Tap and Tankard, Cambridge St (former Sportsman pub)

[Jonny5]

After a visit to Leeds on Saturday where I visited not one but EIGHT new good beer bars that have opened over the course of the last year, I can tell you there is a significant gap in Sheffield's pub market. For many different tastes.

Different demographic. Sheffielders know what they like and like what they know.

 

I don't think there are enough different people to support many different types of bar

[DnAuK]

Different demographic. Sheffielders know what they like and like what they know.

 

I don't think there are enough different people to support many different types of bar

 

You see it's thinking like that which is the reason why Sheffield has fallen behind similar areas in the last decade or so, especially in terms of redevelopment etc. Admittedly the popluation density of Sheffield is now significantly behind the Leeds and Liverpool areas and even trailing that of the Newcastle-Sunderland urban area, which probably explains why we haven't seen the redevelopment that those areas have seen. But Sheffield should still have some 1.6M people to draw on from surrounding towns, and it's not difficult to travel in. I do so from Barnsley every weekday and most Saturdays.

 

The problem I guess is many don't as there isn't enough here to attract people. Well, that and the fact that some of the evening transport links aren't what they should be, but that's another argument. The sooner the surrounding townships start to market themselves as commuter towns into Sheffield then the sooner Sheffield will become a hub the same as Leeds and Manchester have. But that won't happen until the city itself offers something for everyone. And that has to be as much down to business investment and ideas as it is to council planning. Especially in the entertainment sector.

 

Wow. That was deep! Sorry. I'll get off me soapbox now.

[jemson]

Different demographic. Sheffielders know what they like and like what they know.

 

I don't think there are enough different people to support many different types of bar

 

A lot of folk were saying that about BrewDog opening in Sheff last year. It`s doing well though I`d ruess - ?

[Jonny5]

A lot of folk were saying that about BrewDog opening in Sheff last year. It`s doing well though I`d ruess - ?

It's always quiet (especially so considering its location) whenever I go in

 

You are right DnAuK, but I'm coming around to thinking that there is also something backward about the psyche of Sheffielders. There are exceptions obviously, but taken as a whole they/we really are quite unadventurous compared to other cities. And also really, and I mean really, tightfisted and wary of anything that even looks expensive/different(!).

 

I think posters on other threads about new businesses in general have alluded to this just as you have.

 

The new cinema/bar opens this week. It will be interesting to see how busy it is at first and how quickly that busyness trails off....

[DnAuK]

It's always quiet (especially so considering its location) whenever I go in

 

You are right DnAuK, but I'm coming around to thinking that there is also something backward about the psyche of Sheffielders. There are exceptions obviously, but taken as a whole they/we really are quite unadventurous compared to other cities. And also really, and I mean really, tightfisted and wary of anything that even looks expensive/different(!).

 

I think posters on other threads about new businesses in general have alluded to this just as you have.

 

The new cinema/bar opens this week. It will be interesting to see how busy it is at first and how quickly that busyness trails off....

 

 

I'm right? Really? Wow... first time for everything! ;c)

 

But seriously I do know what you mean. My nephew always goes on about the 'hip culture' that makes places busy when they first open and then the crows moves onto the next new thing.

 

But I always think quality will last. The Rutland, Dev Cat and Old House are often quite busy and I have never really seen Brewdog empty. If you really get something right then people will come. For anyone that knows North Bar or Friends of Ham in Leeds they will attest to how true this is. Despite neither being what you might call 'affordable'.

[kirkyb]

I'm right? Really? Wow... first time for everything! ;c)

 

But seriously I do know what you mean. My nephew always goes on about the 'hip culture' that makes places busy when they first open and then the crows moves onto the next new thing.

 

But I always think quality will last. The Rutland, Dev Cat and Old House are often quite busy and I have never really seen Brewdog empty. If you really get something right then people will come. For anyone that knows North Bar or Friends of Ham in Leeds they will attest to how true this is. Despite neither being what you might call 'affordable'.

 

Brewdog might be the next casualty as they have now changed the opening hours during the week. They now open at 4pm Mon-Wed and rumor is that they are under performing compared to other Brewdog bars. The guest selection has been reduced considerably with many beers being on there ages and the bottle selection has gone a bit stale. This is a real shame because it is my favorite pace in Sheffield. As already said a lot of sheffield folk are a bit tight and don't want to try things that are different. It not doing cask ale rules out the beard and belly crew and not doing Carling rules out the lads on tour. This leaves a very small amount of people who obviously arent spending as much as Brewdog envisaged. I hope it can be sustained long term and that more people visit. Yes it is busy at the weekend but that won't keep the place open.

[taxman]

Brewdog might be the next casualty as they have now changed the opening hours during the week. They now open at 4pm Mon-Wed and rumor is that they are under performing compared to other Brewdog bars. The guest selection has been reduced considerably with many beers being on there ages and the bottle selection has gone a bit stale. This is a real shame because it is my favorite pace in Sheffield. As already said a lot of sheffield folk are a bit tight and don't want to try things that are different. It not doing cask ale rules out the beard and belly crew and not doing Carling rules out the lads on tour. This leaves a very small amount of people who obviously arent spending as much as Brewdog envisaged. I hope it can be sustained long term and that more people visit. Yes it is busy at the weekend but that won't keep the place open.

