I’m getting a sense of déjà vu writing about Shakespeares for Pub of the Month… There have been a few changes since my last piece, not least manager Lucienne moving on to a career on the brewery side of the trade, and Tom stepping into her place. The pub has also just won another accolade in the form of the annual Pints of Sheffield Battle of the Boozers on the Instagrams.
One of the things I love about the local beer scene is that while other cities have some great craft bars and some great traditional pubs selling trad beer, Sheffield is almost unique in having proper pubs selling top tier craft beers (as well as superb cask of course). Shakespeares is a perfect example of this, being a proper old school pub with cask beers from across the country rubbing shoulders with some of the biggest names in craft from around the world (and some more obscure of course!).
Only a few of the more senior members of the branch will remember the pub’s opening in 1821, since when it has passed through various breweries’ (notably Wards) and pubcos’ ownership, and closure, before opening as a fully independent free house in 2011. In its current guise over 7,500 different cask beers have been sold plus about 2,000 keg. Permanent fixtures on cask are Red Willow Feckless and Abbeydale Deception while the rest of the handpumps host the ever-changing guests. The keg taps feature beers from within a mile to the other side of the planet, almost always including an imperial stout, a sour or two, various IPAs and usually some crazy ****. If that really isn’t enough there’s a large list of cans and bottles available from the cellar. There is also an impressive selection of whiskies and a smaller selection of whiskeys and rums (the latter needs to expand, hint hint…).
The pub itself retains a multi-room layout with rooms on all four sides of the central bar area, including a bustling front bar area, a (usually) quieter ‘clock room’ to the side, and the ‘long room’ with bench seating and a dartboard. Upstairs are two function rooms, a larger one regularly featuring live bands and a smaller one sometimes used for pub games and a couple of times a year for the festival cask bar, often including beers not seen anywhere else on cask (or in some cases at all!). Outside is a large paved beer garden which catches the evening sunlight, with a small covered area for more typical British weather…
Oh, and the sofa is still my Spot, so anyone who isn’t me should keep out!
Dave Szwejkowski
It really annoys me when branch members highlight keg beers in award write ups. Pubs should not win awards as a result of the keg products they offer however good. Camra is the Campaign for Real Ale and Cider!
Andrew – I think CAMRA is slowly recognising that cask and keg can live in harmony together as Dave has said in his article. Shakespeares won the award because our branch members voted for it. Cheers