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.

Inn Brief

Posted on by Andy Cullen

A new bar has opened on Victoria Quays in the unit where Dorothy Pax was previously found. The Lock Inn is brought to you by the same people as the Dark Horse at Banner Cross and has cask ale from Little Mesters brewing on handpump. There are now three bars at Victoria Quay (the others being the Tavern on the Quays and True Loves), however the Lock Inn is the only one with real ale and is offering a discount to CAMRA members.

Hot on the heels of the Lock Inn has been a second new opening in Sheffield! The Botanical Arms is a new micropub at 507 Ecclesall Road and two handpumps adourn the bar with cask ales available on the opening day being from Kelham Island (Thornbridge) and Acorn Brewery.

The Castle Inn at Bradway is open again. with the lease taken on by Tom South. This is the second pub in the hands of Tom and his team after the Masons Arms in Thorpe Hesley. The food menu is the same at both pubs with pub classics served along with a Sunday roast. Some of you may recognise Tom having worked in a number of pubs including the Cross Scythes in Totley and the Cremorne on London Road in the past.

The Florist in Walkley is expected to reopen before Christmas after a three month closure. It is a pub company lease and the new operator is Bala Kata, who has run pubs in Manchester previously.

The recent sale of micropubs Mesters Tap and Heeley Artisan to Boston Brewery has fallen though after that brewery appeared to cease trading, and ownership of the two pubs have now reverted to one of the original owners. The Mesters Tap reopened just before Christmas, and Heeley Artisan has been renamed Heeley Tap and will be open by the time this Beer Matters appears. Both bars will be featuring beers from Little Mesters Brewery, as well as rotating guest beers. Initially the lines are all keg, but a cask line is imminent at Mesters Tap, and currently being considered at Heeley Tap. The bar at Heeley had been refitted by Boston Brewery and opened with 8 cask beers to choose from until the financial problems hit and it closed!

The Fat Cat in Kelham Island held their Christmas beer festival on 13 December.

The Boston Arms in Woodseats held a dark beer takeover from 11 December. The two cask ales featured were Thornbridge Jaipur Noir (5.9% ABV black IPA) and an Ossett / Amundsen collaboration which was a 5% ABV chocolate stout.

The Rutland Arms in Sheffield City Centre held their annual Christmas lights switch on party on 4 December. Naturally lots of delicious beer were available!

The Banner Cross now offers a discount to CAMRA members.

The Wobbly Dagger in Walkley has had a cask line installed and is serving handpulled Abbeydale Moonshine.

The Walkley Cottage Inn reopened under new management in December with four cask ales available. A bar snack menu was launched initially with plans to develop the pub’s offering more in the new year.

A planning application has been made to convert the former Chiquito restaurant at Valley Centertainment into a JD Wetherspoon pub.

You may recall back in 2019 there was talk of converting the old substation on Charles Street in Sheffield City Centre (between the Red Lion and Rutland Arms, near Hallam University student union) into a bar called “Watt Bar” with building work starting then all going quiet. The project is back on and the bar is expected to open in “early 2026”.

The Railway at Wadsley Bridge has been closing on weekdays during early/mid January to allow the pub to receive a bit of a fettle but continued to open Friday to Sunday.

The Waggon & Horses in Millhouses closed for 2 weeks after the new year for a refurbishment, reopening on 15 January.

Also taking advantage of the January lull to undertake repairs or refurbishment has been the Riverside Kelham and the Swan in Ridgeway.

A licensing application to open a new micropub on White Lane at Gleadless Townend was facing objections from Sheffield City Council Environmental Protection service and South Yorkshire Police according to the Sheffield Star newspaper. Issues to work through include documentation for electrical systems and proposed opening hours. The good news is they now have the appropriate approvals and coming soon is the “Pig & Whistle”, this is the unit that was previously a vets.

Turner’s Bottle & Tap on Abbeydale Road have announced they are closing after 7 years with a combination of factors leading them to the decision. January saw them selling off remaining stock and equipment.

The currently disused Ball Inn at Darnall is up for sale and expected to be converted to other uses.

The Queen’s Ground Hotel in Hillsborough no longer has cask ale permanently available, although it does apparently get put on from time to time if they expect to be busy for a football fixture.

The Closed Shop on Commonside saw Sophie and the team close the pub after Sunday 11 January due to financial pressures. It is leased from Heineken Star Pubs who are looking for new tenants to open it.

Nether Green micropub The Wonky Labrador closed for a refurbishment in early January. This popular venue features 8 keg lines and a well stocked bottle & can fridge. The initial batch of events are also booked in, featuring Meet The Brewer events with Wiper & True (Non-Alcoholic range) in January; Tartarus in March, as part of Sheffield Beer Week; Only With Love Brewery in May; Duration Brewing in June and Yonder Brewery in July. Full details will be on their website shortly.

The former Middlewood Tavern in Oughtibridge has gone on the market having been converted into a 4 bedroom house.

