out. Am led to believe as well that this is one of the few places in the town to get a choice of real ales, so it is perhaps somewhere I may pop back into to check out it and its competition.
Having visited four completely different venues with differing results in each, this once again shows that the range of places to try beers in different types of location continues to change and expand apace. And it has also been a perfect way to enjoy the made up festival of bunnies that is Easter....
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
Its much more likely these days that I will visit a newly opened venue than revisit an old haunt, especially given the searing pace at which Sheffield's beer scene is evolving and expanding. In the past fortnight however I have, amongst rather too many, visited an old pub new to me, a new pub in an existing licensed venue which was also new to me, and revisited two pubs that had previously gone somewhat daarn ill....
Nearly two weeks ago, prior to the first venue, I caught the bus up to Heeley and visited the Brothers Arms, which has remained a cracking boozer, and where I had a pint of Bad Seed Imperial lager, sat outside in their wonderful beer garden, enjoying the fabulous cloud patterns in the sky, and, of course, the beer. I then nipped to the Sheaf View where I had a pint of Neepsend and Lost Industry Spruce Almighty on cask, and a half of their dry hopped sour shutter speed on keg. The Shutter Speed was served flat, which didn't suggest it was OK at all, although upon finding out it was a sour the aroma and flavours, when mixed with the dry hopping, made more sense. Evidence I should read beer labels more carefully methinks! I also caught up with Jon and Mandy in the continuously excellent White Lion, next, and had two excellent pints of Abduction, sat in the snug on the left, before getting a taxi to Jabeerwocky.
This new bar is housed in the former Bar Ambassada PL on London Road, a Polish venue. There is still a similar theme to some of the beers sold and Eastern European dishes feature on the excellent food menu. I discovered whilst reading up on the venue after visiting that it is owned or run by Chris who used to be manager at the Bath Hotel. I got to know Chris whilst visiting there and it was ages ago that I spotted him in Bar Stewards (or he me) and he, probably, told me about his new venture. I understand that his partner is in charge of sourcing the food. This puts an extra glint on my single visit, where although the card machine wasn't working, I still had a pint of Gipsy Hill Partizan Pale on keg, and a meal which I often eat at the Czech run Old Queens Head, the name of which currently escapes me. The food was delicious (and much needed), as was the beer, so I will definitely be arranging a return visit soon.
Early last week I was catching up with the wonderful Tash and after meeting in town for a wander and some shopping we decided to pop into the Roebuck on Charles Street, now renamed (perhaps recently?) as the Roebuck Tavern and Kitchen. I used to go in here in the nineties, ended up there during quite a few team nights out in the Noughties, and gave it a go when it was owned by Wood Street Brewery (now no more). The last time I went in was probably three or four years ago and it was fairly terrible. Walking past, we saw boards advertising craft (shudder) beers and food from Yorkshire, and were swung by it's promise to serve proper Yorkshire fishcakes, not rissoles....
On entering there seems to have been a subtle redecoration, and true to their claim the beers on cask did seem to be from Yorkshire - I didn't check them all though as I noticed they had Blue Bee Centennial IPA on at 5.0% so went for a pint of that and a large glass of white for Tash. We tried sitting inside on some stools next to a shelf but there was a red hot radiator on right next to the seats so we headed out onto the terrace for a more comfortable drink and a catch up.
The Blue Bee was a little odd - it was not off but seemed to somehow taste like two separate concoctions. Knowing the breweries wares as I do I was unconvinced that this was how they had intended the beer to taste, but it was palatable so I decided not to mention it.
I did however go inside to the obviatorium, and found there was no working hand drier and the cold tap was rammed firmly and fully on and un-turn-off-able. I managed to turn my tap off with some wrangling so when I went past the bar I pointed out that the tap was on full and couldn't be turned off and that there was no working hand drier. The response I received encapsulated a complaint made by my friend Dougie about younger people being unable to apologise. He had encountered dire service and rooms at an expensive hotel and the starlet behind the counter had said thankyou, instead of, for example, "am really sorry to hear that", or, "we will knock something off your bill, or give you a voucher", or similar. The response to my reporting the above was met with "thanks for letting us know". Well, thanks back. I will go and sit outside with my wet hands whilst your bathroom fills with water. Its such a shame that getting two basic features of a pub right eluded the people at the Roebuck, especially when their beer range has improved and their food sounds very tempting.
