Dave has been a CAMRA member since the 1970s and has worked at almost 40 Sheffield CAMRA festivals, plus a fair number of others. He is Brewery Liaison Officer (BLO) for Abbeydale, Blue Bee, Bradfield and Loxley. He was also the Chair of the Local Organising Committee for the 2023 national CAMRA Members’ Weekend, AGM & Conference.
A member of the National Pub Heritage Group, he leads on planning and pub heritage issues. He also edited the Sheffield's Real Heritage Pubs book, for which downloads vastly exceeded expectations. The hard copy was available in October 2018 and again in 2021. On both occasions, it was a sell-out. The 5th edition (2023) is available as both a hard copy and a free download.
As part of Heritage Open Days 2026, we’re leading two Pub Heritage walks. Both are on Friday 11th September: These walks will encompass both aspects of industrial, and social, heritage and of the ‘Beer Capital’ status owned by the City of Sheffield.
Full details and the booking links are at: Little Chicago: Friday 11 September, 15:30 https://tinyurl.com/24p89n8p Kelham Island: Friday 11 September, 12:00 https://tinyurl.com/j5jfubk9
If you can’t wait until September, you could try the latest edition of Sheffield’s real Heritage Pubs and our Pub Heritage walk booklets. There are available as free downloads from: sheffield.camra.org.uk/rhp
A disused Sheffield city centre pub is set to be re-opened as a live arts and community media centre following acquisition for Sheffield Live!, the city’s community radio and television operation. The neighbourhood is undergoing major renovation including plans for a new urban park to open next year.
The plan is for the former Tap and Barrel, (42 Waingate S3 8LB), to be renovated to accommodate radio, TV and podcasting studios, a public cafe and bar, and performance space for local artists and promoters. Sheffield Community Media, which hosts Sheffield Live! radio and TV, has purchased the former public house with the support of social investment lender, The Key Fund. It plans to raise further investment from a community shares issue to refurbish the bar and performance spaces.
Steve Buckley of Sheffield Community Media said: “Acquisition meets our long held ambition to find a space for live performance, community arts and social enterprise that can integrate with our broadcast media facilities. We are inviting people to get involved and we welcome expressions of interest in use of the space and contributing to the project.”
Sangita Basudev, co-founder of Sheffield Live! said: “We are excited to be moving to this iconic location, on the site of Sheffield’s former castle and opposite Lady’s Bridge, the first bridge across the River Don. With Castlegate now part of the city centre conservation area we look forward to developing our role in promoting local heritage and connecting communities.”
Sheffield Community Media has benefitted from support with concept design from the University of Sheffield School of Architecture and has been assisted by Co-ops UK in developing the investment model. It looks to build on these and other partnerships as the project progresses.
The pub has had several previous names: Boulogne Mouth, Bull and Mouth, Boulogne, Tap and Spile. Opened in 1790, it is believed that the original name was a reference to the town and harbour of Boulogne which was besieged by Henry VIII in 1544–1546. Over time, the name became the Bull and Mouth.
In March 1854 it was acquired by Sheffield brewery, Thomas Marrian & Co. Ltd. It was rebuilt in 1914, as the brewery tap for local brewery Duncan Gilmours. Plans show a multi-roomed pub with a Central Bar. The building retains a Gilmours doorstep and has the name, ‘Bull and Mouth,’ in the mosaic floor of the vestibule adjacent to Waingate. 1973 saw an opening out of the pub: the servery was moved to the right side, with the Hall, Public Bar and Smoke Room becoming a large Lounge. The Concert Room remains at the rear of the pub. The pub was refurbished in the early 1980s and again in 2015. It was renamed the Tap & Spile in early 1992. The Tap & Spile brand was launched in the mid 1980s by Allied Lyons (later Allied Domecq) as a traditional-style concept, focusing on cask ales. Interiors often had bare floorboards, sawdust on the floor and wooden benches. The pub became the Tap & Barrel in 1998, closing on 4 July 2023.
