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How Much?

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CAMRA is well-known for promoting great beer and pubs through various schemes including Pub of the Month/Year awards, Champion Beers at festivals and the Pub Design awards. But at its heart it is a consumer organisation; it Campaigns for better – better quality, better choice, better service and, of course, better value. (Note that cheaper does NOT necessarily mean better value). Beer Matters writer Richard Hough decided to investigate. He writes:

In one wild week earlier this year, I undertook the Jaipur Jaunt, to compare the prices of Thornbridge Jaipur across the pubs of Sheffield. On the Monday, I found myself to the south of the city. First stop – Woodseats Palace, a JD Wetherspoon pub in the old cinema building. 10 handpumps dispense an array of ales, with Jaipur always a regular. The price was a very reasonable £2.35 a pint Mon-Weds, rising to £2.99 the rest of the week. CAMRA members can use their voucher for a further 50pence off.

A short hop on a bus, and it was the Hardy Pick next. A large Greene King pub under the ‘Hungry Horse’ banner, where families, food and footie-on-the-screen are the order of the day (so not to everyone’s taste). The cask ales on offer were Abbeydale Moonshine, Titanic Plum Porter and Jaipur, with the latter at £4.60. Show your CAMRA membership card though, and receive 10% off. £4.14 a pint – steady. A vicious swan-neck means you will likely need a top-up. The beer quality was fine.

Next on the list was the White Lion, a multi-roomed pub with bags of character. A number of hand-pumps adorn the bar, always featuring something brewed locally. The ‘strong pump’ may feature the likes of Abbeydale Absolution or Dancing Duck Abduction, but tonight it was Jaipur, and £3.50 a pint (as was all cask). Prices rise through the week – to £3.80 Wed-Thur, and £5.10 Fri-Sun. That’s Monday done, and 3 pints for less than a tenner.

Tuesday. The Sheaf Island is another JDW pub, this one situated on the site of the former Ward’s Brewery on Eccy Road. In my opinion, one of the better ‘Spoons, with its high ceilings and large windows to let the light in. Jaipur is usually on, and today a bargain at £1.99. Again, prices rise later in the week (£2.49 Thur-Sun, don’t forget the 50p CAMRA voucher). While an enjoyable pub, and offering excellent value, I preferred it when it was the Brewery.

From there, the 82 bus drops you at The Greystones on Greystones Road. It is a Thornbridge-run pub with fantastic views from the garden, and also famed for the eclectic gigs in The Backroom. Amongst a wide range of the Brewery’s beers, Jaipur was chosen; the price was £5.60 a pint. Once again, a flash of the CAMRA card gets you 10% off. £5.04 – that’s better.

With a bit of time to spare, I decided to detour via the Itchy Pig, Banner Cross. An excellent micro pub with an ever-changing line-up of cask from near and far. One feature of the pub is that all ales are the same price, regardless of strength (£4.80).

A pleasant walk along leafy Psalter Lane took me to the final destination of the day, the Stag’s Head. It is a traditional pub run by Thornbridge, with eight of their beers on hand-pump. £5.70 for a pint of Jaipur was the most expensive of the day. I will suggest that if you don’t like the prices charged in Thornbridge’s own pubs, don’t pay them. There are plenty of cheaper pubs around. With the day’s Jaunt over, I decided to stay for one more – a strong dark ale from ‘The Union’. In 2024 Thornbridge acquired the famous Burton Union Sets from Marston’s. They now use it to recreate ales from bygone days; the Strong Dark Mild (6.5% ABV) was a perfect end to a busy day.

I began Wednesday’s Jaunt in the City Centre. The Benjamin Huntsman on Cambridge Street is yet another JDW pub, named in honour of the inventor of the world-changing Crucible Steel Process – you can read the history in the pub. While slightly more expensive than other ‘Spoons, it still represents good value, and your CAMRA vouchers give you a further 50p off. Some steel-inspired sculptures are worthy of note.

