Real Ale Pubs: Recommendations Required

[MissFeathers]

we have Spitfire, Timothy Taylors Landlord, and deucars and at the min!

oh and ofcourse

STONES AT £1.65 a pint!

AND ALL GUEST BEERS ARE UNDER £2.30 a pint!

[Carmine]

Originally posted by pussycat

Errrr...there's a (harmless) mad professor type with a bow tie sometimes, but apart from that it's mostly postgrads/postdocs and the like (sans flat caps and whippets). And the tiled floor is worth checking out anyway.

 

N.B. I have nothing against old men with flat caps and whippets.

Neither do I, my friends are just a bit shy of breaking out of their old routine, which usually consists of The Harley or West End on a weekend.

[Carmine]

Originally posted by Andy C

There's also the Classic Rock Bar if you are going in the next week or two!

I was in there for the TACOMA/EXISTEND gig a few weeks back.

 

Tried a pint of Barnsley Bitter, was impressed by the old-school pint glass complete with handle, but the beer was a little rank...then the DJ claimed that I reminded him of Rasputin over the PA!

[Kthebean]

Is the fat cat good? I keep being told to go there. Could someone pm me directions from town?

[Carmine]

Originally posted by kathythebean

Is the fat cat good? I keep being told to go there. Could someone pm me directions from town?

Fat Cat=Superb!

 

What part of town are you starting from?

[Classic Rock]

Originally posted by Carmine

I was in there for the TACOMA/EXISTEND gig a few weeks back.

 

Tried a pint of Barnsley Bitter, was impressed by the old-school pint glass complete with handle, but the beer was a little rank...then the DJ claimed that I reminded him of Rasputin over the PA!

 

You're evidently not a real ale drinker, the beers don't taste like Worthingtons you know! Maybe you are Rasputin and someone poisoned your beer!

[Carmine]

Originally posted by Classic Rock

You're evidently not a real ale drinker, the beers don't taste like Worthingtons you know! Maybe you are Rasputin and someone poisoned your beer!

 

I am too a real ale drinker!

 

It's just that that pint of Barnsley Bitter tasted a bit iffy and quite unlike the same ale in both the Wig & Pen and the Ladybower Inn. I switched to Guiness and that was fine...and I said I liked the big hefty mug!

[Classic Rock]

Originally posted by Carmine

I am too a real ale drinker!

 

It's just that that pint of Barnsley Bitter tasted a bit iffy and quite unlike the same ale in both the Wig & Pen and the Ladybower Inn. I switched to Guiness and that was fine...and I said I liked the big hefty mug!

 

Hmmm, not had any other complaints about BB, unless you had the last one of the barrel. Should have returned it, we'd have swapped it for something else. We're CAMRA award winners - proud of our beverages!

[Carmine]

Originally posted by Classic Rock

Hmmm, not had any other complaints about BB, unless you had the last one of the barrel. Should have returned it, we'd have swapped it for something else. We're CAMRA award winners - proud of our beverages!

I'm too nice to complain!

 

Anyway, the young man behind the bar had a lovely hat on and I didn't want to cause a scene!

[Bilge]

There is a danger of just recommending every pub that sells real ale - and possibly putting some people off cask beer for life. The quality of beer and type of pub varies enormously.

 

I've found the degree of cleanliness of the brass round the base of the handpumps is often a good clue to the quality of the beer it dispenses (Dove & Rainbow is an example here). It's a 'living' product so if they don't keep things clean, the beer goes off and tastes like vinegar. This happens all too often in pubs where they don't sell much real ale or don't know how to look after it. I know that beer bores always go on about 'cleaning the pipes', but it is important.

 

Gardeners Rest and Cask & Cutler seem to serve the beer with big bubbles on the head which soon disappear. Personally this puts me off and seems wrong - it should be cool and creamy for me (like 1970s Tetleys!). But no-one else seems to make this point so maybe it's just me. C&C can be a bit limited in terms of diversity of clientelle.

 

Another few which may not have been mentioned are:

 

-Red Lion (Charles St, not far from station)

-Lion's Lair (back of Somerfields facing John Lewis) - quite trendy place and surprsingly the real ale is good.

-'Wetherspoons', Cambridge St (nr City Hall) modern bar-style place, so not a 'real ale pub' as such, but the beers are usually in very good nick.

-Brown Bear (nr Winter Gdns) - cosy Sam Smith's pub (beer of variable quality though).

-Queens Head (in the bus station). If you happen to be passing it's worth a visit as the beer is good and it's quite nice inside.

-if you're up that way the Banner Cross on Ecc Rd (esp the public bar side) is a good example - good beer and a diversity of customers.

 

A tip for any lager drinkers trying cask ale - try Moonshine or any other local 'yellow' bitter as they are delicious, cool and refreshing. I defy you not be hooked after trying them!

 

We could really do with an updated and reliable city centre real ale guide to Sheff on the web (anyone know of one?). I'm sure many visitors never find them and end up in Cavells or somewhere like that. A simple htm page with all the ones mentioned on here would do for a start.