Category: Breweries

Brewery Bits

Posted on by Guest

Saint Mars of the Desert is in preparation for this summer’s SMOD fest with the acquisition of two Holzfass barrels that they are in the process of repitching. 

These traditional German wooden serving vessels contain beer packaged during fermentation, and the beer is known as “ungespundet” in Germany.

In the meantime new releases include Welcome to the neighbourhood a pale NZ-hopped IPA with Nelson Sauvin and Nectaron, 5%. and fresh Jack D’Or their original hoppy golden Belgian-inspired saison beer, 7.4%.

A new beer from Dead Parrot Brewery spotted on the bar at Perch in May was Repeat, a 4.2% ABV Mosaic hopped pale ale.

Beers coming out of Blue Bee‘s brewhouse in April and May include a session pale ale brewed with the new Pink hop variety, a new IPA hopped with Idaho7 and Krush, American Five Hop version 89 and the special for Kelham Pride which is a west coast pale hopped with Simcoe and Pink Boots. Also making a comeback is their Ginger Beer, although only a small batch so get it while you can!

Bradfield Brewery‘s seasonal special in May was Nettle Nectar which will be followed by Farmers World Cup Ale which is described as a light pale hoppy beer with a kick of fruit and a refreshing taste.

New from Intrepid Brewing is Roke, named after the old dialect for the valley mists often experienced in our part of the Peak District. The beer falls into the stronger end of the session strengths at 4.8% and is hopped with Centennial and Citra in the whirlpool, Idaho 7 at pitch then dry hopped with more Citra and Idaho 7. The beer is fermented with saturated yeast for those peachy esters.

They held their first brewery open day on Saturday 2 May with a range of their beers on the bar, seating out in the year and Sunshine Pizza trading outside.

Eyam Brewery have again brewed the 11% ABV imperial edition of their Black Death Vanilla Stout and it is available in bottles from their brewery shop, with a click and collect facility available. The regular Black Death is 7% ABV and is available across cask, keg and bottle. Other dark beers offered include Bring Out Your Dead, a 4.4% ABV cappuccino stout and Eyam Plague, a 4.8% traditional stout. Their brewery is in Great Hucklow and the tap room is in Tideswell.

Fuggle Bunny Brew House continue to open for additionally tap days on the last Saturday of the month, usually with a food trader and live music planned.

Little Mesters have won an award for their Royd’s Bitter in a recent SIBA competition.

Kelham Island have been collaborating with Blackjack Brew Co to produce The Beautiful North, a 4.8% ABV pale ale. The away fixture saw the keg version brewed whilst the version brewed back home at Thornbridge was the cask version, which was launched on 20 May at the Botanical Arms micropub on Ecclesall Road.

Getting mild in May

Posted on by Guest

As part of a programme of campaigns to highlight classic beer styles that some may consider to be endagered CAMRA has for many years championed Mild during May. Mild is a style that is designed to be easy drinking with subtle flavours and low bitterness. There are both dark and pale versions.

A couple of local breweries were promoting a mild in May with Stancill brewing a range of three!

Mild Steel 3.5%- If you like Stancill’s Stainless pale ale, you’ll love Mild Steel. With all the fresh, crisp character of their iconic core ale, but with a much milder ABV. Mild Steel is made with all-British hops.

Tom’s Mild 3.4%, Stancill’s regularly available signature mild, is named after their co-founder Tom! This is a smooth, creamy, dark mild with a nutty biscuit note. Tom’s Mild is characteristically sweet with a gentle late hop aroma. Well balanced, moreish and extremely drinkable.

Ruby Mild 4.9% – It’s been over five years since they brewed a Ruby Mild. This one is ruby red in colour with a strong nuttiness and flavours of berries. A velvety mouthfeel of melted milk chocolate make this a luxuriously pleasurable pint.

Meanwhile over at Thornbridge the May cask release in their year of beer programme of monthly seasonal specials was a mild, although perhaps a less traditional version being a coffee mild, although at 3.8% ABV is still easy drinking!

Abbeydale Brewery

Posted on by Guest

Joining our Legacy Series of fondly remembered beers from the archives as part of our 30th anniversary celebrations, we’re bringing back Drop Hammer (4.3%) for a limited time only. A classic copper coloured bitter, satisfying and well-balanced.

We’ve got an exciting collaboration on the way with the excellent folk at Colbier, from Liverpool. In the Elements will be a 6.5% Baltic Porter brewed using a No. 19 Maris Otter, a special heritage floor malted version of our base grain, riffing alongside UK grown Olicana and Jester hops. Expect layers of robust, toasty flavours alongside smooth waves of caramel sweetness, with a rounded bitterness encore.

