Author: Dan Rowe

Bottling it 2

Posted on by Dan Rowe

In the second part of a series on local bottle shops, I’ve paired two venues that have something quite interesting in common – cask ale, but not as we know it. 

Archer Road Beer Stop

Archer Road Beer Stop has been running for 43 years, the last 7 of which have been under the ownership of Richard Hattersley (with additional oversight from 16 year old shop cat Butters). Richard spent many years at the House Skate Park in Neepsend but was a regular at Archer Road under its prior owner Dave. While his initial purchases were mostly lagers and Guinness, Dave suggested trying Acorn’s Gorlovka imperial stout (7%) and Richard was hooked – he still stocks Gorlovka today. 

The shop is known locally for having no on-license but providing cask real ale for takeaway. 4 pint containers are available, or bring your own clean container, growler, or even a plastic milk bottle for refilling – as long as it has a lid on it when it leaves, it’s fine! One cask always on and a second in busier periods – Richard expects to have pins of stout or Christmas beers on this second line in the lead up to Christmas. 

On the shelves the Beer Stop stocks a range of local bottled and canned ales, and Belgian beers. Bottles include Welbeck, Acorn, Great Newsome and Wold Top (the latter usually being gluten free). There’s also an extensive range of German lagers and craft cans in the fridges.

Hop Hideout

Jules Gray reopened her bar and bottle shop Hop Hideout in its new location of Leah’s Yard in August 2024, and the business is in its 12th year overall.

Hop Hideout often stocks bottled beer from Bradfield and Thornbridge, with cans from other Sheffield breweries and beyond. The bar also offers 7 craft keg lines, a keg cider and a bag in box cider as well as a range of wines. Jules has also curated her own cellar of aged belgian beers, predominantly lambics – although there are often a variety of vintage years of Orval available, as it’s one of Jules’ favourites. 

While the shop doesn’t have hand pull, Jules owns a wooden pin which was restored by master cooper Jonathan Manby at Jensen’s Cooperage in Thirsk, North Yorkshire. It’s refilled by various breweries (often by Abbeydale or Thornbridge) and is poured with gravity. The pin tends to rapidly empty when available, so keep an eye on socials to not miss it!

Hop Hideout is often host to tap takeovers, launches, readings and other non-beer events, and Jules runs the annual Sheffield Beer Week (which often creeps into more than a week!). The city-wide event celebrated its 11th year in 2025 with Indie Beer Feast and numerous events across a large number of venues.

St Mars of the Desert

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“St Cask of the Desert”

One of our local brewers, St Mars of the Desert – often referred to as SMOD – recently brewed their first cask beer in a collaboration at Thornbridge brewing. It was on hand pull at the marquee at Steel City 49 where it was the first cask beer to sell out, on the first day of the festival.

Martha & Dann spent a day brewing with Alice at Thornbridge in September, resulting in Quill – a 5.5% ESB. It’s their first fully casked beer, although they also own several German Stichfass which they use throughout the year. They brought two of these to Steel City, both containing ‘ungespundetes’ (a German practice of fermenting in an un-bunged barrel) versions of Fledermaus, their 5.4% vollbier lager. They offer single-stichfass batches at their taproom fairly regularly during the year and always advertise these on their social media.

At the end of October SMOD had a single cask of Quill, offering hand pulled cask ale at their taproom for the first time – and hopefully not the last! Several of our members enjoyed more than one glass of Quill to help encourage this sort of thing.

In early November SMOD also released Bébé Sauvage, a 9.5% bottle refermented foeder beer with plums and dates.

Kevin Thompson

Posted on by Dan Rowe

Kevin Thompson, our branch Social/Press Secretary, colleague, and friend, died on 25 August aged 64. 

In his earlier life Kevin worked in retail management, including in the music sector, and organised events and press releases – skills he brought to bear on behalf of our branch in more recent years.

Kevin joined CAMRA in 2010 and after attending an AGM decided to get more involved in the branch, volunteering to take on more than one role. As press secretary he has been quoted several times in the Star, usually on Pub of the Month related news. This helped raise our profile and that of the pubs we cover – the committee are very grateful for his work.

He was also very active as our social secretary, spending many days scouting pubs on trips both in and out of town to practice routes for social meets he planned. These provided excellent opportunities for branch members to socialise outside of meetings and to explore some of the less well travelled parts of our branch and beyond. Kevin was always happy to lend his hand to chairing meetings, writing trip reports for Beer Matters, and standing in for award presentations.

