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.

Pub news Inn Brief

Posted on by Andy Cullen
old hall fireplace The Old Hall Hotel at Hope has had a small refurbishment of the lounge bar area, as part of this a long covered up inglenook fireplace has been revealed and brought back into use. The Rose & Crown at Whittington Moor, Chesterfield (opposite the football stadium on bus routes 43/44/50/50a/X17) has been owned for the last year or so by Chris Sinclair, who also owns the Dronfield Arms, since the pub company sold it off. With the departure of the established tenant, the opportunity is being taken to give it a refurbishment and add a range of real ales and craft keg lines, with some of the pumps showcasing the Hopjacker beers brewed at the Dronfield Arms. A manager is being recruited to run the pub, which is planned to close in May for the refurbishment and reopen in August, in time for the new football season. A number of Dronfield pubs have started to reveal their plans for this years Three Valleys Festival, which takes place on Saturday 4th June. The Talbot Arms will be showcasing the range of Peak Ales, they will also have a band on in both the afternoon and evening plus a fish and chip van. The Dronfield Arms will be adding extra outdoor bars and an all afternoon programme of live music. The White Swan will be bringing their upstairs bar into use. The Manor House Hotel will be repeating last years festivities with an Abbeydale Beer tent, Sam Wain entertaining on the keyboard outside all afternoon and food from I love Ostrich. They are also offering discounted hotel room rates for festval goers, which are expected to book up quickly! Unfortunately the Blue Stoops is not expected to be ready to open in time and will no longer be part of the festival. However for those that live in Mosborough, sister True North pub the British Oak plans to open early to serve breakfast for those joining the festival feeder bus there. Other venues for this years festival are Barlow Brewery, Derby Tup (Whittington Moor), Horse & Jockey (Unstone), Miners Arms (Hundall), Royal Oak (Coal Aston), Yew Tree (Coal Aston), Pioneer Club (Dronfield), Three Tuns (Dronfield), Coach & Horses (Dronfield), Green Dragon (Dronfield), Jolly Farmer (Dronfield Woodhouse), Miners Arms (Dronfield Woodhouse) and Hyde Park Inn (Hill Top). Ship Inn Shalesmoor The Ship Inn at Shalesmoor is making some subtle changes to their operation, they no longer serve food – however customers are welcome to bring their own as long as they are buying drinks at the bar! They are also looking to extend the beer range and are holding a mini beer festival for St George’s Day. Planning permission has been applied for building a house on the car park of the George & Dragon in Holmesfield. Meanwhile in Harthill permission has been applied to build housing on the field behind the Beehive pub and to build an extension to the pub itself.

Pubs, beer and culture

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When we talk about campaigns to save pubs and promote local breweries, a lot is spoken of their contribution to our cultural life and British traditions but there hasn’t been documented proof you can hand to the council and say ‘here you are’. This is being addressed by the University of Sheffield, who have sponsored some research and writing on the subject of Sheffield’s culture, with well regarded writer Pete Brown commissioned to pick up the beer and pubs strand. At the time of writing, lots of interviews and surveys were being carried out among the people of Sheffield! Often it is forgotten how pubs and beer are intertwined with the various creative arts that Sheffield nurtures at grass roots level with special interest group meetings, music gigs, poetry recitals and more taking place regularly in pub function rooms and local artists displaying their works on pub walls. Many traditional local pubs also host sports and games teams. As an effect of pubs often being at the heart of such culture and local talent creating local pride, it is no surprise that locally brewed beers also feature too! This looks like a potentially interesting and useful piece of work, if you are asked to take part in the research please do and we will look forward to the final publication!

