Category: Awards

Cider Pub of the Year 2018

Posted on by Dominic Nelson
Sheffield & District CAMRA is delighted to announce that its Cider Pub of the Year award for 2018 goes to the Clubhouse on London Road. The Clubhouse is a sports bar housed within a fairly traditional pub building and can get very busy when there is a big game being shown on TV or when Sheffield United play at home. While it ticks the boxes for a good sports bar (TV screens, pool table, burgers etc) and beer (range of reasonably priced real ales) it is cider for which we are presenting them with an award. Although many would argue Sheffield might be the real ale capital of the UK, it certainly isn’t known for proper cider – either making it or drinking it – and there are very few pubs in the city that make the effort with cider and perry to offer a varied range and promote them. There are of course some honourable exceptions, including the Harlequin which won last year’s award. The Clubhouse dedicates three handpumps to cider, and the selection changes regularly so there is often something new to try. There are quite a number of cider drinkers among their regular customers and sometimes what appears on the pumps has been one of their requests! Aside from the cider, the Clubhouse has a good atmosphere helped by friendly staff and a food menu is served featuring a number of pub classics, but the headline act here is the range of burgers with various toppings and served with home made chips. Occasionally a promotion is run offering a free pint with your burger, watch their Facebook page for news on that! Note that for the very busy sporting events the management may limit numbers coming in the pub to maintain a pleasant environment. At these times priority is given to regulars who have obtained a ticket in advance from the bar. Our branch Cider Champion Sarah Mills will be presenting the winner’s certificate at the Clubhouse on Thursday 10 May. All are welcome to come along and join us from 8pm onwards to show support and enjoy what the pub has to offer!

Pub and Club of the Year awards 2018

Posted on by Dominic Nelson
A positive part of CAMRA’s campaigning is to celebrate the best pubs you can enjoy a quality pint of real ale and that is what our awards are there for. Here in Sheffield & District branch we run a Pub of the Month award throughout the year, supplemented by the District Pub of the Season award for our Derbyshire pubs. We also choose the best pubs in the area to be awarded a place in the national Good Beer Guide, a book published annually. At the end of the year, all those pubs that have won an award or a Good Beer Guide listing are entered into our Pub of the Year competition. This sees all our branch members invited to vote for which pubs they think are the best by ranking their top 10 out of the 42 pubs in the competition. The voting process produces a shortlist of 10, a mixture of Sheffield and Derbyshire pubs, which a team of judges each independently visit and scores them against CAMRA’s national judging criteria, which is primarily about beer quality but also takes into account style, décor, furnishing and cleanliness; service, welcome & offering; community focus and atmosphere; alignment with CAMRA principles; and overall impression. We give two pub of the year awards, one for a pub in Sheffield that then goes forward into the Yorkshire competition and one for ‘District’ that goes forward into the North Derbyshire competition, both of which are preliminary rounds of the national competition. We have two additional annual awards which select a venue to be entered into national competitions – Cider Pub of the Year and Club of the Year. The former sees our cider champion Sarah Mills produce a list of pubs in the area that offer and promote a range of real cider and perry (real being a natural product made from little more than fresh apple or pear juice that has been fermented) to drink in an enjoyable environment and a vote is taken by members attending a branch meeting. The Club of the Year is for venues that are generally members only and not necessarily open to the general public to the same level as a pub such as social clubs, students’ unions, sports clubs etc. A shortlist of clubs in our area that serve and promote a range of real ales is produced by our Clubs Officer, Andy Shaw, and a vote is taken by members at a branch meeting.

The Winners

Sheffield Pub of the Year Winner: Kelham Island Tavern, Russell Street 2nd place: Shakespeares, Gibraltar Street 3rd Place: Blake Hotel, Walkley District Pub of the Year Winner: Red Lion, Litton 2nd place: Anglers Rest, Bamford 3rd place: Three Stags Heads, Wardlow Mires Club of the Year Winner: Interval Café Bar (University of Sheffield Students’ Union) 2nd place: Chapeltown Royal British Legion Club 3rd place: Stocksbridge RUFC Cider Pub of the Year Winner: Clubhouse, London Road Andy Cullen

