CAMRA Sheffield & District
Sheffield & District branch of CAMRA
A number of our members like to make the effort to deliver copies of Beer Matters magazines to bars in other countries they visit, here is Martyn Stevens, a fan of beer and heritage buses, who more regularly drinks in the Chapeltown and Kelham Island areas in Narke kultur Brewery’s tap in Orebro, Sweden. This is one of his favourite breweries and is an hour and a half by train from Stockholm.
Brews towards the end of 2025 at Blue Bee included American 5 Hop version 86 (Columbus, Citra and Azacca, dry hopped), Nectaron Superdelic 5.6, a stout, five malt mild v3 and Little Nectaron (3.5% ABV single hop pale).
A planning application has been made to convert the former Kelham Island Brewery into a seafood restaurant and takeaway. The original brewery ceased trading after Covid and the current company brew their beer at Thornbridge, in Bakewell.
Thornbridge have published their “year of beer” planner for 2026. Cask releases include Salted Caramel Lucaria (ice cream porter) in January, Venn (blonde) in February, Hirundo (spring pale ale) in March, Quasar (European pale) in April and Present (coffee mild) in May.
Sunday 28 December saw the inaugural Great Drone Valley Barrel race take place. This saw teams competing to be the quickest to carry empty beer casks from Drone Valley Brewery up the hill to the Cross Daggers pub in Coal Aston. The pub’s festivities continued into the evening with live music to keep drinkers entertained!
Fuggle Bunny Brew House have announced they will be hosting additional tap events on Saturdays once a month throughout 2026, on the last Saturday of the month. The Saturday events also feature live music and a food vendor with the first one being on 31 January when the bar will be open 3pm to 9pm with live music from 5pm and wood fired pizzas available. The brewery is a short walk from Halfway tram/bus terminus towards Killamarsh.
The 257 bus, operated by Andrews of Tideswell, is one of the regular but lesser known bus links from Sheffield to the Peak District, leaving Sheffield Interchange hourly in the daytime every day except Sunday, running to Eyam and Bakewell via “the scenic route” taking in Crosspool, Yorkshire Bridge, Bamford, Hathersage, Grindleford, Calver, Stoney Middleton, Eyam, Baslow and Bakewell.
The 65 bus, operated by Stagecoach, runs from Sheffield Interchange a more direct route to Grindleford via Ecclesall and Fox House then follows the same route to Eyam as the 257. It continues beyond Eyam to Foolow and on to Buxton via Great Hucklow, Tideswell, Litton and Millers Dale. This bus is less regular, running about once every 2 hours, although it does operate seven days a week!
Most of both bus routes are within the Sheffield & District CAMRA branch area – our patch stretches to Millers Dale on the 65 whilst on the 257 Baslow and Bakewell is the only part not in our area. The majority of both routes offer some breathtaking Peak District scenery as well as great country pubs!
This pub sits quite close to the junction on the A57 where the road heads on a viaduct over the reservoirs and up onto the Snake Pass. The recently reopened pub is leased from Batemans Brewery (a family business based in Wainfleet, Lincolnshire) by the same people at the Psalter in Sharrow, Sheffield and has a cosy bar and restaurant (full food menu launches in January) plus hotel rooms. Bus 257, 257a or 257b.
This pub is on the road to Bamford just a short distance beyond Derwent dam with a traditional bar, separate restaurant and hotel rooms. Bus 257, 257a or 257b.
Anglers Rest, Bamford
The only pub left in the village and is community owned but leased out to a local company to operate. A recent refurbishment has cleverly divided the pub into sections to give the feel of tap room, games room, lounge and restaurant. The cask ale range features local beers, usually from Intrepid and Eyam, alongside a well known brand. The pub shares the building with a post office and tea room and there is an outdoor drinking area alongside the car park. Bus 257, 257a or 257b.
George, Hathersage
A smart bar, restaurant and hotel with patio area at rear operated by Longbow Venues Group who also have venues in Grindleford, Owler Bar, Ashford in the Water, Rowsley and Bakewell. The cask ale choice includes a house badged beer from Thornbridge. Bus 257, 257a or 272.
