Durham Review now Uploaded

The write up of our real ale pub crawl around Durham has now been added as a page. We were again blessed with good weather, a near miracle considering the summer we've had, so the pubs are mostly in the sun. All photos are of course my own as always.

My esteemed colleague Dan was recently in Norwich and seeing as he is a budding real ale enthusiast, and there is a storming ale scene down there, I tasked him with a write up. Hopefully it will be appearing soon, as will the write up of the crawl around Newcastle.

Me and the Mrs are on holiday from tomorrow which means there will be a write up of real ale crawls around Bristol, Bath and Birmingham in the not too distant future.

Sheffield Beer Survey

I, for one, am looking forward to the result of this years Sheffield Beer Survey. It was carried out on 28th July which meant I was unable to participate as it was my birthday weekend and I was drinking real ale in Newcastle!

What is the pupose of the survey? Well a few years ago Derby claimed to be the Real Ale Capital of England. Now we can't have that can we?! So ever since Sheffield CAMRA have organised a pub crawl, sorry survey, to count how many different beers are available on the day. Our fair city had had the largest choice every time but now there are similiar surveys being carried out by York and Norwich CAMRA branches. Both cities have a vibrant real ale scene but can they steal our crown?

It was interesting thsat the 2010 beer survey highlighted the fact that Moonshine by Abbeydale brewery was the most common beer on offer. Not sure if it held that title in 2011 and we'll have to see if will win this year.  For there is growing competition from Farmers Blonde which I am beginning to see more and more of.

First Interview

The first, of what I hope will be many, interview with a key person in the Sheffield Real Ale scene was conducted and recorded last night. I had a very good chat with Eddy Munnelly at The Gardener's Rest and co-director of The Sheffield Brewery Company.

Eddy very generously talked to me for 1 hour 45 minutes which was fantastic and covered a lot of things I wanted to know. However there is now the rather laborious task of transcribing the whole lot!

There’s a large list of people who I want to talk including Brewery owners, landlords, long standing CAMRA members, and pub group owners.

There is now a Facebook page but some content will be exclusive to the blog so keep reading!

Good Beer Pubs not in the Good Beer Guide (Yet?)

The 2013 edition of The Good Beer Guide is available for pre order with the formal publishing date being 13^th September. So I would like to speculate, in that limited time, about the pubs that are not in the 2012 edition but may well be contenders for 2013.

The Broadfield

Part of the Forum Group and as two other of their outlets; Old House and The York are in the GBG, so I expect to see this join them in 2013. It is now an excellent local beer pub in an area of Sheffield which was crying out for one. A former Greene King pub who obviously didn’t know what they were doing as it steadily went downhill, before the current owner’s restored the former Tennents ale house to a glory it has probably never seen before. The home cooked food is excellent, you must check out the sausages, and reasonably priced, with an impressive range of local ales on. No national breweries here, indeed the Forum Group now has their own brewery. The True North Brewing Company was started early this year under the tutelage of Claire Monk from Welbeck Abbey Brewery.

The Blake

The Blake is the sister pub of the mighty Sheaf View in Heeley. James Birkett launched his new venture in Walkley in the same no nonsense real ale pub style. Another great location; near to large swathes of housing some of which is student housing and we all know how much they like to drink. An ex Cannon Brewery pub it has a commanding corner location and a cosy beer garden. But you’re better approaching from Crookes rather than Penistone Rd as it’s quite a steep hill to climb! Not as big as the Sheaf inside perhaps, and a couple less hand pumps, but the same simple décor peppered with beer paraphernalia. A lush beer garden that has been decked to within an inch of its life, that doesn’t quite have a view of the city centre. Which is a shame as it would be quite a view to gaze upon, and I cannot think of a real ale pub in Sheffield that has a view from one of the infamous seven hills. But it is tantalising close to The Hillsborough, which is close to The Gardener’s Rest which is not too far from The Kelham Island Tavern and.. well you get the idea!

The White Lion

This excellently preserved old style boozer was previously in the GBG but lost out in 2012 to one of the new entrants. Which is somewhat paradoxical as it has a much better range of beer now than it ever did before. Now you can expect to see Moonshine, Silver King from Ossett, Sequoia and Jaipur from Thornbridge and Hobgoblin from Wychwood and I think easy Rider is still available too. Whereas before the recent landlord took over was limited to Hobgoblin, Moonshine and Tetleys as far as I can recall. This used to be my local a few years ago and I have always liked the atmosphere, largely due to the retention of the separate rooms. The beer garden is quite cosy and there is a pool table, dart board and games machine for entertainment. Live music is now a selling point with acts on regularly throughout the week. However, and it pains me a little that there is a ‘however’; the beer prices are steep for Sheffield, with most pints costing close to £3.

Thornbridge

Now whatever you may think of the ambitious Derbyshire brewery and their aggressive property acquisition strategy, it can be assumed that the good CAMRA members of Sheffield will probably vote to include one of their outlets in the 2013 GBG. It is a distinct likelihood due to the sheer number they have, which seems to have increased by a premise a month recently.

My money would be the inclusion of The Greystones. It is immensely popular and people don’t seem to mind the slightly high prices, as it is far better than the previous Enterprise business in that location; The Highcliffe. They are making excellent use of the back room; showcasing comedy and touring music acts, and it is the only proper real ale pub in the Greystones/High Storrs area.

The Bath Hotel is currently in the GBG but that was before Thornbridge took it on. As people have voted for it before and as it is unlikely to change much it has a good chance of remaining in the guide. I have not been in since it has changed hands but it is certainly on my ‘to drink in’ list in the near future.