The Saturday before I had gone to the Grindstone in Crookes with WK and many of his and our friends to finish his birthday celebrations. I had started drinking in this pub in 1991 when it was still owned by Wards. It was the first and only place I ever tasted Wards Kirby Ale, and also the first place I read Beer Matters magazine. Its fair to say that as well as a different number of previous reputations, the pub has since also had a number of different owners, and rumours that Greedy King were going to sell it may or may not have ousted, perhaps the third management team to walk out and leave the pub closed in the last couple of years. Whether related or not this pub is now owned by Stancill.
Arriving at 22.45 on a Friday night we expected the pub to open til 23.30 or midnight, in line with other venues in Crookes but after my half jokingly telling Wee Keefy to hurry up, they called last orders at 22.55, with the pub already starting to empty by 23.20. I know that in the last thirty years most pubs used to shut at this time but things have surely moved on? That said, although the keg was expensive, all the real ales were £2.50 a pint so I had a couple of pints of Stancill India Ale, and sat around a giant table in a bay window with the gang. In effect we didn't really spend long enough to make a detailed assessment but if nothing else, at least its open, and out of Greedy King's hands....
My final stop was yesterday in Penistone, a place I have only been to the pub in once before. Myself and WK walked from Royd Moor in the warm Easter Sunday sunshine and knowing their beer festival was on we stopped for a couple of halves each in the White Heart, who were hosting the free festival, before walking back to the car. WK tried a half of the Penistone Amber (I think) and I the same brewery's Back Oil stout which had a very distinctive and overpowering burnt taste to it. WK then had a half of Ashover Font which was excellent and myself a Fernandes Blue something, which was very enjoyable. The beers at the festival are all £3.20 a pint but I am told that normally in the bar all the beers are £4.00 a pint, which is pretty pricey for a 3.8% bitter on cask. WK went on Good Friday and expected to enjoy the Hog Roast which was advertised but was told that they weren't having one on Good Friday, and there was no evidence that there had been one on Sunday or was going to be. Again, little things, but puzzling why nobody has sorted them out. Am led to believe as well that this is one of the few places in the town to get a choice of real ales, so it is perhaps somewhere I may pop back into to check out it and its competition.
Having visited four completely different venues with differing results in each, this once again shows that the range of places to try beers in different types of location continues to change and expand apace. And it has also been a perfect way to enjoy the made up festival of bunnies that is Easter....
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
Saturday, 8 September 2018
Beef and Charlie's South Sheffield saunter
Hellall,
after last week's wander around Walkley, Crookes and Commonside on the Saturday, I met up with Charlie, formerly the beer blogger Ale Ambler, at the Sheffield Tap for a quick pint and an amble around Woodseats and Heeley on the Sunday. The weather was warm and sunny and the bus was due not long after we met up so we started on two halves of low alcohol, and I mean around 4% by that, beers for Charlie, and a slightly stronger one for me, being a pint of Vocation Chop and Change.
I had spotted two free tables in the sunshine a few minutes earlier, but a group of 3 had decided to take one of them whilst waiting for someone to fetch their drinks from the bar. Am not rude enough to do that, but if I had been we would have had a prime seat in the sun. Instead we sat near the doorway and supped our beers before heading to the bus station to catch the 18.
Despite being a Sunday and them deciding to change drivers the bus was 6 or 7 minutes late, and in no rush to set off. There was a delay in Herdings which had made the driver late, but the replacement saw no reason to try and make up time. We set off and headed on the puzzling route towards Woodseats and up Scarsdale Road before alighting at the stop before the Mount pleasant on Derbyshire Lane. The Mount Pleasant is a small traditional pub set just back from the road with two small traditional rooms and about five real ales. We each bought a pint of Moonshine and went to sit in the beer garden, soaking up the sun and carrying on our catch up. Charlie told me that he and his co-writers had discontinued their blog aswiftone when the founder died last year. He is still on Twitter and still loves photographing wildlife and said that not documenting his every drink had actually allowed him to enjoy his pub trips more. I assured him that I still very much enjoyed drinking, and that recording details, as regular readers will know, remained of secondary importance....
