Author: Guest

Abbeydale Brewery

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So the big news here at Abbeydale HQ as we start to look autumn-wards with our beer releases is that Pilgrim is back! Our 5.0% Pumpkin Spiced Ale has become somewhat of a cult classic for us and we know there’s lots of people who look forward to it along with us. After the success of the Pumpkin Spice Latte inspired Twilight Pilgrim stout version (also 5.0%) last year, that’s making a very welcome return too, and we’re completing the trilogy with a special release of Imperial Pilgrim, weighing in at 8.0% but with the same delicious blend of cosy spices as the OG. All will be available in cask, keg and can too, and we’re all pretty excited here to unleash this trio on bars across the city and beyond!

Also getting ready for Autumn we have Harvested, a 4.1% pale ale brewed with Galaxy hops. Expect a fruity beer with refreshing tropical character alongside a clean, grapefruit bitterness and a subtle spiciness in the finish.

We’re incredibly excited to launch the “home” leg of our collaboration with Devon’s outstanding Utopian Brewing, who hosted us to create a Nelson Sauvin hopped lager last year. In keeping with this theme, we’ve created Nelson Pale (5.2%), which uses Nelson Sauvin in whole cone, T90 pellet and Cryo form for a bold and hop forward pale ale. Tropical fruit, citrus and hints of elderflower on the nose, followed by a smooth body and a crisp, clean bitter finish.

And next from our Mythical Creatures series is Failinis, a 4.2% Citra, Columbus and Cascade hopped pale ale which promises a predominantly citrus character with subtle black pepper notes in the background, followed up by a pleasingly robust bitterness. 

Cheers!

New bar planned for Fargate

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Multi-site operator Thornbridge & Co has announced they will be opening a new site ‘The Fargate’ just across from Sheffield Town Hall as part of the new developments taking place throughout Sheffield City Centre.

Thornbridge & Co is a joint venture between Thornbridge Brewery and Pivovar, the company that runs the Sheffield Tap. Other sites include the Bankers Cat in Leeds, Market Cat in York and the Colmore in Birmingham.

Director Jamie Hawksworth explained “The Fargate is going to be one of Sheffield’s most prominent pubs with over £1M of investment being made on the new bespoke interior. This is going to be a wonderful showcase for The Brewery and its beers will be served over a beautiful polished oak island bar surrounded by hand crafted oak panelling and leather banquet seating.  We think it will be a great boost to the great work all ready been made to make the City Centre great again. Work is expected to start on the fit-out later this year with an opening date yet to be announced.”

Fellow Director, Simon Webster commented further “We have been working with Sheffield City Council for over a year in identifying this site and then working together to offer outdoor seating as part of the new Fargate development. The views from both inside and out of this prestigious building will add to the customer experience. Thornbridge & Co is delighted to be able to invest in Sheffield City Centre and is delighted to be part of the new development of Fargate and create a great gateway to Heart of The City”

Cllr Ben Miskell, Chair of the Transport, Regeneration and Climate Policy Committee at Sheffield City Council, said: “I’m delighted to welcome this fantastic addition of Thornbridge & Co to our rapidly transforming city centre. The Fargate will breathe new life into a beautiful building across from the Town Hall and will fit in brilliantly alongside the many new shops, offices and other hospitality venues that are opening up throughout the city centre. The addition of outdoor seating, made possible thanks to the improvements to the surrounding area, along with the bespoke interior will add The Fargate to the list of must-visit places within Sheffield.”.

Brass band pub crawl

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We’ve been back at it again with one of our local Brass Band’s, The Oughtibridge Brass Band, touring around Kelham Island, Neepsend & Finishing back at The Dorothy Pax.

We love these tours around some of our favourite boozers in Sheffield. This time around on our summer tour we brought tunes to your ears to raise money for vital band equipment. Music instruments are expensive, especially when they are made of brass. The band, formed in 1890, needs to cover the cost of a new tuba and a new set of drum cymbals to continue teaching, developing and performing with the youth talent of their band for many to years come! Donations welcome!