With a nod to the Jess Ennis gold pillar box (was that REALLY 14 years ago?) I headed to the Waterworks. It is a Lloyds (so Wetherspoons, then) in the old water pumping station building. The price of Jaipur matched that at the Ben Huntsman, and again prices rise as you approach the weekend. It will be interesting to see how great the exterior looks once the scaffolding is (eventually) removed.

I passed the statue honouring the Women of Steel on the way to the 95 bus. Next up, the Hallamshire House on Commonside. The fine stained-glass windows point to its past as a Ward’s pub, but these days it is run by Thornbridge. A multi-roomed establishment with plenty to recommend, including the increasingly rare sight of a full-size snooker table in the back room. Jaipur was £5.70 a pint, and yet again if you show your CAMRA membership card, you get 10% discount on cask ales. The Hally completed the first three days of the Jaunt. I took Thursday off for a bit of respite, but the journey will resume next time…

(note: since this article was researched, some prices have risen).

Abbeydale Brewery

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Returning from our Mythical Creatures inspired series this month we have Erlking – a flavourful 3.9% pale ale single hopped with Sabro, from the wild Neomexicanus hop family. Expect sweet citrus fruit flavours and a creamy hint of coconut in the finish. 

In exciting collaboration news, we’ve had the amazing RedWIllow Brewery here after brewing Deceptionless at their place earlier in the year. For the return leg, we’ve created Meander Through Macclesfield – a 4.8% UK Hopped Pale Ale showcasing Olicana and Harlequin, including innovative Harlequin Abstrax Quantum “hop juice”! A burst of floral character is joined by vivid mango and pineapple notes, with a subtle herbal finish.

And we hope you’ll all be as excited as we are for the next in our Legacy Series, bringing back classic beers from the archives to help us celebrate our 30th anniversary – this time, it’s the turn of our much-loved American Brown Ale, Brimstone! An Amarillo hopped American Brown Ale, expect aromas of malt loaf and marmalade giving way to flavours of toffee and liquorice, followed by a lingering, pleasingly bitter finish. It won’t be around for long so don’t miss it! 

Finally we’ve teamed up with hop suppliers Hopsteiner to create Dreamlike, a 5.6% IPA featuring Alora and Solero hops, both of which are new to us! They promise vibrant tropical notes, from mango to aromatic yuzu alongside sweet peach and passionfruit. The beer of your dreams?

Abbeydale Brewery

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IT’S OUR 30TH ANNIVERSARY MONTH!

We feel so lucky to have been part of the Sheffield beer scene for the past three decades, and to still be here doing what we do.We’re celebrating with a new version of Doctor Morton’s Birthday Extravaganza, which we first made for our silver anniversary in 2021. A classic 4.1% pale, the hop forward style we’re best known for. Enjoy the power and beauty of your pint.

And Moonshine has been our most popular beer since our very beginnings, so we wanted to celebrate that too. Lunar Moonshine is a special 4.5% version of our flagship brew – it’s designed to satisfy our regular drinkers, so it stays true to the original recipe, but with the addition of Luna hops for an extra layer of bright and vibrant tropical and citrus flavour. 

Our returning seasonal special this month is Harvested (4.1%), an Australian hopped pale with a grapefruity bitterness and subtle spicy finish. And we have a new addition to our Restoration Series in the form of Burton Pale. Classic, smooth and well balanced with UK Fuggles and East Kent Goldings hops.

Thank you to everyone for your support over the last thirty years – here’s to the next!

You’re being lied to…

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The status quo needs to go: Beer and pub campaigners want Competition and Markets Authority to investigate the UK beer market

A new report, published today by CAMRA, shows how independent brewers are being excluded from bars across the UK, and sets out the case for the Competition and Markets Authority action.

‘Beer in the UK’ is the authoritative consumer view on how the UK beer scene actually works, or doesn’t work, for beer drinkers and independent brewers.

The report lays bare the stark state of British brewing – that it is dominated by four international conglomerates with little affinity with our brewing heritage, or what beer drinkers want.

