January 2026. Sheffield.
Enough of me, I’m sure you’re all keen to know how Mrs RM is getting on with her 0.0 January. Well, she holds on to the lie that alcohol-free beer tastes just like the real thing, and was ready to have temptation placed in her way with a Sunday in Kelham Island.
Kelham gets new housing by the month, and it must be good for pub trade,
but Sunday lunchtime seems reserved for roasts and walks rather than the Korean chicken served up at Osset’s modern bar.
SALT seems to alternate between bustling and bare, and though it won’t make many “Essential Sheffield Pub Crawl” schedules it’s always a good bet for cheap and interesting Asian grub and alpaca posters. That Alpacalypse keg is everywhere.
Bao buns have been replaced by Korean chicken, 3 dishes for a tenner. Sadly, the Dryanuary menu was more an exhortation to drink dry Gin than a list of N/A beers, so the 0.0 Guinness it is, again.
If Mrs RM is jealous of my Barghest Stout (NBSS 3), she hides it well.
I reckon I might find something better in the N/A range in Thornbridge’s Fargate, and I also reckon Mrs RM’s resolve will be broken at the sight of the Jaipur pump.
But her resistance is commendable, and her Green Mountain 0.5 is tasty, if fizzy. My 1838 Union bitter (NBSS 4) looked on contemptuously.
This was Mrs RM’s first visit to the Fargate, whose appeal was thoughtfully considered by Boak and Bailey recently. “Classy, nice beer menus, no clutter on the tables, staff aren’t asking me if I’m OK for no reason” says Mrs RM, and she’s right.
It’s hard drinking a pint of keg fizz though, whatever the ABV, and I have to stay for a half of Anthology (NBSS 4) which tells me that Thornbridge are as good at picking guests as running an upmarket pub.
Also good at running pubs are J D Wetherspoon, and when Mrs RM dragged me into Hillsborough’s Rawson Spring the next afternoon I was convinced Dryanuary was about to end, big style.
But no, it was just that salted caramel fudge rush we all need after a trip to the garage.
Didn’t stop me flaunting my bargain Adnams Old Ale (NBSS 3.5) in her face, though.
retiredmartin 