Pub 95, Day 35 – Tap & Tankard

By Andy

We rounded off the evening with a visit to the Tap & Tankard, a venue I was rather excited about. The pub had recently replaced The Sportsman (which let's face it, needed replacing), and was now owned by Kelham Island Brewery. My heartbeat quickened as I imagined The Fat Cat only bigger, a range of beers so varied that no two customers ever drank the same.

However, I was slightly disappointed to find the Tap & Tankard was just like any other pub – a nice haven from the city centre but far less pioneering than its older brother. Where The Fat Cat has guest beers from all over the world, the T&T mostly just stuck to its brewery's line-up, with a couple of fruit beers thrown in for variety.

Don't get me wrong, I could quite happily drink Kelham Island beers all evening, but it felt like the pub was a watered-down version of The Fat Cat – for part-time, city-centre drinkers.

It was an enjoyable place to end the night though – Festive Reserve was our drink of choice (it's important to tick the Christmas beers off before they're removed from the menu in mid-January). The pint was surprisingly decent, and not overpowered by cinnamon or nutmeg or whatever other shite breweries chuck in their December offerings.

The pub was empty by this time, so the three of us (me, Rob and Cowboy Keith) sat in the corner trading anecdotes. Had there been a crackling fireplace it would have been the perfect winter setting, the sort you only see in low-budget Christmas movies.

The toilets soon brought us back to reality though – I once attended a football match at York City's stadium where the toilets were literally a wall to piss on. The facilities at the Tap & Tankard were a tiny, miniscule improvement on that.

One final plus point: the Tap & Tankard is literally next-door to Chubby's, a standard-bearer for greasy late-night takeaways. If I hadn't already eaten a curry at Wetherspoons, I would have ended the night with a doner kebab.

(I'm lying: I did get a doner kebab.) (With chips.)

(Cheesy chips.)

Pub: Tap & Tankard (24 Cambridge Street, S1 4HP) (now closed)

Rating: 7/10

Pint: Festive Reserve
Brewery: Kelham Island Brewery (Sheffield)

NEXT UP: Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears, at Arena Square...

In case you were in any doubt: he really does wear a cowboy hat. And purple leather gloves. (To match
his purple shirt and waistcoat). Everyone else may as well give up, because Keith has just won fashion.

Pub 94, Day 35 – The Benjamin Huntsman

By Rob

Andy, Cowboy Keith and myself all left The Grapes and headed over to The Benjamin Huntsman on Cambridge Street. There were a few pubs in this area that, strangely, we still hadn’t managed to tick off our list. This, coupled with the fact that Andy really fancied a “cheap Spoons curry”, made the Huntsman an obvious choice.

The pub – another of Sheffield’s enormously spacious Wetherspoons – will always have a special place in my heart as a regular haunt from the days when I first reached legal drinking age. Many of our more memorable nights began here, downing large pitchers of luridly purple fizz (cheap enough that you could buy it by the bucket), before passing out in West Street Live.

That being said, it was still a Spoons, and therefore came with the usual mix of pros and cons, all of which we've previously discussed. 

We ordered Huntsman Stout by Rotherham-based Chantry Brewery – although Huntsman Stout was presumably unconnected to The Benjamin Huntsman pub we were drinking in, we figured they were probably both named after the same person, so why not combine the two. The beer was fine, but didn’t really stand out from many of the other thick, dark stouts we’d come across in the past. Andy – who prefers darker beers – was in his element with the stout and, of course, the “cheap Spoons curry”.

The Huntsman is one of Sheffield’s better city-centre Spoons, certainly beating the (now closed) Swim Inn on West Street, and easily surpassing the nearby Banker’s Draft. This, I would argue, is because of its more favourable alcoholic-to-normal-customer ratio, which is/was unacceptably high in the two Spoons mentioned above.

Like many other Spoons, the pub’s name is derived from local history. The eponymous Mr Benjamin Huntsman was an eighteenth-century industrialist, who invented crucible steel in Sheffield. The success of Huntsman’s new process was its ability to reach incredibly high temperatures, hot enough to melt steel and dissolve iron.

Judging by the look on Andy’s sweat-drenched face, the pub that now bore the manufacturer’s name also included searing heat as a central feature of their creations.

Pub: The Benjamin Huntsman (12-18 Cambridge Street, S1 4HP)

Rating: 8.5/10

Pint: Huntsman Stout

Brewery: Chantry Brewery (Rotherham, S62 6NR)

NEXT UP: The perfect winter's evening, at the Tap & Tankard...

Pub 93, Day 35 – The Grapes

By Rob

In my never-ending quest to stay cool and impress women, I’ve recently taken up genealogy as a hobby.

Having briefly considered learning the guitar, or acquiring a new language, I decided to spend my evenings researching my family tree. After all, what’s more attractive than a man who knows about his long-dead relatives?

After some initial digging, I discovered that both of my grandparents on my father’s side were of Irish descent. My grandfather’s ancestors, whose surname I obviously bare today, came over to Sheffield from Ireland during the great famine of the 1850s. Meanwhile, it turned out that my grandmother was, unbeknownst to her, half-Irish. Her father, having been born and raised in Belfast, came over to England in the 1920s.