Greene King brewery are proposing to rename the Big Tree as the Masons Arms following a refurbishment and lease it out on their Nest franchise scheme. It is currently a managed pub.

The Ladybower Inn, a Batemans brewery lease, has reopened under the same management as the Psalter in Sheffield. Both venues offer a public bar, restaurant and hotel rooms. That management is Tom Lawson, his values are hospitality, community and quality.

The Midland in Killamarsh, we assumed was being converted to residential use since is closure and sale, however in fact it has reopened as the 1873 bistro and bar following significant refurbishment.

The Castle Inn at Castleton closed on Sunday 5 January for a refurbishment and is expected to reopen on Saturday 7 February.

The Eckington Beer & Music festival is planned for Saturday 27 June. This sees a number of pubs and bars in the area putting on live music, usually with a minibus service linking them at regular intervals.

The Angel in Holmesfield has been suffering a bit of a run of bad luck with their premises, the most recent was a closure caused by a water leak which damaged their electrics! The pub was hoping to reopen again after that on 14 January but got delayed another few days after more issues were found in the property, which is leased from Stonegate pub co.

The Chantry Brewery Tap in Parkgate, Rotherham, operates as a live music venue, mostly featuring classic rock and retro tribute bands. However they are organising a battle of the bands competition for local bands that perform their own original material. The first round of gigs will be late May and early June with a semi final and grand final to come after. The brewery is a short walk from the Tram Train terminus.

The Canary, on Olive Lane shopping street in Waverley, has started the year as they mean to go on with regular events. Sundays tea time sees music – either DJ based or a live performer, alternate Tuesdays is quiz & pizza truck and various other evenings see a food vendor in attendance or music/entertainment of some description! Check their social media pages for the latest diary. The bar features 3 cask ales and 7 keg beers, including some good quality craft options.

Bus 173

Posted on by Andy Cullen

Bus 173 is a handy little rural bus operated by Andrew’s of Tideswell that shuttles up and down once every two hours between Castleton and Bakewell via a number of villages passing some fantastic country pubs along the way. The route from Castleton as far as Great Longstone is in the Sheffield & District CAMRA branch area. Ashford in the Water and Bakewell is covered by the Chesterfield CAMRA branch.

A number of branch members including your Beer Matters editor have recently enjoyed a few days out visiting some of the pubs on the route and we’ve featured a few of the highlights here, however a full list of pubs along our part of the route is provided!

On our trips we’ve travelled from Sheffield using the 218 bus to Bakewell or the 65 to Tideswell or Litton in order to connect with the 173 and travel up and down between some of the pubs on the route, finishing in one of Bradwell, Hope or Castleton and catching the 272 bus back to Sheffield.

All the buses in the area charge no more than £3 a ride for single fares, however better value is the Derbyshire Wayfarer all day bus pass costing £9, you can buy that from the bus driver or on the Travelmaster app.

White Lion, Great Longstone

A Robinsons pub with two cask ales, typical local pub lounge and smart dining area.

Crispin, Great Longstone.

A Robinsons pub with a range of their cask ales, including Old Tom strong dark ale on our visit and traditional pub grub. It is a characterful pub with huge displays of tankards and ornaments, pub cat and friendly bar service.

Packhorse Inn, Little Longstone

A cosy Thornbridge Brewery pub known for its food. If you can’t get a table in the pub itself head for the beer garden at rear with both indoor and outdoor areas available!

Stables Bar, Monsal Head (also served by bus 257a once a day!)

Run by the same management as the Packhorse Inn, the Stables bar is in an outbuilding behind the Monsal Head Hotel and has a range of cask ales and serves food. Head outside for a breathtaking view over the valley!

Three Stags’ Heads, Wardlow Mires (also served by bus 257a and X66, both once a day! Note two buses a day on the 173 use an alternative route via Cressbrookdale and bypass Wardlow)

An absolutely legendary little pub where time has stood still. Leave your attitude and expectation at the door, buy a pint of ale (cash only), sit down in front of the fire and enjoy beer & conversation whilst taking in some of the eccentricities and history on display. Included in CAMRA’s national inventory of historic pub interiors.

Red Lion, Litton (also served by bus 65)

Cosy old multi roomed country pub with a range of mainly local cask ales, home cooked food and hotel rooms. Management and staff are friendly and organise special events from time to time.

Horse & Jockey, Tideswell (also served by bus 65)

Friendly local pub split into three areas. As you walk in there are lounge areas to your left and right with the bar at the far left, then up some steps there is a further area with a pool table. Two cask ales are available.

Star, Tideswell (also served by bus 65)

George Inn, Tideswell (also served by bus 65)

Recently reopened under the new management of Atlantik Inns, this pub is leased from Greene King Brewery and has a lounge, dining room, games room and courtyard.

