Siuational Sups #3 - Drinking from the cellar at Shakey`s

Day-time drinking: Irresponsible? Reserved for holidays only? Only when abroad? The preserve of the Wetherspoons crowd? A road to ruin.......

Anyway, Monday pub crawl and what better situational sup is there than a couple of halves from the cellar at Sheffield's best pub? It's a great pub. The fact that Shakespeare's won the Sheffield Camra Pub of the Year in 2013 is still amazing considering the vested interests and the outdated criteria involved AND it keeps getting better. Sure, it may have smelly toilets ( who gives a ... ) but the selection and service here are bar none, so to speak. Chris' superb staff will even traipse to the cellar to get you tasters of future delights if you ask nicely (and it innt too busy).  Monday is  ideal therefore and henceforth, et al, etc.

Steel City is still the best brewery in Sheffield in our esteemed opinion. Sorry, the best 'brewer' what with them being cuckoo, homeless types (currently brewing from Toolmakers) amongst about 20 other brewers in our city, some good, some bad, some indifferent.... Answers on a postcard. And Shakey`s is the most likely place to get the latest releases from the capital of ale`s best brewer.

70p sarnies tough to top

Wow. Three Steel City brews in one pub!? That's like finding the fabled rocking horse shtuff, a Steel City beer festival reet there on Gibraltar Street. In this case we're talking Just What Nobody Wanted  ( a nice pale n hoppy 4.  % brew, of which I had the last half!), Incubus (a 5.0% black IPA collab with Mexborough's Imperial) and the drinkable Four Stooges joint-effort with some usual suspects..

On the bar, Shakey's has 9 handpulls ready to go with quality ales, mostly local-ish (including the much-hyped Cloudwater stuff), 3 quality kegs plus loadsa bottles from around the globe. And gin.

Shakesbeers, the beer board

Sure, situationally the Abbeydale's 4.1% Deception here is the best value pint in Town at £2.30, but that mebbe merits a blog bit in itself (here`s one we prepared earlier)!  ....,, We'll be back!

Punchy feather-weights ?

Light-weight but heavy hitters? You know the type; a low ABV beer with big bags of taste.
It wasn't so long ago that anyone wanting lots of taste had to be looking at your classic IPA % of 5.8 to 7% and similar with the stouts. Even then, plenty of them tended to be overly boozy rather than full of flavour. And again, similar with stouts.

However, one trend that we are both fond of is the hoppy brews that weigh in at 4% or less meaning that you can have a few without forgetting your name or the way home.

 

We reviewed Powermouse by Great Heck back in 2013 and this one was a really good pint. Hoppy, bitter, quaffable and only 3.6%, Powermouse was one of the first beers that made it clear that hoppy taste didn't have to mean 6%. Unfortunately, it`s now been replaced by Chinook-driven Chopper in the Great Heck range and we look forward to trying that one. The Sheaf View or The Harlequin were your best bets of spotting this little creature in the Capital of Beer.

Simpleton by Magic Rock has appeared in a couple versions : one at 2.6% and one at 3%.  Again this one offers the option of less alcoholic content without compromising too much on the taste. Sure, Magic Rock have more exciting wares in their ( recently expanded) locker but Simpleton scores well for a little un. Really enjoyed this at The Broady a while back but the price was still steep, if memory serves (and it should for once at 3%!).

I was also pleasantly surprised by the Thornbridge effort on Stitch. OK this one is a relatively hefty 4% ( bantam weight?!) but the Bakewell boys don't always manage to hit the high notes of taste without an ABV to scare off many a mere mortal. For me, Stitch  is a better drink than the AM PM attempt at an all day IPA but then I find the seminal Founders AD IPA to be transatlantic blandness.

                                                      
There's also plenty of little gems available in bottles from the likes of Beer Central, Hop Hideout and Beer Stop as the craftiest brewers seem to be working hard at both ends of the ABV scale. Siren / Hill Farmstead recently offered Love of Work, or was it Work of Love, which was very tasty at 3.6% and there are other good ones on them there shelves. Wiper & True`s Small Beer is below 3% and was recommended to us by the beer sages at The Broadfield and, sure enough, it is a one of the best to come of Bristol recently.

Unfined is fine by us.

The other alternative if you want big taste without an ABV to match is to look at the sour stuff. Again Siren is a great starting point but mebbe that line of drinking thinking will save for another day and another blogbit. It could be a Sour Summer ahead, ideally dry-hopped! Cheers!

A noticeable floral aroma here!

