Inn Brief

Posted on 12 May 201419 May 2014 by Andy Cullen

Royal Standard has been redecorated and built a large stage in the main room. Quiz Mon-Wed, open mic Thur, live music or DJ Fri-Sat, DJ Sun. – Nelson Rock Bar appears to have reopened as the Rockin Chair. – The New Inn at Gleadless had a successful beer festival the week after Easter. – Pub owners Mitchells and Butlers are seeking council permission to replace the car park in front of the Robin Hood pub in Millhouses with an outdoor space. They wish to pave the area and install a heated ‘jumbrella.’ Mike Hodson, secretary of Carter Knowle and Millhouses Community Group, said such a plan would result in “a large marquee effectively dominating the view from surrounding roads both of the pub, but also up Millhouses Lane and Springfield Road.” He is urging objectors to make their views known to the council before a decision is taken. – The Castle Inn (Bolsterstone) is currently closed. The owners, Trust Inns, are advertising ‘For Let.’ – The New Barrack Tavern has won a top award from SIBA (the Society of Independent Brewers) in a national competition held during the recent BeerX 2014, an event designed to highlight the best of British brewing. Steph and Kevin Woods, managers at the New Barrack Tavern have won a Best SIBA Local award for their outstanding work. “This is a great day for us, for Sheffield and of course, our wonderful customers and suppliers whose loyalty and help has made our ten years here such a joy,” says Steph. “We’re particularly grateful to Dave Hughes at Acorn Brewery whose nomination made our win possible. This business award draws attention to our commitment to operating to the best standards possible, and we’re both very grateful that our hard work has been recognised.” – A memorial to the Great Sheffield Flood has been installed on the site of a building destroyed in the disaster. The original Gardener’s Rest pub at Neepsend was one of 700 buildings washed away on March 11, 1864. Artist Simon Wrigglesworth-Baker, has created a sculpture and plaque. He said: “It seems appropriate the sculpture should be placed here on the site of a building destroyed in the 1864 flood, and which is now the garden of the present-day pub – which was also badly damaged in the floods of 2007.” – Co-Manager Robin Baker left Shakespeares on May 16th to start a job at Abbeydale Brewery. The pub will now be solely managed by Chris, with Kaisha and Chris Wadsworth promoted to assistant managers. Robin would like to thank everyone who has made his time at Shakespeares thoroughly enjoyable and he is pleased to see that he’s leaving the pub in very capable hands! Robin also thanks everyone who came down for his leaving do on May 18th! – Pub retailer and brewer Greene King is looking to redevelop a former industrial site between Broadfield Close and Little London Road as part of its Hungry Horse chain. They propose a one and two-storey building with an outdoor seating area, small children’s playground and 79 parking spaces. They aim to create 50 jobs. – Old Number 7, Barnsley: “Once again its with great pleasure that we have won the Barnsley Pub of the Year award, thanks to all who voted. Please check our Facebook, Twitter and website for details of upcoming events including “meet the brewer” evenings and beer tasting sessions.” – The Castle Inn at Bradway now has food up and running. The menu includes sandwiches and snacks, pub grub classics and quality home cooked specials. Food is served lunchtimes and evenings Tuesday to Friday, all day Saturday plus Sunday lunchtime.

Angel at Spinkhill update

Posted on 12 May 201416 Jun 2014 by Andy Cullen

The Angel Spinkhill Community Interest Company (CIC) has been undertaking a detailed feasibility study in order to prepare a bid to present to Punch Taverns. The Angel is listed as an Asset of Community Value (ACV) and during the existing moratorium period, only community interest groups can bid for the asset. The CIC is the only community group that has registered an interest and created a company that is eligible to embark upon the task of retaining this asset. The Feasibility Study has included: • Professional Valuation • Acquisition Survey Report • Asbestos Survey • Electrical Survey (including emergency lighting and fire alarm) • Gas and Heating Survey • Refurbishment estimates • Conceptual layouts of each floor of the building The CIC has been in discussion with a number of professionals to explore potential solutions that would facilitate the re-opening of the Angel as a ‘Destination Eatery’ that serves both the local and wider community. The Angel is marketed through Punch Taverns’ agents, Fleurets. Detailed negotiations have resulted in a bid from the CIC been accepted by Punch Taverns (subject to contract). The CIC has until 30th June 2014, to conclude the deal. Also on Thursday 15 May at 7pm, there will be a presentation by the Angel Community Interest Company. The meeting will take place in the school hall at Immaculate Conception Catholic Primary School and is designed to: • briefly outline the work undertaken since the last gathering • present to you an opportunity to invest in the future of the Angel For further information, and to bring offers of financial support, please contact the group at; savetheangel.spinkhill@gmail.com

