Sheffield Revisited - Day Two: Matchday!

Monday and Tuesday nights I slept very well, staying B&B at The Hillsborough Hotel, 54-58 Langsett Road S6 2UB (0114 2322100 - I believe a new website will be set up soon, but they do have a facebook page). Good to see Brigitte and Tom brightening up the place again, and they did have to clean it up big time when they took it over! Coincidentally, I remember that when I first met Tom he was the manager here.      

Great breakfast, all locally sourced, as I say regularly elsewhere, a good breakfast needs a quality sausage, and here was a very good breakfast sausage from local butchers, Crawshaws, at Hillsborough, so far so good. Of course, great bacon too, and the eggs come direct from a friend's smallholding, beans and tomato, and an enormous pot of tea too, I was sated! I was bought a drink by Tom at lunchtime, after a couple of hours wandering around the centre of Sheffield, cheers Tom, but I shall mention the ales at the Hillsborough Hotel later in this blog. 

I then wandered up to The Blake Hotel (0114 2339336 - facebook page), where I met up with another friend I hadn't seen since I met up with him and his lass when he came down to visit Lewes, Will. We tried 4 halfs here, all in good nick, as they should be, the owner of the establishment being long-time publican, and ex-brewer at Kelham Island too, James Birkett, who also has the Sheaf View, and is looking to acquire the Bottom Welly, the Wellington at Shalesmoor (nee Cask & Cutler). 

We drank 2 ales from local brewery, Neepsend (twitter), which James has shares in, their Blonde (4%), an easy-drinking ale that dries out nicely at the finish, and IPA (5%), labelled a "New World IPA", consequently, you can guess the type of hops used; pale, very dry and bitter! Also, from West Yorkshire brewer Partners (website) Triple Hop (4.2%), with Willamette, Cascade and Cluster the 3 hops, pale, very subtle taste of toffee and malt, and from Warrington, 4Ts Brewery (website) IPA (4.6%), using American and Australian hops, hints of peach and citrus in the taste, with a strange dry aftertaste, couldn't figure it out... 4 decent ales.

I then went into the centre of town to visit my favourite Sheffield restaurant for lunch, Mama's and Leonies (website), where I knew 2 of the chefs there, 2 of the waiting staff, and the 2 owners! Not a lot has changed since I first started eating here in the 1990s. I had arranged to meet up with ex-colleague and good friend, Debra, who turned up straight from work, always great to meet up...  

... and always great to eat their excellent Warm Chicken & Bacon Salad, of which, I always order sans croutons, and either a glass, or carafe, of the house red wine, just a glass this time though, a long day still ahead. Debs was jealous, of course, and vowed to have the same as me next time, looking forward to it already! 

Conservatory at the Hillsborough Hotel

Back to the Hillsborough Hotel, for pre and post match drinks, where they have up to 8 different ales, served from handpumps. Ales included, but not tried this time, their regular Acorn Barnsley Bitter (3.8% - brewery website), Colchester Metropolis (3.9% - brewery website), and one of my locals, Dark Star American Pale Ale (4.7% - brewery website), an excellent ale I have sung the praises of many times before! I met up with many people for both sessions, including the lads we'd met at the Fat Cat the previous evening, Noel, Ian, Phil, Dave, Mike, and many others, including the landlords, Tom and Brigitte, of course!

 The ales were in great form, and I want to mention 3 in particular, meeting my love of dry and hoppy pale ales, first, from the excellent local brewery, Blue Bee (website) Chinook Pale (4.2% - they also had their 4.8% Tempest Stout), no need to tell you which hops were used in the Chinook! Very pale, citrus fruit flavour and refreshingly dry aftertaste, I loved it! Also from Sheffield's The Tapped Brew Co (website) MOJO Crystal Pale Ale (3.6%), dry hopped with Mosaic and Citra, a wonderful refreshing dry pale bitter, and from further afield in North Yorkshire, Bad Seed (website) Calypso Pale Ale (4.5%), I'm guessing Calypso hops used for this 'American Pale Ale' type beer, nice and dry, with a hint of grapefruit, and I got 'wheat' in the flavour too.

Many new brewery's ales tasted, which I loved, and good B&B too, cheers Tom and Brigitte, I'll be back!  

Sheffield Revisited - I shouldn't leave it so long next time! Day One:

I visited to 1) see friends, 2) go to football at Hillsborough Park, and 3) drink ale!

 

As you will see, over the 2 nights I was there, I only drank at 5 of the very many fine ale houses in Sheffield, starting with the double National CAMRA Pub of the Year, and often Yorkshire and Sheffield POTY, the Kelham Island Tavern, 62 Russell Street S3 8RW (0114 2722482 - website). What can I say? Great ale house, spoke to the landlords, Trevor and Lewis, and to Dave, presumably Head Barman, I didn't ask, but I've known them all for a number of years now, and I felt reyt welcome, indeed, Dave came out for a drink with us the second time I visited the KIT with a couple of other mates, Lindsay and Jeff, later that evening! 

