Rutland Arms, Holmesfield
In February Dronfield CAMRA branch presented their Winter Pub of the Season award to the Rutland Arms in Holmesfield.
Seen here is branch Chairman Rob Barwell with award winning publicans Gary and Lucie.
A CAMRA member attending a recent branch meeting suggested to much agreement that we ought to get our correspondents to help us pull together a list of derelict pubs. All are closed and not in the best condition, some are for sale and could yet reopen as pubs given the right investment, others just waiting for redevelopment.
So here are 15 examples our Pub Heritage Officer has come up with
1. Arbourthorne Hotel, Arbourthorne
2. Ball Inn, Darnall
3. The Boardwalk, Snig Hill, City Centre
4. The Botanical, Ecclesall Road
5. Burgoyne Arms, Langsett Road
6. Cannon Hotel, 30 Castle Street, City Centre
7. Cuthbert Bank, 164 Langsett Road
8. Fairfield, Neepsend Lane
9. Market Tavern, City Centre
10. Matilda, City Centre
11. Olde Harrow, 80 Broad Street
12. Queens Hotel, Scotland Street
13. Stockroom, Leadmill Road
14. Turf Tavern, Handsworth Road
15. Under the Boardwalk, Snig Hill, City Centre
This is not a complete list – please add others!
A small group of Sheffield CAMRA members recently visited the Little Critters brewery at Neepsend. Head Brewer, Will Inman, currently brews three times/week on their 10 bbl plant.
As well as selling beer to the free trade, they supply their own two pubs. The widest range is available at the Fox & Duck in Broomhill where the beer is available at very reasonable prices and is popular with both students and older locals, with the top selling beer being Blonde Bear (4.2% ABV) of which the Fox & Duck gets through more than 55 gallons a week! Their other pub is the Doctors Orders, located between the University of Sheffield and Royal Hallamshire Hospital, the food service at this pub is busy with both students and hospital visitors. Note the beers here are renamed to fit the pub theme.
Little Critters also have a reputation for quality and have already won awards, for example their C Monster, a 6.5% Citrus IPA was Silver Champion at Steel City Beer Festival 42 last year.
Contract bottling, on an external site, has been utilised. However, quality control, has meant that the brewery currently hand-bottles small batches.
Little Critters are currently finding that demand is outstripping supply. Hence, despite been open for less than a year, the brewery is currently looking for a new home. They intend to stay in the same area as the water supply suits their beers.
With the popularity of their regular beers, a lot of brewing time is taken up simply keeping up with demand, however as they have just celebrated their 100th brew they did manage to get in a few specials with a Hazlenut Milk Stout recently hitting the bars and a collaboration with Hopjacker coming up ready for Sheffield Beer Week which will be lemon citrus all the way!
Thanks to Will for an interesting, and useful, visit.
Dave Pickersgill & Andrew Cullen
A former local government worker who left the rat race to devote her days to baking beautiful brownies has pioneered a unique recipe which is taking sweet-toothed shoppers by surprise after adding a secret ingredient to her culinary creations… beer!
Heather Moore, who lives in Middlewood, set up her booming brownie business We Luv Brownies in October 2014. After spending time perfecting and refining her culinary creations, Heather recognised that she needed to grow her business and turned to Launchpad; a unique business scheme delivered across the Sheffield City Region designed to help new entrepreneurs transform ideas into a commercial reality.
A visit to her local brewery, Bradfield Brewery, inspired Heather to add beer to her recipe and to her surprise she discovered the end result was a richer tasting brownie which intensified the chocolate flavours.
Her unique creation proved to be an instant hit at local farmers markets, but like many other new entrepreneurs she recognised that if the business was going to succeed she needed to develop a regular customer base, allowing her to transform her hobby into a full-time commercial venture. Through the Launchpad programme Heather received advice from an experienced business advisor who worked with her to develop new markets for her products.
Today Heather produces over 300 brownies each week which can be found in coffee shops throughout Yorkshire and are also proving to be a surprise hit in some of the city’s pubs. Heather’s Stout and Belgian Blue beer based brownies are just one of the eight varieties she makes, as well as best sellers Blondie, Salted Caramel and a selection of gluten free flavours. She is now planning to expand her business further by selling online as well as relocating the business from her own kitchen to commercial premises.
