TAT Posted March 10, 2013 Share Posted March 10, 2013 That makes sense. It surely won't be in the Good Beer Guide next year. Employing young lager drinking students, with no interest in real ale, or knowledge of beers, does not help their cause. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melthebell Posted March 10, 2013 Share Posted March 10, 2013 only been in a few times, not for a few years tho, enjoyed it last time i did, but sounds like it has changed, for the worst Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirkyb Posted March 10, 2013 Share Posted March 10, 2013 I will keep this brief...... 6 different people, 6 different beers, 6 different breweries and all had one thing in common all tasted off and had a metallic taste to them. Now either The Cat are intentionally picking beers that have this off taste or something is not quite right. On a positive not went in The Shakespeare for the first time ever and was really impressed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy C Posted March 10, 2013 Share Posted March 10, 2013 Just a thought - is it that the Dev Cat has gone downhill or is it just that other pubs have become better? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerbyTup Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 I pop in the Dev Cat occasionally. It's ok as a meeting place if you're out in town and want a pint of real ale. I don't think they keep the beer as well as some other places but I've not had anything I'd say was off. My biggest gripe is that when I go in with the wife she likes a glass of white wine. Her preference is for Chardonnay - but they don't do that "by the glass". I have no idea why - seeing as Chardonnay is the most popular grape from which various styles of wine are made. Maybe it's become the new Liebfraumilch? Anyhow, there's an anti-Chardonnay movement going on in many pubs it seems. Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc seem to have got the market sewn up! This aside, the wine in the Dev Cat is not chilled sufficiently. In fact, it's almost luke warm. And the same with their bottled beers. A bottle of warm lager isn't very good really is it? All in all it seems like they don't take much care with the way they keep and serve their beers. But, being bang in the middle of all that student accommodation, maybe they don't need to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jemson Posted March 12, 2013 Author Share Posted March 12, 2013 I will keep this brief...... 6 different people, 6 different beers, 6 different breweries and all had one thing in common all tasted off and had a metallic taste to them. Now either The Cat are intentionally picking beers that have this off taste or something is not quite right. On a positive not went in The Shakespeare for the first time ever and was really impressed! It is a great puib. I can only assume that you`d not been there due to some sort of banning order from Gibraltar Street. They have a beer festival on this weekend, starting Thursday with Summer Wine, Mallinsons and Tiny Rebel amongst other delights! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerbyTup Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 I've only been in the Shakespeare once and was disappointed tbh. Plenty of hand pumps but most of them with nothing on at the time. I think they had 2 or 3 beers on hand pull and nothing exciting. Apart from that it's a mighty depressing, gloomy, dank sort of place. I mean, I like traditional pubs with their old Victoriana and high ceilings and ceramic tiles and stuff - a favourite of mine is Marble Arch in Manchester for example. But you get about 8 top notch beers at the Marble Arch and it's clean inside with a welcoming fire and good food. I just thought the Shakespeare felt very rough and down at heel. Maybe I caught it on a bad day? Are there any plans to have several beers, central heating and a lick of paint? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteM01 Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 I've only been in the Shakespeare once and was disappointed tbh. Plenty of hand pumps but most of them with nothing on at the time. I think they had 2 or 3 beers on hand pull and nothing exciting. Apart from that it's a mighty depressing, gloomy, dank sort of place. I mean, I like traditional pubs with their old Victoriana and high ceilings and ceramic tiles and stuff - a favourite of mine is Marble Arch in Manchester for example. But you get about 8 top notch beers at the Marble Arch and it's clean inside with a welcoming fire and good food. I just thought the Shakespeare felt very rough and down at heel. Maybe I caught it on a bad day? Are there any plans to have several beers, central heating and a lick of paint? The best thing about Shakespeare's is the guaranteed absence of Derby Tup. The worst thing about it is the possessive apostrophe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteelCityAle Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 I've only been in the Shakespeare once and was disappointed tbh. Plenty of hand pumps but most of them with nothing on at the time. I think they had 2 or 3 beers on hand pull and nothing exciting. Apart from that it's a mighty depressing, gloomy, dank sort of place. I mean, I like traditional pubs with their old Victoriana and high ceilings and ceramic tiles and stuff - a favourite of mine is Marble Arch in Manchester for example. But you get about 8 top notch beers at the Marble Arch and it's clean inside with a welcoming fire and good food. I just thought the Shakespeare felt very rough and down at heel. Maybe I caught it on a bad day? Are there any plans to have several beers, central heating and a lick of paint? dare i ask when this was? it was taken over 18 months ago, having been closed for a while before that - and yes prior to closure it was pretty rubbish. Since reopening, I don't think I've ever seen it have as few as 3 beers - IIRC there's 9 handpumps, and it's rare for more than one or two to be empty, and even then it tends to be while barrels are swapped. 'Exciting' is of course subjective but I'd say the beer range in the Shakey is at least as good as any of the other 'valley of beer' pubs... It's also been redecorated as part of the takeover, and the appalling lighting fixed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jemson Posted March 13, 2013 Author Share Posted March 13, 2013 Yeah, Shakies is in my top 3. Chris the manager is spot on and works hard to keep the beers well. Furthermore, he`ll nip to the cellar if you ask nicely and let you try other beers that are about to come on the bar straight from the cask! So there`s often 10+ to choose from. FYI there`ll be about 30-odd beers on there this weekend . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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