The Hope Brewery (Claywheels Lane, S6 1LZ) was built for Thomas Carter’s Hope Brewery, opening in 1939. Following Luftwaffe damage at their Anchor Brewery, Henry Tomlinson and Company (founded 1891) merged with the Hope Brewery in 1942, forming Hope and Anchor Breweries.
They were famed for a Sheffield legend: Jubilee Stout. A 1952 reciprocal agreement with Canadian Breweries (CBL), led by President E.P. (Eddie) Taylor saw Jubilee Stout on sale in Canada and the initial entry of Carling Lager to the UK. By 1960 the company had ~250 tied outlets and the telegram address: Jubilee Sheffield.
Advertising included Kenneth Steel paintings which were reproduced on beer-mats, trays and posters. They also employed well-known magician, David Nixon (1919-1978), in a TV advert for Jubilee Stout. At the height of his career, Nixon was among the best-known magicians in the UK.
The brewery closed in 1994, by which time it was part of the Bass empire. The previous year, they produced the ‘Sheffield at Wembley’ celebration beer.
Brewery Closures – Local Quality or National Mediocrity ?
On 26th May, the BBC ran a story with the headline: ‘Beer boom goes flat as breweries call last orders.’ This was featured on their website and even led to a pre-breakfast interview on Radio Sheffield with one of our Committee. Their story was based on a mix of Companies House and national CAMRA data and stated that:
‘In April, the number of UK beer brewing companies fell to 2,320. It peaked at 2,594 in 2022.’
‘Across the UK 320 businesses shut last year, Companies House data shows. Yet only 170 opened, resulting in a net loss of 150.’
The story takes no account of the many nuances which are hidden in the figures. For example, Grizzly Grains ran successfully for four years from 2020. It closed when the owner and sole employee, Sam Bennett, became Head Brewer at Little Mesters as they moved to their new premises in Attercliffe. The result was a net loss of one brewery but an increase in both numbers employed and beer production. It’s also worth mentioning that the effect of one closure can vary dramatically. In February, Molson Coors announced the closure of Sharp’s Brewery in Cornwall with the loss of 50 jobs.
It would also be interesting to see more depth. Perhaps, only consider, breweries which have existed for over five years? Sheffield currently has 17 independent working breweries. Of these, 15 have been in operation for over 5 years: they are established, have a working business model, and, most importantly, customers. In the last five years, another three breweries have come and gone (BrewSocial, Heist and HQ Brew).
Local independent breweries have many pressures: post-covid, energy costs, the rising cost of ingredients, the effects of Brexit … however, the main challenge is getting to market, making their beers available for sale. If you visit a big supermarket, how many indie beers are on the shelves?
Sheffield City Council missed an opportunity with the Cambridge Street Collective. The ‘largest food hall in Europe’ has very little local indie beer on the bars, However, recently, the council do seem to have seen the errors of their ways. One of the key strands of their Sheffield Inspires marketing campaign is ‘The Craft of Beer’
Taxation is another issue. It’s difficult not just for breweries, but for all small independent businesses. However, breweries do seem to have to engage with a perhaps excessive amount of paperwork: perhaps the indie beer companies need a special overseer who will bring things together?
It’s also worth noting in addition to 20% VAT, alcohol is also subject to specific duties. The UK tax on beer is one of the highest in Europe. For example, a 4.5% beer sold at £4/pint : beer duty 13% , VAT 17% : 30% of your spend is on tax (£1.31). A reduction in alcohol tax would be welcomed by our local independent breweries.
The BBC did note that both Bristol and Sheffield have one of the densest brewery scenes in the country, each with over 10 breweries within a mile of each other. Sheffield is a strong beer city due to local co-operation, collaboration and support. In short, the things that make Sheffield a great city, make it, possibly the best beer city in the world.
