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True North mural

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True North Brew Co. have unveiled a brand new mural at their Eldon Street Brewery painted by local artist, Rob Lee.

The mural, painted in Lee’s instantly recognisable use of pattern, repetition, and abstraction, stretches from the edge of Forum Kitchen + Bar, across to the True North Brewery on Eldon Street, and is part of the ’30 Years of Us’ celebrations across True North Brew Co. in 2022.

Kane Yardley, founder and owner of True North Brew Co., said: “I’m so proud of the business we’ve built over the last thirty years. We commissioned this mural to give something back to the local community who have supported us since 1992; it looks incredible and really brightens up Devonshire Green.”

The mural was unveiled during the Eldon Street Party, part of the ’30 Years of Us’ celebrations happening at True North Brew Co. in 2022, which is part of their “Summer of Love Tour” across their venues.

The mural is supported by the release of Sheffield Dry Gin’s ‘Celebration Gin’, a limited edition Sheffield Dry Gin featuring a special label created by Rob Lee, and True North Brew Co.’s ‘Celebration Ale’, a 5% pale ale brewed with 30 hops.

Nicky Geraghty, Senior Marketing Executive at True North Brew Co. said: “Thirty years of True North is such a massive milestone, we thought it deserved a big celebration to match!”

“By teaming up with Rob Lee, we’ve created a work of art for the public, but also a work of art to collect and keep on our Sheffield Dry Gin bottles.” You can try the limited edition produce on the bar at True North venues or buy a bottle of Celebration Gin online or at the True North Store, found in Forum Shops + Boutiques.

Abbeydale Brewery

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We’re excited to announce that our charity partners for this year are Roundabout, a local housing charity who provide shelter, support and life skills to under 25s who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. And whilst we aren’t able to host our Sunfest beer festival this year, we’ve still brewed a big batch of beer which would traditionally have launched there, in aid of our charity partners. Please keep your eyes peeled for Fresh Start, a 4.1% pale ale with 10p from every pint going to support the incredibly valuable work that Roundabout do in our community.

Our new single hopped series Obsession is back for a second release, this time showcasing Ekuanot hops in a 5.9% IPA. We’ve gone West Coast style for this one, so expect a lovely robust bitterness to back up the luscious lemon lime character found within these wonderful hops. Also single hopped is Hopback Azacca (4.2%), promising notes of juicy mango and a cornucopia of tropical fruits.

We’re paying homage to an iconic beer that started off the beery journeys of many of our team here with Restoration – Golden Steam Ale (4.9%). Expect a lovely caramel malt sweetness, with Chinook hops adding a light grassy aroma and hints of earthy pine.  

And rounding off the month we have Dr Morton’s Four Yorkshiremen, a classic 4.1% pale ale with Simcoe & Amarillo hops, and the ever-popular Salvation – Cappuccino Stout (5.5%) making a welcome return too.

Welbeck Abbey Brewery

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Welbeck Abbey Brewery are delighted to announce that the revamp of its core-range beers has been a great success, with positive feedback all round for the three brand-new beers and new-look designs.

The beers have been well received by both trade customers and the general public, and this has been validated by the winning of a number of different awards in a variety of regional and national beer competitions over the last few months.

The good news began shortly after the launch event, with wins for all three new beers at the Farm Shop & Deli Show, held from 25-27th April at the NEC in Birmingham.  The Product Awards were a new addition to the show’s line-up, adding unrivalled value to regional food and drink producers and showcasing excellence in the industry. Scores of suppliers were judged by an exacting panel of industry experts who considered criteria including sustainability, ethical brand stories and provenance. Skylight and Hennymoor both scooped a Bronze Award, with Atlas taking home a Silver.

The awards continued to roll in, with Red Feather taking Gold and Skylight taking Bronze in their respective categories at the local Barrow Hill Roundhouse Rail Ale Festival in Chesterfield. The festival was held from 19th-21st May, with over 350 beers on offer for revellers to sample. The competition entries were blind tasted by a panel of judges with the gold category winners going forward to a final blind ‘drink off’ to choose the Champion Beer. Apparently, the judges had a very hard time choosing the champion beer, which doesn’t come as a surprise with beers like Red Feather in the running!

