Author: Dominic Nelson

Dom’s Casks of the Month

Posted on by Dominic Nelson
It seems like a long time since I last wrote this column; Beer Matters‘ hiatus for Christmas has given me twice as long as usual to find the finest cask ales on offer around the pubs of Sheffield. As always, there was a fantastic variety on offer and it was especially difficult to narrow it down to just three, but here they are: What: Manifesto (6.0%) – Revolutions (Castleford) Where: Rutland Arms I have tried a few beers from this Castleford-based brewery in the past but this was their first offering that truly impressed me. A lovely, smooth stout with a deep black colour; creamy, full-bodied mouthfeel and a lasting tan-coloured head. Coffee dominated the aroma but was balanced out in drinking by the complex dark malt flavours and a final flourish of hoppy bitterness. Very moreish. What: Breakfast IPA Mk5 – Buck’s Fizz (5.1%) – Neepsend (Sheffield)/HopJacker (Dronfield) Where: Shakespeares The fifth offering in Neepsend Brewery’s Breakfast IPA series, this Buck’s Fizz IPA (brewed in collaboration with Dronfield’s HopJacker) was one of the delights on offer at Shakespeares’ Autumn Beer Festival. Made with champagne yeast, lots of Amarillo hops and plenty of Valencian oranges in the mash, this zesty and refreshing pale poured a pale straw colour, slightly hazy, and the aroma was packed with citrus notes. The taste was exactly as promised, a hit of oranges and slight champagne dryness making for a surprisingly enjoyable drink. What: #32 Create Those Moments (4.2%) – Sonnet 43 (Coxhoe, County Durham) Where: Stew & Oyster This was my first visit to this new Kelham Island bar, and feeling very much in the Christmas spirit I couldn’t resist this unique spiced pear and brandy porter. The beer poured a nice brown colour, perhaps slightly paler than expected, with a foamy white head. The unmistakable smells of Christmas spices such as cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg dominated the aroma, but on tasting these were well balanced with hints of malt, fruit and brandy. It even gave me the courage to try my first oyster (highly recommended)! Look out next month for three more of the most interesting beers on the pumps of Sheffield’s pubs. Dominic Nelson

3 Valleys 2018

Posted on by Dominic Nelson
Organisers have confirmed the annual 3 Valleys Beer Festival in Dronfield will be taking place again this year on its usual date, the first Saturday in June, which this year is 2 June 2018. This event gets more popular every year and is now classed as a major event by Derbyshire County Council so organisers are working together with their emergency planning committee to ensure all have a safe and enjoyable day out. 3 Valleys sees a whole raft of pubs, clubs and breweries putting on small beer festivals on the same day and fund a free bus service linking all the venues with Dronfield rail station and new this year there will also be festival buses from Halfway Park & Ride site where the 120 bus and Blue route tram terminate. Entry to all the venues is also free of charge so it is a great value day out featuring beer, cider, food, live music and scenery. New venues confirmed for this year include Fuggle Bunny Brewhouse and the Butchers Arms at Marsh Lane with returning favourites including the Miners Arms at Hundall, Hyde Park Inn at Hill Top, the Jolly Farmer and Miners Arms in Dronfield Woodhouse whilst in Dronfield itself the Dronfield Arms, Green Dragon, Manor House Hotel, Blue Stoops and Pioneer Club are all back again for 2018. It is expected there will be a few more venues still to be announced. One cluster of venues that have proved very busy in the last few years are those on Dronfield High Street – Blue Stoops, Manor House and Green Dragon – all offering outside bars, music and street food stalls – so new this year will be a road closure to make it easier and safer to walk between these venues and provide more space to eat and drink outside! As a result the festival buses will serve these venues using the stop in the Civic Centre. For all the developing news about 3 Valleys 2018 keep an eye on the festival’s Facebook page. Andy Cullen

Late Night Beers – Part 3

Posted on by Dominic Nelson
Over the last couple of editions of Beer Matters, we’ve brought you the first two parts of our guide to those pubs and bars serving real ale well into the early hours in Sheffield city centre. Here we have the third and final instalment in the Late Night Beers series:

Maida Vale

West Street This is a lively and often busy bar with a dancefloor. It hosts live music from time to time but at the weekend there is a DJ playing indie and classic tunes. Two real ales on the bar, usually Sharp’s Doom Bar and something from Clark’s of Wakefield, plus a bottled selection. Open until 2am on Tuesday and Wednesday and 4am Friday and Saturday nights.