As co-founder of Triple Point, George Brook said in the BBC piece: “One of the reasons why I love this city, and also Bristol, both are so much more accepting of independents than anywhere else I have been or lived. The culture of drinking local beer is one of the things that makes Sheffield great.”
Choosing an independent pint genuinely makes a difference. It supports local businesses, local employment and is also good for the environment. Do you really want to drink Doom Bar which has travelled over 300 miles from Cornwall, when there is a choice of many excellent, locally-made beers? The difficulty for the small brewery is getting to market, not the quality of their beer. Consumers deserve the opportunity to choose: local quality or multinational mediocrity.
Dave Pickersgill
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Current Sheffield Breweries:
Abbeydale 1996 – established
Bradfield 2005
Blue Bee 2011
Tapped 2013
Toolmakers 2013
Emmanuales 2014
Fuggle Bunny 2014
Stancill 2014
Neepsend 2015
True North 2015 (brewery available for outside use)
Little Critters 2016
Loxley 2018
Dead Parrot 2018
Saint Mars of the Desert (SMOD) 2018
Triple Point 2019
Little Mesters 2020
Duality 2024
AleChemist 2025
NOT IN SHEFFIELD BUT STILL IN SHEFFIELD & DISTRICT CAMRA BRANCH AREA:
Our 50th Steel City Beer & Cider Fesitval will be taking place 21-24 October 2026. Once again the festival is being held at the atmospheric Kelham Island Museum, a venue full of character with bars, food vendors, games, live music and more spread across several areas including the upper hall, Victorian courtyard and Stone Garden.
The bars will all together boast a range of about 200 cask ales, all of which we aim to have on sale on the first night and available until they run out, along with a list of 70 other craft beers in keg which will be on rotation. There will also be 30 different ciders and perries to try.
We have a programme of special talks, tours and tastings you can choose to add to your festival experience as an optional extra and these are now available to book.
Wednesday 19:00 – Beer & Music pairing with Pete Brown: Join award-winning beer writer and broadcaster Pete Brown for a one-of-a-kind audio-visual beer tasting experience, based on the fascinating research behind his latest book – Tasting Notes: The art and science of pairing beer and music.
Thursday 11:30 – Little Chicago: A guided historical walk in Sheffield’s Little Chicago Quarter. We will explore both the pub heritage aspects of the area plus the streets which feature in the book, ‘Sheffield 1925: Gang Wars and Wembley Glory,’ with a narrative explaining how Sheffield briefly became the most turbulent city in Britain because of an escalating gang war involving the Park Brigade, Mooney Gang, the Gas Tank Gang and many others. The walk will be led by ‘Sheffield’s Real Heritage Pubs’ editor, Dave Pickersgill and local historian and writer, John Stocks.
Thursday 17:00 – Kelham Island Brewery: This talk will be led by four key members of the team at Kelham Island Brewery: Tom Clay (Sales & Brand Director) and three of the Owner/Directors: Jim Harrison, James O’Hara and Simon Webster. The presenters will look back to the history of the Fat Cat and Kelham Island Brewery, lauding the pioneering work of Dave Wickett and celebrating the long-term influences of both the pub and the brewery on todays UK Indie beer scene before looking to the future.
Thursday 19:00 – Abbeydale Brewery: A tutored beer tasting and discussion led by experts from the oldest established brewery in Sheffield, which as of 2024 is wholly employee owned. This event will explore the depth and breadth of the Abbeydale range as they celebrate their 30th anniversary. Last year (2025) Abbeydale produced over 200 Bbl./week of which over 75% was cask. They produce at least one new beer each week, including both the Funk Dungeon and Dr.Morton’s brands. The latter is a tribute to the owners with the former highlighting their barrel ageing project.
