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.
Stancill Brewery‘s classic American pale ale American Beauty is back! All-American hops – Cascade & Citra – provide soft floral aromas and citrus flavours with a punchy, peppery finish. It is also a fairly sensible strength at 4.8% ABV.
Recent beers from Neepsend Brewery available in cask include Dema, a 3.8% session pale hopped with Azacca & Sabro; Pitthea, a 4.2% hazy pale; Cybele a 4.7% Amercian Pale hopped with Ekuanote and HBC431 (which promises to be a fruity, tropical little number).
Bradfield Brewery have a new beer out, Elderflower Ale. This is a one off small batch brew produced with fresh elderflowers giving it a subtle summery floral aroma, balanced by zesty citrus and grapefruit notes from the hops, finishing with a slight bitterness. It should be a perfect refreshing beer for a hot summer evening! Once all that has gone the next seasonal beer to look forward to is the return of Farmers Blueberry Ale, which some may describe as summer’s answer to Belgian Blue!
Little Critters continue with their series of single batch cask specials, the latest is the third in the series and is a 4.5% session IPA hopped with Galaxy and Sabro.
New from St Mars of the Desert is a Victorian inspired Golden Mild using bramling cross and whitbread goldings hops with British malt and historical invert sugars, brewed by Scarlet the brewery’s apprentice brewer.
Grizzly Grain have been busy brewing interesting new beers including Pine Martin, an English Pale Ale; NZ Pale brewed with Rakau and Wai-iti hops; Get Down, a pale ale brewed with Citra and Amarillo hops. They’ve also been making a mixed fermentation braggot using fresh organic UK cherries.
In Sheffield & District branch we get to enter two of our Pub of the Year award winners into the national competition – one in Yorkshire and one in North Derbyshire. Our Derbyshire entry is the Anglers Rest in Bamford and we’ll be presenting them with our District Pub of the Year award on 30 July at 3pm (all welcome to join us there for a beer!)
Part of the deal of entering a pub in the North Derbyshire competition is you have to help out judging all the other branch’s entries and this made for an enjoyable day out!
Judging is to a set criteria, this includes factors such as beer quality, clientele mix, cleanliness, service, promotion of real ale, value for money, community and sympathy with CAMRA’s aims.
We started with a ride on the Stagecoach X17 bus from Sheffield to Matlock, this is a limited stop service routed via the Dronfield by-pass and Chesterfield and takes just over an hour to get there, where we planned to visit the Matlock & Dales entry to the competition.
The Twenty Ten in Matlock was of a relatively modern design with a mixture of sofa areas and dining type table areas and a pool table at the back. The bar boasted a good selection of cask ales along with some interesting craft beers on keg plus some quality sausage rolls and other bar snacks as well as a more substantial food menu, all served by a friendly manager and staff. Standards were high with everything kept clean and tidy and this is the pub that went on to win the competition.
Whilst in Matlock we took the opportunity to visit Bod, newly opened just a few doors down, the latest branch of a cafe-bar chain owned by Titanic Brewery. This was a laid back kind of place with two counters – a traditional pub bar serving beers from Titanic plus guests and a coffee shop counter serving hot drinks and some rather nice cakes!
A half hour or so back on the X17 bus took us to Chesterfield to judge their entry, the Chesterfield Arms, which is now also home to Twisted Devil brewery, located in what used to be the barn function room. A visit here is of course an opportunity to try their beers, however there is a wide range of ales from various breweries both modern and traditional, including the classic bitter that is Bass! Bar snacks from the fridge include pork pies and cheese platters whilst the hot food menu features pizzas, wings and loaded fries.
Again, whilst in the area, we succumbed to the temptation to pop in another close by pub that we had to walk past to reach the bus stop – the Neptune Beer Emporium is on a residential street just down the hill and is of an interesting design – you walk in and are immediately faced with the bar, which features a great range of reasonably priced beers on both cask and keg and there are rooms to both the left and right plus a decent sized outdoor drinking area at the rear. This pub also regularly features live music.