The moonshine went down well and we were soon setting off back towards Scarsdale Road. This was Charlie's second new pub, the Cross Scythes. I had a pint of Jaipur on cask whilst he had halves of Jesamine on cask and their Koln style (or Munchen?) lager on keg. We sat in the garden at the back soaking up the hops and the sunshine. All the beers were on good form.
We headed for Chesterfield road next down the steep path, and were soon in the Tramshed, the third new pub for AA. One of the three thirds he wanted wasn't ready but he tried one from Brew York and a third of the BBnos Pale at 6.5% that I had a pint of. We sat in my usual spot and discovered that there is a small area out the back where people were getting some fresh air. We had a taster of the Brew York Tonkoko cream stout before we left as well.
Our penultimate stop came at the White Lion just down the road. I had recommended we sit in the snug on the left and I had a pint of the Hopscotch IPA and Charlie had the same. It was very enjoyable but you had to get used to the slight sour notes to it. It isn't described as a sour IPA but it wasn't offputtingly so either, on oddly enjoyable beer. I know Jon chatted to Charlie for a while, and both of us about his new venture in the building next door with Edd from Hopjacker - good things will be happening in Heeley soon!
Our final stop was the Rutland, where the AA has been a few times since Dave and Chris took over. He bought me a half of what might have been called Dane IPA from Puhaste but may equally likely have been called something different. He didn't get a drink as he had a lengthy train journey home to outside Barnsley.
After he left for the station I went up to The Blake to meet Steve and bumped into Reason and Dan, and supped a couple of pints of the Neepsend Demeter Spelt IPA which I thought was a cracking pint. The perfect end to our travels and a perfect end to the first weekend of the pay month! Once more I was able to show Charlie a raft of new pubs, all of which served excellent beer on cask and keg here in super sunny Sheffield!
Your very best health
Wee Beefy
after last week's wander around Walkley, Crookes and Commonside on the Saturday, I met up with Charlie, formerly the beer blogger Ale Ambler, at the Sheffield Tap for a quick pint and an amble around Woodseats and Heeley on the Sunday. The weather was warm and sunny and the bus was due not long after we met up so we started on two halves of low alcohol, and I mean around 4% by that, beers for Charlie, and a slightly stronger one for me, being a pint of Vocation Chop and Change.
I had spotted two free tables in the sunshine a few minutes earlier, but a group of 3 had decided to take one of them whilst waiting for someone to fetch their drinks from the bar. Am not rude enough to do that, but if I had been we would have had a prime seat in the sun. Instead we sat near the doorway and supped our beers before heading to the bus station to catch the 18.
Despite being a Sunday and them deciding to change drivers the bus was 6 or 7 minutes late, and in no rush to set off. There was a delay in Herdings which had made the driver late, but the replacement saw no reason to try and make up time. We set off and headed on the puzzling route towards Woodseats and up Scarsdale Road before alighting at the stop before the Mount pleasant on Derbyshire Lane. The Mount Pleasant is a small traditional pub set just back from the road with two small traditional rooms and about five real ales. We each bought a pint of Moonshine and went to sit in the beer garden, soaking up the sun and carrying on our catch up. Charlie told me that he and his co-writers had discontinued their blog aswiftone when the founder died last year. He is still on Twitter and still loves photographing wildlife and said that not documenting his every drink had actually allowed him to enjoy his pub trips more. I assured him that I still very much enjoyed drinking, and that recording details, as regular readers will know, remained of secondary importance....
The moonshine went down well and we were soon setting off back towards Scarsdale Road. This was Charlie's second new pub, the Cross Scythes. I had a pint of Jaipur on cask whilst he had halves of Jesamine on cask and their Koln style (or Munchen?) lager on keg. We sat in the garden at the back soaking up the hops and the sunshine. All the beers were on good form.
We headed for Chesterfield road next down the steep path, and were soon in the Tramshed, the third new pub for AA. One of the three thirds he wanted wasn't ready but he tried one from Brew York and a third of the BBnos Pale at 6.5% that I had a pint of. We sat in my usual spot and discovered that there is a small area out the back where people were getting some fresh air. We had a taster of the Brew York Tonkoko cream stout before we left as well.
Our penultimate stop came at the White Lion just down the road. I had recommended we sit in the snug on the left and I had a pint of the Hopscotch IPA and Charlie had the same. It was very enjoyable but you had to get used to the slight sour notes to it. It isn't described as a sour IPA but it wasn't offputtingly so either, on oddly enjoyable beer. I know Jon chatted to Charlie for a while, and both of us about his new venture in the building next door with Edd from Hopjacker - good things will be happening in Heeley soon!