Little John Hotel, Hathersage
A down to earth, lively pub with a mix of younger locals playing pool or table football, older regulars propping up the bar whilst hikers and other visitors to the areas dining with a typical pub grub menu. Accommodation is also available here. Bus 257, 257a or 272.
Plough Inn, Leadmill Bridge
Located a short distance out of Hathersage on the road to Grindleford is this traditional pub, restaurant and hotel that also benefits from a choice of outdoor drinking areas in a rural setting. Bus 257 or 257a.
Maynard, Grindleford
Another Longbow venue, this is primarily a hotel and regularly hosts weddings, however the bar and restaurant is normally open to the public. It is located at the end of the station drive, a short distance outside the village. Bus 65.
Sir William Hotel, Grindleford
In the centre of the village on Sir Willam Road, this hotel, bar and restaurant sits on the side of the hill that rises out of the village, which is in the bottom of the Hope Valley with the beer garden enjoying an attractive setting! Bus 65, 257 or 257a.
Bridge Inn, Curbar
Reopened in August 2025 when the Refined Pub Group took on the lease, this is a cosy pub with food located at the cusp of the river Derwent that manages to be both traditional and modern in style at the same time! It also has a great beer garden. The beer range includes some local choices such as Abbeydale, Peak Ales and Thornbridge alongside the mainstream brands. Bus 66, X66, 257 or 257b (or walk from routes 65 at Calver Sough).
Calver Arms, Calver
Recently bought by a local businessman, renamed and refurbished. It has a modern, smart feel but with some cosy, traditional touches. There are two rooms, the smaller of which can be used for functions or dining occasions – at other times it adopts the role of a sports bar. Food is a menu of pub classics. Three cask ales available.Buses 65, 66, X66, 257, 257a or 257b.
Moon Inn, Stoney Middleton
A freehouse that has been a village pub since 1821 with a changing selection of real ales, extensive gin range, pub classic food menu, beer garden and hotel rooms. Buses 65, 66, X66, 257, 257a or 257b.
A special mention in Stoney Middleton is the Toll Bar fish & chip shop. As well as excellent food they stock bottled beer from Eyam Brewery and the riverside garden has a local history information board that tells you about all the pubs that used to exist in the village!
Miners Arms, Eyam
Village pub, restaurant and hotel rooms. Three cask ales are available, generally from local breweries such as Peak Ales or Eyam. Has a beer garden. Bus 65, 66, X66, 257, 257a or 257b.
Bull’s Head, Foolow
Standing in the picturesque, limestone hamlet of Foolow, this pub has several rooms including a cosy bar and restaurant. There are hotel rooms upstairs and a beer garden outside. Their mantra is old skool done well. Bus 65, 66 or 257b.
Angler’s Rest, Millers Dale
Hidden off the main road down below by the river Wye, this pub has three rooms including a tap room with pool table, traditional lounge and dining room. Bus 65.
Queen Anne, Great Hucklow / Anchor, Tideswell / George Inn, Tideswell / Star, Tideswell / Horse & Jockey, Tideswell / Red Lion, Litton – these pubs are on bus routes 65 and 173, please see separate guide to bus 173 for these.
Three Stags’ Heads at Wardlow Mires / Stables Bar at Monsal Head – these pubs are on bus routes 257a and 173, again please see separate guide to bus 173 for these.
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Watch out for a small number of route variations on the 257 around 3/4pm – the 257a uses a different route between Eyam and Bakewell (via Wardlow Mires and Monsal Head) whilst the 257b uses a different route between Eyam and Bamford (via Foolow, Bradwell and Hope)!
Bus timetables and route maps are available from Travel Derbyshire. Fares are currently capped at £3 per ride, however if you are exploring the area then a Derbyshire Wayfarer all day bus pass may be better value costing £9. Those tickets are available from the bus driver or on the Travelmaster app, which also offers live bus departure information.
A new bar has opened on Victoria Quays in the unit where Dorothy Pax was previously found. The Lock Inn is brought to you by the same people as the Dark Horse at Banner Cross and has cask ale from Little Mesters brewing on handpump. There are now three bars at Victoria Quay (the others being the Tavern on the Quays and True Loves), however the Lock Inn is the only one with real ale and is offering a discount to CAMRA members.
