Favourite Pubs: The Bath Hotel

There are few things we want from a great pub... namely some great cask beer, bar snacks, comfortable surroundings and the opportunity to finish the night on a "Big Drink". For us the Bath Hotel has all of this in spades.

With six cask beers on draught and two ciders served the same way, the first box is certainly ticked and with a couple of keg fonts available too there is always something for everyone. This pub is under the umbrella of brewery stalwarts Thornbridge, although at the Bath the bar manager Edd entertains a larger selection of beer than most of their other pubs around Sheffield. As there are three guest ales to accompany the 3 Thornbridge casks, the range of beers is always excellent with something new to try.

On the snacking front there is a great array of salted crunchiness including the usual nuts, pretzels, and crisps, but more importantly there are fresh sausage rolls - served warm and prepared onsite to Edd's own recipe and by his fair hands. Tick number two.

The two rooms of the Bath are separated by the bar, with both traditionally decorated, warmly upholstered and lit by large windows. The smaller of the two is quiet and cosy and catered to by a small serving hatch, with the larger being the host of the tap room. The pub itself is tucked away just behind West Street, and is a friendly haven away from the hubbub of the city centre.

The fourth and final tick is certainly a big one, both in terms of drink and tick. The Bath Hotel often has one of its fonts dedicated to a higher strength beer, that is the perfect end to a night. Our favourite example of this is the Arbor Goo Goo G'Joob (try saying that after you've had a couple) - a 12% Maple Imperial Stout and an absolute stonker of a beer. In addition, there is a small but varied and interesting whisky selection that consists of single malts and higher end blends.

The Bath Hotel also plays host to a variety of events, and we're both incredibly excited about their upcoming festival Sheffbrewfest - an independent beer festival which is the brainchild of some of the most passionate people on the Sheffield beer scene. The brewery line up is just ridiculously promising - we spent a good while mulling over which of our favourite breweries aren't actually going to be there (there weren't any). Sheffbrewfest takes place from the 2nd to the 5th of October and there's a rumour that the Mashtuns will be making an appearance behind the bar...

Cheers,

J&L