Our final stop was the Rutland, where the AA has been a few times since Dave and Chris took over. He bought me a half of what might have been called Dane IPA from Puhaste but may equally likely have been called something different. He didn't get a drink as he had a lengthy train journey home to outside Barnsley.
After he left for the station I went up to The Blake to meet Steve and bumped into Reason and Dan, and supped a couple of pints of the Neepsend Demeter Spelt IPA which I thought was a cracking pint. The perfect end to our travels and a perfect end to the first weekend of the pay month! Once more I was able to show Charlie a raft of new pubs, all of which served excellent beer on cask and keg here in super sunny Sheffield!
Your very best health
Wee Beefy
Sunday, 25 February 2018
A short Sheffield pub ctawl
Hello all,
don't worry, this isn't a post about short Sheffield pubs, its just the details of a short trip I had on Saturday to a few places to buy a small number of drinks. Being only yesterday there is a good chance I may even recall the details of all the beers I tried....
Having met relatives for a coffee in town earlier, and popped into Beer Central to pick something up, I headed for Hop Hideout, to wish Jules and Will a happy marriage (am not sure if that is what one says, but I said it to both!) and to have a couple of small drinks. I started on a half of the The Choice is Yours Export Porter, brewed by Blackjack, the Hop Hideouters and the Black Sheep Store at Blackjack Brewery in Manchester. Despite its strength of 6.7% the porter was really easy drinking - credit to all involved for a wonderful colab brew.
I also got a third of Magic Rock and Basqueland Brother Chucker IPA, a 6.7 colab with a wonderful aroma and a very satisfying taste. From here I caught the bus up to Archer Road Beer Stop. There were two real ales on, Wet Feb from Dancing Duck, and White Rose Blonde. As you may know you can't drink in but seeing as how I know Dave he invited me in for a catch up and very kindly bought me a couple of pints of the Dancing Duck beer, which was on top form.
From here I walked along Archer Road and up the road on the left Cawthorne Grove to come out and visit the Ale House. This is my third visit since it was taken over by new management last year and once more didn't disappoint. Here I had a pint and a half of Whitby IPA. I have never tried any of their beers before and so went for my default style, and the beer was served in a Whitby branded glass.
The IPA was hoppy, although not overly so, but was very well kept, and it was an enjoyable end to my rather short crawl of three Abbeydale and Woodseats venues.
Just a final note, and that is that next time am up in the area am going to pop in the White Lion which Jon and Mandy have now been running for three years! Congratulations to them on turning the pub round and making it into a top boozer once again.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
don't worry, this isn't a post about short Sheffield pubs, its just the details of a short trip I had on Saturday to a few places to buy a small number of drinks. Being only yesterday there is a good chance I may even recall the details of all the beers I tried....
Having met relatives for a coffee in town earlier, and popped into Beer Central to pick something up, I headed for Hop Hideout, to wish Jules and Will a happy marriage (am not sure if that is what one says, but I said it to both!) and to have a couple of small drinks. I started on a half of the The Choice is Yours Export Porter, brewed by Blackjack, the Hop Hideouters and the Black Sheep Store at Blackjack Brewery in Manchester. Despite its strength of 6.7% the porter was really easy drinking - credit to all involved for a wonderful colab brew.
I also got a third of Magic Rock and Basqueland Brother Chucker IPA, a 6.7 colab with a wonderful aroma and a very satisfying taste. From here I caught the bus up to Archer Road Beer Stop. There were two real ales on, Wet Feb from Dancing Duck, and White Rose Blonde. As you may know you can't drink in but seeing as how I know Dave he invited me in for a catch up and very kindly bought me a couple of pints of the Dancing Duck beer, which was on top form.
From here I walked along Archer Road and up the road on the left Cawthorne Grove to come out and visit the Ale House. This is my third visit since it was taken over by new management last year and once more didn't disappoint. Here I had a pint and a half of Whitby IPA. I have never tried any of their beers before and so went for my default style, and the beer was served in a Whitby branded glass.
The IPA was hoppy, although not overly so, but was very well kept, and it was an enjoyable end to my rather short crawl of three Abbeydale and Woodseats venues.
