pete_green
By Donald Strachan
Sheffield might just be the most famous city you've never been to -- and you'll search for it in vain in the index of most guidebooks. England's fifth-largest city is its own brand, synonymous the world over with the finest steel, manufactured there since the 1700s.
However, Sheffield's cutlery magnates haven't left a legacy of great art collections or public museums. Handsome architecture was bombed to brick-dust during World War II. There remains some industrial heritage -- the Kelham Island Museum, Alma St. (tel. 0114/272-2106; www.simt.co.uk), is good for a spare hour -- but the best Sheffield story for visitors begins about 20 years ago.
In 1990 the Kelham Island Brewery (www.kelhambrewery.co.uk) opened in the garden of a small pub. It was the city's first new brewer for over a century. These seeds, planted in what was then a ropey, rundown red-light neighborhood, are blooming -- several breweries have opened around the city since, and the Kelham Island quarter itself is transformed.
In Sheffield's pubs, you'll now find every British beer style, in multiple versions, from rich stouts and "real" lagers to aggressively hopped IPAs (and hybrids like "black IPA"). The best bars offer ten or more beers on tap, most of them crafted within a few miles of the cellar door. And Sheffield isn't just a place of pilgrimage for beer lovers; it's also one of the cheapest spots in the UK to bar hop, with a pint averaging around £2.50 -- compare that to central London, where £4 isn't unusual.
It is Britain's ale capital, and makes an ideal add-on to a walking trip to the nearby Peak District National Park. Our favourite spots are on the slides that follow.
Photo Caption: A variety of beers at the Sheffield Tap in Sheffield, England.
Sheffield is the best station in Britain to find your train delayed: Platform 1's former first-class waiting hall -- a handsome, lofty room with floor-to-ceiling Victorian tiling and a hint of Brief Encounter about it -- has been converted into a perfect railside bar. Ten hand-pulled ales rotate, and there are 12 keg beers available too. The Tap casts a wide net in its search for ale, and is especially keen on niche London breweries such as Brodie's and Darkstar.
A "tap" is the old English term for a brewery bar, and this Tap is just the start: Later in 2012, owners plan to expand into the adjacent dining room to add the world's only (we think) microbrewery housed inside a major, working railway station.
Details: Platform 1B, Sheffield Rail Station; tel. 0114/273-7558; www.sheffieldtap.com; Twitter @sheffieldtap. Sunday to Thursday 11am-11pm, Friday to Saturday 10am-midnight
Photo Caption: The Sheffield Tap in Sheffield, England.
The tiny bar area looks like a set built for a 1950s realist movie, down to the frosted windows, nicotine-stained wall lamps, and timeworn carpet. But there's nothing staged about the Fat Cat. This was the first home of Sheffield's ale revolution, and is under the same ownership as the Kelham Island Brewery. Pale Rider is their best known ale, but also check out Big Black Blue Sound, an unusual black IPA.
Despite the sign outside proudly proclaiming the Fat Cat as "vegetarian pub of the year 2001," you'll also find the bar piled high with pocket-sized pork pies seasoned with Kelham Island ale.
Details: 23 Alma St., Sheffield; tel. 0114/249-4801; www.thefatcat.co.uk. Open daily.
Photo Caption: The Fat Cat in Sheffield, England.
Garish, mustard walls, country-styled furniture, and so many tall handpumps that you can barely see the barman: This is what locals call "a proper pub." No ordinary pub, though. The Kelham Island Tavern has been awarded -- by CAMRA, the UK's ale society -- best pub in Britain twice, best in Yorkshire four times, and best in Sheffield eight times. Not bad for a place that's only been going a decade. The five house ales and around eight guest beers are kept to the highest standards, and behavior of a similar level is expected -- a prominent sign demands "No Swearing."
Details: 62 Russell St., Sheffield; ; tel. 0114/272-2482; www.kelhamislandtavern.co.uk; Twitter @thekelham. Open daily noon-midnight
Photo Caption: The Kelham Island Tavern in Sheffield, England.