Last, but certainly not least, Welbeck’s new Ultra Hopped West Coast IPA, ‘Atlas’, won the coveted Gold Award in the pale cask category at the SIBA Midlands Independent Beer Awards. The SIBA Independent Beer Awards judge a huge range of beers across a number of styles in separate cask and keg competitions. As the awards are judged mostly by brewers, industry experts and beer journalists, they are very much seen as the prestigious ‘Brewers’ choice Awards’ by the industry. Roy Allkin, SIBA Chairman, says; “The winners of the SIBA competition are officially the best independent craft beers in the region, something brewers should be extremely proud of.”

Managing Director, Claire Monk, says; “Reinventing the core range of beers was a bold move, and one which I was still apprehensive about, however with the awards rolling in we are all breathing a sigh of relief. I knew the brewers had come up with cracking new beers and I’m delighted that their efforts have been recognised by industry experts across the country.”

Claire and her team are now concentrating on the rest of the year ahead, with more awards hopefully in the pipeline, as all four beers have been entered into the popular Great Taste Awards, the results of which will be announced in August. Watch this space!

If you’d like to try these award-winning beers for yourself, you can purchase them online for delivery within the local area (see website below) or visit one of the many pubs and beer shops that stock Welbeck Abbey Brewery. Trade customers contact Claire directly on 01909 512539 for orders.

The Last Ride

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“I couldn’t honestly believe it. I was really, really upset,” Aaron Getliffe, co-host of the Points of Brew podcast, tells me with genuine anguish in his voice upon discussing the closure of Kelham Island Brewery. And he’s not the only one. Tributes poured in across social media in support of the brewery from fellow brewers, writers, bloggers and, most heart-warmingly, the loyal customers who have supported them throughout the years. 

Much like the loss of a close friend or relative, the announcement that Kelham Island Brewery will be closing its doors hit many people hard, sending shockwaves throughout our industry. An institution in the Sheffield brewing landscape since 1990, it’s hard to imagine a world without their beers adorning pubs and bars across the country. One of those beers in particular, is Pale Rider; their signature pale ale that drinkers UK-wide have swooned over since it was first brewed. 

Inspired by the US, this pale ale was amongst some of the first that introduced many to American hops and the flavours they could impart on their beer. Bagging itself CAMRA’s Supreme Champion Beer of Britain award in 2004, its quality didn’t go unrecognised either. Since then its reputation has preceded it, with people assuming the brewery’s place in the brewing world being firmly cemented. It would appear even those with a long-standing legacy aren’t immune from the rising costs we all find ourselves surrounded by. 

While direct reasons weren’t cited in the announcement made by the brewery, Roger Protz spoke to Ed Wickett shortly after who confirmed rising costs and Covid were to blame. “We’ve had a tricky couple of years and they could have got worse. The brewery is getting old and some bits were falling off. It needed investment but we’ve been faced with surcharges for gas, fuel, malt, hops and delivery charges,” Ed told Roger. They’re not alone in closing their doors, with others including Beatnikz Republic in Manchester and Fallen Brewing in Scotland to name but two more, and rumour has it there are more to follow suit in the coming weeks. So where does this leave us and how can we help?

Simply put; drink beer and local beers at that. But, when we too are facing living costs spiralling out of control it’s not that easy. After lockdown closed down the on trade, a spike in running costs was another hurdle that brewery’s, pubs and bars did not need, and now their loyal customers are having their pockets hit harder than ever. Visiting a local might have once been a weekly occurrence, perhaps more for some, but those few regular pints might become the odd and infrequent one or two.

Likewise drinking at home has become commonplace, with many drinkers still finding solace and safety within the confines of their home or beer shed. Whilst seeking shelter from Covid is understandable, home drinking has to dwindle if our beloved places of comfort are to continue to navigate these troublesome times. But, for one last time, let us saddle up, hit the trail and raise a toast to Pale Rider and Kelham Island Brewery who will never be forgotten. 

