Paul has been a committee member since 2014, as well as being on the festival committee.
‘I have enjoyed all the various roles I have played in that time, particularly my functions at [the 2017] festival, and I was delighted to be press-ganged into being the Festival Organiser for [the following] year (thanks Louise!).
‘As well as being fond of “lowering a couple for the tonsils”, I'm also a big music fan, particularly live music. Feel free to stop me for a chat anytime you see me in the pub (particularly if you want to sponsor something at the festival).’
A new initiative has been launched by the Welcome to Sheffield website, aimed at promoting the city’s various beer festivals around the UK. The Sheffield Inspires section of the website lists seven key themes that are being promoted, one of which is The Craft of Beer.
The pages cover a wealth of information about the local beer scene, breweries, pubs and festivals, and provides a great resource for potential visitors.
As you are probably aware, the government’s recent activity regarding business rates has not gone down well with the hospitality industry.
The originally planned premises revaluation would have seen large increases in rateable values, and resulted in some pub’s valuations rise by an average of 32%. Over 5,000 pubs would have seen their rates at least double. With this happening at the same time as the Covid-era support being withdrawn it was a hammer blow to the industry and prompted a massive backlash. More than 1,000 pubs banned labour MP’s from their premises in protest, which prompted a government rethink. Pubs will now see a 15% discount on their rates, which are also frozen for the next 2 years. However, this is not enough support, with the phrase “sticking plaster” appearing regularly in the press.
Here’s is the reaction from CAMRA; the Campaign For Pubs; and some of our local pub operators.
Ash Corbett-Collins, CAMRA Chairman
“This short-term announcement is not the ‘permanently lower business rates’ that pubs were promised. While it is positive that the Chancellor has listened and announced extra discounts for pubs facing the threat of closure, it is short-sighted to think that today’s statement will give publicans the certainty they need.
“The plan to review the unfair way pubs are assessed for business rates is welcome, but this leaves pubs in the same situation as they have been for years – still facing a long wait for promised, and fundamental, reforms to make the system fairer.
“CAMRA will keep campaigning to get the Government to support great pubs and independent breweries so they can compete against online businesses and cheap supermarket booze.”
On changes to licensing hours and relaxation of planning rules, Ash said:
“Letting pubs stay open for longer or extending their premises is not going to solve the fundamental problem where otherwise viable businesses face being taxed out of existence. Licensees are already limiting their opening hours and can’t afford to invest in their buildings. The Government should fundamentally review the tax burden on pubs and independent breweries from things like VAT and alcohol duty to see if those systems can be made fairer, to give our locals a fighting chance against cheap supermarket alcohol.”
Dawn Hopkins, Vice-Chair of the Campaign for Pubs, and a licensee inNorwich said:
“This U-turn on the business rates betrayal and the extra relief is essential, toavoid the otherwise catastrophic hikes in business rates, but is just anothersticking plaster and whilst a relief, does not address the fundamental unfairnessof the business rates system to pubs and the dodgy system of valuation currentlyused.
“The Labour Party promised genuine reform of the whole system of businesstaxes and they promised permanently lower rates for pubs, so these are still twobroken promises until and unless they deliver that through a new fairer system.
We are deeply disappointed that the Government has left the completely flawedand unjustifiable revaluation in place, which has produced absurd rateablevalues that bear no relation to the very tough reality of trading for pubs.
“Whilst we welcome a review, the fact is that Labour promised to abolish businessrates, not to merely commission a review, this is kicking it into the long grass.
We are therefore calling on all publicans in England and Wales to write to theirMP and make it clear that the current revaluation is wrong and that the highlydubious and unfair ‘Fair Maintainable Trade’ system of calculating pub ratesmust be scrapped and a new system pub in place from 2027, not 2029. Withoutthis, the issue is not resolved so we urge them to listen and deliver the genuinereform they themselves promised”.
Paul Crossman, Chair of the Campaign for Pubs and licensee of threepubs in York said:
“We are disappointed that the Govt has not gone further on business ratesand ditched the current revaluation for pubs completely while maintainingexisting rateable values and reliefs for at least another year as we asked.
