Author: Guest

Abbeydale

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As I write this we’re back in national lockdown again – this isn’t the start any of us wanted to 2021, but there is hope on the horizon and we hope you’re all doing ok.

We’re really missing all our amazing pubs – much of our production has now shifted to canned format, but we’re making sure we keep brewing so that we maintain supply of delicious cask stock too, ready for when pubs are able to re-open. So look out for our minikegs which we hope bring a little bit of pub experience to your home! We’re also currently offering collection of freshly handpulled cask beer from the brewery door (served in two or four pint sealed containers – pre-order online before popping down to collect!). As I type the beer available is Grus, a delicious 4.0% easy drinking pale with a lovely ripe nectarine kinda character. 

Onto our new beers! We’ve just re-released Huckster, one of our most requested beers of all time. Originally brewed in collaboration with Peddler Market, this beer a 6.0% NEIPA that’s super juicy, with added cryo hops for even more of a flavour boost.

And in big news… Brimstone is back (soon)! The first beer to be released in celebration of our 25th anniversary, many of you may remember it as being part of our core range from 2006 to 2016. It’s a tasty Amarillo hopped American brown ale and a real favourite here at the brewery, due to be released in the first week of February.

Also out in February, we’re looking forward to the next in our Deliverance series, which this time is a West Coast DIPA (8.0%), hopped with Simcoe, Amarillo and Centennial. This one is influenced by one of our brewer Jim’s favourite beers, inspired by a 2019 trip to California. We might not be able to travel at the moment but at least we can do our best to take your tastebuds on a journey!

And finally we’ll be releasing a new iteration of our puddingy Indulgence beers – a raspberry and vanilla muffin pale (4.5%) Previously released under the name Lady RaRa as part of our signature series in 2016 and now returning as part of our yummy range of dessert inspired beers! It’s a pale ale with a delicate hint of pink, creamy and cakey with oats, lactose and Vienna malt, plus of course oodles of raspberries and sweet vanilla. We hope you’re as excited as I am that it’s back!

Cheers, Laura

abbeydalebrewery.co.uk

Dry January, Tryanuary and Flavourful February

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If you’ve managed to stay Dry for the month of January we should immediately congratulate you for a sterling effort, the drinking excesses of the festive season can often by balanced with a fit & healthy Dry January, but given the current Covid 19 situation, staying fully Dry since New Year’s Day is a true personal achievement, we wish you luck during this final week of the month!

Resisting temptation is a touch easier of course due to the rapid expansion of No/Low Alcohol beers over the last five years & its now a much simpler task to get the flavour without the big ABV, with dozens of 0.5% choices now available. If you’re new to the No/Low Alcohol scene then watch out for fantastic beers from Big Drop, Nirvana & Lucky Saint alongside tasty 0.5% options from established brewers like Thornbridge, Sam Smiths, Northern Monk, Lervig & To Ol.

The flipside to Dry for many drinkers in January is of course, Tryanuary, with many people choosing to Try new things during the month to help support brewers, pubs & retailers during a normally quieter time for sales. If you’ve been a Tryer during January then please accept our thanks, we hope you’ve enjoyed trying lots of new styles or new breweries over the month. Despite the ongoing pub closures, breweries are doing a fantastic job in getting as much beer as possible into bottles & cans & with a week of Tryanuary to go as we write this, we wish you the very best in trying something new over the next 7 days!

February is likely to bring us all back together on the same page, as drinkers & customers settle back into a normal rhythm once January is out of the way. It also seems likely that Covid19 restrictions are to continue & so drinking at home is going to remain our only option. With that in mind we’re sure that the beer retailers of Sheffield & North Derbyshire are ordering some spectacular new brews as we speak, the cans, bottles & growlers will continue to fly out of the doors.

Here at Beer Central we remain open as normal (with plenty of safety measures in place of course) and you should expect to see new beers in February from a whole range of brewing superstars including, North Riding, Vault City, Nerd, Deya, Kees, Pomona Island, Five Towns, Northern Monk, Verdant, Cloudwater & North, in addition to an endless stream of local brews from Thornbridge, St Mars, Loxley, Bradfield, Kelham, & so on.