 

But.....Brewdog are a bit up themselves, and their prices are as well.

 

Now I'm happy enough to pay top dollar for a top beer. I regularly pay over a fiver for a bottle at Beer Central for something luxurious, highly alcoholic or rare. I'm not prepared to pay the same for something a bit **** at Brewdog.

 

I think their problem is that everything Brewdog sell is expensive. No matter how good it is.

 

If I go to Shakespeare I have a whole menu of beers to choose from...and if I want a half of a rare keg for £4 I can have one....but I can also choose from a range of reasonably priced cask beers.

 

Same as Closed Shop. I'll go for the cask range but if they have some Siren Breakfast Stout aged in Whisky barrels for £4 a half I'll be on it like a 70's pop star on a young girl.

[SteelCityAle]

I'll second most of that. Brewdog sell a mix of bloody good beers at bloody high prices and average beers at merely high prices. I'll happily stop in for a nip of something outstanding, knowing I'll be liberated of the best part of a fiver, but I'm not gonna stay a while drinking a few pints of something average eg Punk for well over 4 quid when there's much better IPAs available in the likes of Shakespeare, Three Tuns, Rutland, Etc for about 3 quid. That's not being too tight to pay more for a better product, it's being too sensible to pay substantially more for an equivalent or even lesser product...

[Stoatwobbler]

Brewdog might be the next casualty as they have now changed the opening hours during the week. They now open at 4pm Mon-Wed and rumor is that they are under performing compared to other Brewdog bars. The guest selection has been reduced considerably with many beers being on there ages and the bottle selection has gone a bit stale. This is a real shame because it is my favorite pace in Sheffield. As already said a lot of sheffield folk are a bit tight and don't want to try things that are different. It not doing cask ale rules out the beard and belly crew and not doing Carling rules out the lads on tour. This leaves a very small amount of people who obviously arent spending as much as Brewdog envisaged. I hope it can be sustained long term and that more people visit. Yes it is busy at the weekend but that won't keep the place open.

 

New opening hours sound very similar to the opening hours at Brewdog Nottingham.

 

I must admit that whenever I've been in there it's been very busy, even if I prefer somewhere like the Rutland Arms for adventures in key-keg.

 

Also worth noting that this point that the Tap & Tankard was selling Bad Seed IPA on keg when I visited, although Great Heck Shankar IPA was also on, and that's what I chose to drink.

[DnAuK]

I'll second most of that. Brewdog sell a mix of bloody good beers at bloody high prices and average beers at merely high prices. I'll happily stop in for a nip of something outstanding, knowing I'll be liberated of the best part of a fiver, but I'm not gonna stay a while drinking a few pints of something average eg Punk for well over 4 quid when there's much better IPAs available in the likes of Shakespeare, Three Tuns, Rutland, Etc for about 3 quid. That's not being too tight to pay more for a better product, it's being too sensible to pay substantially more for an equivalent or even lesser product...

 

I can't completely agree with this pricing argument. The Rutty aren't at all cheap for good beer. They were selling most of the Siren beers for the same kind of price as most other bars (I remember the Tickle Monster being over a fiver a half) and the same has gone for some of their other more interesting beers of late. I have never see the Three Tuns do anything like the range of beer that the Rutty do - same with Closed Shop - but I must admit to not being a regular at either so if that has changed then great. I was thinking of taking a wander round Crookes / Broomhill at the weekend so...

 

I do acknowledge that the Shakey is considerably cheaper but, lets face it, the place is a dump. I'd happily pay extra for some beer there if it was just smartened up a bit. I'll pop in for the odd beer when I'm around Kelham (which isn't very often) but it's not somewhere I can get comfortable for a full session.

 

As for Brewdog's opening hours... well it is January. Lot's of places acknowledge the drop off in trade and adjust accordingly. This is why we should mount an anti-'Dry-anuary' campaign - the poor pubs lose enough as it is. I suggest 'Try-anuary' where we all commit to trying something different!

 

---------- Post added 08-01-2015 at 08:35 ----------

 

New opening hours sound very similar to the opening hours at Brewdog Nottingham.

 

I must admit that whenever I've been in there it's been very busy, even if I prefer somewhere like the Rutland Arms for adventures in key-keg.

 

Also worth noting that this point that the Tap & Tankard was selling Bad Seed IPA on keg when I visited, although Great Heck Shankar IPA was also on, and that's what I chose to drink.

 

Back to topic tho - Good to see the T&T trying something other than the local stuff Kelham are famed for in their pubs. I do like a bit of Bad Seed and Denzel's Shankar is always worth a pop. Tho you can often see it in the Harlequin.

Edited January 8, 2015 by DnAuK