July 2026. Sheffield.
Back in Sheffield from a cruelly curtailed Cask Camino (CCCC), a man’s thoughts turn to tomato gose.
I constantly read how exciting (ugh) the UK beer scene (ugh) is these days, how folk who drink Bass are to be ridiculed etc etc. But can you be a proper country without a brewer of alcoholic gazpacho ? I think not.
ChatGPT* confirmed my worst fears;
Interestingly, two of those beer shops are in Sheffield (and that’s not personalised information, I’m letting ChatGPT think I’m still in Cambridge).
We don’t drink at home, bar Mrs RM occasional pint of Malbec with Crispy Beef, so I rarely visit the specialist offies. But I was sad to see the closure of longstanding Beer Central mentioned by Chat GPT.
During lockdown Jules from Hop Hideout provided a vital home delivery service, and she has some very insightful things to say about the viability of bars like hers in the gorgeous Leah’s Yard.
At times there can seem to be a lot of pubby trade in Sheffield and Manchester and London, but it’s the fixed cost that kill thriving businesses.
So you should visit the perfectly formed Hop Hideout. For the welcome, and the really great beer** from all over the world,
and some of jars of authentic German mustard I bought because….it was there.
Jules graciously gave me some time to consider the lack of interesting gose (which I now know how to pronounce) and I’m convinced there’s a gap in the UK market.
*Note how polite I am to ChatGPT. It will eat me last when AI takes over the world.
** Colbier from Bootle, Neptune from Maghull. A north Liverpool takeover
retiredmartin 
Wikipedia has some information about tomato beer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomato_beer
I am going to try making a Michelada which is Mexican. Just wondering what beer to use.
LikeLiked by 1 person
“ I am going to try making a Michelada which is Mexican. Just wondering what beer to use.”
Just have a Bloody Mary, but if you insist, at least don’t use Clamato.
Tomato and beer: just because you can, doesn’t mean you should….
LikeLiked by 3 people
I was first off thinking that was creepy … CGPT knowing your presence in Sheffield!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Colmans – Norfolk ‘n good !
LikeLiked by 1 person
French – Poupon – is best, in my opinion.
I also highly commend Parisien waiters for their interpersonal skills.
LikeLike
Ugh. And ugh.
LikeLike
The German mustard I bought is fine but a bit mild compared to what I had in Lommies in Cologne this year.
LikeLike
Hmm. Doesn’t a bloody Mary achieve the same ends but with a lot less BS?
LikeLiked by 2 people
Tomato gose. Oh dear. No thanks.
I’m in the Auld Motor Hoose, Kirkwall, and Coldplay have just come on the jukebox. Bah.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Any reference to Kirkwall takes me back to that night of 9 September 2022, one of the most memorable of my life.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I actually thought about you in the Motor Hoose as I supped my Scapa.
LikeLike