“What the fuck does any of this have to do with Pubquest, you self-indulgent boring bastard?!” I hear you cry.

Well, as Andy and I left The Devonshire Cat, we were pondering where to go next. As my mind was, at this time, filled with shamrocks and leprechauns (and all things skin-crawlingly stereotypical), I suggested we visit the only truly Irish pub I could think of in Sheffield: The Grapes.

As we made our way over to Trippet Lane, Andy’s phone began to ring.

Now, the reason I mention this seemingly mundane event is not because Andy’s phone rarely rings. Let’s make it clear, from hereon, that both Andy and myself are incredibly popular people who receive an absurd amount of correspondence from our expansive network of family, friends and acquaintances. Guys who write blogs about pubs are not short of mates.

No, the reason I mention this is because Andy’s phone rang out with a special ringtone, which I believe is the theme tune to The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. There was only one contact in Andy’s phone who elicited this musical response from his mobile device.

Cowboy Keith.

For those of you who don’t know who Cowboy Keith is, I would recommend going back and reading about the night we first encountered this enigmatic, hat-wearing fellow. For those who can’t be bothered to do that, just know that Keith is a small Chinese man who wears dark suits, cowboy hats, and sunglasses – who we randomly met during our first ever Pubquest outing in 2012.

Keith, it transpired, was in town that night and wanted to meet up. Always excited to see our old compatriot, we warmly extended an invitation to join us at The Grapes, which Keith gladly accepted.

He was already at the pub by the time we arrived, and we greeted each other fondly. Once inside, both Andy and myself ordered a pint of Guinness Golden Ale (it seemed impossible not to order something Guinness-related while in the most Irish establishment we were likely to find during the whole of this mad, pioneering adventure).

We sat ourselves down and began to catch up with Keith, eager to hear about his various goings on. He informed us that he had decided to go part-time in his job as a dental support worker (big news – tell your mates). He also informed us that he’d just bought a second motorbike. This was news to us, having not known that he owned even one. 

As previously mentioned, Keith has asked not to be shown. Here, we have replaced Keith's actual face with a massive smiley head.

The conversation flowed, as did the beer. Both of us enjoyed the Guinness Golden Ale, although it didn’t come close to matching a pint of the ordinary stuff for flavour. When I visit this pub outside of Pubquest, standard Guinness is always my first choice.

I love The Grapes. At the time of writing, it’s up there with some of my favourite pubs in Sheffield. I love the Irish vibe and decor – the pub has a warm atmosphere, and it really comes into its own on a cold winter’s night. However, it is truly at its best when playing host to the various musical customers who make an appearance most weekends – especially on a Sunday. It’s never long before the instruments come out and the singing starts.

Sad to tear ourselves away before the entertainment got thoroughly underway, we finished our pints and headed out to the next stop on the list.

Pub: The Grapes (80 Trippet Lane, S1 4EL)

Rating: 9/10

Pint: Guinness Golden Ale

Brewery: Guinness Brewery (Dublin)

NEXT UP: Curry night, at The Benjamin Huntsman...

Pub 92, Day 35 – The Devonshire Cat

By Rob

It’s possible that, once upon a time, the people of Sheffield wondered why The Fat Cat was quite so fat. Why was this famous feline, who could be found nestled in the heart of Kelham Island, so obese?

The explanation for the moggy’s rotund shape was apparently revealed at the dawn of the new millennium. As it transpired, her considerable weight was not the result of one too many mice, or full-fat saucers of milk.

She was, in fact, pregnant.

The Fat Cat was to have a kitten, revealed the Sheffield Telegraph in 2000. The pub’s owner, David Wickett, was to open a new venture called The Devonshire Cat, which would be built into a student development on Wellington Street in the Devonshire Quarter. Like his other two boozers – The Fat Cat and Kelham Island Tavern – The Devonshire Cat would offer a range of quality beers.

The pub was later bought by Abbeydale Brewery in 2013, thankfully retaining its focus on real ale and quality spirits (whisky in particular).

Fast-forward to 2017 and, safe in the knowledge that we’d find a good beer selection in The Dev Cat, we decided to continue our Friday evening there.

Having both previously visited the pub (although not on Pubquest), we were not in the least surprised to be greeted by a lengthy row of unfamiliar pump clips. Faced with so many tantalising options, the burden of selecting the best beer was mercifully lifted from our shoulders, as our self-imposed rule of always ordering the house microbrew forced us to purchase two pints of Devonshire Cat Bitter.

The beer was great, very smooth and crisp: undoubtedly one of the better ‘in-house’ beers I’d tasted along our journey thus far.

While the beer selection was exactly as we’d remembered it, the pub itself had undergone something of a transformation since last we’d popped inside. The seating booths, cushioned upholstery, and carpeted flooring were all gone. Polished floorboards, long tables and wooden benches now ran the length of the interior. The bar had moved into the centre of the room, the walls were bare brick, and food was emerging from the kitchen atop granite, rectangular plates.

The place had gotten trendy.