Red Deer

Pitt Street A cosy, traditional pub with a range of real ales and real cider, including up to eight cask offerings. Regular ales include Blue Bee’s Reet Pale, Kelham Island Easy Rider, Moorhouse’s Pride of Pendle and Welbeck Abbey’s Portland Black. Open until 1am on Friday and Saturday nights.

Sheffield Water Works Company

Division Street A former Lloyds No1 Bar in the Wetherspoons chain offering what you come to expect from a “Spoons”, with a range of ales including national brands and local guests at reasonable prices. Open until 1am on Friday and Saturday nights.

Washington

Fitzwilliam Street The Washington is a more traditional pub layout although it does have a dance floor/stage area and DJ box reflecting the fact it is a music-led venue. Earlier in the evening there is often live music, at night on a weekend there is a DJ playing quality music. The pub has two rooms, the other being a lounge with a piano. One central bar serves both rooms. There is also a large beer garden with an indoor section, the music is piped outside so those getting some fresh air don’t miss out on the atmosphere! Real ales on the bar include Abbeydale Moonshine, Exit 33 Mosaic and Black Sheep Bitter. Open until 1am on Tuesdays, 2am Wednesday and Thursday, and 3am on Friday and Saturday nights.

Wick at Both Ends

West Street A quirky L-shaped bar, known best for its cocktails and the Lemon Drizzle flaming shots, however a selection of real ales are available on the bar too. Can get very busy at the weekend, when it opens until 3am (2am the rest of the week).

Yates’s

Cambridge Street A chain that really needs no introduction although some things have changed in the old days of the Wine Lodge when it was proper cheesy. Nevertheless, there is still a DJ playing pop music at night, drinks offers during the week and cheap food during the day. Opens until 2am on Friday and Saturday nights (midnight Mon-Thu and 11pm Sunday). There are four handpumps on the bar dispensing the likes of Greene King IPA, Sharp’s Doom Bar, Robinson’s Dizzy Blonde and Thornbridge Jaipur.

Yorkshireman

Burgess Street: This little pub is a serious rock bar with a DJ playing rock and metal tracks to an appreciative crowd until the early hours. Two real ales are normally on the bar, including Wychwood Hobgoblin, Sharp’s Doom Bar or Robinson’s Trooper. Andy Cullen

December Pub of the Month presentation

Posted on by Dominic Nelson
On 12 December 2017, around 15 members from Sheffield & District CAMRA visited the Head of Steam on Norfolk Street for the presentation of the December Pub of the Month award. Branch chairman Mick Saxton made the presentation to the pub’s general manager, Mark Connor. There were 10 real ales available on the night, and with a 20p per pint discount on offer for CAMRA members, an enjoyable pre-Christmas pint was enjoyed by all. Congratulations once again to Mark and all the staff at the Head of Steam on their award.

Welbeck Abbey Brewery

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Keep your eyes peeled in the month of February for limited-edition ale Bili Bili, a collaboration between Worksop-based microbrewery Welbeck Abbey Brewery and Bakewell-based international development charity Village Aid. Hand-crafted on the Welbeck estate, this fruity pale ale is packed with hints of zesty orange, reminiscent of the fruits of West Africa where Village Aid works. Bili Bili takes its name from a popular traditional alcoholic beverage brewed in rural communities in Cameroon. The drink is brewed at home, primarily using sorghum malt and is thought to have many health benefits.  Village Aid works in partnership with human-rights based organisation MBOSCUDA in North-West Cameroon. They work to build peace between farming and grazing communities by increasing equitable access to natural resources such as land and clean water and working with the communities to resolve violent conflict peacefully.  Find out more about this and Village Aid’s other life-changing projects in West Africa by visiting their website: www.villageaid.org. This charity cask ale will feature in local pubs throughout South Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. The design is bright and colourful and features the silhouette of the African long-horned cow, an animal central to the livelihoods of grazing communities in this region of Cameroon. 10 pence from the sale of every pint of Bili Bili will go directly to Village Aid’s projects in West Africa, enabling their life-changing work to continue into 2018.