Eyam Brewery Tap & Shop, Tideswell (also served by bus 65)

Open in November and December 2025 on selected Fridays and Saturdays then every weekend from Easter 2026 as a pop up bar, this is in an empty industrial unit and featuring a range of their beer on cask and keg with merchandise also available to buy. The unit is due to be converted into a proper tap bar and shop soon following a crowdfunding campaign. The conversion will include the addition of a kitchen, until then selected dates will see a street food trader outside – check the brewery’s social media for updates.

Anchor, Tideswell (also served by bus 65)

Operated by Atlantik Inns who lease the pub from Robinsons Brewery, this is a classic pub that has recently benefited from a huge investment in renovation and refurbishment. It still has a multi room style layout with areas for both drinkers and diners. Cask ale from Robinsons brewery is available. The pub made headlines recently for having a dedicated space in the car park for tractors.

Queen Anne, Great Hucklow (also serve by bus 65)

Classic village multi roomed pub with a couple of real ales and food available.

Blind Bull, Little Hucklow (a 7 minute walk from the bus stop, also served by bus 257b once a day)

In a village located down a country lane off the main road the buses use, this 12th century Inn spent a few years derelict before recently being restored and reopened, winning a national CAMRA Pub Design Award in the process. It is independently run, smart and offers ale, good food and hotel rooms.

Shoulder of Mutton, Bradwell (also served by bus 257b and 272)

White Hart, Bradwell (also served by bus 257b and 272)

A traditional stone flag floored local pub, now run by Bradfield Brewery. Note being in Derbyshire the Yorkshire Farmer ale is rebadged as White Hart ale!

Olde Bowling Green Inn, Bradwell (also served by bus 257b and 272)

Travellers Rest, Brough (also served by bus 257b and 272)

Old Hall Hotel, Hope (also served by bus 62, 257b and 272)

This is a popular venue featuring a bar with cask ales (mainly well known brands including Theakstons) and an extensive Scotch Whisky selection, restaurant, tea room and hotel rooms. A beer festival is held in a marquee outside on most bank holiday weekends featuring beers from Derbyshire and Scotland along with live music and food.

Woodroffe Arms, Hope (also served by bus 62, 257b and 272)

Traditional local pub offering ale, food and sport on tv.

Cheshire Cheese Inn, Hope (a short walk from the 173 stop or use bus 62)

Cosy old pub down a country lane towards Edale with two rooms on split levels and a beer garden. Cask ales and food available, also offers accommodation.

SwissTap Tap, Castleton (also served by bus 62 and 272)

A micropub located across two rooms on the ground floor of the Swiss House Bed & Breakfast house. Two cask ales from Abbeydale brewery are available and TV screens show sporting action.

Olde Cheshire Cheese, Castleton (also served by bus 62 and 272)

Classic pub & restaurant with low beams and a range of cask ales, including some local beers.

Peak Hotel, Castleton (also served by bus 62 and 272)

Quirky old pub with separate restaurant area, hotel rooms and beer garden. Cask ale range is mainly well known brands.

Olde Nag’s Head, Castleton (also served by bus 62 and 272)

bar and hotel popular for food. Range of mostly local cask ales available.

Bulls Head Hotel, Castleton (also served by bus 62 and 272)

Owned by Robinson brewery, serving their beers plus food.

Castle Inn, Castleton (also served by bus 62 and 272)

George, Castleton (also served by bus 62 and 272)

Also on the route but outside the Sheffield & District CAMRA branch area is Thornbridge Brewery tap room near Bakewell and the Ashford Arms at Ashford in the Water. For pubs in Bakewell please see the guide to bus route 218.

You can download a PDF bus timetable from travelderbyshire.co.uk and track buses live on a map at bustimes.org.

AND 173-Bakewell-Castleton from 27 03 2025Download

Brewery Bits

Posted on by Andy Cullen

The end of October saw Blue Bee brew version 84 of their American Five Hop, this time involving Columbus, Loral, Azacca, Cryo Mosaic and Idaho 7. Early November saw a Centennial hopped pale ale at 5% ABV brewed in a North Amercian style with different yeast.

Eyam Brewery hosted a pop up tap event on 7 and 8 November in the Tideswell building that is soon to be converted into a permanent brewery tap room and shop. The event saw a range of beers available on cask, keg and in cans plus on the Friday evening Sunshine Pizza oven joined them there. This is set to be repeated each weekend until 13 December.

Fuggle Bunny Brew House is hosting another bonus tap event (they open every Friday all year round) on Saturday 29 November from 3pm to 9pm. As well as their beers the afternoon will feature live music from 5pm. Food will also be available with Steak & Fuggle Ale pie & peas from Baker’s Dozen.

Triple Point Brewing are hosting a beer and chocolate pairing night in conjunction with Bullion chocolate. The event is from 6pm to 8:30pm on 1 December and the £30 ticket includes 5 beers and 5 chocolates and experts from both hosts to talk you through the decadent tasting experience! Advance booking required.

New from Drone Valley Brewery is “Yippee Ki IPA”, a 5.5% ABV pale ale hopped with Chinook, Citra and Mosaic.