True North launch new brewhouse

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To help kick of Sheffield Beer Week on Saturday 12th March, True North – who until now had brewed their beer at Welbeck Abbey or Stancill Brewery – opened up their new Sheffield City Centre brewhouse to visitors. Representatives of True North were available to answer questions about the brewery and a range of beers were available to try including a couple on cask (the Oatmeal Pale went down well) and a couple on keg – their pilsener lager and a premium IPA that was brewed in collaboration with North Union Brewing – as well as a couple of guest craft keg beers. Also present was Jules from Hop Hideout with her Sheffield Beer Week organiser’s hat on! The brewery is on Eldon Street behind the Forum Cafe Bar (which is owned by the same people as the brewery) looking out onto Devonshire Green in an old brick building with bags of character. Shiny brewing vessels line two sides of the rectangular room along with a temporary visitors bar, gin distilling equipment and a coffee roaster. It is intended to roast coffee for their chain of bars and restaurants. The gin distillery is to relocate to the Blue Stoops at Dronfield once the building work is complete there. The fourth side of the room is lined with tables for visitors to sit and drink – they intend to open the brewery and bar up to visitors about once a month for special events. There are a number of classic London Soho neon signs hanging around the brewery as a bit of an in joke, this is explained by a notice taped up by the entrance to the toilets – it is reference to some research that suggested the reaction of many men the first time they walk into a brewery is similar to the first time they walk into a sex shop! The old kid in a sweet shop thing huh?!  

Dronfield & District now has full CAMRA branch status!

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miners hundall POTY DAD-7-93490-dronfield-arms-200x150@2xTravellers cheesestravellers 3 valleys bus Dronfield & District CAMRA has attained full branch status. Formed in 2012 as a sub-branch of Sheffield CAMRA, with pubs in Apperknowle, Unstone, Sheepbridge, Troway, Millthorpe, Barlow  transferred from Sheffield and Chesterfield branches as appropriate, Dronfield CAMRA has quickly evolved into a lively active CAMRA group hosting a variety of social events and campaigning for pubs and cask ale, with plans for further development of the branch to follow. Dronfield and the surrounding areas are fortunate enough to have a number of good pubs serving strong ranges of cask ale, and in addition is now home to Hopjacker Brewery at the Dronfield Arms and is soon to be home to the local community brewery Drone Valley. The previous winners of the Dronfield & District Pub Of The Year are as follows 2013 – Three Tuns in Dronfield (The Three Tuns also went on to win Derbyshire CAMRA pub of the year in 2013) 2014 – Travellers Rest in Apperknowle 2015 – Travellers Rest in Apperknowle 2016 – Miners Arms in Hundall Dronfield CAMRA branch meets on the second Tuesday of each month. Thomas Sturgess  

More than a Pub: The Community Pub Business Support Programme

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The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has announced a new programme which allows assistance for communities to take over control of local pubs, with an allocation of £3.6 million over two years. More than a Pub: The Community Pub Business Support Programme is a £3.62 million, 2-year programme that will see a comprehensive package of business development support, advice, and loan and grant funding being delivered to community groups in England to help them establish community-owned pubs that can clearly demonstrate how they will bring significant social, economic and environmental benefits to their communities. Jointly funded by the Department for Communities and Local Government and Power to Change, the programme will be led by Plunkett Foundation and delivered in collaboration. The programme aims to support 80 community-owned pubs to open over 2 years and will offer a flexible package of support including access to an advice line, events, workshops, peer-to-peer study visits, and business development advice. It will also offer flexible bursary awards to fund very early stage activity, such as community consultation work, and a grant and loan package. Forty communities have already successfully taken ownership of their local pub under community ownership, and over 1,200 have been listed as ‘assets of community value’ under community rights, highlighting the important role that pubs play in local communities. The programme seeks to support pubs such as these, where they advance a charitable purpose to benefit their communities by, for example:
  • providing regeneration through access to public services and facilities to those who are socially excluded
  • promoting employment, education and training in areas of high social need
  • encouraging volunteering, citizenship and community development as a hub for community groups
A local example is the Anglers Rest in Bamford, Derbyshire, which was purchased in 2013 by over 300 people from the local area and is now run for community benefit. It not only houses the pub, but also a cafe and the local Post Office, and offers a much-needed community meeting venue, too. This has helped improve social cohesion and the regeneration of the village, and any profits generated by the Anglers Rest are reinvested back into the local community. Speaking at the Campaign For Real Ale Parliamentary reception, Community Pubs Minister Marcus Jones said: ‘The Great British pub is a national treasure and this new £3.6 million programme will give our communities support to keep pubs at the heart of local life.’ Vidhya Alakeson, Chief Executive of Power to Change, said: ‘We are delighted to be partners in this effort to accelerate the number of community-owned pubs that can tackle problems of urban and rural disadvantage.  By acting as hubs for a multitude of activities in their local communities, community-owned pubs can make a significant contribution to reducing isolation, improving well-being and providing access to basic services.  They can bring the heart back to many communities that have been hollowed out by the loss of local services.’ Peter Couchman, Chief Executive of Plunkett Foundation, said: ‘This programme will significantly increase the number of community-owned pubs open and trading, bringing far-reaching benefits to local people. For many communities, pubs are not just a place to drink; they are central to peoples’ sense of place and identity, they provide an important place for people to meet and help to build community cohesion.’