Other headlines from the report include:

• Seven of the top ten selling ‘craft beers’ in the UK are made by just four global brewing conglomerates.

• Many of the UK’s favourite ‘continental’ and ‘import’ lagers are brewed in the UK.

• Data from the Society of Independent Brewers and Associates (SIBA) shows that the demand for independent beer is 280% higher than the share that they have of the pub market.

Ash Corbett-Collins, CAMRA Chairman said:

“Ordinary drinkers are being short changed when it comes to choice and quality at the bar. Our report proves how the global players are exploiting the status quo to squeeze out independent brewers, to the detriment of ordinary publicans and beer drinkers.

“The Government needs to step up, start taking the issue seriously, and take action that matches up to their statements about supporting pubs and the communities they serve.

“Andy Burnham recently said that ‘People need to be able to look forward to a night out’. The best way he can deliver on that is by ordering a proper market investigation to sort this mess out and deliver a fair deal for publicans and drinkers, and the independent brewers that they want to support.

“If this report makes you as angry as it makes me, that’s good. CAMRA is fighting for changes to the status quo, and I hope you’ll join us and get involved.”

Tim Webb, Report Editor, said:

“The fact that a narrow clique of multinational corporations dominates the UK brewing industry is a national embarrassment. They only make beers that suit their production facilities, ignoring the types that beer lovers want to drink. They do not know how to reverse beer’s downward spiral, make little profit, and brew nothing worth exporting. They cannot grow the UK economy.

“The way that better, independent, brewers are excluded from the on-trade beer market is scandalous. Brewing is a business that competition authorities need to investigate, take apart, and reassemble, so the UK can return to playing a leading role in the world of beer.”

Who owns what? Some examples

Banks – Carlsberg

Bass – AB-InBev

Beavertown – Heineken

Boddingtons – AB-InBev

Brakspear – Carlsberg

Brixton – Heineken

Brooklyn – Carlsberg

Camden – AB-InBev

Dark Star – Asahi

Fullers – Asahi

Gale’s – Asahi

Goose Island – AB-InBev

Marstons – Carlsberg

Meantime – Asahi

Sharps – Molson Coors

Wychwood – Carlsberg

Youngs – Carlsberg

Wyre Forest folk visit Sheffield

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Over a dozen people, mainly from CAMRA’s Wyre Forest branch in Worcestershire, chose Sheffield for their annual spring trip. Recent destinations have included Liverpool, Nottingham, Oxford, Scarborough and York.

The weather was kind, and the publicans of Sheffield extended a very warm welcome over two to three days towards the end of May. Between us, we must have visited several dozen of the city’s renowned pubs, both traditional and modern, enjoying many beers that are rarely if ever found in our own area.

Among the pubs to stand out as highlights – for different reasons – are the Bath Hotel, Dog & Partridge, Fargate, Fat Cat, Grapes, Harlequin, Head of Steam, Kelham Island Tavern, Perch, Shakespeares, Sheffield Tap, Two & Six, Vocation & Co and Wisewood.

Of course our spring trip is not just about beer and pubs, not quite anyway. The Kelham Island Museum was a highlight for many, and people also enjoyed Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet and the Botanical Gardens. The 7 Spices Balti hosted us for an excellent group meal.

We would like to thank our colleagues from Sheffield & District CAMRA – including Paul Manning, Mike Cook and Dave Pickersgill – who gave invaluable advice while we were in the planning stage. Even better, they and other locals joined us in the garden of the St.Mars of the Desert Brewery for a social afternoon.

Now that connections have been made, several from the visiting group are intending to return to Sheffield for the Steel City Beer Festival in October. We extend a cordial invitation to the ale drinkers of Yorkshire to visit our own (rather smaller) Kidderminster Beer & Cider Festival, which is taking place from 12th to 14th November, a well loved event at a time of year when few festivals are held.

Harrogate, Ripon and Knaresborough

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The Harrogate, Ripon and Knaresborough Ale Trail runs from 1st to 31st August with 30 participating venues.

