Grizzly Grains have brewed their Tilt Hammer again, it is 4.9% and smooth, full bodied stout and should be hitting bars about the time of publication.
Eyam Brewery have brewed a new beer in their White Label series, White Gold Fruity Pale as a result of a mistaken delivery of El Dorado and Blanc by their hop merchants. This 4.6% beer is a modern pale with grapefruit/tropical fruit aroma and flavour with a gentle bitterness.
Little Critters have brewed a new 10% imperial chocolate caramel stout which involved two mash tuns full of grain! It is called Mallard Reaction.
A recent special from Chantry was Mods & Rockers, a pale bitter.
With a reassuring sense of normality, Bradfield‘s seasonal beers have been appearing including Jack O Lantern for Halloween, Yorkshire Farmer for harvest time and looking ahead Belgian Blue for Christmas.
A whole host of beers from Dead Parrot were on the bar at Perch, their new tap room, for Steel City On Tour. These included Aardvark Biscuit which is a traditional brown bitter, Aardvark Brown Ale, PenAleTy Charge Notice pale ale, Pitch a 4.5% stout and Tart a Citra hopped raspberry blond among others.
I’d like to add my thanks to all of the venues and to everyone who was out enjoying themselves during the course of the festival. I bumped into some Kent CAMRA members who were blown away by the festival and thought more CAMRA branches should run something like this to not only showcase some fantastic beer, but local pubs and bars too. I also met some volunteers from the previous Steel City Beer Festival who said the festival on tour was a fantastic idea, and would love to see it return in the future!
It made me feel so proud to visit the venues and see people enjoying themselves, and overhear conversations about the beer festival and where people were heading to next. After a tough 18 months for the beer industry, it felt as though this was the lift everyone needed, for both venues and punters. It felt like it really brought everyone together.
Every single venue has had something different from the norm, and I’m sure they will have gained many a regular as a result. From smaller venues like The Bear running their first tap takeover and meet the brewer event, to Heist managing to organise a tap takeover from Hungarian brewery Mad Scientist to showcase beers never before seen in the UK.
I took part in the Neepsend Brewery tour which was very interesting, especially as they had 20,000 pints in their tanks ready to go! It might have taken a while to drink them all though… Everyone involved should be proud of their efforts in putting on a fantastic citywide festival that showcased exactly why Sheffield is such a fantastic place for a pint.
Elliott
As well as Press Officer for the festival, Elliott regularly posts about the local beer scene on Instagram. Find him at thenotsosoberbarcrawl.
With pub going a bit more normal now the JD Wetherspoon chain is once again running a national beer festival this autumn with the Sheffield launch taking place at the Sheaf Island on Ecclesall Road on 20 October.
There is a list of 20 real ales in the festival in a brochure containing tasting notes with each pub being allocated around half of them which will be rotated across the pumps, so you will need to visit more than one pub to try them all!
On launch day the Sheaf Island will feature five of the festival beers alongside their regular ales and they will be celebrating the launch with a pub quiz and games.
The festival beers expected at the Sheaf Island are:
PurityAPA A 3.9% gluten free session pale ale brewed especially for Wetherspoons with Nelson Sauvin, Galaxy and Columbus hops.
AdnamsOld Ale A 4.1% ruby red ale with caramel and chocolate aromas, flavours offering hints of liquorice and berries with a bitter finish.
Bath Ales Queen of Hearts A new 4.3% amber ale brewed for Wetherspoons.
Hogs Back Citrus Pale Ale A new seasonal beer, this is a 4.5% pale ale offering floral and citrus notes, the bitterness from the Fuggles, Mosaic and UK Cascade hops balanced nicely by the subtle malt flavour making the beer an easy drinking, light hoppy beer with a dry finish.
Thornbridge Shelby A 5% golden/amber ale with aromas of stone fruit and berries which leads to a gentle maltiness on the palette balanced by a citrus and lemon bitterness from the Bramling Cross and Fuggles Hops. An official beer of the Peaky Blinders TV series and inspired by beer recipes of the era.
Greene King Ruby Abbot This 5.2% ruby ale is a special edition of Abbot Ale brewed for Wetherspoons.
Wadworth Sweet Molly A 5.5% red ale brewed for Wetherspoons.
Bank’s (Marstons) New Wave IPA A 6% golden IPA brewed for Wetherspoons.
The Chantry Inn has been voted as Sheffield and District CAMRA Pub of the Month for October 2021.
This historic pub which was built around 1250 is uniquely one of only four pubs in the UK set in consecrated grounds being within the grounds of St Mary’s parish church in Handsworth.