Chin Chin Brewery near Moorthorpe is hosting a tap event 5 to 7 December. Open 1pm to 9pm each day.

Inn Brief

Posted on by Andy Cullen

Shakespeares Ale & Cider House on Gibraltar Street, West Bar, is hosting a dark beer festival 20 to 23 November.

The Dove & Rainbow in Sheffield City Centre now hosts an open mic night on two Wednesdays each month, including 3 and 17 December. It is open to bands, solo acts, comedians, poets and really anything else deemed appropriate! The Dove (in its current guise) has also recently celebrated its 19th birthday!

The Railway at Wadsley Bridge launched a fortnightly blues jam night on Thursday 6 November with an 8:30pm start. In December dates are 4th and 18th.

The Old Queen’s Head in Sheffield City Centre (by the bus station) is offering a 10% discount off pints of cask ale for CAMRA members that produce their membership card at the time of ordering – check with the pub for terms & conditions.

The Three Tuns in Sheffield City Centre is also offering a discount on cask ale for CAMRA members – check with the pub for terms & conditions.

The Walkley Cottage Inn has had a change of management with Sophie leaving, she’s now concentrating on the Closed Shop which recently launched a new food menu.

The Masons Arms in Crookes has reopened but is not serving real ale.

The Heeley Artisan bar has had a refurbishment and reopened under the new management of Boston Brewery on 14 November with 8 cask lines! A name change is expected.

Mesters Tap has been sold and is expected to be renamed. Little Mesters are intending to set up a tap room near the brewery in Attercliffe instead. The new owners are believed to be Boston Brewery (no relation to the Boston Arms nearby!)

The Dog & Partridge in Sheffield City Centre has introduced a twice monthly Celtic Sessions event hosted by Sharon Dreadz featuring acoustic traditional & contemporary songs and tunes. This is from 8pm on the first and third Thursday of the month.

The Peacock Inn in Stannington has introduced a pie night on Thursdays, 4pm to 8pm.

The Tunnel Tap micropub at Totley Rise is hosting a Belgian beer night on 12 December.

The Foresters in Sheffield City Centre has reopened and now has a range of 5 cask ales on handpump. Other changes include opening until 2am on Friday and Saturday nights with a DJ on.

The Castle Inn at Bradway closed at the end of November with 2 weeks notice after Stonegate Pubco terminated the lease. New tenants have already been lined up and believed to be the same people who operate the Cross Sycthes in Totley.

The Miners Arms in Dronfield Woodhouse has been running an early bar offer Monday to Thursday with £1 off a pint of cask ale 2pm to 5pm.

The Manor House Hotel on Dronfield High Street is under new ownership with Kevin Gage handing over the reigns to Isobel Ford (his step daughter) and Elliot Hill. They are bringing new energy, enthusiasm and ideas and building on what Kevin has achieved with the venue over the last 17 years. The relaunch party was held on Saturday 8 November from 6pm with live music, DJ and food.

The Blue Stoops in Dronfield reopened on 17 November after a major refurbishment.

The Coach & Horses in Dronfield, which is now under the management of Sheffield FC and just opens sporadically for selected football matches, no longer offers real ale or any kind of craft beer and has been deleted from the current Good Beer Guide.

Drone Valley Brewery’s Tap has had another upgrade to the tent to ensure it continues to be a comfortable place to be during the winter months! An increasing number of special events are being hosted there, see their social media for dates and ticket info.

The George & Dragon in Holmesfield, run by Boston Brewery, currently has special beer prices on Wednesdays with all the Boston Brewery ales reduced to £3 a pint. The pub also now has an all day food offering with breakfast served from 8:30am and main menu served from midday until 8pm (hot roast sandwiches on Sundays).

The Hyde Park In Dronfield has reopened under new management with cask ale available and has now launched their new food menu.

Must be Christmas!

Posted on by Andy Cullen

A long established December tradition in some areas including north Sheffield and the Peak District is for brass bands and choirs to tour pubs for Christmas carol concerts, sometimes with pub customers invited to join in the carol singing.

The Unite Brass Band are holding an annual Christmas concert at the Gardeners Rest in Neepsend on Thursday 11 December from 8pm whilst Stannington Brass Band are doing a full “Pub Carols” tour around the city from 3 December onwards. Venues include the Waggon & Horses (Millhouses), Riverside Kelham, Crown & Glove (Stannington), Broadfield, Punchbowl (Crookes), Rose & Crown (Stannington), Bulls Head (Ranmoor), The Ball (Crookes) and Dog & Partridge (Sheffield Centre). They also have a ticketed event at Grafters Bar in Neepsend.

Tideswell band have a number of Christmas concerts planned, including some carol events in pubs – the George Inn, Tideswell, on 19 December; Anchor, Tideswell, on 21 December and the Old Hall Hotel in Hope on 22 December.