Harrogate and Ripon CAMRA branch covers an area of North Yorkshire to the north of Leeds stretching over 20 miles up into the Yorkshire Dales. We have a good number of rural pubs together with a high concentration of pubs and clubs in the three main centres.

Our members wanted to support our pubs, clubs and breweries and decided three years ago that an Ale Trail might encourage real ale drinkers to try new pubs and increase footfall into all of the participant venues.

We looked at members’ beer scores in the three main towns and chose the best 30 pubs, clubs and taprooms in terms of beer quality, most of which also had a good selection of ales. This included most of our Good Beer Guide pubs in the three towns but also some that didn’t quite make the grade for the Guide.

We approached local breweries Daleside and Rooster’s for help and they have been very happy to support us for the last three years of running the Trail.

In order to ensure a good offering of prizes to incentivise people to undertake the trail we ask every venue to offer a prize of a bar/food tab between £20 and £50 or a gallon of real ale. This means that there’s a good selection of prizes and all venues benefit by receiving return visits from Ale Trailers.

So how does it work?

The Ale Trail is open to everyone, not just CAMRA members.

We supply each participating venue with Ale Trail passports which include details of the 30 pubs, clubs and taprooms, and maps to assist with navigation. Ale Trailers pick up a passport and buy at least half a pint of cask ale (or real cider) in each venue entitling them to collect a unique sticker which is placed on the relevant page of their passport.

Ale Trailers visit as many venues as they’re able in the three towns during the month of August collecting stickers along the way, and subject to a minimum of 15 stickers, then complete their name and email address, tear out the sticker page and submit to one of the ‘core’ pubs named in the passport for entry into the Prize Draw.

The Prize Draw takes place in September where our members draw entries from a hat. The first three entries drawn win a £50 prize and thereafter prizes are awarded in order of value.

Want to join in the Trail?

The Ale Trail runs from 1st to 31st August.

All venues can be reached by public transport. Harrogate and Knaresborough both have train stations and Ripon is reached via a regular bus service (36) from Harrogate. Please see our website for more detail: http://www.harrogateandriponcamra.org.uk/ale-trail.html

The Thornbridge Lion & Lioness

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To celebrate 150 years of Sheffield Children’s, Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity is embarking on its biggest-ever fundraising campaign by presenting the UK’s most ambitious sculpture trail. This year, alongside their ongoing charitable fundraising efforts, Thornbridge are proud to sponsor both a lion and a lioness as part of the Pride of Yorkshire initiative.

This sponsorship forms part of Thornbridge’s wider commitment to raise £15,000 for Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity throughout the year. Fundraising activities include individual initiatives, customer donations across their pub estate, contributions from pizzas sold at the Taproom and donations from meals enjoyed at their gastropub, the Cricket Inn in Sheffield, alongside support for the Pride of Yorkshire trail itself.

Simon Webster, CEO and Co-Founder of Thornbridge Brewery, said: “Sheffield Children’s Hospital is incredibly important to the city and the surrounding region. We see first-hand the vital role it plays in the lives of so many families, and we are proud to support its fundraising efforts. Sponsoring two of these statues gives us an opportunity not only to contribute to a fantastic cause, but also to be part of a truly special project that will bring people together across Yorkshire.”

One of Thornbridge’s sculptures is located outside their flagship city-centre pub, the Fargate. Named Snooker Loopy and designed by Lisa O’Hara. Thornbridge’s second sculpture, designed by Tom J. Newell and called Dandy Lioness, can be found just inside the Hunters Bar entrance to Endcliffe Park, conveniently situated between The Stag’s Head and the Greystones.

Both sculptures have already welcomed a steady stream of visitors, showcasing the creativity of their artists while helping to raise awareness and support for the vital work carried out by Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity.

If you fancy spending a weekend travelling around South Yorkshire ticking off the lions, a special weekend travel pass is available for all the buses, trams and trains in the county on the Travelmaster app.

Changes to beer scoring system

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There are tens of thousands of pubs across the country serving cask beers, and many of those serve really good pints.

