Here’s what we’ve got coming up this month… and hopefully, you’ll be able to come and try them at Abbeydale Beerworks, our new taproom on Abbeydale Road! At the time of writing work is well underway and we hope to be open by early May, but please do check before you make the journey. This is a really exciting time for us and we can’t wait to welcome you! Anyway, here’s what we will have available for pubs across the city and beyond…
Hop on the Penistone Line (4.0%) will be a collaboration with Woodland Brewing – where we’ll be welcoming back Ash, who has recently started working there after almost 5 years with Team Abbeydale! Citra, Riwaka and Nectaron hops combine in this tantalisingly tropical pale ale with notes of juicy peach and aromatic passionfruit.
From our Restoration series of classic styles we’ll have a 4.1% Yorkshire Bitter, well-balanced and easy drinking with a delicately floral flavour set alongside hints of pine, followed up with a pleasing bitterness in the finish.
There’s some kind of international sports ball tournament on the horizon so a new Willamette hopped pale ale, Dr Morton’s Verified Ale Recipient (4.1%), is here to ease the misery of constant kicking. It’s a game of two halves, no wait, that’s a pint.
And Cardon Cactus (3.9%) is new to our series with artwork inspired by vintage botanical prints. As this one features a giant Mexican cactus, we just had to go with a hop from the Neomexicanus subspecies! This tasty pale ale showcases Sabro, joined by spicy, grapefruity Chinook.
Finally there’s a couple of delicious stouts on the way too – the latest in our Salvation series will be a smooth, sweet and fruity 4.8% Dark Chocolate and Raspberry Stout. And as part of our 30th anniversary year we’ve got the first imperial stout in a while due for release too, Lost Souls will be a big, bold and boozy 11.0% classic impy. Complex and carefully crafted, full bodied and warming with luscious vanilla bringing a hint of extravagance to the drinking experience.
Many of you will look forward to the Abbeydale Road beer festival initiative, which this year takes place from 30 July to 2 August, when 12 venues along the run from the Broadfield into Sheffield City Centre hosting beery attractions such as tap takeovers.
However that’s not the only event venues down Abbeydale Road participate in and over the weekend of 18 and 19 April Abbeydale Live took place, with 20 independent venues hosting bands, DJs and performers with outdoor stages and family areas featured. This was all co-ordinated by the Abbeydale Traders Association.
One of our very long standing members, John Beardshaw, has provided this photo from the early days of our Sheffield beer festivals featuring (left to right) John Beardshaw, Mike Hodgson and Alan Gibbons.
Our 50th Steel City Beer & Cider festival takes place this year at Kelham Island Museum from 21 to 24 October 2026.
My beer history has not included a trip to Burton-on-Trent, so with free entry for CAMRA members currently, a visit to the Burton Beer Festival seemed like an ideal opportunity.
Additionally for convoluted reasons involving a tombola win at Chesterfield Beer Festival, I know Jeff Henderson, head brewer of Airline Brewing in Maine USA. Jeff spends a two week holiday in Burton around the festival every year, so we had a chance to meet up.
My wife and I arrived on Wednesday afternoon, and went on a walk around Burton. It’s immediately obvious that, despite being able to see brewery buildings all around, things are not what they used to be. We pass the entrance to Molson Coors Burton Brewery, with no reference to a cask ale, and a sign that “celebrates” Carling!
Across the road there is plenty of evidence of closed up brewery buildings, and around the corner we saw one of the iconic Burton Union System sets sat on the edge of the site, unused and unloved. At this point I was feeling a bit disheartened about Burton, so time for a beer!
We went to the Burton Bridge Innand things started to look up. A classic old-school pub that has been tastefully modernised with an excellent choice. The pub is both next door to, and owned by the Burton Bridge Brewery, who also brew the Heritage Brewing Co beers. Sat in the small sun trap beer garden overlooking the brewery I thoroughly enjoyed the Bridge Bitter and Stairway to Heaven.
In the evening we went to the Roebuck Inn to meet up with Jeff. Again the Roebuck is a classic old-school pub, with six out of eight hand-pulls on. What followed was a delightful evening with Jeff, who it turned out stays in the Roebuck when he visits, and is essentially an honorary regular. Talking to Jeff it became clear that he has a real love for classic UK cask beer, waxing lyrical on the beautiful balance of flavours in a pint of Bass. He also had nothing but good things to say about Burton Bridge Brewery, Gates, and Tower Brewery.