Hot on the heels of the Lock Inn has been a second new opening in Sheffield! The Botanical Arms is a new micropub at 507 Ecclesall Road and two handpumps adourn the bar with cask ales available on the opening day being from Kelham Island (Thornbridge) and Acorn Brewery.
The Castle Inn at Bradway is open again. with the lease taken on by Tom South. This is the second pub in the hands of Tom and his team after the Masons Arms in Thorpe Hesley. The food menu is the same at both pubs with pub classics served along with a Sunday roast. Some of you may recognise Tom having worked in a number of pubs including the Cross Scythes in Totley and the Cremorne on London Road in the past.
The Florist in Walkley is expected to reopen before Christmas after a three month closure. It is a pub company lease and the new operator is Bala Kata, who has run pubs in Manchester previously.
The Heeley Artisan in Heeley and Mesters Tap in Woodseats closed down after a brief period being run by Boston Brewery. It is thought the brewery has hit financial difficulties. Neither venue was still associated with Little Mesters brewing, who had relocated to a new site in Attercliffe where they are hoping to open a tap room in the future.The George & Dragon in Holmesfield was also a Boston Brewery tap venue, however as a separate business it is still trading with a revised beer range. Since the Boston Brewery issue, described on social media by Little Mesters as “being swindled”, they have taken the Mesters tap on Woodseats back and it is once again trading with a range of their beers.
The Fat Cat in Kelham Island held their Christmas beer festival on 13 December.
The Boston Arms in Woodseats held a dark beer takeover from 11 December. The two cask ales featured were Thornbridge Jaipur Noir (5.9% ABV black IPA) and an Ossett / Amundsen collaboration which was a 5% ABV chocolate stout.
The Rutland Arms in Sheffield City Centre held their annual Christmas lights switch on party on 4 December. Naturally lots of delicious beer were available!
The Banner Cross now offers a discount to CAMRA members.
The Wobbly Dagger in Walkley has had a cask line installed and is serving handpulled Abbeydale Moonshine.
The Walkley Cottage Inn reopened under new management in December with four cask ales available. A bar snack menu was launched initially with plans to develop the pub’s offering more in the new year.
A planning application has been made to convert the former Chiquito restaurant at Valley Centertainment into a JD Wetherspoon pub.
You may recall back in 2019 there was talk of converting the old substation on Charles Street in Sheffield City Centre (between the Red Lion and Rutland Arms, near Hallam University student union) into a bar called “Watt Bar” with building work starting then all going quiet. The project is back on and the bar is expected to open in “early 2026”.
The Railway at Wadsley Bridge has been closing on weekdays during early/mid January to allow the pub to receive a bit of a fettle but continued to open Friday to Sunday.
The Waggon & Horses in Millhouses closed for 2 weeks after the new year for a refurbishment, reopening on 15 January.
A licensing application to open a new micropub on White Lane at Gleadless Townend is facing objections from Sheffield City Council Environmental Protection service and South Yorkshire Police according to the Sheffield Star newspaper. Issues to work through include documentation for electrical systems and proposed opening hours.
Turner’s Bottle & Tap on Abbeydale Road have announced they are closing after 7 years with a combination of factors leading them to the decision. January saw them selling off remaining stock and equipment.
The currently disused Ball Inn at Darnall is up for sale and expected to be converted to other uses.
The Queen’s Ground Hotel in Hillsborough no longer has cask ale permanently available, although it does apparently get put on from time to time if they expect to be busy for a football fixture.
The Ladybower Inn, a Batemans brewery lease, has reopened under the same management as the Psalter in Sheffield. Both venues offer a public bar, restaurant and hotel rooms. That management is Tom Lawson, his values are hospitality, community and quality.
The Midland in Killamarsh, we assumed was being converted to residential use since is closure and sale, however in fact it has reopened as the 1873 bistro and bar following significant refurbishment.
The Castle Inn at Castleton closed on Sunday 5 January for a refurbishment and is expected to reopen on Saturday 7 February.
The Eckington Beer & Music festival is planned for Saturday 27 June. This sees a number of pubs and bars in the area putting on live music, usually with a minibus service linking them at regular intervals.