Whatever you did in January, whatever your plans are for February, give yourself a pat on the back. Life isn’t quite what it should be at the moment, but we’re all doing our bit, at some point along the way we all deserve a beer….. but the choices are endless, thank goodness for that!

Sean Clarke

BEER CENTRAL – AWARD WINNING BEER SHOP IN SHEFFIELD CITY CENTRE
Outlet MS3, The Moor Market. Sheffield. S1 4PF. Open Mon-Sat 8.30am-5.30pm. On Sundays we stay in bed.

Abbeydale turns 25

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After a very unpredictable 2020 for the whole population – including our beloved beer industry, and us here at Abbeydale Brewery, we’re finding things to look forward to in 2021. One thing we can be sure of is that we will be celebrating our 25th anniversary! We feel very fortunate to be here and certainly feel it’s a milestone well worth celebrating.

Throughout the year we’re planning on releasing a series of anniversary beers, which will be marked with our special commemorative logo. We don’t want to give too much away just yet, but suffice to say we’ve got some amazing surprises up our sleeves with some completely new brews and some twists on popular favourites on the way.

We’re kicking off the year’s special releases with two returning beers… the first of which has been brewed this week! Our Amarillo hopped American Brown Ale, Brimstone, was a much loved feature of our core range from 2006 until 2016 before we had to take the difficult decision to retire it, but it’s back as a limited release in early February… including in can for the very first time! It’s a favourite beer of our Sales Director, Dan Baxter – who himself has worked for the company since 2007. Starting out at one-time Abbeydale pub The Moon, he began working at the brewery as a brewer and salesman in 2008 (following in his granddad’s footsteps, who used to work at the old William Stones Cannon Brewery on Rutland Road), and he’s never looked back. Dan’s very excited to get Brimstone back in his life, and we hope you are too! 

Also in February we have the return of Last Rites, our always popular dry hopped barleywine – we can’t wait to welcome it back to our line-up.

abbeydalebrewery.co.uk

Make sure everyone knows #PubsMatter

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Across the UK, pubs, taprooms, social clubs and hospitality venues are at the centre of their communities. Looking after their regulars, providing services to their communities, raising money for charity and tackling loneliness and social isolation.

From 13-16 December, we want to flood social media and MPs’ inboxes with messages about why pubs matter, as we head into a festive season that is very different to normal.

There has never been a more important time to send a clear message to politicians and the media that pubs matter.

Pubs need fair treatment and better financial support from the government to get them through the festive period, which would usually be the busiest time of year.

During the Coronavirus pandemic, pubs have faced more restrictions than other businesses. This has reduced trade, left many at risk of closure, and means that people can’t benefit from the social and wellbeing benefits of going to the pub this Christmas.

Publicans have spent thousands making their pubs Covid-secure, improving ventilation, and helping with Test and Trace. But in most parts of the UK people can’t meet in pubs, regardless of what pubs have done to help people socialise safely in small groups.

You can help share the word by tweeting why pubs matter to you with #PubsMatter and also you can email your MP on the subject using CAMRA’s online tool.

For more on the #PubsMatter campaign visit whypubsmatter.org.uk.

Finding Hope in Hops

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As the fight for survival continues across the UK hospitality industry, one speciality beer shop in Sheffield is celebrating 7 years in business and its founder is determined to keep looking forward.

Jules Gray

Jules Gray is not your average business owner. Way back in 2013 she founded Hop Hideout – one of the UKs first ‘drink in’ beer shops – and soon after went on to establish flagship events Sheffield Beer Week and Indie Beer Feast. In fact, Jules has led several significant ‘firsts’ in what continues to be a male dominated industry, and now she’s about to celebrate another – the 7th birthday of Hop Hideout.

2020 has been one hell of a rollercoaster ride for the beer industry. For Jules, the last 12 months have seen her going from the highs of celebrating the booming craft beer scene across her various projects, to the whiplash-inducing pandemic-driven emergency stop and the immensely challenging times that ensued. 

She’s always tried to remain positive, though, and through keeping in touch with her regulars and the support of the local community she’s found a way to invest her energy in hope.