The event was held on 21 July and took in The Dorothy Pax, Shakespeares Ale & Cider House, Kelham Island Tavern, The Gardeners Rest, Neepsend Social Club & Canteen and Riverside Kelham.

The same event usually takes place around Christmas too with carols around the pubs!

Gofundme link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/oughtibridge-brass-band-get-to-national-finals?attribution_id=sl:e338d548-517b-4360-8215-e9bbe7711fe9&lang=en_GB&utm_campaign=fp_sharesheet&utm_medium=customer&utm_source=copy_link

Steel City Brewing

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Steel City’s latest brew is a collab (pick yourselves up off the floor…) with Ten Men Brewery from Ukraine. Ten Men’s original brewery was within a few miles of the Russian border and as such was lost very early in the invasion. They have been cuckoo/contract brewing in Lviv but are keen to build a new brewery of their own (and a ‘brew hub’ to allow others to brew, test and experiment) and to fund it have launched their ‘100 Collabs’ project, the first two brews being with Memento (Canada) and Modus (Australia). Dave and former Steel City business partner Gazza had both enjoyed Ten Men’s beers on visits to Ukraine before the invasion, especially their heavily fruited sours in the Not For Breakfast series, and so were keen both to help and to work with the brewery (they also plan to go to Ukraine for a return collab at some point!).

The beer is ‘Men of Steel’, a sour based on the traditional Ukrainian drink Uzvar (aka Kompot), a refreshing concoction made from apples, pears, cherries, plums, berries and apricots. Hopefully there will be two versions, a ‘straight’ fruited sour, and a dessert sour version with lactose and vanilla for a thicker (or thiccer if you’re a hipster) feel and a sweet & sour taste.

All profits from the brew will be go to Ten Men’s fundraiser, the cans will also have a link for further donations to this and to the more general Disasters Emergencies Committee Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.

Looking further ahead, September marks the 15th anniversary of Steel City (the 10th anniversary celebration feels like five minutes ago not five years!), so will be marked with a small celebration at the pub where it all began, the Harlequin. The original beer Hop Manifesto will be rebrewed but for a 2024 audience, which basically means 15 grams per litre of dry hop in the tank. There will also hopefully be a 15% version as a one-off for the event. 

Harlequin

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Kate Major & Chris Bamford, the team behind CAMRA award winning pubs The Crow Inn and The Rutland Arms have signed the lease on their third pub, The Harlequin.

Situated down on Nursery Street overlooking the River Don on the edge of Kelham Island, the pub has been closed for a short period since late May after the departure of the previous longstanding tenants.

A refurbishment is being carried out, with a plan to reopen with a focus on real ale, cider and craft beer as well as spirits and wines from independent producers.

Reopening is planned for late July or early August. Good quality pub food and live music will follow in the coming months.

UPDATE – the Harlequin will be opening on Friday 2 August. Opening hours is midday to midnight.

Abbeydale Brewery

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First up, a new addition to our series of pale cask only specials – Through the Hopback – Lemondrop (4.0%). The clue’s in the name with this one, expect lovely, light, lemony lusciousness from this single hopped pale ale.

We’re bringing back a classic in the form of Oatmeal Stout from our Salvation series, a 4.5% creamy and unctuous dark beer brewed with a whopping nine different grains. Pleasingly robust with oaty notes coupled with flavours of roasted coffee and dark chocolate, rounded out by a balanced dried fruit sweetness.

New from the eccentric imaginarium of Dr Morton comes Sword Swallowing Salve, a 4.1% pale ale with Vic Secret and CF162 hops. Avoid getting your tonsils in a tangle with this perfectly particularised patent pre-pending pale ale. Contrived to avoid unnecessary tonsillar torsion, suffuses the oesophagus with a soothingly salubrious sensation. Super!

And from our popular collaboration series inspired by railway travel posters of yore, we’re incredibly excited to be teaming up with cask beer legends Saltaire Brewery. The details are still under wraps for this one but we’re really looking forward to seeing it on bars soon.

