The Barley, Rotherham

A refurbished dining pub in an odd cut-off road near the cricket club, within a Jonny Bairstow "six" of the motorway. It's smart, with grey or blue-grey paint set off by white. Inside the door there's a dedication to the former coal mine at Barley Hall, though it was a very short-lived pit (1955-74). The bar counter looks like it belongs in a hotel rather than a pub, and has six keg fonts on the bar counter supplemented by five more on the bar back. Also there are four hand pumps with two of them displaying Nailsmith pump clips. I went for the lower strength Yorkshire Bitter 3.6% rather than the "wickedly hopped" Cardinal Sin 4.4%, but I didn't like the way it was pouring. Taking a cautious sniff and an even more cautious sip, it was clear this beer was on the turn. Not so bad that I couldn't drink it, but it was "with considerable resentment". And, no, I didn't fancy trying to explain my problem with the beer to the management. Clearly no one has been drinking this stuff, and I would hate to think how long this particular barrel had been on. The pub gets a below average rating from me, but everyone else seemed to be having a lovely time.

Facebook page of The Barley - www.facebook.com

Facebook page of The Barley - www.facebook.com

This pub closed, sometime early in 2018 I believe.