The micropub revolution continues to change the face of beer drinking across the country, and Sheffield is no exception. Since the city’s first micropub – the Beer House on Ecclesall Road – opened in December 2014, a number of new venues have now joined the scene. In the last month alone there have been two micropubs opened in the Steel City, both of which serve real ale.
Brewer & Hop (40 Wostenholm Road, S7 1LJ) is a classic micropub with a one-room layout dominated by the bar. Owned by husband and wife team, Lauren and Dom Seigies, the pub is located within the Dalbury & Palmer hotel complex. On our first visit there were three real ales on the bar: Sheffield Brewery’s Seven Hills and Five Rivers, as well as Sentinel SG. There was also a selection of traditional bottled ales, plus a lager and keg cider. According to the owners, there are plans to introduce a craft keg line in future. During the recent warm weather there has also been a number of outdoor tables to allow drinkers to enjoy their pints outdoors.
Interior of the Garden Room
Just a 10-minute walk away, the Garden Room (287 Ecclesall Road, S11 8NX) is a café cum wine bar cum micropub located in the former Captain’s Cup coffee shop, opposite the Portland House. This is another husband and wife operation, with new owners Gary and Julie undertaking their first independent venture having previously been in charge at the Cock & Magpie in Chesterfield. On our visit, Thornbridge Jaipur and Castle Rock Harvest Pale were available on handpump, alongside a selection of keg beers.
Meanwhile, just as we were going to print we received news that the keys had been handed over for the Chapeltown Tap House, a new micropub located in a railway arch opposite Chapeltown station. We look forward to visiting soon!
Dominic Nelson
On Saturday 14 July, a handful of branch members headed out to the Peak District to celebrate a couple of our more rural pubs, with the Spring 2018 District Pub of the Season and the District Pub of the Year 2018 presentations both on the agenda.
We were unable to secure a minibus for the trip this time, so we kicked off with a short hop on the number 65 bus to Stoney Middleton for the first presentation at the Moon Inn. The pub was very quiet when we arrived but the staff were friendly and the ale was well kept. Stancill India was the pick of the three beers on offer. Branch chairman Glyn Mansell presented the certificate to manager Kevin Bite and his team.
The next stop on our route was this year’s District Pub of the Year, the Red Lion at Litton. It was back on the 65 for the second leg of the journey, which again handily dropped us right outside the door of the pub. The Red Lion was a complete contrast to the Moon, full of customers enjoying their lunch on a hot summer’s day. There were four real ales available here, including one of the first beers I ever tried growing up in East Lancashire, Moorhouse’s Pride of Pendle. Chairman Glyn made a rare outdoors presentation to landlady Jeanne, who was delighted with her award.
Well done once again to both pubs on their awards!
Dominic Nelson
August marked the twelfth month in a row we have been able to present our Pub of the Month award to a deserving pub in the Sheffield & District branch region, so thank you to all who continue to nominate and vote for their favourite venues. Long may it continue!
This month’s presentation took us to the Beer Engine on Cemetery Road, which had last won the accolade exactly two years earlier. Around a dozen branch members made their way down to see vice-chairman Patrick Johnson present the certificate to the Beer Engine team.
There was an excellent selection of six real ales available on the night, although this was down to four by the end of the evening. Particular highlights of mine included Almasty DDH Nelson Waimea Pale and Summer Wine Vic Secret, two very tasty pale ales showcasing Antipodean hops. The Beer Engine is also known for its great food and the complimentary tapas were very much appreciated.
A huge congratulations once again to Tom and everyone at the Beer Engine!
CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide 2019 is set to be released on 13 September and the 46th edition of the beer-lovers’ bible will include more than 4,500 of Britain’s finest pubs.
This figure includes 36 from the Sheffield & District CAMRA branch region, and although we cannot yet reveal any names, it’s fair to say there are a few new venues on the list – a great testament to the great things that are happening in the Sheffield real ale scene at the moment. There is also information on every brewery currently operating in the country, along with tasting notes on their core beers.
The selection process for GBG 2019 began back in late 2017, when branch members were invited to vote for up to 30 of their favourite pubs from within the Sheffield city boundaries, plus up to six from the surrounding Derbyshire villages that are also part of the branch. The 36 establishments with the most votes were then visited by a team of volunteers to confirm the pubs’ eligibility and obtain up-to-date details for inclusion in the final book.
The book is available to pre-order now from the CAMRA bookshop, priced at £11 + p&p for members (£13 + p&p for non-members). Alternatively, it will also be on sale from the book stall at the Steel City Beer & Cider Festival from 10-13 October.
The Bull’s Head on Fulwood Road is now under new management, after landlady Heather Gamwells moved from the Springvale on Commonside earlier this year.
A number of new events have been introduced, with band nights and DJ nights taking place every Friday and Saturday respectively. Also starting on 4 September from 12-3pm is a series of friendship lunches which will feature a set two course meal for £6 with a live singer. These will be held every two weeks.