13 ales to choose from at the KIT, starting at £2.40 a pint for 4 of them, and upwards, but reasonable priced ales all! I don't think I made a note of all I had to drink here over the 2 visits, and a note of every ale that was available is certainly not forthcoming! First, though, Wigan brewery Allgates (website) Tuckers Hill (3.8%), a zesty golden bitter with a hint of smoked grain. 

Then I had 2 excellent IPA/APA style bitters; from West Yorkshire, Bridestones (website) American Pale Ale (5%), with "copious Willamette aroma hops" they say, and I believe! This was pale, sharp, and very bitter, great stuff, just what the doctor ordered... Then I had something even more exquisite, a collaboration between another 2 Yorkshire breweries, Brass Castle (website) Rampart (7%), and Ossett (website). The Rampart is described as a "heavily hopped IPA" and is another very dry bitter, though with a wee bit more hint of fruit. I'm sure I had more there, but you'll have to go there yourself to enjoy the pleasures of the many ales available!        

In between visits to the KIT, I met up with Lindsay at the Fat Cat, 23 Alma Street S3 8SA (0114 2494801 - website), a pub I first visited in 1989, and, locally, the two pubs, which are a stones lob away from each other, are referred to together as the KitCat! The Fat Cat has its own brewery next door, Kelham Island Brewery (website), where I worked whilst a postgraduate student many years ago.

Problem, I cannot remember what I had to drink, mainly because it was good to meet up and chat with friends I hadn't seen for years, I also chatted to Diane and Stephen behind the bar too, obviously... Also, we met up with 2 away fans, and their buddy from Exeter, father and son; the younger studying at Sheffield Hallam University.  

When Lindsay, Jeff, Dave and I left the KIT we finished off at The Shakespeare, 146-148 Gibraltar Street S3 8UB (0114 2755959 - website), 3 excellent pubs in such close proximity, and quite a few not so far away either! Here, by chance, I also met up with a few others I hadn't seen for a while, including 'Owls' fan, Ian, and, though I'm sure I drank something else too, or maybe just more than one pint of this, The Da Vinci Cod (4.5%). Brewed by another Sheffield brewer, Abbeydale (website), dry-hopped with Vic Secret, and I have written, citrus fruity, dry & bitter, "A Carman Miranda of an ale", £2.90 a pint, and I liked it, a lot!    

More to come, cheers! 

Scottish Beer Festival in Sheffield this weekend!

From today, until Sunday, the Hillsborough Hotel, Langsett Road, Sheffield, is holding a 'Scottish' Beer Festival. Now, I am well aware that every day in Sheffield is a potential beer festival, with so many excellent real ale houses and local microbreweries, but this is featuring many Scottish ales soon after Burns Night, and no doubt something to do with Tom the landlord too!  

Hillsborough Hotel

There are numerous ales available, including the Swannay Orkney IPA (4.8%), brewed with Styrian Goldings hops, pale, citrus fruity and refreshing (website), also the stronger 'ruby red' Loch Lomond Kessog (5.2%), brewed with Northern Brewer and Willamette hops, (Willamette well used by a certain Sheffield brewer I used to work for as well!) with a dark-red fruity and dark chocolate flavour (website). 

From Fallen Brewing, is their even stronger 5.4% Grapevine (website), amongst others, and brewed with FIVE different hops, Magnum, Pacifica, Galaxy, Kohatu and Citra (one of my favourite hops!), creating a fusion of fruity flavours, grapefruit and tangerine citrus mixed with 'tropical' mango and pineapple, finishing with a nice dry bitterness... 

       

Not finally, but finally from me for now, is the Pilot Beer Blønd (4%, website), brewed with Galaxy and Amarillo hops, citrus flavours with a hint of spice, and deliberately unfined, so naturally a wee bit cloudy... and, of course, many more ales too!

Well, I can't make it there for this festival, sadly, but would be grateful for any feedback, either here, or on my facebook page, concerning the ales available please, from anyone who does visit, cheers, and enjoy!    

The Hillsborough Hotel - Fit for Business, indeed!

Further to my blog of 2 weeks ago, I can confirm that Tom and Brigitte have well and truly got the show on the road again at The Hillsborough Hotel, 54-58 Langsett Road, Sheffield S6 2UB (Tel: 0114 232 2100 - Twitter link). This was a pub I worked at whilst at university in Sheffield, but under an owner many times removed now. It is an away fan 'friendly' pub, with B&B (6 bedrooms), good locally sourced freshly cooked food, and just 2 tram stops away from Sheffield Wednesday's ground, and easy enough to get to Sheffield United from here by tram or bus too.  

Having cleaned up and refurbished the cellar since taking over, Tom and Brigitte have 6 regularly changing, well conditioned, real ales served from handpump. There is an emphasis on promoting local ales, but they sell ales from further afield too. Today, they have some excellent local ales, from Sheffield and Yorkshire; ie the hoppy citrus flavoured 4.5% Exit 33 Hop Monster (website), 4.0% Wentworth WPA (website), 4.2% White Rose White Dragon, and the 4.3% Great Heck Voodoo Mild (website). From further afield, 4.0% Charnwood Vixen (website), and from Cornwall, the excellent stronger tasting hoppy bitter, the 5.7% Black Flag White Cross IPA (website). 