While I had been upset by the obvious decline in the status of Burton as a cask ale producer, Jeff was eager to point out the smaller operations that are now producing classic cask styles at high quality, of which the Gates Reservoir was an excellent example.
The next day was Festival time, but first a quick trip to the National Brewery Heritage Trust that since the closure of the National Brewery Centre is trying to develop a National Hub for Britain’s brewery and pub heritage in Burton-on-Trent. They have grand plans in motion, and are worth supporting (breweryheritage.com)
So to the festival where we meet up again. I started steadily as normal with the Burton Bridge Sunshine Pale (3.4%), Jeff went straight for the Thornbridge Imperial Stout (7.7%) as he couldn’t wait to try it! Inspired by talking to Jeff I stayed on beers from local breweries throughout the festival; Burton Bridge, Heritage Brewing, Outwoods, Gates and Tower, and didn’t have a beer I didn’t like, a highpoint being Tower Ale to the King (5.5%).
A quick thanks to Andy Morton who we met, and took the picture, and joined us in taking some of the large brewery name signs on offer, including his namesakes “Morton”. The Burton Festival was very enjoyable, with an afternoon of live organ music to drink to.
Late afternoon and the call of new pubs to try was too strong so we left. Not far away was the Outwoods taproom was a brilliant railway arch operation, which for a small operation had their own three cask and six keg beers on, plus six others. Cask Hop Into the Abyss was a fabulous 4.9% black IPA.
Next the Coopers Tavernthat several people had recommended, and quite rightly it turned out, for the Bass on gravity if nothing else. A quick beer in the Last Heretic just before they closed, Tower Gone for a Burton, alongside the hottest pickled onion ever, that couldn’t be finished between us! Jeff told us he loves English food (not something you hear everyday) with a soft spot for pork scratchings, bacon, Sunday roasts and a crumble with custard.
Final drink with Jeff back in the Roebuck, which was Gates Reservoir Gold, a 7.5% barley wine style beer, and again a classic old-school English beer.
By the end of the trip we had exchanged beermats, badges, t-shirts (Airline for me, SMOD for Jeff) and I had some Airline Brewing beer cans he’d brought over in his luggage. More importantly an exchange of appreciation for English beers and pubs, and Burton-on-Trent for what it is now, never mind the past. I highly recommend a trip to Burton-on-Trent, and like Jeff, I intend the festival visit to be an annual event in the future.
The theme of this year’s Chesterfield Great Historic Pub Tour could be described as “The Best of Chesterfield”. Visiting a total of 8 pubs, 6 of which are in the latest edition of CAMRA’s, “The Good Beer Guide”, and 2 more that should make the cut soon.
Your guide is Shaun Stevenson, a local history enthusiast with a passion for supporting the hospitality trade. His knowledge concerning Chesterfield’s pubs is extensive, despite the fact that Shaun is actually legally blind. “I know Chesterfield like the back of my hand”, remarked Shaun. “If you join me on one of my tours, I’ll tell you all about these fabulous places, including stories about famous people, local heroes, tragic events and even murders”.
Chesterfield has managed to retain its historic town centre with its recently revamped open air market attracting many new visitors. Shaun is keen to show off his home town and promises to indulge in some history telling as the tour passes through landmarks like the Crooked Spire churchyard, The Shambles and the 800 year old market square, with its cobblestones and narrow alleyways.
The day begins at 12 noon in the Pig & Pump on St Mary’s Gate, in the shadow of the Crooked Spire. This walking tour allows around 30 minutes at each venue to purchase the drink of your choice. The group will then move on to the next pub with interesting anecdotes along the way. An optional pre-arranged lunch is available around 3pm and the tour finishes at The Neptune Beer Emporium around 5pm/6pm.
Dates for 2026 are limited to Saturdays – 9th May, 6th June, 4th July, 1st August, 5th September. Booking in advance is recommended.
Shaun has been operating the Chesterfield Great Historic Pub Tour since 2019 and has noticed a trend towards real ale tourism. “Organisations like CAMRA and some enterprising individuals have created an entire industry around ‘making a day of it’. Structured pub tours based around locations and transport links are becoming very popular and I would like to think that my tour offers something different, within this genre”. Shaun added, “I’m looking forward to welcoming friends old and new. Regulars return every year, knowing that I always tell new stories and visit new places.”
Shaun also provides pub tours of Bakewell on selected Saturdays throughout the summer and a popular local drinking challenge, the Brampton Mile, on bank holiday Sundays.
For more details, visit www.greathistoricpubtours.co.uk Facebook – search @CGHPT and YouTube – Great Historic Pub Tours.
