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.
Ahead of the Chancellor’s Budget announcement on 18 March we have been working hard to try and secure a historic third consecutive cut in beer duty.
To put forward the case we commissioned a report from the Centre for Economic and Business Research (Cebr) which highlights the benefits of two consecutive beer duty cuts and how they have benefitted beer drinkers and pub-goers. We are launching the report on Monday, 23 February.
We urge all members to write to their MPs ahead of the announcement to ensure this year is yet another success for beer drinkers.
We continue to put pressure on the Government to strengthen planning laws in England to protect pubs from being demolished or converted without a say from the community. Last month, almost 4,000 members lobbied their local MPs to support an amendment to the Infrastructure Bill which would close those planning loopholes. The Government has bowed to the mounting pressure by promising urgent action to protect current and future pubs listed as Assets of Community Value. These changes should come into effect before the General Election.
While we still want the Government to go further in protecting all pubs through planning laws this is a great first step in the right direction. We are now urging members to start listing their local pub as an Asset of Community Value before they are under threat.
For more information on how to list your local please visit our campaigns page on the CAMRA website or contact our planning advisor Matt Brown by email.
March 2015 sees the launch of Sheffield Beer Week, the first of its kind for the city.
Running from Monday 16th to Sunday 22nd March, Sheffield Beer Week will showcase the very best of Sheffield’s beer scene. Organisers Julia Gray and Clare Tollick have arranged Sheffield Beer Week during the same week as SIBA’s conference, as the national event already attracts thousands of beer lovers to the city.
Julia Gray said: “Now in its third year at Sheffield, SIBA has already done a lot in terms of highlighting our breweries and pubs, but we want to take things a step further. By encouraging local breweries and pubs to host events such as beer tastings and tours, we see Sheffield Beer Week as an opportunity to show off the best of the city to all SIBA visitors.”
Clare Tollick added: “If anyone is thinking of holding an event throughout Sheffield Beer Week, we can help with ideas and promotion. All events will be listed on our website and shared through our social media accounts. We’ve already listed a pub crawl and a Meet the Brewer event – we’re looking forward to seeing what else people come up with!”
Head over to sheffieldbeerweek.co.uk for details of how you can get involved.
March will see the return of a special we did last year: American Five Hop 4.3%. This pale and hoppy beer proved really popular last year so we thought we should bring it back with a slight twist, changing the varieties of hops used. Version II will feature the following five hop varieties: Citra, Columbus, Cascade, Belma and Summit. So keep your eyes peeled for American Five Hop Version II as this extra hoppy pale session beer appears around the pubs of Sheffield and beyond.
On top of this our single hopped IPA for March is Belma IPA 5.0%. Belma is an American hop with floral, pineapple and strawberry characteristics. In addition Maori Red 4.5% is available this month, a red beer with a good malt backbone and hoppy finish packed with Green Bullet and Pacific Jade hops all the way from New Zealand.
Finally Integer 4.0% Citra pale ale with plenty of passion fruit and citrus flavours and Red Rye Centennial 6.0% fruity red rye IPA are both proving popular. So be sure to try them whilst you still can.
After 8 great years as head brewer, Iain Kenny has moved on. Under Iain the brewery has grown and our high standards have been maintained, everyone at Kelham wishes Iain all the best.
Succeeding Iain is brewing legend and all round great chap, Nigel ‘Hops’ Turnbull.
For his opener Nigel is taking us all back to the sixties summer of love with Hippy Chick8% Imperial Indian Pale Ale. Hopped to the max with all the most aromatic American hops available. These beautiful resinous hop cones give a massively pungent aroma of lemon zest, blackberry, grapefruit and tropical fruits. Just to increase the aroma further we have added a further addition of pelletised hops before the beer starts to ferment to give a fresh citrus zing.
Making a welcome return for March we have one of Iain’s special ‘Specials’. Zombies of the Stratosphere4.8%. A blazing extraterrestrial golden ale with a sweet caramalt flavour and a remarkable orchestra of noble resinous lime and pine aromas from two types of Styrian Golding hop varieties. The final adventure of the rocket man saga concludes with a zesty flourish of sublime fulfilment and satisfaction.
In the Kelham Shop we are getting down our limited run of Anniversary Ale6.5%. It was run of only 5000 numbered bottles and when it’s gone it’s gone.
