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).’
The Hallamshire House pub in Commonside has just been reunited with a long-lost sign last seen in the late 90’s.
It’s a fascinating story of how it happened, although how it disappeared in the first place is still a complete mystery.The pub was contacted by a couple from Leeds who were offering to return one of their old pub signs.
Landlord Doug Simpson was obviously intrigued, if somewhat baffled by the call, and keen to know more.
Apparently, the couple had lived in Brooklyn for many years, and around 25 years ago had visited a neighbour’s apartment where they were amazed to find the sign hanging on the wall.They instantly recognised the sign from their days as University Students in Sheffield in the late 1970’s.
The neighbour had bought it for a friend, as a wedding gift, but the wife didn’t like it, so he ended up getting it back! When the couple returned to Leeds in 2009, the neighbours kindly gave them the sign, where it sat for the next 17 years, leaning against a wall due to the weight!
After a recent house move, they decided the sign should return to its rightful home, and a call was made to the pub to see if they wanted it back.Doug jumped at the chance, and when the couple said they didn’t want anything for it, but would like a donation to charity, Thornbridge Brewery readily agreed and Sheffield Children’s Hospital was the happy recipient.
The sign is now on display in the pub, proudly hung over the fireplace in the back room.Of course, the question of how it got to New York in the first place is still unresolved so if anyone knows anything about it, The Hallamshire would be keen to talk to you.
Following the recent demise of Beer Central in Moor Market it looked like Sheffield had lost one of its longstanding bottle shops. However, ex-employee Vince Cooper has now taken over the premises and opened as Barrel & Anvil. We’re glad to say that Vince has been exceptionally busy since opening, but he found time to answer a few questions about setting up the business and his plans for the future.
First of all Vince, congratulations on opening Barrel & Anvil. Can you tell us a bit about your background?
I started at Pangolin in 2020 having never poured a pint and spent a year there whilst working for Morrisons. This was my job for 15 years, I spent more time down the beer aisle and hundreds of beers have been tried over the years. I did a little stint at Beer House S6 as manager which I loved. When Beer Central started looking for staff when reopening I got a job.
When did you first think of starting up?
As soon as the previous owners made myself and Ciara redundant I messaged the market team about taking on the unit myself. The seeds were planted before that as the owners were looking to sell and unfortunately for them we were way apart in terms of valuations.
Has anyone in particular been helpful whilst setting up that you would like to mention?
I guess the main person is Sean Clarke the original owner of Beer Central. He’s been very helpful the last 4 months, always there for me and still is. Debbie from Neepsend Brew Co has been a good ear too. Matt from The Bear also gave me some wise advice that’ll stay with me.
Why take over the Beer Central site, rather than looking for new premises?
The Moor Market still has fantastic footfall, there’s 70,000 students around the city centre, lots of city workers who are interested in beer, and the traditional ale fans flock to the market for their beer if supping at home.
Everyone was gutted when Beer Central closed its doors, you ask some of the other traders and one of the most popular questions was “will it reopen as a beer shop?”
I spoke to family and they were like ‘give it a shot’, so here we are.
What will you do differently to the previous owners?
Have beer on the shelves and try to cater to as many folks as possible. I’ll be doing it all myself mostly then come October time I’ll employ someone else for Saturday and just see where we go from there. I should hopefully have a fully functioning website by Xmas time. The socials interactions are great at the moment.
Hopefully it’ll be more like how it was when Sean was in charge but with my little spin on it.
Any particular suppliers or beers you want to mention?
Courier Brew Co have been fab, Thistly Cross Cider, Adam over at Track, the guys at Distant Lands have been fantastic. I’m excited to have Ashover Brew in the shop… the list is endless.
Will you be doing the box saves? It feels like half of Sheffield must have typed “One please Sean” at some point in the past, so we know it’s a popular option.
I’ve just started doing box saves. Once the website is up and running there should be an option to pay for products, build a box etc.
Great. So it’ll be ‘One please Vince’ in future!
Finally, what are your opening hours?
Currently Monday – Saturday 9am – 5.30pm. These may be subject to change, but we’ll announce it on our socials if they do.
Barrel & Anvil is located at Outlet MS3, The Moor Market, Sheffield, United Kingdom, S1 4PF. Visit www.facebook.com/barrelandanvilsheff for more details.
To celebrate our 50th festival, we’ve lined up some excellent music for you and brought back three of our absolute favourites from previous years. The festival takes place at Kelham Island Museum 21-24 October with music included from Thursday night onwards.