The new valuations are the product of a flawed methodology that has nowbeen rightly acknowledged as unfit for purpose by the Govt.
“While the further discount and freezing of bills for three years is welcome, itcannot be right that pubs are now saddled with higher rateable values goingforward when they are clearly the product of a flawed system.
“Replacing this methodology with a fair new system that actively supportspubs will now be key, and it is vital that grassroots rates-payingbusinesses are consulted and that this time their needs are prioritised overthose of the big property-owning corporations that have exclusively influencedand shaped all pub-related policy in the past”.
Chris Bamford, Co-owner of Rutland Arms, The Crow & Harlequin
“The latest business rates saga serves to further illustrate the incredibly challenging conditions pubs, and the hospitality and retail industries in general, are currently operating in. In the budget, business rates were initially sold as being ‘cut’, which transpired to actually for most businesses be an increase, and after the partial u-turn and ‘15% reduction) for some at least is more of a temporary maintenance of the status quo. This is on top of operating costs having spiralled massively during the cost of living crisis, including tax rises and amongst the highest tax burden on hospitality in Europe, at a time when increased pressure has been put on our customers disposable income. Pubs are rightly a valuable source of income for the treasury, as well as significant employers, but a closed pub pays no tax and offers no employment opportunities.
I believe pubs are an often undervalued asset to the community, safe spaces for meeting people, giving a platform, or even just rehearsal space to the arts. In our ever increasingly digital age they give space for real human contact, and unlike supermarket bought alcohol, a regulated environment in which to drink. Too many pubs which would and should be viable if given the right support and conditions have closed already and more will follow. We need a review of Business rates and tax on hospitality to restore balance versus supermarkets and to ensure pubs can continue to thrive as hubs of the local community. The pub should be celebrated for its positive contributions to society, rather than targeted as a cash cow.”
Sean Kelly, Director, True North Brew Co.
“While the latest business rate changes are welcomed, more is required—for operators in the industry we feel too small and too late to counter years of mounting pressure. The mechanics of the discount have not been released, and while the government have a way of spinning it as positive, the reality on the ground is that it doesn’t go far enough and should include all hospitality venues, not just parts of the sector. What’s really needed is a full revamp of the rates system so it reflects modern trading conditions and supports community venues properly. Ultimately, if the aim is to protect pubs, bars and the wider hospitality ecosystem, a meaningful VAT cut is the game changer that would make the biggest and fastest difference.”
Toby Grattidge, Co-Managing Director, Abbeydale Brewery & Rising Sun pub.
“Our rateable value at the Rising Sun has increased by a staggering 70% since 2023. Over the last 6 years, the changes to the tax regime have been relentless in hitting pubs – while we wholeheartedly support staff getting paid a good wage, when coupled with increases to national insurance, raw material costs and beer duty it can make it feel as though there is no light at the end of the tunnel.
We feel very fortunate at the Rising Sun to be a thriving pub with the support of our community, as well as financial support from the brewery behind us, meaning we’re aware we’re as well placed for survival as it’s possible to be – but if this approach to taxation continues there won’t be an industry left to tax. It’s increasingly difficult for pubs to be a viable business model, and this of course results in a direct impact on the brewery itself too. We are committed as a business to doing all that we can to be there and offer the best possible quality, value and service to our customers and lobby the government to consider the vital community assets that pubs are.”
Well-known beer bloggers Boak & Bailey have been writing about beer since 2007, and obviously know a thing or two. Each year, in common with a few other writers, they produce their “Golden Pints” post, rounding up their favourite beers, breweries, pubs and taprooms of the year.
We’re delighted to see local brewery St Mars of The Desert getting a few mentions for 2025. Here’s what they had to say.
“Our favourite keg beer of 2025
We ended up rewriting this post in mid-December after an encounter with The Brewery of St Mars of the Desert (SMOD) in Sheffield last weekend. We’d heard how good their beer was from many sources over the years but had never actually made it there ourselves thanks to the distance, the pandemic, and our preference for pubs over taprooms. Many of the beers were fantastic but the one that nearly made us weep with joy was Rotkäppchen, an homage to the Rotbiers of Nuremberg at 4.4%. It made us feel like giddy baby beer geeks again. Wonderful.”