The Angel in Holmesfield has been suffering a bit of a run of bad luck with their premises, the most recent was a closure caused by a water leak which damaged their electrics!
The Chantry Brewery Tap in Parkgate, Rotherham, operates as a live music venue, mostly featuring classic rock and retro tribute bands. However they are organising a battle of the bands competition for local bands that perform their own original material. The first round of gigs will be late May and early June with a semi final and grand final to come after. The brewery is a short walk from the Tram Train terminus.
The Canary, on Olive Lane shopping street in Waverley, has started the year as they mean to go on with regular events. Sundays tea time sees music – either DJ based or a live performer, alternate Tuesdays is quiz & pizza truck and various other evenings see a food vendor in attendance or music/entertainment of some description! Check their social media pages for the latest diary. The bar features 3 cask ales and 7 keg beers, including some good quality craft options.
Bus 173 is a handy little rural bus operated by Andrew’s of Tideswell that shuttles up and down once every two hours between Castleton and Bakewell via a number of villages passing some fantastic country pubs along the way. The route from Castleton as far as Great Longstone is in the Sheffield & District CAMRA branch area. Ashford in the Water and Bakewell is covered by the Chesterfield CAMRA branch.
A number of branch members including your Beer Matters editor have recently enjoyed a few days out visiting some of the pubs on the route and we’ve featured a few of the highlights here, however a full list of pubs along our part of the route is provided!
On our trips we’ve travelled from Sheffield using the 218 bus to Bakewell or the 65 to Tideswell or Litton in order to connect with the 173 and travel up and down between some of the pubs on the route, finishing in one of Bradwell, Hope or Castleton and catching the 272 bus back to Sheffield.
All the buses in the area charge no more than £3 a ride for single fares, however better value is the Derbyshire Wayfarer all day bus pass costing £9, you can buy that from the bus driver or on the Travelmaster app.
White Lion, Great Longstone
A Robinsons pub with two cask ales, typical local pub lounge and smart dining area.
Crispin, Great Longstone.
A Robinsons pub with a range of their cask ales, including Old Tom strong dark ale on our visit and traditional pub grub. It is a characterful pub with huge displays of tankards and ornaments, pub cat and friendly bar service.
Packhorse Inn, Little Longstone
A cosy Thornbridge Brewery pub known for its food. If you can’t get a table in the pub itself head for the beer garden at rear with both indoor and outdoor areas available!
Stables Bar, Monsal Head (also served by bus 257a once a day!)
Run by the same management as the Packhorse Inn, the Stables bar is in an outbuilding behind the Monsal Head Hotel and has a range of cask ales and serves food. Head outside for a breathtaking view over the valley!
Three Stags’ Heads, Wardlow Mires (also served by bus 257a and X66, both once a day! Note two buses a day on the 173 use an alternative route via Cressbrookdale and bypass Wardlow)
An absolutely legendary little pub where time has stood still. Leave your attitude and expectation at the door, buy a pint of ale (cash only), sit down in front of the fire and enjoy beer & conversation whilst taking in some of the eccentricities and history on display. Included in CAMRA’s national inventory of historic pub interiors.
Red Lion, Litton (also served by bus 65)
Cosy old multi roomed country pub with a range of mainly local cask ales, home cooked food and hotel rooms. Management and staff are friendly and organise special events from time to time.
Horse & Jockey, Tideswell (also served by bus 65)
Friendly local pub split into three areas. As you walk in there are lounge areas to your left and right with the bar at the far left, then up some steps there is a further area with a pool table. Two cask ales are available.
Star, Tideswell (also served by bus 65)
George Inn, Tideswell (also served by bus 65)
Recently reopened under the new management of Atlantik Inns, this pub is leased from Greene King Brewery and has a lounge, dining room, games room and courtyard.
Eyam Brewery Tap & Shop, Tideswell (also served by bus 65)
Open in November and December on selected Fridays and Saturdays as a pop up bar, this is in an empty industrial unit and featuring a range of their beer on cask and keg with merchandise also available to buy. The unit is due to be converted into a proper tap bar and shop in the new year following a crowdfunding campaign. The Friday night sessions also feature Sunshine Pizza Oven trading outside.
