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.
We presented our our overall Sheffield & District Pub of the Year award winner – the Kelham Island Tavern – with their certificate on Tuesday 8 July. A good turn out of CAMRA members and pub regulars enjoyed some excellent beer as our branch Chairman Paul Manning presented the certificates to Josh, Louise and the team. Complimentary pork pies and cheeses were enjoyed too! Congratulations on the well deserved award and thanks for the hospitality.
The Brothers Arms have announced details of their “Summer Bash”. It is taking place on Saturday 30 August from 2pm to 1am with a musical line up of 6 live acts plus DJs Tink and Mojo.
The Old Shoe opened their Speakeasy wine bar “Not Open, Don’t Come” on 28 June. It is open every Friday and Saturday night from 7pm to 2am. The entrance is around the corner from the Old Shoe via what used to be a fire exit door in the red wall!
The Heeley Artisan bar is a new opening on Chesterfield Road in Heeley in a former restaurant premises. It is brought to you buy the same people as Mesters Tap in Woodseats and of course Little Mesters Brewing. A range of both mainstream and craft keg beers are available along with bar snacks including loaded wedges and burgers. The bar has a handpump installed with cask ale from Little Mesters new brewery in Attercliffe, the first being “Mesters Mate”, a hazy session pale ale.
Jabbarwocky on London Road in Highfield has had a change of ownership with a leaving party held over the weekend of 11/12 July followed by a week of being closed for a bit of a spruce up before relaunching in time for Tramlines festival fringe!
The Cremorne, also on London Road in Highfield, are proud of their hand painted A-Board produced by Greg of @ayup.art!
The Coach House Cafe in Hillsborough Park have withdrawn their planning application for an outside drinks kiosk.
The Bessemer in Sheffield City Centre has been closed for a refurbishment and was due to reopen on 18 July.
The Crown in Totley is celebrating the current management’s 10th anniversary on bank holiday Monday 25 August with festivities including live music, food truck, bouncy castle and kids games.
The new management, Dan & Casper, are now in at the White Lion in Great Longstone and the pub is open serving food and drink.
The Scotsman’s Pack in Hathersage hold their annual beer festival on Saturday 9 August. Then later on in the month on the bank holiday weekend the Old Hall Hotel in Hope hold one of their regular Hope Valley Beer & Cider festivals.
The Hathersage gala took place over a week at the beginning of July. This involves scarecrows being displayed around the village, numerous events and finally on the Saturday a carnival parade through the village and stalls on the football field. The Millstone, located in the hills above the village near Surprise Corner got involved too and did appear down in the village at events with a cask of Stancill Stainless!
The Anglers Rest in Bamford has introduced Friday ABC – Anglers Beer Club. This offers 20% off drinks between 4pm and 6pm each Friday. Meanwhile there have been some changes on the food side of things for the summer with a new country tapas menu introduced whilst the traditional roasts continue to be available on Sundays. Pizzas are available for the quiz night on Wednesdays until 9pm.
The Angel in Holmesfield should have reopened by the end of July following a minor refurbishment with Stonegate pub company running it themselves until a new tenant can be signed up.
The George & Dragon in Holmesfield, which is now run by Boston Brewery, has been presented the Summer of the Season award by the Dronfield & District CAMRA branch. They normally have 5 or more of their cask ales on the bar and on Wednesdays they are available for a bargain £3 a pint. Tuesday is quiz night.
Eyam brewery’s second open day of this year is in the diary for Saturday 26 July, from 1pm to 7:30pm. This sees a bar open in the brewery serving a range of their beer on both cask and keg with bottles also available to buy to take home. Sunshine Pizza is also due to be in attendance if you want something to eat there and if the weather is good you can sit outside and take in the beautiful Peak District scenery (if not they’ll have seating inside the brewery!).
On the same weekend, not in our area but a short train ride away, Chin Chin brewery is hosting open days on Friday 25 and Saturday 26 July, 1pm to 9pm each day featuring beer, cider, food and music. The brewery is in South Kirkby, walkable from Moorthorpe railway station (Sheffield to Leeds/York via Rotherham train).
A recent seasonal brew from Bradfield Brewery is Farmers Blueberry Ale, a fruity little number at a sessionable 4.4% ABV.
Drone Valley Brewery recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of being registered as a community interest company. Beers recently featured at their weekend tap sessions include Bessemer American Pale Ale, First Gold IPA and Amarillo alongside the classics that includes Dronny Bottom Bitter and Dronfield Station Porter.