SCAN THE QR CODES BELOW TO BOOK THE SPECIAL EVENT ADD ONS
Abbeydale Brewery tutored tastingKelham Island Brewing talkLittle Chicago guided walk plus festival entry packagePete Brown “Tasting Notes” beer & music pairing
In early May, employee-owned Abbeydale, the oldest brewery in Sheffield, opened Abbeydale Beerworks, their long-awaited tap, a mere 200 paces from the brewery. Using the same space as the ex-Turners Bottle & Tap (Abbeydale Road, S7 1FL), covered outside seating leads you into a cosy space. The bar is on your left, with seating on the right and to the rear. Decor includes brewery-inspired imagery on the walls and a selection of trinkets, many obtained locally or from the brewery.
Beer-wise, there are four cask beers from Abbeydale and six keg selections. Opening night saw the permanent cask, Moonshine, joined by Black Mass, Daily Bread and Through the Hopback Cascade.
On preview evening, the first award presentation at this new venue was made – no doubt, the first of many. The certificate, for a finalist in the Barley Wines & Strong Ales category in the CAMRA Champion Beer of Britain Award 2026 was for one of the Abbeydale core beers: Black Mass.
This was first brewed almost 30 years ago, on 6 November 1996. The 26th brew from the then new brewery was developed from a beer which the co-founder of Abbeydale, Pat Morton, had previously brewed: Kelham Island Brewery Bête Noire, a 5.5% stout.
Over time, the recipe for Black Mass has evolved. The first brew was single hopped with Cascade, and had oats and mixed cereals in the grist. The malt bill remains complex, currently featuring crystal malt, both chocolate and pale chocolate malts, black malt, and roasted barley.
Some say Black Mass is a stout, others say it’s a well-hopped dark beer: suffice to say Black Mass was one the first black IPAs. It has an IBU of over 150. IBU (International Bitterness Units) is a measure of the bitterness of beer based on the amount of bittering compounds from hops, the iso-alpha acids. The scale typically ranges from 0 to 100, with higher values indicating a more bitter taste. For example, a Pilsner would be 15-30 and a West Coast IPA would be 50-70. With an IBU of over 150, there are a lot of hops in Black Mass: Columbus, Cascade, and Green Bullet. Rich and smooth on the palate, with flavours reminiscent of bitter chocolate, fruitcake and raisins, and aromas of coffee, dark chocolate, and just a hint of burnt toast: it’s classic and familiar yet also unique and boundary defying.
It is also the only beer listed in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide with an ABV to two decimal places: 6.66%.
Black Mass is one of Abbeydale’s many multi-award winning beers. It also recently won a major Society of Independent Brewers and Associates (SIBA) award: Gold in the Bottle/Can Speciality IPA category at their flagship BeerX UK event in Liverpool, the Indie Beer Awards 2026. This is an indication of it’s quality, and yet another acknowledgment of the outstanding beers produced by Team Abbeydale. We wish them well with Abbeydale Beerworks.
Recently, I was fortunate enough to visit several breweries and taprooms in Belgium. These included several of great age and others of a more recent vintage.
Roman (Oudenaarde) showed both their now decommissioned coppers and their new shiny brewery. The brewery dates to 1545, and founder Joos Roman: a bailiff who sold beer at an inn on the main trading route from Germany to France. The current management are the 14th generation, brothers Carlo and Lode Roman.
Founded over three centuries later (1875), Verhagne (Vichte) was visited on a Sunday morning: 90% of their production is the ruby-red, Duchess be Bourgogne (6.2%)
Silly Brewery in the town of Silly is one of the smaller members of the Belgian Family Brewers Association. The brewery began in 1852 in a farm bought by Marcellin Meynsbrughen and was called Meynsbrughen Brewery until 1973. They now have a handsome town-centre site with views over France. Their logo is an agricultural worker with a scythe in one hand and a beer in the other. Their most well-known beers are Silly Saison (5%), Silly Scotch (8%), and the Enghien range.
