The Howard, Sheffield

A friendly barmaid made it a hearty welcome to my first Sheffield pub. While its not the best it is just about fine. A single room with a slightly sunken area to your right on entering from the side. The seating in this part was a bit minty so it was seats by the bar for me. 4 handpumps dispensed 3 ales today, Hobgob, Banks Bitter and Marston's Longer Days.

My first visit here for a long time. This used to be a Mansfield Brewery pub, now Marstons have it and are pushing the real ales a bit more, perhaps in reaction to the Sheffield tap just across the road. A banner on the wall outside proclaims Real Ales On Sale, and there are now four hand pumps, which on my visit had Banks's Mild, Wychwood Hobgoblin and a couple of guests from the Marstons stable. The beers were well served by the friendly bar staff, but were just that little bit too cold, which made any flavour hard to detect. Prices were reasonable for the city centre, and about 50-60p per pint cheaper than the Tap. Some Indie-type music that I couldn't identify was playing at a volume that allowed conversation without having to shout. Definitely one to include, if doing a crawl of the area.