The Beer Festival Planning Committee are pleased to be able to report that the budget for this year’s festival has been approved and it will be from the 21st to 24th of October back at Kelham Island Museum.
Planning has already commenced and various posts filled, however any additional help and input is always welcome (dates of meetings can be found in the Diary section at the back of Beer Matters).
One area we are looking for is Bar Managers and Deputy Bar Managers so anyone potentially interested in this should contact us to find out more. Finding people now gives plenty of time to train them in the role.
We will also soon be starting to approach people about sponsorship so again if you want to help in this, or know anyone who might want to be a sponsor please get in touch. E-mail us at festival@sheffieldcamra.org.uk, come to a meeting and follow us on twitter (@scbf41) to keep up to date.
The licencees of various pubs in the Hope Valley are getting together to promote themselves as easy to reach via the various public transport routes from Sheffield with a website, app and published guides. Real Ale is available in all the participating pubs and from time to time beer festivals are held in some of the pubs on the route.
One of the champions of this scheme is Rick Ellison, landlord of the Old Hall in Hope and the Peak Hotel in Castleton, who is holding one of his regular Hope Valley beer festivals this Easter.
The public transport routes from Sheffield into the Peak District include:
Hope Valley railway line runs from Sheffield to Manchester, taking in Dore & Totley, Grindleford, Hathersage, Bamford, Hope and Edale.
Bus 218 runs from Sheffield to Bakewell via Totley and Baslow
Bus 240/241 runs from Sheffield to Bakewell via Ecclesall Road, Ringinglow, Fox House, Grindleford and Baslow.
Bus 272 runs from Sheffield to Castleton via Ecclesall Road, Fox House, Hathersage, Bamford, Bradwell and Hope.
Bus 273/274 runs from Sheffield to Castleton via Crosspool, Ladybower, Bamford and Hope.
On the Edge Brewery are hosting ‘9 Pin’, one of their bi-monthly mini beer festivals on 27th March where they brew a small batch of a whole range of different beers to showcase. As the name of the event suggests, there will be 9 different beers and just a pin of each (a pin being a small 35 pint cask). The venue is the Old Junior School on South View Road, Sharrow, and will be open from 6pm to 10pm.
Elland 1872 Porter named ‘Champion Winter Beer of Britain’ for second time in three years
Elland 1872 Porter has today been crowned CAMRA’s Supreme Champion Winter Beer of Britain 2015 by a panel of judges at the National Winter Ales Festival in Derby, which begins today (February 11th) at the city’s Roundhouse venue.
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, had this to say on the win:
“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.”
The Champion Winter Beer of Britain competition judges the best of the best in terms of classic winter warmers – from thick, rich, dark porters and stouts, to sweet and strong Barley Wines.
A panel of beer writers, members of the licensed trade and CAMRA members judged the competition. Elland 1872 porter will now go forward to compete in the overall Champion Beer of Britain competition at the Great British Beer Festival this August. Nik Antona, Champion Winter Beer of Britain Director had this to say on the importance of the competition:
“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.”National Champion Winter Beer of Britain WinnersOverall Champion
Elland – 1872 Porter
Silver
Purple Moose – Darkside of the Moose
Bronze
Dancing Duck – Dark Drake
Category Winners:Barley Wine and Strong Old Ales
Gold: Lees – Moonraker
Silver: Orkney – Skullsplitter
Bronze: Darwin – Extinction Ale
Old Ale/Strong Milds
Gold: Purple Moose – Darkside of the Moose
Silver: Ulverston – Fra diavolio
Bronze: Castle Rock – Midnight Owl
Stout
Gold: Dancing Duck – Dark Drake
Silver: Plain Ales – Incognito
Bronze: Highland – Sneeky Wee Orkney Stout
Porter
Gold: Elland – 1872 Porter
Silver (joint): Bath Ales – Festivities Fuller’s – London Porter
Bronze: Blakemere – Deep Dark Secret
Several teams of judges blind tasted all the beers in the festival by category on the opening night. The category winners were then judged against one another to produce an overall winner.
We’re running coaches out to Thornbridge Hall’s Carriage House venue for an awards presentation night to celebrate the good beers that won awards and you are all invited! A ticket costs just £20, includes travel from Sheffield City Centre or Dronfield to Thornbridge Hall, entry to the awards night, plenty of award winning beer to drink and a buffet supper.
