Andy has been actively involved in CAMRA since the early 2000s after being recruited to sit on a National Younger Members Task Group.
Since then he has held roles on the branch committee including Secretary, Membership Secretary, Magazine Editor, Chair and now Social Secretary.
Andy has also been involved with the Steel City Beer & Cider Festival almost every year since becoming active in the branch.
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 Masons Arms in Crookes has reopened but is not serving real ale.
The Heeley Artisan bar has been closed for a refurbishment, the existing bar and kitchen have been ripped out and the venue reconfigured.
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.
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.
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.
Bradfield Brewery – Pride of Yorkshire
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.
Holly and Paul with Abbeydale Beer Matters
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.
THE FESTIVAL OPENING
Jon, Holly and Paul pulling a pint of Yorkshire PrideJon pulling a pint of Yorkshire Pride
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.
Triple Point Sheaf, Bronze winnerAbbeydale Black Mass – Silver winnerLittle Critters Chocodile – Gold winnerbeer judging tables
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.
Dan & Martha with Fledermaus
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!
Dale judging beer
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!
LITTLE CHICAGO WALKING TOUR
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.
Bradfield tutored tasting
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.
FOOD TRADERS
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!
BARS
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.
THE RIVER DON STEAM ENGINE
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!
OTHER DISTRACTIONS!
We also had our tombola (every “1” is a winner!), classic pub games, CAMRA membership sign up stand and book shop.
GLASSWARE
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.
THE UNOFFICIAL FESTIVAL FRINGE
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.
THANK YOU!
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!
THANKS FROM THE TOMBOLA
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.
A change of management has taken place at the Foresters on Division Street in Sheffield City Centre (although regulars will recognise the new landlord!) and the pub will be temporarily closed for a short period in November for a bar refit. Plans include an increased cask ale range and the return of late night opening.
The Dog & Partridge in Sheffield City Centre is hosting another “Dogfest” (their sixth) on the 29 November with lots of music going on! In other news they are now serving food on Sundays.
A number of venues around Sheffield that feature live music have teamed up to form the Sheffield Independent Venue Alliance (SIVA) with a principle of collaboration making the grassroots scene stronger and more viable. A map is available showing all the venues which includes the Washington, Hallamshire Hotel, Sidney & Matilda, Alder, Crookes Social Club, Hagglers Corner, Dryad Works, Yellow Arch Studios, Forge Warehouse, Gut Level, Cafe No9, Southbank Warehouse, Delicious Clam, Panke Bar and Plot 22.
The Rambler Inn at Edale held a relaunch party to celebrate Jo and Chris taking the reigns as managers. Canapes, live music and a quiz featured on the night whilst on the bar were cask ales from Torrside, Abbeydale, Timothy Taylors and Theakston.
Batemans brewery are looking for new tenants to take on the lease of the Ladybower Inn near Bamford. They held a recruitment open day on 20 October.
The Angler’s Rest in Millers Dale, near Buxton, has introduced a Winter Warmer menu offering two course for £15. Included in the offer is a choice of 4 main course dishes and 4 dessert options. This is available Monday to Thursday 12-2 and 6-8pm.
The Anglers Rest at Bamford will be taking an outside bar to the Bamford Christmas market held at Thornhill Recreation Ground on Saturday 15 November. This is a community event that is raising funs for Bamford Play Park. There will be local makers selling their wares, Sunshine Pizza will have their oven fired up plus there will be stalls doing pie & peas and tea & cake. For the kids there will be a bouncy castle and a hook a duck stall will also be present! Running alongside the market will be two fell races including the Beast of Bamford!
The Scotsman’s Pack in Hathersage now offers a 15% discount on food for Blue Light card holders Monday to Thursday.
The George in Hathersage will be offering festive afternoon teas from 28 November and also has a loyalty card for those that drink coffee there. Being a venue owned by Longbow it also saw the pub represented in the company’s Young Chef of the Year competition!
The Plough Inn at Leadmill Bridge near Hathersage is hosting a wreath making workshop on 18 November.
The Miners Arms in Dronfield Woodhouse has had a change of management and a launch party took place on Saturday 18 October.
The Hyde Park Inn at Dronfield Hill Top has had a short period of closure after Tom and Vee retired from the pub trade at the end of August. The pub is owned by Stonegate pubco and leased out to independent operators and is due to reopen under the new management of Lee and Zoe on 24 October with a launch party featuring a cheesy karaoke disco and finger buffet!