Finally, from the Brewers Emporium and due to be released in cask, keg and can we’re excited to have an all new release in the shape of Astronaut, a 5.2% experimental pale ale brewed in collaboration with Yakima Chief Hops. We’re aiming for the stratosphere with aromatic Dynaboost Simcoe, alongside an abundance of zesty flavours plus punchy pine and papaya from YCH701 Citra and Centennial Cryo hops.

Chesterfield DIY pub tour

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Local history enthusiast Shaun Stevenson and Chesterfield CAMRA’s InnSpire magazine editor Chris Fox, have teamed up to produce a high quality, self-guided Chesterfield pub tour booklet called “Historical Tales & Traditional Ales”.

The guide begins at The Rutland on Stevenson’s Place in the shadow of the Crooked Spire.  The tour meanders through some of Chesterfield’s best pubs and many of its historical locations including the Crooked Spire and the Market place.  With histories and anecdotes from 10 pubs open today and many more that have been lost to time, the booklet finishes at the Chesterfield Arms.

Shaun has been running the Chesterfield Great Historic Pub Tour since 2019 and has built up a wealth of information that he recounts in an engaging and easy to read style. Shaun remarked, “We wanted to create something accessible for anyone who is interested in Chesterfield, its pubs and their history. Something that didn’t cost very much and is entertaining, rather than just dry dates and names”.

The pages contain stories of murder, mystery and dark secrets. Everything from pop stars, a streaker, the Oddfellows and even a former prime minister who opened one of Chesterfield’s pubs.  “Many people will enjoy a trip down memory lane because we also include some of the more recent history and anecdotes”, said Shaun.

In order to get as many booklets sold as possible the price is just £1 and it is available from every pub on the route – The Rutland, Pig & Pump, The Golden Fleece, the Portland, The Sun, The Market, Hidden Knight, Barley Mow, Gasoline and the Chesterfield Arms.

The driving force behind creating this booklet is Chris Fox. Chris says “Working with Shaun has been a pleasure, we are both really proud of the finished product. We just need people to go out and buy it, do the tour and support our local pubs”.

Anyone wanting a copy that can’t visit Chesterfield town centre can obtain a copy by arrangement with Shaun on 07908 183 160. The booklet can also be viewed and downloaded on the Chesterfield CAMRA website.

CAMRA urges support for pubs, pints and consumer rights in 2024 General Election

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The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) is making its mark in the 2024 General Election by announcing its Manifesto and e-lobby campaign. As one of the UK’s most successful campaigning organisations, CAMRA is calling on its members up and down the country to lobby candidates in every constituency to make sure MPs elected in this election are committed to protecting and promoting thriving community pubs and great beer and cider. 

CAMRA’s Election Manifesto outlines six key campaigning priorities, these are:  

  • Fair tax for beer and pubs. 
  • More rights for beer drinkers and pub goers. 
  • Access to market for small and independent breweries and cider producers. 
  • Recognising traditional cask ale under UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity 
  • Better planning protections for pubs. [England-only] 
  • Change the business rates system to make it fairer for pubs. [England-only] 

Election campaigns are a prime opportunity for politicians to be seen pulling a pint behind the bar of their local, but this doesn’t always translate into action that supports pubs, social clubs, brewers, cider makers, and consumers. CAMRA is asking for candidates to commit to the campaigning priorities outlined in its Manifesto, and back policy and legislation that can truly help the pub trade, brewers and consumers.  

To ensure that prospective MPs are pledging their support, CAMRA is enlisting its thousands of members to contact their local candidates to ask for their support for beer and pubs if elected. The e-lobby can be accessed here: https://action.camra.org.uk/page/151385/action/1 

CAMRA is also providing a campaign pack for members and pub goers to promote the manifesto and e-lobby, including election guidance and social media assets. As well as this, CAMRA will be providing resources for parliamentary candidates to pledge their support for beer, pubs and CAMRA’s key campaigning asks. 