Abbeydale Brewery

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Welcome to 2018, everyone! After a hugely exciting and very busy 2017 we’ve got big plans for the coming year and we’re kicking off by getting involved in collaborations galore. First up, after last year’s Don’t Go Bacon My Heart went down so well, we’re revisiting the piggy theme with our friends from leading Sheffield beer snack producers SmoFo to create You Scratch My Back, a 5.5% smoked pork scratching porter. It’s a rich, smoky, salty sensation! We are also super excited to be teaming up with Malton-based legends Bad Seed Brewery. Seeing as we’re both breweries who are well known for our hoppy pale ales, we’ve gone double hopped for this collaboration! Final details are still to be confirmed but we can promise an outrageously hoppy, juicy, hazy delight. And finally, in time for Sheffield Beer Week we’re heading out into the peaks to create a brand new beer with none other than the mighty Thornbridge! Keep your eyes peeled for more details, including behind the scenes insights on the brewday on 9 February. This one will be launching across all Thornbridge venues in March. Obviously we’re also making plenty of delicious beers all by ourselves and Voyager 7, hopped with Sorachi Ace, El Dorado and Enigma, will be triumphantly setting sail from the brewery in cask, keg and can. Also coming up in our Brewers Emporium range we have the next iteration of our Salvation stout, which this time will be packed with the flavours of Rocky Road. Expect a full biscuity body, a rich, sweet mouthfeel and a marshmallow finish. In our Doctor Morton’s series we have the return of Morton’s Caesar (4.1%), a pale ale with a combination of US and New Zealand hops for a bold citrusy character and inviting herbal aromas. To round off the month we will be releasing the first in a new fairground inspired series designed by the wonderful Carl Flint: Waltzer (3.9%). An easy drinking, well-balanced blonde beer with a delicate fruitiness and a clean bitter finish. Coming up next month we have LOADS planned for Sheffield Beer Week including a bar at the Indie Beer Feast held at Abbeydale Picture House, tickets available online now! Cheers, Laura P.S. I’ve picked my favourite Untappd comment from last year. This dubious accolade goes to Sam K, whose Moonshine at Bungalows and Bears “tastes like Sheffield”. Keep a look out on our Twitter for my favourite comments each week and check in your pints for your chance to be featured!

Inn Brief

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Enterprise Inns have withdrawn their appeal against the ACV listing of the Cherry Tree on Carter Knowle Road ahead of a planned hearing in late February. The withdrawal of the appeal means that the pub’s status as a community asset will stand for the next five years. The Beehive on West Street is to close for a couple of weeks in early February for a refurbishment. The Washington on Fitzwilliam Street has introduced early evening (until 9pm) drinks promotions on weekdays including house ale for £2.50 a pint. During January this is extended to the full opening hours (6pm to 2am) Monday to Thursday. Live music and DJs continue to be a regular feature, especially at the weekend and a new special event is a video games tournament. They continue to offer 5 real ales. The Blue Ball at Wharncliffe Side recently received perfect scores from Cask Marque on all three of its cask lines. A further two real ales are set to be installed in the near future. The Fox and Duck in Broomhill has expanded its food offerings, with a selection of traditional pub meals available in addition to burgers. Shakespeares on Gibraltar Street is holding a “Stupidly Delicious Beers” event on Friday 2 February. Cask ales include a Toblerone stout from Beer Ink and a raspberry and salted caramel milk stout from Fallen Brewing. New landlords are set to take over at the Bull’s Head on Fulwood Road. Half of the pub will concentrate on food but the other half will remain dedicated to drinkers. The Crosspool Tavern on Manchester Road and the Moorlands at Owler Bar, both formerly Crown Carveries, have now reopened under new Stonehouse Pizza & Carvery branding. Old Hall Brewery in Snaith, near Goole, have appointed Ryan Truswell as their new head brewer. He has previously worked at Elland Brewery and Heineken UK.