They were no less complimentary of St Mars as a brewery in general.
“Our favourite brewery of 2025
We made this choice some months ago after we found ourselves walking into a pub, seeing several taps with this brewery’s beer on offer, and thinking: “Oh, excellent! This is going to be a good session…”
It’s Newbarns whose beers we’ve seen in Bristol quite a bit this year. We’ve been impressed by their precise, scholarly takes on Continental styles, and by their vibrant freshness. Only one or two have been anything less than excellent, catapulting Newbarns into the ‘reliable brewery’ category for us.
Honourable mentions: We’ve become quite interested in Ideal Day which, like Newbarns, has more hits than misses, and brews across an interesting range of styles; and if we’d been more than once, we can imagine the Brewery of St Mars of the Desert might have got the gong here.”
And finally, in case that wasn’t enough…
“Our favourite taproom in 2025
The Brewery of St Mars of the Desert shows what a taproom can be. It feels like a mountain cabin or a Bavarian village Wirtshaus. Or maybe it’s the one bar in a small town in Belgium. What it doesn’t feel like is an industrial shed in outer Sheffield, surrounded by mechanics’ yards and second hand tyre outlets. There’s assorted breweriana scattered about the place, a wood burning stove, and a dedicated Stammtisch next to the bar. The commitment to serving each beer in the right style of glass, with a perfect head of foam, was something else that won us over. It helps, we guess, that the owners are on site, working the bar, and working the floor.”
Their excellent blog and beer-related writings are highly recommended, as are their books, (The excellent Brew Britannia has a detailed family tree showing the influence of Dave Wickett and the Kelham Island Brewery on the Sheffield brewing scene) and can be found at boakandbailey.com.
Last month, after a major fitout and over 3 years planning, The Fargate finally opened. The joint venture between Thornbridge and Pivovar has been highly anticipated and didn’t disappoint when the crowds flocked in on opening day.
The dark wood interior gives the impression of a traditional pub, albeit a very stylish one, whilst the upstairs room features lighter colours to make the most of the light flooding through the large windows facing Fargate itself.
The central bar features 10 handpulls and 16 keg lines, with roughly a 50/50 split between Thornbridge beers and guests.
It’s certainly a great addition to the city’s main shopping street and with The Old Shoe and Head of Steam nearby, it seems a nice little city centre pub crawl is developing.
Crosspool Social is a vibrant community cafe on Sandygate Road, Crosspool.
With great coffee and cake by day, from the 9th of October they will be opening every Thursday and Friday night, 6pm till 10.30pm, to sell beers from a number of local breweries. Wines, spirits and soft drinks are also available.
A Lindr unit has been installed to serve 2 keg beers and on the opening night they were Mesters Rouge, a 5.5% Red IPA and Hollis, a 3.8% IPA, both from Little Mesters.
A well-stocked fridge has a range of beers from other breweries including Thornbridge. It was a well attended launch, and the cafe/bar combination will no doubt prove to be a great success in the area.
A number of our beer festival volunteers had a get-together recently to try their hand at dutch shuffleboard, or Sjoelen to give it it’s correct name.
The game involves sliding wooden discs along the board to try and get them into the numbered compartments. Not as easy as you might think as all the failed attempts start to build up!
In the upstairs room at the Harlequin on Nursery Street, over 20 of us tried our hand in a highest score competition and a quickfire play-off version. All over a few of the Harlequin’s excellent beers of course.
The pub also kindly donated £25 worth of vouchers for our two winners.
Lee Vallett won the high score competition, and Jamie Smith won the play-off.
It was a great success, and a repeat afternoon is planned for sometime in the spring.