Heather’s famous Sunday lunches are back too and are bigger and better than ever, while there are also fish and chip Fridays and a new-look menu set to be introduced in September alongside the current pizza offerings.
On the bar you will find Abbeydale Moonshine, Bradfield Farmers Blonde, Timothy Taylor Landlord and Sharp’s Doom Bar, plus a guest ale. The pub is open from 11am every day and closes at 11pm Sunday to Thursday, midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.
It’s good news once again for Sheffield’s Kelham Island Tavern, which has been named joint runner-up in the Yorkshire CAMRA Pub of the Year 2018 competition.
The pub, which has been voted Sheffield & District CAMRA’s Pub of the Year 14 out of the last 15 years, was up against the winners from all of Yorkshire’s branches. With up to 12 real ales available at any time, always including a mild, a porter and a stout, the Kelham Island Tavern is famous among real ale fans nationwide and continues to uphold excellent standards.
For the third year running, the winning establishment was the George & Dragon at Hudswell, near Richmond. The pub, which also won the national CAMRA Pub of the Year award in 2016, was the first community pub in the county and is now a thriving venue serving five cask ales on rotation.
George & Dragon, Hudswell
Joining the Kelham Island Tavern in joint second place was the Victorian Craft Beer Café in Halifax. Opened in 2014, this trendy pub serves 10 hand-pulled real ales and ciders, along with up to 12 craft keg lines and a wide range of continental bottled beers.
Meanwhile, the winner of the Yorkshire Club of the Year award was the Wortley Men’s Club from Barnsley branch, which has now won the accolade five years in a row. The Oakworth Social Club near Keighley was named runner-up.
We would like to extend our congratulations to all the winners. Presentations are set to be arranged for Saturday afternoons during the autumn and we will release details for these online and in Beer Matters as soon as they are known.
Kelham Island Brewery’s head brewer, Nigel Turnbull, has retired after a career spanning more than 45 years.
Nigel had been working for breweries around Sheffield since 1971, when he joined the Hope Brewery on Claywheels Lane as a lab technician straight from school at the age of 16. He moved to the Stones Brewery on Rutland Road in 1993, which was followed by a spell in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, after production moved there.
In 2009, Nigel joined Kelham Island as head brewer, where he worked until his retirement. The brewery itself was built in 1990 next door to the Fat Cat on Alma Street by the late Dave Wickett, whose son Ed now runs the operation.
Sheffield & District CAMRA would like to wish Nigel a happy retirement.
Farmers Cherry Beer is returning to the brewing schedule for the sixth year running. Back by popular demand, this 4.2% ale is light on the palate with a hint of cherry and will be available in cask and 5-litre mini kegs from Monday 3 September
The Bradfield Brewery Tap, the Nags Head at Loxley will be holding the annual harvest auction on Saturday 29 September. From 7:30pm onwards there will be a live performance from Bolsterstone Male Voice Choir followed by a charity auction with all proceeds being donated to Weston Park Cancer Charity.
Bradfield Brewery are once again proud title sponsors of Sheffield Steeldogs ice hockey team for the 2018/2019 season. This will be the fifth year of title sponsorship for the brewery and the club are looking forward to an exciting and successful season.
Staying with sponsorship and sport and we are also pleased to announce a further season as title sponsors for Stocksbridge Rugby Club. A pre-season friendly tournament marked the occasion, where teams competed in the tournament for the chance to be crowned Bradfield Brewery Cup Winners.
Jackie
We’re in celebration mode this month – our beloved flagship beer Moonshine has won 3rd place in the Golden Ales category of this year’s Champion Beer of Britain competition! This is the first time in our history that we have received such a prestigious national award, so we’re immensely proud of this achievement.
This month also sees Team Abbeydale embark on something a little different to our norm, as ten of the brewery team swap their steel toe caps for running shoes! We’ve set ourselves the challenge of completing the Sheffield Run For All 10k, raising money for the wonderful local cause of Cavendish Cancer Care, a charity which many of the team have a personal connection to.
Should anyone wish to support us, please visit , or if you are around the city centre on Sunday 23 September, please come down and cheer us on through the miles!
After all that exercise we’ll definitely be in need of some liquid refreshment, so here’s what we’ve got coming out throughout September.
A couple of beers are returning from the archives – firstly, Doctor Morton’s Perfect Number(4.8%), a pale ale with a combination of American and New Zealand hops, creating a piney aroma and a peppery flavour with a citrus hit. And after a two year hiatus, we’re resurrecting Iced Tea Dead People, a 4.6% peach iced tea inspired pale ale using Birdhouse Tea Co’s Princess Peach blend and El Dorado hops. This was a firm favourite of many in 2016 so we can’t wait to see it back on the bar!
Finally, we’re hugely excited to be brewing up a brand new collaboration with Haandbryggeriet, who are joining us in Sheffield all the way from Norway. We’re getting together to produce an as-yet-unnamed Brut IPA (6.5%), which promises to be crisp, hoppy, and dry on the palate. Following on from last month’s collaboration with Yeastie Boys, the artwork for this is being created by Barnsley artist Lewis Ryan and will be the second element of a six piece beery jigsaw puzzle!