At Steel City 49 a rare cask of Neepsend Brew Co’s Alcis was dedicated to Kevin, and his friends also arranged various fitting tributes across Sheffield focusing on his other joint loves of Sheffield Wednesday, and live music.

A tribute to Kevin was held on 6 November at Wadsley Bridge Working Men’s Club where many of Kevin’s friends met to celebrate his life, share stories and look at photos.

He will be missed.

Pub of the Month November 2025

Posted on by Dan Rowe

Our pub of the month for November 2025 is the Dog & Partridge in central Sheffield. With full disclosure in mind, the pub has long been a friend to the local branch with owners Sarah and Conor Smith offering the snug as a meeting room for our committee, and the pub receiving deliveries of Beer Matters for us each month. It’s great to see them recognised by our membership with an award.

The pub itself dates back to 1796 – one of the oldest still operating in Sheffield, and is on the CAMRA Local Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors. It has a fairly traditional layout, most notably featuring a relatively unaltered snug (the venue for committee meetings) featuring an old fireplace with a more modern hearth, a serving hatch, and original bell pushes for table service – now only ornamental. There are three other larger rooms with a central bar. The exterior still has raised lettering for ‘Gilmours Windsor Ales & Stouts’ above the entryway.

On the bar are 4 cask lines, usually including at least one Abbeydale beer, with a choice of a bitter, a stout and 2 paler options. There is also a central column of 4 craft keg lines, and a further 8 keg lines for lagers, ciders, and the ‘Holy Trinity’ of Irish Stouts; Guinness, Murphy’s, and Beamish (as of writing this is claimed to be the only pub in S Yorks offering Beamish). These offerings earn them a spot on Sheffield’s legendary ‘Irish Triangle’.

The pub offers a range of events including a quiz night every Tuesday at 7pm followed by ‘Irish Bingo’ at around 8.30. There are music sessions every Monday, Wednesday, Sunday and two Thursdays a month, a Bi-Monthly “Dogfest” music Festival (next is on November 29th), as well as live gigs every other Saturday night. For advance information on any of these check the pub’s socials and website.

They also offer an Irish pub food menu including a ‘spice bag’ inspired by Ireland’s chinese takeaway menus, chicken fillet rolls, as well as specials.

Join us on Tuesday 11 November at around 8pm after the quiz finishes (or join in and see how you do!) for the presentation of their award.

Beer in Bangkok

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This August I revisited Bangkok after several years, catching up with friends and visiting old favourites – and some new venues. 

Brewing and alcohol laws in Thailand are complex and have changed (for the better) a fair amount in recent years. I believe until recent law changes only a brewpub and a mass production license were available. This resulted in illegal brewing, or legally brewing in a neighbouring country with brewers then having to import their beer into Thailand to sell it. Duties and taxes are still high, but there are now more legal routes to brew and distribute in-country. There is also a large import market and lots of craft beer venues, but the duties and taxes keep prices very high. The most expensive beer I saw on this visit was about £14 for 350ml – an imported 8.9% Vault City & Overtone collaboration. The cheapest local craft beer was around £4.50 for a similar measure. Local lager can be found for around £2 (or more, or less – depending on where you are).

My first stop after landing on a Saturday afternoon was Hair of the Dog in Phrom Phong. They were founded in 2015, and have 2 locations just off Sukhumvit. Their first bar was my local when I lived in Phloen Chit in 2017. Their Phrom Phong bar opened a year later and is slightly larger with a gin bar mezzanine floor. They offer 13 taps of craft beer at each location – all recently kitted out with Czech side pour taps. Both bars also offer cocktails and a large beer fridge for drink in and takeaway. Canadians Mike and Pete originally worked in Bangkok’s Mikkeller bar, the first international craft beer bar in the city before opening Hair of the Dog. 

I also visited Duke of Beerington, a small bottle shop with 3 taps in Thong Lor, opposite a Japanese isakaya which you can order food from. Since my last visit I was pleased to notice that Japanese breweries appear to export and can far more than they did several years ago, and that those cans are making it out of Japan. Duke often has a full fridge of UK beers from breweries like Verdant and Track, alongside a lot of American beers and more recently the legal Thai brews and Japanese imports.

