Apart from two visits to the Sheffield Tap (see below) I also thoroughly enjoyed my trip to the Hillsborough Hotel, handily placed on the tram route. The highlight there was the Hillsborough Pale, which in my view was one of the best pints of the year so far. Slightly reminiscent of Marble Pint, but a bit more rounded and less harshly bitter, it was hard to move on from. Sadly, Brooklyn Bridge was disappointingly bland on this sampling. The pub itself is a cracker too and with Hillsborough Pale at £2.20 a pint, it was certainly value for money. Good food and fantastic service from the matronly barmaids who knew their stuff, rounded it all off nicely.
I was a bit disappointed with the Wellington though. None of the beers were sparkled and the Little Ale Cart beers I tried seemed just a touch off the boil - in fact one had to be changed. Things didn't look up either with Steel City's Černý Bez - Dva, which seemed to have missing the thing they are most famous for - hops. The lack of a sparkler did little for it either. None of the beers were by any means bad, but all lacked that little bit extra that you come to expect from these two breweries.
Still that spoiled nothing, as even the best don't hit it off all of the time.
Sheffield's tram network is excellent and unlike Manchester's which is mostly a light railway, a proper tram system.
Why not take your own sparkler out with you? Keep it alongside your thermometer and get all your grog sparkled!
ReplyDeleteThough I may or may not have one about my person, I don't want a clout round the ear Cookie.
ReplyDeleteNo sparklers, eh? That's what you get when you go so far south.
ReplyDeleteCrown Brewery at Hillsborough Hotel is very underrated. Also lookout for their Jazz series beers that get brewed every so often, 'Brooklyn Heights' and 'Samuel Berrys'
ReplyDeleteDie Dame des Hauses has granted approval for a couple of beery trips per year to someplace like your funny little islands over there. I think Sheffield has got to be one of the very next ones, if not the next one. (Fest or no.)
ReplyDeleteI don't suppose Stalybridge lies along the same line to Manc, does it? No, that'd just be too nice.
It is such a shame that the Little Ale Cart beers were not on form for you. Normally they are superb and make the Wellie probably my favourite pub in the city.
ReplyDeleteOh I've had their beers before and love them, so I was surprised. Is the no sparkler bit normal there though?
ReplyDeleteNext time you're around, try the Blake Hotel. Same owner as the legendary Sheaf View on the other side of town. Bit of a walk uphill off the tram route, but hey, that means you're allowed an extra pint.
ReplyDeleteOn Saturday when I was at the Wellie a sparkler was used.
ReplyDeleteHypo: Glad to hear it, but not the case on my visit, but it was busy and only one guy behind the bar. Maybe - bad practice I know - he took them off for quickness?
ReplyDeleteNick - Sheffield isn't an island. (-;
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good excuse to go again and see if they are on. Combine it with a few other pubs - Gardener's Rest, Fat Cat, and then some of the more city centre ones such as the Bath Hotel and Grapes (grerat atmosphere and run by lovely people).
ReplyDeleteThe Wellie was indeed strangely underperforming on our visit. But then there is a bit of history of Sheffield pubs struggling with sparklers at busy times.
ReplyDelete