I look forward to my next visit to Sheffield, cheers!    

Hillsborough Hotel, Sheffield

A little birdie recently told me that the Hillsborough Hotel (Top Wellie) in Sheffield had closed, so it was great to hear from Tom Delaney that he and Brigitte have now taken over the licence there. To quote Tom, "after 10 years away they are returning to take over the reins at this well known hostelry. Unfortunately the brewery is no longer part of the set up, but the take is to try, at some point, to reinstate it. Brig and Tom would like to take the opportunity to welcome customers old and new to the Hillsborough!"

Good luck to them from Steve the Beermeister! 

FOR FOX SAKE GET ME A FIRKIN PINT!

Bruces Brewery and the Firkin chain of pubs came into existence in 1979, when David Bruce started brewing at his own 'brewpub', the Goose and Firkin, in one of my old stomping grounds, Southwark, London SE1.

I first contracted the Firkin 'bug' when I worked at Lewisham Hospital in the 1980s, and discovered the Fox and Firkin, which was either the second or third Firkin pub; I like to remember it as the second. As at the Goose and Firkin, the Fox and Firkin had its own brewing equipment and brewed its own ales on the premises. Indeed, when Bruce sold off his 11 Firkin pubs to Midsummer Leisure in 1988, eight of them brewed their own ales, the other three having their ales provided by a nearby brewpub in the chain.

Sadly, Punch Taverns wound up the Firkin chain in 2001, after buying the pubs in 1999. In the years since 1988, Firkin pubs had emerged all over the country, usually in 3 pub clusters, with only one brewpub in the cluster providing ales for them all. For example, the Felis and Firkin in Kenilworth had its ales supplied from one of the Derby Firkins, I believe it was the Flamingo and Firkin.

Interestingly, when I carried out some research at the Modern Records Centre at Warwick University, I stayed in a B&B in Kenilworth (1996/7), and there were 4 or 5  Kenilworth pubs in CAMRA's Good Beer Guide, whilst the Felis and Firkin had not yet made the cut. However, the Firkin ales were by far superior to anything served up at any of the other pubs, in fact, the Felis appeared to have kept its beer very much better than any of the others, so you can guess where I ended up drinking!?! 

Anyway, I had previously drank quite frequently at the Fox and Firkin in the 1980s and, though they did brew other ales too, I have no memory of them, I can only remember drinking Bruce's famous 6% full-bodied Dogbolter, a better strong bitter would be difficult to find, certainly in those days!

The pub itself was quite basic, but certainly well attended, and I used to love watching the brewing process whenever possible. I certainly enjoyed the aromas, despite detesting similar smells when I was a young child and went on school swimming trips. The smell coming over the road from Youngs Brewery, blended with the heavy chlorine of Wandsworth Swimming Baths, was awful, I seem to remember (the brewery buildings still exist, but are now unused, and the baths were pulled down and built over years ago). Whatever, I now quite enjoy the aromas of the brewing process and, having worked for a brewery up in Sheffield, I can link each individual smell within the brewing sequence.  

I couldn't find any photographs of the Fox and Firkin from the 1980s, but this is what it looks like now, not too much different really. Though it is not a brewpub anymore, it appears to be thriving as an alternative music venue as well as a pub, just round the corner from Ladywell, at 316 Lewisham High Street. "For Fox Sake get me a Firkin Pint", yep, I own up, I did own a t-shirt from the Fox and Firkin with this 'motto' emblazoned on the chest, around an image of a fox and a firkin of ale, strangely enough. I wish I still had the shirt, which would have been nice, but occasionally I do still wear a Fitzooth and Firkin t-shirt acquired when I lived in Sheffield!

 

As I said earlier, Dogbolter was the ale of choice, always really, so I must have been challenged, merry or drunk, quite regularly after leaving work at Lewisham Hospital, and on days off too no doubt, but the good new is...

 

DOGBOLTER HAS RETURNED! 

David Bruce (above) is now Chairman of West Berkshire Brewery (website), the head brewer of which, Will Twomey, has very recently reproduced Dogbolter from the original recipe, quality...

I so need to get to a pub that sells Dogbolter very soon, cheers David and Will!

 

Top 20 Pubs Part III

So, for numbers 6 to 10, and five pubs very much north of Watford, and all from different cities/towns, starting with... 

At number 6, The Wellington, close by Shalesmoor tram stop in Sheffield, and very much in the heartland of real ales in the city, a pub with a brewery next door and out back, well it's now moved site due to a disagreement with the landlord, I do believe, and is now situated in nearby Neepsend. Whatever, the brewery is still very much a going concern, ie Little Ale Cart, and, though they do vary their styles of ale now and then with the odd stout or mild, they are expert at producing exceptional pale hoppy ales (my preferred style, you may have guessed by now), which they brew quite a few barrels of. Another fine characteristic of this pub is that they do not sell keg beer, though they usually have a bottle of lager available for the desperate. 