Anchor, Tideswell (also served by bus 65)
Operated by Atlantik Inns who lease the pub from Robinsons Brewery, this is a classic pub that has recently benefited from a huge investment in renovation and refurbishment. It still has a multi room style layout with areas for both drinkers and diners. Cask ale from Robinsons brewery is available. The pub made headlines recently for having a dedicated space in the car park for tractors.
Queen Anne, Great Hucklow (also serve by bus 65)
Classic village multi roomed pub with a couple of real ales and food available.
Blind Bull, Little Hucklow (a 7 minute walk from the bus stop, also served by bus 257b once a day)
In a village located down a country lane off the main road the buses use, this 12th century Inn spent a few years derelict before recently being restored and reopened, winning a national CAMRA Pub Design Award in the process. It is independently run, smart and offers ale, good food and hotel rooms.
Shoulder of Mutton, Bradwell (also served by bus 257b and 272)
White Hart, Bradwell (also served by bus 257b and 272)
A traditional stone flag floored local pub, now run by Bradfield Brewery. Note being in Derbyshire the Yorkshire Farmer ale is rebadged as White Hart ale!
Olde Bowling Green Inn, Bradwell (also served by bus 257b and 272)
Travellers Rest, Brough (also served by bus 257b and 272)
Old Hall Hotel, Hope (also served by bus 62, 257b and 272)
This is a popular venue featuring a bar with cask ales (mainly well known brands including Theakstons) and an extensive Scotch Whisky selection, restaurant, tea room and hotel rooms. A beer festival is held in a marquee outside on most bank holiday weekends featuring beers from Derbyshire and Scotland along with live music and food.
Woodroffe Arms, Hope (also served by bus 62, 257b and 272)
Traditional local pub offering ale, food and sport on tv.
Cheshire Cheese Inn, Hope (a short walk from the 173 stop or use bus 62)
Cosy old pub down a country lane towards Edale with two rooms on split levels and a beer garden. Cask ales and food available, also offers accommodation.
SwissTap Tap, Castleton (also served by bus 62 and 272)
A micropub located across two rooms on the ground floor of the Swiss House Bed & Breakfast house. Two cask ales from Abbeydale brewery are available and TV screens show sporting action.
Olde Cheshire Cheese, Castleton (also served by bus 62 and 272)
Classic pub & restaurant with low beams and a range of cask ales, including some local beers.
Peak Hotel, Castleton (also served by bus 62 and 272)
Quirky old pub with separate restaurant area, hotel rooms and beer garden. Cask ale range is mainly well known brands.
Olde Nag’s Head, Castleton (also served by bus 62 and 272)
bar and hotel popular for food. Range of mostly local cask ales available.
Bulls Head Hotel, Castleton (also served by bus 62 and 272)
Owned by Robinson brewery, serving their beers plus food.
Castle Inn, Castleton (also served by bus 62 and 272)
George, Castleton (also served by bus 62 and 272)
You can download a PDF bus timetable from travelderbyshire.co.uk and track buses live on a map at bustimes.org.
The end of October saw Blue Bee brew version 84 of their American Five Hop, this time involving Columbus, Loral, Azacca, Cryo Mosaic and Idaho 7. Early November saw a Centennial hopped pale ale at 5% ABV brewed in a North Amercian style with different yeast.
Eyam Brewery hosted a pop up tap event on 7 and 8 November in the Tideswell building that is soon to be converted into a permanent brewery tap room and shop. The event saw a range of beers available on cask, keg and in cans plus on the Friday evening Sunshine Pizza oven joined them there. This is set to be repeated each weekend until 13 December.
Fuggle Bunny Brew House is hosting another bonus tap event (they open every Friday all year round) on Saturday 29 November from 3pm to 9pm. As well as their beers the afternoon will feature live music from 5pm. Food will also be available with Steak & Fuggle Ale pie & peas from Baker’s Dozen.
Triple Point Brewing are hosting a beer and chocolate pairing night in conjunction with Bullion chocolate. The event is from 6pm to 8:30pm on 1 December and the £30 ticket includes 5 beers and 5 chocolates and experts from both hosts to talk you through the decadent tasting experience! Advance booking required.