Thornbridge Brewery

Posted on 12 May 201414 Jun 2014 by Andy Cullen

After sifting through 100s of entries the judging panel for the Best Drink Producer, led by Victoria Moore and Pete Brown, has awarded the accolade for 2014 to Thornbridge Brewery. The BBC award is made to the company that uses “carefully sourced ingredients and skill to produce an outstanding drink”. Pete Brown commenting on the judging at Thornbridge said “Every time I go there, there are new surprises, and they had plenty more this time. Thornbridge are exploring the vast library of beer styles that already exist around the world, mastering them in turn. Having made their name with cask ale and then American style craft beers, they’re now exploring classic German styles such as Kolsch and Weizen” With the number of entries in the category doubling in 2014 Victoria Moore said the task was “incredibly tough” but that Thornbridge was “the one we were talking about weeks after the visit”. “Absolutely delighted” said Jim Harrison about winning the Award, “whilst we have won many awards in the brewing industry to win one across a wider range of drinks, given the tough competition, is indeed an honour and a reflection on the quality we aim to achieve at Thornbridge”. Thornbridge’s Head Brewer Rob Lovatt was also delighted “I’ve just returned from the World Beer Cup with a medal for our beer and so to win this award so soon after is a real testament to the hard work all my team put in day in and day out”

Salop Days

Posted on 12 May 201431 Aug 2018 by Andy Cullen

The picturesque Shropshire market town of Bridgnorth has much of interest to the real ale tourist, including two microbreweries and no less than six entries in the 2014 Good Beer Guide.

The River Severn runs through the town separating High Town from Low Town which can be accessed by the town’s unique funicular Cliff Railway for the princely sum of £1.10 return. Over the course of our week’s stay, we had the opportunity to visit the best of the pubs in the High Town and visit many other local tourist attractions including RAF Cosford, West Midlands Safari Park, the ‘as featured on BBC2’ Victorian Farm at Acton Scott and the nearby towns of Shrewsbury and Much Wenlock.

Having arrived late on Friday afternoon, we took a short walk into town to eat and made the splendidly named the Jewel of the Severn our port of call. Handily placed on Bridgnorth’s High Street, the pub offers the usual Wetherspoon’s experience although we did manage to catch the penultimate day of the Spring Beer Festival. I ordered a pint of Bateman’s Springtime Oatmeal Biscuit Beer (3.6%) and a Norwegian Brown Ale, Nogne 0 (4.5%) which was brewed for the festival at Bateman’s Wainfleet brewery by a Norwegian brewer. Pity I left by vouchers at home!

On Saturday, after returning from the obligatory point-to-point meeting at nearby Bitterley, I ventured into town to visit more of Bridgnorth’s pubs. Situated at the bottom end of the steep and delightfully old fashioned, Cartway, the Black Boy is now the last of over twenty pubs that stood on what once was the only route linking the High and Low towns. Signs around the town explained that the pub had only opened the previous night after a refurbishment and on tonight’s evidence, with no less than ten ales on offer, this pub is surely a shoo-in for the GBG 2015. After a pint of Mild (3.2%) from Hobson’s of Cleobury Mortimer, I headed back into town. Next up was Friars on St Mary’s Street, just off the main drag, a lively, narrow bar in which a band were sound-checking at the far end. The first of the five or so ales on the bar to catch my eye was Sheffield’s own Kelham Island Pale Rider but being on my holidays, I plumped instead for Hobson’s Best (3.8%). After this, I made the short walk along High Street to the Bear where veteran blues quartet, The Salopian Dudes were becoming irked by the presence of a somewhat worse-for-wear lady, intent on interrupting their interpretations of Muddy Waters and BB King standards. After witnessing her increasingly outrageous antics over a pint of Salopian Shropshire Gold (3.8%), I headed back to our guest house via the GBG-listed, King’s Head on Whitburn Street. This 16^th century coaching inn is very much a place to enjoy a meal although it does have a comfortable bar area in which to sample real ales such as King’s Escape (4.2%), a blonde beer from the town’s Bridgnorth Brewing Company. Another strong contender for best pub in the town must surely be the Railwayman’s Arms at the town’s Severn Valley Railway Station at which you can catch a steam train to Bewdley and Kidderminster which are an hour or so away. The quality of the beer here was excellent and the pub was doing good business when we visited on Wednesday evening. Eight real ales (including Abbeydale Moonshine) and two Jack Ratt ciders were available from which I chose Hobson’s Town Crier (4.5%).

