Pub 38, Day 13 – Red Deer

By Rob

Clean and refreshed after sitting in The Bath together, we headed over to the Red Deer. As with The Hallamshire House, this pub and I had become rather well acquainted thanks to a number of semi-remembered, beer-soaked evenings during which my university work sat at home, neglected and alone. As such, the customarily maintained veneer of objectivity goes straight out of the window while writing this.

The Red Deer is an old pub, dating back to 1825. Originally a lot smaller, in the 1980s it was extended and reconfigured, creating the single, large, L-shaped room that exists today. The raised section of the pub at the rear, nicknamed "the gallery", was added in the early 90s. Around this time the business was owned by Tetley, who asked the Sheffield branch of CAMRA to nominate the best Tetley pub in the city. The Red Deer was chosen and the award, a plaque-mounted hand-pump, can be seen on the wall.^[1]

It was in "the gallery" that me and Andy decided to set up our very temporary home, but not before ordering two pints of Bramble Stout (winner of West Midlands CAMRA Beer of the Year 2011). The pub had a good choice when it came to craft beers, which was great news for both real ale enthusiasts and people trying to drink a different pint in every pub in Sheffield. Falling partly into the first category and solidly into the second, we were more than content.

Inside, the pub was warm and quite snug. It's the sort of place that's perfect on a cold winter's night and, thanks to its small yet utterly pleasant beer garden, it has an appeal during the warmer seasons too. The award winning Bramble Stout was a pleasure to drink, with a chocolatey taste and fruity undertones it was right up our alley, thereby reaffirming our long-held belief that the men and women of West Midlands CAMRA have exceptionally good taste.

Sat there merrily working my way towards the bottom of the glass, my eyes lit up at the sight of the board games piled against one wall. After all, I had been beaten with an alarming degree of consistency at both pool and snooker (and don't think for a moment that the passage of almost three years had done anything to lessen the sting of losing at connect four).

Springing out of my seat and rifling through the assorted collection, I came across a chess set. The proud owner of a junior-school chess trophy and the one-time captain of the chess team at Intake Primary School (circa 2002), I saw this as my opportunity to beat Andy in at least one competitive endeavour. Setting the pieces up, I settled in for an easy victory.

I must confess, I was taken aback by Andy's aggressive play style. It later transpired that he had no overarching strategy and was just trying to take any piece he could while moving absolutely everything forward. This tabletop reconstruction of the Normandy beach landings initially put me on the defensive and, at one point, Andy was technically winning.

I genuinely had to face the prospect of defeat.

Fortunately, once accustomed to his reckless blitzkrieg, I managed to respond effectively and began to chip away at his board presence. After steadily regaining the advantage, I finally secured the checkmate I was looking for and thus, thankfully, averted the need to fling myself in front of a tram.

Packing away the pieces and downing the last dregs of our drinks, we left the pub with smiles on our faces and, for once, mine might have been wider than Andy's.

Red Deer chess score: Rob 1-0 Andy

Pubquest chess score: Rob 1-0 Andy

Pub: The Red Deer (18 Pitt Street, S1 4DD)

Rating: 9/10

Pint: Bramble Stout

Brewery: Burton Bridge Brewery (Burton upon Trent)

NEXT UP: Drinking with the students, at the University Arms...

References:
[1] http://www.red-deer-sheffield.co.uk/history.htm