Inn Brief & Beery Bits
Inn Brief
In addition to the Castle at Bolsterstone, John and Tracy, have recently also taken on the Green Dragon at Thurgoland. They have been at the Castle for some months and have built up, what was, a declining trade. Three handpumps are in use on a daily basis, usually including beer from Bradfield and Robinsons.
The new managers at the Castle Inn, Bradway are Mark & Gillian. Abbeydale Moonshine is now the regularly available beer, usually alongside Bradfield Farmers Blonde and a guest bitter. Food is now available again served Tuesday to Saturday 12:00-15:30 and 17:00-20:30 plus Sunday lunches served 12:00-15:00. Live music features one Saturday a month and there may be a second entertainment night added per month soon.
The Angel at Holmesfield now has four beers on handpump: The two regulars are Abbeydale Moonshine and Chatsworth Bakewell Best Bitter. These are backed up by two guest ales. At time of visit these were “Wards” Best Bitter and Wychwood Hobgoblin Gold.
The Horse & Jockey at Unstone has introduced real ale, at last report this was Timothy Taylors Boltmaker at a bargain introductory price of £2.20 a pint.
The Inn at Troway now has a guest beer alongside the Thornbridge offerings, with the latest guest at time of writing being Bradfield Farmers Brown Cow.
The Peacock at Owler Bar has reopened following a minor refurbishment.
A framed document on the wall of the Palm Tree, Walkley lists the landlords of the pub from Joseph Smith in 1856 to David Harrison 2000 to 2015. Jo now runs the pub and David who lives nearby still calls in. The pub is open plan with a neat and tidy beer garden and play area at the back and a smoking area at the front and is child and dog friendly. On Palm Street the pub is served by the number 52 and 95 bus routes. Jo says she will continue with free snooker on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday is open mic night with a light buffet provided. Saturday there is live music in the evening and Sunday is Fun Day. Tetley Bitter and Farmer’s Blonde are on the bar at a very reasonable price.
The Ball Inn, Crookes has had the old wooden decking replace with stone flags and a stylish stainless steel and glass surround. Having 14 hand pumps there is always a good choice of beers and ciders.
The Red Deer on Pitt Street, Sheffield City Centre, has increased the discount offered on pints of real ale to card carrying CAMRA members to 10%.
Confirmation of news from the Wellington at Shalesmoor is still awaited at the time of going to press. It will soon be under new ownership. Watch this space!
Work has finally started on the refurbishment of the Ship Inn at Shalesmoor, following a period of closure since Greene King Brewery sold the pub to the pub company that now owns it. It is expected that the refurbishment will be a simple and sympathetic one, preserving the character of the pub but making it a bit less ‘worn out’. A date for reopening hasn’t yet been announced but it is expected to be late September.
Beery Bits
North Union Brewing Co, the beer business set up by Iain Kenny who previously brewed for Kelham Island Brewery, may soon be getting premises! Currently North Union is cuckoo brewing at Harthill and selling only bottled beers, however Iain is looking at moving his own brewery into a railway arch near the Victoria Hotel in Sheffield and expanding into craft keg.
Worksop and Retford Brewery – Local Sheffield CAMRA members, Dave Pickersgill and John Stocks are giving their illustrated talk, ‘The Worksop and Retford Brewery,’ at Worksop Library on Wednesday 16th.September @ 14:00. The associated e-book is available on Kindle.
Travel news
Stagecoach Supertram are now back running normally following a summer of works to replace the track in a number of areas, to celebrate this along with the 21st anniversary of the tram system opening there are cheap fares being offered on the trams and the dedicated link buses to Stocksbridge, Stannington and Killamarsh – a maximum single fare of £1.70, day ticket at £3 and weekly ticket at £9.80. These offers run from Saturday 29th August to Sunday 25th October. Additionally there is a £1 all day travel offer on Sundays in August with free car parking at park & ride sites also offered on those Sundays.
On the bus front a consultation on changes to the bus network took place during July, this is due to be implemented from 1st November – so advance warning – look out for the new routes, timetables and tickets coming soon!
We were very pleased to have been chosen to have the main pump clip on the bar at the new JDW The Steel Industry at Meadowhall so next time you are there pop in for a pint of Foundry Premium Pale Ale.
Look out for Fuggles mobile bar on 6 September at the food festival at Creswell Crags. There is so much more happening but I will leave it for now, keep hopping onto the website to find out more. 
Earlier this year we were joined by new head brewer Bob Phaff, who returned to Sheffield after running his own award winning Scottish Brewery.
We recently launched 6 core range beers as well as collaboration brews with Thornbridge Brewery and Black Iris Brewery. As well as brewing the official Tramlines Festival Ale, Tramlines Golden.
Our beers can currently be found across all the Forum Cafe Bars sites, including The Broadfield, The York, The Old House, The Forum, The Common Room, The British Oak in Mosborough and The Crown & Anchor in Barugh Green.
New Regular Beers –
Sheaf Blonde 4%
Loxely Pale 4.3%
Rivelin Red 5%
The Don IPA 5.8%
Wyming Bitter 3.8%
Sheffield Porter 4.6%
The team behind the bar, led by pub manager James Broad and Cellar Manager Ash create a friendly atmosphere throughout the pub, infectious enough for the musicians attending the regular Monday open mic jam night to form a band called ‘The Coachmen’ that went on to play festivals around the UK!
Other regular events at the Coach include a quiz night on Sundays, with free chip butties for participants.
The final piece in the jigsaw of success is the food, with ‘Chariot’s Kitchen’ serving quality home cooked food. Their new menu launches on 4th August,
