Category: Awards

Our January winner, as voted for by local CAMRA members, is the Two & Six Micropub on Snig Hill in Sheffield City Centre. The name and logo of the venue is themed around old fashioned British money, however the inspiration was much simpler – the address of the premises is number 26!

There was a micropub in the same premised previously although it was relatively short lived – The Social was part of a wider social enterprise initiative and only opened limited hours. The Two & Six was opened by Juliet, who was previously employed as the manager of the Social and saw potential of how it could be if she ran it as her own business along with partner Dan.

Before reopening in 2023, the place was redecorated and new furniture was brought in giving it a nice cosy pub feel. There is a second room attached which is used to host events like art exhibitions and is also used by local members of “Sons of the Desert” Laurel & Hardy appreciation society for film screenings!

This micropub attracts a nice mix of people and has a friendly atmosphere and you find some people sat near the bar enjoying chat and maybe a little banter whilst in the window you often find groups playing board games or simply quietly reading a book! There are also some tables outside on the pavement that can be in demand when the weather is a little warmer. A quiz night is hosted every Sunday at 8:45pm.

On the bar there are 4 handpumps serving cask ale with a mix of styles on offer plus one for traditional cider. The keg taps also include one or two interesting craft beers.

We’ll be presenting the award on the evening of Thursday 16 January, join us for a beer or cider there from about 8pm.

The Itchy Pig at Banner Cross is a rare breed indeed. Situated at the top of Ecclesall Road, it’s a true micro-pub in every sense. For starters, it’s small—the premises were formerly a single-fronted greengrocer’s shop. (The first Itchy Pig, at Broomhill, was previously a butcher’s—hence the name.)

In keeping with the true ethos of a micro-pub, the Itchy proudly offers all of the following:

• NO fruit machines ✔️
• NO jukebox ✔️
• NO pool table ✔️
• NO horse-racing on the telly ✔️
• NO TV screens full-stop ✔️
• NO smell of fried food ✔️
• NO karaoke ✔️
• NO nonsense ✔️

Instead, you’ll find great beer, good conversation, and convivial surroundings, with attentive bar staff. On the beer front, six hand-pumps serve an ever-changing selection of five cask ales plus one real cider, complemented by a range of craft keg options. Since opening in early 2022, boss Richard Storey has taken pride in seldom (if ever) repeating a cask beer on the pumps.

Add in the pump-clip displays on the walls and ceiling, along with the impressive ‘two pence’ bar counter, and it’s easy to see why the Itchy Pig, Banner Cross, has been voted Pub of the Month for October. The award will take place on Tuesday, 12 November, from 8 pm; all are welcome. Catch buses 81, 88, 272, or the Psalter Lane bus 218.

Richard Hough

Congratulations to Adam and the team at the Crow Inn, our Pub of the Month for September 2024: Adam Swithenbank, Amber Raven, Charlotte Walker, Chris Bamford, Kate Major, Lizzie Dabner and Michael Deakin.

Originally opened in 1797 as a Thomas Rawson house, 2010 saw the pub becoming a small hotel, the Sleep Inn. In June 2019, with assistance from local entrepreneur, Wendy Woodhouse, it reopened under the same management as the Rutland: this pub chain has recently expanded to include the Harlequin.

The pub logo shows a crow stealing the ‘N,’ from the Crown, the previous name of the pub.

Beer-wise, the Crow features five cask beers and 14 keg lines. The beer range is innovative, including both hard-to-find limited-edition and obscure imports, with gluten-free Abbeydale Heathen (4.3%) the only permanent resident.

Regular beer events are held: these have included hosting Cantillon Zwanze Day, a Tilquin
takeover, a Yonder meet-the-brewer and a talk about Victorian drinks maps. There is also a selection of cans and bottles, an extensive range of malt whiskies and bourbons, a selection of ports and wines and plenty of rums and gins.

Kev’s Pies are sold and there are seven comfortable en-suite hotel rooms. 

Apart from the opening-out of the room on the right, the basic layout of the interior is relatively unchanged. Unusually, the off-sales was approached via the entrance to the rear yard, purchasers entering through a small door. This entrance was removed in 1972. The décor in the room on the left includes fourteen framed pieces of artwork by Lewis (Lewy) Ryan. These images were originally produced as labels for canned beers, mostly Abbeydale.
 
Historically, the pub was a key player in the 1840s Chartist protests. Two decades later, the Sheffield Outrages saw the murder, in the Crown, of James Linley and in the 1920s, the pub was at the heart of the Sheffield Gang Wars. In the Victorian era the area was home to many pubs: a pub on every corner, open from dawn to well beyond dusk. The 1884 Sheffield Drink Map indicates 14 licensed premises and one off-licence on Scotland Street, a concentration repeated across the city. A framed black and white copy is on display in the Crow. These maps were originally produced by temperance societies in order to guide users regarding premises it was felt they should avoid. They were also extensively used at annual meetings of local magistrates as they made decisions regarding the renewal of drinks licences.

The Crow fully deserves its place in the CAMRA national Good Beer Guide and also features in the new Sheffield Pub Heritage Walk booklet which focuses on the Little Chicago area. Congratulations to all at the Crow on achieving Pub of the Month: join us for the presentation on Tuesday 10 September and/or the heritage walk which is one of the events at the forthcoming Steel City 48 Beer & Cider Fest.