The Coach & Horses in Dronfield, which is owned by Sheffield FC but had been leased to Thornbridge Brewery to operate, has seen the lease end and the football club take on the running themselves. Initially it will only open on matchdays. However coinciding with the C&H closing as a full time pub, the Dronfield Arms have announced a permanent Thornbridge cask line on their bar!
The Manor House Hotel bar on Dronfield High Street are now doing afternoon teas, Sunday lunches, bottomless brunches and cheese boards. Live music is also expected to take place on some Saturday afternoons.
The Winter Green in Waverley closed for refurbishment on 20 October and reopens on 12 November.
Blue Mist is the latest addition to our beautiful range inspired by vintage botanical prints, and this time we’ve created a 4% pale ale with Chinook and Centennial hops. Sweet floral notes and juicy citrus are backed up with a tasty, assertive finish.
Doctor Morton’s Socks Appeal is our second beer release of the year in partnership with local charity Ben’s Centre. A 4.1% pale ale with soft notes of tangerine and lime, brewed using Vic Secret and Amarillo hops. For each cask sold we’re donating a pair of socks to Ben’s Centre – please do check out their wishlist if you’re able to support this incredibly worthy cause.
A festive release in our Mythical Creatures series, Glugg (4.2%) has artwork inspired by the Yule Lads of Iceland. Hopped with Belma and Cashmere, expect delicate melon flavours which come together deliciously with a spicy, earthy character.
And we’ve used one of our very favourite hops for Through the Hopback Nelson Sauvin. A deliciously sessionable pale ale (3.9%) with delicate Sauvignon Blanc-esque flavours of white grape and gooseberry coupled with a floral finish.
And talking of showcasing ingredients we love – from the Brewers Emporium we have a single hopped Simcoe IPA (5.8%) coming up from our Obsession series, celebrating the 25th anniversary of this glorious hop! A clean malt backbone allows the Simcoe to truly shine, bringing zesty grapefruit, resinous pine, a hint of fresh berries and an hearty, bitter finish.
Finally on the opposite side of the beery spectrum, look out for an Irish Cream Stout (5.4%) which is a seasonally appropriate addition to the Salvation series. Deliciously deluxe vanilla notes combine with soft caramel flavours and just a hint of roasted character for balance. Rich and oh so creamy with a full mouthfeel and a mellow finish.
Sheffield’s 49th annual Steel City Beer & Cider Festival takes place at Kelham Island Museum from 15 to 18 October 2025, here is a guide to what is planned this year!
As previous years, the two main areas of the festival are the upper hall and marquee, both which feature a huge cask ale bar, cider & perry bar plus a can/bottle bar which will feature some low/no alcohol options.
There will also be a room featuring three guest brewers hosting their own bars (as well as Bradfield who this year will be in the main hall upstairs) and a room dedicated to craft beer in kegs. The guest brewers are Radio City, Turning Point and Ossett.
The upper hall will also feature CAMRA book stall and merchandise plus the “every 1 is a winner” tombola along with the CAMRA membership sign up stand whilst down in the marquee you’ll find some classic old skool pub games to test your skill and luck on.
As usual there will be an array of third party food & drink traders at the festival:
in the courtyard serving hot food will be Sunshine Pizza Oven, Yuleys Bratwurst, Yorkshire Crepes and Caribbean Fusion
in the Stone Garden will be Bonnie & Clyde serving Italian comfort food
in the upper hall will be Cheese Factor serving ploughman’s lunches, pork pies and cheese sandwiches whilst Fairfax Chocolatiers will be selling their fancy chocolates along with signature spirits which are available by the bottle to take home or to enjoy as a cheeky shot or part of a cocktail
A change this year is all our bars will be taking card payment (contactless or chip & PIN), however we’ll also still be selling the £5 bar tokens which you can buy using cash or card. There will be token sales desks in the marquee and upper hall.
As a result of the bars taking card payment, the entry price is no longer packaged in with beer tokens so the amount charged on the gate will be lower this year. As before all admissions are sold on the gate, however if you wish to attend one of the tours, talks and tasting events you can buy tickets for those in advance online.
