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.

Happy New Year!

Posted on by Andy Cullen

It may seem an age ago now, but we entered the year 2022 with the government’s “Plan B” in force for Covid with a requirement to wear face coverings in shops and to show a Covid pass proving we were clean in order to gain admission to pubs and clubs that opened late night! We were also still being asked to work from home where possible.

Most of the restrictions were lifted on 27 January, although advice to wear face coverings voluntarily in crowded areas and on public transport continued for a while after, as did a requirement to isolate if testing positive for Covid. A programme of vaccinations also continued for all.

The rest of 2022 was, in theory, a return to normal. By summer there were no restrictions or requirements in England. However we have seen some culture change as people have got quite used to working from home, ordering shopping online for home delivery and having friends round to socialise… perhaps enjoying a monthly subscription box from a local brewery together!

There has also been an ongoing issue with public transport due to staff shortages affecting the wider transport industry across the country for a number of reasons. On the more positive front however is a maximum single fare of £2 on the buses and trams until the end of March. There are some bargains to be had here – trips as far as Barnsley, Doncaster, Mansfield, Matlock, Bakewell, Buxton and Castleton can be done for just £4 return!

All these things seem to have impacted pub-going; the after work pint is much less of a thing and people aren’t venturing out far midweek but may be making the effort more at the weekend.

Later on in 2022 we started to see new problems, primarily surrounding inflation with rocketing costs of energy, fuel, food and drink and everything else impact brewers, publicans and of course consumers and towards the end of the year we started to hear of breweries around the country calling it a day. This is something we shall sadly see more of in 2023 I think. October 2022 also saw cuts to bus services, particularly in the evenings, with operators grappling with a combination of driver shortages, increased operating costs and phasing out of government Covid recovery funding, as well as changes to demand after Covid.

Not all has been bad of course – pubs being able to operate as normal has been great for their business, for people who like to socialise drinking in them and of course the breweries that supply them. We’ve also seen new venues open and events taking place again including our own Steel City festival. We’ve seen a wonderful atmosphere in the city when events such as the Women’s Football World Cup was hosted and of course Tramlines festival and the fringe brought the usual party to the city.

The Devonshire Cat pub had closed in the first lockdown in 2020, the premised reopened in a new guise in July 2022 as Indie-go Resurrection, an indie music bar. This is much less beer focused than the Dev Cat was, however there are usually a couple of handpumps on, featuring beer from Bradfield Brewery. Bar Stewards closed down in 2022 but very quickly reopened as the West Bar Tap.

Happy’s Bar opened in Neepsend just in time for Christmas with two cask ales on the bar from Abbeydale and Vocation.

2022 also saw the passing of characters from the pub scene including Wendy Woodhouse and, more recently, Adrian Keogh.

On the brewery front, we lost Kelham Island Brewery, although a consortium has since bought the brand and Pale Rider is once again available albeit brewed at Thornbridge. Sheffield Brewery Company continues to suspend production, although their brewery bar is now leased out to an independent operator and opens daily as a normal pub called Alder. Two new breweries, brewSocial and HQ Brew, also launched.

Over in Rotherham, Chantry Brewery were finally able to open their new tap bar in the brewery which also operates as a live music venue. The bar is open Friday and Saturday evenings, with the bar open to the public if there is no gig. The brewery is a short walk from Parkgate Tram Train terminus. Elsewhere Fuggle Bunny continued their regular Friday tap sessions and Intrepid hosted the occasional open day.

There is already plenty to look forward to in 2023. January sees Shakespeares‘ regular beer festival with some rather out-there brews. February sees Chesterfield CAMRA’s beer festival return to the Winding Wheel Theatre and the Rotherham Real Ale & Music Festival at Magna. March brings the return of Indie Beer Feast to Trafalgar Warehouse in Sheffield City Centre followed by Sheffield Beer Week across many venues. In April we are hosting CAMRA’s National Members’ Weekend, AGM & Conference at the University of Sheffield’s Octagon Centre. As usual, Easter also gives us the first of the regular programme of bank holiday beer festivals at the Old Hall Hotel at Hope.

Notable upcoming events on the Sheffield beer pub scene include Tom & Barbara’s retirement from Fagan’s, Jon & Mandy departure from the White Lion in Heeley, and Connor celebrating ten years running the Dog & Partridge.

Keep an eye on our website for listings of beer festivals, branch socials, award presentations and more – lets all get out there an enjoy beer and pubs as much as we can in 2023!

Brewery Bits

Posted on by Andy Cullen

Grizzly Grains and Torrside released a collaboration brew in time for Christmas and New Year. Big Words is a 4.8% ABV pale ale hopped with Olicana and Cascade.