And of course we have our usual vast selection of delicious pale ales available too! Returning specials this month are Summer (3.9%), hopped with Vic Secret, Mosaic and Galaxy for a tropical, approachable and aromatic pale ale, and Doctor Morton’s Cask Paint (4.1%), with Amarillo and Chinook hops for notes of subtle tangerine and a punchy bitterness. Joining them we have a new addition to our botanical print inspired range, Sunsprite Rose (4.3%). This one is hopped with Styrian Dragon which holds delicate rose notes, and Styrian Eagle, bringing a pleasant citrussy character.

Brewery Bits

Posted on by Andy Cullen

New from Dead Parrot Brewery on the bar at Perch in March was “Hill”, an American Pale Ale brewed with Aurora hops. It is 4.2% ABV and has a strong grapefruit character to it!

Recent brews at Blue Bee includes American 5 hop version 88 which involves lots of Columbus hops along with Simco, Chinook and others; a new session pale ale involving pink hops plus a special house beer for Itchy Pig Alehouse in Banner Cross brewed with Simcoe, Mosaic and Chinook hops.

Another new beer from Drone Valley Brewery, who are celebrating their 10th anniversary this year, is Volunteer Pale Ale, celebrating that most of the brewery’s staff are volunteers raising money for local good causes.

April 2026 saw Bradfield Brewery celebrate their 21st birthday and a new beer released in bottles – Farmers Imperial Milk Stout. It is 7.4% ABV, rich and full bodied with notes of cocoa, liquorice and dried fruit in the taste, carrying through to a lasting creamy finish thanks to the addition of lactose.

New from Duality Brew Co in cask, keg and can is Twist the Arrows, a 4.5% ABV hazy pale ale. It is brewed with generous quantities of Simcoe, Azacca and El Dorado hops offering a juicy character with subtle dank edge underneath and fairly low bitterness.

Triple Point have released a Blood Orange flavoured version of their Cryo Pale Ale.

Tapped Brew Co have updated their branding with new round pump clips. Seen on the bar of the Sheffield Tap launching the new look line up was Brook (Porter), Sheaf Street (session IPA), Mojo (session pale) and Bramling (Golden Ale).

At the Brewery of St Mars of the Desert the arrival of spring meant two things – the tap room opening for the 2026 season and the release of Fleurs de Printemps (Spring Flowers), a 5.4% ABV Belgian inspired blonde ale.

Neepsend Brewery cask ales recently seen on the bar at the Wellington (their tap pub next to Shalesmoor tram stop) include Dolcita (4.5% ABV pale ale brewed with Citra and Dolcita hops), Athena (6.4% ABV New England IPA brewed with Citra, Amarillo and El Dorado hops), Vulcan (3.9% ABV traditional bitter brewed with Challenger and EKG hops) – plus of course their regular beer, Blonde, which is a 4% ABV Gluten free ale brewed with Cascade, Chinook and Brewers Gold hops.

Thornbridge Brewery are now several months into their 2026 “Year of Beer” monthly specials, on cask April saw the release of Quasar, a 4.5% ABV European pale ale whilst on keg it was Golden Spike, a 5.7% ABV West Coast IPA. Coming up in May on cask is Present, a 3.8% ABV coffee mild, then in June look out for Long Days – a 4.6% ABV summer ale.

A planning application to set up a nanobrewery in the Meersbrook area has been submitted by Christopher Derbyshire, known for his work as a brewer at Heist.

Abbeydale Brewery

Posted on by Guest

Here’s what we’ve got coming up this month… and hopefully, you’ll be able to come and try them at Abbeydale Beerworks, our new taproom on Abbeydale Road! At the time of writing work is well underway and we hope to be open by early May, but please do check before you make the journey. This is a really exciting time for us and we can’t wait to welcome you! Anyway, here’s what we will have available for pubs across the city and beyond…

Hop on the Penistone Line (4.0%) will be a collaboration with Woodland Brewing – where we’ll be welcoming back Ash, who has recently started working there after almost 5 years with Team Abbeydale! Citra, Riwaka and Nectaron hops combine in this tantalisingly tropical pale ale with notes of juicy peach and aromatic passionfruit.

From our Restoration series of classic styles we’ll have a 4.1% Yorkshire Bitter, well-balanced and easy drinking with a delicately floral flavour set alongside hints of pine, followed up with a pleasing bitterness in the finish.