I had a start to my Tuesday evening which turned out to be controversial with at least one friend – visiting a house bar called Om’s Living Room. It turns out it may not be the most licensed of establishments – though as mentioned, Thailand’s beer rules haven’t always been the easiest to work under. Om serves exclusively Thai beer and, as the bar style and name suggest, is literally the ground floor of a residential building.

I moved on to Finger Heart (named for the finger and thumb heart gesture I believe was popularised by K-Pop) – a small bottle shop offering a mix of local and imported beer, including impressively priced (for Thailand) bottles of 3 Fonteinen.

I then visited a Chit Hole for the first time. Chit started out as Thailand’s most infamous home brewer, often being shut down by the authorities for short periods. His original bar is located on the artificial island of Pak Kret in the Khaopraya river which can only be visited by boat. I didn’t get a chance to make that journey on this trip, however there are now a series of bars named the Chit Hole across the city, often cohabiting with a restaurant or other business. These bars serve exclusively Thai beer, and I enjoyed Chit’s own Hipster IPA (7.2%) and Top Hill (6.5% Porter).

On Wednesday I rejoined my former quiz team at an ‘English’ style pub, the Royal Oak on Sukhumvit Soi 33 – where we won the quiz! Beers in here are the often found local lagers, as well as Guinness and Punk IPA.

On the following Saturday I arranged to meet with old friends to visit a couple of bars in Chinatown, after meeting for lunch and visiting a couple of coffee shops along the way we ended up at Tai Soon, a very nice old building full of exposed brick and concrete, with a high entryway adorned with Chinese lanterns. Fully half the taps were Thai beer so I tried an amazing Yuzu mead (Sanghok brewing, 5%) and Humble Flow (Lollihops brewing, 6.4% IPA) among others. 

We then took a short walk up the road to a brand new bar in the rear grounds of an old mansion, Two Palms taproom. About half their taps were Two Palms beer, and they offered flights so I made significant inroads into the menu with 2 flights of various Two Palms, Maalstroom and Sunrise brewing beer – all Thai brewers. We then took a long and traffic jam hindered Grab taxi back to Sukhumvit, and a final beer (ok, several final beers) at Hair of the Dog Phrom Phong.

Pub of the Month October 2025

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The Wellington on Shalesmoor is our Pub of the Month for October 2025. Built in 1839 and refitted in 1940, it has a 3 room layout with a beer garden to the rear. In September 2023 it was added to the South Yorkshire Heritage List, and also features as the cover image of the fifth edition of Sheffield’s Heritage Pubs.

The pub serves as a taproom for Neepsend brewery, which can be found regularly occupying several of its six hand pumps. Neepsend Blond is always available, with the rest of the lineup being at least one each of a pale, dark, stronger ale over 5%, and a bitter. The Wellington often has guest ales from breweries such as Bang the Elephant, Pentrich and Shiny. They have a good range of craft keg including four lines from Neepsend and a further four guest taps.

Every Tuesday at 20:30 is a pub quiz, and there are often whisky tastings which require advance booking. The Wellington offers a large selection of whiskies often with a featured whisky of the week. 

However, there is a final element of the Wellington’s popularity –  the sandwiches. The Wellington doesn’t offer hot food, but it does (while stocks last) offer giant pub-style clingfilm-wrapped sandwiches usually with potted meat, cheese & onion, or dripping – for £1. They’re mentioned in many online reviews, forums and social media posts – and in the nominations and votes for this award!

Join us for the PotM presentation at the Wellington on Wednesday 22 October at 20:30. 

Get there by tram (Shalesmoor) or buses 57/57a, 81/82 or 86.

We’ve now awarded a monthly PotM award for 3 consecutive months. If you have any feedback on the process so far feel free to get in touch at potm@sheffield.CAMRA.org. 

Nominations for awards are usually open after the first Tuesday in the month (Branch Meeting) and close on the 4th Tuesday in the month (Committee Meeting). You can nominate in person at meetings, via a committee member, or using the website.

Pub of the Month September 2025

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The Red Lion Inn is a Grade II–listed public house located on the village green in Litton, Derbyshire. The building was converted from three miners’ cottages into a pub in 1787, and over 200 years later in 2024 it was taken over by Tomas and Kristina.

The property was added to the National Heritage List for England on 12 July 1967 in recognition of its architectural and historic interest.

The interior has a traditional layout, with small rooms, exposed stone walls, wood panelling, and open fireplaces. They also have two guest rooms which can be booked for overnight accommodation.