Dronfield CAMRA are winners!

Posted on by Andy Cullen
ZOE_0017 [673251] Dronfield and District CAMRA submitted a team to take part in the Dronfield Town Twinning Federation Quiz Night at the Civic Hall, and won the quiz! Congratulations to Dronfield CAMRA! For those that didn’t know, Dronfield has been twinned with Sindelfingen in Germany since 1981. The quiz night is a regular and popular event organised by the twinning committee and also involves a pie & pea supper and home made desserts. The branch members after the quiz night were reported to be heading towards nearby real ale pubs to celebrate their win!

Steel City Brewing

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TMB17 Bokaro [673244] Steel City finally got back in the brewhouse after a somewhat prolonged hiatus. India Pale Ales named after places in India seem to do well round these parts, so where could be more apt than Bokaro Steel City? Perhaps slightly more industrial than Jaipur, the brew itself is anything but industrial. As you might expect from Steel City, ‘BKSC’ features a very pale mash and three-figure IBU, flavour and aroma coming primarily from Galaxy and Kazbek hops. Finally, on a sadder note, the craft-as-heck* blue swingtop bottles are no more. Supplies have been exhausted, some ‘normal’ 330ml bottles will be acquired soon but in the short term the only bottles available are standard 500ml. How old fashioned, must remember not to brew brown twiggy beer to go in them… Dave Szwejkowski * OK, heck may not be exactly what Dave said.

Committee roles up for grabs at the AGM!

Posted on by Andy Cullen
Our branch AGM takes place at Shakespeares on Tuesday 5th April and one of the functions this fulfills is to assemble the committee that runs the branch for the year ahead. If there are multiple candidates for a role then an election will be held at the AGM, however a number of long standing members are wanting to scale down their involvement and help new faces get involved in order to give the branch a bit of new energy and enthusiasm. Fancy a voluntary role on the committee? Here are the jobs we have: Chairman Chairs the branch and committee meetings, guides the direction of the branch, ensures things that need to happen are happening, keeps up to date with campaigning policy  and acts as a public figure head for CAMRA in our area presenting awards etc. Secretary Takes minutes at meetings, prepares paperwork, shares information and acts as the contact point for the branch both for CAMRA HQ and the public. Treasurer Ensures branch accountancy is kept properly and up to date, manages the bank account, issues invoices for adverts in Beer Matters and collects in payments, pays expenses and bills, organises the finances for our beer festival, presents the accounts to the AGM and regularly files them with the regional director. Membership Secretary Regularly contacts our members to keep them informed and encourage them to join in branch activities, acts as a point of contact for local membership issues, maintains a stock of membership leaflets and holders for pubs, organises a recruitment stand at our beer festival. Social Secretary Organises and hosts a programme of social events for members throughout the year including guided pub crawls, brewery tours, beer tastings and more. Press Officer Spreads the word and ensures coverage of our events and campaigning themes, makes sure our viewpoint is reported when issues of our interest are topical, participates in media interviews, builds and maintains relationships with local journalists and influential opinion formers. Also assists with the branch social media output. Young Members Contact Acts as a local contact for the wider network of young members (aged 18-30), takes the initiative to get more of our younger members actively involved in the branch and attending socials – organising specific young members socials if neccessary – and maintains liaison with the University of Sheffield Real Ale Society. Pubs Officer Undertakes the administration work to Keep the Pubzilla database of pubs in our area up to date ensuring information on the WhatPub.com website is correct, organises survey work to gather fresh data if neccessary, keeps an eye on pub campaigning issues and any planning applications impacting on pubs in our area. Pub Preservation Officer Champions the cause of pub heritage in our area, maintains details of pubs with historic features, works with the regional CAMRA organisation on their heritage inventory, leads on applications for pubs to become listed as assets of community value, picks up on any relevant issues passed on by the Pubs Officer. Beer Matters Editor and Webmaster Responsible for the content of our branch magazine and website and building a working relationship with local breweries and publicans that supply news and adverts. Apple representative Champions the cause of real cider & perry, promotes the availability in our area, organises the Cider Pub of the Year competition and special cider events. Beer Festival Organiser Chairs the organising committee of our Steel City Beer & Cider Festival. Other smaller roles includes managing the advertising in our Beer Matters magazine, co-ordinating our Pub of the Month and Pub of the Year competitions, managing the selection of pubs for the Good Beer Guide, chairing the local beer tasting panel, running the LocAle scheme in our area, building and maintaining relationships with local councillors and MPs.    