For lovers of a decent pint, it’s important to be able to find them. CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide has been the ‘bible’ for finding the very best ones since 1974 and continues to be relied upon by tens of thousands of people.

CAMRA’s online pub guide camra.org.uk/pubs can also help because beer quality is indicated by the ‘3 Pints’ symbols that CAMRA members can see when logged in.

Pubs and clubs that serve really excellent pints, and serve them consistently well, can be potential candidates for the Good Beer Guide.

To help identify them, CAMRA members score their pints whenever they have the opportunity. Their scores help local branches determine candidates for the Guide, and these can change year on year because the standards are high. Serving live cask beer requires skill in the cellar and attention by bar staff all the time. Competition for a place is stiff because only 4,500 places are available.

Up until now, the scoring system has used a numbering system of 0 to 5. But there are problems with this. It requires memorising the criteria for each score and using them consistently, but memories can be variable. Some people genuinely struggle with numbers, so they don’t take part. It becomes open to individual interpretation with resulting inconsistency between scorers. There’s also the potential for individual bias and a reluctance to ‘award’ high scores.

We all know when we are drinking a good pint that’s been well-kept, and we also know when a pint is very good or excellent – who cannot resist telling everyone else about it! And likewise, a pint that is simply OK or, hopefully not often, undrinkable.

So, to make things easier for everyone, a new intuitive ratings system is being introduced, which is more descriptive of the beer being drunk.

Each of the new ratings has a description and a likely reaction to help you pin down the most appropriate rating.

Ratings can be recorded on CAMRA’s online pub guide camra.org.uk/pubs by all CAMRA members so start rating your beer now.

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Introducing our festival charity for 2026

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Support Dogs is our charity partner for Steel City Beer & Cider Festival

CAMRA Sheffield & District is delighted to announce Support Dogs as its charity partner for our 50th Steel City Beer & Cider Festival, being held at the atmospheric Kelham Island Museum from 21-24 October.

It’s a huge honour to have this pioneering and life-saving national charity, which is homegrown having been founded in Sheffield 34 years ago, as our beneficiary.

Support Dogs (charity number 1088281) is dedicated to providing life-changing health and social care for children and adults living with challenging medical conditions.

With a new national headquarters on Herries Road South, Hillsborough, it provides, trains and supports specialist assistance dogs to achieve this.

It offers three training programmes – autism assistance, disability assistance and epilepsy seizure alert – to help people live safer, more independent lives.

Disability assistance dogs are trained for people with physical disabilities. Here, the client’s own pet dog is trained to perform tasks both in and out of the home, which are specifically tailored to their individual needs, including dressing and undressing, opening doors and loading and unloading the washing machine.

Autism assistance dogs are trained to provide safety and to facilitate a more independent and socially inclusive life for both the autistic child and their family.

These wonderdogs can reduce stress for family members, provide safety and positive changes in behaviour, comfort when the child is upset and also help to reduce behavioural outbursts.

Epilepsy seizure alert dogs are trained to provide a 100% reliable warning up to one hour in advance of an oncoming seizure.

They give time for their owner to find a place of safety and privacy as they have their seizure. Support Dogs is the only organisation in the UK to provide and train seizure alert dogs.

Around 1,000 people with epilepsy die each year and research suggests that most of these deaths are sudden and unexpected.

The warning provided by a seizure alert dog means that a client can remove themselves from any danger and have a seizure in safety and privacy, giving them control over their seizure and allowing a much more independent life.

It can take over two years to train a support dog and each dog costs the charity around £29,000 to train and at least a further £3,000 a year to support throughout their eight-year working lives.

Yet the charity receives no government funding and relies solely on donations.

It’s not just Labradors who are trained – the charity has managed to turn breeds including sausage dogs, King Charles Spaniels and miniature Labradoodles into life-changing assistance dogs.

As well as its workforce of just over 40 staff members, Support Dogs relies heavily on its loyal army of 200 volunteers, which are deployed in roles varying from puppy socialisers, doggy foster carers and holiday cover carers to volunteer drivers and volunteer office admin.