Considering the glut of great pubs and excellent ales in Sheffield, why have I chosen this pub, and the only pub out of the 20 I have actually been banned from in the past, (I made a 'tasteless' joke, apparently, that the then landlady was not meant to hear, so said in her absence, but told to her out of context by someone who since became known as "The Shalesmoor Snitch") so high up on the list? I first found the Welly, in its previous existence as "The Cask & Cutler" in late 1995 or very early 1996, probably the latter. It is a 'bog basic' pub, no music, no machines, but plenty of character and characters! I love it, and recently returned 4 months ago, and had a great Saturday evening drinking there, following a bit of an early 'crawl', but I knew virtually every person in there really well, it was like I'd never moved away from Sheffield 3 years previous, it felt like home, so that is why. 

At number 7, and across the Pennines in Liverpool, is The Philharmonic (website), a grade II listed late Victorian art nouveau building opposite the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall. I have visited this fine pub with friends before and after football matches, have been there on my own, and have met up with friends just to meet up there! I have even been sent a message 'on the spur of the moment' asking where a facebook friend should drink whilst in Liverpool, this was my immediate response, and I was rewarded by being linked into quite a few photographs of the interior, and generous thanks and plaudits! Well, it is pretty impressive and, being a Nicholsons house (though originally built for the local brewer, Robert Cain), you are assured of many good real ales, and it has a renowned restaurant upstairs too.  

Something else it has is an impressive interior, with stained glass windows, copper panels, wood panelling, stucco ceilings. and a mosaic bar counter. There are a number of different seating areas, and rooms, including a large lounge seating room with comfortable chairs and sofas you could live in. It also has a very famous mens marbled toilet, that women are invited to visit (though not to use), but with the proviso they ask a member of staff before they enter; presumably to avoid embarrassment... This is one of many excellent pubs in Liverpool, and the exterior isn't boring either!

Further up the country, at number 8, is the Bodega (website) in Newcastle. The Bodega has a long long bar, 2 Victorian stained glass domes in the ceiling, elaborately tiled flooring, and various seating and alcoves for those not wanting to stand at the bar. I've been here before and after football matches, to Sunderland as well as nearby St James' Park. The last time I visited with my mate, Teapot Dave, who had given me a lift (cheers Dave!) via Tynemouth, where we had had a few pints and left the car, he'd sensibly stopped drinking, quite right too. Anyway, I was enjoying the crackin' ale and company of the very pleasant young manageress, when Dave dragged me out of the pub! I'm not sure if he was more bored with not drinking, or with me chatting to the lass; you have to know the 'Teapot' to understand what I'm getting at...

Oh yes, 8 real ales are available here, including Durham Magus as one of the 2 regular ales, an ale I was really enjoying on that particular visit, an excellent ale, indeed, that I first experienced in 1996 at the Cask & Welly in Sheffield (see above); the other regular ale being the local Big Lamp Prince Bishop Ale. The also have 2 dedicated handpumps to the Scottish brewer, Fyne Ales, and one of my old favourites, Oakham; more of in the final part of this series of blogs. Consequently, you not only have the 4 great regular and semi-regular ales, but another 4 guest ales too. Why wouldn't I want to return to this fine hostelry, one of many decent pubs in Newcastle to boot?      

At number 9, and heading a bit southwards to Burslem, suburb of Stoke, is The Bulls Head (website), close to Port Vale FC, not really a benefit, unless going to the match, when this is well worth visiting before the match, if not afterwards as well. When I first came here I was amazed that they sold filled bread rolls for just £1 each, also that opposing fans happily stood side by side in the pub and chatted football and ale; whereas it is not always so friendly in other parts of Burslem post-match. Indeed, this is the only place to visit on match day, in my experience, also we've been here before matches against Stoke City too, catching a taxi to the Britannia Stadium from the pub.

From the doorway you can look over towards the Titanic Brewery, a wee way away, this being their 'brewery tap'. Consequently, regular ales include Titanic Steerage, Anchor Bitter, Iceberg, and White Star, and has been Everards Tiger when I visited last, though may be different now. With their own seasonal ales and guest beers, 9 different real ales are provided in total, plus up to 10 real ciders! The staff have always been reyt friendly, and the island bar is in the middle of a warm pub, split into 2 rooms. Despite the match day concerns, I so want to get back here, I really do!

 



Finally, for today, at number 10 is the Crown Inn in Stockport up in the North West. The Pub sits under a massive railway viaduct that dates back to the 1840s, and originally was 3 separate cottages dating back to the late 18th century that are now joined up to form the pub. Because of this history, there are 4 separate rooms radiating from the often very busy bar. This is quite a basic pub again, do not expect 'plush' here, just basic 'pub grub', up to 16 ever-changing ales from a well-managed cellar, real cider, and a warm, friendly, and well-informed bar staff.

I've been here before and after matches at Stockport County, and met up with friends who support The Blades before and after they'd gone to watch their match at Stoke, it's certainly worth returning to. Far enough away from the station that you have to know it's here, but near enough to catch a train within a short time, without having to rush! All the above, most notably the ales and warm atmosphere, add up to wanting me to return here very soon, cheers m'dears!