Pub of the Month April 2018

Posted on by Dominic Nelson
Regular readers will know that each month we try to recognise one pub in our branch area that follows CAMRA’s principles of serving high quality real ale and cider in welcoming and friendly surroundings. Every Pub of the Month is voted for by our branch members, and with voting having been so popular recently we have had a backlog of pubs waiting to receive their awards. Therefore, we have known for a couple of months now that our Pub of the Month winner for April 2018 would be a first-time winner of the accolade. The Ale House, tucked away on Fraser Road in between Millhouses and Woodseats, is a thriving community-run pub with a consistenly good range of reasonably priced real ale. There are up to six cask lines on offer at any time, the regular Saltaire Blonde plus five guest ales. These often feature small breweries from around Yorkshire and the East Midlands, such as Malton’s Bad Seed and Derby’s Dancing Duck. Being a community pub there are regular events taking place, including live music and singing nights, a pub quiz on Thursday evenings and home-cooked food available from 6pm every Friday. We will be visiting the Ale House to present the award on Tuesday 10 April and all are welcome to join us. As usual, we will be arriving from around 8pm for a presentation around 9pm. For those travelling by public transport, the number 86 stops on Archer Road, around 150 yards from the pub. We hope to see you there! Dominic Nelson

March Pub of the Month presentation

Posted on by Dominic Nelson
Our March Pub of the Month presentation took place at the Rutland Arms on Tuesday 13 March and was a well attended and enjoyable evening. As always, there was an excellent range of real ales available, with a variety of styles including bitters, pales and even a mild! As the presentation took place during Sheffield Beer Week, it coincided with a tap takeover featuring Norwegian craft brewers Haandbryggeriet for those who wanted to try something a little different. Outgoing social secretary Patrick Johnson made what could be his last Pub of the Month presentation to pub manager Heather Griffin, and afterwards we were treated to a range of free sandwiches, which were very much appreciated. Congratulations once again to owners Kate and Chris, managers Heather and Pete and all the Rutland staff on their award.

Autumn District Pub of the Season presentation

Posted on by Dominic Nelson
Saturday 17 February saw the presentation of our Autumn 2017 District Pub of the Season award at the Rambler Inn in Edale. A minibus full of Sheffield & District CAMRA members headed out into the Peak District for the occasion, with stops made in Calver, Wardlow Mires and Tideswell en route to Edale. The Rambler was a stop on one of our recent trips out to the Derbyshire part of our branch, and it subsequently saw a late run of votes to take the Autumn award. The pub, which is especially popular with walkers (if the name didn’t already give it away!), so dogs and muddy boots are more than welcome. There are up to five real ales on offer, with beers from local breweries sometimes available as guests.
Left to right: Helen Metcalf, Mick Saxton and Steve Elliott. Credit: John Beardshaw
The day we visited was especially busy, but a couple of minutes and a little space by the bar were found so that the presentation could be made. Branch chairman Mick Saxton handed over the award, which was gratefully received by landlord Steve Elliott. Congratulations again to Steve and his team on their award. All of our awards are voted for by our branch members. However, due to a lack of votes, we have been unable to name a District Pub of the Season winner for Winter 2017. The existing nominees have therefore been carried forward to the Spring 2018 vote. As always, votes can be cast via the website or at any branch meeting. Dominic Nelson

Pub of the Month March 2018

Posted on by Dominic Nelson
This month’s Pub of the Month winner, as voted for by our members, is a pub well-known around the Sheffield real ale scene. The Rutland Arms on Brown Street is a city-centre haven for beer drinkers, with seven cask ales on offer (including regulars from local brewery Blue Bee), plus up to two real ciders, seven craft keg lines and a range of lagers. To top it all off, there’s also a legendary food menu. The Rutland is a small, traditional pub with the tiled exterior and windows (most of them) saved from its days as a multi-room Gilmour’s pub. There is also a comfortable, heated beer garden out the back. Despite the classic characteristics, the atmosphere is helped by a changing exhibition of art on the walls and a jukebox with a list of banned songs to be ignored at your peril! There’s a fairly young, fun and friendly team behind the bar, and a great team in the kitchen too. Food is served until 9pm every day except Sunday, when the kitchen closes at 6pm. The pub hosts regular events, such as tap takeovers and Christmas parties, and has a very active social media presence to keep its punters up-to-date on the latest goings-on. We’ll be presenting the Pub of the Month winner’s certificate to the Rutland team on the evening of Tuesday 13 March. Everyone is welcome to join us on the night; we’ll be arriving from around 8ish for a presentation at about 9pm.