Hop Hideout in Kommune – photo by Mark Newton

Jules has big plans for the rest of 2020: “I’m focused on celebrating Hop Hideout’s 7th anniversary in November, which feels momentous given the year we’ve had. We’ve organised a big Zoom virtual party on a beer and cats theme – showcasing a new design we had commissioned. We’ve got yoga, a virtual brewery tour, a beer label art talk by a well-known beer writer and a pub quiz with special guests – plus plenty of cat themed beers!

Looking beyond the birthday, I also want to make sure Christmas is as special as it can be this year. We’ve created some great craft beer and craft cider advent calendars and we have more goodies lined up.”

Jules’ positivity is what’s needed right now. With the hospitality sector experiencing the biggest loss of jobs than any other sector this year, there’s some way to go to get back to any kind of normal. According to UK Hospitality over 90% of fully COVID-secure hospitality and pub businesses are operating at a loss, and thousands of otherwise viable businesses in Tier 3 and Tier 2 areas have already closed. The leading trade association is calling for more Government support to ensure businesses can survive as they believe hospitality – a sector that, prior to Covid, directly provided 3.2 million jobs across every part of the UK, and a further 1 million in dependent supply chains – can lead the revival of the economy in 2021.

As ever, Jules is keeping her eyes firmly fixed on the future. With values strongly rooted in people, beer experiences, good causes, and community she’s already working on plans for 2021.

“Indie Beer Feast usually happens in March but I’m hoping we can maybe bring an autumn edition next year. In terms of Hop Hideout, product-wise we want to continue our focus on fine cider and natural wine which we’ve been investing a lot of energy in recently. I’m genuinely excited for the development of the UK craft cider sector. We also plan to explore new bricks and mortar sites – obviously this just got a whole lot more challenging but I do still have hope and I want to invest in local high streets, so watch this space.”

In terms of the wider industry, Jules is already no stranger to collaboration, peer support, and working to make beer a more diverse and equal space, but she hopes to see much more of this, post-pandemic: “If just some good can come from all this, I hope next year sees an increased collaborative approach across the independent beer sector, using these shared experiences to come together. I also hope that craft beer businesses continue to challenge themselves to be open and welcoming to all – from an actionable and economic foundation, not just marketing talk. There’s not only hope in hops; there’s a real opportunity to do good and help each other.”

~ENDS~

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Contact

Please contact rachel@weareraucous.co for high res images, interviews or further comment.

About the Hop Hideout 7th Birthday

Name: Paws Party aka #Caturday on Zoom

Date: Saturday 21st November 2020

Schedule:

10.30am Beginners Yoga with Vicki Baumann (Yoga with Vicki B)

1pm Virtual Brewery Tour with Saint Mars of the Desert

4pm The Art of Beer with Pete Brown (A talk on beer design and packaging)

7pm The Hope Hideout Quizzy Quiz with special guest, Stacey from Rock Leopard Brewing, London

A £25 special Birthday Surprise Beer Bundle is available, which gives access to sessions. 

Range of merchandise also available which also gives access to sessions

Sarah Nulty Power of Music Foundation

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A new charity has launched to support people across Sheffield in memory of Tramlines director Sarah Nulty.  You may recall we presented her an award to recognise that her music festival made an effort to also featured good beer.

The Sarah Nulty Power of Music Foundation provides grant funding to community groups, schools and socially and economically disadvantaged people to access the transformative power of music.  

From funding music therapy for community groups and grants to purchase instruments to enabling people to access online music classes throughout lockdown, The Sarah Nulty Power of Music Foundation aims to spread happiness, through music.  

Headed up by Sarah’s mum Julie Voisey, the Charity’s trustees include Sarah’s family members and friends.

Julie said: “Since we lost Sarah, we have been overwhelmed by the way her friends and the people across the city came together to support local charities in her memory.  In creating the Power of Music Foundation, we hope to spread happiness and joy throughout Sheffield in a new way. We know that music has the ability to improve people’s mental wellbeing and in these very difficult times, I truly hope we can make a difference to people’s lives.   

