CAMRA Sheffield & District
Sheffield & District branch of CAMRA
With pubs now able to serve customers at indoor tables, Stancill Brewery have released a new beer to mark the occasion.
Outside In is a blonde cask ale at a sessionable 4.3% ABV brewed with Motueka and Comet hops from New Zealand and the US giving a floral aroma and zesty flavour.
Cask is back! With (some) pubs now re-opening their outdoor spaces, we’ve been working hard here at Abbeydale HQ to ramp up our production, and we’re all thrilled to be back delivering to pubs around Sheffield and beyond.
With that in mind, we’ve got some deliciously quaffable cask beers coming up over the next few weeks that are absolutely perfect for beer garden pints!
Originally released in March 2020, shortly before lockdown took hold, we’ve decided to bring back Family Heirlooms and Tuneful Endings, a 4.1%, pale ale brewed with El Dorado and Eureka hops. It’s a beer that tells the story of an important part of the history of Abbeydale Brewery, so we felt it deserved another opportunity to shine – you can read all about it here.
Doctor Morton is back with Demon Drink (4.2%), a golden beer with a hint of caramel, hopped with Simcoe, Ahtanum and a little Sorachi Ace for a piney, tropical flavour and a well balanced bitterness.
Usually one of our annual releases as we start to approach summer, Belfry is back after a hiatus in 2020. This always popular Cascade hopped pale ale (4.5%) has a fruity and floral aroma, which gives way to a smooth citrussy flavour with a hint of biscuit. Crisp and refreshing with a lasting finish.
And coming soon to can, we have the newest release from our Funk Dungeon project – Blind Devotion, 6.2%. This beer is a pineapple weed saison, the recipe of which was the winner of our Funk Fest 2019 homebrew competition, created by Leeds based James Newman. Rye spice, sweet floral characteristics and Nelson Sauvin hops combine with our house brett culture for a beer that’s gently funky with light acidity and oodles of flavour.
For those who aren’t feeling quite ready to head back to the pub just yet, or if your local hasn’t been able to re-open so far, of course our online shop isn’t going anywhere so we’ve got you covered for beers at home too!
A new campaign launching today is calling on beer drinkers to back British brewing and pubs and opt for a pint of fresh cask beer from a local independent brewery when they return to pubs next week.
OK, technically cask never truly went away with a few pubs and specialist beer shops offering cask beer to drink at home through lockdown, however sales of hand-pulled cask beer have been hit hard by Coronavirus restrictions – with sales of this fresh British beer down 70% over the last twelve months and many breweries suspending production during lockdown.
The ‘Cask is BACK, so back CASK’ campaign has been launched today by the Society of Independent Brewers, the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), the British Institute of Innkeeping, and Cask Marque – who are championing Britain’s National drink, which can only be enjoyed down the pub.
“Cask beer and pubs go hand-in-hand and are an important part of our National identity. Because cask beer can only be enjoyed in the pub it’s the drink millions of beer lovers across the UK have missed most during lockdown. Whether you’re a real ale enthusiast or sometimes beer drinker, we’re asking everyone to support their local independent breweries and opt for their first pint back in the pub to be some delicious local cask beer. For publicans, those pubs that do cask and do it well will reap the rewards so we’re encouraging all in the pub trade to prioritise cask and ensure that first pint back is in tip-top condition. The message is simple – cask is back, so back cask!” James Calder, SIBA Chief Executive.
“What makes the Great British pub so unique is delicious, fresh cask beer. It’s a drink you can only enjoy in the pub and which millions of people across the UK have not been able to enjoy for much of the last twelve months. So when pubs reopen next week, I’d like to invite you to join me in making our first pint down the pub a fresh cask beer from a local brewery. You’ll not only get a great tasting beer but you’ll be supporting local independent breweries and our struggling pub-industry.” Tom Stainer, Chief Executive CAMRA
“Cask ale is a unique attribute to UK pubs and a key point of difference to many BII members, who run professional independent, drink-led venues in our local towns, high streets and communities. Our pubs need ongoing support to recover their businesses and support fantastic local brewers that make our pubs so special.
“The BII continues to support members through this critical reopening and long road to recovery of their pubs, as well as the key supply chain businesses that help make the Great British pub part of our nation’s heritage.” Steven Alton, CEO of the BII.
“We have all missed the pub and for a lot of us a pint of Cask Ale will complete our rehabilitation. Serving great cask ale I am sure will get more people back into the British pub.” Paul Nunny, Cask Marque Director
Cask beer, also known as Real Ale, is Britain’s National drink and what makes it unique is its freshness – brewed to be served fresh ands hand-pulled from chilled pub cellars in a few days.