Sheffield Brewery Company

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STEEL YOURSELF….SOMETHING’S BREWING….. RIDDLE TR’ALE 4.8% Number three of our top ten reasons we love Sheffield is homage to the city-region’s places of interest and what finer way than to celebrate the Botanical Gardens. We were going to name the beer Botanic’ale but there is a more intriguing link. Given the success of our Number Two, Ge’thi’sen Outdooerz, we thought why not do just that. So we’re encouraging folk to read up about the Riddle trail and soak up the gardens and beautiful conservatories before enjoying a pint in your local of our new  Riddle Tr’Ale: a mighty fine golden ale made from vienna malt and liberty hops. This should tingle on your taste buds with plenty of citrussy flavours.     riddle trale The Botanical Gardens and the Riddle Trail (extract courtesy of SHU) When the Heritage Lottery Fund’s Urban Parks Programme was established in 1996, the Sheffield Town Trust, Sheffield City Council, University of Sheffield, Friends of the Botanical Gardens, and Sheffield Botanical Gardens Trust formed a partnership to bid for funds to restore the Gardens. A year later, the Gardens were awarded just over £5 million with 25% matched funding; the only Botanical Gardens in the country to undertake complete restoration. Included in the restoration of gardens and buildings were some established and popular features: the Bear Pit, part of the original Victorian gardens and a Grade II Listed Monument, and ‘Spirit of the Wood’, a statue by an unidentified, but accomplished sculptor, installed in the Rose Gardens in 1953. The imposing Crimea Monument by George Goldie and Henry Lane (1863), sited in the Gardens when it was moved from the city more than 40 years earlier, was replaced by a fountain in order to be faithful to the Gardens’ original layout. New to the Gardens is ‘The Riddle Trail’, initiated by Sheffield’s ‘Off the Shelf Festival of Writing and Reading’ in 1999 in collaboration with the Botanical Gardens. The trail consists of eight newly commissioned artworks bearing riddles written by the poet Berlie Doherty http://www.berliedoherty.com/poetry.html. Doherty was funded by Signposts, an arts organisation in Sheffield. The purpose of The Riddle Trail is to lead visitors around the Gardens following a sequence of riddles incorporated into artwork of various forms, media, and locations. The Sheffield Brewery Beer Club – book our next event: a weekender – Fri April 1st and Sat 2nd 5pm – 11pm.   So, we had a go at switching to the first Friday and what a success! Massive thanks goes out to Graham McDonald for organising, and Silverdale school staff for making it such a brilliant atmosphere. Big thanks to Tom and, retiring teacher, Jack, and the rest of the OverCommitments for playing a fantastic set. We’re promising more from those guys in the future. Peddlers Market was also on and by all accounts ‘twas a fab weekend’s festival and a huge promotion for all that’s going on in Neepsend. It’ll also be on again that weekend, yay! Why not pop along to one of our events or maybe join the club and enjoy a choice of our cracking real ales or wines at a discount! Lookout for more in our Top Ten series which we’ll be releasing at the end of each month. Details of everything on our new website www.sheffieldbrewery.com THANK YOU AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO THE NEXT 10 YEARS OF CONTINUING TO BREW THE HALLMARK OF A PERFECT PINT!