Our next hop was on TM Travel’s number 15 bus to judge the Dronfield & District branch entry. The bus was faster than expected (well I suppose the timetable might have gave us a clue I suppose) as it jumped on the Dronfield by-pass for a quick whizz up to Unstone then just nipped up the country lane to drop us outside the Miners Arms in Hundall, which sits on the edge of a hill in a rural spot with a great view over the valley. The Miners is a traditional local village boozer with a range of reasonably priced ales and ciders, pool table, sport on TV, occasional live music and beer garden. You can usually find beer from Pictish along with the local Drone Valley brewery plus changing guests, a great atmosphere and lots of dogs wandering around looking for attention!
To get back to Sheffield we had to join the next number 15 bus down to Dronfield town centre and connect with the Stagecoach 43 or 44 to Sheffield, this of course offers the chance for a beer between buses around the Dronfield High Street area (pubs here include the Victoria, Blue Stoops, Manor House Hotel and Green Dragon) or Dronfield Bottom (options include the Dronfield Arms, Underdog and White Swan). As it turned out the TM Travel bus didn’t turn up to pick us up in Hundall so a taxi was summonsed which quickly took us down to Dronfield, giving us time to visit 2 pubs with beer gardens before the bus to Sheffield was due!
More information about the pubs – visit whatpub.com, CAMRA’s national pub database maintained by volunteers (we are looking for some assistance with this if you are interested by the way!)
Bus tickets:
Stagecoach: a Gold DayRider offers unlimited travel on all their buses in Derbyshire plus South & West Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire along with Supertram. Adult £7.80, group of up to 5 people £20.
Bus 43/44 provides up to 3 buses an hour between Sheffield and Dronfield whilst the X17 runs hourly through to Matlock (half hourly as far as Chesterfield).
TM Travel: Their Daysaver costs £4.50. The rural bus 15 runs once every 2 hours.
Derbyshire Wayfarer: Includes almost all buses and trains in Derbyshire plus direct services between Sheffield and Derbyshire, adult £13.40, family (2 adults and 3 children) £24.
The long awaited opening of Chantry Brewery‘s on site tap room takes place on Thursday 23 June at 6pm. It is located upstairs on a mezzanine level overlooking the brewing areas and has a bar showcasing the range of Chantry beers.
The bar is open to the public on Thursday evenings 6-11pm and Saturdays 1-11pm whilst on Fridays they will be hosting ticketed live music gigs with the doors open 7pm and bands on from 8pm. On those Fridays without a gig the bar will open to the public 5pm-11pm.
The brewery is in Parkgate, a short walk from the tram train terminus.
The weekend of July 22-24 is when Tramlines music festival takes place in Hillsborough Park and is advertised as a sell out event. It is a festival we are pleased to report that has a bar that serves real ale too.
However if you haven’t got a ticket for the main event and still fancy a bit of a party in Sheffield that weekend with live music and good beer then don’t worry, there’s also a fringe where many venues around the City put on free gigs.
The heart of the fringe is the outdoor stages on Devonshire Green and in the Peace Gardens put on by Sheffield BID (Business Improvement District), however we’ll ignore them and look at those venues serving real ale or other craft beer all year round that usually offer live music of some description.
The Washington on Fitzwilliam Street (the road from West Street to Moorfoot) has already announced their line up of bands for the weekend with a pre-party on the Thursday then live music from 5pm Friday and from 2:30pm Saturday and Sunday until the DJs take over at 11pm to dance through until 3am. There will also be some afternoon DJ sets in the beer garden. At the time of writing the cask ales available included Abbeydale Moonshine and Black Mass plus Bradfield Farmers Blonde. There are also usually traditional bitters from Marstons and Black Sheep on the bar.