Pub of the Month presentations

Posted on by Dominic Nelson
Since last month’s Beer Matters came out, we have had the pleasure of presenting two pubs with their Sheffield & District CAMRA Pub of the Month awards.
Patrick Johnson presents Eyre Arms landlord Sam Smith with the January Pub of the Month award (Credit: John Beardshaw)
On Saturday 27 January, a minibus-load of members headed out into the Peak District for the first of the two presentations. After visiting a few other excellent pubs along the way, we arrived at the Old Eyre Arms in Hassop to hand over the January award. This was actually the first time in almost three years that a pub in the Derbyshire part of our branch had been voted Pub of the Month, so the accolade was even more notable. Our social secretary, Patrick Johnson, was on hand to present the certificate to pub owner Sam Smith, who expressed his delight and especially thanked the CAMRA members for their votes.
Branch chairman Mick Saxton hands over the February Pub of the Month award to the Sheaf View’s Josh Hayton (Credit: John Beardshaw)
Two weeks later on 13 February, we visited one of Sheffield’s more well-known real ale pubs for the February award. The Sheaf View was filled with CAMRA members and pub regulars alike for an evening of celebration, where all were kindly treated to complimentary chilli and crusty bread. Beers on offer included the usual selection of regular and seasonal beers from Neepsend Brew Co, plus four guest ales. Branch chairman Mick Saxton presented Josh Hayton and his staff with the certificate, which will join the sizeable collection from the pub’s previous wins. Congratulations once again to both of our winners on their awards. Dominic Nelson

Pub of the Month February 2018

Posted on by Dominic Nelson
Our Pub of the Month winner for February 2018, voted for as always by CAMRA members, is a pub that needs little introduction. Since being refurbished and reopened as a freehouse in 2000 by James Birkett (who also owns the Wellington at Shalesmoor and the Blake Hotel in Walkley), the Sheaf View in Heeley has won our monthly award several times, most recently back in June 2015. Anyone who has visited the Sheaf View will know that the priority here is the provision of high-quality drinks, especially real ales. Kelham Island’s Easy Rider is always available, as well as a seasonal beer from Neepsend Brewery and a selection of up to six guests from around Yorkshire (and further afield) on offer at any time. The pub is decorated with a fantastic range of brewing memorabilia and the layout, including the conservatory to the rear, provides the ideal setting to drink and relax. As well as cask ales, there is an extensive selection of bottled beers available, including several Belgian beers, at least one real cider and a good selection of Scotch malt whiskies. A regular entry in CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide, the Sheaf View attracts real ale aficionados from all over the country and is popular with Sheffield United fans, so it can get quite busy on match days. There is also a well-attended pub quiz which takes place every Wednesday evening. The award celebration will take place on Tuesday 13 February, with the presentation of the certificate around 9pm. For those travelling by public transport, the pub is 200 yards from Gleadless Road bus stop on London Road (routes 10, 20, 25, 43 and 44), or about the same distance from Richards Road stop (routes 18, 19 and 56). We look forward to seeing you there.

December Pub of the Month presentation

Posted on by Dominic Nelson
On 12 December 2017, around 15 members from Sheffield & District CAMRA visited the Head of Steam on Norfolk Street for the presentation of the December Pub of the Month award. Branch chairman Mick Saxton made the presentation to the pub’s general manager, Mark Connor. There were 10 real ales available on the night, and with a 20p per pint discount on offer for CAMRA members, an enjoyable pre-Christmas pint was enjoyed by all. Congratulations once again to Mark and all the staff at the Head of Steam on their award.

District Pub of the Season Autumn 2017

Posted on by Dominic Nelson
We are pleased to announce that the award for District Pub of the Season for Autumn 2017, voted for by branch members, has gone to the Rambler Country House Hotel in Edale. This large country pub, situated right next to Edale railway station, is ever-popular with Peak District walkers, with dogs and muddy boots welcome. Five real ales are available here, with regular offerings Otter Ale and Wychwood Hobgoblin joined by three guest ales, which often include beers from local breweries such as Bradfield. The pub also features a children’s animal area with ponies, goats and chickens. Sheffield & District CAMRA will be running a minibus trip to the Rambler for the award presentation on 17 February; the full itinerary will be announced soon. Places can be booked through our social secretary, Patrick Johnson. Congratulations to Steve and everyone at the Rambler on their award!