Pub of the Month August 2019

Serving real ales now for over 7 years, this former 1960s estate pub has reinvented itself as a real ale haven. The Ale House is a hidden gem. A true free house serving 6 ever-changing cask ales from a wide variety of breweries both local and from further afield, including Drone Valley, Saltaire, Hambletons, Dancing Duck and Dark Star. These are complemented by keg beers, ciders and Sam Smith’s lagers. With practical support from local volunteers, this dog and child friendly pub has become a firm favourite with all who use it; a proper community pub. Regular events include home-made food every Friday evening and a pub quiz on Thursdays. There are also occasional tasting evenings of gin, vodka, whisky and beers. A function room is available for hire for a variety of events, weddings, wakes, parties and all kinds of celebrations. Occasional live music nights are advertised on the pub’s Facebook site. Current beers and Friday menus can also be found there. Al We’ll be down at the Ale House to present their pub of the month winners certificate on the evening of Tuesday 13th August, from 8pm, all are welcome to join us for a beer or two! The pub is at the bottom end of Fraser Road, just off Archer Road in Millhouses, where bus 86 will get you to.

West Sheffield Pub of the Year presentation

A number of CAMRA members and pub regulars gathered at the Itchy Pig Alehouse on Thursday 4th July for the presentation of the West Sheffield Pub of the Year certificate. They also enjoyed some great beers and tasty pasties and sausage rolls. Congratulations and thanks for the hospitality! Pictured – Paul Crofts presenting the certificate to Ted Finley, Richard Storey and Richard Hollis. Photo by John Beardshaw.

District Pub of the Year presentation

On Saturday 6th July a number of Sheffield & District CAMRA members took a minibus trip out into the Derbyshire Peak District area of our branch to visit a number of pubs that are harder to get to and included a visit to the Three Stags Head at Wardlow Mires to present their certificate for winning our Pub of the Year award for the Derbyshire area. This is a classic, unspoilt rural pub that serves good ale and is listed in CAMRA’s National Inventory of unspoilt pub interiors. Photos: Patrick Johnson presenting the certificate to managers Kath and Andy. Taken by John Beardshaw and Dave Pickersgill.

Sheaf View presented with South Sheffield area pub of the year

Thursday 27th June saw CAMRA members and pub regulars head down to the Sheaf View at Heeley for their South Sheffield Pub of the Year certificate presentation, some fantastic beer and a much enjoyed buffet including hot pork sandwiches. The Sheaf View has been operating under the current ownership for 19 years now, having been bought by James Birkett in 2000 as a failed, boarded up former Marstons pub. It reopened as a real ale freehouse and was a hit from the start. You can now always find beers from Neepsend brewery on the bar as it is under the same ownership, along with some great guest beers.  The pub also hosts an impressive whiskey selection, usually has sandwiches available and there is a weekly quiz night. Well done to Josh Hayton and team at the Sheaf View for running a great real ale pub and being voted the best in South Sheffield by CAMRA members.

North Derbyshire Pub & Club of the Year

You may recall the top Derbyshire pub in the Sheffield & District Pub of the Year competition, which we put forward to the North Derbyshire round of the national competition, was the Three Stags Head at Wardlow Mires. Unfortunately it didn’t win, although came a respectable 2nd. Our friends and neighbours down in Dronfield CAMRA however have done the double! The Miners Arms at Hundall has been named North Derbyshire Pub of the Year. This is a great community local in a rural spot with views over the valley. A choice of well priced real ales feature on the bar along with an extensive selection of cider and gin. Food is limited to a selection of simple pub snacks including sausage rolls and pasties. There are several distinctive areas to the pub – one with a pool table, one with sports on TV and a comfortable quieter lounge area along with a conservatory and beer garden. Meanwhile closer in to Dronfield town centre, the Pioneer Club on Stonelow Road (which recently hosted Dronfield CAMRA’s beer festival), was named Derbyshire Club of the Year. The club is quite community focused hosting meetings and trips out as well as having a busy programme of events including quiz nights, bingo, pool league, sports teams and live music. The bar has 4 handpumps offering a mix of local and regional ales at reasonable prices. The presentation at the Miners Arms is planned for Friday 28th June around 8:30pm with live music following after. The pub is a 10 minute taxi ride from Dronfield station. The Pioneer Club will be celebrating their award on Friday 26th July and this will feature live music. This will also be a volunteers reunion for those that helped at Dronfield beer festival and a pie and pea supper will be provided!  