Intrepid have released a winter pale exclusively on cask, designed to be drunk in the pub, dreaming of the summer to come! B’an is 4.1% ABV and brewed with all British hops (first kettle hopped with UK Cascade and then dry hopped with Ernest T90, Olicana and Jester T45), sat on a clean base of extra pale and oat malt.

Temper in Dronfield also released a winter brew in time for Christmas; this one was Dark Fractions, a 4.3% ABV coffee porter. A blend of kilned and roasted malts in the grist was complimented by the addition of coffee in kettle and on the cold side.

Tapped released a new beer in November called Electric Works. This is a 4.2% ABV extra pale ale using solely extra pale malt, which really lets the hops shine through.

As in previous years, Thornbridge are running a Year of Beer programme with a monthly changing seasonal ale available for pubs. 2023 kicked off with Cortado, a flat white pale ale. February sees the launch of Apricity, an extra special bitter. In March we have a peanut butter brown ale to look forward to.

Richard Hough, brewer at brewSocial, was recently pleased to see a photo opportunity of a rainbow over the railway arch in Attercliffe they brew in that matches their pump clip design!

Happy’s Bar

Posted on by Andy Cullen

There’s another new bar on the Kelham Island and Neepsend circuit!

Happy’s Bar, on Rutland Road, describes itself as a neighbourhood bar. It is a modern style of venue in a converted old building that has retained some of the character.

The bar opens from midday Wednesday to Sunday with food available until 9pm each day. On Friday and Saturday nights the bar will stay open until 4am, with a DJ to keep everyone partying, while the rest of the week it closes at midnight. Various events are planned for the future, such as live music, with entertainment envisaged in the outdoor drinking area come the summer.

On the bar there are two handpumps for cask ales, with beer from Abbeydale and Vocation. There is also another Abbeydale beer on keg, along with the usual mainstream brands. A ground floor cellar has been purpose built with cooled piping to the bar. The manager is passionate about serving beer fresh and at the right temperature.

Food is a simple bar snack menu, mainly burgers and hot dogs, at reasonable prices.

Craftworks

Posted on by Andy Cullen

Craftworks is a bar on Mosborough High Street that describes itself as a micropub. It is probably a little bigger and more modern than what many think of as a micropub in reality, however it fulfils its role nicely as a small community local with a broad appeal.

It opened in 2019, and hadn’t been trading long when the first lockdown kicked in. It was still finding its feet when it was able to reopen with restrictions such as table service.

Now with restrictions all but a memory, Craftworks does still offer the facility for groups to make reservations, however it is now operating like a normal pub where you can walk in and order a pint from the friendly bar staff!

The bar has four handpumps dispensing Abbeydale Deception NZ pale ale (rebadged as the their house ale), along with three regularly changing guests. In addition a number of craft beers on keg are available plus other beers, wines and spirits. You can also buy craft beer in cans to take home, usually with a discount available.

Craftworks has recently established a programme of entertainment including a quiz night and live music.

The newest development has been the addition of an espresso coffee machine, with the bar now opening from 9am serving coffee and cake – plus they are licenced to serve alcohol in the morning if you prefer beer with your cake. I’m told the record so far for the earliest pint served is 9:35am.

If you are looking to take a bus trip to Mosborough then buses 50, 50a and 53 pass the front door, while a short walk away on Station Road are buses 30a, 55 and 80a.

Fagan’s presentation

Posted on by Andy Cullen

Tom & Barbara Boulding took over as licensees at Fagan’s pub back in 1985, and by the time they retire next year will have been running this classic unspoilt pub for 38 years, breaking the record of previous landlord Joe Fagan! You can read more about this here.

Our pub heritage champion, Dave Pickersgill, presented Tom & Barbara with a certificate recognising their outstanding contribution to Sheffield’s pub scene, on an evening that also included a shortened branch meeting and their regular folk music session.

Tom & Barbara Boulding receive the award from Dave Pickersgill. Photo: John Beardshaw

Unexpectedly, Tom then returned the favour and presented Dave with a framed image of Grains Court and Brewhouse from 1860 – which became Tetley’s Brewery in Leeds. Fagan’s used to be a Tetley’s owned pub.

Brewery Bits

Posted on by Andy Cullen

Grizzly Grains Brewery have hosted a collaboration with Shakespeares, brewing a Belgian style pale ale using Pilgrim and Phoenix hops supplied by Brookhouse Hops.

