The Crow Inn, Sheffield

One of the side-street pubs filling the (mostly) semi-industrial area between the city centre and Kelham Island, this one has a bold black-and-white frontage that is definitely not Tudorbethan... Anyway it is slightly more modern in appearance than I expected inside, but the choice of craft keg beers from none of the ten taps was impressive, and there was a good choice from four of the five handpumps too. I went for Atom's Asterism porter (£3.50), with Heathen from Abbeydale, Brodies' London Fields pale ale and Chadkirk's Mosaic also available.

I paid a couple of visits here during my short stay in the city, there were three or four cask beers on offer with which I started with an apptley named pint of Hello Traveller by Shiny brewery which was decent enough but it would seem the pubs forte is a more interesting keg offering with ten craft beers displayed on a chalk board, I further indulged in Saint Mars Of The Desert Hop Stingo, a sour and in my later visit Turning Point Laguna Sunrise, an odd name for a 10% Imperial stout but nice all the same. This is a good solid boozer with beers to cover most peoples tastes.

Official site of The Crow Inn - www.thecrowinn.co.uk

Official site of The Crow Inn - www.thecrowinn.co.uk

The former Old Crown Inn had been closed as a pub for many years, having operated as Sleep (i.e. just a hotel) for about a decade, but two years ago was resurrected as the Crow Inn. (This play on words with the pub's original name is probably lost on most, ignorant of the former name, but is to be seen repeated in glassware around the pub.) The upstairs hotel rooms have been retained, but the ground floor has returned to its original use, with very smart decor and friendly service. My review of two years ago reads a little churlishly in retrospect, and these days I now concentrate my attentions on the keg blackboard and do my cask beer drinking elsewhere. It's called playing to the pub's strengths. Today, my first visit after the lockdown restrictions were partly relaxed, I went for a mixed selection and would have stayed for more if one of them hadn't been 18% abv, which is a huge belt of alcohol even if you only drink a third of a pint. These beers are a little extreme, with prices to match, but the enjoyment level is as high as the potential intoxication. Highly recommended.