A sign in the entrance corridor prepares you: Behind its handsome stained-glass picture window, Shakespeare's is a "tasteless fizz free zone." The eight or so ales hail, largely, from Yorkshire and Derbyshire, and if that's not enough, there's a chalkboard bottle menu that's taller than me, and includes Belgian Trappist ales, plus 80 well-chosen whiskies and 10 top rums.
Since a major revamp and reopening in July 2011, the clientele is eclectic, even gently fashionable. They're mostly here for the beer, but also huddle around the etched brass-topped tables for live folk-acoustic music on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday nights.
Details: 146 Gibraltar St., Sheffield; tel. 0114/275-5959; www.shakespeares-sheffield.co.uk; Facebook ShakespearesShf. Open daily.
Photo Caption: The Shakespeare in Sheffield, England.
Sheffield might just be the most famous city you've never been to -- and you'll search for it in vain in the index of most guidebooks. England's fifth-largest city is its own brand, synonymous the world over with the finest steel, manufactured there since the 1700s.
However, Sheffield's cutlery magnates haven't left a legacy of great art collections or public museums. Handsome architecture was bombed to brick-dust during World War II. There remains some industrial heritage -- the Kelham Island Museum, Alma St. (tel. 0114/272-2106; www.simt.co.uk), is good for a spare hour -- but the best Sheffield story for visitors begins about 20 years ago.
In 1990 the Kelham Island Brewery (www.kelhambrewery.co.uk) opened in the garden of a small pub. It was the city's first new brewer for over a century. These seeds, planted in what was then a ropey, rundown red-light neighborhood, are blooming -- several breweries have opened around the city since, and the Kelham Island quarter itself is transformed.
In Sheffield's pubs, you'll now find every British beer style, in multiple versions, from rich stouts and "real" lagers to aggressively hopped IPAs (and hybrids like "black IPA"). The best bars offer ten or more beers on tap, most of them crafted within a few miles of the cellar door. And Sheffield isn't just a place of pilgrimage for beer lovers; it's also one of the cheapest spots in the UK to bar hop, with a pint averaging around £2.50 -- compare that to central London, where £4 isn't unusual.
It is Britain's ale capital, and makes an ideal add-on to a walking trip to the nearby Peak District National Park. Our favourite spots are on the slides that follow.
Photo Caption: A variety of beers at the Sheffield Tap in Sheffield, England.
A "tap" is the old English term for a brewery bar, and this Tap is just the start: Later in 2012, owners plan to expand into the adjacent dining room to add the world's only (we think) microbrewery housed inside a major, working railway station.
Details: Platform 1B, Sheffield Rail Station; tel. 0114/273-7558; www.sheffieldtap.com; Twitter @sheffieldtap. Sunday to Thursday 11am-11pm, Friday to Saturday 10am-midnight
Photo Caption: The Sheffield Tap in Sheffield, England.
Despite the sign outside proudly proclaiming the Fat Cat as "vegetarian pub of the year 2001," you'll also find the bar piled high with pocket-sized pork pies seasoned with Kelham Island ale.
Details: 23 Alma St., Sheffield; tel. 0114/249-4801; www.thefatcat.co.uk. Open daily.
Photo Caption: The Fat Cat in Sheffield, England.
Details: 62 Russell St., Sheffield; ; tel. 0114/272-2482; www.kelhamislandtavern.co.uk; Twitter @thekelham. Open daily noon-midnight
Photo Caption: The Kelham Island Tavern in Sheffield, England.
Since a major revamp and reopening in July 2011, the clientele is eclectic, even gently fashionable. They're mostly here for the beer, but also huddle around the etched brass-topped tables for live folk-acoustic music on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday nights.
Details: 146 Gibraltar St., Sheffield; tel. 0114/275-5959; www.shakespeares-sheffield.co.uk; Facebook ShakespearesShf. Open daily.
Photo Caption: The Shakespeare in Sheffield, England.