Intrepid have made another tweak to their ever evolving ITE small IPA (3.9% ABV). The latest batch sees a bit more oats added to the mash and a return to a Kveik yeast. It’s been hopped with a big mix of hops -Cascade & Mandarina are used late in the kettle for a subtle bitterness and citrus platform to work with the yeast. It’s then double dry hopped with Ekuanot and Azacca with a bit less of Chinook & Mosaic added bringing that drippy fruit punch flavour with some dank citrus.

Fuggle Bunny Brew House celebrated the first anniversary of the new ownership on 4 November and to celebrate their regular Friday tap session had the addition of live music and “Dough Box” pizza trailer trading outside. Their newest beer, Chapter 10 – Stomper, is a dry hopped IPA and was available at our Steel City Beer & Cider Festival. Also out recently was their special Halloween beer, Deadly Nightshade, a 5% AVB amber ale.

Triple Point Brewery have released “Canyon”, a 4.8% ABV American Red Ale on cask. On the hop bill it features a new berry inspired Cryo hop blend released by Yakima Chief along with a couple of American classics – Cascade and Centennial.

Beery outings by tram

Posted on by Andy Cullen

The Supertram network, currently operated by Stagecoach Supertram, provides three tram routes across the city of Sheffield along with a Tram-Train service between Sheffield and Rotherham, with all four routes operating all day every day. All day unlimited travel passes are available if you want to hop on and off doing a tram based pub crawl, alternatively thanks to funding from the South Yorkshire Mayor single journeys currently (until 31 March 2023) cost a very reasonable £2 a ride regardless of how far you are travelling. Tickets are available to buy on board from the conductor or alternatively unlimited travel passes are available slightly cheaper on the Stagecoach app.

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FUGGLE BUNNY BREWHOUSE

Fuggle Bunny Brew House brew a range of real ales and host tap sessions at the brewery every Friday where an on site bar opens for you to sit inside and enjoy their beers. The brewery is about a 10 minute walk from Halfway tram terminus, on the Blue route. Trams operate every 12 minutes in the daytime and every 30 minutes in the evening, last trams back from Halfway are 23:17 on the full route to Malin Bridge via the City Centre or 00:17 to Sheffield Station. If you wish to visit some pubs in the area it is walkable to the Guzzle Micropub in Killamarsh or you can jump off the tram at Beighton or Crystal Peaks where there are various pubs to try such as the Scarsdale Hundred, Gypsy Queen and the Milestone.

CHANTRY BREWERY

Chantry brew a range of real ales and lagers in their brewery based in Parkgate, Rotherham, a short walk from the Tram-Train terminus. They have constructed a tap room bar on a mezzanine level and also adapted part of the brewery building into a small live music venue and there are regular gigs (some requiring tickets) most weekends. The bar is open on Fridays from 5pm and Saturdays from 4pm. Check their social media for whether it is a public night or gig night before going. The Tram-Train service runs roughly every 30 minutes with the last departure back to Sheffield at 23:59. There is also the option of jumping off at Rotherham Central en-route to visit some town centre pubs (such as the Bridge, Cutlers Arms, New York Tavern, Three Cranes Inn and Bluecoat) alternatively the Little Haven micropub is a short walk from the brewery.

Other beery stop offs along the Tram Train (and Yellow) route includes the Wentworth pub located across the road from the Arena and Valley Centertainment along with the Brewery of St Mars of the Desert in Attercliffe.

This trip can also be extended by using the 22X bus which runs between Rotherham and Barnsley via Parkgate and Wath upon Dearne, offering the opportunity to visit the Wath Tap micropub, which has won numerous awards from Rotherham CAMRA.

KELHAM ISLAND / NEEPSEND

This district of Sheffield, which has benefited from some significant gentrification in recent years, was named by Time Out magazine in their list of the top 50 coolest neighbourhoods in the world! Shalesmoor tram stop provides the gateway to the area with a frequent service provided by the Blue and Yellow routes (about every 6 minutes in the daytime and every 15 minutes in the evening, up to midnight).

When you alight at Shalesmoor, you are next to the Wellington pub, which acts as the tap for Neepsend Brewery or across the roundabout in the Krynkl shipping container development is the Cider Hole, a specialist bar that makes its own cider as well as offering tutored tasting flights of cider from both the UK and overseas. There is also an awesome circuit of real ale pubs including the Kelham Island Tavern, Fat Cat, Shakespeares Ale & Cider House, West Bar Tap, Crow Inn, Riverside, Harlequin, Alder and Gardeners Rest as well as various other bars.