New craft cider festival

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Sheffield has long been known as one of the best places for beer. Now, a forthcoming festival hopes to get the city as excited about its growing cider scene – teaming up with a brewery to lure in the cider-curious as well as cider lovers in general.

On Saturday 25th June, the Sheffield Craft Cider Festival will take place at the Heist Brew Co
taproom in Neepsend. The event – which will feature some of the best artisan cideries from
across the UK – is being curated by The Cider Hole, Sheffield’s only urban microcidery and bar,
home to the city’s only permanent cider brand, Exemption Ciderhouse.

“Sheffield has a great brewing history and today has many awesome breweries,” said Adam
France, owner and co-founder of Heist Brew Co. “What we haven’t had previously is great
cider. Now we do, courtesy of The Cider Hole, so we wanted to celebrate that and give rise to
the cider revolution.”

The free-to-enter festival – which runs from noon until late – will be pay-as-you-go with cideries
offering small pours, allowing attendees to experiment with a large range of different drinks.
Additionally, most tables will be run by the cidermakers themselves or representatives of the
brand so visitors can learn more about craft cider by meeting the people behind the products.
Cideries scheduled to attend include Blue Barrel, Butford Organics, Find & Foster, Galtres, Rebel
Root, Ross-on-Wye, Welsh Mountain, Wild West, and Wilding, along with Sheffield’s own
Exemption.

“At The Cider Hole, we offer over 60 craft ciders – but often times, guests haven’t heard of any
of them, despite representing some of the best cidermakers in the world!” explained Mike
Pomranz, the bar’s owner. “While craft breweries have become household names, equally
mind-blowing craft cideries often still languish in obscurity. By working with Heist Brew Co, I’m
hoping more drinkers will discover these two craft movements aren’t as different as they may
seem.”

Speaking of craft beer, Heist Brew Tap will be serving its entire selection of beer, wine, and
spirits, including its 30 draft lines, as usual. Additionally, Slap & Pickle will also be open as usual,
selling its beloved burgers, fries, and other items.

The Sheffield Craft Cider Festival will take place on Saturday 25 June, 2022, from noon until late
at the Heist Brew Co Tap, which is located at 107 Neepsend Lane, S3 8AT.
Entry is free. Children are welcome until 21:00. Dogs always welcome. For more info, go to
www.heistbrewco.com and www.istheciderholeopen.com.

Fuggles the Inebriate

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The humorous novel, written by retired brewer Frank Priestley, is set in the ‘out of the way’ village of Widdleton-in-the-Bog somewhere in the middle of England. Today, the most prominent building in the village is the edifice known as the Old Hall – formerly the ancestral seat of the illustrious Fuggles dynasty.  The last remaining scion of that venerable family is Josiah Fuggles who, through mysterious circumstances has been reduced to living in a modest but comfortable cottage, on a small but adequate allowance.

Fuggles, an educated man, spends most of his time drinking with his friends in the many vernacular pubs of the village.  He never tires of flaunting the wealth of his wisdom and learning – his listeners frequently do.  Their quest is to extend and synchronise their patronage of the local hostelries in the hope of preventing the pub closures that have blighted so many other communities. 

In the course of the narrative, he experiences the pleasures and perils of streaking, snuff taking, craft ale, conceptual art, a beer festival, whisky drinking, town pubs, bicycle riding, gin drinking, long distance walking, sea fishing, a wedding, a brewery visit, pub games, a very bad winter, a brew pub, village cricket and a ‘gentlemen’s’ night.  During these adventures, he encounters a love-sick brewer, a ‘thin’ publican, a mortal enemy, a pig man, a yellow haired lady, a bee keeper, a meandering man, a beautiful barmaid, an angler, an unexpected half brother, a badger, a fox, a cat, a dog, a stoat and an imaginary owl.  Such is the variety of life in Widdleton-in-the-Bog.