The Crispin at Great Longstone has Cressbrook band performing sing along Christmas Carols on Tuesday 16 December from 7pm with mince pies also available!

Brewery Bits

Posted on by Andy Cullen

Among the early October brews at Blue Bee was an IPA featuring Centennial and Simcoe hops.

Meanwhile at our Steel City Beer & Cider Festival were some oak aged special editions including their export stout and dark mild.

New from Intreprid Brewing Co is Black Gold, their “Schwarzbier”, based on the classic European black lager recipe. It was on the bar in cask at our recent Steel City Beer & Cider Festival.

Eyam Brewery have launched merch in the form of t-shirts and hoodies which will be available to order from their webshop soon.

An updated brew of Loxley Brewery‘s Pride of the Valley hazy pale ale was featured on the bar at our recent Steel City Beer & Cider Festival.

Little Critters won our Champion Beer of Sheffield & District competition with “Chocodile”, a chocolate milk stout. This beer proved very popular on the bar at the Steel City Beer & Cider Festival with several extra casks delivered, all of which sold out!

Also featured at Steel City 49 was a cask ESB brewed as a collaboration between Thornbridge and St Mars of the Desert which proved to be the quickest cask beer to sell out at the festival!

That was Steel City No 49!

Posted on by Andy Cullen

SPECIAL BEERS

We had three special commemorative beers from local breweries.

Bradfield Brewery – Pride of Yorkshire

This year the charity collecting donations at the festival was the Childrens’ Hospital Charity and the beer marking this was Pride of Yorkshire, from Bradfield Brewery. The name refers to the upcoming Pride of Yorkshire Sculpture Trail taking place in 2026 celebrating the charity’s 150th anniversary and will feature 150 large lion and lioness sculptures, and 150 smaller lion cub sculptures positioned across South Yorkshire, each telling a unique story and designed by professional artists and community groups. For details of this visit prideofyorkshire.org.

Holly and Paul with Abbeydale Beer Matters

We’re celebrating 50 years of our Beer Matters magazine and here Abbeydale Brewery helped out to mark the occasion with a dry hopped special edition of a regular beer badged up with an actual magazine cover!

Finally, Neepsend Brewery helped with a special pumpclip for a cask version of their Alcis session IPA to mark the memory of Kevin Thompson, our social secretary and press officer who unexpectedly passed away recently.

THE FESTIVAL OPENING

Jon, Holly and Paul pulling a pint of Yorkshire Pride
Jon pulling a pint of Yorkshire Pride

This started with the unlikely trio of our festival organiser Paul Crofts, Sheffield Childrens Hospital Charity’s Holly and Jon McClure from Reverend & The Makers (who have a new single out called Haircut) behind a bar pulling a pint of the Pride of Yorkshire beer.

Triple Point Sheaf, Bronze winner
Abbeydale Black Mass – Silver winner
Little Critters Chocodile – Gold winner
beer judging tables

Attention then moved to the stage where after welcoming everyone to the festival, Paul introduced Megan from Beer Central who announced the winners of our Champion Beer of Sheffield & District competition and presented the certificates to the winning brewers.

The competition had been judged earlier in the afternoon by six teams of invited guests at a blind tasting.

Dan & Martha with Fledermaus

Finally, back at the bar we had Dan & Martha from the Brewery of St Mars of the Desert with their German Stichfass casks filled with one of their new beers, Fledermaus, for a special tapping and pouring. A long queue soon formed with the beer selling out quite quickly!

Dale judging beer

Also present at the festival opening and beer judging was Dale from the Great British Pub Crawl, a social media content creator whose videos are available across many platforms charting his progress visiting as many pubs across the country as possible. With a fair old audience built up he takes the opportunity to champion the British pub and recently launched an online petition asking the government to give pubs a fairer deal, which complements CAMRA’s own lobbying nicely!

LITTLE CHICAGO WALKING TOUR

On Thursday morning 19 lucky ticket holders embarked on a guided walk around places in Kelham Island featured in the “Little Chicago” local history booklet (which was available to buy at the festival) with a pub stop at the Crow along the way. The tour and talk finished at the beer festival.

Thursday was also the first full day of the festival with all the food traders open alongside the bars and games.

Bradfield tutored tasting

A number of ticket holders enjoyed a tutored tasting event with Bradfield Brewery in a private room at the festival. This involved the brewers talking their audience through a number of beers in their range with their biggest selling Farmers Blonde and their whisky barrel aged Belted Galloway Stout among the 5 beers included.

Thursday night saw the live music programme kick off with the Retrobates starring Kitty Noir taking to stage whilst on Friday night it was Soul Battalion playing to a packed house! On Saturday we had Loxley Silver Band playing in the afternoon, Kelham Rappers dancing outside afterwards then at tea time on stage was Blythe Power.