Top 20 pubs Part II

This covers numbers 11 to 15 from my list (see the previous blog for 16-20), and doesn't have the domination of Devon pubs this time, but has more pubs from the South East of England. However, number 11 is a Devon pub... 

So, this blog's Devon pub and number 11 is The Bridge Inn at Topsham (website), the village being on the River Exe, though The Bridge is actually by a bridge over a smaller river, the Clyst. This is a historic inn, much of it built in the 16th century, though the family that run the pub have only been here since 1897! The Queen visited the pub in 1998, though I also have memories of the Queen Mother visiting, and pouring a pint, quite a few years previous. I first visited in 1985 with my ex-wife, Julie, whilst working and living in Exeter, when I was presented with my first ever beer 'menu'. Other memories of that first visit included listening to 2 farmers whose dialect meant neither of us could understand what they were saying, so not really listening at all, and that in those days it closed at 10.30pm (Winter Time, so out of tourist season).  

This is a crackin' old building, full of atmosphere, with the staff serving up to 9 ales fetched directly from the cellar, as they are 'pulled' by gravity straight from the cask, plus they have real ciders; they also have a newer extension at the back where some ales are also served by handpump, but this is from a seasonally opened separate bar. Ales available are regularly from local microbreweries, and the one regular ale is the 3.8% Branscombe Vale Branoc. I have visited The Bridge Inn many times, either by driving here, or by catching the train direct from Exeter, consequently allowing for proper drinking at this and other pubs in Topsham. However, I haven't visited for some time, and believe it is a different generation of the family in charge now, who I do hope to visit and drink with very soon! 

At number 12 is the Kelham Island Tavern in Sheffield (website), a pub resurrected by Trevor and Lewis in 2002, having been closed for quite a while (I seem to remember it being called the Swan or something, though happy to be corrected). Since then, they have won the Sheffield CAMRA Pub of the Year many times, no mean feat in Sheffield, and are the current 2014 PotY! Indeed, during those 12 years they have also TWICE won the National CAMRA Pub of the Year, an even greater feat... So, what have they got to offer? 13 real ales, many from local microbreweries, indeed, 3 of their 4 regular ales are from Sheffield brewers, including from Bradfield Brewery, where my old colleague at Kelham Island Brewery (round the corner from the pub, but no connection business-wise), Paul, now works.  

But it's more than that... They serve excellent ales, real ciders, decent food, have live music and other events, and I have fond memories of winning a few quid at dominoes here too. They have also created a friendly warm pub, where women feel happy to visit, though also the real ale brigade too, plus many other regulars and visitors in a rather eclectic mix. Indeed, when I visited earlier this year, I had the usual amusing 'hello' from Dave behind the bar, don't ask, and a good chat with Trevor too, and I also knew quite a few folk there, and not just the 2 lads I came in with. Oh yes! They have a 'no swearing' policy, with heavy fines for those who flout the mores. So, I have been back recently, and felt as welcome as ever, and I do need to return again before I die, hopefully many many times! 

OK, back to the 3 pubs in the South East, starting with The Snowdrop Inn in Lewes (website) at number 13, and in Sussex actually. This is a great pub, and I've been to The Snowdrop on quite a number of occasions, alone and with friends and/or family, mostly to do with long walks, being a 'tourist', or just a Lewes 'pub crawl', and also before and after football matches at Albion's newish ground in Falmer (next station on the line to Brighton). Crackin' staff, including some very interesting lasses, good food, beer festivals and well conditioned ales, why wouldn't you want to return?  

So, to the ales, a very important factor, and the new 'kid on the block', well, not so new now, but certainly, in my opinion, the current best brewer of pale and hoppy ales in East Sussex, Burning Sky, provide the regular ales here now; so expect to see at least Plateau and Aurora pumpclips on the bar, and probably one of their 'crafty kegs' too. Also, served in specially manufactured 'lined' straight glasses with the names of Burning Sky and The Snowdrop Inn on opposite sides of the glass; I'm looking forward to their next beer festival, and trusting I shall be able to purchase one of these glasses, as suggested to me by bar staff recently; OK I've a few glasses already, but these ones are quality. Anyway, up to 6 excellent ales, real cider, good food, friendly staff etc etc... this is a pub I want to return to again and again!  

Across the border to Kent now, and the Red Lion in Snargate is at number 14, and which I believe my last blog that included comments referring to it was the one about pubs with no keg beers, but that isn't the only reason why... The Red Lion is another 16th century pub, with a farm next door and a church opposite, and not much else around, but the population of Snargate is listed as 102 persons, so I'm guessing there are some other farms and houses thereabouts that aren't so obvious. One of its charms is that it is in the middle of nowhere, in-between Walland and Romney Marshes, and the closest you can get to it by public transport is a little over a mile to the south at Brenzett, and next is 2 miles to the north at Appledore.