Recently spotted on the bars from Neepsend Brew Co is Consus, an espresso stout.
Thornbrige & Co is the small but growing pub chain that is a partnership between Thornbridge Brewery and Pivovar (of Sheffield Tap fame!) with pubs offering a range of Thornbridge beers, they’ve announced that work has begun on the Fargate Tap in Sheffield City Centre and they are aiming to have it open later this year.
As we arrive in peak summer and (hopefully) warm weather, something that becomes an attractive prospect is relaxing with a pint outside in a pub beer garden.
There are many pubs out in the Peak District offering stunning views of the countryside from your table whilst in the Sheffield suburbs there are hillside options like the Brothers Arms in Heeley offering an impressive view over the city. There are also some pubs overlooking the River Don in the Kelham Island/Neepsend area such as the Riverside Kelham and Gardeners Rest.
From 25 to 27 July Hillsborough Park is host to Tramlines festival, a popular ticketed event with several stages of live music, comedy and more including some big names for ticket holders to enjoy.
Meanwhile in Sheffield City Centre on Devonshire Green is the centrepiece of the Tramlines fringe – a main stage in use on the Saturday and Sunday with acts curated by Papa Al who will be bringing a mix of artists including local and emerging talent, community groups, energetic ska bands and a headline set from “a huge social media star”. The Saturday headline band is Jungle Lion, who return with their full ska orchestra whilst Sunday will see Macka B and the Roots Ragga Band.
Alongside the main stage up to 40 different local venues are taking part in the fringe putting on entertainment over the weekend with much of it free of charge. Among the list are a number of pubs that serve real ale to enjoy with the live music such as the Washington, Frog & Parrot, Church House, Shakespeares Ale & Cider House and Harlequin.
Thornbridge Brewery’s tap room hosted a bit of a do on Saturday 7 June – the 20th birthday for Jaipur IPA! On 7 June 2005 in the former carpenters workshop in the grounds of Thornbridge Hall gathered Stefano Cossi, Martin Dickie and Roy Shorrock to brew a 5.9% ABV IPA that was to become Jaipur. 20 years later the brewery is now on an industrial estate in Bakewell but Jaipur is still being brewed – in much larger volumes!
Also celebrating a 20th anniversary this year is Bradfield Brewery. Their current seasonal beers are Farmers Cherry Beer and Farmers Nettle Nectar.
Peak Ales is 20 too, they marked the occasion on 14 June with an event at the brewery where 10 of their cask ales along with their newly launched Pilsner was available plus food, music and classic cars!
Beating the above in age is Acorn Brewery of Wombwell in Barnsley, they celebrate 22 years this year and a special beer “Two Little Ducks” has been brewed. It is a pale session ale at just 3.4% ABV.
Fuggle Bunny Brew House continue through the summer with their additional tap sessions on the last Saturday of the month. On 28 June they are open 3pm to 9pm and as well as the brewery bar they will have Nico’s pizzas trading there and live music at 5pm.
Also on 28 June is an open day at Eyam Brewery in Great Hucklow with a range of their beers available to drink on site and Sunshine Pizza Oven providing food. If the weather is good all that should also be accompanied by beautiful Peak District scenery too! You can get there easily by bus – Stagecoach route 65 (Sheffield to Buxton via Tideswell) and Andrews route 173 (Bakewell to Castleton) stop in the village near the brewery.
Chantry Brewery have released a new beer called “Bailey Bridge”. It has been brewed in honour of Sir Donald Coleman Bailey OBE, Rotherham’s own engineering mastermind who invented the Bailey Bridge, a modular marvel that helped change the course of World War II. The beer is an easy drinking pale ale and local MP John Healey visited the brewery in Parkgate to pull the first pint at their tap bar.
Drone Valley Brewery open their tap tent, staffed by volunteers, every weekend. Additionally they have announced some brewery tour event dates to book on Sundays 3 August and 2 November with a midday start. Tickets are £15 and include the tour & talk, samples and nibbles. They also have a number of live music events planned at the tap, including a mini music festival on 7 September, tickets for that are £10. The brewery is in Unstone on the main road between Dronfield and Chesterfield, buses 43 and 44 stop at the end of the drive.