I had to acknowledge that it all looked very cool, and I have no doubt that many people will applaud the sleek new appearance. For me, however, the change is not for the better. The Dev Cat, as was, had a certain warmth to it. It had managed to seem cosy, despite its spacious main room. Now it felt less like a pub and more like a bar.

For a guy who writes a blog called Pubquest, that can be no good thing.

The question of whether The Dev Cat continues to be a pub (they now call themselves a ‘beer bar’) is not one we can answer today.

The question of why The Fat Cat continues to be fat, despite having given birth, is also a mystery beyond our skill to unravel.

Pub: The Devonshire Cat (49 Wellington Street, S1 4HG)

Rating: 9/10

Pint: Devonshire Cat Bitter

Brewery: Abbeydale Brewery (Sheffield)

NEXT UP: Cowboy Keith returns, at The Grapes... 

Pub 91, Day 35 – Rutland Arms

By Andy

The Rutland Arms has always held a special place in my heart, on account of it being a perfectly placed pit-stop on the walk between Sheffield station and Bramall Lane. With the opening of the Sheffield Tap in 2010, I subsequently developed a two-stop strategy, benefiting from the additional opportunity to refuel.

Attending the Rutland on a non-matchday was a new experience for me, but then perhaps the pub would be improved by the absence of overweight men in tight red-and-white shirts.

Just enough off the beaten track to be classed as a secret, yet still in a great city centre location, the Rutland Arms has recently been building an excellent reputation for its food, where it strives to achieve “good value restaurant-standard cooking in an unfussy atmosphere”.

Here at Pubquest, we have already accepted the destruction of our livers, but are yet to consent to the morbid obesity that would derive from eating a meal at every pub, so we reluctantly stuck to the beers.

I know what you're thinking: how can a review of a football-pub renowned for its food be complete if you go on a non-matchday and don't eat?

Panic not – this wasn't our first time at the rodeo.

***

A few months prior, Rob had received free Sheffield United tickets from university (yes, he is STILL a student). Seeing as I already had a ticket, he rounded up his usual assortment of post-grad friends (some American, some Chinese, some southern) and took them to Sheffield United vs Barnsley.

Hilariously, during pre-match drinks at the Rutland, the Americans amongst the group started asking Rob questions about football – an exercise about as useful as asking the Queen for tips on living below the poverty line.

“How do you get a penalty?”

“What's the offside rule?”

“Who are 'Leeds scum' and why does everybody hate them?”

Panicked, Rob gave me a call, and I popped over to explain.

After guiding them through the aforementioned basics, I advised the guests that it could be somewhat of a needle match, and it might be best to try and blend in to avoid trouble. Everyone nodded, before heading to the bar.

However, either the entire group had completely ignored me, or they truly had no idea how to 'blend in' in a city-centre Sheffield pub shortly before a South Yorkshire derby.

Forgoing the matchday classic Slutty Rutty Butty (a chip butty with cheese and bacon), they ordered an eclectic mix of terrines, roulades and risottos. All looked fantastic. All tasted fantastic. And all attracted quizzical looks from the hordes waiting patiently for their butties while we completely hijacked the kitchen.

Perhaps I'm being harsh. For it turns out Americans know neither the word 'chip' or 'butty'. Nor breadcake. In fact, it took a good ten minutes of explaining the concept before we settled on 'french fries sandwich'. But when in Rome, eat pizza; and when about to watch Sheffield United, eat a chip butty (making sure to leave enough room for your chicken balti pie at half-time).

***

Anyway, back to the Official Pubquest Visit.

Having already established that the food was both delicious and versatile, it was time to put the beers through the same scrutiny.

The selection was glorious, ranging from wheat beers to stouts. We went for Attack on Blue Falcon by Northern Monk, a brewery which was on its very last chance with me after a few terrible pints.

The beer was a 7% 'blueberry and mosaic black IPA', and it soon became apparent that it fell into the same category as every other Northern Monk beer I had ever tried – a vile concoction designed for shock rather than taste.

In fact I once called in at the brewery while passing, and headed to their on-site bar. There were over a dozen beers on offer, only two of which were under 7%. Every single one had clearly been created in reverse – which weird flavours can we put together, rather than which flavours work well. The complete opposite of classier breweries such as Saltaire and Thornbridge, where no matter how strange a beer's premise, the end product always takes priority.

The pub was small and busy, and it can constantly be a battle to find a table upon arrival. But there is also a pleasant beer garden out back, perfect for warmer days. In addition, the pub possesses a brilliant old-school jukebox, which is so popular that any song you select doesn't come on until several hours after you've left.

A friendly pub... unless you fancy a WKD

Ignoring our poor choice of pint, for us this has always been a pub that ticks all the boxes.

Food: √

Beer: √

Friendly: √

The latest addition to the coveted 10/10 club.

Pub: Rutland Arms (86 Brown Street, S1 2BS)

Rating: 10/10

Pint: Attack on Blue Falcon

Brewery: Northern Monk Brew Co (Leeds)

NEXT UP: Pubquest visits a 'beer bar', at The Devonshire Cat...