Author: Guest

Abbeydale Brewery

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March means it’s time for Sheffield Beer Week! We’re delighted to be playing a small part in the 10th anniversary celebrations of this fantastic citywide festival. We’ve got a few special beers to celebrate – our collaboration with Sheffield Beer Week itself, Cloud Peak (4.8% Cryo Session IPA) makes a welcome return, as does heritage pale ale Sheffield Rocks (4.1%) … joined this year by all-new Sheffield Stout! A 4.5% classic stout inspired by the history of the city we call home. Expect a pronounced roasty body and flavours reminiscent of rich dark chocolate. A gently spicy hop character provides balanced bitterness before rolling into a smooth and long-lasting finish.

From our Stained Glass series, we’re heralding the arrival of Springtime (4.1%). A light and tropical pale ale to welcome the new season! Vista hops bring sweet, fruity notes of tangerine, cantaloupe melon and orchard pear, with an aromatic hint of green tea alongside.

And from the Brewers’ Emporium, a new series is on the way. We’re diving into the world of new and and exciting hop products, with Aquanaut (4.6%) searching for hidden depths of aroma and flavour. Immerse yourself in the intense tropical notes of Spectrum Galaxy and Lupomax Azacca, followed up with a piney, resinous finish from Incognito Centennial.

Finally, we have a very special collaboration with the iconic Sheffield electronic music duo I Monster. Fly P.A. is a 4.7% dry hopped pale ale brewed to celebrate the 20th anniversary reissue of their album “Neveroddoreven” and their 2024 tour. Featuring Galaxy and Sabro hops for a tropical fruit explosion. A beer that’s perfect for dreaming amid the flowers, for a couple of hours, on a beautiful day.

Abbeydale Brewery

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Doctor Morton is back with a new brew, it’s 100% reliable Fake News (4.1%)! Juicy Idaho 7 hops are balanced by delicately resinous and earthy Savinjski Goldings. Completely ineffective against truth seekers, flat earthers and mardy Yorkshire folk who have already made their bloody mind up.

The “travel poster” inspired series which we launched last year continues by staying right at home – Visit Beauchief Abbey (4.1%) is a classic pale ale, single hopped with Galaxy. We also have more collaborations with other fantastic cask-led breweries to follow from this range, planned for a little later in the year.

And rounding off a trilogy of new pale ale specials this month, we have Through the Hopback Belma (4.0%) on the way. A new hop to us, Belma promises notes of melon and strawberry with a clean citrussy character alongside.

Onto returning beers and we see Sheffield Rocks (4.1%) back on bars, inspired by our wonderful city’s long heritage. And from our Brewers Emporium range, Irish Stout (4.5%) from our Salvation series makes a welcome return along with Sheffield Beer Week collaboration Cloud Peak (4.8%). Look out for more news on our plans for Sheffield Beer Week itself coming soon!

Sheffield pub coasters

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Each year students new to the BA Hons Illustration course at Sheffield Hallam University are given an introductory illustration brief which helps them to find out, and report back, on aspects of the cultural heritage of the city – this year the focus was to draw our fantastic Sheffield pubs.

The underpinning intention of the brief is for students to practice and celebrate their drawing ability while coupled with getting to know each other a bit better as they are invited to draw on location together. For students new to the city this helps them to orientate the city helping them to seek and find out a little more about what it has to offer more generally.

Students were asked to produce a large body of observational drawings of their favourite chosen pub then, through selection, apply one of their designs, including the pub name, to a drink’s coaster. The designs were then digitally printed on Campus at our Fitzalan Square, Head Post Office location by our brilliant technical team.

Some of our students even returned to the pubs and took photos of them in situ with several requests to purchase a set of the designs after they were posted on the course Instagram page.

Frazer Hudson, senior lecturer on the illustration course comments, “Our pubs are special meeting places not only to share the news of the day but where ideas are formed, bonds are made, and culture is created.”

To see more examples of our Illustration student work visit instagram.com/shuillustration.

Frazer Hudson

Emmanuales

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It’s hard to believe it but 2024 marks 10 years of Biblical brews for Emmanuales.  A lot has happened over that period for brewing, balding, modern monk Nick Law.

Starting off in his cellar in 2014 with a humble fermentation bucket, his first beer – Ale the Lamb – fermented hot and tasted like old hymnals with an aroma of fusty-churches thrown in for good measure.  After honing his beers of biblical proportions and gaining local popularity, Nick assumed the role at The Sheffield Brewery Company as the Head Brewer.

By January 2018, was apparent that he could no longer support both Emmanuales and The Sheffield Brewery Company simultaneously and decided to put Emmanuales on hiatus whilst he figured out what to do next.

After away from The Sheffield Brewery Company, Nick sought to help other brewers through his many skills in branding, marketing, and business and set up consultancy and agency Hop Forward to help a variety of businesses, including Lincoln Green Brewing Company, Great Beyond Brewing Co in Hoxton, Nigeria’s first craft brewery Bature Brewery, and filmmaker Guy Ritchie’s Gritchie Brewing Company.