The book is available to order on Amazon as a paperback or e-book.

Pub of the Month June 2022

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I was one of the first people through the door of Shakespeares when it re-opened in July 2011 and it has been a firm favourite ever since. Back then it was very much a cask-led pub, which was the style at the time, but also had one of the best malt whisky ranges I’ve seen outside Scotland.

Times change, and since then craft keg from abroad was added, followed later by craft keg from the UK, but never losing sight of keeping an excellent ever-changing range of well-kept cask.

I gave up beer ticking for the sake of it in 2017 but by that stage had drunk over 2,000 different cask beers at the Shakey, my second highest pub of all time and only 300 behind the Cask & Cutler/Wellington that I’d been going to for twice as long. For those who prefer to ‘stick to what they know’ Abbeydale Deception and Red Willow Feckless are permanent fixtures, while the other lines all change every few days, the pub keeps a tally and has so far served 6,700 different cask ales and around 1,400 different craft kegs.

While fully embracing the exponential growth of craft keg beer, beer manager Lucienne remains a huge cask fan and has persuaded many a craft brewery to supply her a cask of a beer otherwise only to be seen in keg and small-pack, particularly for the epic beer festivals held annually in the upstairs function room. ‘15% chocolate tonka maple barrel aged stout? Yeah we’ll have a cask please’. In the unlikely event you can’t find anything you want on the seven handpumps and nine craft keg taps, there’s also an extensive range of cans and bottles covering everything from Lambic to IPA to imperial stout…

The pub itself recently celebrated its 200th birthday, having started life as a coaching inn. The building features some impressive stained glass windows, and is decorated with breweryania ranging from historic through to some rather more modern pumpclips. Wooden barrels serve as tables in the area behind the bar, along with a new sofa (note: this is my ‘spot’, so people who aren’t me shouldn’t sit there), while the small ‘clock room’ features more traditional tables and chairs, and the long room has long tables and benches along with a dart board. Outside is a large beer garden/courtyard. Live bands are a regular feature in the upstairs function room, as well as musicians in the long room. The pub has deservedly won Pub of the Month several times, and in 2012 won the overall Pub of the Year for Sheffield & District.

Dave Szwejkowski

All are invited to join us there for a beer or two at the certificate presentation night on Wednesday 22 June from 8pm.

Shakespeares can be found at 146-148 Gibraltar Street, Sheffield S3 8UB. Buses 57, 81, 82 and 86 stop outside, alternatively it is a short walk from the City Centre or Shalesmoor tram stop.

Abbeydale Brewery

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As always we’ve got plenty of new beers out this month, sitting merrily alongside our usual core offering! First up is Salvation Oatmeal Stout (4.5%) – comforting, silky and smooth, with a whopping nine different grains building up a complex yet harmonious malt driven backbone. Oaty notes combine with flavours of roasted coffee and dark chocolate, rounded out by a balanced dried fruit sweetness.

On cask only, look out for Doctor Morton’s Demon Drink (4.2%). This light golden ale is hopped with Cascade, Citra and Chinook – tasty and refreshing with notes of citrus fruits, berries and a hint of caramel, followed up by a pleasingly bitter finish. Also a cask exclusive, our easy-drinking Hopback series has been really popular so far, and the next version promises to be a stunner with Mosaic & Amarillo hops (4.2%).

Later in the month we’ve got a couple more newbies from the Brewers’ Emporium on the way – a new version of Deliverance DIPA takes on an intercontinental feel with Galaxy, Nelson Sauvin and Idaho 7 hops (8.5%), or if you’re looking for something a little more sessionable, our series of hazy pales continues with Homestead (4.3%), super juicy with Mosaic, Ekuanot and more Idaho 7 hops for a tropical fruit salad kinda character.

Finally we hope you can join us at the presentation evening for the Rising Sun’s Sheffield & District CAMRA Pub of the Year Award on Tuesday 14th June!

Cheers,

Laura, team Abbeydale.