BLUE SOURS, WHITE STOUT. IT CAN ONLY BE SHAKESPEARE’S

October 2026. Sheffield.

You know where Sheffield is. And you probably know where Shakespeare’s is by now, tucked halfway on the pub tourist route between Kelham Island and the Tap and the Rutland, not far from the Emergency Services Museum.

It’s not the best pub in Sheffield, but it might be the one I’d recommend to a visitor, if you can only do the one.

We took our Chicagoan visitors (not the Southworths) to the Shakey on their cultural tour in the Spring, when the front bar was a riot of large dogs, tattoos and Tenpole Tudor jackets.

Mrs RM certainly likes it. Our Thurday afternoon walk, intended to break the lethargy of continued travel, gets no further than West Bar.

“Would it be wrong to just want a pint in the Shakespeare ?” says the Incorrigable One.

If Mrs RM blogged about pub life, rather than obscure rail trips in Moldova, she’d tell you about the pub crawling lads whose pints were split symetrically between lager on the left and Guinness on the right. 3 of each.

It’s always interesting to see pub crawls visit Sheffield’s famous ale shrines (ugh) and swerve the real ale, like asking for the omelette in the curry house.

But these are gorgeous, multi-roomed buildings where groups of lads and old couples and lone tickers can feel comfortable, whatever they’re drinking.

And, in truth, the cask hasn’t always been the Shakey’s strong point.

So a shallow drinker like me will always go for the sour declaring “I’m Blue, like in the Eiffel 65 song,

or the 8% stout that’s white (ish) !

Yes, it’s the weird collaboration beers for us, expertly matched with those Huligan Crush honey mustard pretzels as we ponder life, and death, and the A21.

I’d only bought a half of the 8% Weekend Project white stout, and it’s gone in 10 minutes, so I’m back at the bar where the nice young lady assures me that a pint is perfectly understandable as it’s so good and she nods sagely as I say “It’s not for me“.

By the time we finish with a pint of cask, a VERY GOOD Abbeydale Deception I’d just seen pulled, the Shakey is suddenly quiet.

But it won’t last long.

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Published by retiredmartin

Retired NHS, doing long walks around UK and the world to record the great bits. Focused on Good Beer Guide pubs and live music.

15 thoughts on “BLUE SOURS, WHITE STOUT. IT CAN ONLY BE SHAKESPEARE’S”

      1. During the 1987 election campaign, the Fleece in Bristol did its own opinion poll with red, blue, orange or green-coloured beer, keeping a running total on a board behind the bar. If the country had voted the same way as the pub, Neil Kinnock would have been Prime Minister.

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    3. Etu I’d rather have cyanide than a sour, looks bloody awful, and I imagine it tastes the same. You know why they use blue sticking plasters in commercial kitchens and restaurants?? Becaise nothing edible is blue.

      That yellowy stout looks good though….

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      1. Oh Rich, you need to embrace the range of styles and flavours that CAMRA embrace in 2026 !

        (Except they don’t. All I read on Discourse tells me CAMRAs have very restrictive tastes, which is why pubs ask “What sort of beer do you like ?”). There’s only Simon and me who’ll drink absolutely anything.

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    1. In the late 80s when I became a vegetarian that was my order. I would be with friends and didn’t want to miss out so an omelette with chips was my only choice back then. Glad to see things have changed but I do eat a bit of meat and fish now.

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      3. Martin, They most certainly would do one. The menu there is just a guide as they’ve the skills to cook just about anything well. Asking for an omelette is a good way of judging a pub’s kitchen, a negative reply usually indicating microwave operatives employed rather than cooks.

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