sheffield hatter
19-11-2012, 21:35
Some of you may have seen Gill Halfpint's post on That Doesn't Go There about the Forest (http://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/43160/) becoming the latest addition to the real ale scene in Sheffield. It was due to reopen as the Woodside Tavern on 16th November, but there was a large scale electricity black out in that part of the city on Friday so the opening was put back until Saturday. I went that way on both Tuesday and Friday last week, in the expectation that I could get a photo of the new pub for PuG, but the hanging sign and the lettering on the front wall still say Forest Show Bar (what is a show bar?).
Apparently it was "rammed" on Saturday, but very quiet when I popped in this evening. There are four regular hand pumps plus one of the new-fangled above-the-counter things from Black Sheep that looks so like a font that I didn't register its presence until I'd already asked for a pint of PG Steam, from RCH in Weston-super-Mare, which was a similar beer, a 3.9% best bitter, and in very good condition but being sold at the discounted price of just £2 a pint.This was because it was the slowest seller at the weekend - too bitter for some tastes, I was told by the manager. The other beer was Clark's Blonde (http://www.hbclark.co.uk/clarks-brewery.html), rebadged as Woodside Blonde. The other two pumps are dormant in the quiet part of the week. Real ales are regularly priced at just £2.30. There are the usual lager fonts and John Smiths Smooth Crap but no Guinness as yet.
I'm told that the place was left in a dreadful state by the previous occupants, with ripped furniture and copious dog hair everywhere, so they've concentrated on getting that put right and external changes will be done when time and money allows. The pub is not far from the Gardeners Rest (http://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/43179/) and the other "usual suspects" in Kelham Island, so easy to include in a crawl of the area. I haven't done a review yet as it seems unfair given the difficulties they've had getting the place up and running. I'll return in the next couple of weeks and see how they're getting on.
Apparently it was "rammed" on Saturday, but very quiet when I popped in this evening. There are four regular hand pumps plus one of the new-fangled above-the-counter things from Black Sheep that looks so like a font that I didn't register its presence until I'd already asked for a pint of PG Steam, from RCH in Weston-super-Mare, which was a similar beer, a 3.9% best bitter, and in very good condition but being sold at the discounted price of just £2 a pint.This was because it was the slowest seller at the weekend - too bitter for some tastes, I was told by the manager. The other beer was Clark's Blonde (http://www.hbclark.co.uk/clarks-brewery.html), rebadged as Woodside Blonde. The other two pumps are dormant in the quiet part of the week. Real ales are regularly priced at just £2.30. There are the usual lager fonts and John Smiths Smooth Crap but no Guinness as yet.
I'm told that the place was left in a dreadful state by the previous occupants, with ripped furniture and copious dog hair everywhere, so they've concentrated on getting that put right and external changes will be done when time and money allows. The pub is not far from the Gardeners Rest (http://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/43179/) and the other "usual suspects" in Kelham Island, so easy to include in a crawl of the area. I haven't done a review yet as it seems unfair given the difficulties they've had getting the place up and running. I'll return in the next couple of weeks and see how they're getting on.