Author: Andy Cullen

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.

So what actually is this real ale you talk of and what is CAMRA about?

Posted on by Andy Cullen
Real Ale, also known as cask conditioned beer (although is also available from bottles or key-kegs as well as casks!), is traditionally the British way of doing the best, freshest craft beer. Real Ale is beer that goes through secondary fermentation in the container (cask, bottle etc.) and dispensed without gas being added to the beer. Real Ale in good condition should have a natural sparkle from the secondary fermentation process. Back in the 1970s real ale was under threat of being discontinued by the few big breweries and replaced by rather poor quality keg beer that was designed to be consistently inoffensive, have a longer shelf-life, be cheaper to make and rely less on the cellarmanship skills of the publicans to deliver the beer how the brewer intended. CAMRA was formed to maintain the drinkers’ choice of quality beer. CAMRA also formed a group called ‘Apple’ that promotes real traditional cider and perry that is made from nothing more than fermented juice from freshly pressed fruit. This is quite hard to find in pubs compared to real ale although there are a small number of brands such as Westons that can be found nationally in pub chains. Many of the popular and mass produced cider brands are made in an industrial style from concentrate and served fizzy. Over the years CAMRA has expanded into a successful consumer campaign group for beer drinkers and pub-goers with a membership now around the 170,000 mark. The campaigning priorities now are less to do with availability of good beer (we’ve never had it so good!) and more to do with pubs and the issues that are causing many to close. Issues now affecting pubs include planning legislation, taxation, the way pub companies with tenanted estates are run, competition from cheap supermarkets and off licences that encourage ‘pre loading’ and more. Check out the national CAMRA website www.camra.org.uk for the latest news on national campaigns. Although of course, that said, we do celebrate our love of real ale and the heritage behind it still and our volunteers organise beer festivals around the UK showcasing the choice of great real ales available. If you care about pubs and beer (or cider) do join us, there is a form in the back of Beer Matters or you can join online, and don’t forget we are a very social organisation as well as a campaigning one!

Hop Hideout expands

Posted on by Andy Cullen
After 16 months trading within Vintedge on Abbeydale Road, the award winning Hop Hideout has moved location to an independent neighbouring shop at 448 Abbeydale Road; nestled alongside the original unit in the Antiques Quarter. The picturesque corner location, next door to The Broadfield pub, means the specialist beer shop can focus on evening events in conjunction with offering a growing range of beers (400+) for enjoyment. Previous events have included book readings from 2014 Beer Writers of the Year – Boak and Bailey, art exhibitions (featuring work from Alec Doherty of Partizan and Rich Norgate of Magic Rock) beer and cheese paired nights and Meet the Brewers. The next Meet the Brewer event is with Marble Brewery on Thurs 21st May (previous events have included Northern Monk Brew Co, Mad Hatter and Thornbridge). The independent shop space has launched extended opening hours and now offers draught beer to take out via growler fills – all detailed on their freshly designed website www.hophideout.co.uk Jules and Will of Hop Hideout shared that, “We hugely enjoy sourcing beers from Yorkshire and all over the world to offer a fantastic selection for our customers. Now that we have our new shop location it means we can showcase a wider range of beers on draught too from exciting breweries such as Magic Rock and Mikkeller. Importantly for us, now that we have our own dedicated space, we can host regular evening events. We’re already working on future events which include ‘Beery Book Club’ every 2nd Thursday of the month starting in May and ‘Pucker Up’ a night of sour beers.” Over the Easter weekend Hop Hideout joined forces with Picture House Social to host ‘A Firkin Beer Festival’ featuring 18 casks, kegs and a specialist bottled beer and cider selection. With lots of collaboration beers from outstanding breweries such as Siren, Fyne, Ilkley, Yeastie Boys, Bad Seed, Northern Alchemy, Weird Beard and Marble showcased. The duo are looking to continue with the success of this inaugural event and are already planning future beer festivals. Catch Jules hosting beer and cheese pairings alongside friends Anchorage in the demo marquee at the Sheffield Food Festival over the May Bank holiday weekend (23rd to 25th May).

Elland Brewery

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Elland Brewery Celebrate Their National Triumph