Due to popular demand, Dark Mild is BACK! A classic 4.0% true to style mild, Expect smooth, balanced malt sweetness, a touch of roast character and hints of coffee. The ultimate classic British hop, Fuggles, provides a gentle bitterness.
New to the imaginarium of Dr Morton we find Mental Polish (4.3%), hopped with Galaxy and Idaho 7 for a vivid and vibrant fruity character, notably tropical and soft citrus flavours.
And we’re incredibly excited to announce the relaunch of Matins (3.6%) – one of the original trio of Abbeydale pales, back for a limited time only with a new home in our Legacy Series to help us celebrate our 30th anniversary! Brewery founder Pat Morton began making Matins back in 1996. With its sessionable ABV and easily quaffable flavour it was heralded as his ‘breakfast beer’! Crisp, fresh and clean – pleasantly grassy with a delicious noble hop character.
From the Brewers Emporium we have a new Wanderer, a 6.2% Hazy IPA. Hopped with oodles of Krush, backed up by Citra and Idaho 7, it sings of mango, guava and a cornucopia of citrus. We’ve also got the welcome return of Treehouse, a 4.5% West Coast Pale Ale – bold and punchy with Amarillo, Simcoe and Cascade hops.
Finally, keep your eyes peeled for news of the opening of Abbeydale Beerworks – our very own taproom, coming soon to 298 Abbeydale Road, just round the corner from the brewery! Our hope is for it to be a destination for beer lovers to find our latest brews and small batch specials, as well as a venue for hosting exclusive tasting events. It’s something we’ve waited a long time for, and we hope you’re all as excited as we are!
To keep up to date with all the latest developments, you can find Abbeydale Beerworks on Facebook and Instagram, where we’ll be sharing our journey every step of the way!
We’re getting a bit excited that brighter days and lighter nights might just be on the way, so we’re welcoming the new season with Springtime! A 4.1% light and tropical pale ale single hopped with Vista. Sweet, fruity notes of tangerine, cantaloupe melon and orchard pear couple with an aromatic hint of green tea.
Continuing the theme, a new addition to our natural print inspired series is Daffodil (3.9%). A deliciously fruity pale ale, with the lusciously juicy combination of Sabro and Amarillo hops. Expect flavours of clementine and pink grapefruit with a light dusting of toasted coconut.
Our Travel Poster series of collaborations with breweries that hold cask ale in just as high a regard as ourselves has seen us team up with the incredible Elusive Brewing! At the time of writing, the recipe for Escape to Reading is still a surprise, but suffice to say for now that we can’t wait for this brewday.
And last but by no means least – in celebration of our 30th anniversary, we’ve brought back Vespers for the first time since 2015! A 4.2% classic English Porter, back from the archives with reimagined artwork as part of our Legacy Series. Full of rich roast coffee and dark fruit notes, just the ticket for as dusk starts to fall…
Sheffield’s breweries will be celebrating the city’s sonic and synth musical heritage in 2026 under the banner of ‘Sheffield Synth City’ for Sheffield Beer Week. Running from Monday March 9th to Sunday March 15th, 2026. The week-long celebration of the city’s independent beer scene will pay homage to Sheffield’s legendary electronic music heritage and continuing legacy, home to pioneers of synth-pop, electronic, and bleep-and-bass, including The Human League, Heaven 17, Cabaret Voltaire, Clock DVA, Warp Records and everything in-between. Breweries involved so far include Abbeydale, Tapped Brew Co, Triple Point, Kelham Island, Bradfield, Little Mesters, Emmanuales, Ticking Clock, Thornbridge, Duality, True North, Little Critters and Saint Mars of the Desert. These unique brews will be inspired by classic electronic music genres, iconic Sheffield bands, or even the flavour profiles of their favourite analogue synths. This theme will create an innovative mash-up of two of Sheffield’s celebrated cultural exports—its renowned brewing industry and its influential music scene.
“Sheffield is a city of steel, beer, and synthesisers. ‘Sheffield Synth City’ allows us to blend the creativity of our independent breweries with the ground-breaking spirit of our electronic music pioneers,” says Jules Gray, Founder of Sheffield Beer Week and Hop Hideout. “It’s powerful to showcase how innovation thrives across all creative industries in the Steel City.”
During the rest of the week expect ‘Sheffield Synth City’ beer collaborations pouring around the city, tap takeovers from local to global independent breweries, meet the brewers, brewery tours, beer walking tours, beer and food pairings, beer and music pairings and more. This multi-venue event will be celebrated throughout Sheffield’s hospitality venues – from brewery taprooms, pubs, micropubs, bars and beer shops.