Malc Anderson at the board watched by Ally Smith, Ian & Anne Ashforth and Lee VallettPlay-off finalists Jamie Smith & Jess Cawley Jamie in the process of winning the final
October sees the return of our ever-popular Beer & Cider Festival at Kelham Island Museum. Taking place over 4 days from Wednesday15th to Saturday 18th, we are expecting over 5,000 to come and sample the very best in Real Ale, Real Cider and Craft Beer. Street Food, talks, tastings, and demonstrations add to the atmosphere and make this one of the highlights of the Sheffield beer scene.
Local businesses and individuals can get involved by taking advantage of some of the sponsorship opportunities still available. All options come with a number of sponsor tickets which include FREE entry; FREE festival glass; FREE pint; FREE programme & a FREE go on the pub games. All sponsors are also named in our programme, have their logo (and link) on our website, and feature on the sponsor posters at the festival.
Here’s what on offer.
Stillage Sponsor
An A2 board featuring your logo, attached to the top of one of the stillage racks.
£125 + vat. Includes 3 Sponsor tickets
Banner Sponsor
Your banner hung in a prominent place at the festival. Banners can be any size up to 3m wide and 1m high.
£100 + vat. Includes 2 Sponsor tickets
Cask Sponsor
A4 sheet with your logo attached to one of the casks on the rear stillages.
£60 + vat. Includes 2 Sponsor tickets
Handpump sponsor
A6 card with your logo attached to one of the handpumps on the front of the bars.
Little Mesters Brewing first appeared in 2020 after taking on the brewing equipment and premises from Mitchells Hop House, based in Mitchells Wine Merchants at Meadowhead. In 2023 they opened the Little Mesters Tap in Woodseats, and the next phase of their development sees them expanding and relocating the brewery to larger premises in Attercliffe. We talked to co-owner Neil Adgie for an update.
Neil, tell us about the move.
OK, so we basically moved Little Mesters Brewers from Meadowhead to down here at Attercliffe in November 2024, but the building was a shell. And then over the last six months we’ve had everything inside the building replaced or renewed. We’ve got a mixture now of new kit and some second hand kit in here, including some of the kit from Lost Industry when they closed down giving us a capacity of about 5000 litres.
To give you a little bit of history of this site, there used to be a brewery here back in the 1800s called Royds Brewery, which later became Burton Weir Brewery, named after the little Weir next to us on the river Don.
I believe you’ve started brewing cask now.
Yes, we do real ale now, as well as keg and cans. Whenever we do a brew, we do about 80% evenly split between cask and keg and then the other 20% goes into cans.
Are you going to be selling cask at mesters tap?
Yes, we’ve had a handpull put into the tap room at Woodseats, mainly for our own beers but it may feature a guest beer from time to time.
Who are the team at the brewery?
We took on a very experienced new head Brewer, Sam Bennett, who use to run Grizzly Grains brewery until recently. He’s really good and is a big asset to the company. We have Tom Naylor who’s been with us now a couple of years. We call him the Apprentice, although that’s a bit unfair as he’s just passed his level 4 apprenticeship.
You had a recent run in with the Portman Group about the knives featured on the pump clip for the beer ‘Stan, brewed to celebrate Sheffield’s famous Little Mester, Stan Shaw. How have you responded to that?
Obviously we didn’t see anything wrong with the pump clip, as it just showed the types of knives that Stan was renowned for making. And the Portman Group are just an advisory group who don’t actually have any legal powers. However we thought they could make things difficult for us, and as we were considering a rebrand anyway it made sense to include the name change and redesigned clip as part of that.
What is your beer range now?
We’ll have a core of basically 5 beers.
The Last Mester, which used to be Stan, is a 4.6% pale ale, slightly stronger, more overly hopped, more leading itself to an IPA. We’ve also got a 4% hazy pale ale, called Mesters Mate.
We’ll have a bitter, about 3.8% or 3.9% which will be called Mesters Royds Bitter, being a bit of homage to the brewery that used to be here. Stout seems to be really popular again, so we’ve got a good recipe for a stout which would be around about 4%, unnamed, as yet.
We’re going to produce a lager as well, which we have done in the past, as we’ve got the facility to be able to do lagers.
What are your plans for the future?