An audience at the Dorothy Pax
Another Sheffield stalwart of live music and real ale has been the Dorothy Pax at Victoria Quays where you can be inside the cosy railway arch venue seeing the live entertainment or head outside to the waterside to sit and enjoy your beer. Six handpumps here dispense cask ale and cider and there are also some craft beer options on the keg taps too. In the past for Tramlines weekend the boat was really pushed out (so to speak) with their “Canal Lines” event with a music stage outside, however this year they are taking their stage and outside bar to Heeley People’s Park to put on a festival there!
Also in the City Centre, Church House by the Cathedral have live music every weekend, usually classic rock tribute bands, but something a bit special is usually arranged for Tramlines fringe – keep an eye on their Facebook page for announcements.
The Green Room by Devonshire Green can be a little hit and miss on beer availability but is quite music orientated and never fails to put a show on for Tramlines weekend.
The Frog & Parrot on Division Street, owned by Greene King serving their beers plus local guests usually also put live music on over Tramlines weekend.
A newer and less well known venue is Perch, the bar attached to Dead Parrot Brewery on Garden Street. Every day you can go and enjoy their beers and bar food is available in the form of burgers and pizzas, however now and again live music events take place outside in the courtyard, keep an eye on their Facebook page for news of events taking place.
Shakespeares Ale & Cider House on Gibralter Street are known for their Tramlines Fringe event, although of course have gigs in the upstairs room all year round. For the festival weekend they have a busy programme of free entertainment alongside a great beer range and stay open until at least midnight.
Heist Brew Co. at Neepsend have announced their Tramlines fringe events already too – Beer Lines. Music, beer, rum and burgers are promised with Saturday featuring Dat Brass playing live from 6:30pm and the University of Sheffield DJ Society on the decks on Sunday from 2pm.
Finally, a mention for those pubs that don’t specifically do anything for Tramlines Fringe but have live music all year round such as the White Lion at Heeley and of course those that regularly do smaller scale music events including folk sessions – pubs such as the Dog & Partridge, Fagans and Gardeners Rest. Also not to forget the Dove & Rainbow who we’re sure will be looking after the alternative crowd in their usual style!
If you want to escape Sheffield for the evening to avoid the Tramlines crowds but still see some live music then options include jumping on a tram to Rotherham to a live music pub such as the Bridge Inn, Chantry Brewery Tap and Cutlers Arms or catch a bus to Chesterfield to somewhere like the Neptune Beer Emporium.
CONFIRMED VENUES (that have real ale or other craft beer)
The Coach & Horses in Dronfield is holding a Real Ale & Roots event on Sunday 17 July featuring an outside bar, BBQ, live music and a kids corner featuring face painting and a bounce house. The event is to raise funds for CRY – Cardiac Risk in the Young. Bus 43 goes there.
Thornbridge Brewery have decided not to renew the lease on the Cross Scythes at Norton Lees and their last day running the pub will be 23 July. It is owned by a pub company and expected to reopen under the management of a new tenant.
We are really happy to be able to announce that after missing two years for Covid, we’ve had the go ahead to organise our 46th normally annual Steel City Beer & Cider Festival, which will take place from 19 to 22 October.
The venue is once again the wonderfully atmospheric Kelham Island Museum and as before we’ll have cask ale, proper cider, stalls and live music in the upper hall, street food traders in the Victorian Courtyard and a marquee containing even more real ale & cider along with traditional pub games.
There are some changes to the festival site as a result of the Millowners Arms now being a proper commercially run pub all year around rather than a museum exhibit (this bar will be open as normal but within the festival site providing some additional food and drink choices for festival visitors). Bradfield Brewery’s bar which was previously hosted in the Millowners will this year be in the Brearley Room whilst the keykeg bar is being moved to a new area – the Stone Garden which will feature a bar serving craft beer in keg, can and bottle along with seating. To reach the Stone Garden you use the doors by the marquee and walk through the rooms containing the River Don steam powered beam engine and the Hawley knife collection.