There’s some kind of international sports ball tournament on the horizon so a new Willamette hopped pale ale, Dr Morton’s Verified Ale Recipient (4.1%), is here to ease the misery of constant kicking. It’s a game of two halves, no wait, that’s a pint.

And Cardon Cactus (3.9%) is new to our series with artwork inspired by vintage botanical prints. As this one features a giant Mexican cactus, we just had to go with a hop from the Neomexicanus subspecies! This tasty pale ale showcases Sabro, joined by spicy, grapefruity Chinook.

Finally there’s a couple of delicious stouts on the way too – the latest in our Salvation series will be a smooth, sweet and fruity 4.8% Dark Chocolate and Raspberry Stout. And as part of our 30th anniversary year we’ve got the first imperial stout in a while due for release too, Lost Souls will be a big, bold and boozy 11.0% classic impy. Complex and carefully crafted, full bodied and warming with luscious vanilla bringing a hint of extravagance to the drinking experience. 

Brewery Bits

Posted on by Andy Cullen

Recent beers produced at Blue Bee Brewery have included a 5% ABV pale ale brewed with Nelson and Nectaron hops and the 4th iteration of Five Malt Mild.

A beer making a comeback after 12 years is Sgt Pepper Stout. This was orginally brewed by David McLaren back in his Spire Brewery days, he was since involved with Drone Valley Brewery who are brewing it to his original recipe. The beer is a 5.5% ABV stout laced with black pepper to give it a mildly spicy kick!

Also new from Drone Valley, who are celebrating their 10th anniversary this year, is “Community”, a 4.4% ABV English pale ale celebrating their status as a community owned enterprise where profits go to local good causes.

New from Bradfield Brewery is Holy Cow, a 7.8% IPA.This is a limited edition beer and is available in bottles and cask. It is the hoppiest beer Bradfield has ever brewed and the varieties involved are El Dorado, Azacca and Vista. In addition a rum barrel aged version is coming soon.

Eyam Brewery now has planning consent to convert their Tideswell premises into a tap room with kitchen and shop. They can now go through the process to get a permanent premises licence. Until then they will be running occasional pop up tap events again using temporary event notices, the first being Easter weekend.

Abbeydale Brewery

Posted on by Guest

Due to popular demand, Dark Mild is BACK! A classic 4.0% true to style mild, Expect smooth, balanced malt sweetness, a touch of roast character and hints of coffee. The ultimate classic British hop, Fuggles, provides a gentle bitterness.

New to the imaginarium of Dr Morton we find Mental Polish (4.3%), hopped with Galaxy and Idaho 7 for a vivid and vibrant fruity character, notably tropical and soft citrus flavours.

And we’re incredibly excited to announce the relaunch of Matins (3.6%) – one of the original trio of Abbeydale pales, back for a limited time only with a new home in our Legacy Series to help us celebrate our 30th anniversary! Brewery founder Pat Morton began making Matins back in 1996. With its sessionable ABV and easily quaffable flavour it was heralded as his ‘breakfast beer’! Crisp, fresh and clean – pleasantly grassy with a delicious noble hop character.

From the Brewers Emporium we have a new Wanderer, a 6.2% Hazy IPA. Hopped with oodles of Krush, backed up by Citra and Idaho 7, it sings of mango, guava and a cornucopia of citrus. We’ve also got the welcome return of Treehouse, a 4.5% West Coast Pale Ale – bold and punchy with Amarillo, Simcoe and Cascade hops.

Finally, keep your eyes peeled for news of the opening of Abbeydale Beerworks – our very own taproom, coming soon to 298 Abbeydale Road, just round the corner from the brewery! Our hope is for it to be a destination for beer lovers to find our latest brews and small batch specials, as well as a venue for hosting exclusive tasting events. It’s something we’ve waited a long time for, and we hope you’re all as excited as we are!

To keep up to date with all the latest developments, you can find Abbeydale Beerworks on Facebook and Instagram, where we’ll be sharing our journey every step of the way! 

Neepsend Craft Beer Festival

Posted on by Andy Cullen

Neepsend Craft Beer Festival, held at Peddlers Warehouse on 27 and 28 February, predominantly features brewery bars and street food traders, however one of the attractions hosted by the festival organisers is a dedicated cask ale bar showcasing breweries from around Sheffield and North Derbyshire with the ticket price including a complimentary drink from this bar.

Announced as supplying this bar so far are Heist, Triple Point, Intrepid, Tapped Brew Co, Bradfield, Abbeydale, Little Critters, Duality, Ashover, Neepsend, Blue Bee, Loxley and Temper.

