CoffeeBeer >> Pint Pleasures >> Previous Beer Columns >> 3 More Crookes Pubs

Previous Pint Pleasures - January 21, 2003

The Cobden View Hotel, 40 Cobden View Road, Crookes, Sheffield, South Yorkshire

The Old Grindstone, 3 Crookes, Crookes, Sheffield, South Yorkshire

The Hallamshire Hotel, 155 Lydgate Lane, Crosspool, Sheffield, South Yorkshire

Two weeks ago I reviewed 3 pubs in California. Due to the technological wonders of the 21st Century, this week I'm going to review 3 pubs in Sheffield. No, I haven't returned to the UK just quite yet -- but my heart, mind, and soul are there so I may as well have.

Just off Crookes not far from Bole Hill is a small street called Cobden View where you'll find the Cobden View Hotel. Run by Patrick, along with three dogs and two cats, this is a pleasantly peaceful pub, especially in the invitingly private back garden. Here we've sipped fine pints of Barnsley Bitter (3.8% ABV, Barnsley Brewing Co Ltd, Barnsley, South Yorkshire), which always seems like such a perfect pint for a late afternoon. Inside there are several cosy rooms including one with a pool table. Although there are many pubs in this area this one seems to be mostly a neighbourhood pub, where local residents stop in for an after-work pint before heading home. The first time we visited the outside was being painted and plans were afoot for more real ales and various evening events. The last I knew they were featuring live folk music on Thurday nights, but it might be wise to check first.

As you continue down the hill toward Broomhill you'll come to the Old Grindstone, located where Crookes meets Lydgate Lane. Contrary to the name and the historic look of the exterior this is a big, cavernous student pub with several rooms, one housing a miniature green snooker table and two pool tables -- one red and one blue -- along with a big screen TV. And there are about a bajillion other TVs scattered here and there about the pub. In fact I've never seen so many TVs in one pub.

On the Sunday afternoon we visited the pub was packed with students, and there were 5 cask ales on but nothing that made me particularly salivate (Tetley, Pedigree, Flowers IPA, Old Speckled Hen, and Castle Eden). We opted for pints of Castle Eden Ale (4.2% ABV, Castle Eden Brewery, Hartlepool, Durham), which were perfectly acceptable but rather boring. We sat near the nice double-open hearth in the centre of the front room which would be great for one of those chilly winter days, but on this particular day it was too warm for a fire. Glued to the tables are thick tiles with numbers painted on them, which seems a bit dangerous seeing as how you could easily break your glass on the edge a tile if you set it down too roughly or at the wrong angle. If you drank enough pints -- which could easily happen in such a student-heavy place -- you could even put your eye out or crack your skull if you were to pass out with your head landing heavily on the table. Yes, the Old Grindstone has the potential to be a dangerous place, so you might want to consider wearing a hard hat and safety goggles if you're the sobriety-challenged sort.

Around the corner in Lydgate Lane is the Hallamshire Hotel. Not to be confused with the Hallamshire House in Commonside -- or the other Hallamshire Hotel in West Street -- this pub has been called the Madhouse because of a body reportedly bricked up in the cellar. But don't be frightened away: this is a friendly, quiet pub with low ceilings and a pleasant atmosphere. On the evening we stopped in for a pool match there were several choices of real ale. Our pints of London Pride (4.1% ABV, Fuller, Smith, and Turner, London) were good and crisp, just like Pride should be. At one point the landlord -- who seems to be a clone of another local landlord we had known (or perhaps he's one and the same) -- brought out his pet barn owl for us to admire and stroke. (This other landlord had a myna bird, which probably isn't a clone of the barn owl unless there is such a thing as fraternal clones.)

Perhaps I should clone myself so I can drink in California and Sheffield pubs at the same time. Or perhaps I have already cloned myself -- but I probably wouldn't let on if I had.

Maybe I'll start calling myself Dolly...

Related Links

• Barn Owl Facts: all you need to know (The Barn Owl Trust)