On our final night in Bridgnorth, we visited the remaining GBG-listed pubs in the High Town, beginning with the Golden Lion on High Street, a traditional two-roomed former Mitchell & Butler’s outlet. Pale Rider was once again available on the bar along with beers from Hobson’s, Wye Valley and the Three Tuns brewery in nearby Bishop’s Castle. The chosen beer here was XXX Pale (4.3%) from Three Tuns. After calling briefly at Banks-owned Shakespeare, we moved quickly along on West Castle Street, to the Old Castle, a popular all-rounder serving bar food, with a games room at the rear and a friendly bar area serving four real ales including Hobson’s (them again!) Town Crier (4.5%). The final pub of the night, and indeed the week was the White Lion, just along from the Castle and home to the Hop and Stagger brewery. Needless to say, Hop and Stagger beer was available in the form of Tangerine Dream (3.8%).

We really enjoyed our time in Bridgnorth. From a pubs and beer perspective, I can’t recall many towns of it’s size with quite so many good pubs serving real ale. And at just over two hour’s drive from Sheffield, Bridgnorth is well worth seeking out.

Patrick Hancock Dronfield & District CAMRA

Acorn Brewery

Posted on 12 May 201414 Jun 2014 by Andy Cullen

We welcome a new member of staff to Acorn towers this month, Ben Tysoe will be taking on the role of sales manager for the South Yorkshire region. Many of you may know Ben as he was the manager of the Devonshire Cat in Sheffield for 10 years. New beers for June include: Sur Votre Velo (on your bike) 5%. This is the first beer that Bruce Woodcock, our youngest brewer(aged 23) has put together. Brewed with Halcyon pale ale malt. The hop additions contain American Mount Hood, Chinook and Cascade then dry hopped in the fermenter with Cluster hops. The results are very impresive with floral and citrus aromas and a grapefruit undertone.

England’s Dreaming 4.5%. Our football beer makes another appearance ready for the World Cup. Light golden in colour and brewed with 3 varieties of English hops – First Gold, Warrior and Bramling Cross, this could be a winning combination!

Pub of the Month May 2014

Posted on 9 Apr 201427 Jul 2015 by Andy Cullen

The Closed Shop is one of two pubs opposite one another that have been reborn and made Commonside worth the short ride on the 95 bus up the hill from the City Centre or the walk down the hill from Crookes (the other being the Hallamshire House, now operated by Thornbridge Brewery). Andy Stephens’ Reet Ale Pubs took on the lease with Punch Taverns last year after the pub had gone downhill then closed, he reopened the pub with a range of real ales – some from Blue Bee Brewery which he co-owns along with guests. Not long after, the pub was subject to a refurbishment that left the pub smart, classy and well presented yet still quite traditional. Food was also introduced and this has proved popular with the menu expanded and also a childrens menu introduced. The food hours on a Sunday have also been extended to 9pm, the same as the rest of the week, so Sunday dinner are available right up until the quiz starts. The Sunday night quiz is Andy’s usual pub quiz where all the answers are linked by a tenuous theme, there is also a bingo quiz on Wednesday nights. Sporting action can normally be watched on the TV in the games room at the back of the pub, which also hosts a pool table. Another area that has been subject to refurbishment is the beer garden, which is now quite pleasant in the summer.

Paul Howe moved up to the Closed Shop from the Rutland to be installed as assistant manager and the team have all made their own mark on the pub in various small ways, now lead by chef manager Mark Barton. We will be presenting our May Pub of the Month award, as voted for by our members, to the Closed Shop on the evening of Thursday 22nd May. As well as celebrating their award win, they will be celebrating the arrival of Spring with a beer festival which will see a second bar boasting a range of extra guest beers and there will be general party shenanigans too. Please come and join us, we’ll be there from about 8pm.