New from Drone Valley Brewery is “Yippee Ki IPA”, a 5.5% ABV pale ale hopped with Chinook, Citra and Mosaic.
Chin Chin Brewery near Moorthorpe is hosting a tap event 5 to 7 December. Open 1pm to 9pm each day.
Shakespeares Ale & Cider House on Gibraltar Street, West Bar, is hosting a dark beer festival 20 to 23 November.
The Dove & Rainbow in Sheffield City Centre now hosts an open mic night on two Wednesdays each month, including 3 and 17 December. It is open to bands, solo acts, comedians, poets and really anything else deemed appropriate! The Dove (in its current guise) has also recently celebrated its 19th birthday!
The Railway at Wadsley Bridge launched a fortnightly blues jam night on Thursday 6 November with an 8:30pm start. In December dates are 4th and 18th.
The Old Queen’s Head in Sheffield City Centre (by the bus station) is offering a 10% discount off pints of cask ale for CAMRA members that produce their membership card at the time of ordering – check with the pub for terms & conditions.
The Three Tuns in Sheffield City Centre is also offering a discount on cask ale for CAMRA members – check with the pub for terms & conditions.
The Walkley Cottage Inn has had a change of management with Sophie leaving, she’s now concentrating on the Closed Shop which recently launched a new food menu.
The Masons Arms in Crookes has reopened but is not serving real ale.
The Heeley Artisan bar has had a refurbishment and reopened under the new management of Boston Brewery on 14 November with 8 cask lines! A name change is expected.
Mesters Tap has been sold and is expected to be renamed. Little Mesters are intending to set up a tap room near the brewery in Attercliffe instead. The new owners are believed to be Boston Brewery (no relation to the Boston Arms nearby!)
The Dog & Partridge in Sheffield City Centre has introduced a twice monthly Celtic Sessions event hosted by Sharon Dreadz featuring acoustic traditional & contemporary songs and tunes. This is from 8pm on the first and third Thursday of the month.
The Peacock Inn in Stannington has introduced a pie night on Thursdays, 4pm to 8pm.
The Tunnel Tap micropub at Totley Rise is hosting a Belgian beer night on 12 December.
The Foresters in Sheffield City Centre has reopened and now has a range of 5 cask ales on handpump. Other changes include opening until 2am on Friday and Saturday nights with a DJ on.
The Castle Inn at Bradway closed at the end of November with 2 weeks notice after Stonegate Pubco terminated the lease. New tenants have already been lined up and believed to be the same people who operate the Cross Sycthes in Totley.
The Miners Arms in Dronfield Woodhouse has been running an early bar offer Monday to Thursday with £1 off a pint of cask ale 2pm to 5pm.
The Manor House Hotel on Dronfield High Street is under new ownership with Kevin Gage handing over the reigns to Isobel Ford (his step daughter) and Elliot Hill. They are bringing new energy, enthusiasm and ideas and building on what Kevin has achieved with the venue over the last 17 years. The relaunch party was held on Saturday 8 November from 6pm with live music, DJ and food.
The Blue Stoops in Dronfield reopened on 17 November after a major refurbishment.
The Coach & Horses in Dronfield, which is now under the management of Sheffield FC and just opens sporadically for selected football matches, no longer offers real ale or any kind of craft beer and has been deleted from the current Good Beer Guide.
Drone Valley Brewery’s Tap has had another upgrade to the tent to ensure it continues to be a comfortable place to be during the winter months! An increasing number of special events are being hosted there, see their social media for dates and ticket info.
The George & Dragon in Holmesfield, run by Boston Brewery, currently has special beer prices on Wednesdays with all the Boston Brewery ales reduced to £3 a pint. The pub also now has an all day food offering with breakfast served from 8:30am and main menu served from midday until 8pm (hot roast sandwiches on Sundays).
The Hyde Park In Dronfield has reopened under new management with cask ale available and has now launched their new food menu.
A long established December tradition in some areas including north Sheffield and the Peak District is for brass bands and choirs to tour pubs for Christmas carol concerts, sometimes with pub customers invited to join in the carol singing.