Heather Moore, We Luv Brownies, said:
“I’ve always enjoyed baking and my recipes were well received by friends, family and work colleagues, but selling to a complete stranger for the first time was something which both excited and terrified me in equal measures.
“Leaving a secure career and taking a step into the unknown was a leap of faith but I decided to give it a try. Running your own business can be daunting for anyone, but Launchpad helped me to understand the nuts and bolts of what it takes to run and grow your own business as well as giving me the confidence in face to face interaction with customers and in my business idea as a whole.
“One of the greatest challenges I faced was finding customers but through the support I’ve received from Launchpad, I’ve managed to successfully develop a network of over 20 local cafés, retail outlets and even pubs which regularly place orders for my brownies.
“The Launchpad scheme played a huge role in helping me to develop my business and they are now helping me to scale the company further. To do this I’m looking at recruiting my first members of staff as well as possibly leasing premises which will help me to increase the numbers of brownies I produce.”
Joan Binns, Business Advisor, SCR Launchpad said:
“Our work with Heather helped to give her the confidence in her vision. The scheme is aimed at helping people who have never run a business before and by spending time attending the free workshops and accessing the one-to-one support available through the programme, Heather has gained invaluable business lessons, but perhaps more importantly the knowledge and confidence to believe in her idea.
“Some of the best business ideas are driven by a passion for a hobby and the success Heather has enjoyed is a perfect example of how, when benefitting from the right support and advice, a business idea can be transformed into a commercial reality.”
Launchpad is a unique scheme which forms part of the Sheffield City Region Growth hub. Funded by the European Union Regional Development Fund and delivered by Local Authorities within Sheffield City Region and the Princes Trust, the programme provides free help and support to budding entrepreneurs in the Sheffield City Region who are thinking of starting their own business, or have started trading within the last two years.
For more information on the Launchpad programme and how it operates throughout the Sheffield City Region, contact the SCR Growth Hub Gateway on 03330 00 00 39 or visit www.scrlaunchpad.co.uk
ENDS
Steel City are already halfway to matching 2016’s brewing total, with one brew on the big kit and one on the minikit, plus away collabs at Lost Industry and Neepsend. The imperial pale stout, Master of Puppets came out at a whopping 11.5%, and tastes mainly of chocolate! Meanwhile, Dave couldn’t find any communion wine for the Pastor of Muppets so the next best thing was Chateauneuf du Pape, along with the communion wafers. Look out for both versions during Sheffield Beer Week
Away from home, the first collab of the year was a double brew at Lost Industry, using the same sour mash to create a Melba Sour for Sheffield Beer Week, while that was ‘Trumped’ by the marmalade sour ‘Golden Sour In A Moscow City Hotel Room’.
The next collab was at Neepsend, a Passionfruit Pale Ale entitled The Passion(fruit) of St Tibulus. Careful now!
The next collabs are scheduled to be the return of the Raw Steel series (Dave and David both realised that despite a dozen or so collabs, it’s been 4 years since they brewed the big hoppy pale style both are renowned for!), followed by the long-awaited trip to Edinburgh to brew at Black Metal, which looks like being an Imperial Black Kvass!
CAMRA and its members are currently lobbying MPs for a penny off duty on a pint of beer at the forthcoming budget to help pubs and brewers, additionally drinkers are being rallied across the country to apply to get their community pubs listed as assets of Community Value, which means that the community gets to have a say in any plans for a pub that closes to be turned into something else or demolished.
However there is a perfect storm on the horizon – business rates are being reviewed by cash strapped local authorities and being judged based on property values – so areas that have improved in the last few years will see taxes rocket and it is thought some pubs could see their rates rise by about 40% and in some examples triple.
Some examples in Sheffield that will see a hefty increase in business rates are the Sheffield Tap and the pubs around the Kelham Island district.
At the same time as the rates increase, there is also the introduction of the living wage scheme which is above the current minimum wage that many pub and bar workers earn. Of course I’m sure most of us wouldn’t begrudge the staff that serve us a living wage just so we can enjoy beer a few pence cheaper, however it all adds up for publicans!
According to press reports, the new business rates coupled with the increased payroll costs could add 5p to a pint of beer (plus VAT). However then there are increased costs for brewers to pass on to the pubs too…..
Well it’s March, so that can only mean one thing – SHEFFIELD BEER WEEK!!!