Three Valleys Beer Festival

Now then, neither of us are big on traditional beer festivals. Standing around for hours in a village hall or a sports centre with a luke-warm twiggy brew in a half pint pot isn't our idea of a good day out. There are exceptions though with some innovative 21st century beer fests but essentially we are both pub people.

However, this weekend sees a real highlight in the annual ale err annual with the 3 Valleys Festival. This event is now in it's fifth year and encompasses an impressive 18 pubs around this corner of North Derbyshire. Even with our ale-y expertise and local knowledge (sophistication? I've been to Dronfield), we couldn't possibly comment on all the pubs but here are some highlights:-

The Travellers Rest, Apperknowle

On the outskirts of the Drone Valley this one so bus or hike here but expect an easy on the-eye aspect and an outdoor marquee bar. Ales are scheduled to include Salopian (a rarity in these parts), Hawkshead and Fyne Ales. Plus then the secluded Miners Arms at Hundall with an inflatable pub and Pictish a-plenty is walkable too!

The Dronfield Arms

First stop for those arriving by train ought to be The Dronfield Arms. This place has been on the up since it changed it's name from the Sidings half a dozen years back but it is still improving under the leadership of Edd ex of The Bath Hotel. Ale quality has definitely been upped and the Dronny Arms is quite a tidy boozer. Expect best beers to include Brass Castle, Bad Seed, Great Heck, Waen plus locals Raw. Sure the White Swan is close by,  The Three Tuns too, but the bottle experts The Beer Stop are closer and they will have handpulls a-ready too. Just don't tell anyone else about this little gem or it'll be crowded out!

The Coach and Horses

No surprise to see us recommend this place eh as it is nearest to Sheffilisation and thereby an ideal first or last stop of the day. Beautiful beers inside and out showcasing Thornbridge's finest (fancy some Tart?!) plus other highlights like Magic Rock, Brooklyn and Black Jack. And gourmet salads in the early Summer sun, or your money back!

Other top tips / sound sage advice:-

Suncream - It is wam dan Saff.
Don't get stranded at Barlow Brewery, although it is worth a visit. Take a tent.
If you manage to get a pint in all 18 pubs, we congratulate you and commiserate with your liver. Write off Sunday too.

Have fun and be careful out there!

Thornbridge 101

 Having been inspired by a fellow fan of Thornbridge (and Sheffield FC media man) Stuart James, I totted up how many different Bakewell brews I had supped, wrote them down and this figure recently slipped seamlessly past 100. To be honest, the last couple (Bamberg a 6% smoked bock and the 5.2% American Sister an APA) were not favourites of mine but there have been plenty of highlights, some recent, showing that Thornbridge live up to their latest legend 'Never Ordinary'.

In the early years (founded in 2005), Thornbridge forged their formidable reputation around pale hoppy brews and their recent Jaipur X was a fitting celebratory tribute to ten years of this.

Rarely has a beer been so hyped and local outlets like Beer Central and Hop Hideout flogged their allocation in pre-orders alone. On-line it was a similar story. At 10% JX was a big hitter whilst more recently Bear State appeared in bottles and this 7% West Coast IPA is worth hunting down. Intense citrus and lasting bitterness with just a hint of malt sweetness.

The previously blogged Cocoa Wonderland is a cracker. It really is a fantastic 6.8% treat best got from the cask but also now a part of the ever expanding bottled offerings. The rye IPA Desert Sessions was also a favourite of mine. Brewed in cahoots with the good folk at The Bath Hotel, at 5.7% DS was dangerously drinkable too. Puja is in similar vein albeit a Jasmine IPA and both of us have struggled not to sup too much of this rare 6.7%er.

Lowlights? Misses? Well neither of us could manage Doppelgänger, or whatever it was called, but then we're not weisenbock type of boys. Ditto Ruin. Gin? Yes, but botanical beer.... Arghhh!

I'm sure there will be plenty more highlights ahead in my next 101 Thornbridge brews and this might well start next week in their exciting collaboration with Somerset stars Wild Beer Co and the eagerly anticipated Bakewell Sour. `Never Ordinary`, indeed! Cheers.

The Beer Engine

Having heard good things about The Beer Engine, it was nice to finally visit this Cemetery Road pub. It's tucked away near Waitrose and used to be known as Delaney's in a former life.
Manager Tom, formerly of Sheaf View, Thornbridge, The Ale House, etc, was not working on the Sunday night that we visited but he was mentioned amongst our carefully calculated nominations for a pub management dream team (it's looking like a five-a-side one with mebbe two subs, by the way. Send us your nominations on a postcard please).