WEDNESDAY 15 OCTOBER
The festival is open from 5pm to 10:30pm. However if you are a CAMRA member, sponsor, industry staff or journalist you can get in a little earlier for a preview session from 4pm which can be a great networking opportunity!
At 6pm we’ll be announcing the Champion Beer of Sheffield & District following an afternoon of judging the beers entered by local breweries. Additionally our very special guest, Jon McClure from Reverend & The Makers, will be opening the festival. The band has a new single out – Haircut – do buy a copy or download if that’s your thing!
We’ll also have Dan from the Brewery of St Mars of the Desert hosting a tapping of their German Stichfass, be prompt if you want to try some as when it’s gone it’s gone!
Entry to the festival on the Wednesday evening is free of charge for everyone other than a £3 deposit on a souvenir glass to drink out of.
the Millowners Arms pub will be open exclusively to festival visitors with a full range of beers, wines, spirits and soft drinks plus a food offering expected to include pies and various snacks.
THURSDAY 16 OCTOBER
The festival is open from 11:30am to 10:30pm. Entry is £2 for CAMRA members, £5 for everyone else, plus a £3 deposit for the souvenir glass to drink out of.
There’s a couple of optional extra events to add to your festival experience. You can go on a guided walk of the local area that featured in the book “Sheffield 1925: Gang Wars and Wembley Glory” with author John Stocks and local pub heritage expert Dave Pickersgill and the tour will finish at the beer festival. Tickets for this cost £12 and include entry to the festival with the tour starting at 11:30am.
We also have Bradfield Brewery hosting a tutored tasting at 7pm showcasing the depth and breadth of their beer range including an oak aged beer. Tickets for this cost £9 on top of festival entry covering the cost of the tasting samples (5 x third pints).
Finally on Thursday night at 8pm we have live music in the upper hall with The Retrobates, starring Kitty Noir, performing rythm & blues.
The steam powered River Don engine will be fired up for a demonstration run at 6:30pm.
FRIDAY 17 OCTOBER
The festival is open from 11:30am to 10:30pm. Entry is £3 for CAMRA members, £7 for everyone else, plus a £3 deposit for the souvenir glass to drink out of.
An optional extra event to add to your festival experience at 4:30pm is a pub heritage talk, concentrating on Sheffield’s Little Chicago Quarter. It will explore both the pub heritage aspects of the area plus the streets which feature in the book, ‘Sheffield 1925: Gang Wars and Wembley Glory.’ The cost is £4 on top of festival entry and includes a copy of the Little Chicago pub walk booklet.
At 8pm on Friday night we have Soul Battalion on stage in the upper hall performing the best of soul and motown.
The steam powered River Don engine will be fired up for a demonstration run at 1pm and 6pm.
SATURDAY 18 OCTOBER
The festival is open from 11am to 9pm. Entry is £3 for CAMRA members, £7 for everyone else, plus a £3 deposit for the souvenir glass to drink out of.
In the upper hall we have Loxley Silver Band playing at 2pm and Blyth Power (a long established folk rock band) on at 5pm. Throughout the afternoon the Kelham Island Rapper team will be dancing around the festival.
The steam powered River Don engine will be fired up for a demonstration run at 1pm and 4:30pm.
CHARITY
The good cause we are supporting this year is the Sheffield Childrens’ Hospital Charity with collection buckets placed around the festival. Please consider dropping a donation in and they will also accept unspent credit from beer tokens.
SOUVENIR GLASS
All your drinks will be served in your branded festival glass which you can keep as a souvenir or return for a refund at the end. There is a choice of half or pint glasses and all also have a third pint line. Our bars offer a choice of third, half and pint measures. The glasses are sponsored by Hendersons Relish and Bradfield Brewery. There are self service glass rinsing stations around the festival.
VOLUNTEERING
The festival is organised and staffed entirely by volunteers. If you’d like to help out please visit the website for more information and complete the online staffing form.
MORE INFORMATION
All the details, including the beer & cider lists, will be available on the website (sheffield.camra.org.uk/sc) once confirmed or alternatively printed programmes will be available to buy at the festival for £1.
East Sheffield has changed over the years. It was once booming with heavy industry with many of the workers living in housing around the steel works and factories and there were many traditional pubs there to slake their thirst and provide a social hub.