During Lockdown, Nick felt it was time to resurrect Emmanuales and set up a fully functioning nano-brewery in his Walkley cellar, where it resides today.

To celebrate 10 years of Emmanuales, Nick is kickstarting the year with two beers: Ale the Lamb (6.0%) – a homage (and much superior version!) of his first beer, an Extra Special Bitter – and the second incantation of Swinging The Incense (9.6%): a peated quadruple with sweet smoky flavours and fruity undertones.

As ever, the beers will be available from local stockists including Beer Central, The Green Shop, Walkley Beer Co and The Dram Shop.  For more info on Emmanuales and where to pick up these divine beers, head over to www.emmanuales.co.uk or follow us on all the socials @emmanuales

Pub of the Month February 2024

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I’m getting a sense of déjà vu writing about Shakespeares for Pub of the Month… There have been a few changes since my last piece, not least manager Lucienne moving on to a career on the brewery side of the trade, and Tom stepping into her place. The pub has also just won another accolade in the form of the annual Pints of Sheffield Battle of the Boozers on the Instagrams.

One of the things I love about the local beer scene is that while other cities have some great craft bars and some great traditional pubs selling trad beer, Sheffield is almost unique in having proper pubs selling top tier craft beers (as well as superb cask of course). Shakespeares is a perfect example of this, being a proper old school pub with cask beers from across the country rubbing shoulders with some of the biggest names in craft from around the world (and some more obscure of course!).

Only a few of the more senior members of the branch will remember the pub’s opening in 1821, since when it has passed through various breweries’ (notably Wards) and pubcos’ ownership, and closure, before opening as a fully independent free house in 2011. In its current guise over 7,500 different cask beers have been sold plus about 2,000 keg. Permanent fixtures on cask are Red Willow Feckless and Abbeydale Deception while the rest of the handpumps host the ever-changing guests. The keg taps feature beers from within a mile to the other side of the planet, almost always including an imperial stout, a sour or two, various IPAs and usually some crazy ****. If that really isn’t enough there’s a large list of cans and bottles available from the cellar. There is also an impressive selection of whiskies and a smaller selection of whiskeys and rums (the latter needs to expand, hint hint…).

The pub itself retains a multi-room layout with rooms on all four sides of the central bar area, including a bustling front bar area, a (usually) quieter ‘clock room’ to the side, and the ‘long room’ with bench seating and a dartboard. Upstairs are two function rooms, a larger one regularly featuring live bands and a smaller one sometimes used for pub games and a couple of times a year for the festival cask bar, often including beers not seen anywhere else on cask (or in some cases at all!). Outside is a large paved beer garden which catches the evening sunlight, with a small covered area for more typical British weather…

Oh, and the sofa is still my Spot, so anyone who isn’t me should keep out!

Dave Szwejkowski

Abbeydale Brewery

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Abbeydale Brewery are celebrating twice over this week, after two of their permanently available beers scooped medals at the prestigious Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) Regional Bottle & Can Awards (North East Region).

Heresy Lager (a 4.5%, gluten free continental style lager) received a Bronze medal, and Black IPA Black Mass received a top class Gold award in the Speciality IPA category, meaning it scored over 90/100 and will go forward to the National Finals, due to be held in March next year. Just three of the highest level Gold awards were given out across the whole region. 

This is the second year running that Black Mass, a 6.6% ABV, gluten free and vegan friendly Black IPA, has come out as the top Speciality IPA in the region. Following the award in 2022, the beer subsequently went on to win National Gold in category before being declared Overall Champion beer in can in the whole of the UK – so the team at Abbeydale Brewery will be eagerly waiting to find out if it can defend the title. 

Black Mass has been one of Abbeydale Brewery’s permanently available beers since the business was founded in 1996, and the team believe it to be one of the world’s first and longest standing beers of this style in existence. Lead Brewer Jim Rangeley says of the award, “Black Mass has always been one of my favourite beers to both make and drink, and it’s great to see that the judges agree! I’m looking forward to celebrating with a can of it.”

The SIBA Bottle & Can Independent Beer Awards 2023 see beers marked against internationally recognised style guides for the different beer award categories – looking at appearance, aroma, flavour, aftertaste and saleability. The awards are judged by beer sommeliers, experienced beer judges and fellow brewers. Neil Walker, SIBA Head of Comms, praised this year’s winners: “This year’s SIBA Independent Beer Awards Bottle & Can competition was our biggest ever, including seven regions of the UK and hundreds of individual beers. The expert judging panel only give awards where deserved, so the winners listed really are the very best beers in the region.”

Christmas in Crookes

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Members of Sheffield CAMRA gathered for their Christmas meal at the Ball, Crookes on Saturday 9 December.

Some members sampled the delights in Two Sheds first of all. I met them a little later in the Punchbowl, where there was a good selection of beers including a True North Dry Irish Stout of 5%, and a Black Iris Snake Eyes, a 3.8% APA.