Intrepid have brewed “Solskin”, a 4.9% ABV rustic white ale and available in cask, keg and bottle formats. It is described as having Belgian farmhouse vibes. It is brewed with torrified wheat, Cascade & Hallertau Blanc hops and a new yeast strain plus the addition of coriander seed and orange zest along with a foraged tea mix. This beer is brewed annually with first pours at Solskin Festival, a Pagan & Heathen celebration held in the Grindleford area over the last weekend in June.
The Wharncliffe Arms at Wharncliffe Side reopened on 23rd May 2025 after closure for almost two years. Extensively renovated by the owners, Bradfield Brewery, with wood half-panelling and leather covered seating: both armchairs and wall-mounted. The one L-shaped room is sensitively split by the use of panelling. Outside drinking areas at both front and rear, with the rear sloping over a grassed area to the River Don.
At the Devonshire Arms in Dore Cath & David are celebrating 10 years there on Sunday 15 June from 3pm.
The Brothers Arms in Heeley is hosting “One Mole for the Road” on Saturday 5 July, this is an annual music festival celebrating a legend – Adrian “Mole” Price. The afternoon starts with DJ Tink from 2pm with bands on from 3pm – The Yons, SPG, Rockett 88 and Kingfisher Blue.
June saw Craftworks in Mosborough celebrate their 4th anniversary. This is a micropub that is open all day catering for all moods – you can enjoy a coffee and cake in the morning, quiet pint in the afternoon or a more lively evening with quiz nights, live acoustic music performances, comedy and more taking place from time to time. A range of real ales and other craft beers are available here. Another small venue celebrating 4 years is the Bear on Abbeydale Road who marked the occasion with a birthday weekend from 20 to 22 June featuring a special one off beer, music and pop up food traders. On a normal day this is basically a specialist beer shop with a number of craft beer keg taps offering the option to drink in as well as taking cans and bottles home.
The Bulls Head in Ranmoor has reopened under new management, who previously ran the Rivelin Hotel. Food is available including classic pub dishes, burgers, steaks and pasta plus of course Sunday roasts.
The Castle in Hillsborough is expected to reopen on 4 July following new management taking on the lease. It is owned by the Stonegate pub company.
The Sheffield Half Pint Marathon initiative is taking place again this year during September. This sees a special charity beer brewed that is on sale across 13 venues including True North’s pubs and others and the idea is you visit all 13 venues and have a half of the special beer at each one, raising money for charity and potentially winning a prize for doing so!
Dog & Partridge food menu
The Dog & Partridge in Sheffield City Centre now has its kitchen open again with a menu of Irish snacks including the Dublin Spice Bags!
The Church House in Sheffield City Centre (near Cathedral tram stop), has started doing food again with a weekly special served Thursdays 4pm to 8pm and Friday to Sunday midday to 8:30pm. At the weekend if you are going there to see the band at night you can now get down there earlier, bag a table and have a bite to eat first!
The Red Lion in Litton took part in Wakes Week celebrations and on Saturday 21 June they not only hosted a weekend beer festival but was also a venue for the steam engine rally.
The Calver Arms is hosting an evening with retired footballer Bruce Grobbelaar on 4 September for £60 per person. This includes a two course meal and welcome drink and there will also be a memorabilia raffle and auction.
The courtyard drinking area at the George in Tideswell, on a rainy day!
The George Inn at Tideswell is now open again under the new management of Sarah as part of Rick Ellison’s Atlantik Inns group. The pub is leased from Greene King brewery and has 3 real ales on the bar, a games room with darts and pool table and a smart courtyard drinking area outside. At some point soon the kitchen is to be opened and the pub has a lounge shaped in a way that naturally lends itself to having a separate dining area. Longer term projects potentially include reopening the hotel rooms and function room upstairs and renovating the other buildings around the courtyard that come with the pub but need work to be brought back into use.
On Saturday 31 May we are asking all our members that are visiting pubs in Sheffield that day to record the choice of cask ales available and where possible the price of a pint. This data is an incredibly useful snapshot of the state of the real ale scene in the city – as well as continuing to prove that Sheffield is the beer capital of Britain (in terms of how many different beers are available to choose from) we can track year on year variations in beer choice, prices and commonly available brands. You can enter your data using our dedicated website –https://track.beer/survey/.