As each party announces its manifesto, CAMRA will be commenting on them to let consumers know what is being offered to them. To keep up with all CAMRA comments, news and social go to our Media Centre. 

For more information on CAMRA’s Manifesto, as well as other resources and campaigning efforts, go to https://camra.org.uk/take-action/general-election-2024/ 

Responding to the publication of the Liberal Democrats General Election manifesto, CAMRA Chairman Nik Antona said: 

“It is encouraging to see commitments to overhauling the broken business rates system in England which is desperately needed to help save our pubs, as well as on strengthening powers to allow community assets like pubs to be protected and introducing a dedicated Minister for Hospitality and Tourism. 

“Whilst the devil will be in the detail, the Liberal Democrats plans to replace the current business rates system with a new Commercial Landowner Levy based on land value rather than entire capital value could see more proportionate business taxes for the hospitality sector in many parts of the country and an end to the current system which disincentives investment in pubs. 

“It is vital that the next Government radically reforms the business rates system to stop pubs overpaying by around £500 million each and every year – and to make sure online businesses pay their fair share compared to bricks and mortar businesses like much-loved community pubs. 

“CAMRA looks forward to working with Lib Dem parliamentarians and those of all parties in the next Parliament to make sure that business rates and community ownership policies better support and protect the nation’s much-loved locals.” 

Responding to the publication of the Green Party of England and Wales’ General Election manifesto, CAMRA Chairman Nik Antona said: 

“CAMRA welcomes the Green Party’s continuing commitment to reducing VAT for the hospitality sector alongside their proposals to review planning regulations to protect the night-time economy and give local councils the powers to exempt socially essential local enterprises from paying business rates – which we would argue should definitely apply to pubs which are a vital part of our social fabric. 

“We look forward to working with Green parliamentarians and with the next UK Government to explore how these ideas could be implemented to safeguard pubs and social clubs at the heart of community life up and down the country. 

“This should include cutting the rate of VAT specifically on beer and cider sold in pubs in recognition of their community value, including for traditional ‘wet-led’ pubs that do not serve food. This would help to reduce the rate of pub and brewery closures which deprive consumers of their much-valued locals.” 

Responding to the publication of the Conservative Party General Election manifesto, CAMRA Chairman Nik Antona said: 

“It is encouraging to see the Conservative manifesto reconfirming the party’s commitment to the new system of alcohol taxation and the lower rate of duty charged on draught beer and cider served in our pubs, social clubs and brewery taprooms – so that tax on pints in pubs is always lower than that on supermarket alcohol. 

“CAMRA is calling on the next UK Government to commit to extend the discount on tax for draught beer and cider to turbocharge this new alcohol duty system and give consumers, local pubs and independent breweries the boost they need to survive and thrive. 

“Committing to extending the Community Ownership Fund is also a welcome pledge which would make sure that local groups can access funding they need to save their local pub as a community hub if it is under threat of closure, conversion or demolition.  

“In addition, the Conservative proposal to review the night-time economy in England with a view to reversing the decline in pub numbers would provide an opportunity to show how transforming tax, regulation and planning laws could help save the nation’s much-loved pubs being lost to the communities they serve.” 

Responding to the publication of the Labour Party’s General Election manifesto, CAMRA Chairman Nik Antona said: 

“CAMRA members will be pleased to see that Labour’s manifesto includes a commitment to change the outdated business rates system to make it fairer between online enterprises and bricks and mortar businesses like pubs which are massively penalised in the current system.  

“Any changed system must make sure that pubs no longer pay a disproportionate share of rates and that a new, fairer business rate regime recognises their community value to help keep our locals open and thriving as a vital part of our social fabric.

“Whilst it does not feature in the manifesto, CAMRA looks forward to working with Labour MPs in the next Parliament to develop their policy for a ‘community right to buy’ giving local communities in England a right in law to have first refusal on buying privately-owned community assets which would be a gamechanger for people who want to save and take over the running of their local pubs if they are under threat of closure, conversion or demolition.”