South Yorkshire artist Lewis Ryan is working on a visual map project alongside. Sheffield’s Abbeydale Brewery celebrate a big milestone reaching 30 years of brewing in 2026! Then International Women’s Collaboration Brew Day (@IWCBD /unitebrew.org) on International Women’s Day – 8th March falls in the week once again, so look out for additional events, including a Thornbridge beer launch at their venues such as Hallamshire House, The Stag’s Head and The Greystones pubs. Local historian Dave Pickersgill, editor of CAMRA’s ‘Sheffield’s Real Heritage Pubs’ will hold his much-loved beer and history walks. While Strange Britain’s Adrian Finney will host his popular haunted pub walking tour. Tartarus Beers will be helping The Wonky Labrador with their 3rdbirthday merrymaking. Woodland Brewing will be hosting a meet the brewer at The Bear. While beer broadcaster Pete Brown will be interviewed by music and culture writer Daniel Dylan Wray focusing on his latest groove of beer and music pairing at Hop Hideout beer shop.
Plus a number of international Belgian breweries will be popping up around the city such as Brewery Vanhonsebrouck (Kasteel beers) at The Crow and Timmermans at Hop Hideout. Ceramic studio Earth Paper Fibre will be hosting a beer tankard making workshop in Leah’s Yard. There are plenty more events to be announced, this is just a musical snippet. Check the Sheffield Beer Week website to discover venues and event listings throughout February, as they begin to be advertised.
On the weekend of 6 to 7thMarch, to kick-off the week, Sheffield’s craft beer festival, Indie Beer Feast launches. A celebration of great independent craft beer with brewery bars, street food, rum, fine wines, and cider. The beer festival champions and supports The Everyone Welcome initiative. British Guild of Beer Writers’ members and leading UK award-winning beer writers Pete Brown, Rachel Auty (Women on Tap) and Adrian Tierney-Jones will be heading up to host pop-up tastings and to judge the Indie Beer Feast ‘Beer of the Festival’. Alongside further pop-up tastings from breweries pouring at the festival and Sheffield, via Brazil, based journalist and broadcaster Livia Barreira of ‘Living in Sheffield’. This year’s botanical inspired artwork has been designed by Sheffield based illustrator Sanpo. Breweries pouring and announced so far include Sheffield’s Abbeydale, Derbyshire’s Thornbridge and Ashover Brew Co, Manchester’s Cloudwater and Courier Brewing, Nottinghamshire’s Liquid Light and Ticking Clock, Somerset’s Yonder, Liverpool’s Neptune, Leeds’ Tartarus, Reading’s Siren, and Birmingham’s Attic. Alongside additional bars from Hop Hideout beer shop and specialist rum aficionado RumKeg876.
Get ready to tune in and follow the beat: Stay up-to-date with all announcements by following @SheffBeerWeek on social media (Facebook / Instagram) and checking the official website.
Abbeydale Brewery has recently announced the launch of Reverence – their first low alcohol offering. A 0.5% pale ale, the beer is designed to be low in alcohol, but full of flavour, without sacrifice.
Loosely inspired by Heathen, Abbeydale Brewery’s popular American Pale Ale, Reverence is hopped using Mosaic for refreshing tropical flavours and notes of zesty grapefruit. As with their other beers, Reverence is gluten free.
This news comes as the brewery – the oldest in Sheffield and the current holders of the title of Employer of the Year from industry body SIBA – begin to celebrate their 30th anniversary year. With the “no and low” category showing huge growth, Abbeydale Brewery believe it has become more important than ever to invest and innovate to ensure they’re offering something to all their customers. Having introduced Sparkling Hop Water as an alcohol free option in 2024, the release of Reverence expands upon this and fills an identified gap within their extensive range.
Brewer and Quality Manager Christie McIntosh, who also sits on the board as Abbeydale’s Employee Representative, says “the release of Reverence is the culmination of many months of hard work, extensive research, and meticulous lab analysis, coupled with being able to take advantage of an array of technological advancements in the wider field. Our ethos is to make sure we’re offering the same experience to all those choosing to drink our products, and we believe that the final result is something that looks like beer, tastes like beer, is brewed like any other beer… and simply is a proper beer, for beer lovers, but with just a tiny fraction of the booze.”
Reverence is available in 440 ml cans directly from Abbeydale Brewery and via independent retailers.
