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Real Ale Pubs: Recommendations Required


Carmine

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My top 10 city centre real ale pubs is:

 

1 Devonshire Cat, Devonshire Green

2 Washington, Devonshire Green

3 Dog & Partridge, Trippet Lane

4 Red Deer, off Mappin St

5 Three Tuns, Silver St, nr HSBC offices

6 Bath Hotel, off Glossop Rd/West St

7 Red Lion, Charles St, not far from station

8 Rutland Arms, corner of Paternoster Row nr station

9 Grapes, Trippet Lane (the bar area anyway)

10 Fagan's, Broad Lane (try the snug – possibly the smallest pub room with a bar in the world!)

 

Just on the edge of the city centre there are a few more good ones (eg Kelham Island/Riverside area) but they're not very handy for the average visitor to central Sheff so I've excluded them.

 

In the centre of town there are others selling cask ales (which all have some redeeming features but also drawbacks)...

 

-Lion's Lair, back of Somerfields facing John Lewis

-Hogshead, Orchard Square

-Red House, Solly St

-Frog & Parrot, Division Street

-Priory, near veggie cafe, near Cathedral tramstop

-'Wetherspoons', Cambridge St (nr City Hall)

-Sportsman, Cambridge St

-Bankers Draught, Castle Sq

-Lloyds No1, nr City Hall

-Brown Bear, nr Winter Gdns (only Sam Smiths in city centre)

-Queens Head, in the bus station

-Three Cranes, Queen St, downhill from Cathedral (hilarious squeaky floor)

-Pump Tavern, off the Moor (not as bad as you might think)

-Moorfoot Tavern, bottom of Moor (not as bad as you might think)

-Roebuck, Charles St

-Yorkshire Grey, Charles St-Wig & Pen (does it do real ale after the refurb?)

-Dove & Rainbow, back of Argos near Castle Sq

-All Bar One, Leopold St

-Muse (formerly Mailcoach), West St

 

Boardwalk also does fair real ale, though not technically a pub.

Showroom doesn't do a real ale but really ought to.

 

Any more to add to the city centre list?

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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!

 

Personally I'm not a big fan of that Barnsley Bitter, since it's been brewed in Blackpool. The quality is a bit inconsistent. In the Classic Rock Bar I tend to go for the other guest beer, always good and tends to be a more interesting beer too.

 

Bad beer should always be taken back and changed. In a good pub it will be changed with good humour. Generally that is the only way the landlord will realise there is something wrong.

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Originally posted by Bilge

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.

 

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.

 

I would like to comment on both of these. First off the head debate - this is a personal preference, as some like the beer as it comes, thinking if it the beer is aggravated to give it a head it loses the flavour, and that it is beer as the brewer intended.

 

Others prefer the beer served through a sparkler with a nice head that remains, for various reasons including presentation, aroma, smoother taste or whatever.

 

I think it generally varies with the beer style which is best - for example northern bitters are expected to be served through a sparkler with a good head, whereas some more delicate southern beers are ruined if served this way.

 

I think unless we can have a system where the brewer labels the barrel saying in which way it should be served, it is down to personal choice, and some pubs if asked will add or remove a sparkler to the pump (it's only a little screw on thing).

 

Now, the website suggestion. If someone is prepared to volunteer to write the material, draw a map and take some photographs, It would be a good item to have both in Beer Matters magazine and on the Sheffield CAMRA website. As I am responsible for both, anyone who would like to contribute this please PM or email me.

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I was once in St Albans with some friends and ordered four pints in a pub.

 

The landlord said something along the lines of 'Oh, you're from up North. You must want a head on your beer.'

 

He fiddled with the sparkler thing and the beer did come out a bit frothy. However, the 'head' had disappeared by the time I had carried the pints back to the table.

 

Are heads on beer a Northern thing?

 

The Bath pub at Walkley used to have jugs on the bar filled with beer so after you pint had been pulled you could leave it as it was - with head - or wait for it to settle a bit and then top it up.

 

I always thought it was a tremendous idea. It would have not cost the pub a great deal but it left the customer in charge, and left you feeling that you got an extra sup of beer for nowt.

 

And it was the never-to-be-forgotten Sheffield-brewed Stones as well.

 

Does this 'help yourself' system happen in any pub today?

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Originally posted by Andy C

Personally I'm not a big fan of that Barnsley Bitter, since it's been brewed in Blackpool. The quality is a bit inconsistent. In the Classic Rock Bar I tend to go for the other guest beer, always good and tends to be a more interesting beer too.

 

Bad beer should always be taken back and changed. In a good pub it will be changed with good humour. Generally that is the only way the landlord will realise there is something wrong.

Still, this was the first below par pint of the stuff I've ever had. Given the choice, I usually go for a different ale every time...but the other guest was called something like "Moonshine" and that just put me in mind of rustics piddling in the brew as it bubbled away out on the farm.

 

I'll chance my arm next time, I promise!

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  • 6 years later...

Went in the Kelham Island tav last Friday and thought it superb.

 

One place I haven't seen mentioned would be Henrys. Fantastic henrys blonde in here and they usually let me try a few different ales before deciding on one which is something I always appreciate.

 

The Dev Cat is great for a pint of Barnsley bitter and The Sheffield Tap always let me try a few before buying (I do know the barman though!). Red Deer also great stuff

 

The cow and calf up Grenoside is always good for Sam Smiths as well.

 

 

I'll be going on the Hope Valley ale trail again in a couple of weeks as a bit of a reward to myself so i'd reccomend that to anybody who hasn't done it.

 

 

 

 

On a side note: I am 22 years old and most of my friends prefer carling and fosters and going down West Street. Does this mean I am the boring one?

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