We have some exciting things planned, most notably the launch of our new modern range of rotating beers down at the Devonshire Cat on Thursday March 16th. Come down and try Salvation Stout, Reaper Wheat Beer and Voyager IPA alongside our already popular Heathen! All artwork by the wonderfully talented James Murphy (iamjamesdmurphy.wordpress.com).
The Voyager IPA contains the largest hop grist we have ever used, so this one is certainly for lupulus lovers! Keep an eye for other events during Sheffield Beer Week and we will also be at BeerX through the event up at Ice Sheffield.
Other exciting news is to look out for a very special four-way collaboration with some old friends and ex-brewers of ours now at breweries up and down the land (well Leeds, Huddersfield and Wokingham to be more precise!)
We have another collaboration to shout about from another Huddersfield brewery, Beer Ink, and after the success of the first ‘away’ collaboration, the 9% Imperial S’mores Stout ’S’more Than A Feeling’, we are delighted to release the ‘home’ collaboration ‘Tropic Like It’s Hot’, a 6% fruited IPA with a totally tropical flavour, very much akin to a popular soft drink from the Caribbean.
March also sees the return of two popular beers from the past, the last instalment of our campaign for surreal ale, ‘Surreal Ale #3’ a 4.1% pale beer made with Motueka and Green Bullet hops from New Zealand. Fruity aromas with flavours of tropical fruits with a hint of spiciness, some sweetness balanced by a lasting bitter finish. Another returning classic is ‘Dr Morton’s Rabbit Punch’ to celebrate the resurrection of our saviour, ‘Dr P Morton’ (or is it someone else? ;))
We also hope to release the first run of 330ml cans into pubs, bars and local bottle shops, when we get Heathen into cans very soon!
Until next month, cheers and beers, and see you at the Dev Cat on March 16th!
Cheers
Robin
A number of brewers, publicans and beer writers have teamed up to brew special beers that will be on various bars over Sheffield Beer Week. Below is a summary of the details we know at the time of going to press although they could of course change before then and there may be more we haven’t yet been told about!
- True North Brew Co x Riverside: Earl Grey English IPA abv tbc. The Riverside crew join forces with their brewhouse to brew this English and tea inspired collaboration. To be launched at the Riverside during Sheffield Beer Week
- Thornbridge x Pete Brown x Sheff Uni x Sheffield Beer Week: Jester hopped pale abv tbc. This upcoming new UK hop variety – Jester is the inspiration and celebration of the ‘Beer Report’ momentum.
- Lost Industry x Steel City x Sheffield Beer Week: Peach Melba Sour. Sour beer champions join forces to explore their cocktail beer inspired series further with a nod to the peachy Bellini.
- Hopjacker x Little Critters x Hop Hideout x White Lion: tbc. Four way collaboration brew – two breweries and two beer-focused venues join forces.
Sheffield has a fantastic beer scene with a number of small breweries and a long list of great pubs and bars plus specialist beer shops along with various festivals and other special events through the year. We also have an active CAMRA branch of course.
Something Sheffield has never really been good at though is promoting how good it is to the outside world, although some of course do appreciate a laid back vibe and a culture of modesty!
Sheffield Beer Week is now in its third year, founded and co-ordinated by Jules of the Hop Hideout beer shop and tasting room to help Sheffield celebrate and promote its beer and pub scene with a number of venues making a special effort putting on events during beer week and local brewers producing some special beers for the occasion, with details of all the events pulled together at www.sheffieldbeerweek.co.uk and supporting social media activity on Twitter – follow @SheffBeerWeek.
Beer Week is timed to co-incide with two conferences being in town that attract people from the beer and pub industry across the UK and the beer scene across Europe.
The Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) hold their BeerX event at Ice Sheffield which includes their AGM, conference, trade show and awards ceremony along with their Beer Alive Festival which is open to the public Friday to Sunday.
Beer Now is a conference also being held at Ice Sheffield that has developed from an existing regular series of events for beer bloggers to get together – this conference expands the remit to beer tourism and marketing.
Here is a roundup of the events advised at the time of going to press. It is likely there will be many more events over the week – check out sheffieldbeerweek.co.uk for more details and of course these are in addition to the quizzes, music nights etc that take place in Sheffield’s pubs week in week out.