With loss of some of the industry along with slum clearance many of the pubs saw a change of use if not demolition, however the ones that survived included some heritage classics.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s part of the area became the centre of Sheffield’s LGBTQ+ scene with some of the classic pubs keeping going as bars and clubs on that circuit, however none of those venues now survive as pubs.
This article summarizes some of the lost pubs that still stand today, if you are interested in the pub heritage of the area check out our Sheffield Real Heritage Pub book which you can download as a PDF free of charge from sheffield.camra.org.uk/rhp.
In its final days as a pub under that name it was well known for its adult shows with strippers. After closure there was extensive renovation of the building and a shisha lounge club opened on the site.
This was a classic corner pub leased from Marstons Brewery and was one of the few pubs left in Sheffield with a bar billards table. It had been run by the same family for many years and was a Good Beer Guide regular but closed in 2014 following a rent increase and the impending closure of Don Valley Stadium. It was sold off by the brewery and has since been used as a shop and cafe.
This is one of the few on the list where you can technically still get a beer to drink inside and it is the last of the gay venues remaining in the area! It’s final incarnation as a pub was a bar called Cavaliers and is now the Boiler Room with sauna, steam room, hot tub, coffee lounge/bar and “adult facilities”.
Back in the day it was a Stones Brewery pub that catered for the Steel Workers and large numbers of pints were pulled in advance ready for crowds of them coming into the pub needing to slake their thirst after working in a hot environment!
This ex-Tetleys Pub consists of a three storey brick corner building with a ground floor that has brown glazed stone and a tiled fascia of dark brown lettering on a light brown background interspersed with glazed pilasters and a couple of ornate ceramic panels. Also, at the top of the central part of the pub is a tiled panel with the wording in yellow of The Norfolk Arms Hotel on a turquoise tiled background with a gargoyle type figure at the bottom. In the 1980s, the pub became a ‘Joshua Tetley Heritage Inn.’ In the 1980s, the pub became a ‘Joshua Tetley Heritage Inn.’ The plaque is currently displayed in the rear garden of the Gardeners Rest in Neepsend. It went on to be Club Xes before closing and being converted to residential use.
Carbrook Hall was purchased by a local company, West Street Leisure, in March 2017 and, after over 150 years as a pub, immediately closed.The following eighteen months saw a number of arson attempts and local press reports regarding the sale of various contents from the building. In the Autumn of 2018, planning permission was achieved to create ‘Starbucks Carbrook Hall,’ a 60-seat, drive-in Starbucks. Almost £1M was invested and the building re-opened on 9th August 2019.
Old Blue Bell – 81 West Bar, S3 8PS
Now the Quba Education Centre. Carved stonework is hidden under the boards: D. Gilmour & Co.Ltd Windsor Ales. Above the central doors are intricate images carved into the stonework
Converted into a restaurant in 2008, this ex-pub was rebuilt by Duncan Gilmour & Co about 1926 on the site of a previous pub which had been open since 1833.
Originally opened in 1871, and acquired by Chambers & Co. (Brunswick Brewery) in 1898, this pub closed in 1984. An impressive tilework façade remains (Wm. Stones and Cannon Ales). It includes the arches around the windows, golden brickwork, tiling and two brick plaques bearing the WS initials and the 1912 date of completion: a year after the acquisition by Stones. It is currently local offices for Howco, an International manufacturing and processing company. The front of the building is built in a slight curve.
This year the Sheffield & District branch of CAMRA is 51 years old, Beer Matters magazine is 50 years old (as long as you count its predecessor, the Parish Pump newsletter) and we’ve run 49 annual beer festivals (the festival had two years off for Covid!) although the branch has been involved in more than 49 festivals due to putting on beer festival bars at student union and music festival events in the past!
Over the years we’ve also presented a Pub of the Year award and we have them listed on our website going back as far as 1982.