Blue Bee Brewery

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It’s been a busy start to 2018! Firstly, Triple Hop (4.3%) has proven so popular we have added it to our core range. Starting with a personal favorite brew of ours, Born in the USA (6.0%), we dropped the ABV to create this session IPA. Combining three great American hops (Citra, Mosaic and Ekuanot) to give a big tropical and citrus hop kick, along with additions of both Vienna and Munich malts to give a slight sweetness to counteract the dry hop finish this is a great addition to our core range. If you are yet to try Triple Hop, it can be found on the bar at the Kelham Island Tavern as well as on the guest pumps of other great pubs throughout the city and beyond. February also sees a couple of specials leaving the brewery. First up is a rebrew from a similar time last year, Land of the Long White Cloud (3.5%). Slightly tweaked from the previous brew, this time this session pale is packed with Motueka, Dr Rudi and Waimea hops, all from New Zealand, to give resinous hop flavours with hints of lime and tangerine. Secondly we have Planet Caravan (6.0%) a black IPA named after a lesser-known Black Sabbath song. This black IPA combines Eureka, Columbus, Ekuanot and Simcoe to give the citrus hop flavours you come to expect from a conventual IPA but is balanced by a slight roasted malt flavour in the background. Both this beers should be hitting bars of Sheffield throughout February. Josh Jepson

Stancill Brewery

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A new line of premium beers is currently in development by Stancill Brewery with a unique range of twelve memorable, challenging and unusual brews set to be unveiled during 2018. Named the Brewer’s Range, each beer will explore different brewing styles and characteristics, each one having been developed under the watchful eyes of Jonathan Brown and head brewer Dean Pleasant. A new beer will be unveiled each month under the Brewer’s Range brand and following the success of Stancill’s first canned beer in 2017, the range will become the first to sold directly to the public in cans. The first (unnamed at the time of going to press) beer will be unveiled at the beginning of February, marking a subtle change in direction to Stancill’s beer offering. Managing Director Thomas Gill said: “Over the past few years, Stancill has built a solid reputation for its range of traditionally styled beers – from our award-winning Barnsley Bitter to timeless classics such as our Blond and Porter. The Brewers range is a new assortment of complementing, but very different, beers. “We wanted to give our brewers a completely free hand when it came to developing and trialling the new beers, with a brand new beer planned to be launched every month throughout 2018.” In addition to developing its new Brewer’s Range, Stancill is also planning to make some minor revisions to its core beer range, with an additional special brew adding a new twist to some of its popular beers. Stancill is currently looking for experienced managers and bar staff to support the brewery’s current venues and future growth plans within Sheffield. To find out more about the current opportunities, send your CV and a cover letter to adam@stancillbrewery.co.uk. The brewery currently operates four venues within Sheffield, and if you share a passion for real ale and think you’ve got what it takes to build a successful career in the pubs industry, please get in touch.

Volunteering for CAMRA

Posted on by Dominic Nelson
There are many ways you can assist CAMRA – for example, you could work at one of our many beer festivals. There are dozens of varied roles: serving the beer is the obvious job, but there are many others: from van or fork-lift driving to building (and demolishing) bars to glass washing to social media to counting money. Whoever you are, there are jobs which suit your talents – jobs you will enjoy and jobs which are useful for your CV. Upcoming beer festivals include both Magna (Rotherham) and Burton-on -Trent. In August, the Great British Beer Festival (GBBF) at Olympia (London) offers an opportunity to take part in one of the key beer festivals worldwide.  Accommodation and a coach back at the end of each evening are provided for volunteers. Burton might be fifty miles away but it’s on a direct train line from Sheffield; a Derbyshire Wayfarer ticket costs £12.60 (£6.30 for over 60’s). An excellent beer festival takes place at the Town Hall: you could volunteer for part of the day, enjoy your beer and then return northwards. Locally, next October, the 44th annual Steel City Beer Festival will need many hours of volunteer time. The online staffing form will be available around August – we look forward to welcoming many of you as an integral part of the making of this festival, the highlight of the Sheffield beer calendar. On a day-to-day basis, volunteering opportunities include the continuous updating of WhatPub, liaising with local breweries, writing articles for Beer Matters and many more I have not mentioned! There’s lots to do – just get involved! Dave Pickersgill