Friday 10th March
Magic Rock Meet the Brewer – Hop Hideout, 8:30pm
Tickets £10 via www.hophideout.co.uk
Over the last six years Magic Rock have had grown phenomenally and had a big impact on the modern brewing scene here in the UK and abroad via their collaborations with the likes of Gigantic, Cigar City Brewing and more. Hop Hideout welcomes Magic Rock Brewing to Sheffield for this Meet the Brewer, expect some beery treats on draught for this occasion!
Saturday 11th March
Beer & Breweries of Little Sheffield – Meet at Regather Works, 11am
Tickets £5 via www.eventbrite.co.uk
Meet at 11am at Regather Works on Club Garden Road for a visit to what must be Sheffield’s smallest commercial brewery…? Then visit several of the area’s best pubs including the Beer Engine, Old Crown, Railway and Cremorne. Plus – the history of two lost local breweries: the famous Richdales ‘Rich Ales’ and Anchor Brewery of Cherry Street. Led by Brian Holmshaw of Sheaf Valley Heritage.
Sunday 12th March
Petrus Blending – Hop Hideout, 5pm
Tickets £5 via www.hophideout.com
Join Hop Hideout as they play host to Belgian brewery De Brandebere’s UK Brand Ambassador Charlie Pountney as he takes you through their core range: Petrus Aged Pale, Oud Bruin and Aged Red. This generational family brewery has recently redesigned their packaging & embraced consumer blending. You’ll find out about their history, their close connection with Michael Jackson, the UK beer writer and sample and blend their beers on the journey too. 2017 marks ten years since Michael Jackson sadly passed away; this event raises a glass of Petrus Aged Pale to him in celebration.
Brewing Beer: Science, art or magic? – Sentinel Brewhouse & Taproom, 7pm
Tickets £5 via www.scienceweeksy.org.uk
Join University researchers Dr Susan Cambell (Biomolecular Sciences Research Centre, Sheffield Hallam University) and Dr Daniel Allwood (Biomolecular Sciences Research Centre, Sheffield Hallam University) alongside head brewer Alex Barlow for an evening of enlightened discussion. The event will include an introduction, followed by an insight into brewing chemistry with Dr Daniel Allwood, yeast and the miracle of fermentation with Dr Sue Campbell and brewing is alchemy with Alex Barlow. This will be followed by a panel discussion and Q&A plus enjoy some great beers to accompany the conversation. (Price includes a flight of 4 x 1/3pint measures of Sentinel beers).
Monday 13th March
City Centre Pub Heritage Walk – meet at Fagans, 5:30pm
Tickets £2.50 via www.eventbrite.co.uk
Dave Pickersgill (author of the ebook, ‘History of the Worksop and Retford Brewery’ and Pub Heritage Officer for Sheffield CAMRA) will host this short walking tour around some of the entries in the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) ‘Yorkshire’s Real Heritage Pubs’ book. Also included are a number of ‘try also’ pubs which include aspects of architectural merit. Route: commence at ‘Fagans’ and proceed to the ‘Dog and Partridge’ via a short stop outside the ‘Grapes.’ After a short refreshment break, we will proceed past the ‘Red Deer’ and ‘Bloo88,’ before completing the walk at ‘The Bath Hotel.’
Real Junk Food Project – Sentinel Brewhouse & Taproom, 7pm
Tickets £5.00 via eventbrite.co.uk (plus cost of food payable at venue)
For this month’s event, The Real Junk Food Project Sheffield and Sentinel Brewhouse have teamed up to kickstart #sheffbeerweek in the best way possible…four tantalising courses paired with the finest craft beers made by Sentinel’s on site brewery. Learn more about The Real Junk Food Project Sheffield from its directors and enjoy a truly tasty pay-as-you-feel meal! Each £5.00 ticket guarantees you a place at the event, with 4 x ⅓ pints of Sentinel’s craft beers paired by the owner Alex Barlow included. The 4 courses are available to all on a pay-as-you-feel basis. Discounted drinks will also be available at the bar all night. Tickets are limited to a max of 4 per group and per booking.
Tuesday 14th March
Elusive & Siren Craft Brew Meet the Brewer – Hop Hideout, 7:30pm
Tickets £10 via www.hophideout.co.uk
The two neighbours and good friends Elusive and Siren have joined forces to host this collaboration event! Expect some special collaboration beers on the evening too.