Visitors are also invited to vote for their favourite cask beer on the bar.

Sheffield Beer Week

Posted on by Dan Rowe

I was recently invited by George Bushell from the Shakespeare to join him and his colleague Charlie Slack at Loxley Brewery for a brewday. As part of Sheffield Beer Week, the Shakespeare is currently working with several Sheffield breweries and local businesses to produce a range of collaboration beers which will be available during Beer Week – watch the Shakespeare’s socials for details, but at time of writing these were planned to include:

  • Loxley – Bitter
  • Abbeydale – El Dorado Deception
  • Little Critters with Nam Song (Vietnamese restaurant in Broomhill) – Vietnamese coffee stout
  • Little Mesters/Emmanuales – NZ Rye Pale
  • Duality Brew Co with Freak St (Nepalese cafe in Walkley) – Juicy IPA
  • Triple Point – Miso Caramel Mild (and some special pins)

Not all are yet brewed and some may change! A launch is planned for Monday 9 March.

Loxley Brewery was started in 2018 by David Woodhead in a disused garage beneath the Wisewood Inn in Loxley. David, a friend of Wisewood’s owner Stephen Wesley, home brewed before taking on the new role and now mostly supplies beer to Wisewood, Raven (Walkley) and No3 (Sharrow) as well as producing bottle-conditioned real ale on premises. With his assistant Christian, David brews about 3 times a fortnight on the 5BBL custom-built kit.

George, Charlie and I all arrived when the mash was already on, and got to have a good chat with David and Christian about the brewery, and David’s brewing history and prior life in the steel industry. We did a lot of standing around with further talk during the sparge phase – in advance of the day the major elements I knew of for the brewing process were the amounts of waiting involved, with intermittent bursts of cleaning – all of which proved true.

We took turns to ceremoniously shovel bins of spent grain from the tun, which all goes to a good home as animal feed. We also weighed up the hops for the boil, probably our only other contribution for the day! I found it to be a very interesting day and having only had a basic understanding of the steps involved, it was a good learning experience for all the hard work that goes into every pint we sit down with.

At this point the Wisewood Inn had opened for the day and we celebrated what should be an excellent bitter with a pint and a chip butty! 

A huge thanks to everyone at Loxley, the Wisewood Inn and the Shakespeare – keep an eye on their social media for upcoming events and where to drink the beer when it’s out.

Brewery Bits

Posted on by Andy Cullen

Recent brews at Blue Bee include a 4% pale ale brewed with a new hop called Karma and a red rye ale triple hopped with Mosaic, Citra and Ekuanot.

New from Drone Valley Brewery is “Route A61”, an American Red Rye Ale, celebrating the brewery’s 10th birthday. For those that don’t know the area part of the A61 road is the Dronfield bypass!

Another recent seasonal was Union Pale, a 4.1% ABV session pale ale brewed with Simcoe and Mosaic hops to coincide with the Six Nations rugby.

As is usual in February, Bradfield Brewery celebrated Valentines Day with their “Farmers Blushed”, a 4% ABV light fruity ale blushed with strawberries to give a sweet, refreshing finish. Then for March their Farmers Milk Stout is making a comeback in cask. Additionally they will be releasing a special beer for Sheffield Beer Week.

Chin Chin Brewery in South Kirkby near Pontefract is holding one of their regular open weekends from 6 to 8 March from 1pm to 9pm each day. It features craft beer, live music and food stalls. The brewery is a 10 minute walk from Moorthorpe railway station on the Sheffield to Leeds line.

Changes are afoot on the brewery side at Heist Brew Co. with the rented fermenting vessels being returned and new kit due to be installed.

Thornbridge has brewed a stout on their Burton Union kit for the first time and have gone big for this one – it’s a 7.7% ABV Imperial Stout!

Things have gone a bit quiet on the Eyam Brewery tap room front with planning applications required then once the conversion work is authorised there is then licencing to sort – it isn’t a quick process! In the meantime they may host another pop up or two using temporary event notices and of course there are a number of pubs in the area that sell the beer.

New from Tapped Brew Co in their single hop series is “Mandarina Bavaria”, a 4% ABV pale ale described as “fruity, fun and fresh!

Sam from Little Mesters Brewing has been over to visit Torrside brewery for a collaboration brew. The resulting beer is expected to be “a little liquid sunshine” – a New Zealand Pale Ale brewed with Nelson Sauvin and Nectaron hops.