Just a final note, and that is that next time am up in the area am going to pop in the White Lion which Jon and Mandy have now been running for three years! Congratulations to them on turning the pub round and making it into a top boozer once again.
Cheers!
Wee Beefy
Sunday, 11 September 2016
Sheffield beer survey crawl, 03 September 2016
Hellall,
I promised young Matty that I would accompany him, as young members secretary, on his part of the survey of the Sheffield pubs selling real ales on a particular day. The crawl is (mostly) chosen by CAMRA and is designed to reflect the largest number of pubs selling real ales, or rather the smallest selling the most, for the Beer Capital Survey.
Being the Young member's secretary Matty decided to rashly ignore my sage advice on how to get to the first pub, the Cross Scythes on Derbyshire Lane. He caught the 20, and the driver said he would tell him where to get off. Numerous stops later, when Matty asked, the driver said he had forgot about him and told him how to get back to where the short walk started. Matty arrived half an hour late. Luckily, the bar staff confirmed he was their first customer.
Being so late I arrived only 5 minutes after he had left - I had planned to meet him at the Abbey on Woodseats but instead hared up to the pub to have a very quick half of Thornbridge Clerks Well, an excellent hoppy pale at about 6%, one of the beers of the day, then nipped out to catch the bus up to the next pub which Matty was already at.
The Mount Pleasant Inn front door was closed but I knew to get in round the back. The pub is currently being run by Gwyneth, landlord Stuart's daughter, and her husband. Sadly Stuart passed away at the end of June and they have only been running the pub for three or four weeks. From the ales on offer me and Matty both had halves of the Adnams Samba City, a clear wheat beer brewed to celebrate the Olympics - its refreshing and very easy drinking. Lets hope the pub continues to be a successful community hub.
Down Cobnar Lane next in torrential rain, we arrived at the Abbey. Before we got there, there were more staff than customers (6 vs 5) and the pub was very quiet. We both had halves of the Moonshine from a range of two - the range of four if the others had been on however, hadn't changed since they reopened. As we chatted a staff member spotted a small rogue crumb on the table next to us and raced over to swipe it from the tabletop. He then went to clean a clean door. I know it was crap weather and mid afternoon on a day with no home matches but this doesn't bode well.
Off to the Woodseats Palace next, my first ever trip. Unless it used to be Kwik Save....I had a half of O Hanlons Yellowhammer and Matty Burton Bridge Top Dog Stout and we settled down to chat and plan the rest of our crawl. Both beers were well kept and possibly cost £2.60 a pint.
Down to Heeley next through the torrential downpour, and we ended up at the Crown Inn. Now refurbished it sells four real ales at a decent price. I had a half of something hoppy, Hop Gun which may have been from Everards, and Matt a half of the Lost Boot from Charles Wells. We dried off here and chatted to the landlady, who very kindly gave us a bag for Matty's notes. By now the rain was heavier still.
Just up the road is the White Lion and in here Matty had a half of Abduction from Dancing Duck and a half of something else, whilst I had a pint of Hopjacker's Vics secret. All the beers in here, apart from Tetleys, were £3.15 a pint, which is very good value for the stronger ones. We sat in the lovely front bar snug and I asked Dave to share updates from me with the beer crawl page, as we were, and remained, the only two persons on the CAMRA beer crawl. And I am not a CAMRA member.
Up the hill to the Brothers next and we had pints of cask and halves of keg. Regrettably the identity of the cask beers has slipped my mind (it was strong) but I recall having the excellent Rango Mango from Abbeydale on keg and loving it. The pub was busy inside what with the weather but was a great place to stop, and Matty chatted with the bar staff about upcoming beers.
Down the hill again, to the Sheaf View, where we had halves of cask which may have been the Neepsend pale ale, but also may not have been. We sat in the back and worked out our route to the next pub whilst enjoying the ales.
Its a short trek from here to the Hop Hideout - and it had virtually stopped raining. We bumped into Andy C outside (with 3 accompanying folk) and tried to ascertain where they had been and were going - we found out we did not need to visit the Broadfield. At the Hop Hideout Jules and Will were on hand to dispense two excellent halves of sour on keg - a 7.2% one possibly from Lervig Brewery, and the excellent 6.2% Oud Beersel Gueze were sampled. An excellent and palette cleansing visit.