  Elland 1872 Porter was recently named ‘Champion Winter Beer of Britain’ for second time in three years and a few days ago Maureen and Neil at the Junction pub in Castleford found themselves hosting another award ceremony. As winner of CAMRA’s Supreme Champion Winter Beer of Britain 2015 for 1872 Porter, Elland Brewery requested that their recent National CAMRA award be presented at the pub. CAMRA officials, headed by Nik Antona, Champion Winter Beer of Britain Director gathered with brewers, enthusiastic beer lovers and locals at the pub last Thursday. In presenting the certificate, Nik said: “Elland 1872 is a fantastic example of what a traditional porter should taste like and has been hugely popular for many years, particularly it seems with competition judges, who have named it Champion Winter Beer of Britain twice and overall Champion Beer of Britain once in the last three years – a huge achievement.” The winning 6.5% ABV beer is described in CAMRA’s 2015 Good Beer Guide as a “creamy, full-flavoured porter with rich liquorice flavours and a hint of chocolate from the roasted malt. A soft but satisfying after taste of bittersweet roast and malt.” Mike Hiscock, Elland Brewery Manager, commented: “It’s absolutely fabulous to win the Champion Winter Beer of Britain, though we certainly weren’t expecting this, it is amazing to get the hat trick and win this award for the third time. We know it is independently judged so for it to keep coming out on top is testament to the depth of flavour and complexity that we get into the beer. This really is fantastic news. We chose the Junction to host the event because Maureen and Neil are great supporters of our brewery, the Junction is the Wakefield CAMRA Branch Pub of the Year and because it provided the opportunity to drink our beers from the wood, notably the aged version of our Champion beer from a Bourbon cask.” Licensee Maureen Shaw said “Neil and I are both delighted and most honoured that Elland Brewery asked us to host such a prestigious National CAMRA event.” High quality beers served from Elland brewery in the wood are regularly found on the bar at the Junction. The 1872 Porter features frequently but never lasts long. We now know why!

Blue Bee

Posted on by Andy Cullen
April was a busy month for us at Blue Bee Brewery and May looks like it is set to continue that way. American 5 Hop Version II proved very popular so this month sees American 5 Hop Version III (4.3%) hitting bars across Sheffield and beyond. This time this pale ale has the fantastic combination of Mosaic, Citra, Chinook, Comet and Columbus hops, so expect plenty of citrus hop flavours and a dry bitter finish. Returning this month is one of our single hopped IPAs from last year: Simcoe IPA (5.0%). Expect a few slight tweaks to the recipe like the addition of hop pellets into the fermenter to enhance the pine and grapefruit aromas of this fantastic American hop even further. On top of this another special for May will be Real (4.7%) an American pale ale packed with one of our favourite hop varieties Sorachi Ace. This hop was developed in Japan but is now grown in American and imparts distinctive coconut and lime flavours. Finally the second May bank holiday is shaping up to be a great weekend to be drinking beer in Sheffield with Blue Bee beers featuring at two great events. Firstly Sheffield Food Festival in the City Centre where a group of great Sheffield breweries are showcasing their beers at the beer tent. Expect both American 5 Hop Version III and Simcoe IPA from us on top of beers from other Sheffield breweries. Secondly, the Closed Shop at Commonside is hosting a beer festival from Thursday 21st to Sunday 24th May featuring beers from ourselves and other quality breweries from across the UK.

Pub of the Month May 2015

Posted on by Andy Cullen
The Broadfield is on the Abbeydale Road, close to the junction with Broadfield Road, located at the southern end of the Sheffield Antiques Quarter. This former Green King pub has been transformed into a thriving local with an excellent selection of real ales and great food. The pub is part of the small Forum group, which also owns the True North Brewing Company. The pub has a central bar, on one side of which is the dining area, which features a wood burning stove, and the other is for drinkers, with a number of attractive seating alcoves.   The garden is reached from this part of the pub.  The large walled garden is popular with drinkers.   There are some heaters and, being sheltered, the garden is a great place to drink outside even in cooler weather. The team, led by manager Mark and assistant manager Ed, have done a great job in providing an excellent range of beers and cider, along with excellent food. As well as regulars Abbeydale Moonshine, Kelham Island Pale Rider and Stancil Barnsley bitter, there is a rotating selection of ales from microbreweries, often including one or two from True North.  There is also one real cider on handpump., and an massive range of scotch whiskies The pub also serves freshly cooked meals using only fresh ingredients prepared on the premises.  Booking is advisable if you wish to eat in the evening or weekend lunchtimes. Opening Hours are 1130 (daily) to 12 Mo-Th, 1am (FS) and 11 (sun). Food is served 12-10 daily.  Quiz night is Wednesday. The Pub of the Month Presentation will be on Tuesday 12th May, with a social commencing at 8pm. The Broadfield is at 452 Abbeydale Road, Buses 10,10a, 75,76,87,97 and 98 stop nearby.

Three Merry Lads, Lodge Moor

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Staff at The Three Merry Lads pub in Lodge Moor, Sheffield will be attempting to break the Guinness World Record for the longest BBQ Marathon as a team.  Pub owners Barry Croxall & Jane Thompson will get the barbeque started on Saturday June 20th with the team planning to keep barbecuing until the early hours of Monday morning. The longest barbecue marathon by a team is 29 hr 1 min and was achieved last year by Lee De Villiers and Simon Clark at The Old Sergeant pub in Wandsworth, London, on 9 & 10 May 2014. (*source) The Three Merry Lads will be serving a BBQ breakfast each Morning from 8am-11am on Saturday June 20th and Sunday June 21st. There will be an ALL YOU CAN EAT BBQ buffet each day priced at £5.95 between 11am & 5pm and £8.95 thereafter. The team should break the current Guinness World Record on Sunday June 21st (Fathers Family Fun Day) at 2pm.  Where there will be a charity raffle, live music, children’s entertainer, bouncy castle and for the adults, a selection of local real ales and a dozen craft ciders. It promises to be a fun event for the whole family and money collected by fundraising over the weekend will be donated to the Sheffield Royal Society for the Blind.  We have already been offered great support from a number of local businesses in the area including PEP Coffee our meat will be provided by Phillip James Butchers in Crosspool, any others interested in getting involved or can offer any support are encouraged to contact either Barry or Jane on 01142302824 for more information.