The idea is to do some beers that aren’t necessarily experimental but to perhaps do things that haven’t been done for a while. So for instance, we’ve just run a red IPA and we’re in the process of doing all the dry hopping and things on it now. And that’ll be a quite a bit stronger between 5% and 5½%. I think we’re going to call that Mesters Rouge, named after a polishing paste called Jewellers Rouge which was used for buffing and shining up high quality knife blades.
And then it’s a case of, looking at a summer drink. We’d like to do a Koelsh, but that will be keg rather than cask, and we’ll probably do a Christmas beer.
We also want to do some fruit beers. We’ve actually got five really big cherry trees on site and we’ve got permission to harvest all of the cherries from those, so at some point it’s likely we’ll do a Cherry IPA.
One of the other things that we’re currently doing is a complete rebrand. We’ve got a Sheffield chap working on that, Nick Law, who your readers may know as the man behind the Emmanuales beers.
We’ve also engaged with Luke Horton, who’s a local artist to do work on a little mesters images. Things like this to give it a different sort of perspective. Not to lose the history but try and give it a bit of a fresher look.
Where are you selling your beers? Obviously, your own tap, but are there any other places that sell it?
We sell quite a few of our cans to smaller outlets, and we do the Chop Shop, down in Kelham Island. Believe it or not, one of our biggest customers is Sheffield Cathedral. We supply them with cans and kegs for all of the events they have in the cathedral, and they actually do quite a lot of events, so they sell quite a lot of beer in there.
We’ve got about another 5 or 6 outlets that we currently do some kegs and cans to, but we’re looking at really trying to expand the market. We’ve got some pubs that take our kegs, but I want to try and introduce them to the cask as well, pubs like the Shakespeare down at Kelham Island. So it’s about getting around people and getting them aware that we’re now producing cask as well as keg.
Well, good luck with everything Neil. We look forward to seeing your beer at a few more local outlets, and personally I’m interested in trying that Cherry IPA if it appears.
The winner of this year’s award for Pub of the Year for Sheffield South is Heeley-based Brothers Arms. Originally named Ye Olde Shakespeare Inn, which can still be seen in embossed letters on the front of the pub, it was taken over in 2014 by 5 members of well-known local ukelele legends the Everley Pregnant Brothers. 11 years on and it is still run by the same 5 people, with one of them, Richard Bailes, acting as Manager.
As well as a good range of well-kept real ales the judging panel for the award particularly liked the community focus within the pub. Regular quiz nights, music nights, and art events cover a range of interests, providing a great meeting point for local customers. And of course there’s a few prints on the walls from local artist, and one of the original five “Brothers”, Pete Mckee.
Visitors from further afield are also encouraged with the Brothers Arms being part of the “Heeley Triangle”, along with the Sheaf View and White Lion. The three pubs are starting to promote themselves collectively, and we can certainly confirm it’s a great pub crawl for real ale fans.
As a nod to the past the pub has some new artwork about to adorn their walls. As well as a number of old photos of the pub, there’s a list of all the landlords who have run the pub for the last 200 years, along with the name of the reigning monarch during their tenure. Originally put together by the Fox family who ran the pub through the 50’s and 60’s, it has been brought bang up to date, and a new version printed ready to hang on the wall.
Our presentation takes place on Tuesday 13th May, during the half time break in the quiz, so why not pop along to lend your support and maybe join the quiz, which starts at 7.30. See you there!
As you no doubt know, January is a tough time for the hospitality industry and there are many calls for people to support our pubs and help counter the post-Christmas lull.
Obviously we fully endorse this view, but would also remind you that our local breweries need that support as well.
We estimate around 5,000 people read Beer Matters, so if each of our readers were to buy an extra couple of pints from one of our breweries it would add thousand of pounds to their income. And if that additional money was spent in one of the numerous brewery taps it would help them even more.
Here’s a run-down of all our breweries with details of where you can buy their excellent beers.
Abbeydale Brewery
Sheffield’s oldest brewery, now owned by its employees and winners of multiple awards. They have a vast range of beers available through their online shop, and at their pub, The Rising Sun, in Nether Green.