FOOD TRADERS

The festival featured a number of street food vendors outside in the courtyard including Carribean Fusion serving flavourful authentic Jamaican street food such as jerk chicken wraps and Mutton curry, Yuleys Bratwurst with a range of German sausages on the BBQ, Yorkshire Crepes serving pancakes with various sweet and savoury filllings including some cocktail themed options, Sunshine Pizza Oven and finally Bonnie and Clyde slinging out deep fried Italian snacks.

Meanwhile inside we had Cheese Factor from Chesterfield indoor market boasting a refrigerated display filled with a whole range of cheeses along with pork pies serving up Ploughmans Platters and sandwiches.

Also inside was Fairfax chocolatiers with a range of fancy choccies and signature spirits. There was an option to combine the two with a cup of boozy hot chocolate!

BARS

The festival boasted a range of over 250 different beers in cask, keg, bottle and can plus cider, perry and mead spread across 4 areas.

The upper hall featured cask ales from brewers at the lower end of the alphabet (A-L) whilst the marquee featured cask ales from brewers at the other end of the alphabet (M-Y). Both those main areas had a cider bar and a bottle/can bar.

New this year was the Guest Brewers’ Room with three bars hosted by the breweries themselves with beers on both cask and keg. Pouring beers here were Radio City Beer Works, Turning Point and Ossett.

Meanwhile a wander beyond the courtyard through the Hawley Gallery (exhibition of knives and tools!) took you to the dedicated keg bar with some rather interesting craft beers pouring from a wall of 27 taps.

THE RIVER DON STEAM ENGINE

This is something the museum is well known for so it was arranged for it to be fire up for a demo at set times each day of the festival from Thursday onwards and always proves to be a popular attraction!

OTHER DISTRACTIONS!

We also had our tombola (every “1” is a winner!), classic pub games, CAMRA membership sign up stand and book shop.

GLASSWARE

All the drinks were served in commemorative glasses featuring this years festival logo with a choice of two designs – a classic pint glass with Hendersons Relish artwork and a beautiful stemmed half pint with Bradfield Brewery 20th anniversary artwork.

THE UNOFFICIAL FESTIVAL FRINGE

We get loads of beer tourists coming to Sheffield for the festival who are also keen to experience the great pubs the city is famous for with a whole load within walking distance of the festival venue including the Fat Cat and Kelham Island Tavern. Some of the pub ran events during festival week, for example Shakespeares Ale & Cider House had a tap takeover and the Harlequin hosted live music.

THANK YOU!

Thanks to all those visitors that came an enjoyed the festival and drank all the beer & cider, thanks to those that donated prizes for the tombola and thanks to all our sponsors for your support.

An even bigger thanks to all the volunteers that gave up their time to help organise, build, run, staff and pack up the festival. We move into an empty venue several days before the festival opens building it all from scratch and of course after we close Saturday night it all requires dismantling and packing away before the museum opens to the public again!

There is also of course months of publicising the festival in advance and we had a small army of volunteers distributing promotional beer mats, posters and flyers!

THANKS FROM THE TOMBOLA

The organisers of the recent 49th Steel City Beer & Cider Festival would like to thank the following for donating items to the festival tombola and to sell in support of Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity:- Wayne Brierley RIP, Abbeydale Brewery, Blue Bee Brewery, Kelham Island Tavern, Paul & Tina Crofts, Ossett Brewery, Terry Palmer, Fairfax Distillers & Chocolatiers, Paul Manning, The Wellington, Dave Pickersgill, Nigel & Emlyn Tasker, Bernie Hunter, Crown & Glove, Loxley Brewery and everyone who donated anonymously.  Apologies if we have missed anyone. – Andy Morton.

Inn Brief

Posted on by Andy Cullen

A change of management has taken place at the Foresters on Division Street in Sheffield City Centre (although regulars will recognise the new landlord!) and the pub will be temporarily closed for a short period in November for a bar refit. Plans include an increased cask ale range and the return of late night opening.

The Dog & Partridge in Sheffield City Centre is hosting another “Dogfest” (their sixth) on the 29 November with lots of music going on! In other news they are now serving food on Sundays.

A number of venues around Sheffield that feature live music have teamed up to form the Sheffield Independent Venue Alliance (SIVA) with a principle of collaboration making the grassroots scene stronger and more viable. A map is available showing all the venues which includes the Washington, Hallamshire Hotel, Sidney & Matilda, Alder, Crookes Social Club, Hagglers Corner, Dryad Works, Yellow Arch Studios, Forge Warehouse, Gut Level, Cafe No9, Southbank Warehouse, Delicious Clam, Panke Bar and Plot 22.

The Rambler Inn at Edale held a relaunch party to celebrate Jo and Chris taking the reigns as managers. Canapes, live music and a quiz featured on the night whilst on the bar were cask ales from Torrside, Abbeydale, Timothy Taylors and Theakston.

Batemans brewery are looking for new tenants to take on the lease of the Ladybower Inn near Bamford. They held a recruitment open day on 20 October.