The Unite Brass Band are holding an annual Christmas concert at the Gardeners Rest in Neepsend on Thursday 11 December from 8pm whilst Stannington Brass Band are doing a full “Pub Carols” tour around the city from 3 December onwards. Venues include the Waggon & Horses (Millhouses), Riverside Kelham, Crown & Glove (Stannington), Broadfield, Punchbowl (Crookes), Rose & Crown (Stannington), Bulls Head (Ranmoor), The Ball (Crookes) and Dog & Partridge (Sheffield Centre). They also have a ticketed event at Grafters Bar in Neepsend.
Tideswell band have a number of Christmas concerts planned, including some carol events in pubs – the George Inn, Tideswell, on 19 December; Anchor, Tideswell, on 21 December and the Old Hall Hotel in Hope on 22 December.
The Crispin at Great Longstone has Cressbrook band performing sing along Christmas Carols on Tuesday 16 December from 7pm with mince pies also available!
Among the early October brews at Blue Bee was an IPA featuring Centennial and Simcoe hops.
Meanwhile at our Steel City Beer & Cider Festival were some oak aged special editions including their export stout and dark mild.
New from Intreprid Brewing Co is Black Gold, their “Schwarzbier”, based on the classic European black lager recipe. It was on the bar in cask at our recent Steel City Beer & Cider Festival.
Eyam Brewery have launched merch in the form of t-shirts and hoodies which will be available to order from their webshop soon.
An updated brew of Loxley Brewery‘s Pride of the Valley hazy pale ale was featured on the bar at our recent Steel City Beer & Cider Festival.
Little Critters won our Champion Beer of Sheffield & District competition with “Chocodile”, a chocolate milk stout. This beer proved very popular on the bar at the Steel City Beer & Cider Festival with several extra casks delivered, all of which sold out!
Also featured at Steel City 49 was a cask ESB brewed as a collaboration between Thornbridge and St Mars of the Desert which proved to be the quickest cask beer to sell out at the festival!
We had three special commemorative beers from local breweries.
This year the charity collecting donations at the festival was the Childrens’ Hospital Charity and the beer marking this was Pride of Yorkshire, from Bradfield Brewery. The name refers to the upcoming Pride of Yorkshire Sculpture Trail taking place in 2026 celebrating the charity’s 150th anniversary and will feature 150 large lion and lioness sculptures, and 150 smaller lion cub sculptures positioned across South Yorkshire, each telling a unique story and designed by professional artists and community groups. For details of this visit prideofyorkshire.org.
We’re celebrating 50 years of our Beer Matters magazine and here Abbeydale Brewery helped out to mark the occasion with a dry hopped special edition of a regular beer badged up with an actual magazine cover!
Finally, Neepsend Brewery helped with a special pumpclip for a cask version of their Alcis session IPA to mark the memory of Kevin Thompson, our social secretary and press officer who unexpectedly passed away recently.
This started with the unlikely trio of our festival organiser Paul Crofts, Sheffield Childrens Hospital Charity’s Holly and Jon McClure from Reverend & The Makers (who have a new single out called Haircut) behind a bar pulling a pint of the Pride of Yorkshire beer.
Attention then moved to the stage where after welcoming everyone to the festival, Paul introduced Megan from Beer Central who announced the winners of our Champion Beer of Sheffield & District competition and presented the certificates to the winning brewers.
The competition had been judged earlier in the afternoon by six teams of invited guests at a blind tasting.
Finally, back at the bar we had Dan & Martha from the Brewery of St Mars of the Desert with their German Stichfass casks filled with one of their new beers, Fledermaus, for a special tapping and pouring. A long queue soon formed with the beer selling out quite quickly!
Also present at the festival opening and beer judging was Dale from the Great British Pub Crawl, a social media content creator whose videos are available across many platforms charting his progress visiting as many pubs across the country as possible. With a fair old audience built up he takes the opportunity to champion the British pub and recently launched an online petition asking the government to give pubs a fairer deal, which complements CAMRA’s own lobbying nicely!
On Thursday morning 19 lucky ticket holders embarked on a guided walk around places in Kelham Island featured in the “Little Chicago” local history booklet (which was available to buy at the festival) with a pub stop at the Crow along the way. The tour and talk finished at the beer festival.