Coords not found for https://whatpub.com/pubs/SHF/294/sheffield-tap-sheffield-central
Coords not found for https://whatpub.com/pubs/SHF/724/triple-point-brewing-sheffield-central
Coords not found for https://whatpub.com/pubs/SHF/878
Coords not found for https://whatpub.com/pubs/SHF/509
Coords not found for https://whatpub.com/pubs/SHF/540
Coords not found for https://whatpub.com/pubs/SHF/1013
Coords not found for https://whatpub.com/pubs/SHF/996/heist-brew-co-sheffield
Coords not found for https://whatpub.com/pubs/ROT/500/chantry-brewery-tap-parkgate
Coords not found for https://whatpub.com/pubs/DAD/7/dronfield-arms-dronfield
Coords not found for https://whatpub.com/pubs/DAD/2226/drone-valley-brewery-tap-unstone
Coords not found for https://whatpub.com/pubs/CHE/16795/thornbridge-brewery-tap-room-bakewell
Coords not found for https://whatpub.com/pubs/CHE/1969/chesterfield-arms-chesterfield
Coords not found for https://whatpub.com/pubs/CHE/3064/tramway-tavern-chesterfield
Coords not found for https://whatpub.com/pubs/SHF/923/brewery-of-st-mars-of-the-desert-sheffield
We have many breweries in our area and a number of them offer the opportunity of drinking the beer at source. Some of them are attached to a regularly open bar whilst others run special tap events on certain days.
This wonderfully restored bar at Sheffield railway station is also home to the Tapped Brew Co with the brewery located in one of the drinking rooms behind a glass screen, so on a brew day you can sit and watch the brewer at work! The bar is open 7 days a week serving their own beers plus guests.
GETTING THERE – tram or train to Sheffield Station, various buses to Sheffield Interchange
NEARBY REAL ALE PUBS – Rutland Arms, Old Queens Head
If you aren’t tempted to base yourself in the extensive outdoor drinking area you walk through to get to the front door, almost all the indoor tables are on the other side of a glass screen from the brewery. The bar features a huge range of beer brewed on site, the majority of their beers are hoppy pale ales or European style lagers but not exclusively so and all are of great quality and also mostly gluten free too. You’ll find this venue on Shoreham Street, on the edge of Sheffield City Centre.
GETTING THERE – Buses 1, 24, 25, 47, 48 and 51 stop close by or it is walkable from Granville Road tram stop (Blue or Purple route).
NEARBY REAL ALE PUBS – Rutland Arms, Lord Nelson
FUGGLE BUNNY BREWHOUSE
Fuggle Bunny Brew House is located on an industrial estate a short walk from Halfway tram and bus terminus and brews a range of mostly traditional real ales along with the occasional special on cask or keg. The beer names are themed on telling a story and the pump clips are designed like book marks. A bar is opened in the brewery once a week, on Fridays, with a selection of their beers available. The “Fuggle Friday” tap sessions do have the vibe of a local community pub with folks that live nearby walking their dog down their for a beer and chat! During the summer months they also have a monthly Saturday tap event with live music and a food trader, keep an eye on their Facebook page for those being advertised – the last one of this year is an Oktoberfest event on 27 September.
GETTING THERE – Blue route tram, buses 26, 26a, 53a, 74, 120, 120k
NEARBY REAL ALE PUBS – Guzzle, Belfry, Scarsdale Hundred (Wetherspoon), Craftworks
LOXLEY
Loxley Brewery is located at the Wisewood Inn where you can enjoy a range of their beers and food is served too. There is a beer garden at the rear and some lovely scenery! The pub also hosts a beer festival every June in a marquee outside.
GETTING THERE – bus 52a, 61, 62
TOOLMAKERS
Tookmakers brewery, off Rutland Road in Neepsend, brews a selection of traditional cask ales in small batches to supply their pub, the Forest, which is next door. They also have a seperate brewery tap room across the yard from the brewhouse which hosts events including live music and comedy shows.
GETTING THERE – bus 7, 8
NEARBY REAL ALE PUBS – Gardeners Rest, Neepsend Social
DEAD PARROT
This could be described by some as something of a Frankenstein’s monster, assembled from the parts of two former breweries – Aardvark and Frog & Parrot. The brewery tap bar is Perch, located on Garden Street on the edge of Sheffield City Centre (near Fagans and Butlers Balti!) with the brewery in the building behind. At present their beers are brewed in small batches to supply the handpumps in their own bar and occasionally beer festivals. The bar also serves very good quality burgers and pizzas.
This is a modern craft beer tap room with in house brewery. There has been a change of ownership after which brewing was suspended but that is due to resume any time now. The venue is on Neepsend Lane, next door to the Gardeners Rest.