Please book tickets via our social secretary, Richard Ryan.
The award winners:
Porter category & overall winner – Thornbridge Cocoa Wonderland
Bitter Category – Fernandes Half Nelson
Best Bitter Category -Rat Ratweiller
Strong Bitter – Skys Edge Citra Smash
Speciality beer category – Liverpool Organic Josepehine Butler
Stout Category – Fuggle Bunny Brewhouse Russian Rare Bit
Firstly, as you may have already heard, after over 8 years of loyal service and hard work, Rob & Julie are set to retire from The Rising Sun. We would like to place on record our thanks and appreciation for all their hard work and dedication to make the pub and SunFest what they are today. By the time you read this, we should have concluded the interview process and be ready to welcome the new landlord(s), expect an announcement in next months edition. Although a formal leaving date has yet to be set, if you would like to say farewell and maybe raise a (Welsh) glass in their name, we advise you to do so by the end of March!
In terms of beer this month, we have a cornucopia of lovely stuff! First up is the latest in our British Hops Albion series, called Chaucer featuring the lovely Bramling Cross (often labelled as Bramling X). This will be a 4.1% golden ale with plenty of Bramling Cross shovelled in to the brew, and also a subtle dry hopping with the same hops. Expect a nice level of bitterness with a spicy blackcurrant flavour.
The return of an old favourite in Genesis is second out the brewhouse this month, coming in at 3.9% this pale session beer has plenty of New Zealand hops giving a herb and floral aroma coupled with distinctive lychee flavours leading to a crisp bitter finish.
In preparation for Easter we have Dr Morton’s Rabbit Punch, golden in colour with a good biscuit malt base with some nice European hops for a balanced bitter finish. To complete the Easter celebrations, we bring back our Chocolate Stoutwhich has sumptuous dark chocolate, raisin and cherry flavours with a long rich cocoa finish, just in case you can’t get enough chocolate over the next few weeks!
We are also planning to launch a series of beers this year called our Signature range, which will feature recipes concocted by our lovely staff, with beers they are so proud of they are happy for them to carry their signature! We may try and sneak one out this month, but whose will it be? You will just have to wait and see!
March 2015 sees the launch of Sheffield Beer Week, the first of its kind for the city.
Running from Monday 16th to Sunday 22nd March, Sheffield Beer Week will showcase the very best of Sheffield’s beer scene. Organisers Julia Gray and Clare Tollick have arranged Sheffield Beer Week during the same week as SIBA’s conference, as the national event already attracts thousands of beer lovers to the city.
Julia Gray said: “Now in its third year at Sheffield, SIBA has already done a lot in terms of highlighting our breweries and pubs, but we want to take things a step further. By encouraging local breweries and pubs to host events such as beer tastings and tours, we see Sheffield Beer Week as an opportunity to show off the best of the city to all SIBA visitors.”
Clare Tollick added: “If anyone is thinking of holding an event throughout Sheffield Beer Week, we can help with ideas and promotion. All events will be listed on our website and shared through our social media accounts. We’ve already listed a pub crawl and a Meet the Brewer event – we’re looking forward to seeing what else people come up with!”
Head over to sheffieldbeerweek.co.uk for details of how you can get involved. 
For his opener Nigel is taking us all back to the sixties summer of love with Hippy Chick 8% Imperial Indian Pale Ale. Hopped to the max with all the most aromatic American hops available. These beautiful resinous hop cones give a massively pungent aroma of lemon zest, blackberry, grapefruit and tropical fruits. Just to increase the aroma further we have added a further addition of pelletised hops before the beer starts to ferment to give a fresh citrus zing.
Making a welcome return for March we have one of Iain’s special ‘Specials’. Zombies of the Stratosphere 4.8%. A blazing extraterrestrial golden ale with a sweet caramalt flavour and a remarkable orchestra of noble resinous lime and pine aromas from two types of Styrian Golding hop varieties. The final adventure of the rocket man saga concludes with a zesty flourish of sublime fulfilment and satisfaction.
In the Kelham Shop we are getting down our limited run of Anniversary Ale 6.5%. It was run of only 5000 numbered bottles and when it’s gone it’s gone. 
