Elland Brewery

Posted on 15 Apr 201518 Apr 2015 by Andy Cullen

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 15 Apr 201518 Apr 2015 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 21^st to Sunday 24^th May featuring beers from ourselves and other quality breweries from across the UK.

Pub of the Month May 2015

Posted on 13 Apr 201513 Sep 2015 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 12^th 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

Posted on 13 Apr 201520 Apr 2015 by Andy Cullen

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 20^th 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 20^th and Sunday June 21^st. 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 21^st (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 12 Apr 201520 Apr 2015 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Posted on 12 Apr 201520 Apr 2015 by Andy Cullen

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.

The Beer Engine

Posted on 12 Apr 201520 Apr 2015 by Andy Cullen

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.

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.

Manor House Hotel, Dronfield

Posted on 12 Apr 201520 Apr 2015 by Andy Cullen

The Manor House Hotel have announced their plans for Three Valleys Festival on Saturday 6th June. There will be a dedicated and themed beer tent featuring 6 beers from Abbeydale Brewery, Music in the afternoon (3.30 ish start) on the outside patio from Sam Wain, a jazz/blues/boogie-woogie pianist & singer; Quality food provided by ‘I ♥ Ostrich’ with their range of superb burgers, fries & other ‘street’ food and Hotel rooms available for weary and tired drinkers with special festival rates available ! As part of the festival a free bus service will run from Dronfield Station to the hotel every half hour.

Rising Sun, Nether Green

Posted on 12 Apr 201520 Apr 2015 by Andy Cullen

By the time you are reading this our new management team at The Rising Sun should be nicely settled in, and we are delighted to have Ryan and Nicole on board, and we look forward to a long and successful future together. You may well be familiar with them from their previous roles at the Robin Hood and the Hammer and Pincers respectively. Building work is also well underway, and we again apologise for any inconvenience caused during the expansion and appreciate your continued support. As mentioned in last months edition, the SunFest dates are 9th-12th July and will be going ahead regardless of the building works! We hope to see as many of you as possible there and if you can’t quite wait that long for a beer festival, we would be delighted to see you at the Sheffield Breweries Co-Operative tent at Sheffield Food Festival. Please see the entry regarding that elsewhere in this issue. Robin Baker, Abbeydale Brewery

Abbeydale Brewery

Posted on 12 Apr 201518 Apr 2015 by Andy Cullen

Firstly, if you cannot wait for our Sunfest at the Rising Sun (9-12 July) we would be delighted to see you at the Sheffield Breweries Co-Operative tent at Sheffield Food Festival. Please see the entry regarding that elsewhere in this issue. We were honoured to have the opportunity to host the legendary Mr Dan Rodgers of Griffin Claw Brewing Company, Michigan, at the end of March, and the beer we came up with together should be on the bars around Sheffield as we speak! It’s a beast of a beer, an English and American hybrid that really packs a punch, coming in at 6.7%, GriffindAle is to be respected!

You may or may not be aware there is some sort of election going on, so in true Abbeydale style we will make light of the situation and we are releasing two beers this month that poke fun at those in or wanting to be in Westminster! First up is Dr Morton’s Eurocrat, a 4.1% pale beer made with Low Colour Maris Otter malt. Crisp hop aromas and flavours with citrus and grapefruit predominating from the New Zealand and American hops. A lasting bitter finish to this very refreshing beer.

Secondly we have the return of Corruption, a 4.7% deep golden ale with a malty biscuity aroma. Pleasant hoppy undertones from the late addition of Chinook and Summit hops to give a well rounded bitterness and a delicate citrus flavour. You will find this beer on at the Food Festival! Towards the end of the month should see the release of one of our new ‘Signature’ range of beers, and before you know it, we will be heading into the summer months!