CoffeeBeer >> Pint Pleasures >> Previous Beer Columns >> Three Sheffield Pubs

Previous Pint Pleasures - July 26, 2008

Dog & Partridge, 56 Trippett Lane, Sheffield, South Yorkshire

Rising Sun, 471 Fulwood Road, Nether Green, Sheffield, South Yorkshire

Princess Royal, 43 Slinn Street, Steel Bank, Sheffield, South Yorkshire

I've finally run out of Scottish and American pubs to write about from my travels of last summer. And due to the lack of both time and money I haven't been out of Sheffield for months.

But never fear! There are so many fine pubs in Sheffield, even outside the city's famous Beer Triangle, that I will probably never run out of local beer column material. A few months ago I finally had an opportunity to visit a classic Irish pub which I've heard about ever since moving to Sheffield. Tucked away in a relatively calm location which belies its proximity to the oh-so-trendy West Street, the Dog and Partridge is famous for its frequent live Celtic and folk music and also for the fact that it's a true Irish local in the not-so-local city centre. The pub is a maze of comfy rooms, including a tiny snug, all situated around the bar. It was nice and warm in contrast to the wintry day outside and quite crowded for a rainy Saturday afternoon. In one isolated room a Celtic match was on TV, and everywhere we could hear Irish accents and recorded Irish music. The decor features a lot of Guinness ads on the walls, and over the bar there is a row of Guinness clocks showing times around the world. In the bottom room is a collection of Kennedy memorabilia, and the front feature the original Gilmour's Brewery etched window. Some nice looking baguette sandwiches are available at the bar.

We had pints of Brimstone (3.7% ABV, Abbeydale Brewery, Sheffield, S Yorkshire). This Abbeydale brew is dark and slightly reminiscent of Barnsley Bitter but with a gingery malt and possibly Fuggles hops. We thought it was an acceptable light gingery alternative to stout, because after all we were in an Irish pub and we didn't want to seem too out of place. Sadly there wasn't much fire in this Brimstone. We considered it more of a calculating and settling brew, and I could picture it sitting in the warm comfort of a ferry lounge while outside a gale hurled up massive breakers on the Irish Sea.

A few months earlier I visited the Rising Sun in Nether Green. This nice big pub has several rooms, a large car park in the rear, outside tables in the front and the back, and 12 handpumps lined up along the bar. An Abbeydale Brewery pub, the handpumps feature 5 Abbeydale brews including a seasonal guest, and 7 other guest ales. Also available are draft European lagers and cider and lots of bottled beers. The food menu features sandwiches, jacket potatoes, main dishes, and veggie specials.

We ordered pints of GMT (3.8% ABV, Three Rivers Brewing Co, Stockport, Greater Manchester) from a very friendly barman and proceeded outside to a table by the pavement. (If you're curious about the name, like I always am, GMT stands for "Goyt Mersey Tame", which are the three rivers which run through Stockport. The Goyt runs north of Buxton in Derbyshire and eventually joins the Tame, and the two of them become the Mersey. And now you know as much as I do.) This is another nice gentle golden beer with a distinct hops flavour and just a touch of that Czech hops zing.

As we sipped our pints we watched the Nether Green life and traffic pass by. The Rising Sun is located next to Tesco Express and across from a wine bar, a bakery, 3 hair salons, a party shop, and a fire and safety consultancy. Having just returned to Sheffield from a hideous heat wave in Southern California I couldn't help appreciating the pleasant summer afternoon. And my three rivers of a pint seemed a very good fresh-water-in-the-face way of easing my jetlag. Could it be because GMT also stands for Greenwich Mean Time? Or could it be because any good pint would have eased my jetlag? I suspect it's probably the latter.

Back in my part of town, right on the border of Crookes and Walkley, is a pub which is easily forgotten. This is because not only is the Princess Royal located on a quiet back street corner, but it opens later in the day than the other pubs in the area. This Victorian pub features two lounge rooms in the front, and in a large room in back is a snooker table which dates back 100 years as does the pub itself. And the front door has got to be my favourite pub front door. I can't explain why; it just appeals to me. I'm always tempted to go over and rub my face on it, but I always restrain myself.

The reason I've been looking forward to mentioning the Princess Royal is because you can always get a mighty fine pint of Black Sheep here. Black Sheep is a difficult beer to keep properly, but like the Timothy Taylor Landlord at the nearby Closed Shop, it seems like it's always assured to be in perfect order at the Princess. The pub also features a fairly decent old-fashioned analogue jukebox, a friendly smoking area out front, and regular live blues nights featuring the excellent Tom Rodwell, the legendary Frank White, the brilliant Dale Storr, and the Hummingbirds.