For his opener Nigel is taking us all back to the sixties summer of love with Hippy Chick 8% Imperial Indian Pale Ale. Hopped to the max with all the most aromatic American hops available. These beautiful resinous hop cones give a massively pungent aroma of lemon zest, blackberry, grapefruit and tropical fruits. Just to increase the aroma further we have added a further addition of pelletised hops before the beer starts to ferment to give a fresh citrus zing.
Making a welcome return for March we have one of Iain’s special ‘Specials’. Zombies of the Stratosphere 4.8%. A blazing extraterrestrial golden ale with a sweet caramalt flavour and a remarkable orchestra of noble resinous lime and pine aromas from two types of Styrian Golding hop varieties. The final adventure of the rocket man saga concludes with a zesty flourish of sublime fulfilment and satisfaction.
In the Kelham Shop we are getting down our limited run of Anniversary Ale 6.5%. It was run of only 5000 numbered bottles and when it’s gone it’s gone. 
Overall Champion
Elland – 1872 Porter
Silver
Purple Moose – Darkside of the Moose
Bronze
Dancing Duck – Dark Drake
Category Winners:
Barley Wine and Strong Old Ales
Gold: Lees – Moonraker
Silver: Orkney – Skullsplitter
Bronze: Darwin – Extinction Ale
Old Ale/Strong Milds
Gold: Purple Moose – Darkside of the Moose
Silver: Ulverston – Fra diavolio
Bronze: Castle Rock – Midnight Owl
Stout
Gold: Dancing Duck – Dark Drake
Silver: Plain Ales – Incognito
Bronze: Highland – Sneeky Wee Orkney Stout
Porter
Gold: Elland – 1872 Porter
Silver (joint): Bath Ales – Festivities Fuller’s – London Porter
Bronze: Blakemere – Deep Dark Secret 
In terms of beer this month, we have a cornucopia of lovely stuff! First up is the latest in our British Hops Albion series, called Chaucer featuring the lovely Bramling Cross (often labelled as Bramling X). This will be a 4.1% golden ale with plenty of Bramling Cross shovelled in to the brew, and also a subtle dry hopping with the same hops. Expect a nice level of bitterness with a spicy blackcurrant flavour.
The return of an old favourite in Genesis is second out the brewhouse this month, coming in at 3.9% this pale session beer has plenty of New Zealand hops giving a herb and floral aroma coupled with distinctive lychee flavours leading to a crisp bitter finish.
In preparation for Easter we have Dr Morton’s Rabbit Punch, golden in colour with a good biscuit malt base with some nice European hops for a balanced bitter finish. To complete the Easter celebrations, we bring back our Chocolate Stout which has sumptuous dark chocolate, raisin and cherry flavours with a long rich cocoa finish, just in case you can’t get enough chocolate over the next few weeks!
We are also planning to launch a series of beers this year called our Signature range, which will feature recipes concocted by our lovely staff, with beers they are so proud of they are happy for them to carry their signature! We may try and sneak one out this month, but whose will it be? You will just have to wait and see! 
In terms of beer this month, we have a cornucopia of lovely stuff! First up is the latest in our British Hops Albion series, called Chaucer featuring the lovely Bramling Cross (often labelled as Bramling X). This will be a 4.1% golden ale with plenty of Bramling Cross shovelled in to the brew, and also a subtle dry hopping with the same hops. Expect a nice level of bitterness with a spicy blackcurrant flavour.
The return of an old favourite in Genesis is second out the brewhouse this month, coming in at 3.9% this pale session beer has plenty of New Zealand hops giving a herb and floral aroma coupled with distinctive lychee flavours leading to a crisp bitter finish.
In preparation for Easter we have Dr Morton’s Rabbit Punch, golden in colour with a good biscuit malt base with some nice European hops for a balanced bitter finish. To complete the Easter celebrations, we bring back our Chocolate Stout which has sumptuous dark chocolate, raisin and cherry flavours with a long rich cocoa finish, just in case you can’t get enough chocolate over the next few weeks!
We are also planning to launch a series of beers this year called our Signature range, which will feature recipes concocted by our lovely staff, with beers they are so proud of they are happy for them to carry their signature! We may try and sneak one out this month, but whose will it be? You will just have to wait and see!