During lockdown, some 5 million pints of cask beer from small independent breweries had to be poured away, with the brewers who made it left to foot the bill. Those same breweries have been ramping production back up ahead of pubs reopening, so by buying a pint of cask beer, you’re not only supporting your local pub, but helping out small independent breweries too.
Why should we care about cask beer?
Steel City have had a somewhat quiet year after opting not to pursue the direct home sales route (partly due to license, partly down to not wanting to take sales from brewers for whom this is a livelihood), but have started planning for a hopefully more productive summer. Following the huge success of the Stout Wars series of collaborations with Emperor’s (officially the world’s best brewery according to Untappd) and Lost Industry, the unholy trinity decided to move onto sours… The first brew of the Sour Wars series is a 13.7% Imperial Black Sour, once again the bulk has gone into barrels for the first trilogy:
The barrels are tucked up safe for a few months now, but in the meantime here was a small amount of beer left after filling barrels, so six ultra-limited beers are being released now through Beer Central and Hoptimism, 60-70 330ml cans of each version:
(scroll down for the labels to see more about these beers!)
Imperial stouts haven’t been forgotten however, and the minikit was pressed into service to make a small batch of Black Metal Goat, a tonka and vanilla imperial stout, raising £75 for Heeley City Farm in the process. There is also a very small batch maple mead, which was definitely not brewed just so Dave’s bottle share group could get the style badge on Untappd. At all. No. Ahem. More minikit brews are planned, as well as something on the big kit for when most pubs have reopened in May.
Here is CAMRA national Chairman Nik Antona’s reaction to the budget statement
and the response to the sector specific support being offered
A thing that is happening… once again the crazy trio Steel City, Emperor’s and Lost Industry are getting together for some imperial silliness, and this time it’s sour.
The first trilogy will be released from barrels in summer (assuming we’re allowed out to play!)
sneak preview of Episode I: The Cranachan Menace. Whisky barrel, 15kg raspberry puree, and 20l heather honey mead. The rest of the mead will have 5kg raspberry and a dash of whisky added and be sold as cranachan mead.
We can’t wait!
So we’ve got at least another few weeks before we’re able to start visiting all of our city’s fantastic pubs again, but there is plenty of hope on the horizon for summer time pints! Because of this, the releases shown below are all due to come out in can, although we’re carrying on brewing and hope to be as prepared as possible to supply pubs when they’re ready. Plus we’ve still got plenty of 5L minikegs in stock, and a selected handpulled cask beer is available to pre-order and pick up from the brewery, so get in touch if you fancy a pint or two for beers at home!
The next of our Dr Morton’s series is out early March – Angler Management (4.1%) is a Chinook and Centennial hopped pale ale. Light, hoppy and refreshing with flavours of citrus fruits and pine, and a tempting bitter finish. Not for small fry!
This year we’ve decided to brew two different versions of our spring special, Reverie – they’re both going to be 4.2% dry hopped pale ales, but with distinctly different hop characters. The first is a rebrew of the Citra & Cascade edition which we’ve released previously, and has a fresh, fruity and floral character. The second is a new recipe which features HBC472 and El Dorado hops. This one is punchy and resinous, with bright tropical fruit flavours on the palate.
The next in our Salvation series sees us return to the first ever recipe we released under this range with a Coconut Stout (5.5%). This one’s been requested a few times so we’ve brought it back! Velvety and full bodied, with the coconut boosted by Sorachi Ace hops. Creamy and delicious!
We’re also running our Crowler Clubs on Fridays for those of you who are missing your post work pub trips, these take place virtually over Zoom and are growing every week, so please do look them up if you fancy some friendly beery chat!
Cheers,
Laura, Abbeydale Brewery
Beer can be ordered online for collection or delivery at abbeydalebrewery.co.uk.
To keep the spirit of this much-loved annual city-wide beer celebration going through an exhaustive twelve months of the global Covid-19 pandemic, Sheffield Beer Week goes virtual in March 2021.
Taking the week to celebrate the local beer scene, who have had little respite or adequate support from the government during this global pandemic, Sheffield Beer Week will celebrate via social media campaigns across their channels on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook in a ‘look back’ over the last six years, asking participants to also share their favourite memories using the hashtag #SheffBeerWeek.
