Category: Awards

Tuesday 5 March saw Sheffield & District CAMRA members head en masse to Chapeltown for a special presentation celebrating the Commercial’s 20 continuous years of inclusion the Good Beer Guide. The presentation was combined with our regular monthly branch meeting, and with the pub hosting a whisky tasting event on the same evening, there was certainly a convivial atmosphere. A packed pub saw licensee Paul Menzies and his team presented with the special certificate by branch vice-chairman Patrick Johnson. There was a fantastic selection of eight real ales on offer and we were very kindly treated to some food too, excellent hospitality showing why the pub has been so highly rated over the years. Congratulations once again to Paul and everyone at the Commercial on their continued success!

On Tuesday 12 February, we headed to the Blake Hotel in Walkley for our first Pub of the Month award of 2019. As always, there was a good attendance from both branch members and pub regulars alike as the pub celebrated its first Pub of the Month award since August 2012.

There was a celebratory atmosphere and, as expected, a good selection of cask ales available, including a couple from Neepsend Brewery plus favourites such as Shiny and Mallinsons. There was also a first appearance for our new-look Pub of the Month certificate, which will take pride of place behind the bar.

Our vice-chairman Patrick Johnson was present to make the presentation on behalf of the branch to Dave Barber and the rest of the Blake Hotel team. Congratulations once again to everyone at the pub on their award!

On Tuesday 8 January, we took a quick break from our monthly branch meeting to make a very special presentation to the Fat Cat on Alma Street to mark 30 continuous years of inclusion in CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide.

The pub was opened in 1981 by the late Dave Wickett, with the first pint being pulled by legendary footballer Derek Dooley. Also working behind the bar on opening night was Diane Johnson, who is still assistant manager to this day.

The decision to import beers from small independent breweries outside Sheffield saw it quickly gain a dedicated following of real ale enthusiasts, and since entering the Good Beer Guide in 1989 there has been no looking back. It was also the first pub in Sheffield to introduce a no smoking room, and live music and games machines have always been eschewed.

Sadly Dave is no longer with us, but his son Ed and the Fat Cat’s manager Duncan Shaw, who has looked after the pub for around ten years now, were both present to receive the 30-year certificate from branch chairman Glyn Mansell.

Handing over the award, Glyn said: “I first visited the Fat Cat soon after it opened. A few years later I attended union meetings on Sundays and after the meeting I would have a few pints and lunch with my brother. I have visited the Fat Cat over the years and still enjoy the atmosphere and of course the beer. As branch chairman I’m not supposed to have favourites, but I like the Fat Cat!”

Congratulations once again to Duncan, Diane, Ed and everyone involved with the Fat Cat over the years on their magnificent achievement. Here’s to a few more years!

Dominic Nelson

Our final Pub of the Month presentation of 2018 took us to one of Sheffield’s newer drinking establishments, the Bar Stewards on Gibraltar Street. This micro pub was as vibrant as ever for our visit, as the room was filled with both CAMRA members and pub regulars. The Bar Stewards recently celebrated their first inclusion in the Good Beer Guide for 2019 and the beer line-up this evening showed just why the pub has become so popular over the last couple of years, with cask ales on offer from national breweries such as Siren, Moor and Hawkshead alongside an excellent range of KeyKeg beers, bottles and cans. Free food – always appreciated! – was on offer too, with locally made pork pies and onion bhajis. Sheffield & District CAMRA vice-chairman and Bar Stewards’ resident quizmaster, Patrick Johnson (a.k.a. Captain Space Maths), was on hand to make the presentation to owners Alan Quinlen and Charlie Mullen and their staff. Congratulations again to everyone involved!