Thursday was also the first full day of the festival with all the food traders open alongside the bars and games.
A number of ticket holders enjoyed a tutored tasting event with Bradfield Brewery in a private room at the festival. This involved the brewers talking their audience through a number of beers in their range with their biggest selling Farmers Blonde and their whisky barrel aged Belted Galloway Stout among the 5 beers included.
Thursday night saw the live music programme kick off with the Retrobates starring Kitty Noir taking to stage whilst on Friday night it was Soul Battalion playing to a packed house! On Saturday we had Loxley Silver Band playing in the afternoon, Kelham Rappers dancing outside afterwards then at tea time on stage was Blythe Power.
The festival featured a number of street food vendors outside in the courtyard including Carribean Fusion serving flavourful authentic Jamaican street food such as jerk chicken wraps and Mutton curry, Yuleys Bratwurst with a range of German sausages on the BBQ, Yorkshire Crepes serving pancakes with various sweet and savoury filllings including some cocktail themed options, Sunshine Pizza Oven and finally Bonnie and Clyde slinging out deep fried Italian snacks.
Meanwhile inside we had Cheese Factor from Chesterfield indoor market boasting a refrigerated display filled with a whole range of cheeses along with pork pies serving up Ploughmans Platters and sandwiches.
Also inside was Fairfax chocolatiers with a range of fancy choccies and signature spirits. There was an option to combine the two with a cup of boozy hot chocolate!
The festival boasted a range of over 250 different beers in cask, keg, bottle and can plus cider, perry and mead spread across 4 areas.
The upper hall featured cask ales from brewers at the lower end of the alphabet (A-L) whilst the marquee featured cask ales from brewers at the other end of the alphabet (M-Y). Both those main areas had a cider bar and a bottle/can bar.
New this year was the Guest Brewers’ Room with three bars hosted by the breweries themselves with beers on both cask and keg. Pouring beers here were Radio City Beer Works, Turning Point and Ossett.
Meanwhile a wander beyond the courtyard through the Hawley Gallery (exhibition of knives and tools!) took you to the dedicated keg bar with some rather interesting craft beers pouring from a wall of 27 taps.
This is something the museum is well known for so it was arranged for it to be fire up for a demo at set times each day of the festival from Thursday onwards and always proves to be a popular attraction!
We also had our tombola (every “1” is a winner!), classic pub games, CAMRA membership sign up stand and book shop.
All the drinks were served in commemorative glasses featuring this years festival logo with a choice of two designs – a classic pint glass with Hendersons Relish artwork and a beautiful stemmed half pint with Bradfield Brewery 20th anniversary artwork.
We get loads of beer tourists coming to Sheffield for the festival who are also keen to experience the great pubs the city is famous for with a whole load within walking distance of the festival venue including the Fat Cat and Kelham Island Tavern. Some of the pub ran events during festival week, for example Shakespeares Ale & Cider House had a tap takeover and the Harlequin hosted live music.
Thanks to all those visitors that came an enjoyed the festival and drank all the beer & cider, thanks to those that donated prizes for the tombola and thanks to all our sponsors for your support.
An even bigger thanks to all the volunteers that gave up their time to help organise, build, run, staff and pack up the festival. We move into an empty venue several days before the festival opens building it all from scratch and of course after we close Saturday night it all requires dismantling and packing away before the museum opens to the public again!
There is also of course months of publicising the festival in advance and we had a small army of volunteers distributing promotional beer mats, posters and flyers!
The organisers of the recent 49th Steel City Beer & Cider Festival would like to thank the following for donating items to the festival tombola and to sell in support of Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity:- Wayne Brierley RIP, Abbeydale Brewery, Blue Bee Brewery, Kelham Island Tavern, Paul & Tina Crofts, Ossett Brewery, Terry Palmer, Fairfax Distillers & Chocolatiers, Paul Manning, The Wellington, Dave Pickersgill, Nigel & Emlyn Tasker, Bernie Hunter, Crown & Glove, Loxley Brewery and everyone who donated anonymously. Apologies if we have missed anyone. – Andy Morton.