“Music was such an enormous part of Sarah’s life and something so close to her heart. This feels like the right way to remember her.” 

Speaking about the Foundation’s grant funding launch, Julia Waldron, Development Manager from Under The Stars, the arts and events charity for people with learning disabilities, said: “Sarah was a passionate supporter of Under The Stars, she gave our artists exposure on prominent stages they are often excluded from.  This fund will give lots more people with a disability in Sheffield opportunities in music that would otherwise be unavailable. We are really looking forward to working with the Sarah Nulty Power of Music Foundation in the future.”

TrusteeJulie Voisey added: “The Sarah Nulty Power of Music Foundation is now open for grant applications from charities, community groups and individuals across Sheffield. We support people of any age in the city who are socially or economically disadvantaged, and we work with individuals and organisations helping people with disabilities and complex needs, with children and schools, and with anyone experiencing hardship.  

“From funding music lessons to purchasing musical equipment and everything in between, we’re open to helping people to experience the power and joy that music can bring in whatever way that works for them.”   

Individuals and businesses across Sheffield can support by making regular or one-off donations via TotalGiving and by purchasing a range of limited-edition merchandise.  

In the Foundation’s shop online at www.thesarahnultypowerofmusicfoundation.co.uk, supporters can buy the iconic ‘Be More Nulty’ t-shirts as well as tote bags with an exclusive new design to represent the charity’s new beginnings. Tote bags are also now on sale with all proceeds going directly to the Foundation.   

Supporting organisations are invited to apply for the Power of Music Foundation’s first round of grant funding by visiting the Foundation’s website. Individual grants of up to around £300 will be considered and might be used to: 

·       Support children and adults to develop their musical talents by funding music lessons, clubs, instruments, and live music events 

·       Fund music therapies and musical experiences for people in the community; through groups supporting children and families experiencing hardship, people with disabilities, asylum seeker and refugee groups and similar 

·       Sponsor a school’s music room, by purchasing musical instruments and equipment, so children of all backgrounds and abilities can learn to play  

·       Provide funds for existing charitable groups to provide music-based activities and therapies for the people they support 

For more information on The Sarah Nulty Power of Music Foundation, how to get involved, donate or sponsor, contact Julie Voisey at thesarahnultypom@gmail.com. You can also visit the website at www.thesarahnultypowerofmusicfoundation.co.uk.

Loxley

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Loxley Brewery rebranded during the first Covid-19 lockdown. Their ‘numbered’ cask ales now have names, which comes as a shock to most but it really does make things easier – they promise! 

The micro-brewery started out in 2018 just casking ales, and soon expanded their knowledge and started bottling too. When the bottles proved popular, they had to build an on-site bottling plant!

You’d think there was a story behind the numbered cask ales, but really their isn’t, they just didn’t know what to call them and so aptly named them with numbers! This proved popular and made a lot of customers laugh – it really was a talking point. But as bottling commenced, they were inspired to name the bottled ales after local history and folklore surrounding harrowing tales and gruesome legends once told about murders and tragedies on Loxley Common and surrounding areas. Revill, Lomas, Halliday, Fearn & Gunson the bottles were named…and now so are the casks!

Handy guide to know Loxley Ales:
Wisewood One – Revill 
Wisewood Three – Halliday (no relation to our good friend James!)
Wisewood Four – Gunson
Wisewood Seven – Lomas
Wisewood Eight – Fearn 

Wisewood Two, Five & Six were scrapped prior to the name change as they were the least popular brews. Renaming the beers also made sense so that the numbers didn’t jump! 

So – where did the names come from?

Halliday – Thomas Halliday built a Cave House on the Loxley Common.

Revill – In the evening of 30th December 1812 Mary Revill was murdered in the Cave House, which stood lonely on Loxley Common.

Lomas – Marys husband, Lomas Revill, a game keeper, hadn’t come home that night. He had been seen in the local inn and was found the next morning in the gamekeeper’s cabin.

Gunson – The surname of the chief engineer with the Sheffield Waterworks Company. John Gunson engineered the Dale Dyke Dam which burst and flooded Sheffield in 1864, killing many people.

