The Stag, Sheffield

There are some new people running this pub since my visit four years ago. They have spent a lot on a refurbishment and it's looking very smart. There are now two hand pumps, but I was told that despite requests to get a firkin of Bradfield Belgian Blue for Christmas, they had to throw half of it away. Speaking of which, my half of Wainwright (NBSS 2, £3.70/pint) is getting close to being thrown away itself. Prices are very cheap here but apparently there really is no demand for cask beer in Woodhouse.

Oh dear. The pub that time forgot. Or at least, the inhabitants of Woodhouse appear to have forgotten the Stag. As with the George and the Royal, this is a handsome building and holds a prominent position, slightly raised above the Market Square. After the Royal (which had maybe eight to 10 drinkers when I left it after the completion of the early kickoff), I came straight here - a distance of less than 100 metres - and found just the couple who run the pub: no customers whatsoever at 2:30 on a Saturday afternoon. No real ale, and when I enquired about whisky as an alternative I was offered Bells at £3 for a single, £4 for a double. Instead I went for John Smiths Smooth Crap, with Alan Winfield in my thoughts as ever when I see this beer. Just £1.45 for a half. Surprisingly, it was actually drinkable - not too cold either, though this may have been because of talking to one of my Luton Town mates on the phone while the beer reached room temperature. Looking around to see what the missing customers might have been missing, I did note a preponderance of grey paint, but the pub seemed in reasonable condition; the toilets, on the other hand, had the urinals out of order and the WC missing a few parts. The main thing missing, as far as potential Woodhousemen and women are concerned, would be TV screens. The Royal had at least one (and probably more in the other room that I didn't visit) and the George, as I was to discover, had screens on every wall. Maybe it gets busier here in the evenings - if not, this pub will soon join the list of closed pubs in Woodhouse.