We then decamped to the Ball, where they had seven to eight wickets. A popular choice was a dark ale named Rocking Rudolph, admittedly a Greene King beer, but tasty with a little spice. For my second, I plumped for a paler ale in Saltaire South Island, a NZ pale ale at a sessional 3.5%. Plus 10% discount with your CAMRA membership card.

The meal consisted of three courses, soup, prawn cocktail or chicken goujons. Followed almost unanimously by a turkey dinner. For those of a sweet tooth, there was a fruit cheesecake or Christmas pudding, while a few of us had the cheese and biscuits which included a tasty blue cheese.

Kevin Thompson

For details of future events for local CAMRA members see the diary page.

Pale Rider

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Pale Rider, from Stephen Wragg

Like many of us, I was so disappointed when Kelham Island brewery stopped brewing beer, especially their flagship Pale Rider. Then, I was delighted when the Thornbridge brewery was involved with its renaissance.

Having tried several examples from Thornbridge, I’m not sure that it is an exact copy of the original and wondered if any Sheffield CAMRA members had expressed a similar opinion?

Abbeydale Brewery

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Well. Where on earth did 2023 go?! December brings us a cornucopia of seasonal releases, starting with Dr Morton’s Our Wayne (in a manger)! A 4.3% Simcoe hopped pale ale intended to bring to mind other old favourites such as “While shepherds washed their socks by night” and the unforgettabubble “O’ little toe of Bethlehem”. Also due for release in cask only is Winter (4.2%), brewed with Ekuanot hops which give an aromatic fruitiness and flavours of citrus and berries, plus a delicate herbal note in the finish. 

And from our Brewer’s Emporium range, Wilderness (4.5%) and Hibernation (4.2%) are making a welcome comeback. Both flavourful hazy pale ales – Wilderness is in the New England style, for a juicy character and low bitterness, whilst Hibernation is punchy, vibrant and crisp.

We’ve also got an incredibly special limited release on the way – our Old Ale is the perfect winter warmer. 8.0%, beautifully rich, mellow and well balanced. Toffee, fruitcake and raisins are the prevailing flavour notes with a light wood character and a subtle spiciness. This will be making rare appearances on cask and is also available in 750ml bottle conditioned bottles.

Our first beer of 2024 will, as is tradition, be the always popular Dr Morton’s Duck Baffler, a 4.1% Citra hopped pale ale. And we’ll be experimenting with a new-to-us hop in the next of our Through the Hopback series – Moutere, from New Zealand. This one will be a 4.1% pale ale and we’re hoping for a powerful grapefruity character along with hints of pine. Finally, we hear a rumour that Cryo Heathen (5.0%) is making a comeback to help us ring in the New Year in style!

Hop Hideout

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The multi award-winning Sheffield beer shop celebrate their 10th birthday with a weekend of events & launch a collaboration beer with Peak District brewing legends Thornbridge Brewery

November 2023 marks the 10th anniversary of award-winning Sheffield based beer shop and tasting room Hop Hideout. In itself, after the last few years traversing through a global pandemic, is a significant achievement. One of a handful of female-owned beer shops in the country, Hop Hideout’s Jules has always championed diversity and welcoming spaces within the industry. With a weekend of celebrations from Friday November 10ththis includes the launch of their anticipated Thornbridge Brewery collaboration beer and a ticketed party on Saturday.

Jules Gray shared that, “It’s a real pinch me moment to collaborate on our tenth anniversary beer with Thornbridge. When I first moved back to Sheffield, around 2011, and before Hop Hideout started in 2013, this brewery was our go-to for beer and ten years later still is!”

She continued. “So we’re thrilled to announce this collaboration. From delicious cask Jaipur to phenomenal collaboration beers with the likes of international breweries like Sierra Nevada and Odell. To their thoughtful, intensely flavoursome and skilful barrel-aged range. Whether it’s Days of Creation Flemish-inspired sour ales or their imperial stout series Necessary Evil. Or the way they brew timelessly quenchable lagers with such finesse. To brew a beer with Thornbridge for Hop Hideout’s celebrations is honestly a dream come true and feels like a very full circle moment to complete this decade!”

The beer is a ‘crowd-pleasing’ hazy pale ale full of tropical and citrus hits from Cashmere, Idaho 7 and Simcoe hops. A base of Maris Otter and plenty of flaked wheat and oats, With California ale yeast completing the fermentation. A joyful beer to celebrate the last decade’s achievements, including becoming a new mother and continuing to drive Hop Hideout onwards. The beer is named ‘Diamond Day’ and references folk singer Vashti Bunyan’s 1970s classic. A song which Jules often plays to her daughter.

Simon Webster, CEO and Co-Founder of Thornbridge, says “Hop Hideout is a jewel in the crown of the Sheffield Beer Scene, they have supported us since first opening and it is great to see them celebrate their ten-year anniversary. We’re proud to be part of the festivities having worked on this collaboration brew together.”

Diamond Day will be available on tap throughout November and December on draught at Hop Hideout. Once it’s gone it’s gone, so be quick!