Omer Vander Ghinste began in 1892 when Remi Vander Ghinste bought a house with brewery buildings in Bellegem for his son Omer. The family were careful with their spending as Marguerite named her son, born in 1901, “Omer” for practical reasons, so expensive bar, and brewery windows would not have to be replaced. This was the beginning of a family tradition. The latest Omer Vander Ghinste has been in charge since 1993. Their most well-known beers are Omer Blond (8%) and VanderGhinste Roodbruin (5.5%), a Flemish Red Brown.
Brasserie Cazeau (Templeuve) is heir to a legacy name, the current brewery dating from 1995. It is a real mix of the old and the new, including a wood-panelled copper, lots of stairs and many ‘interesting’ sets of pipework. About 70% of production is secondary fermented in the bottle. Beers include the Tournay range, including Blonde (6.5%), Noire (7.6%), Saison (5%), Noel (8.2%), and Triple (9.4%). We were also provided with a sample of Tourney Hop Harvest 2025 (4%) straight from the fermenting vessel. A year earlier, Brasserie ‘t Gaverhopke, an ancient farm, commenced brewing. All beers are unfiltered and refermented in the bottle.
Vicaris Brewery (Dendermonde) was founded by dental engineer Vincent Dilewyns who began brewing at home in 2000 and produced a lovely Tripel. It was never the intention to go commercial, but after success at a local event the leftover crates were sold to locals and some ended up at the 2006 national Zythos Beer Festival. The current brewery opened in 2021. Their beers are unpasteurised and unfiltered and include: Vicaris NANOo, one of the best Belgian zero-alcohol beers.
Established in 2005, De Ranke (Dottignes) also produces unpasteurised and unfiltered beers, utilising whole hops in a traditional gravity-led set-up. Brewing to sale for their heavily hopped high IBU beers (40-70) takes between 8 and 20 weeks. Their most well-known beer is XX Bitter (6%).
Deseveaux (Bossu) were set up in 2011. Production on the old family farm commencing in 2014. They specialise in brewing with buckwheat and spelt in conjunction with malted barley and wheat. 35% of production is organic. Mostly Belgian hops are used including some grown on-site (Cascade, Goldings, and Phoenix). Water, from their well, is treated before use. Their most well-known beers are the Abbaye de Saint-Ghislain and Sarazen ranges.
Chateau de Leigonon (Ciney) opened in 2024 as part of a larger complex in an ex-farm on the estate. Belgian Process Solutions installed the extensive kit. They currently brew 3-4 times/month. Beers include Ambree (5%), IPA (5.5%), and Imperial Solstice (8.1%).
Along the way, several visits were made to brewery taprooms. These included the Duvel-Moorgat Maredsous Monastery microbrewery and bar, the Taproom Brouwerij de Brabandere Brewery (Harelbeke, opened in 2025) and the Trolls & Bush Beer Restaurant and Brewery Tap for Dubuisson Brewery in Pipaix. The Borinage Brewery Tap (Boussu) provided the oddest beer name: Urine Double IPA (7%).
At the Boon Tap Room (Lambeek), Frank, the man who brought lambic back from the dead, appeared behind the bar, then joined us at our table: suffice to say his knowledge regarding foeders, sour beers and barrel aging is unsurpassed. Boon now has the world’s largest stock of lambic beer in oak barrels, 2.1 million litres. Frank retired in 2021 and his two sons now run the brewery.
Across the country are an increasing number of high-quality low alcohol beers. For example, Ramon (in a can, 0.3%) was “Beer of the Year” at the 2025 London Beer Competition. It is brewed using a specially selected yeast that minimises alcohol production while unlocking aromatic, hop-flavours.
Thanks to Podge Beer Tours and Wakefield CAMRA for arranging the two trips which included these, and several other, visits.
Thanks to Micropub Adventures (Scott Sinclair) and Sheffield with Pubs (Niall Green), for joining several of us on a recent guided Pub Heritage walk. We took the Neepsend route (as in our walk-booklet) before going, via the New Barrack, into Hillsborough. The booklet is available from our website with paper copies obtainable at several local outlets.