Up the road next to the Union, a pub I have not been in for ages, and Matty may never have been. Halves of Moonshine I think in here, mainly because the Taylors was about £3.60 a pint (and the recently run out Absolution was £3.80!?). Its a lovely, if pricey place to stop, but we needed to head for London Road.
We followed the 22 route and turned down past the new Tescos and came out more or less opposite the Cremorne. Here we both halves of the excellent Alchemist from Pictish, and shared a half of Last Rites from Abbeydale on keg. As this was nearly our last pub we downed our quarters before we left, for reasons absolutely unclear. Our penultimate pub was to have been the Club House, but we popped into the Albion anyway. They had one beer on, probably Farmers Blonde, which we supped quickly.
At the Clubhouse at the end of London Road we had halves each of the Clubhouse Pale and I had something pale from somewhere. We met up with Wee Keefy and he joined us for a half before we headed to the Beer Engine, our last pub.
The pub was busy but alas we missed the food, so both had pints of the 7%+ Wild keeper of the peace pale ale on keg as a finisher, and chatted before being joined by Em R. My memories appear to fade in here a little, no doubt unrelated to my having another pint. After this we all went to the Bath Hotel, where I can't remember what we had to drink at all, before they went to the Dev cat and I finished at Shakespeares on two halves of the excellent De Molen beers from the Tap Takeover. One was the strong beer possibly called heaven and hell and over 10%, and the other was the Amarillo pale ale at 7%. At about midnight I announced I was sober enough to catch the bus home, and got on and fell asleep, waking at Woodhouse. The things I do for beer....
This was a highly enjoyable crawl, in atrocious weather conditions to start with, but it was strange to me that nobody joined us - although, Matty didn't have any charge on his phone so maybe that's why he couldn't update the young or other members, but am sure the event is well known in CAMRA circles. I was assured that nobody joined Patrick on his crawl and other people did their tours solo, but that just suggests that the Beer Capital of Britain is a crown that Sheffield CAMRA doesn't want. Combined with Sheffield council's woeful dis-interest in Sheffield's claims to be the best place to drink real ale in the UK it is clear that Sheffield is missing a trick.
Its important to point out that I have already discussed the above with David, AKA Kate, the Sheffield CAMRA wallah. So bear in mind that my concerns have already been lodged.
A shame, but nonetheless a hugely enjoyable crawl.
Hic!
Wee Beefy
I promised young Matty that I would accompany him, as young members secretary, on his part of the survey of the Sheffield pubs selling real ales on a particular day. The crawl is (mostly) chosen by CAMRA and is designed to reflect the largest number of pubs selling real ales, or rather the smallest selling the most, for the Beer Capital Survey.
Being the Young member's secretary Matty decided to rashly ignore my sage advice on how to get to the first pub, the Cross Scythes on Derbyshire Lane. He caught the 20, and the driver said he would tell him where to get off. Numerous stops later, when Matty asked, the driver said he had forgot about him and told him how to get back to where the short walk started. Matty arrived half an hour late. Luckily, the bar staff confirmed he was their first customer.
Being so late I arrived only 5 minutes after he had left - I had planned to meet him at the Abbey on Woodseats but instead hared up to the pub to have a very quick half of Thornbridge Clerks Well, an excellent hoppy pale at about 6%, one of the beers of the day, then nipped out to catch the bus up to the next pub which Matty was already at.
The Mount Pleasant Inn front door was closed but I knew to get in round the back. The pub is currently being run by Gwyneth, landlord Stuart's daughter, and her husband. Sadly Stuart passed away at the end of June and they have only been running the pub for three or four weeks. From the ales on offer me and Matty both had halves of the Adnams Samba City, a clear wheat beer brewed to celebrate the Olympics - its refreshing and very easy drinking. Lets hope the pub continues to be a successful community hub.
Down Cobnar Lane next in torrential rain, we arrived at the Abbey. Before we got there, there were more staff than customers (6 vs 5) and the pub was very quiet. We both had halves of the Moonshine from a range of two - the range of four if the others had been on however, hadn't changed since they reopened. As we chatted a staff member spotted a small rogue crumb on the table next to us and raced over to swipe it from the tabletop. He then went to clean a clean door. I know it was crap weather and mid afternoon on a day with no home matches but this doesn't bode well.