It comprises of three different rooms each with some original and unique features including real fireplaces, beamed low ceilings and even the bell pushes used in previous days to order the ale. There are also claims of various tunnels and passageways from the cellar to the church.
It has had a chequered past originally being a chantry and safe house for nuns, a washouse and a school before being a pub for much of the later years from the early 1800’s.
Chantry Brewery acquired the pub in early 2019 and undertook a tasteful restoration and deliver real quality beers. There are always 5 cask ales on tap from Chantry brewery with a rotating special including Steelos, Kaldos, Full Moon, Wentworth Red, Cashmere Time alongside the regulars of New York pale, Iron and Steel bitter, Special Reserve and Diamond Stout. There are also changing craft beers available often from Tiny Rebel or Beavertown as well as real cider.
Congratulations to all involved with the Chantry Inn including the brewery and the pub manager Terry and his partner Alison. The pub of the month award presentation is planned for the evening of Tuesday 12th October and all are welcome to join the celebration.
Paul Manning
You can find the Chantry Inn at 400 Handsworth Road, S13 9BZ. Buses 30, 30a, 52, 52a, 73, X5 and X55 stop almost outside.
The Champion Beer of Britain is one of the most prestigious beer competitions in the world. It is the ultimate honour for UK brewers and has helped put many into the national spotlight. It is awarded every year at the trade session of the Great British Beer Festival (GBBF).
The competition starts with individual nominations from CAMRA members and tasting panel nominations, then area competitions.
At the GBBF, the Champion Beer of Britain judging spans real ales across the categories for milds, session bitters, premium bitters, IPAs, session pales/blonds/golden ales and premium pales/blonds/golden ales. These are combined with the Champion Winter Beer of Britain category winners from the GBBF Winter (held in February) – session stouts/porters, strong stouts/porters, brown ales/red ales/old ales/strong milds, barley wines/strong ales, speciality beers (differently produced) and speciality beers (flavoured)– to create a shortlist for the final round of judging.
There is also a competition for the Champion Bottled Beer of Britain with two categories: ABV 4.3% or below and ABV 4.4% or above.
The process for next years competition starts with member voting opening on 1 September until 1 November inclusive and this will be the first year with the new beer style categories, of which there are 12. To vote log in at cbob.camra.org.uk and in the meantime keep an eye on What’s Brewing, the online members’ newspaper for more information.
It’s been a strange eighteen months for everybody but it has meant quite a few changes for us at Blue Bee Brewery. As Covid lockdowns hit we decided not to branch out into to any form of small pack as it was not something we have ever tried before, therefore the brewery was put into hibernation twice. However, towards the end of 2020 we made the decision to downsize the brewery. The brewery use to occupy two units on our industrial estate so we have now moved into one. So the start of 2021 was a busy one even though we weren’t brewing any beer, we cleared out one unit, re jigged the brew plant, built a new office and cold store as well as having a good sort out and we are really pleased with the results. Although we now take up half the space we don’t intend on making half the beer as we are still brewing on the same 10 brewers barrel kit we have the capability to make the same amount of beer should demand allow it.
Anyway as things creep back to normal we are slowly ramping up production of cask beer. We have maintained our core beers of Reet Pale 4.0%, Hillfoot Best Bitter 4.0%,Triple Hop 4.3% and Tempest Stout 4.8% along with the ever changing American Five Hop 4.3%.
On top of this we have the following specials to look out for in September: firstly Azacca Zappa 3.9% is and American hopped session pale ale showcasing two varieties of US hops which impart citrusy flavours. Secondly Vanilla Stout 5.5% an oat stout brewed with the addition of fresh vanilla pods, so expect a nice sweet stout with smooth vanilla notes.
Finally we brewed our 700th beer in early August: Galaxy Enigma 5.0% is heavily hopped hazy pale ale showcasing two fantastic Australian hops. So it’s great to back brewing again and fingers crossed things keep going in the right direction.
The Old Bulls Head in Little Hucklow was a regular Good Beer Guide entry in the 1970s and 80s when it sold a fine pint of Buxton-brewed Winkle Saxon Cross Bitter (3.8%). It later sold Wards Bitter.
The Old Bulls Head has historical interest dating back to the 12th century with claims to be the fiftholdest pub in England. Little Hucklow was once the scene of much mining activity, with considerable remains of old shafts, gravel hillocks and rakes still surrounding the village. The Bull’s Head pub contained a collection of mining relics. In addition, the handpumps had Shakespearean characters carved in wood.
In more recent years, the building sat derelict for about a decade, until two years ago when renovation work started. This involved alterations to the pub building, including the addition of a glazed ‘seed room’ extension, the addition of an external stone stair, an extension to the south-west corner, removal of the porch, alterations to openings, and internal layout changes. In addition, the car park was altered to accommodate a new building which includes six letting rooms.