Some initiatives from the last festival that went down well are being retained including the self service glass rinse facilities and the pre-bookable private tutored tasting and talk events. This year the half pint glasses are being sponsored by Hendersons Relish and the pint glasses are being sponsored by Bradfield Brewery, we anticipate them being popular souvenirs!
Posters and flyers (sponsored by Arnold Laver) will soon be available to get out and promote the event with promotional beer mats coming in the summer. There are still many sponsorship opportunities available if you would like to promote your business and support the festival at the same time, we’ll be opening the volunteering form soon.
You may already be familiar with theSocial bar on Snig Hill, run by Yes2Ventures, a social enterprise all about training people who are disadvantaged in the labour market. Much of what they do – art gallery, kitchen, bar and craft workshop is located at the Social premises.
The newest venture in the process of being launched is BrewSocial, a new brewery with the same community ethos training up new brewers. It is located in a railway arch unit in the Attercliffe area and the brew kit is repurposed from the old Little Ale Cart brewery that used to be located behind the Wellington pub at Shalesmoor (that ultimately was relocated and upgraded to bigger kit as Neepsend Brewery).
The guy leading the brewery is Richard Hough who has been around the beer scene for many years with a history that includes brewing at Abbeydale when Moonshine was launched and setting up Blue Bee Brewery.
There will be a little wait yet until their beer is seen on bars around the area as they are still putting the kit together and sorting out paperwork and licences, however test brewing will hopefully commence soon to establish recipes and become familiar with the kit before the beer is sold commercially.
The Sportsman Inn at Lodge Moor is holding Gillyfest on Saturday 30 July from midday to raise money for St Luke’s. It will feature live music throughout the day from the likes of Burnstones, 49’RS, Mam Tour, T-Rex, Ryan Young, Chris Poulton, Steve Delaney and Crafters along with a BBQ, kids ride, stalls and an outside bar. Admission is by charitable donation.
The Fox House closed for refurbishment at the end of April and is projected to reopen on 27 May.
True North Brewery are hosting a Jubilee street party on Saturday 2 June at the brewery on Eldon Street (by Devonshire Green, behind the Forum). A bar will be open in the brewery on the day and there will also be live music and street food.
The Porter Cottage at Sharrow Vale has had a change of ownership and is undergoing a major refurbishment, moving away from the current traditional style to be a bar with graffiti art, live music & DJs and football on the TV and is being rebranded as the Dirty Habit, part of a small chain of bars based mainly in the North East. The beer range is typically very mainstream but with a cask ale available, which at their other bars is from Anarchy Brewery.
The Boston Arms at Woodseats have announced their opening date – Friday 13 May at 4pm. By day it will operate as a coffee shop with the full micropub offering of beer, wines, spirits and cocktails available in the evening with the bar opening from 4pm. From the end of June bar snacks will also be available provided by Pellizco UK, who specialise in Mexican Street food and also have an outlet at Cutlery Works food hall.
The Tunnel Tap at Totley Rise is still on track for a summer opening, at the beginning of May the electrical work was the final part of the renovations to be completed with work moving on to painting and shopfitting.
The Bath Hotel in Sheffield City Centre has now reopened under old management.
The Devonshire Cat has been undergoing re-licencing ahead of being leased out to a new operator.
Mr Wilsons bar and Capone’s speakeasy is now open on West Street, no real ale or craft beer available. A new nightclub has opened at Moorfoot called Rehab, this is part of the Gay Quarter and run by the same people as Queer Junction club and Tafo takeaway, again no real ale or craft beer.
The Dronfield & District branch of CAMRA have presented their Pub of the Year award to the Miners Arms in Hundall, a country pub with a fantastic view over the valley and a great selection of real ales, all served by friendly staff!
A number of events are planned over the summer, many in the beer garden, including a programme of live music and of course they are participating in “One Valley Extra” festival on the Jubilee bank holiday weekend in conjunction with the Pioneer Club in Dronfield and Drone Valley Brewery in Unstone.
