Author: Andy Cullen

Thanks to all those who hosted and attended events during the first Sheffield Beer Week 16th March – 22nd March 2015. We have now started planning for 2016 – Sheffield Beer Week. YAY! The celebrations start from Mon 14th March. We know that every week is beer week in Sheffield, we’re just happy to be sharing that little bit more in March; we’d love you to join in. Follow us at @SheffBeerWeek for beery updates. If you are a venue or brewery, business or individual who would like to get involved please drop us an email on: sheffieldbeerweek@gmail.com Jules

The Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) has announced its annual BeerX event is to return to Sheffield for its fourth year in 2016.  The flagship beer industry event will take place at iceSheffield, located near the Sheffield Arena tram stop, from Wednesday 16th to Saturday 19th March 2016. BeerX will once again combine SIBA’s AGM, a trade exhibition, seminars, keynote speakers and business awards for SIBA members throughout the week. It will also open its doors to the Festival of Beer to enable consumers to attend and try hundreds of SIBA award-winning beers.  Nick Stafford, SIBA’s operations director, said: “BeerX has firmly planted its roots in Sheffield and the city has really embraced it. As well as BeerX hosting important events for our members we also have plans to make the Festival of Beer bigger and better this year. “We’ve seen beer tasting and food pairing sessions increase in popularity each year, so we are running more of these and giving the public additional unique opportunities to interact with brewers and industry experts. We will have a variety of brewery bars at which people can meet the brewers themselves.” BeerX will open its doors to the public for longer this year for the Festival of Beer. Ale lovers will be able to visit the infamous 30 metre bar to sup from over 250 beers from the Wednesday evening, the night of the SIBA National Brewing Awards, with sessions then running every day until Saturday.  Friday night’s headline music act will be former Inspiral Carpets lead singer Tom Hingley, supported by soul/Motown aficionados Vernon Lewis & E-Maculate. Saturday will once again show all the final Six Nations Rugby matches live on a giant screen, followed by live music from Sheffield supergroup The Bootleggers. BeerX is also becoming an event for foodies, with an increased and more diverse street food offering planned for 2016. Over 6,000 visitors are expected to attend BeerX throughout the week, including conference delegates, trade exhibitors and beer festival goers. Tickets for the festival are priced at £8 in advance and £10 on the door, with a £2 discount for students, CAMRA members and the Armed Forces who book in advance. They can be purchased in advance via the wegottickets and SIV websites from Friday 13th November. With further details still to be announced, beer lovers can get up-to-date news about the event on the BeerX Facebook page – facebook.com/BeerXSheffield – and follow @SIBA_BeerX on twitter for announcements and ticket giveaways.  

With there being a direct train in early mornings from Dronfield to the port city of Liverpool I decided on an overcast Wednesday in October to pay the city a visit, and to sample some of Liverpool’s finest pubs in the process. After a hugely enjoyable morning visiting Liverpool’s historic dockside, including the Merseyside Maritime Museum I decided to make The Baltic Fleet the first port of call. Located on the main road near to the Albert Dock, this is billed as Liverpool’s only brewpub. On walking through the doors I was told that the main bar area was shut (presumably for refurbishment) and ushered into a back room, where drinkers were being served through a small hatch, which lead to queues. In addition to all the inconvenience, the barman’s loud singing provided further irritation. It was nice to finally be able sample Brimstage Trappers Hat, a beer I have long been looking out for. However, as I wasn’t exactly impressed with this pub I didn’t hang around for long. From there I headed away up Dale Street, to The Excelsior, which had beer on from a new brewery called Rock The Boat. Two of their beers were on cask, Dazzle and Bootle Bull. Both beer names referencing Liverpool’s maritime heritage.

Barely 10 yards from the Excelsior is The Ship & Mitre. A busy, bustling pub with plenty of cask ale and world beers to tempt the discerning drinker. I settled on Woodland Midnight Stout as my beer of choice in here. I also ate in the Ship & Mitre and the food was good, although I have resolved to make sure I eat traditional scouse stew the next time I visit Liverpool! From the Ship & Mitre I headed towards the cathedrals and went in The Dispensary on Renshaw Street. This was my favourite pub of the visit. A good range of cask and keg options but above all, the friendliest pub I visited. The beer I sampled in here was the delightfully hoppy Hawkshead Cumbrian 5 Hop, which was the best beer I had all day.

From The Dispensary I headed to The Roscoe Head. This historic and traditional multi roomed pub is well worth a visit. However, it is currently threatened with redevelopment following its acquisition from Punch Taverns by New River Retail, a company with a history of closing pubs for conversion to retail use. The Roscoe Head is one of only five pubs in the whole of Great Britain that has been in every edition of the CAMRA Good Beer Guide. As such it’s worth fighting to save and Liverpool CAMRA is campaigning hard to that effect. You can sign the petition to persuade Liverpool City Council to make the Roscoe Head an Asset of Community Value here. https://www.change.org/p/liverpool-city-council-save-the-roscoe-head From the Roscoe Head I carried on up Hardman Street to The Fly In The Loaf, a modern pub with an emphasis on food and a good range of cask ales. And after a very enjoyable stout in the shape of Salopian Polygraph I headed round the corner to The 23 Club. located in the cellar of The Clove Hitch Bar & Bistro this has a wide range of draught and bottle beers. This was the final place I visited on my trip and Mad Hatter Penny Lane Pale was an ideal beer for the intimate surroundings of this venue. In conclusion, there are plenty of good pubs worth visiting in Liverpool serving good cask ale. And what’s interesting is that none of the above could be described as real ale “theme” pubs.