HILLSBOROUGH AREA

Hillsborough tram stop is at the heart of this suburb, two real ale outlets here are the Rawson Spring Wetherspoons and the Hillsborough Tap. However get off the tram a stop early at Bamforth Street and you can visit the New Barrack Tavern or stay on the Yellow route tram an extra stop to Hillsborough Park where there is a number of different micropubs including Pangolin, a craft beer specialist. Trams run regularly until about midnight.

SHEFFIELD CITY CENTRE

Sheffield Tap, also home to Tapped Brew Co, is located at the railway station so easily accessed by the Sheffield Station tram stop. Walkable from the Fitzalan Square tram stop is the Old Queens Head and the Dorothy Pax, Castle Square tram stop is handy for the Bankers Draft Wetherspoon, the Dove & Rainbow and Cavell’s Cafe Bar. Cathedral tram stop is close to the Church House. City Hall tram stop is handy for the likes of the Dog & Partridge, Grapes, Fagan’s, Benjamin Huntsman, Sheffield Water Works Company and various bars along Division Street. West Street tram stop is near the Red Deer, Beehive, Bath Hotel and Washington. University of Sheffield tram stop is a short walk from the University Arms.

Inn Brief

Posted on by Andy Cullen

The Railway at Wadsley Bridge is to have a wood fired pizza ovens and music on 7 inch vinyls for New Years Eve.

The Rutland Arms is hosting their annual Christmas lights switch on party along with a “Funky Fluids” tap takeover on Thursday 8 December.

Walkley Beer Company are celebrating their 8th birthday on Saturday 3 December with some banging beers on tap and a bit of a buffet!

Crow Inn are hosting a Turning Point tap takeover on Friday 2 December. On cask will be three different imperial stouts while the keg taps will see four beers, a mixture of IPAs and sours.

The Railway Hotel at Wadsley Bridge has been running a “Cask Wednesday” promotion with 50p off the cask ales on that day of the week, except for Sheffield Wednesday match days.

The Old Hall Hotel in Hope have announced their beer festival dates for 2023. As usual all the bank holiday weekends from Easter through to late summer have an event, they’ve also crowbarred an extra event in for the King’s Coronation weekend. See our festival listings for all the dates.

The Tunnel Tap at Totley Rise has finally opened. No cask ale is available here but there are some quite acceptable craft beer choices on keg, usually including options from Abbeydale and Buxton. This micropub is on two floors with a bar on each and seating downstairs. They also have bottles, cans and minikegs available to take away.

Shakespeares Ale & Cider House at West Bar is planning one of their regular beer festivals for January, as usual featuring some interesting, experimental and silly one off special cask beers on gravity upstairs as well as a full range on the main bar. Keep an eye on their social media for details.

The Bar Stewards at West Bar has had a change of name and is now known as West Bar Tap. There have been some changes to the business behind the scenes but otherwise its the same place and people, other than a minor refit to part of the venue that has added some extra tables where the self service fridges were.

The Social bar on Snig Hill has closed down, unfortunately although it was a great little bar everyone enjoyed it didn’t prove financially successful. The associated brewery based in Attercliffe, BrewSocial, continues to produce beer and will keep going as long as it sells! Pictured is Juliet who managed the bar with a pump clip from every BrewSocial beer so far.

The Friendship Hotel in Stocksbridge recently opened their nine new contemporary first floor en suite letting rooms. This is a welcome addition to Stocksbridge and another contribution to its’ growing reputation as the centre of one of the best walking areas in the North of England.

Under new management, the Olde Mustard Pot (Midhopestones) reopened in mid-November. David and Nicola Briggs and Jonathan Wright, licensees of the Three Merry Lads (Lodge Moor) have added the pub to their portfolio. A change of beers and a new menu are in place. The pub opens daily from 11:30, food is available until 20:00. 

Inn Brief

Posted on by Andy Cullen

The Pioneer Club in Dronfield has resumed their Sunday carvery.

A new sports bar in Hillsborough’s Barracks complex called Monkey Bar Club is opening. Food is provided by Smokin’ Bull, serving burgers etc.

The Alehouse micropub in Chesterfield recently celebrated their 9th birthday with a special line up of beer!

Fans of the Antics improvised comedy troupe will be pleased to know that another free show (tips welcome!) is planned at the Dorothy Pax bar for 17 November.

The Dog & Partridge is now free of tie and as well as the beer range starting to evolve there are now cask ale drinkers loyalty cards available – buy 9 pints and get one free.

The Blue Stoops in Dronfield closed temporarily in October, it has been sold by True North Brewery to the Chilled Out Pub Company.

The Tunnel Tap in Totley is expected to open on 21 October at 6pm with craft beer available on keg.