The Angler’s Rest in Millers Dale, near Buxton, has introduced a Winter Warmer menu offering two course for £15. Included in the offer is a choice of 4 main course dishes and 4 dessert options. This is available Monday to Thursday 12-2 and 6-8pm.

The Anglers Rest at Bamford will be taking an outside bar to the Bamford Christmas market held at Thornhill Recreation Ground on Saturday 15 November. This is a community event that is raising funs for Bamford Play Park. There will be local makers selling their wares, Sunshine Pizza will have their oven fired up plus there will be stalls doing pie & peas and tea & cake. For the kids there will be a bouncy castle and a hook a duck stall will also be present! Running alongside the market will be two fell races including the Beast of Bamford!

The Scotsman’s Pack in Hathersage now offers a 15% discount on food for Blue Light card holders Monday to Thursday.

The George in Hathersage will be offering festive afternoon teas from 28 November and also has a loyalty card for those that drink coffee there. Being a venue owned by Longbow it also saw the pub represented in the company’s Young Chef of the Year competition!

The Plough Inn at Leadmill Bridge near Hathersage is hosting a wreath making workshop on 18 November.

The Miners Arms in Dronfield Woodhouse has had a change of management and a launch party took place on Saturday 18 October.

The Hyde Park Inn at Dronfield Hill Top has had a short period of closure after Tom and Vee retired from the pub trade at the end of August. The pub is owned by Stonegate pubco and leased out to independent operators and is due to reopen under the new management of Lee and Zoe on 24 October with a launch party featuring a cheesy karaoke disco and finger buffet!

The Coach & Horses in Dronfield, which is owned by Sheffield FC but had been leased to Thornbridge Brewery to operate, has seen the lease end and the football club take on the running themselves. Initially it will only open on matchdays. However coinciding with the C&H closing as a full time pub, the Dronfield Arms have announced a permanent Thornbridge cask line on their bar!

The Manor House Hotel bar on Dronfield High Street are now doing afternoon teas, Sunday lunches, bottomless brunches and cheese boards. Live music is also expected to take place on some Saturday afternoons.

The Winter Green in Waverley closed for refurbishment on 20 October and reopens on 12 November.

Abbeydale Brewery

Posted on by Andy Cullen

Blue Mist is the latest addition to our beautiful range inspired by vintage botanical prints, and this time we’ve created a 4% pale ale with Chinook and Centennial hops. Sweet floral notes and juicy citrus are backed up with a tasty, assertive finish. 

Doctor Morton’s Socks Appeal is our second beer release of the year in partnership with local charity Ben’s Centre. A 4.1% pale ale with soft notes of tangerine and lime, brewed using Vic Secret and Amarillo hops. For each cask sold we’re donating a pair of socks to Ben’s Centre – please do check out their wishlist if you’re able to support this incredibly worthy cause.  

A festive release in our Mythical Creatures series, Glugg (4.2%) has artwork inspired by the Yule Lads of Iceland. Hopped with Belma and Cashmere, expect delicate melon flavours which come together deliciously with a spicy, earthy character.

And we’ve used one of our very favourite hops for Through the Hopback Nelson Sauvin. A deliciously sessionable pale ale (3.9%) with delicate Sauvignon Blanc-esque flavours of white grape and gooseberry coupled with a floral finish.

And talking of showcasing ingredients we love – from the Brewers Emporium we have a single hopped Simcoe IPA (5.8%) coming up from our Obsession series, celebrating the 25th anniversary of this glorious hop! A clean malt backbone allows the Simcoe to truly shine, bringing zesty grapefruit, resinous pine, a hint of fresh berries and an hearty, bitter finish.

Finally on the opposite side of the beery spectrum, look out for an Irish Cream Stout (5.4%) which is a seasonally appropriate addition to the Salvation series. Deliciously deluxe vanilla notes combine with soft caramel flavours and just a hint of roasted character for balance. Rich and oh so creamy with a full mouthfeel and a mellow finish.

Steel City Beer & Cider Festival

Posted on by Andy Cullen

>> VISIT THE FESTIVAL WEBSITE HERE <<

Sheffield’s 49th annual Steel City Beer & Cider Festival takes place at Kelham Island Museum from 15 to 18 October 2025, here is a guide to what is planned this year!

As previous years, the two main areas of the festival are the upper hall and marquee, both which feature a huge cask ale bar, cider & perry bar plus a can/bottle bar which will feature some low/no alcohol options.

There will also be a room featuring three guest brewers hosting their own bars (as well as Bradfield who this year will be in the main hall upstairs) and a room dedicated to craft beer in kegs. The guest brewers are Radio City, Turning Point and Ossett.

The upper hall will also feature CAMRA book stall and merchandise plus the “every 1 is a winner” tombola along with the CAMRA membership sign up stand whilst down in the marquee you’ll find some classic old skool pub games to test your skill and luck on.