The kitchen offers a menu of traditional British dishes and operates daily, with a break in service during mid-afternoon Monday to Thursday.

Cask ales from Derbyshire and South Yorkshire breweries are regularly available – on our recent social we enjoyed beers from Acorn and Eyam. 

The Red Lion hosts quiz nights on the first Monday of the month, and other community activities which are advertised on their website and social media. It was previously named Sheffield & District CAMRA Pub of the Year for the Derbyshire area in 2023.

On 26-27 September they’ll be having their second Oktoberfest event with special beers, food and entertainment on offer. Check their social media for further information.

Join us for the award presentation at 3pm on Saturday 20 September. Bus 65 from Sheffield Interchange at 13:35 will arrive in Litton at 14:50. Litton is also served by bus 173 (Castleton-Bakewell).

We are now in our second month of ensuring we award a PotM 11 times a year. Thanks to those who nominated and voted on the September entries. Alongside our winner the Red Lion in Litton, we received nominations for Stables Bar (at the Monsal Head Hotel & Bar) and the Old Nag’s Head in Edale. Both are great pubs in our branch area that were considered worthy of nominations by members, so do pay them a visit.

Nominations are once again open until the Committee meeting on 26 August – you can nominate in person at meetings, via a committee member, or using the website.

Chin Chin

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Chin Chin in South Kirkby held its first open weekend on 25 and 26 July. 

Dave Currie started the brewery with his brother 10 years ago, brewing on a kit purchased from the now closed Quantum Brewing in Stockport. Dave later took over the business himself, and switched to brewing full time in 2024. Chin Chin has a 5 barrel brew kit producing a range of cask beers which can often be found in Sheffield venues.

Dave and his partner Gemma opened for their first weekend with food and live music, offering 6 Chin Chin cask beers and 2 from guest Wakefield brewery Five Towns. These ranged from a 3.9% session pale to an 8.4% imperial stout. They also had 4 keg lines, 4 real cider, wine, and soft drinks – something for everyone and very impressive for a single weekend’s opening. 

They plan to have another open weekend on September 26-28th, adding a Sunday due to popular demand! It’s fairly easy to get to from Sheffield, being a 10 minute walk from Moorthorpe railway station on the Sheffield-Leeds/York line.

Check their social media for updates and more events.

Bottling It

Posted on by Dan Rowe

Sheffield is often described as the real ale capital of the UK, with over 400 pubs offering hand-pulled cask real ale in our area. However, it would be remiss to not give credit to the other venues that offer other serving styles of real ale, for off- and on-consumption. With varying opening hours and demand, it’s not always possible for some venues to offer a permanent cask option – there is a risk of wastage, or offering a sub-standard product if demand fluctuates. However, many venues do provide other options from real ale brewers, including bottle conditioned beers. In fact, there are too many to include them all here, so keep an eye out for a second article soon!

Craft & Berry is an Ecclesall Road taproom and bottle shop. They have 6 taps of keg beer, and hundreds of cans and bottles of craft beer – many from local breweries. They also have a good range of bottled real ale from breweries including Bradfield, Acorn, Welbeck Abbey and Peak Ales. The shop is also home to a Gin Emporium with over 80 different spirits (both local and national), and holds regular beer or spirit tasting events. Earlier this year owner Mark worked with neighbours to host the second weekend-long Ecclesall Road beer festival, and there will be a third in October.

Not too far away on London Road is Turner’s Bottle & Tap. They offer bottles from Bradfield, Peak, and Thornbridge, and have fridges and shelves stocked with a huge range of craft beers from predominantly UK breweries. They also have 8 keg lines available. Turners is part of the now annual Abbeydale Road Beer Festival, which has just celebrated its fourth year.

The Dram Shop in Walkley is one of the older independent off licenses in the city offering bottle conditioned beers, though owner Tony mentions that the number of these on offer is dwindling as more brewers embrace canning lines. Tony took on the Dram Shop in 2005, and stocks bottled beers from Durham, Welbeck Abbey, and Loxley alongside a huge wine, spirit, Belgian, German and craft beer selection.

More centrally (puns fully intended) is Beer Central, located in the Moor Market. As an off license they have no taps, but pack a large range of beer into a small space, with bottled beers often seen from Samuel Smith, Drone Valley and Titanic. They also have a wide European selection alongside craft beer offerings. During Sheffield Beer Week they ran ticketed tasting and food pairing events in the small event space in the Moor Market.