Wednesday 15th March
Beavertown tap takeover and Meet the Brewer – Hallamshire House, 5pm
Tickets free via www.eventbrite.co.uk
Everyone’s favourite London brewery Beavertown will be heading to The Hallamshire House for an epic Tap Takeover. All Beavertown beers will go live at 5pm. To get more of an insight into the company and there awesome beers they will also be hosting a FREE meet the brewer & tasting. This will be FREE for the first 25 customers who register. Keep your eyes peeled on Eventbrite to sign up for this event.
Beer & Cheese matching – Portland House, 7:30pm
Tickets £20 via www.eventbrite.co.uk
An evening of beer and cheese with Claire Monk, Head Brewer at Welbeck Abbey Brewery.
Thursday 16th March
Wild Beer Co tap takeover and Meet the Brewer – Bath Hotel, 5pm
Tickets free via www.eventbrite.co.uk
The Bath hotel will welcome one of the UK’s most loved Breweries. Wild Beer Co will be taking over the Taps and hosting a Meet the Brewer evening. Beers will be available from 5pm for anybody to come and try at their own leisure, staff from Wild Beer Co will be on site to chat throughout the evening. At 7.30pm we will be hosting a Meet the Brewer and tasting. This will be FREE for the first 25 customers who register. Keep your eyes peeled on Eventbrite to sign up for this awesome event.
Brooklyn Brewery big bottle tasting – Riverside (Mowbray Street), 7:30pm
Tickets £26 plus booking fee via www.eventbrite.co.uk
Join the Riverside and Brooklyn’s UK brand ambassador as they host this big bottle tasting. You’ll sample some of Brooklyn’s best loved beers, as well as some rare quarterly experiments. In addition, the Riverside team will match each beer with some classic American eats – think Louisiana Pulled Pork, Texan Chilli, Buffalo Wings and S’mores.
CAMRA’s Steel City Beer Festival Award presentations part one – Bath Hotel, 8pm
Tickets not required
We present the certificates for some of the beer of the festival awards from last Octobers Steel City Beer & Cider Festival.
Friday 17th March
SIBA Beer Alive – Ice Sheffield, 3pm
Tickets £7 plus booking fee via beerx.org
Huge bar serving award winning beers on cask, keg and bottle, tutored tastings, street food and live music.
CAMRA’s Steel City Beer Festival Award presentations part two – Rutland Arms, 4pm
Tickets not required
We present the certificates for the remaining beer of the festival awards from last Octobers Steel City Beer & Cider Festival.
Saturday 18th March
Beer & Breweries of Neepsend – Meet at Sheffield Brewery Company, 12 midday
Tickets £5 plus booking fee via www.eventbrite.co.uk
A Three Brewery extravaganza. Meet 12 noon at Albyn Works – the home of Sheffield Brewery Company for a history tour of the pubs and breweries of Neepsend: Sheffield’s own brewing quarter. These include Neepsend Brewery, the Gardeners Rest and Little Critters Brewery.
SIBA Beer Alive – Ice Sheffield, 11am
Tickets £7 plus booking fee via beerx.org
Huge bar serving award winning beers on cask, keg and bottle, rugby on big streen, street food and live music.
Sunday 19th March
Quiz night with additional beer theme – Portland House, 6pm
Tickets £1, pay at venue
Portland House play host to their quiz night and will be adding beery topics to highlight Sheffield Beer Week celebrations.
SIBA Beer Alive – Ice Sheffield, 11am
Tickets £7 plus booking fee via beerx.org
The Sunday brunch session is the final day of the Beer Alive festival featuring a more laid back atmosphere and families are welcome (under 14s admitted free). Again there will be a range of award winning beers, street food and live music.
All week
Sheffield versus Manchester – Riverside (Mowbray Street)
The bar will be showcasing beers from Sheffield and Manchester throughout the week and feedback on favourite beers encouraged! 20% discount off a pint of real ale available for CAMRA members.
Beer Festival – White Lion (Heeley)
All handpumps on all three bars will be in use offering a huge range of cask beers and various brewers will be dropping in over the week to host meet the brewer sessions. More details to be confirmed at time of going to press.
Beer Farts Exhibition – Hop Hideout
With a hefty Instagram following, Beer Farts composes and shoots beer and Lego photos with fun and humour. Hop Hideout’s walls will be playing host to their commissioned birthday series and a selection of others for two months starting on 10th March.