Its amazing volunteers donate over 100,000 hours each year to help change lives across these roles.

CAMRA Sheffield & District has a toy support dog mascot whose name is Beer 26 who will be located in the Staff Office and on tour during the festival.

Collection buckets will be located around the festival if you’d like to chuck some cash in, alternatively you may wish to donate your refund on unspent beer tokens or returned souvenir glass.

Find out more about Support Dogs at www.supportdogs.org.uk and visit https://sheffield.camra.org.uk/2026/04/steel-city-beer-cider-festival-5 for more details on the beer festival.

National breweriana auction

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Pick up a slice of history – for the last time!

CAMRA’s 40th National Breweriana Auction; Saturday 24th October 2026

Have you ever fancied owning a slice of brewing history? Then this Auction is just the thing for you. Run by the Campaign for Real Ale, the National Breweriana Auction returns to Burton on Trent’s Town Hall on Saturday 24th October but sadly, after 40 events, this will be the very last national one so don’t miss it!

It will have circa 150 interesting auction lots; everything from mirrors to trays; advertising signs, water jugs, flagons, bottles, books and pump clips as well as a few more unusual items. Plus there will be a number of stands selling brewery memorabilia adding to the atmosphere in this wonderful Victorian venue.

There are all sorts of items from all over the country to decorate your home. What about a flagon from Wadworths? Wadworths is based in Devizes, Wiltshire. They were founded in 1875 and remarkably are still owned and run by the descendants of John Smith Bartholomew, the co-founder of the brewery.

 Or what about a limited-edition commemorative Millennium Ale set comprising of an unopened bottle, glass and bottle opener in a lovely metal container. This is from Mansfield Brewery, who first started brewing in 1855 in North Nottinghamshire, taken over by Wolverhampton and Dudley in 1999 and closed in 2002.  Wolverhampton & Dudley then took over Marston’s and adopted that name. Sadly, following acquisition by Carlsberg, the Wolverhampton Brewery was closed in 2026.

There are numerous items that you can either use, or more likely display. What about a tray from Bass and there are a number of lots from Worthington including an ashtray (well used!), a match holder and the famous Worthington Mayor jug.  And straddling the two brewers is a trio of leaflets listing their bottlers . These two Burton on Trent breweries were founded in the mid/late 1700’s with Worthington 16 years older.  By the late 1800’s, Bass was the biggest brewery in the world and merged with Worthington in 1927. Bass sold the brand to Coors (now Molson Coors) in 2002. Maybe their best known brand was Worthington White Shield; an iconic British style IPA, which ceased production in 2023 but you can still purchase it in Norway and the Netherlands! Included in the lots is an unusual display card advising customers to order their last bottle at last orders ‘to allow for the care necessary in pouring the last rush of orders for Worthington White Shield”.

And the Auction wouldn’t be the Auction without a Guinness item or two. This year we have a mug and a display stand among the lots.

These are just a few of the items on sale, each with a history to tell. You don’t have to be an expert to attend the National Breweriana Auction. The Auction is great fun to take part in (or even just to watch) and it’s an opportunity to get some great bargains plus many of the items on sale can appreciate in value. And, of course, like any CAMRA event, there is some good beer on sale all day (from a local brewery).

Burton on Trent is less than an hour by train from Sheffield and the Town Hall is just a short walk from the railway station. The event starts at 10.30am with the opportunity to view the lots and browse the breweriana stands that will also be there. Bidding starts at noon and is normally finished by 3pm, giving a chance to have a final perusal of the stands before visiting some of Burton’s iconic pubs and heading home.

Entrance is by catalogue (£3.00), available on the day, or in advance by post: £6.45 (first class) via https://tckty.camra.org.uk/e/559/national-breweriana-auction. If you can’t get there, postal bids are accepted, just contact Bill Austin: 07831 688276 or baustin1951@btinternet.com. Wheelchair accessible. For more details, see: www.gandc.camra.org.uk.

Christine Cryne