Highway Child – Thursday 22nd October 8pm
Formed in 2004 and boasting a classic rhythm section and a dynamic brass ensemble, the band’s sound is as big and as polished as the songs they play. With an extensive repertoire of classic songs from artists such as Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles and James Brown to mention but a few, Highway Child will get you dancing and keep you having fun all day and night.
Website – www.highwaychild.org.uk
Soul Battalion – Friday 23rd October 8pm
Soul Battalion deliver a world-class tribute to the golden age of Soul & Motown.
This dynamic 8 piece band presents a fully live show with powerhouse female vocals, a blazing horn section and a dynamic rhythm section.
Experience 32 dancefloor classics from The Supremes, Martha Reeves, The Four Tops, The Temptations, Gloria Jones, Frankie Valli, Tina Turner and more.
Get ready to dance, sing and relive the magic
Website – soulbattalion.com
The 88’s – Saturday 24th October 6.30pm
The 88’s are a classic rock covers band, influenced by 70’s and early 80’s rock, delivering a high octane performance. Their sound is soulful & accessible in equal parts, featuring songs from the likes of The Faces , Bad Company, Howling Wolf, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, The Rolling Stones and many more.
Muscular vocals, bluesy riffs & all your classic rock favourites. A barnstorming close to the festival.
There are still 3 sponsorship packages available for our Steel City Beer & Cider Festival at Kelham Island Museum this October. The event runs for 4 days attracting around 6,000 visitors in total.
The deal includes having the name of your business on display along with some free ticket packages that include entry, souvenir glass, printed programme, games voucher and a free pint of ale or cider.
Stillage Sponsor – £125 + VAT – gets you an A2 board with your company logo displayed on the stillage (the racking that holds the beer barrels behind the bar) along with three sponsor tickets.
Banner Sponsor – £100 + VAT – gets your advertising banner (up to 3 meters wide and 1 meter high) displayed in a prominent location in the festival venue along with two sponsor tickets.
Handpump or cask sponsor – £60 + VAT – gets your logo attached to either a cask end label (for a beer poured on gravity direct from the cask) or a handpump. Cask end labels are A4 sheets, cards attached to a handpump are A6. This also includes two sponsor tickets.
For more information please email sponsorship@sheffield.camra.org.uk.
Visitors to this year’s Steel City Beer & Cider Festival will have a great range of options for satisfying their hunger pangs whilst sampling some equally great beers. Here’s a rundown of what you can expect.
Courtyard
The courtyard by the Marquee features 4 hot food stalls.
Festival favourites Sunshine Pizzas will be serving up their usual mouth watering fresh pizzas, using organic slow-proved dough, cooked in a wood-fired oven. Vegetarian and vegan options available.
Yuleys Bratwurst need no introduction. These regular vendors at the festival offer German Pork Bratwurst, Smoked Ham Krakaver or cheese and ham Kaiserwurst, all cooked over charcoal.
Get the bold soulful flavours of Jamaican street foodfrom Carribean Fusion. Favourites such as Jerk Chicken, Curried Mutton, Fried Dumplings, and of course Rice & Peas are all cooked to traditional family recipes. Vegetarian curry also available.
Expect all your traditional chip shop favourites at Smith Fish & Chips. Cod, Haddock, Chips, Fishcakes, Sausages, Mushy Peas, Gravy, Curry Sauce, Bread Cake. With plenty of Salt & Vinegar obviously!
Upper Hall
Fairfax Distillers & Chocolatiers will satisfy your sweet tooth with their range of high quality, handmade chocolates. Try pairing them with one of their spirits, available to drink at the festival or to take home in bottles.
The Cheese Factor have a wealth of experience in selecting, sourcing, storing and serving the best of English and Continental cheeses, available in sandwiches, ploughman’s lunches, and Cheese and Biscuit platters.
Sheffield Legends Hendersons will have a stall selling their new range of crisps and other snacks all flavoured with their much-loved Relish. Dedicated fans will also be able to buy t-shirts or bobble hats to display their love of the famous spicy table sauce.
Stone Garden
At the back of the venue accessible through the Engine room, is the keg bar, and the Stone Courtyard. Taco Trailer will be serving proper, flavour packed tacos with a focus on quality, bold flavours, homemade fillings, and fresh tortillas.
