July 2026. Sheffield.
It’s that time of year again, when local newspapers, even the subscription ones without clickbait, send reporters out to find your city’s top beer gardens, and invite comments from folk who like to reminisce about “The Good Old Days“.
I subscribe to Sheffield’s Tribune, which has good if often grim journalism, and their take on the top gardens is pretty good, but it’s this comment that stood out.
The Raven is 7 minutes walk from me (uphill, both ways), firmly in the Beer Guide, and unexpectedly for a tied brewery pub it’s one of Sheffield’s top craft keg outlets.
But that garden..
Promisingly, there’s Freak Street’s Himalayan pop-up in the garden through summer that might tempt us out, but in the hottest week since the Dinosaurs Mrs RM was staying close to the indoor fan.
The Loxley cask is consistent and well-priced (if lacking a flagship), but I’m taking no chances and swerve “Gunson** ” for “Neal Gets Things Done“, “Sabra Cadabra” and “Squidge“, which is a line you didn’t see often in beer blogs when CAMRA were formed.
Mrs RM’s 6.5% Verdant was spectacular*, so much so I knew she’d have a second pint and regret it shortly later, but someone’s got to save the lunchtime pint half of murk.
The soundtrack, hopefully chosen by our heroine barperson, veered from the Stereophonics to early Manics to, ahem, David Gray (again).
At the bar, she enthuses about Loxley, one of the few breweries to open pubs all day every day, and commends her regulars, drinking bottled beer from the fridge after their shifts and making that noon opening worthwhil. Great staff make a pub.
I’m almost reaching the stage where I’ll overlook the less-than-lived-in look I’ve whined about, as the staff and customers (and beer) are so good. Just less Stereophonics, please.
*”Should be for seven pound fifty grumble grumble“.
**I did have a pint of the cask, it was gorgeously bitter
retiredmartin 
I never use beer gardens, rather be IN the pub than sit outside with wasps getting into my pint. In any case, Shetland doesn’t do beer gardens.
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Nor, to be fair, much in the way of beer these days.
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True, unfortunately. The only cask you’ll get is in the Lerwick Brewery Tap. Most of their output goes to keg or cans. It’s a shame because 20-odd years ago there were five or six cask outlets.
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Is there even a vaguely interesting craft outlet? Considering even the Faroes have a Mikkeller.
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Is there a craft beer bar that’s interesting as a pub? (No)
Or is there a standout craft beer bar ?
I can’t tell much difference between the bars of Manchester or Sheffield and Tbiliy or Turin.
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Scott, not really. The Dowry in Lerwick has a couple of craft beers as does the Mareel arts centre but apart from that it’s pretty much wall to wall Tennent’s and Carling. Glad to say I quite like Tennent’s. Most Shetlanders won’t drink “yun craft greth”. (Greth = piss)
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The most essential thing for a beer garden is shade, preferably natural, from trees.
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That’s why there are no beer gardens in Shetland, we hae nae trees. (Nonsense of course, it’s because of the appalling weather.)
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Aren’t those Cream songs?
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I’m beginning to think something funny food wise is going on. First you order my favourite curry a few days earlier (the half kg of desi lamb on the bone), and now you have those elite level snacks, the red Leicester mini cheddars.
BTW if you have time to kill waiting for a train in Leeds, the Shabbab, does a fab Afghani Lamb on the bone, and is 200 yards away on Wellington St.
Glad to see you are keeping it pub, i’m off the beer for 2 weeks now…might try alcohol free to accompany the England game on Wednesday.
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I was in the Black Bull in Coniston this evening, the home of not just one but two Champion Beers of Britain: Bluebird Bitter and No 9 Barley Wine. Every table outside the pub was taken – this was at 7:15 pm – but the inside was deliciously cool and almost deserted.
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