Another charm is the building, of course, with a captivating room at the back, and much more, evidence of this being a museum to the past, certainly to the 1940s; you have to visit to see it and appreciate what I mean.  This has been in the same family's hands for a little over 100 years, and is known locally, and further afield, as Doris's, the landlady being the daughter-in-law of the original family owner I do believe. However, her own daughter is more likely to be serving up your ales these days, both lovely people. The ales you'll be served will probably be from a local microbrewery like Goachers, and are served from the 4 handpumps on the antique marble bar, plus a couple of real ciders. I've not been for a while, so shall have to organise another wander into the marshes of Kent very soon. 

Back across to Sussex and the 15th pub on the list is The Evening Star (website), just a couple of minutes walk from the railway station in Brighton, and the 'flagship' pub of Dark Star Brewery. As I've said before, I first tasted Dark Star Hophead when I lived in Sheffield, quite a few years ago now, and have even acquired the nickname of 'Hophead Steve' in the Dolphin in Hastings, for some reason, since moving to the South Coast... One of the first places I visited when in Brighton following many years absence had to be The Evening Star, of course, and I have returned, a few times since, to this unpretentious hostelry. 

Obviously, I'm going to say excellent ales are served up here, ie 7 ales from handpump (plus usually a perry and cider); 4 ales usually being from Dark Star, and another 3 guest ales. The bar staff really do know their business, and regularly are involved with the brewery, and involved in collaborative brews with other brewers, such as Magic Rock and Brodies. Always friendly, with an eclectic mix of customers and, following an earlier in the day visit to the beer festival in Hove one year, I was tolerated by virtually everyone in here, staff and punters alike! Consequently, of course I want to return again... 

Cheers for now, numbers 6 to 10 coming up soon, with an even greater variation of pub and from 5 different cities and towns! 

Black IPAs - oxymoron maybe, but...

I shan't waffle about what an oxymoron is, particularly as I may be reporting on all the 'Black IPAs' I have ever had as a cask ale, so I don't want to lose your interest. But how is such an ale brewed? I checked with a few brewers I know, including Brett who has recently left Hastings Brewery; good luck with your future career Brett, and many thanks for your advice! Primarily, usually malt that has been de-husked is used to provide the dark colour with as little roasted malt flavour as possible. Then, a significant amount of hops are used to provide the hoppiness, eg hops from the USA, Australia or New Zealand like Cascade, Columbus, Nelson Sauvin, Ella and Galaxy. 

OK, so lots of photographs and less writing... I drank my first Black IPA at The Wellington, Shalesmoor, just before I left Sheffield 3 years ago, and brewed by Steel City Brewing; of said brewery I've consulted with Dave "Unpronounceable", as I couldn't remember the name of the ale, and I've borrowed the photograph too, many thanks. You can guess that I haven't any notes of my drinking their Shadowplay (5.6%), but I do remember enjoying the ultra-hoppy flavour of the ale (this was early Steel City Brewing, remember, and the lads do like their hops!), and anything I was to drink later, would have to compare favourably... 

I didn't then experience a Black IPA for nearly 2 years, until I visited The Bricklayers Arms, Putney, in October 2012, where I drank Triple fff Brewery's Jabberwocky (5%), which I reported as being "a very dark bitter with hints of liquorice, very enjoyable, see, I don't just drink pale bitters!" I cannot find a record of the hops used, but am guessing American, as these Black IPAs have also been called "American", based on the style coming from the USA, and usually using just American hops at first. Indeed, I've seen this one commented on as an "American Indian Pale Ale", and I don't think they meant Native American!  

I first had Dark Star's The Art of Darkness (3.5%) a little over a year ago at The Tower, London Road, Hastings St Leonards. This isn't labelled as a "Black IPA", but strength-wise, I'd compare this like Green King IPA to stronger IPAs with hops used, only, The Art of Darkness has more hops used than most IPAs! Warrior hops are used for bittering, and flavouring is provided by an array of hops, including Chinook, Cascade, Columbus and Centennial. I have drunk this many times, as it is, well, this is how I described it the first time: "the surprise was The Art of Darkness, Dark Star adding a whopping amount of hops to make this session beer, by strength, a 'full flavoured black beer'... Not too bad a description... Yes, full of hops, refreshing, with a dry aftertaste, and I was very happy to drink more than just the one pint, excellent!"

Windsor & Eton's Conqueror (5%) was my next brush with the style, at the White Horse on Parsons Green, London SW6. This showed a difference to most of these Black IPAs, as smoked malt was used in the brew, however, substantial use of Summit and Cascade hops appeared to help the flavour acquire fruit, nut and bitter hoppiness. Incidentally, the beer label design is based on William the Conqueror's shield. 

Back to a more 'typical' Black IPA, and brewed by my old buddies at Steel City Brewing again, this time at The Albatross Club (Royal Air Force Association) in Bexhill on Sea, their In The Nightside Eclipse (5.5%). Hops used were Columbus and Magnum for bitterness, and what they term their "holy trinity of Galaxy, Mosaic and Nelson Sauvin for flavour." Extra Galaxy and Mosaic were added to the fermenter, and casks were dry hopped with Mosaic, this was another genuine hoppy ale from Steel City, Sheffield, bitter with even a hint of grapefruit, nice one!