As usual there will be an array of third party food & drink traders at the festival:

  • in the courtyard serving hot food will be Sunshine Pizza Oven, Yuleys Bratwurst, Yorkshire Crepes and Caribbean Fusion
  • in the Stone Garden will be Bonnie & Clyde serving Italian comfort food
  • in the upper hall will be Cheese Factor serving ploughman’s lunches, pork pies and cheese sandwiches whilst Fairfax Chocolatiers will be selling their fancy chocolates along with signature spirits which are available by the bottle to take home or to enjoy as a cheeky shot or part of a cocktail

A change this year is all our bars will be taking card payment (contactless or chip & PIN), however we’ll also still be selling the £5 bar tokens which you can buy using cash or card. There will be token sales desks in the marquee and upper hall.

As a result of the bars taking card payment, the entry price is no longer packaged in with beer tokens so the amount charged on the gate will be lower this year. As before all admissions are sold on the gate, however if you wish to attend one of the tours, talks and tasting events you can buy tickets for those in advance online.

WEDNESDAY 15 OCTOBER

The festival is open from 5pm to 10:30pm. However if you are a CAMRA member, sponsor, industry staff or journalist you can get in a little earlier for a preview session from 4pm which can be a great networking opportunity!

At 6pm we’ll be announcing the Champion Beer of Sheffield & District following an afternoon of judging the beers entered by local breweries. Additionally our very special guest, Jon McClure from Reverend & The Makers, will be opening the festival. The band has a new single out – Haircut – do buy a copy or download if that’s your thing!

We’ll also have Dan from the Brewery of St Mars of the Desert hosting a tapping of their German Stichfass, be prompt if you want to try some as when it’s gone it’s gone!

Entry to the festival on the Wednesday evening is free of charge for everyone other than a £3 deposit on a souvenir glass to drink out of.

the Millowners Arms pub will be open exclusively to festival visitors with a full range of beers, wines, spirits and soft drinks plus a food offering expected to include pies and various snacks.

THURSDAY 16 OCTOBER

The festival is open from 11:30am to 10:30pm. Entry is £2 for CAMRA members, £5 for everyone else, plus a £3 deposit for the souvenir glass to drink out of.

There’s a couple of optional extra events to add to your festival experience. You can go on a guided walk of the local area that featured in the book “Sheffield 1925: Gang Wars and Wembley Glory” with author John Stocks and local pub heritage expert Dave Pickersgill and the tour will finish at the beer festival. Tickets for this cost £12 and include entry to the festival with the tour starting at 11:30am.

We also have Bradfield Brewery hosting a tutored tasting at 7pm showcasing the depth and breadth of their beer range including an oak aged beer. Tickets for this cost £9 on top of festival entry covering the cost of the tasting samples (5 x third pints).

Finally on Thursday night at 8pm we have live music in the upper hall with The Retrobates, starring Kitty Noir, performing rythm & blues.

The steam powered River Don engine will be fired up for a demonstration run at 6:30pm.

FRIDAY 17 OCTOBER

The festival is open from 11:30am to 10:30pm. Entry is £3 for CAMRA members, £7 for everyone else, plus a £3 deposit for the souvenir glass to drink out of.

An optional extra event to add to your festival experience at 4:30pm is a pub heritage talk, concentrating on Sheffield’s Little Chicago Quarter. It will explore both the pub heritage aspects of the area plus the streets which feature in the book, ‘Sheffield 1925: Gang Wars and Wembley Glory.’ The cost is £4 on top of festival entry and includes a copy of the Little Chicago pub walk booklet.

At 8pm on Friday night we have Soul Battalion on stage in the upper hall performing the best of soul and motown.

The steam powered River Don engine will be fired up for a demonstration run at 1pm and 6pm.

SATURDAY 18 OCTOBER

The festival is open from 11am to 9pm. Entry is £3 for CAMRA members, £7 for everyone else, plus a £3 deposit for the souvenir glass to drink out of.

In the upper hall we have Loxley Silver Band playing at 2pm and Blyth Power (a long established folk rock band) on at 5pm. Throughout the afternoon the Kelham Island Rapper team will be dancing around the festival.

The steam powered River Don engine will be fired up for a demonstration run at 1pm and 4:30pm.

CHARITY

The good cause we are supporting this year is the Sheffield Childrens’ Hospital Charity with collection buckets placed around the festival. Please consider dropping a donation in and they will also accept unspent credit from beer tokens.

SOUVENIR GLASS

All your drinks will be served in your branded festival glass which you can keep as a souvenir or return for a refund at the end. There is a choice of half or pint glasses and all also have a third pint line. Our bars offer a choice of third, half and pint measures. The glasses are sponsored by Hendersons Relish and Bradfield Brewery. There are self service glass rinsing stations around the festival.

VOLUNTEERING

The festival is organised and staffed entirely by volunteers. If you’d like to help out please visit the website for more information and complete the online staffing form.

MORE INFORMATION

All the details, including the beer & cider lists, will be available on the website (sheffield.camra.org.uk/sc) once confirmed or alternatively printed programmes will be available to buy at the festival for £1.