Three Sheffield pubs, all happening to begin with 'F', plus three more modern venues which we visited alongside them, as our explorations of the city got off to a good start.
We arrived in a grey overcast Sheffield on a Sunday lunchtime, wandering the streets of the city centre, visiting the Winter Garden and learning all about steel in the Millennium Gallery.
After which we declared it was a quite acceptable time to visit the pub, picking one with a striking mural on the side...
Fagan's (69 Broad Lane, Sheffield, S1 4BS)
The pub is named after Joe Fagan, a wartime bomber command pilot who went on to be a long-serving landlord here from 1947 to 1985, when it was known as the Barrel.
The interior hasn't changed much since a refit in 1953, except to add an extra room at the back which used to be private quarters. The snug to the right of the entrance, named the Dram Shop, looks cosy and tempting, but I fancied sitting in the main bar alongside the handful of other customers. Proper pub seating and wood panelled walls decorated with pictures of RAF planes.
I grabbed myself a pint of Abbeydale 'Moonshine', the other ale available being Tetley's.
Fagan's is a great old-school pub. Forget ordering by scanning a QR code on your app - it was 'cash only' as we picked food from the snack menu, hand-written on a bit of paper and pinned to the notice board next to the bar.
We arrived in a grey overcast Sheffield on a Sunday lunchtime, wandering the streets of the city centre, visiting the Winter Garden and learning all about steel in the Millennium Gallery.
After which we declared it was a quite acceptable time to visit the pub, picking one with a striking mural on the side...
The pub is named after Joe Fagan, a wartime bomber command pilot who went on to be a long-serving landlord here from 1947 to 1985, when it was known as the Barrel.
The interior hasn't changed much since a refit in 1953, except to add an extra room at the back which used to be private quarters. The snug to the right of the entrance, named the Dram Shop, looks cosy and tempting, but I fancied sitting in the main bar alongside the handful of other customers. Proper pub seating and wood panelled walls decorated with pictures of RAF planes.
I grabbed myself a pint of Abbeydale 'Moonshine', the other ale available being Tetley's.
Next up, we walked a couple of minutes across the road and through an alleyway to find the Perch Brewhouse...
Perch Brewhouse (44 Garden Street, Sheffield, S1 4BJ)
A pretty dramatic change, then, from being sat in the traditional surroundings of Fagans.
Situated in an old workshop, Perch has high stools and canteen-style chairs in a modern rectangular room with fancy lighting and a retro PacMan video game.
The Dead Parrot Beer Company is located in the yard behind the bar, with four of their beers available on cask when we visited. An 'Aardvark Biscuit' 3.8% bitter was my pick, because putting 'biscuit' in the name is all it takes to sell it to me.
A pretty dramatic change, then, from being sat in the traditional surroundings of Fagans.
Situated in an old workshop, Perch has high stools and canteen-style chairs in a modern rectangular room with fancy lighting and a retro PacMan video game.
The Forest (Rutland Street, Neepsend, Sheffield, S3 9PA)
As with the Perch, the idea to come here came from the Sheffield CAMRA guide to the cities breweries, where I'd spotted it was the tap for the nearby Toolmakers Brewery.
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| 'Parked cars in way of pub picture'...one of an ongoing series |
Unfortunately most of those locals obviously had a Pub Seating Allergy, unable to tear themselves away from the bar to use any of the empty tables.
And not one of them budged an inch to assist me getting to the bar to be served.
Not very welcoming - almost makes me nostalgic for last year's table service.
My second gripe was that the mild was undrinkable. It was changed with no fuss, other than a sample being delivered to the landlord who agreed it was past it's best.
The replacement 'Battleaxe' bitter was okay, but I just didn't warm to the place on this visit.
The Forest wasn't Mrs PropUptheBar's favourite pub.
What was needed to cheer her up was craft beer, so it was handy that Heist was just down the hill...
What was needed to cheer her up was craft beer, so it was handy that Heist was just down the hill...
A quick perusal of the menu and I'd spotted a peanut butter stout called 'When a Beer's so Lit it Turns you into a Bagel' - safe in the knowledge that someone was going to be happy.
There's plenty more to choose from, both Heist's own beers as well as interesting guests. Sticking with thirds enabled us to try a few, including a quite marvelous 12% Imperial black IPA from Loch Lomond Brewery.
There are two beer halls adjacent to one another for busy times, but on our Sunday teatime visit just the main one was in action. It's a super place with chunky bench seating, good-looking food coming out the kitchen, extreme skiing on TV and folks playing shuffleboard.
And an arcade corner, which is nicely out of the ordinary...
And an arcade corner, which is nicely out of the ordinary...
Leaving Heist, we headed back across the river and onto Green Lane, where we'd spotted the opportunity for more craft murk at SALT. It's located next to the grand triumphal arch that once led into the Green Lane Works.
Cask ale aficionados were being catered for with four hand pumps dispensing Ossett beers, but I fancied the chance to try one of SALT's own creations that didn't come in a can from Tesco.
This time I was being sensible after picking the strongest things in Heist - not even a normal IPA, but an 'IPA Junior', which was impressively flavoursome for its lower ABV.
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| Murk - the Citra NEIPA JR |
Based in Saltaire in West Yorkshire, SALT have recently opened taprooms in Leeds and London as well as this Sheffield venture, unveiled in December '21. The food offering from a hatch in the corner was from Bao Mesters, enabling us to accompany our beer with some tasty buns and gyozas.
'Say hello to Retired Martin' was on my list of things to do in Sheffield, so I was happy to get a message from him asking where we were, then saying he could be at the Fat Cat in 10 minutes.
Google Maps: 25 minutes, RM Speed:10 minutes.
Here's a picture of the Fat Cat from earlier in the day, as I've given up on night-time photography...
Google Maps: 25 minutes, RM Speed:10 minutes.
Here's a picture of the Fat Cat from earlier in the day, as I've given up on night-time photography...
Not much needs saying about the Fat Cat (which is convenient, because I always run out of things to say about pubs by this stage...)
It's got Jarvis painted on one side and a colourful Fat Cat mural on the front which wasn't there last time I was in this neck of the woods.
The next door neighbours, Kelham Island Brewery, supply a number of the beers alongside guests - served on the top form that you'd expect from somewhere that attracts tickers from far and wide.
It was lovely to catch up with Martin, who probably missed some fine Sunday evening TV to come down the hill for a couple of pints with this tipsy idiot. Luckily Mrs PropUptheBar was on hand to provide some intelligent conversation.
Oh goodness me, I don't really look like that do I?
This artists impression of me on the way back to the hotel, suffering the after-effects of the double IPA from Heist, is much more accurate...
More Sheffield in the next post, in which I head off the beaten track for Polish fast food and trek across town to find the Heritage Pub has decided not to open until we'd left town.
Cheers! 🍺
This artists impression of me on the way back to the hotel, suffering the after-effects of the double IPA from Heist, is much more accurate...
Cheers! 🍺
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