I'm nearing the end of this blog, so you've done well, cheers! In October, at The Gardeners Arms in Lewes, I had the Black Iris Black Mountain (5.9%), I cannot find any information about the brew, but am guessing Cascade hops were used, to keep in with the American style, maybe... I found this did what it said on the label, it was very dark, full bodied, and very hoppy, as I said then, "gorgeous!" 

My penultimate ale, for this blog, is Blue Monkey's Bonobo (5.3%), which I had in January, during my first ever visit to the new-ish Oakham Brewery pub in Kennington, London, The Mansion House. Again, I cannot find anything about the brew itself, but guess Cascade hops were used, seems likely anyway, or something like them... I found it to be a lighter flavour than I'd have expected before gaining experience of Black IPAs, and a bit too easy to drink for its strength! But, to my last word for now...    

Brewed on my own doorstep, and let's hope they keep up the good work that Brett appears to have been highly influential in with their very good hoppy 'Handmade' series, Hastings Brewery No 11 Black IPA (5.4%). This is brewed with Ella hops (formerly Stella in name, until a certain brewery company stuck their legal nose in), and is close to what I would always expect from this style. Very dark, very hoppy, tastes 'lighter' and more citrus fruity than a dark ale really should, nice and dry too, I like it... I have had this at both The Tower and The Albatross Club recently, both being very supportive of local and microbrewers, nice one, cheers!  

Sheffield Part II - even more greater ales!

Where do I start when visiting a City with a plethora of genuine free houses and microbreweries, and consequently, loadsa luvverly ale!?! The easiest way would be to start at the very beginning, as a certain governess said in The Sound of Music, so I shall... but I shall also deviate a wee bit from convention, and leave the second pub visited that day until last, particularly as I was drinking there twice that day... 

I was going to have a cheapo breakfast in one of the many Sheffield Wetherspoons, but kept putting it off and didn't in the end, as I don't like the last 'spoons I reached that morning, the one at Hillsborough Corner, it feels reyt unfriendly; though I did meet an old neighbour in there, Dave, before I used its toilet facilities. So, instead, I decided to walk to Hillsborough Stadium, through the Park, and visited the memorial to the Tragedy; a visit here has always helped me to put things into perspective. Then, as I was in the area, I did as people are meant to do whilst in Rome, do as the locals do, so I had a pork sandwich (to my Southern readers, that's a soft bap, called a bread cake there, with pork in it) for my late breakfast, followed by a £1 poke of chips for my early lunch; healthy eating... 

Anyway, a short walk from nearby Malin Bridge tram stop is the bottom of Stannington Road, a wee way up which, on a corner on the right hand side of the road, is The Anvil, an Enterprise pub, now run by long-time friends, and more, Tom (full-time at The Anvil) and Brigitte (who also works full-time elsewhere), as I mentioned in Part I. Tom being a chef, I have no doubt the food will be very good, but I only stopped in for a pint as I had much more to do that day, so cannot report on the food, but the lovely barmaid (I've forgotten her name, as in forgot to write it down) served up a decent pint of Derbyshire brewer, Derventio's Winter King, a 4% pale hoppy bitter with a dry aftertaste. As I hadn't let them know about my likely visit, I also surprised both Tom and Brigitte when I turned up. Good luck to the both of you with your venture! 

Anyway, after visiting the second pub of the day, reporting further down in this blog, I had some more food, and a rest from alcohol, before visiting one of the most recent additions to good ale houses in Sheffield, Shakespeare's on Gibraltar Street, a music venue as well, and for a while closed, when it desperately needed refurbishment. Indeed, this is one of 28 Sheffield pubs in the 2014 CAMRA Good Beer Guide, and 26th of those that I have had an ale or three in over the years, though I had been here in the past under different management. I had arranged to meet up at 6pm with Noel (fellow R), and other mates, Lindsay and Jeff MacDoughnut, all 3 living in Sheffield still, though none of the 4 of us are from South Yorkshire, being 2 Southerners (me with mucho Celt in me), a Scot and a Paddy; good company indeed! 

We all turned up within a couple of minutes of each other, and I was pleased with the work done in the pub, which has not noticeably changed at all architecturally. It was great to meet up with the 3 lads, who are great friends I hadn't seen for a couple of years. This being a beer and pub blog, though, I shan't go over our conversations, but just add notes on the 2 ales I had from their 12 real ale handpumps. The only regular ale is the Sheffield brewer Abbeydale's Deception, a 4.1% pale, fruity hoppy ale, though this wasn't one of the two 'guests' I tried. No, I had ales from further afield, though still from 2 Yorkshire breweries. First, the 4.3% North Riding Brew Pub's Galaxy (4.3%), another fruity pale hoppy bitter, presumably using Galaxy hops, and very nice too. Second, Great Heck's Five, a 5% pale hoppy bitter with plenty of grapefruit aroma and flavour, I liked this very much!     