Sheffield Beer Week at its core shines the spotlight on the unison of beer and food, community and heritage; with a continued celebration of women working in the beer industry (International Women’s Day falls in the week). In previous years there has been everything from women in beer networking events to brewsters’ tap takeover collaborations with organisers such as Fem.Ale and Ladies That Beer. Last year, in 2020, when Sheffield Beer Week was the last UK nationwide beer week event to occur, Sheffield based LGBTQ+ beer group Out and About, Lost Industry Brewing and Sheffield Beer Week collaborated on a beer to celebrate the pioneering life and work of Edward Carpenter. The collaboration shared a unified sentiment which championed welcoming everyone from across the spectrum of sexuality and gender identity-based cultures. Edward Carpenter (1844-1929) was a significant cultural and political activist around Sheffield in his life. Advocating the simplification of life through his market garden and grow your own approach to campaigning for many issues of social concern. These ranged from women’s suffrage to the protection of the environment, from sexual emancipation to the formation of trade unions.
Join Sheffield Beer Week on their Instagram live launch – Monday 8th March, 6pm, with guests from the local beer scene such as breweries Neepsend Brew Co and Saint Mars of the Desert. Shared across socials have been resources compiled by the Sheffield CAMRA branch which highlight pubs, bars, breweries and beer shops where people can source Sheffield brewed beer from; hoping to increase support and boost the local economy.
To kick-off the week, Sheffield’s craft beer festival, Indie Beer Feast usually goes ahead at the iconic Abbeydale Picture House with brewery bars (20+) and street food. On Saturday 6th March the festival will host a virtual launch on their Instagram feed with a surprise beer bundle supplied by associated Sheffield beer shop Hop Hideout. Due to demand, boxes have sold out two weeks ahead of the event.
To see a flavour of previous Sheffield Beer Weeks you can view via the website’s Events Database and the 2019 printed guide online. It features contributions from British Guild of Beer Writers’ members Emma Inch (2019 Beer Writer of the Year), Jane Peyton and beer historian Ron Pattinson: https://issuu.com/exposed_magazine/docs/sheffbeerweek_0219
Head to http://sheffieldbeerweek.co.uk for more information.
Jules Gray
Photographs by Mark Newton.
Local Breweries offering home delivery of beer
Local pubs doing takeaway and/or delivery of food & drink
One of the sectors hardest hit by the pandemic and its lockdowns has been nightlife, with many businesses facing an uphill battle to bring back their venues and events when restrictions ease. Sheffield City Council has today called on the Government to support the sector so that the city’s much loved pubs, bars and clubs can recover from the financial impact of Covid-19, which has seen many businesses forced to remain closed for nearly a year.
Sheffield has over a thousand businesses offering a huge range of experiences in the night-time economy, which also includes live music, exhibitions and cinema, as well as a reputation for hosting many internationally renowned events and festivals, such as Tramlines, Sensoria, MelaninFest, Sheffield Beer Week and Sheffield Doc/Fest. These businesses support nearly 12,000 jobs directly, and many more through the gig economy and their supply chains.
Alongside industry partners such as UNIGHT, a not-for-profit organisation that represents Sheffield’s night-time community, and CAMRA (the Campaign for Real Ale) the Council is calling on the Government to put practical support and funding in place to ensure the survival of businesses that play a key role in Sheffield’s identity and attract residents, visitors, students, and investment to the city.
The Council has submitted its proposals to the All-Party Parliamentary Inquiry into the night-time economy. These include:
Cllr Mazher Iqbal, Cabinet Member for Business and Investment at Sheffield City Council, said: “We have iconic venues and events in Sheffield that are known worldwide and are an integral part of our appeal as a visitor destination. That there is something for everyone is central to Sheffield’s uniqueness, and we simply cannot afford to lose these much-loved and valuable assets and their vital contribution to the local economy.
“The Council is calling on the Government to support these businesses who have been hardest hit by the pandemic so that when the time is right, they can come back fighting and provide the vibrant nightlife we are all so looking forward to experiencing again.”
Nick Simmonite, Chair of UNIGHT and Manager of the Frog and Parrot, said:
“So many businesses I work with are on their knees, because of the pandemic. Many will not survive. I hope that Government will listen to those working in the industry, who know and love it and who have worked hard to protect both business and our customers, throughout this unprecedented time. With support, we will bounce back. We are ready to provide the services and experiences that we absolutely know our people are going to want right now.”
Dave Pickersgill, Pub Heritage Officer of CAMRA Sheffield said:
“The Government should realise the immense value of pubs to communities, individuals, and the economy – and it should protect them and allow them to trade on a par with restaurants and shops. Pubs are essential to our local economy and we should be doing all we can to support them to survive through these difficult times, not hindering them.”
The All-Party Parliamentary Group is calling for evidence from night-time economy businesses, employees, freelancers and consumers to share their views on the challenges facing the sector, its importance to our society and economy, and how nightlife can be reopened. Members of the public, employers, employees and freelancers are asked to submit their views to the inquiry via htntia.co.uk/appg.
UPDATE:
The report is now published and is available to download.
