Canton for Hop Heads

Cardiff City 2 v Sheffield United 0

The Championship

Tuesday 15 August 2017

Twitter @ball_sup

That is my 198th ground watching a Sheffield United XI. All ages, all competitions, all surfaces. I’ve taken the liberty of having a great beer day.

The Hopbunker. Fourteen on Cask. A fair few kegs. But I didn't have the energy to categorise them all. Blah blah American Macros, Germans, Belgians. All mixed in there with some pukka Welsh & English kegs. Plus Urquell & Kozel.

I went Hopcraft, Treacle Toffee Porter on cask at 4.5%. I found that a bit thin & uninspiring. A little soapy. A little bit of toast & a bitter tingle at the end.

Small Bar Cardiff. I've counted twenty on keg. Two on Cask. Including Jaipur (FFS). Very chatty & informative barman. A great asset.

Good Chemistry, KoKoMo Weekend on keg at 7%. Nice beer, but a little underwhelming. Nice n juicy. Lovely & chewy. A little underhopped for me. Although to be fair, the other flavours make up for that a little.

And then. Tiny Rebel (formerly Urban TapHouse). It's an old building. So, they can't change the config too much. A few more murals since I was last in. Great, great place. A great range of their own superb beers. Both cask & keg. Plus guests.

Tiny Rebel, Cali, American Pale on keg at 5.6%.

Tiny Rebel, Dutty, Session IPA on keg at 4.2%. Oh. That was glorious. Got the lot. Busting with flavour. The Hop Heads shouting - go on, go on.

And finally. Bandit country. How times have changed. I went to Canton. Crafty Devil’s Cellar. That is ridiculous. Come & get me. Not 15 minutes from the turnstiles. And this is in Canton this. Soul Crew Wannabees cruising outside the 'Spoons round the corner. Five of their own on keg. Two guests. Superb place.

Crafty Devil, Beer Maximum High, session IPA on keg at 4.5%.

I thought United looked static up front with Sharp & Clarke. And, more lively with Evans & Brooks. At this level, players pass the ball accurately & at pace to someone who has great first touch. Simple game ain’t it? If you lose the ball, you can expect the fella you’ve lost it to to put an incisive pass in, quickly & accurately & you’re on the back foot already. Fellas running at your defence while they backpedal. There is no secret plan. Work rate. Put the yards in. Don’t get caught in possession. Get tight on players. Get organised so you know who the runners are. And, have some attacking threat of your own. Pull ‘em wide. Ask ‘em questions. If you’re playing, they’re not. It is going to be difficult for United against established Championship sides. It will take us a few games to get with the programme.

For what it’s worth, I’d like to see them use Brooks behind one up front. That is NOT to sacrifice an existing midfield spot for him. We need to have a constant, moving attacking threat. Currently, I feel he gives us that best option.

517/1092
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