We were very impressed by both the range and quality of the available beers, but also, by the many bar-staff we encounted – polite, professional and enthusiastic: an excellent advertisement for the city. Thanks for looking after us.
Neepsend pubs visited were: Church – Temple of Fun, The Old Workshop, Alder, Forest, Heist Brew Co. and the Gardeners Rest. We also passed the ruins of both Stones Cannon and Deardens High House Breweries. In addition, I played bar billiards for the first time in about twenty years, and managed to rack up over 1000 points. In all, an excellent afternoon.
Sheffield City Council have ruled regarding the recent retrospective planning application (25/030409/FUL) for the Royal Standard: Refuse with Enforcement Action.
‘The Local Planning Authority (LPA) consider that the impact of the works, principally the introduction of inappropriate windows and works to the entrance including the loss of historic fabric have a detrimental impact on the character and architectural and cultural heritage of the building which is a non-designated heritage asset. No clear justification for alterations has been put forward. The building could have been brought back into use in a manner that respected the character and history of the building. It is considered that the proposal is unacceptable and harms the character of the building itself and the immediate locality being contrary to paragraph 135 and 216 of the NPPF and policies BE5 and IB9 of the Unitary Development Plan and Policy CS74 of the Core Strategy.’
The current owners of the building made many alterations to this 19th century public house, without obtaining planning permission. Their retrospective planning application has been refused.
The Planning Officers Report states that: ‘It is therefore expedient to require removal of unauthorised works with a remedial scheme to be provided by the developer and agreed with the Local Planning Authority to reinstate the original building fabric.’
Congratulations to Garry and the team at the Rising Sun (471 Fulwood Road, S10 3QA), winners of the Sheffield and District CAMRA, Sheffield (West) Pub of the Year 2025.
Owned by Sheffield Beerworks EOT Ltd., the Employee Owned Trust which also includes Abbeydale Brewery, the Riding Sun has been an Abbeydale community pub and dining room since 19th December 2005 when the brewery took over from the University of Sheffield Union of Students. The Union had run the building for just over 23 years. Previous management includes the Sheffield & District Public House Trust Co.Ltd. and John Smiths Tadcaster Brewery.
The original pub opened around 1860. The name refers to pubs which face east and receive early-morning sun, as did the earlier Rising Sun. The current pub opened when the, then, owners, the Sheffield Town Trustees agreed to provide land for the widening of Fulwood Road to Sheffield Corporation in return for the demolition and reconstruction of the original pub. The current building opened in July 1904. Abbeydale carried out an extensive refurbishment in 2014.
Rising Sun’s bar
There are two comfortably furnished rooms with a log burning fire between the main bar and the glass roofed extension. The large beer garden includes covered, heated areas. The pub is also both child and dog friendly. Quizzes are on Sunday evenings.
In 1914, the Sheffield and Rotherham Red Book and Almanac (p.407) stated that: ‘many pleasure seekers finding this suburban house very convenient for the supply of general refreshments.’ To-day, the situation is similar: the pub provides 13 cask beers, including a large Abbeydale range, together with several rotating guest specials across both cask and keg. There is also an ever-changing cider selection, a carefully curated wine list, a large range of quality spirits and plenty of non-alcoholic options. In addition, the creative, seasonal food menu aims to showcase the best of British produce and sees the pub working with a host of local suppliers.
Presentation of a previous award!
We hope you can join us for the presentation on 31 March from 8pm.
Abbeydale brewery event at the Rising Sun
On the presentation evening we’ll also be holding an Abbeydale Brewery tutored tasting event, led by experts from the oldest established brewery in Sheffield. This event will explore the depth and breadth of the Abbeydale range.You will be introduced to five beers, each in a 1/3 pint measure. Tickets for this are available online in advance for £10.