Off to the Woodseats Palace next, my first ever trip. Unless it used to be Kwik Save....I had a half of O Hanlons Yellowhammer and Matty Burton Bridge Top Dog Stout and we settled down to chat and plan the rest of our crawl. Both beers were well kept and possibly cost £2.60 a pint.
Down to Heeley next through the torrential downpour, and we ended up at the Crown Inn. Now refurbished it sells four real ales at a decent price. I had a half of something hoppy, Hop Gun which may have been from Everards, and Matt a half of the Lost Boot from Charles Wells. We dried off here and chatted to the landlady, who very kindly gave us a bag for Matty's notes. By now the rain was heavier still.
Just up the road is the White Lion and in here Matty had a half of Abduction from Dancing Duck and a half of something else, whilst I had a pint of Hopjacker's Vics secret. All the beers in here, apart from Tetleys, were £3.15 a pint, which is very good value for the stronger ones. We sat in the lovely front bar snug and I asked Dave to share updates from me with the beer crawl page, as we were, and remained, the only two persons on the CAMRA beer crawl. And I am not a CAMRA member.
Up the hill to the Brothers next and we had pints of cask and halves of keg. Regrettably the identity of the cask beers has slipped my mind (it was strong) but I recall having the excellent Rango Mango from Abbeydale on keg and loving it. The pub was busy inside what with the weather but was a great place to stop, and Matty chatted with the bar staff about upcoming beers.
Down the hill again, to the Sheaf View, where we had halves of cask which may have been the Neepsend pale ale, but also may not have been. We sat in the back and worked out our route to the next pub whilst enjoying the ales.
Its a short trek from here to the Hop Hideout - and it had virtually stopped raining. We bumped into Andy C outside (with 3 accompanying folk) and tried to ascertain where they had been and were going - we found out we did not need to visit the Broadfield. At the Hop Hideout Jules and Will were on hand to dispense two excellent halves of sour on keg - a 7.2% one possibly from Lervig Brewery, and the excellent 6.2% Oud Beersel Gueze were sampled. An excellent and palette cleansing visit.
Up the road next to the Union, a pub I have not been in for ages, and Matty may never have been. Halves of Moonshine I think in here, mainly because the Taylors was about £3.60 a pint (and the recently run out Absolution was £3.80!?). Its a lovely, if pricey place to stop, but we needed to head for London Road.
We followed the 22 route and turned down past the new Tescos and came out more or less opposite the Cremorne. Here we both halves of the excellent Alchemist from Pictish, and shared a half of Last Rites from Abbeydale on keg. As this was nearly our last pub we downed our quarters before we left, for reasons absolutely unclear. Our penultimate pub was to have been the Club House, but we popped into the Albion anyway. They had one beer on, probably Farmers Blonde, which we supped quickly.
At the Clubhouse at the end of London Road we had halves each of the Clubhouse Pale and I had something pale from somewhere. We met up with Wee Keefy and he joined us for a half before we headed to the Beer Engine, our last pub.
The pub was busy but alas we missed the food, so both had pints of the 7%+ Wild keeper of the peace pale ale on keg as a finisher, and chatted before being joined by Em R. My memories appear to fade in here a little, no doubt unrelated to my having another pint. After this we all went to the Bath Hotel, where I can't remember what we had to drink at all, before they went to the Dev cat and I finished at Shakespeares on two halves of the excellent De Molen beers from the Tap Takeover. One was the strong beer possibly called heaven and hell and over 10%, and the other was the Amarillo pale ale at 7%. At about midnight I announced I was sober enough to catch the bus home, and got on and fell asleep, waking at Woodhouse. The things I do for beer....
This was a highly enjoyable crawl, in atrocious weather conditions to start with, but it was strange to me that nobody joined us - although, Matty didn't have any charge on his phone so maybe that's why he couldn't update the young or other members, but am sure the event is well known in CAMRA circles. I was assured that nobody joined Patrick on his crawl and other people did their tours solo, but that just suggests that the Beer Capital of Britain is a crown that Sheffield CAMRA doesn't want. Combined with Sheffield council's woeful dis-interest in Sheffield's claims to be the best place to drink real ale in the UK it is clear that Sheffield is missing a trick.
Its important to point out that I have already discussed the above with David, AKA Kate, the Sheffield CAMRA wallah. So bear in mind that my concerns have already been lodged.
Hic!
Wee Beefy
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)