We then ventured to the Kelham Island Tavern. Shakespeare's has already won awards, which is great, but the KIT, as we like to refer to it locally (oh dear, I'd became a local all over again, if only for 48 hours), has won the CAMRA Pub of the Year, in recent times, NATIONALLY... and 2 years in a row, which is some feat! Immediately, we saw Pete (who works part-time behind the bar at the Wellington) as we entered, the pub was tightly packed, though, with a great variety of people as we expect in here; young and not so young, male and female, it is an excellent success story for Trevor and Louis, the owners/landlords. Indeed, I had a good chat with Trevor whilst there, and with Dave, who I keep in touch with on facebook, though he'd probably deny we are 'friends' ;-) was serving behind the bar, together with a few others, including a rather fetching young lady who, again, I hadn't added her name to my notebook, but she made an impression... 

Ales-wise, there is an excellent choice of ales served from 12 handpumps, regular and guests, as you would expect from such a prolific award winning pub, from local microbreweries, and some from further afar. Indeed, I drank an ale brewed over t' Pennines in Rochdale, Pictish Polaris, a 4.5% dry pale bitter, perfectly suiting my taste, and as recommended by Dave, cheers! 

From the KIT, we wandered round the corner to the Fat Cat (get it? KIT-CAT, as locally referred to) and bumped into 2 more great friends, Bob and his wife Marie, as they left the Cat, which sits in front of Kelham Island Museum, and which has it's own brewery Kelham Island (where I worked for a while at the turn of the Millenium until 2001/2). Bob and Marie were on the way to the KIT with a couple of friends I didn't know, but you can appreciate the general mobility of regulars in this area... 

So, our penultimate destination was the Fat Cat, one of the earliest exponents of real ale in the country, a very early brewpub of modern times, and started up by my old employer, Dave Wickett, who sadly died in 2012, following a lengthy illness with cancer: RIP Dave. We met up with a few folk in here too, and Duncan still the manager too, though it was too busy to chat with him, another pub packed with young and old, male and female alike; who said real ale was just for old men? I didn't drink one of their own ales, from the array on offer, but had a 'guest', from another Yorkshire brewer, Salamander's Scarf & Mittens (5%), a very good pale hoppy winter ale at £3 a pint. Whilst at the Fat Cat, another mate, Will, contacted me to say he'd meet up with us at our next port of call, which he did...  

My second visit of the day to The Wellington (previously, Cask & Cutler and, previous to that, The Wellington), so my second and ultimate pub of the day, which serves up many of its own ales under the label of 'Little Ale Cart Brewery' that used to be brewed out' back, but now brewed elsewhere in the city. They brew excellent pale and hoppy ales, but, as I'd let Will know, this day they had their own dark bitter, and a stout on sale too, hence ensuring his joining us! They also serve, from their 10 handpumps, a real cider, and guests from other micros too; their only 'regular' being Millstone Baby Git, an excellent 4% pale hoppy oxymoron of an ale at £2.40 a pint. There are no keg beers and lagers only in bottle; and quite a few Belgian bottled beers too. 

As soon as we walked into the 'Welly', sans MacDoughnut (who has an issue with Richard the owner here) standing at the bar already were Andy and Jan, two former regular customers at the Bath Hotel; which is why I hadn't seen them at the Bath the previous night, they've moved allegiance. It was good to see them, plus the rest of the regulars here; it was like going back 3 years, and I'd have known everyone who would be there, virtually. Indeed, my earlier in the day visit had seen me meeting up with a few old friends too, NB the other Richard (not owner) and Pete, who was serving behind the bar then. It was excellent to meet up with so many people I hadn't seen for years and who I like; too many to mention individually, but great stuff! 

Little Ale Cart ales? The 2 dark ones that enticed Will to visit and appreciate were the 3.9% brown bitter Farmer's Boy, the pump clip featuring Richard the landlord/owner as a wee lad on a tractor even further up North, as can be seen above; he's not so cute now! The other dark ale was Daft Sheep Stout, 6.2% and just £3 a pint. The 4 pale hoppy bitters I tried during the 2 visits included 2 featured in their steam engine series, Alnwick Castle, a 4.3% fruity bitter and Flying Scotsman Mk 4, 5% with more body and more bitter. 

The other 2 were 'Harley's Dog's Dinner 97' (Harley is Richard's, the owner, dog, and 'Dog's Dinners' are mixes, generally using up ale left over following racking off brew lengths) Sleekit Beastie, a 4% slightly darker beer than usual, in that Farmer's Boy was one of the ingredients, and my favourite ale of the weekend, a 'Harley's Hop Special', Tornado, 4% as well, but much paler, dryer and more bitter with plenty of grapefruit aroma and flavour, and just £2.30 a pint, luvverly!   

Next blog, my journey home via London, cheers for now!

Bath Hotel - Sheffield

A brief reminder... 

... of the prior publican at The Bath Hotel, as mentioned in my previous blog, Brian together with Rick, who is now brewing a wee bit up in Aberdeen, purely for private consumption though, and who's elegantly wearing a Beermeister t-shirt.

Cheers!