I'm no expert on Yorkshire at all but I went to the Tan Hill Inn in 1973 when it sold Watney's Red.
My pick of Yorkshire Country Pubs would be this one which my eagle-eyed friend spotted in the GBG way back in 1976 noting that it was doing all four or five beers from a brewery we had never heard of. In those days most breweries only did two or three beers. Further visits ensued using "Persil Tickets" to get to Manchester and returning from there on the midnight milk train,
What about that place high above Huddersfield that's been brewing it's own for decades now?
Well, it's more their personal preferences than saying any one pub is "better" than any other. The fact that they refer to managers and staff by their names suggests that they go to Sheffield pubs more often than I do (too busy clocking up the miles for Pubs Galore).
They're clearly into pale and hoppy beers - I once stopped going in the Shakespeares because there was almost nothing that I fancied. I was there the other week to meet two or three mates who had started before me, so I decided to catch up by having a half of Lost Industry Streets in the Sky TIPA (which I imagine stands for Triple IPA, since its strength was 11.1%). Well, I soon caught up. But the beer was disgusting - like tangerine juice with vodka.
The Broadfield, Sheaf View and White Lion are not my part of town - they mention on their blog that they mostly drink in southwest Sheffield. Of these, the Sheaf View is one that I visit from time to time while regretting the fact that it's a long way from home. The Beer Engine is on the way into town from there, but again I find that too many of the beers taste of grapefruit or lemon juice for my taste. The Dev Cat has improved, though some people don't approve of the new layout. Sometimes I go in for a half and end up having three or four, other times I look around the beer offering and walk straight out.
The Wellington has too many Neepsend beers - well, it is the brewery tap. Again, too many New World hops for me, and there's nothing in their range between pale & hoppy and dark & chocolaty, unless you count red ales with American hops. No best bitters, and when I mentioned this to one of the barmen he scoffed at the idea of beer tasting of twigs. That was me told.
I haven't been to the Old Workshop yet - it's keg only. The Beer House is Sheffield's first micropub and I find it variable. Comfy it is not.
The "Birkett portfolio" in their blog refers to the Sheaf View, the Blake and the Wellington, owned by Canadian James Birkett, who now also owns Neepsend Brewery. My favourite of his three is the Blake Hotel, which is on my side of town.
Their three to watch (Guzzle, Ecclesall Ale Club and Public) are two newish micropubs and a (keg only) cocktail bar under the town hall that only opened last month.
OK, I suppose you want me to name my favourites. So here goes, the official list of the best pubs in Sheffield:
Kelham Island Tavern
Fat Cat
Gardeners Rest
Blake Hotel
Lescar
Ecclesall Ale Club
Dog & Partridge
Sheaf View
Itchy Pig
Closed Shop
This is based on an estimate of the number of visits I have made in the past year, but including only those pubs that I have never walked out of (because there was nothing on that I wanted to drink at the time).
Some pubs that I would go to more often if they weren't so far away:
Rising Sun
Guzzle
Ale House
Horse & Jockey
And one that I didn't go to at all in 2017 but which could be one for this year:
Albion
Come On You Hatters!
I assume it's because most people on this Forum have already "done" Sheffield.
Do you mean this?
Come On You Hatters!