The pub is nicely done out inside and has some tasty sounding tapas tackle on offer plus other stuff on matchdays. Oh, and a decent beer garden. Lots of talk about the light-coloured tables but they looked fine to us. Mind you, this is a beer blog not 60 Second Makeover `n` that.

Nice beer on a nice enough table

First up we really enjoyed a couple of pints of Raw's Baby Ghost IPA and, uncharacteristically, we were tempted to stick with it. At 3.9%, this is a really effective `all day` hop fest. The Staveley stars are at their best with their Ghost series; can`t go far wrong. However, I'm glad we also then tried the Independence from Bristol Beer Factory. It's a lovely American pale brew with plenty of hop and citrus taste to it at 4.6%. Reyt up our street and both really quaffable pints. At this point we'd tend to maybe look keg-side as The Beer Engine usually has something interesting but the Bad Seed lager didn't appeal so we finished off with a couple of bottles.

The Bad Seed South Pacific Pale was disappointing, a bit dull really even at 5.8%, so I shan't holiday in that vicinity this year. Angelsey will suffice, again.

However, Siren's Broken Dreams, aged in sexy barrels, was a great nightcap. It really is a tough task to find a bad beer from the red-hot Reading brewers and it`s no surprise that RateBeer rated them tops recently. Don't recall what we paid for it but the price was right. Now, Play Your Cards Right and pop into the Beer Engine after a Supermarket Sweep at Waitrose, or similar. Sorry, it`s been a long week! Cheers.

Dronfield; it`s not that bad

How do? OK we have a nice little ale amble developing over there in Dronfield, which is not that far from civilisation. Catch 43 or 44 bus or even a cheeky train trip and you`re there. Tha don't even need t'passport!

The Three Tuns is a nice pub especially if you are a fan of Spire beers. This is their tap house and it has many ales on cask. This pub also plays a central part in the forthcoming (and usually excellent) Three Valleys beer festival; there's usually plenty of food on the go and the bar gets busy, busy, busy.

A five minute meander along the A61 and you've got The Dronfield Arms. Again, this place is nice inside, sleek `n` shiny, and the ale offerings have jumped up a league level or two recently. Edd off of / out of (?!) The Bath has arrived as el gaffer so this place is now definitely worth a look. Cheers!

Two minutes away and you can get a pint at the new Dronfield Bottle Stop. There are usually a couple of cask ales available and you can sit at one of the picnic tables inside to enjoy them. When I bobbed in there was Dronfield Pale and the Wild Millionaire, the salted caramel one, on the bar; a decent double act for an offie, eh? The bottle selection itself is excellent locals and national heavyweights like Beavertown and Marble plus a smattering of overseas stars such Mikkeller `n` that.

The walk then to the esteemed Coach and Horses is a little longer, mebbe ten minutes, and so you'll need to grab a seat here and stop a little longer. Get some food too. This is the original and best Thornbridge tap house and they offer five hand-pulls plus some nice kegged stuff alongside a warm welcome from James and the team.

Sheffield and South Yorkshire have a historical habit of expanding it's borders, albeit a century or two ago, but the we could do worse than to take Dronfield under it's RePublican wing. Until then, cross-border raids are the way forward,

Two Ton (11% Double IPA) by Buxton

Now then. Buxton might well be our favourite brewery at the moment. Or it might be Siren. Or possibly Thornbridge. However and whatever, the release of Two Ton was one not to be missed.

Sheffield, being the beer capital of Britain, was afforded a triple- headed launch of the latest legacy from a very Stronge supplier of craft ales. The latest hoppy offering from the High Peak heroes appeared simultaneously today at Beer Central, Shakespeare's (best pub in Sheffield, unless you are a Sheffield Camra Member) and Abbeydale ale experts, Hop Hideout. Oh, and in 8 European countries, la-di-da.

The rebirth of 448 Abbeydale Road dovetailed sweetly with this event as they unloaded this hop heavy hit onto an unsuspecting South Yorkshire (rep)public, and hats off to Jules and Will for their handy DIY-work  in transforming this place into a beery Mecca in double quick time.

Two Ton? Lots on the nose here. Moderately carbonated, you get aromas of grass and pine followed by ripe, deep fruits, mango and maybe even strawberry. The deep amber-caramel body with an off-white head last well whilst a peachy-mango over-ripe hit is complimented by a lingering boozy , bitter aftertaste. The two tons of malt give this brew a balance that belies an 11% DIPA, (which is a full 2% heftier than the Brewdog version. Imperial? TIPA?). hmm, Hardcore, phew!