Funky Town, Sheffield

This basic box-shaped modern building has gone through many incarnations during my time in Sheffield, but the latest transformation, into a real ale pub, took me by surprise. West Street is renowned as part of the weekend binge drinking scene, so this looks like a bold move. I popped in for a swift half late afternoon, when the place would have been quiet but for the very loud 60's pop music coming over the sound system. There are six hand pumps on the bar, and numerous keg fonts which I didn't pay close attention to. Beers were from mostly local breweries: two from Abbeydale, two from Kelham Island and one from Little Critters. The sole interloper was from Sonnet 43. Four of the beers were blonde or pale, with just Kelham Best at one end and their dark mild at the other not in those categories (though the best is not very dark these days!). I went for the mild, which goes by the name Sons of Conformity - an apparent reference to motorcycle gang culture - and was sadly not in brilliant condition. I'll call in again to see how the beer range and condition varies over the next few weeks.