As has become the norm, SCBF50 included several special events: two brewery talks/tastings, a talk, a guided walk and an input on Beer and Music from multi award-winning beer writer, Pete Brown.
Pete provided an audio-visual beer tasting experience, based on the research behind his latest book – ‘Tasting Notes: The art and science of pairing beer and music.’ He claimed (i) your brain is lying to you (ii) you have more than five senses and (iii) you really can hear the difference between an IPA and a stout. Among others, played was the Sugarbabes cover of Arctic Monkeys, ‘I bet you look good on the Dancefloor’ and a Richard Hawley epic linked to Blue Bees 1000th brew, Once in a Millennium, a 5% stout.
Personally, I have doubts about some of the suggestions in his book: I’d much rather listen to Trans-Europe Express (Kraftwerk) with an Altbier (they both originate in Düsseldorf), not a Japanese Asahi as suggested by Pete. However, the suggestions which linked Orval with Patti Smith’s ‘Land’ and Robinsons Old Tom with Joy Division’s ‘Transmission’ seem spot-on. Buy the book and make your own judgement.
Early the next morning, John Stocks and myself led our guided historical walk of Little Chicago, exploring both the pub heritage aspects of the area plus the streets which feature in the book, ‘Sheffield 1925: Gang Wars and Wembley Glory,’ with a narrative explaining how Sheffield briefly became the most turbulent city in Britain because of an escalating gang war involving the Park Brigade, the Mooney Gang, the Gas Tank Gang and others. On arrival at the Museum, participants collected their glasses and enjoyed their day. A similar guided walk will occur as part of Sheffield Beer Week 2027 (March), during Heritage Open Days (September) and on 21 October as part of SCBF51.
Later in the day, Kelham Island Brewery provided a talk led by four members of their team: Tom Clay (Sales & Brand Director) and three of the Owner/Directors: Jim Harrison, James O’Hara and Simon Webster. They looked back to the history of the Fat Cat and Kelham Island Brewery, lauding the pioneering work of Dave Wickett and celebrating the long-term influences of both the pub and the brewery on today’s UK Indie beer scene before looking to the future. We also tasted the recently launched retake of Kelham Island Best Bitter, (a beer originally from the 1980s), plus the latest version of the 2004 CAMRA Champion Beer of Britain, Pale Rider (both brewed at Thornbridge).
Later in the evening, the oldest brewery in Sheffield, Abbeydale, led a tutored beer tasting and discussion featuring five of their beers. Led by Christie McIntosh (Quality Manager) and Laura Rangeley (Marketing Manager), their input was both informative and interesting. They also provided (probably) my favourite beer of the week. Those present drank eight 75 cl bottles of Amass Raspberry Saison (bottle conditioned, 5.3% abv): a blend of mixed fermentation saisons, featuring heritage grains and a high proportion of wheat. This sets the bar on what sours should be: comparable in quality and taste to those produced by Boon (Belgium). I’m told they have a few remaining cases.
On Saturday, Rachel Auty, Founder of Women On Tap (WOT) CIC, led a tutored beer tasting and an engaging and diverse discussion: ‘Where Are All the Women?’ Accompanied by Angelina Cummings (Jasmine’s Jamaican Rum Cake Stout), Jules Gray (Hop Hideout) and Rachel Green (Brampton Brewery), she unpacked what’s driving that gap: from the barriers women face working in the industry to why so many still don’t see beer as “for them.” It’s likely that the South Yorks Beer Girls group will revitalise following this session: see their Facebook group for more information about this positive output.
We would like to thank all involved: speakers, beer runners and organisers.
We aim to have a similar set of events next year.
Please book early, these events sell-out!