Blue Bee Brewery
One of the smaller breweries in Sheffield supplying quality cask beer around the city, particularly in the renowned Kelham island Tavern, run by the same owners. Their ever-changing American 5 Hop Pale Ale is currently in its 75th incarnation!
Bradfield Brewery
20 years old this year, and a well-known name on the city’s bars. As well as the on-site brewery shop, Bradfield have 3 pubs. The Nags Head, near Dam Flask reservoir, the King & Miller at Deepcar, and the Wharncliffe Arms at Wharncliffe Side
Dead Parrot Beer Company
A 15 barrel plant based in the courtyard of their brewery tap, Perch Brewhouse on Garden Street, West bar. The brewery has recently been involved in the revival of the Allsopp’s brand.
Emmanuales
Basically a small Walkley-based home brewery, but Emmanuales have been around for over 10 years and supply a wide range of beers in cans to many of our local bottle shops, usually with religious based names.
Fuggle Bunny Brew House
Launched in 2014 in an industrial unit in Halfway, Fuggle Bunny open their on-site tap room every Friday, with a number of beers on handpull, and usually featuring a food vendor.
Heist Brew Co.
Decent size brewery and tap house in the heart of Neepsend featuring mainly keg beer and cider, but also the occasional cask. In-house food provided by Talon.
Little Critters Brewing Company
Another Neepsend-based Brewery, supplying throughout the city. Although they have no tap of their own, they are regularly seen in cans at local bottle shops.
Little Mesters Brewing
In the process of moving to new premises and installing larger brewing kit. Their beers can be found in their tap on Chesterfield Road in Woodseats, as well as cans at local bottle shops.
Loxley Brewery
Small brewery based underneath the Wisewood Inn at Loxley. The brewery also owns the Raven Inn at Walkley. and the recently opened micropub No3 at Sharrow.
Neepsend Brew Co.
No prizes for guessing where these are based. 10 years old this year and well known for producing mainly one-off beers. They also own the Wellington pub at Shalesmoor.
The Brewery of Saint Mars of the Desert
Internationally renowned brewery producing keg beers in a range of styles. Their tap room in Attercliffe reopens in March, but their beers can be found in many local pubs and bottle shops at any time.
Stancill Brewery
Established in 2013 using the old Oakwell Brewery kit and recreating their Barnsley Bitter. Often seen in many bars locally, as well as their own pub, The Albion, on London Road.
Steel City Brewing
A cuckoo brewer who’s worked in a number of locations and probably the most adventurous of the local breweries since the demise of Lost Industry. Not brewing at present but you might find some of their beers in local bottle shops.
Tapped Brew Co.
Small brewery which can be seen brewing in the back room of the Sheffield tap, which is where you will also find plenty of their beers. Their American Flyer brown ale won the Champion beer of Sheffield at the 2024 Steel City Beer & Cider Festival.
Toolmakers Brewery
Small 5 barrel plant established in 2013 in an old tool making factory. The brewery has it’s own function room and its beers are always available at their pub, The Forest on Rutland Road.
Triple Point Brewing
Modern brewery visible from the bar and with a large outdoor seating area. Flagship beer Debut is a previous Champion Beer of Shefield winner. On site food offer from Twisted Burger Co.
True North Brew Co.
Located on Eldon Street, behind forum, the brewery mainly produces beers for True North’s own venues, ten in Sheffield and one in Barnsley. Their Devika IPA won Champion Beer of Sheffield in 2022.
We hope we’ve given you a bit more information to encourage you to search out some of the breweries and their beers in the coming months. It really is a case of ‘use them or lose them’. Sheffield has a proud brewing culture and we’re sure you’re just as keen as we are to preserve it.
Outside of the City of Sheffield there are three further breweries within our branch area – Intrepid based in Brough (near Bradwell), Eyam Brewery based in Great Hucklow (near Buxton) and Contour based in Grindleford.
For more information and up to date news on all our breweries, visit www. sheffield.camra.org.uk/breweries.
