Our last RambAle of the year took place in late September: nine used the Huddersfield train from Sheffield, two took a double-bus route from Hoyland and one took the scenic route from Stocksbridge on the 3-times daily 23 Millhouse Green flyer.
After meeting on platform two, and admiring the 1912 Art Deco masterpiece which is the Penistone Paramount, our first stop was in the well-stocked Penistone Tap & Brewhouse. This was the original home of the Woodland Brewery (formally Whitefaced Brewery, named after a local breed of sheep). The brewery has recently moved to a larger local site.
We then utilised the Trans-Pennine Trail, originally part of the, Sheffield-Manchester, Woodhead Railway line, progressing to GBG-serial entry, the multiple award-winning and hardly-changed Huntsman in Thurlstone. The pub lived up to its billing, providing the usual six, well-kept, cask beers. The choice included Abbeydale, Acorn and Salamander.
Our next stop was the nearby Crystal Palace, since May 2021, the home, and only regular outlet, for Kibble Brewery. Four of their beers, all named after major coal seams, were available: Barnsley Bed Bitter (4.2%), Colliers Monday (5.8%), Kent Thin Pale (4.2%) and Kent Thin Pale: Strawberry (4.2%). In addition, Head Brewer, Alasdair Twist, provided a brewery tour and an entertaining series of anecdotes. The 2.5 Bbl. brewery is located in a former stable block in the car park. A kibble is a big bucket used in pit shafts: the owner felt that the mash tun (from the now-closed Hamelsworde brewery) looks like a kibble. There is also a smaller pilot plant which is used for one-off specials.
We then returned to Penistone via Stottercliffe Road, paying a return visit to the, now busy, Penistone Tap & Brewhouse before catching our return transport.
An excellent afternoon in the late September sunshine.