Frank Fearn was hung in 1782, for the murder of a watchmaker. He told the watchmaker a story of a pocket watch club (where customers would save weekly towards the cost of a pocket watch) in High Bradfield. En route, Fearn clubbed and stabbed the watchmaker to death on Kirk Edge Road and hid his body in a nearby copse.

*Bottle delivery available – visit http://www.loxleybrewery.co.uk/shop/ to place your order OR VISIT The Raven Inn / The Wisewood Inn for a proper pint!’*

Hannah Hebb 

Chefless pub kitchen service

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City Grab, the food delivery arm of City Taxis, have teamed up with their sister company ChefChef.store and event caterers PJ Taste, to create options for those brave or desperate enough to trade through these next few weeks.

Now that a substantial meal is a prerequisite for visiting a pub, the thorny question of how to open properly remains unresolved. Many simply won’t be able to afford the wages of kitchen staff, either at all, or during quieter shifts.

As pubs weigh up their options, City Grab have three opportunities for venues who decide to try and operate but are unable to open a kitchen. For all options we are promoting the idea of a ‘plateage fee’. Allowing pubs to charge a back to front version of corkage – the mainstay of BYOB venues over the years.

One option is to join a buddy system with one of City Grab’s outlets. The bar
effectively becomes a broker for the customer and orders meals via City Grab for consumption in the next hour. City Grab will offer a ’99p per mile’ delivery as a two week introductory offer from Go Live. Diners can expect their food to arrive within half an hour, with the pub charging a surcharge for the table. This can help keep two independents viable at the same time.

Alternatively, or to compliment the above, with ChefChef.store and PJ Taste we have developed a lunchtime and evening ready meal package. Lunch time meals are budget frozen meals, with evening meals pre-booked off a five plate menu and delivered ready to heat on the night.

All of the above will be supported by extensive marketing through the City Grab marketing, PR and social media channels.

We know it’s not ideal and it might not be enough – but if it helps one or two venues get through these crazy times then we reckon it’s worth it. if you are interested in joining the scheme or finding out more, get in touch with the team on hayley.hirst@citytaxis.com.

NOTE: This was the old tier 3, which is now tier 2, where pubs can only open if they operate as a restaurant. It will become relevant again if our area is moved to tier 2.

Bradfield

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The 5,000th brew has kick started a return to the seasonal ale calendar for us at Bradfield Brewery. After the great success of our 5K brew and keen interest in our seasonal ale availability from both the pubs and our fans at home, we’ve decided that the rest of the seasonal ale lineup for 2020 WILL go ahead!

So next up is Farmers Jack-O-Lantern, a popular Autumnal seasonal ale, lightly hopped and amber coloured at 4.5%. This will be available from 5 October in nine and 18 gallon cask with the five litre mini kegs to follow shortly after.

While there may not be any remembrance event gatherings being held this year, it will not stop us commemorating our fallen soldiers with our Farmers Poppy Ale. 10p from every pint sold of this fruity golden ale is donated to the Royal British Legion and will be available in nine and 18 gallon casks from mid-October, with five litre mini kegs available shortly after.

And then before we know it… the ‘C’ word. I’ll just leave that there.

Jackie

New restrictions hit pubs from Thursday

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In response to the Government announcement that pubs and restaurants will be forced to close at 10pm from Thursday 24th September onwards, CAMRA National Chairman Nik Antona commented:

“As things stand this morning, hospitality is the only sector to be subject to new restrictions. This will be devastating news for thousands of publicans across England who have been willing to do whatever is necessary to provide a safe, Covid-secure place for people to enjoy the wellbeing benefits of having a pint with friends and family.

“The Government should not impose arbitrary restrictions that target one sector without explanation or evidence, which, so far, we have not seen. We are now calling for a new financial support package to be introduced for pubs immediately, which includes the extension of the furlough scheme and the cancellation of business rates for another year, or they risk countless pub closures and job losses.”

In addition to the 10pm close, pubs are now required to operate table service and both customers and staff are required to wear face coverings whenever not seated.

Click here for our rough guide to Covid Safe pub going.