June Pub of the Month presentation

Local CAMRA members joined regulars at the Dog & Partridge on Tuesday 11th June to celebrate the pub winning our June Pub of the Month award. Vice Chairman Patrick is photographed presenting the certificate to Matt, Conor, Rheannon and Rebecca. We also enjoyed a selection of 4 ales all at the celebratory price of £2 a pint for the evening and some fantastic food too. Those that got down earlier had the opportunity to join in the regular weekly quiz.

Cider Pub of the Year

On Friday 7th June the New Barrack Tavern on Penistone Road celebrated being voted our Cider Pub of the Year with our Cider Champion Sarah Mills presenting the winners certificate, this was followed by an evening of live music and a few pints! The New Barrack Tavern recently converted the former kitchen area into a new room of the pub that allowed the bar to be extended to accommodate an extended choice of traditional ciders.

May Pub of the Month presentation – The Ale Club

A number of CAMRA members and regulars gathered at the Ale Club on Ecclesall Road on the evening of Tuesday 14th May to celebrate this fantastic little bar being voted Pub of the Month with our branch chairman presenting the winners certificate and us all enjoying some great beer and hospitality. Pictured receiving the award from Glyn Mansell: Annabelle Mould and James Eardley

Pub of the Month June 2019

Congratulations to the Dog & Partridge for becoming a worthy winner of the Sheffield and District CAMRA Pub of The Month. This award is designed to highlight pubs serving good real ale in friendly and comfortable surroundings. The Dog scores on all points, with beer quality always high. To enjoy the celebrations, join us on Tuesday 11th.June from 20:00 (presentation at 21:00). Dating back to 1796, The Dog and Partridge is a cosy multi-room dog-friendly pub in Sheffield city centre. Many activities take place onsite. These include folk events, games nights and a weekly quiz: 6.00 p.m. every Tuesday. Since early 2013, the Dog and Partridge has been led by Landlord, Conor Smith. Conor, and his team, utilise four hand-pumps to provide an ever-changing range of quality beers, mostly from local breweries: a regular Bitter (usually Stancil) and Stout (often Chantry), one pump dedicated to specials from Abbeydale with the fourth pump providing a wide range of guests. Recently these have included Ashover, Bad Seed, Blue Bee, Great Newsome and Magic Rock. They also serve ‘the best Guinness outside Dublin.’ A 10% discount is available for card-carrying CAMRA members. Previously Pub of the Month in March 2014, the Dog and Partridge is on the CAMRA Regional Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors: for pubs that are of ‘some regional importance’ (SRI), meaning that specific features are of sufficient quality for the pub to be considered noteworthy. Although the interior of four rooms has been opened-out and modernised, the original layout is still visible; there is some inter-war tiling on the right-hand side of the corridor into the pub and one nearly intact room. The central snug has been spared from excessive change. Cosy and genuinely historic, this little room retains its old fireplace, original door and fixed seating, with a wide panel above still having bell pushes from the days of table service. The fireplace is also very old but has a modern hearth. Graffiti, of various ages, is carved into the woodwork. 1974 plans proposed that this snug become a male toilet and the servery re-configured. Luckily, these alterations did not materialise. Further alterations in 1989 saw the pub extend into a neighbouring shop, creating the snug to the left of the entrance. The three-storey stone building also has good ‘DOG & PARTRIDGE GILMOURS WINDSOR ALES & STOUTS’ raised lettering on the fascia and an interesting sign above the entrance. The pub opens at 12 noon daily, closing at 11:00 p.m., Monday – Thursday, 11:30 Friday and Saturday and 10:00 p.m. on Sunday. Home-made food is available Tuesday – Saturday, lunchtimes and early evening (12-2 and 5-9).
  • Dave Pickersgill