Hundall is served by TM Travel bus 15 (Dronfield-Chesterfield).
CAMRA’s National Members’ Weekend, AGM & Conference is an annual event open to all members, this year it was held in Eastbourne from 8 to 10 April and as a member who has been actively involved in the campaign for many years now decided to make the trip down to attend.
The AGM element is a very small part taking up less than an hour on Saturday morning as it is just fulfilling legally required formalities. The Conference sees a good chunk of the time spent discussing and voting on motions proposing to change CAMRA’s campaigning policy and procedures but there is also more aimed at active volunteers including guest speakers (this year we had Liberal Democrat MP Daisy Cooper and writer Laura Hadland), award presentations and various workshops designed to share experiences and help you run your branch better. We also have reports from the national Chairman and CEO.
Personally when it came to the slot for fringe events on Saturday afternoon my choice wasn’t one of the workshops, I instead bought a ticket to a beer tasting event cantered around the new United Kingdom of Beer book, which was hosted by the author Adrian Tierney-Jones and featured six of the beers from the book.
The Members’ Weekend part of the event title is the more social part, which, lets be honest, was why most members go and after two years of Covid restrictions it was a get together for people across the UK and beyond who hadn’t been together for almost three years! The local branch run a members’ bar in the conference venue which is basically a mini beer and cider festival and all are provided with an information booklet that includes a map and guide to all the real ale pubs in the area and it is always an enjoyable change to have a wander around the pubs in a different town and recognise people from the event drinking in them! There were are also coach trips to local breweries organised.
Back at the conference an interesting little exercise that took place was a presentation and discussion of CAMRA’s five year plan for 2023-2027. Over some time a number of different volunteer committees had fed into this document which in simple terms breaks down what CAMRA is about and needs to achieve into a number of core objective headings with more details under those headings that can develop and evolve over the next five years. The headings are:
Secure the long term future of real ale/live beer, real cider and real perry by increasing their quality, availability and popularity
Promote and protect pubs and clubs as social centres and part of the UK’s cultural heritage
Increase recognition of the health benefits of moderate social drinking
Play a leading role in the provision of information, education and training to all those with an interest in beer, cider and perry of any type
To ensure, where possible, that producers and retailers of beer, cider and perry act in the best interests of the customer
Develop products and services that promote the Campaign as widely as possible, increase and diversify the membership and activist base and generate campaigning funds
Develop and maintain the necessary ethos, governance, structure and financial resources to deliver CAMRA’s objectives
Secure the financial future of the organisation and continued campaigning activity by maintaining and increasing membership numbers
Increase recruitment and retention and increase activism through improving brand perception, inclusivity and diversity performance
Increase the number of volunteer/active members and ensure stability and sustainability of branch network
Support volunteer network and enable it to effectively deliver events and campaign objectives
The discussion also mentioned there are some themes that can fit into a number of objectives in the detail such as the wider issue of environmental sustainability – for example we should be ensuring that as an organisation we include such values in how we do things but also highlighting environmental positives in things we campaign for – for example real ale is typically sold from casks that are returned to the brewery and reused and spent grain from the brewing process is often taken away by farmers for animal feed.
CAMRA’s role in providing information and education for members was embraced through the period of lockdowns and restrictions with the launch of much online content including the Learn & Discover platform at camra.org.uk with an extensive library of content; the Pubs, Pints & People podcast which is now several seasons in and the What’s Brewing online members’ newspaper. Of course now most Covid restrictions are lifted and life is able to resume in a more normal fashion we are also able to organise more sociable experiences such as brewery tours and beer festivals again too!
The next annual Members’ Weekend, AGM & Conference takes place 21-23 April 2023 and we are hosting it here in Sheffield, bringing 1,000+ beer tourists to the city who as well as attending the conference at the Octagon will be discovering many of the pubs and breweries around our area!