Laura
Welbeck Abbey Brewery won an astounding six accolades in the recent Great Taste 2018 awards. Great Taste is one of the world’s most coveted food and drink awards, and over 12,600 products were entered this year. Our award winners included five 1-star accolades for bottled Portland Black and Henrietta, as well as for the mini-keg versions of Red Feather, Harley, and Cavendish. Red Feather in bottles was given a 2-star accolade.
“It was our first year ever entering the awards and we were completely overwhelmed with our results,” Welbeck Abbey Brewery explained. “We are incredibly proud to have our products recognised in these prestigious awards and grateful for the feedback we received from the judges”.
Welbeck Abbey’s award-winning products can always be found at The Welbeck Farmshop, as well as a large number of pubs, restaurants, and independent bottle shops in the local area. Follow the brewery on Social Media or visit their website for more information at www.welbeckabbeybrewery.co.uk.
We were unable to secure a minibus for the trip this time, so we kicked off with a short hop on the number 65 bus to Stoney Middleton for the first presentation at the Moon Inn. The pub was very quiet when we arrived but the staff were friendly and the ale was well kept. Stancill India was the pick of the three beers on offer. Branch chairman Glyn Mansell presented the certificate to manager Kevin Bite and his team.
The next stop on our route was this year’s District Pub of the Year, the Red Lion at Litton. It was back on the 65 for the second leg of the journey, which again handily dropped us right outside the door of the pub. The Red Lion was a complete contrast to the Moon, full of customers enjoying their lunch on a hot summer’s day. There were four real ales available here, including one of the first beers I ever tried growing up in East Lancashire, Moorhouse’s Pride of Pendle. Chairman Glyn made a rare outdoors presentation to landlady Jeanne, who was delighted with her award.
Well done once again to both pubs on their awards!
Dominic Nelson 
There was an excellent selection of six real ales available on the night, although this was down to four by the end of the evening. Particular highlights of mine included Almasty DDH Nelson Waimea Pale and Summer Wine Vic Secret, two very tasty pale ales showcasing Antipodean hops. The Beer Engine is also known for its great food and the complimentary tapas were very much appreciated.
A huge congratulations once again to Tom and everyone at the Beer Engine! 
The selection process for GBG 2019 began back in late 2017, when branch members were invited to vote for up to 30 of their favourite pubs from within the Sheffield city boundaries, plus up to six from the surrounding Derbyshire villages that are also part of the branch. The 36 establishments with the most votes were then visited by a team of volunteers to confirm the pubs’ eligibility and obtain up-to-date details for inclusion in the final book.
The book is available to pre-order now from the 
The Bradfield Brewery Tap, the Nags Head at Loxley will be holding the annual harvest auction on Saturday 29 September. From 7:30pm onwards there will be a live performance from Bolsterstone Male Voice Choir followed by a charity auction with all proceeds being donated to Weston Park Cancer Charity.
Bradfield Brewery are once again proud title sponsors of Sheffield Steeldogs ice hockey team for the 2018/2019 season. This will be the fifth year of title sponsorship for the brewery and the club are looking forward to an exciting and successful season.
Staying with sponsorship and sport and we are also pleased to announce a further season as title sponsors for Stocksbridge Rugby Club. A pre-season friendly tournament marked the occasion, where teams competed in the tournament for the chance to be crowned Bradfield Brewery Cup Winners.
Jackie 
Should anyone wish to support us, please visit , or if you are around the city centre on Sunday 23 September, please come down and cheer us on through the miles!
After all that exercise we’ll definitely be in need of some liquid refreshment, so here’s what we’ve got coming out throughout September.
A couple of beers are returning from the archives – firstly, Doctor Morton’s Perfect Number (4.8%), a pale ale with a combination of American and New Zealand hops, creating a piney aroma and a peppery flavour with a citrus hit. And after a two year hiatus, we’re resurrecting Iced Tea Dead People, a 4.6% peach iced tea inspired pale ale using Birdhouse Tea Co’s Princess Peach blend and El Dorado hops. This was a firm favourite of many in 2016 so we can’t wait to see it back on the bar!
Finally, we’re hugely excited to be brewing up a brand new collaboration with Haandbryggeriet, who are joining us in Sheffield all the way from Norway. We’re getting together to produce an as-yet-unnamed Brut IPA (6.5%), which promises to be crisp, hoppy, and dry on the palate. Following on from last month’s collaboration with Yeastie Boys, the artwork for this is being created by Barnsley artist Lewis Ryan and will be the second element of a six piece beery jigsaw puzzle!
Laura 
“It was our first year ever entering the awards and we were completely overwhelmed with our results,” Welbeck Abbey Brewery explained. “We are incredibly proud to have our products recognised in these prestigious awards and grateful for the feedback we received from the judges”.
Welbeck Abbey’s award-winning products can always be found at The Welbeck Farmshop, as well as a large number of pubs, restaurants, and independent bottle shops in the local area. Follow the brewery on Social Media or visit their website for more information at