We have organised a number of survey pub crawls on the day to make more of a social occasion of it, meet the leader in the first pub:
Woodseats & Heeley – led by Malcolm DIxon (rambale@sheffield.camra.org.uk): Meet outside Guzzle Micropub at 12:30 (get there on buses 24, 25, 42, 43, 44, 75, 76, M76 or X17)
Bradway, Totley, Millhouses and Nether Edge – led by Andy Cullen (beermatters@sheffield.camra.org.uk): Meet at the Castle Inn at 12:25 (get there on bus M17)
Beighton, Woodhouse Mill and Handsworth – led by Paul Manning (chair@sheffield.camra.org.uk): Meet at the Scarsdale Hundred (Wetherspoons) at 11:00 (get there on bus 7 or 26, alternatively the Blue route tram to Beighton).
Walkley, Crookes and Commonside – led by Paul Crofts (treasurer@sheffield.camra.org.uK): Meet at the Walkley Cottage Inn at 12:00 (get there on bus 52 or 95).
Fulwood and Broomhill – led by John Beardshaw and Phil Ellett (secretary@sheffield.camra.org.uk): Meet at the Rising Sun at 12:00 (get there on bus 83 or 120).
Hillsborough, Bradfield, Stannington and Malin Bridge – led by Dave Pickersgill (pubheritage@sheffield.camra.org.uk): Meet at the Rawson Spring (Wetherspoons) at 11:30 or on the 61 bus to High Bradfield at 11:55.
Hillsborough area – led by Kevin Thompson (social@sheffield.camra.org.uk): Meet at the Park at 12:00. (Get there by Yellow route tram to the Leppings Lane stop; alternatively by bus 18, 31 or 57)
Kelham Island & Neepsend – led by Dan Rowe (contact 07989 943776): Meet at the Gardeners Rest at 12:00. (Get there on bus 7 or 8).
In most cases buying an all day travel pass such as the Citywide ticket may prove worthwhile – see sytravelmaster.com or the Travelmaster app for details.
We are pleased to announce this years festival is taking place at Kelham Island Museum from 15 to 18 October.
It will offer a range of around 200 cask ales spread across three bars plus a list of around 50 other craft beers rotating on the taps in our keg bar. Our traditional cider & perry bar will offer a choice of around 30 plus hopefully some locally produced mead too. New this year you will be able to use card payment (including Apple/Google contactless) to pay for drinks at the bars as you go. Alternatively we will still be doing bar tokens which you can buy using cash or card.
As usual we’ll have a range of street food traders to satisfy your hunger plus the old skool pub games in the marquee and the tombola upstairs to keep you amused (and there are prizes to be won!).
On the Wednesday we’ll be judging the champion beer of Sheffield & District with all the local brewers based in the City and our part of the Peak District invited to enter a cask ale, we’ll announce the winner early on in the evening. On Thursday evening our friends from Bradfield Brewery will be hosting a tutored tasting event (advance booking required) whilst for those interested in local history our pub heritage officer Dave Pickersgill and local historian John Stocks will be hosting some talks and tours themed on the “Little Chicago” booklet on Thursday and Friday. Again advance booking is required.
From Thursday onwards we have a programme of live music planned – Thursday evening is Mari Wild and the Reprobates, Friday evening is Soul Battalion then Saturday afternoon we have Loxley Silver Band, Kelham Island Rapper (dancers) and Blyth Power.
With the bars taking card payments we are no longer bundling bar tokens in with the admission – the entry fee is £5 on Thursday and £7 on Friday and Saturday with free admission offered on Wednesday. You’ll also need to get a festival glass for £3, you can keep this as a souvenir or return it for a refund when you leave.There will be a printed programme available containing the beer and cider list for £1 or you can find all the details online at sheffield.camra.org.uk/sc.
The charity collection this year will be for the Sheffield Childrens’ Hospital Charity. You can chuck cash donations and unspent bar tokens in the buckets to help this worthy cause.
The festival opening hours is Wednesday 5pm to 10:30pm, Thursday/Friday 11:30am to 10:30pm and Saturday 11am to 9pm. Nearest tram stop is Shalesmoor or there are bus stops on Nursery Street and Gibraltar Street. It is also walkable from the City Centre and the Kelham Island district has some fantastic pubs forming a buzzing unofficial festival fringe!
TALKS AND TOURS – SCAN THE QR CODE TO BOOK…
Bradfield Brewery tutored tasting (ticket is for tasting event only, festival admission is also payable on the day)Little Chicago Guided Walk (ticket includes the walking tour, a copy of the booklet and entry to the festival)Little Chicago talk (ticket reserves you a place in the audience and includes a copy of the walk booklet, festival admission is also payable separately on the day)