Inn Brief – 3 Valleys Festival special!

Posted on by Andy Cullen
A few more pubs have confirmed their plans for the Three Valleys Festival on Saturday 6th June. All the pubs will have a free bus service running between them and railway stations at Dronfield and Dore & Totley, every 30 minutes. 10325392_665039373571926_7181637482497120453_n The Dronfield Arms will have an outside bar supplied by RAW brewery featuring their beers plus guests, Nether Edge Pizza will be doing the food and there will be a live music stage outside too. Barlowstage_3valleys11 Barlow Brewery will be hosting a music festival in the farmyard with a Barlow beer tent, music stage and food from Moss Valley Fine Meats. The Shepley Spitfire at Totley will have an outside bar in the beer garden bringing the total beer choice to about 25 beers, the normal pub food menu will be in operation. shapeimage_1 The Coach & Horses in Dronfield will be running a village fete theme with beer, food, music and fun in the beer garden. The Talbot Arms in Dronfield Woodhouse is running a ‘soul’ theme this year with soul food and soul music plus beers from Brampton Brewery. The Hyde Park Inn at Dronfield Hill Top plan to make the most of their beer garden with an outside bar, BBQ and music. The Royal Oak in Coal Aston are to open a cellar bar serving drinkers on the patio at the rear of the pub. The Three Tuns in Dronfield will have a large range of beer and cider plus food stalls and music, including the now famous pizza oven! The Green Dragon will have beer, cider and food tents in the car park with musical entertainment outdoors too. The Tickled Trout will have a beer tent in the car park also featuring snacks and live music. IMG_9577 (3) The Jolly Farmer will have an extended beer range and BBQ as well as the usual pub food menu. The White Swan will be hosting a cider festival and BBQ in their newly refurbished outdoor drinking area. inflatable pub pictish The Miners Arms at Hundall will feature beers from Pictish on the bar in the main pub and a further 10 guest real ales in an inflatable pub next door. There will also be outdoor drinking in the beer garden along with Street Food including pulled pork sandwiches and burgers. The Miners Arms in Dronfield Woodhouse will be offering an extended selection of malt whiskies as well as beer and food. PC Stirling off of Emmerdale Twelve Strings The Castle Inn at Bradway have confirmed their musical entertainment – guitar duo Twelve Strings, once of which is Andy Moore who may be better known to some as PC Swirling on Emmerdale! The Castle will also have an outside bar showcasing a guest brewery and chef Jamie Bosworth will be cooking up American style gourmet burgers. Announcements are still awaited at the time of writing from the Travellers Rest.

Old Hall Hotel, Hope

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The Old Hall Hotel at Hope suffered a serious fire on Friday 10th April, thought to be caused by a fault on the deep fat fryer which saw the extractor fan blow a fireball up into the roof space. Part of the room and two of the hotel rooms were destroyed in the blaze and at the time of writing there was no estimate as to when the kitchen is likely to reopen, however landlord Rick Ellison and a dedicated team of staff got straight to work as soon as the Fire Brigade had finished and following a deep clean and some electrical work they managed to get the bar back open within 24 hours! Rick publically thanked his staff and members of the local community for their help and support and is very proud of how quick the bar reopened in the pub. There is still however a bit of building work to be done in the weeks ahead to get the full hotel back in business although three of the hotel rooms are unaffected, we assume customers unable to get food or accommodation at the Old Hall will be directed up the road to Rick’s other pub & hotel, the Peaks in Castleton. You can still visit the Old Hall for a drink as the bar is operating normally and we are looking forward to their Spring bank holiday beer & cider festival at the end of May. old hall lounge old hall fire

The Beer Engine

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The Beer Engine on Cemetery Road/London Road is now open and already proving a hit amongst beer drinkers. A range of 6 real ales are available – the two regular beers are Exit 33 Thirst Aid (nice, refreshing and session strength) and Bass (a classic bitter) with the rest a regularly changing selection of interesting beers from further afield. Some special events are planned on the beer front including a tap takeover with Bad Seed Brewery. Also on the bar is real cider, craft keg beers and a quality selection of bottled beers. beer engine pumps The food service began a week after opening. Tapas style bar snacks are available on weekdays and roast dinners on Sundays. On a Saturday when Sheffield United are at home pie & peas will be available, other Saturdays its bar snacks. The pub has already seen a rare glimpse of spring sunshine and the beer garden proved the place to be! The Beer Engine is currently opening from 4pm Monday to Thursday and from midday Friday to Sunday.