The pub re-opened in July 2020 as the Blind Bull and offers a choice of four real ales, with a regular house beer The Blind Bull IPA, designed and brewed with Eyam Real Ale Company, and three regularly changing beers predominantly from local brewers, including Eyam Real Ale Company, Pennine Brewery, Peak Ales Brewery, and others. The varied food menu includes vegetarian and vegan options. The overnight accommodation is due to launch soon.
The Blind Bull was entered into CAMRA’s National Pub Design Awards and we are pleased that it has been recognised as the joint winner in the refurbishment category.
The Blind Bull now and as the Old Bulls Head in 1984
It’s great to see things steadily returning to something more like normal, we couldn’t help but celebrate the much awaited easing of restrictions with a special brew for July 2021: Farmers Back to the Baaar!
Our seasonal ales have received a warm welcome back over the last few months and the next one out of the traps is our Farmers Cherry Beer: a 4.2% light on the palate beer with a hint of cherry and a dry aftertaste.
In the pipeline we also have the exciting release of our six month barrel aged Kerry stout. The original batch of this imperial stout, brewed with a variety of speciality malts, was released in April 2021 and was well received! We’re looking forward to the release of the six month aged edition! Date TBC.
Our Brewery Taps are all now back open seven days a week, with indoor and outdoor seating available. Weekly quiz nights have resumed and Homemade Food is served at the King & Miller at Deepcar and the Nags Head at Loxley. The Wharncliffe Arms is hosting regular Karaoke & Pizza Nights to bring back the good nights out!
On a recent trip to Cornwall our committee member Paul Manning and his wife Bev called into Dorchester for a short two day stay.
Dorchester is the county town of Dorset with Roman roots and location of the Tolpuddle martyrs trial. We stayed at the Kings Arms hotel, a lovely hotel and before venturing out around tea time just after arrival we sampled Summer Luvin a 4.2% session brew from Piddle brewery in the hotel bar. Just across the road on Church St was the Blue Raddle free house. Built in 1850, this has been West Dorset CAMRA Pub of the Year three times and the beer and food quality showed why. We had a few pints of St Austell’s Tribute and Proper Job beers – both very well kept and popular.
Blue Raddle free house
The next day we ventured further into town and after a visit to the Tutankhamun museum found a great little micropub called the Convivial Rabbit. This was very popular and we sampled King St Pale: a 4.2% hoppy pale from Wild Weather brewery, Ernie’s Milk Stout: rich and malty with coffee and chocolate flavours from Settle brewery, a Cheltenham Gold APA from Cheltenham brewery and a real cider, Dorset Nectar Sweet Maiden at 5%.
Bev enjoying the Convivial Rabbit micropub
We then headed to the Brewery Square redevelopment project, a relatively new mix of retail, cinema and offices on the site of the original Eldridge Pope brewery which brewed in Dorchester from the mid 1800s to its closure in 2002. It was probably best known for its Thomas Hardy barley wine which won awards in the late 1970s. The first place we found was a great brewery, bottle shop and tap room called Copper Street brewery across the road from the train station. We sampled their Egbert’s Stone session bitter and Dark Ages vanilla porter. Being the day before the Euros final, the owner had renamed many ales including Egbert’s Stone becoming Sweet Caroline! He also had closer to home Little Critter brewery cans in stock.
Copper Street brewery tap room
Copper Street’s rendition of Egbert’s Stone as Sweet Caroline ahead of the Euros final
Our final call was into a pre-booked beer tasting masterclass in the Brewhouse & Kitchen which was also in the Brewery Square complex. This had an onsite brewery and the masterclass turned out to be just Bev, me and the brewer, Ian Gosney.
Ian took us on a fabulous journey of eight different beers, some brewed onsite and other speciality beers – 5% Legend Craft Lager, 5.4% Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier, 4% B&K Best Bitter, 4.8% B&K American Pale Ale, 6% La Chouffe Soleil Belgium beer, 5.5% B&K Traditional IPA, 5.1% Schlenkerla Smokebeer and finally a 5.2% Tailgate Peanut Butter Milk Stout. Some fine beers and the last one was a pleasant surprise as we have previously been to the Tailgate brewery in Nashville, Tennessee and what an excellent place that was but that’s for another day’s article.
Tasting masterclass at Brewhouse & Kitchen
After this we called again into the Convivial Rabbit for a beer I can’t recall before calling it a day. Dorchester is a great place for a stop off on the way to the south coast with a good choice of real ales.