Unfortunately we don’t have a Pub of the Month for December or January as none of the nominated pubs had reached 10 votes by the time Beer Matters went to print. However, 2018 has been a great year for awards for Sheffield & District CAMRA, as we have managed to present 11 Pub of the Month awards, as well as our District Pub of the Season certificates and our Pub, District Pub, Cider Pub and Club of the Year awards earlier in the year. We’re taking this opportunity to have a look back over our winning pubs from the last twelve months, starting with the Eyre Arms at Hassop, which was our first winner of the year back in January. The first pub from the Derbyshire part of our branch to win a Pub of the Month award since April 2015, it has recently gained further recognition with its addition to CAMRA’s National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors. February brought us back into Sheffield, when we sheltered from the wintry weather with a bowl of chilli in the warm surroundings of the Sheaf View, Heeley. The usual excellent selection of Neepsend Brewery ales helped too! A few days later, we headed off into the Peak District for the belated presentation of the Autumn 2017 to present the Rambler Inn at Edale with their certificate. Just as we were thawing out from the Beast from the East, it was time to visit one of our more familiar haunts, the Rutland Arms for the March award – it was surprisingly the pub’s first win since April 2013. April 2018’s winner was a little less well-known; for many of us it was a first trip to the Ale House on Fraser Road, but we were made to feel very welcome and quite a few have made return visits in the months since thanks to the hospitality and the excellent range of cask beer. Our AGM in April also saw the announcement of our big awards for the year. The Kelham Island Tavern continued to prove popular with voters, taking the Pub of the Year accolade for a sixth year in a row. The Clubhouse on London Road was named our Cider Pub of the Year, while Club of the Year was the Interval Café Bar in the Sheffield Students’ Union. In May we were back to our regular awards and back to Heeley, this time to hand over the certificate to the White Lion. This was the pub’s second win in less than two years – quite an achievement! One of the biggest names in the Sheffield real ale scene, the Fat Cat on Alma Street, took our June award – the latest in a very large collection of branch awards the pub has won over the years. A lovely summer’s day in mid-July saw us back out in the Peaks, this time by public transport. First stop was District Pub of the Season for Spring 2018, the Moon Inn at Stoney Middleton, followed by a trip to our District Pub of the Year, the Red Lion at Litton, an excellent country inn with a great range of food and cask ale. Our decision to trust rural buses to get us home proved unwise but we made it home eventually! The same month also saw us head down to Shalesmoor for the Pub of the Month presentation at the Wellington, where we were treated to a buffet and some more great Neepsend beers. August and September’s awards took us to two pubs who were very excited to be recognised, with complimentary tapas on offer at the Beer Engine in August followed by the chance to try Abbeydale’s latest Voyager IPA for free at the Devonshire Cat the following month – both very much appreciated! Transport problems again plagued our District Pub of the Season trip in October, with the minibus breaking down the day before the presentation was due to be made. Unperturbed, a hardy group of branch members still managed to make it to the Monsal Head Hotel to hand over the Summer 2018 award. The Harlequin on Nursery Street was our destination for the October Pub of the Month presentation on the eve of our festival opening – a great way to start the festivities with some Exit 33 ales. A short walk round the ring road a month later led us to our final award winner of the year, the Bar Stewards on Gibraltar Street. This micro pub recently celebrated the first anniversary of its full-time opening and took no time at all to reach the 10 votes required thanks to their great selection of cask and keg beer, along with fridges full of craft bottles and cans. Well done once again to all our winners from this year. Pub of the Month winners will now go forward for consideration for Sheffield & District Pub of the Year 2019, joining the 36 pubs from our branch region featured in the latest Good Beer Guide. Thanks to everyone who has got involved in 2018 whether by nominating a pub for an award or by voting. If you haven’t voted before, it’s easy to have your say – the list of all the current nominees can be found on page XX and you can vote online or at any branch meeting. Let’s try and make sure we have an award ready for February! Dominic Nelson

This one somehow managed to slip through the net for inclusion in last month’s magazine, but back in mid-September, a group of Sheffield & District CAMRA members headed to the Kelham Island Tavern for the presentation of the Yorkshire CAMRA Pub of the Year 2018 joint runners-up award. The pub was in contention for the accolade having being announced our branch Pub of the Year back in April. As would be expected on a Saturday afternoon, there was a good number of punters in attendance to see pub landlord Trevor Wraith (left) presented with the certificate by Regional Director for Yorkshire, Kevin Keaveny. Congratulations to Trevor, Lewis and all the Kelham Island Tavern’s staff and customers on their continued success.

The Monsal Head Hotel has an outstanding hilltop location with stunning views of Monsal Dale.  With the opening of the tunnels and the magnificent viaduct, the original railway is now the Monsal Dale Trail, well used by cyclists and walkers.

This friendly inn has a cosy Stables Bar with stripped timber horse-stalls, harnesses and brassware, cushioned oak pews, farmhouse chairs and benches on flagstones and a big open fire. The bar has a good selection of mainly local ales. A small group of Sheffield & District CAMRA branch members presented Mandy and Maria Fowler with a certificate awarding the Monsal Head Hotel our District Pub of the Season for Summer 2018.

The Stables Bar was very busy also with children and dogs, but we managed to present the award to Mandy during a brief few minutes to an appreciative audience.  Congratulations once again to Mandy and Maria.

Our dedicated group had a short walk to the Nags Head, then flagged down a bus to Bakewell where we visited two more pubs, and then finally caught the bus to Sheffield to end a good day out.

Glyn Mansell