Chantry are based in Parkgate, Rotherham, a short walk from the Tram Train terminus. They mostly brew simple session ales – traditional bitter, pales and blondes, however do also produce a stout, special reserve and lagers along with specials. Part of the brewery building, which is two neighbouring industrial units, doubles up as a live music venue with a programme of gigs booked for many Fridays and Saturdays through the year. The stage is on the ground floor and the bar is upstairs on a mezzanine level with a range of their beers at reasonable prices.
GETTING THERE – Tram Train or various buses from Rotherham Interchange
NEARBY REAL ALE PUBS – Little Haven
TEMPER BREWING
Temper is a small batch independent brewer that leases the set up underneath the Dronfield Arms pub, supplying the bar upstairs and sometimes other connected pubs including the Joiners Arms in Bakewell and the two Sheffield Beer House venues. The Beer Stop (craft beer shop) nearby is owned by the brewer but doesn’t usually stock Temper beer.
GETTING THERE – walkable from Dronfield railway station or bus 44 stops close to the pub.
NEARBY REAL ALE PUBS – Underdog, White Swan, Pioneer Club.
This brewery is unusual in that it’s owned by the community, staffed mostly by volunteers and profits go to local good causes. The beer range is mostly traditional cask ales with pales, blondes, bitters, stout and porter although occasional brews include a black IPA and a Scottish Export Ale. The brewery itself is in an industrial unit in Unstone with the tap room located in a tent next door, this opens every weekend on Friday, Saturday and Monday plus some special ticketed events are hosted there on a Sunday from time to time.
GETTING THERE – bus 43 or 44
NEARBY REAL ALE PUBS – various pubs in Dronfield town centre are a short bus ride away.
The brewery started its life as a small kit in a brick shed in the grounds of Thornbridge Hall but is now spread across multiple industrial units on an estate in Bakewell! One of the units has modern kit brewing beer like Jaipur IPA in large volumes and also hosts a bottling plant whilst a second unit is home to the smaller, traditional kit where the small batch seasonal cask ales are produced along with barrel aged beers. This unit is also home to their huge tap room where a range of their beers is available to try along with pizzas. You can also book a “Thornbridge Experience” where you get a talk about the brewery and a number of different beers to taste.
GETTING THERE – a short walk from Bakewell town centre where buses 218 and 257 will drop you from Sheffield, alternatively buses 173 and Transpeak stop at the end of the drive.
NEARBY REAL ALE PUBS – various in Bakewell town centre including the Joiners Arms micropub.
INTREPID
a part time operation located in the Peak District hamlet of Brough. A number of regular beers including pale ales and a stout are produced and the brewer regularly works on something “more interesting”. An open day is hosted at the brewery twice a year in the summer when a pop up bar is opened in the brewery with a pizza stall, seating and music outside in the yard.
GETTING THERE – bus 173 or 272
NEARBY REAL ALE PUBS – various in Bradwell and Hope
EYAM BREWERY
The name of this Peak District brewery is slightly misleading as when they upgraded to bigger kit they relocated away from Eyam to the nearby village of Great Hucklow. The beer names do still retain the same theme though, which plays on the historical reputation of Eyam as the plague village! It is located in a beautiful rural location with views of hills and fields! They host three open days a year when they open a pop up bar and shop in the brewery with seating and a street food trader.
GETTING THERE – bus 65 or 173
NEARBY REAL ALE PUBS – Queen Anne
ACORN BREWERY
Acorn are best known for their Barnsley Bitter but do produce a varied range. They run a beer club scheme which gets you access to their monthly ticket only tap events.
GETTING THERE – walkable from Wombwell railway station
NEARBY REAL ALE PUBS –
RESTING DEVIL
This brewery is located in the former function room at the Chesterfield Arms pub, located close to Chesterfield town centre.
GETTING THERE – buses 44, 44 or X17
NEARBY REAL ALE PUBS – Neptune, various town centre pubs.
BRAMPTON BREWERY
Located in an industrial yard just off the end of Chesterfield’s famous “Brampton Mile” pub crawl producing a range of traditional ales. They have a tap pub – Tramway Tavern – on the main road near the brewery, however there is also a bar in the brewery itself where you can get beer when booked on a brewery tour or attending an open day.
GETTING THERE – various buses from Chesterfield town centre
NEARBY REAL ALE PUBS – numerous on and near Chatsworth Road including the Rose & Crown, Chesterfield CAMRA’s Pub of the Year award winner.