The Steel City Beer & Cider Festival is at Kelham Island Museum in Sheffield 21-24 October. Visit www/sheffield.camra.org.uk/festival for full details
Little Critters employee, and Steel City Beer Festival volunteer. John Starey, recently jumped out of a plane to raise money for Weston Park Hospital Development Fund. Luckily there was a parachute involved, and he returned safely to earth!
After being diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer in August 2024, John was treated with chemotherapy and radiotherapy at Weston Park and has nothing but praise for their staff. “The quality of care and attention I have received is nothing short of incredible”.
Little Critters themselves were only too keen to get involved to support John’s efforts, and brewed a special beer, Weston Park Pale, with a percentage of profits going to the charity.
The jump took place at Hibaldstow in Lincolnshire, and has raised over £2,500 so far.
Search ‘John Starery’ on justgiving.com to donate.
The Albion on London Road has been relaunched by the team behind Corporation under the guidance of Joe Rugg, better known as Pints Of Sheffield, and the man behind Pintstock festival.
A six-figure refurbishment has saw the interior restyled, and the large beer garden updated to include a pizza stall, DJ box and extra undercover seating.
The pub has 3 cask lines, which had beers from Abbeydale and Stancill on the opening night, but will feature rotating guests. They also have 12 keg lines, and a wine selection curated by Barks Wines.
Jenny Kidd, bartending legend at The Bear on Abbeydale Road, has recently completed a sponsored walk in aid of MIND, the mental health charity.
Over 4 days, Jen walked the 82 miles to Cleethorpes, raising more than £2,600 for the charity. Here she is having a well-earned pint in the “Message In A Bottle” micropub in Cleethorpes.
A fantastic achievement and well done to Jen for raising such an impressive amount, although 1 pint in 82 miles might also qualify her for world’s worst pub crawl! Cheers Jen.
Anyone wishing to donate to this worthy cause can simply visit the JustGiving page, and search “Jenny Kidd”
The Albion Pub in Sheffield has entered a new era as local hospitality figures Joe Rugg and David Savereux officially take over the historic venue, bringing it back to independent ownership and community-focused hospitality.
Previously associated with Stancill Brewery, The Albion will now operate completely independently with a renewed focus on showcasing a broad range of beer, food and entertainment. The pair plan to offer 12 keg lines featuring four rotating independent breweries alongside three cask lines with one permanent beer and two rotating guests.
The drinks offering will extend far beyond beer. A curated wine list from Charles at Barks Wines will sit alongside a full cocktail and mocktail menu while plans are already underway to build a full kitchen serving high-quality pub food designed to perfectly accompany a pint.
David Savereux, Managing Director of Nivek Group that operates Sheffield institutions Corporation Nightclub and Trafalgar Wearhouse and Joe Rugg, founder of the popular social media platform Pints of Sheffield, believe the city’s pub culture deserves protecting and celebrating. Rugg is also the founder of the Abbeydale Road Beer Festival which has grown over the last five years into one of the city’s most popular independent beer events.
“We want this place to be a space for everyone,” said Joe Rugg. “A place to hang out all day, serving great food and drink while staying true to what a pub should be, somewhere for conversation with friends and family.”
Savereux added: “Pubs are part of Britain’s identity. Getting involved in a pub during this climate might seem risky but if we lose our pubs we lose something incredibly important about our communities.”
The pair say Sheffield’s independent spirit inspired the venture. Neither were born in the city but both now proudly call it home.
“Sheffield is already a national beer destination and we genuinely believe it can become a global one,” said Rugg.
Plans for The Albion include live music and DJs every weekend, a giant outdoor screen for the World Cup this summer and restoring the venue as a true seven-day community pub. Until its relaunch on 5 June 2026, The Albion will remain open Thursday to Sunday.
“We’d love people to come back and give The Albion a second chance.”
As a real haven for cider lovers in the city, it’s no surprise that The Old Shoe has again been crowned our Cider Pub Of The Year.
Despite only being open for 3 years, it has become a popular destination in the city centre for fans of cider, beer and wine alike, thanks to co-owners Mike Pomranz and Matt Beety.
Mike brings his experience running The Cider Hole, previously at Shalesmoor, and Matt also owns micropub The Bear on Abbeydale Road.
A recent revamp has increased the amount of seating to accommodate it’s rising popularity.
21 taps and 2 cask lines, dispense a wide range of drinks, including 5 ciders, and some low alcohol options. Wine lovers can choose from an incredible 13 options by the glass, and there’s usually a mead on offer too!
Join us on Wednesday 13th May when we present their award. The evening starts at 8pm with the actual presentation at 9.
