By
Rob
In
my never-ending quest to stay cool and impress women, I’ve recently
taken up genealogy as a hobby.
Having
briefly considered learning the guitar, or acquiring a new language, I
decided to spend my evenings researching my family tree. After all,
what’s more attractive than a man who knows about his long-dead
relatives?
After
some initial digging, I discovered that both of my grandparents on my
father’s side were of Irish descent. My grandfather’s ancestors,
whose surname I obviously bare today, came over to Sheffield from
Ireland during the great famine of the 1850s. Meanwhile, it turned
out that my grandmother was, unbeknownst to her, half-Irish. Her
father, having been born and raised in Belfast, came over to England
in the 1920s.
“What
the fuck does any of this have to do with Pubquest, you
self-indulgent boring bastard?!” I hear you cry.
Well,
as Andy and I left The Devonshire Cat, we were pondering where to go next. As my mind was, at this
time, filled with shamrocks and leprechauns (and all things
skin-crawlingly stereotypical), I suggested we visit the only truly
Irish pub I could think of in Sheffield: The Grapes.
As
we made our way over to Trippet Lane, Andy’s phone began to ring.
Now,
the reason I mention this seemingly mundane event is not because
Andy’s phone rarely rings. Let’s make it clear, from hereon, that
both Andy and myself are incredibly popular people who receive an
absurd amount of correspondence from our expansive network of family,
friends and acquaintances. Guys who write blogs about pubs are not
short of mates.
No,
the reason I mention this is because Andy’s phone rang out with a
special ringtone, which I believe is the theme tune to The Good,
The Bad, and The Ugly. There was only one contact in Andy’s
phone who elicited this musical response from his mobile device.
Cowboy
Keith.
For
those of you who don’t know who Cowboy Keith is, I would recommend
going back and reading about the night we first encountered this enigmatic, hat-wearing fellow. For
those who can’t be bothered to do that, just know that Keith is a
small Chinese man who wears dark suits, cowboy hats, and sunglasses –
who we randomly met during our first ever Pubquest outing in 2012.
Keith,
it transpired, was in town that night and wanted to meet up. Always
excited to see our old compatriot, we warmly extended an invitation
to join us at The Grapes, which Keith gladly accepted.
He
was already at the pub by the time we arrived, and we greeted each
other fondly. Once inside, both Andy and myself ordered a pint of
Guinness Golden Ale (it seemed impossible not to order something
Guinness-related while in the most Irish establishment we were
likely to find during the whole of this mad, pioneering
adventure).
We
sat ourselves down and began to catch up with Keith, eager to hear
about his various goings on. He informed us that he had decided to go
part-time in his job as a dental support worker (big news – tell
your mates). He also informed us that he’d just bought a second
motorbike. This was news to us, having not known that he owned even
one.
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The conversation flowed, as did the beer. Both of us enjoyed the Guinness Golden Ale, although it didn’t come close to matching a pint of the ordinary stuff for flavour. When I visit this pub outside of Pubquest, standard Guinness is always my first choice.
I
love The Grapes. At the time of writing, it’s up there with some of
my favourite pubs in Sheffield. I love the Irish vibe and decor – the
pub has a warm atmosphere, and it really comes into its own on a cold
winter’s night. However, it is truly at its best when playing
host to the various musical customers who make an appearance most
weekends – especially on a Sunday. It’s never long before the
instruments come out and the singing starts.
Sad
to tear ourselves away before the entertainment got thoroughly
underway, we finished our pints and headed out to the next stop on
the list.
Rating:
9/10
Pint:
Guinness Golden Ale
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