Cider producers sigh of relief as duty frozen

Posted on 9 Apr 201417 May 2014 by Andy Cullen

CAMRA has welcomed the Government’s decision in the Budget to freeze cider duty. Making the announcement, the Chancellor highlighted that some cider producers in the West Country had been hit hard by recent weather conditions so needed additional support. This duty freeze will apply to cider with a juice content of 35% or higher, and will not apply to sparkling cider between 5.5% and 8.5% abv. This is a welcome move which will support Britain’s real cider and perry producers – a vital traditional British industry. Andrea Briers, Chair of CAMRA’s Apple Committee commented: “Cider is a traditional British product and I welcome the Chancellor’s decision to freeze cider duty to help those who keep this tradition alive. I would encourage you to help real cider or perry makers thrive by visiting a pub and trying some.” CAMRA has cautioned that small cider producers (making below 70 hectolitres each year) already pay no duty, so the benefit of this duty freeze will primarily be felt by slightly larger producers. CAMRA is continuing to campaign for a new cider duty system to support real cider with a considerably higher juice content. For more information on real cider and perry, visit www.camra.org.uk/cider.

Should CAMRA embrace craft beer on keg?

Posted on 9 Apr 201416 Jun 2014 by Andy Cullen

The rise of craft beer has accelerated in the US and is quickly becoming more and more popular in the UK. This has caused the establishment of craft beers being more readily available by breweries to pubs and festivals. Many breweries who traditionally brew cask ales have started creating their own keg beers to partake in this new part of the market. For example, Abbeydale have recently brewed there first craft beer “Pale #1”. Thornbridge continue to offer some of their traditional cask ales (Jaipur, Saint Petersburg, Wild Swan etc.) in keg form and have proven popular throughout Sheffield. This has encouraged more and more pubs to provide keg beers and therefore a broader range of beers; for example, the refurbishment of “The Cavendish” on West Street has allowed 6 taps for keg beer to be added. As well as this, the establishment of the “BrewDog” bar on Division Street has prompted even more craft beer availability in Sheffield offering up to 20 different types of keg beer from a wide range of breweries. SIBA’s “BeerX” festival held at “Ice Sheffield” saw many keg beers on offer from a wide range of breweries such as Bradfield, Acorn, Saltaire etc. therefore promoting this growing beer form. Craft and keg beers usually have more fizz, served a lot cooler and have a higher price tag than cask ales which has caused many ale lovers to turn away from this type of beer in favour of traditional casks. The association of cold and sparkly has some ale drinkers concerned as it feels too familiar to your standard lagers – Carling, Carlsberg, Fosters etc. However, keg beers have a lot to offer in terms of taste, appearance and aroma. Abbeydale’s “Pale #1” has passsionfruit and peach overtones which leaves you feeling extremely refreshed, and while Thornbridge’s “Jaipur” is one of my favourite cask ales, I enjoy it more so in its keg form. BrewDog’s “Punk IPA” is generously hopped with a sharp bitter finish and there black IPA “Libertine Black Ale” is much hopped while retaining malty overtones. While the prices of kegs may be higher, they are an exciting form of beer that can be full of flavour. I am not saying that we should turn our back on cask and turn to the fizz, but if you are ever in the Rutland, passing by the Cavendish, wandering along Division Street or wherever else keg beers are on offer, give them a try. They are on the rise all over the UK and will most likely be here to stay; therefore they are worth having every so often, even if it is every so often. Most pubs will offer you a taste and you have nothing to lose (except a few extra pence). Mark Coxon

