September 2026. Sheffield.
There’s some great Proper Pubs™ just above West Street in Sheffield studentland (also home to its best Asian restaurants). Some, like the Grapes and Perch and Fagans flit in and out of the Beer Guide; the Dog & Partridge and Red Deer the perennnial entries.
Until recently, when the Red Deer seemed set on a roundabout of managerial changes to rival Watford.
I hadn’t popped in since the latest custodians took over, but a couple of Untappd scores from that very afternoon drew me in on the walk home.
Not a thrilling beer line-up for folk who like thrills, but get Old Peculier right and you’re half-way there; same with Black Sheep,
And this was a majestic Old Peculier. Cool, rich, chewy; a top rating of EXCELLENT that requires me to attend a CAMRA investigatory panel headed by Lord Pannick KC.
At the bar a German lad asks for “a typical English beer“. Confused by the response of “Heineken” he says “Something dark, perhaps ?“, and finally settles on the very Old Peculier I’m drinking. “It’s quite strong” I say, pathetically.
I match my beer with the very pork scratchings from Midland Snacks that are being advertised in CAMRA’s glossy BEER magazine with a huge scientific claim;
And you’ll see the FACT in capital letters bottom left to prove it, though I note it refers to lager in the report.
Anyway, I’m happy to confirm that Midland Snacks make some of the very best scratchings, though I’ll also note that regular BEER correspondent Paul Mudge confirmed the deleterious effect on head retention (see : Lincoln, 2024*).
Who says this blog doesn’t take science seriously ?
*But also, see Killamarsh. Or don’t. I don’t care.