The Stag on Psalter Lane is a new acquisition, again utilising an Enterprise property. I have always been a fan of The Stag, even though the dart board that I used to play on has been removed. It has 3 distinct indoor areas, all with a homely feel (the conservatory being my favoured location), and what must be the largest tract of land attached to a pub in the inner city. A beer patio, a car park and a beer garden/children’s play area. We used to drop in occasionally when the last Enterprise landlord had it, as we’re quite partial to Chatsworth Gold by Peak Ales, but it was £3.30 a pint! Enterprise strikes again; charging so much for everything else that ale is the one thing the landlord can try and make some profit on. The Chatsworth Gold may have gone but the price per pint for a Thornbridge ale is significantly cheaper. Its quiet nature and laidback foliage covered surroundings may earn it a place.

The Hallamshire is a well established pub in the heart of one of Sheffield’s busiest student areas. It is the only pub in Sheffield that has a full sized snooker table so if you are a beer loving snooker player this is going to get your vote. Another establishment that has retained its separate rooms, there is a generous range of Thornbridge ales on the bar, 8 in total. Went I went in a few weeks ago there were students sat in the front with older drinkers in the back and around the snooker table. But if the older CAMRA member stereotype is true, then this pub may struggle to get the required support for entry.

The Inn at Troway (Formerly the Blackamoor) is in Derbyshire and while some entries in our neighbouring county are decided by Sheffield CAMRA, the aforementioned Thornbridge pub is close to Chesterfield so will probably come under their remit. Or may even be decided by the newly formed Dronfield branch if they have been allocated any spaces in the GBG to fill. If that is the case then The Inn will face stiff competition from The Jolly Farmer (already in the GBG) and the Three Tuns (brewery tap for Spire).

The Cricket Inn at Totley is one of the longer serving Thornbridge partnerships. However its main focus is on food and there are 3 other partnerships/sponsors, two food related and the other a wine merchant. There is also the suburban location. While it is not a rule as such, all the entries in the GBG for Sheffield have been in the city centre and the area around it. I would imagine this is due to a higher concentration of CAMRA members and the fact that people tend to drink more when they go into the city.

Dada might be a bit quirky for some people’s taste, even though I’m sure the beer will be well looked after and may even be selling non Thornbridge ales from the pictures on their website. Alas I have also not managed to go in here yet either but it is also on the list.

A good contender could be the Cross Scythes on Derbyshire Lane, a recent addition to the Thornbridge stable. This pub is through an agreement with Punch Taverns who have allowed them to have two guest ales on, along with three of their own. The building has been refurbished tastefully and now has a very smart interior and a newly fashioned beer garden to the rear, in addition to the benches at the front. Just off Woodseats, the first Thornbridge outlet in that area, and well worth visiting out of curiosity, ambience and guest beers.

Barring any further recent acquisitions that I am not aware of that just leaves Relish on Ecclesall Rd, which is also a food based outlet. Whilst that does not rule it out, Sheffield entries in the GBG tend to be traditional pubs.

The Museum

A centrally located Greene King pub but don’t let that put you off. It’s the only place that I know of that regularly features specials from Abbeydale Brewery as well as some of their standard range. It always has a good atmosphere and has quite a few nooks and cranny’s to sit in. Not too bad on price either and while it doesn’t have a beer garden, it has floor to ceiling sliding windows that are opened on hot summer days.

Shakespeare’s

This wonderful addition to the Kelham Island Real Ale crawl is sure to be included. Skilfully converted to a four room pub from three, and with a generous beer garden that includes a sheltered area, Shakespeare’s has become a firm favourite. The area is a bit of an Abbeydale black spot, I say this because every other local brewery is represented if not based around there, so it was a good move to have Deception as a regular beer. There is a large function room on the first floor which regularly hosts folk nights and local bands. To say that Punch Taverns used to have this establishment, on the doorstep of Kelham Island, is testament to how out of touch pub companies are.

The Cremorne

Over the past year or so The Cremorne has slowly been creeping towards being a reliable real ale venue. Rather unglamorous from the outside (although the recent paint job is a vast improvement on the previous beige colour) it has a traditional interior with wood panelling and bench seats around the edge. There is a dance floor area that connects to an enclosed courtyard for smokers. Offering up to 5 real ales, most of which are local, it is becoming a worthy addition to the stable of ‘just out of town’ beer pubs, cemented by the hosting of their first ale festival on the August bank holiday weekend.

The Porter Cottage

A much loved boozer in the student area of Ecclesall Road it has always sold 3 real ales, currently stocking from Bradfield Brewery. Always on the busy side you can count on it for a great atmosphere complemented by the long standing juke box. But it’s lack of regular guest ales may impede its chances in future editions of the GBG.

 

First Article!

The Leeds write up is featured in the current edition of Beer Matters! And the Chesterfield write up is now on the blog. Next just need to write up the crawls around Durham and Newcastle. Off to the Hop in Leeds tonight, but in a musical capacity. Not that I won't be carefully noting the lay of the land beer wise, for I have not been to a Hop yet, even though there is one in Sheffield.

All good fun!

Update

Apologies for the delay in communication but I can assuer you that much beer has been drunk and recorded! I expect the Chesterfield write up to be finished this week and then there will be a review of last weekends pub crawls around Durham & Newcastle. I can tell you that we were very impressed with the real ale scene in the North East, both in terms of the pubs and the range of beer on offer.

Planning has also started for our trip to Somerset in September with information currently being gathered on Good Beer Guide pubs in Bath and Bristol.