Editor’s comment – CAMRA’s position

I’ve included this article by Mark, one of our branch Young Members contacts and a student at the University of Sheffield as it reflects a question that still gets asked regularly – if CAMRA is about good beer, surely good beer is good beer regardless of dispense method? Well, lets first of all look at what CAMRA is about. We have grown into a big successful consumer group that campaigns on all sorts of issues that affect beer drinkers and pub-goers, however at heart, as the name suggests, we are the Campaign for Real Ale – set up to promote the availability of real ale. CAMRA’s definition of real ale, in basic terms, is beer that goes through secondary fermentation in the container it is dispensed from (cask conditioning) and is served without the addition of gas. Real Ale that has been cared for properly by both the brewer and publican has a natural sparkle from the secondary fermentation and doesn’t require gas adding – meaning it is a natural drink that tastes full flavoured as the brewer intended. CAMRA isn’t about campaigning against other drinks on the bar, just about ensuring real ale is available – Britain’s traditional quality beer, however the reason a lot of older members get a bit twitchy when keg gets mentioned is back in the 1970s when CAMRA began, keg was the enemy, threatening the survival of real ale. They remember some truly dreadful keg beers that were launched such as the infamous Watneys Red Barrel. Back then keg was all about big brewers cutting costs and quality and about giving publicans a beer with a longer shelf life – akin to replacing fresh milk with UHT long life milk. CAMRA was formed by drinkers unhappy at the increasing difficulty in obtaining good beer. Back to the current era, whilst we do have poor keg beers such as the smoothflow bitters and generic industrial lagers, keg isn’t really the enemy, the new wave of craft kegs which have become fashionable, inspired by brewers in the USA, are bringing us keg beers brewed with quality ingredients and passion with some absolute hop monster IPAs, rocket fuel chilli stouts, Belgian style sour beer and more, some with quite high ABVs! Many of these go into the keg in a similar state to real ale, the only difference being gas is added on dispense to create artificial carbonation. So – if these craft kegs are good, why doesn’t CAMRA move with the times and campaign for good ale rather than real ale? Well, there is a problem of course. If you are campaigning for something you have to be able to define what you are campaigning for. We’ve defined real ale. Good is a bit more subjective…… There is also a danger of course that if everyone goes down the keg route in future we will lose the tradition of natural, cask conditioned beer. So the CAMRA angle is simple – we campaign for real ale. We acknowledge craft keg is out there and adding some interest to the pub scene and we don’t campaign against it, we simply consider it outside the parameters of what we do. Andy Cullen

Steel City Brewing

Posted on 9 Apr 201417 May 2014 by Andy Cullen

Steel City’s latest brew Protz’s Pleasure is currently doing the rounds in Sheffield and beyond, as well as appearing at the CAMRA AGM at the end of April. As there’s apparently no such thing as a Black IPA, Dave and ‘Collaborator In Grimness’ Stuart from North Riding brewed a normal IPA and used some dark malt to change the colour. Columbus at First Wort and Magnum at boil make up 139IBU of bitter goodness, while the ever-increasing flame-out charge consisted of Nelson Sauvin, Simcoe and Bramling Cross. Mosaic pellets in the fermenter complete the tropical fruit and strawberry flavours to contrast the bitterness.

The 6.5%+ minikit version has been named in reference to Roger Protz’s comment on Black IPAs in a recent blog – Insult To History packs 180IBU of Magnum followed by a big flame-out charge of Simcoe, and some Columbus in the fermenter for good measure. There will be a short break in production (too many bank holidays in April and May!), the next brew will be out in June. Also in June, Steel City will be making their third appearance at Birrasana, at Blanes (just north of Barcelona). Four beers are being shipped over for the event: Grim Overlords, Protz’s Pleasure, Insult To History and Unholy Trinity.

Acorn Brewery

Posted on 9 Apr 201417 May 2014 by Andy Cullen

It’s not Bittern, it’s Butter Bump. When the local RSPB at Old Moor Wetlands ask us to create a beer to help their Bittern conservation projects on reserves across Northern England we decided to run a competition to name the beer. Local Sheffield lad David Woodhead won the competition with the name Butter Bump which is an old English name for the bird. It’s now also a 4.5% lovely golden ale, brewed using First Gold (an English Hedgerow hop), Chinook & Cascade hops to create a pale golden coloured beer with a slight bitterness on the palate and a grapefruit/citrusy aroma. A donation of 5p on every pint sold will be made by the brewery to the RSPB.

Once again during May we will have our two distinctive Mild’s on various bars throughout the region. Lightness: A Light golden Pennine Mild brewed with Fuggle hops that impart light noble aromas. Darkness: Aromatic roast malts give a deep red colour and Fuggles hops give a mild level of bitterness and aroma. Someone mentioned to us that a few cyclists might be making their way around Yorkshire quite soon and we were keen not to get left out of the peloton of local beers that will undoubtedly be brewed to celebrate the ‘Big Start’. Watch out for Acorn On Yer Bike hitting the roads towards the end of May, you might need your stabilizers.