Category: Breweries

Intrepid brewery is holding another open day on 30 September as it seems the fashion to host Oktoberfests! As usual there will be a pop up bar in the brewery and Sunshine Pizza out in the yard to feed visitors along with Calum Audio (off of the neighbouring unit) providing the tunes. The brewery is in the Vincent Works complex in Brough, which is on the road between Hope and Bradwell. Buses on route 272 (Sheffield-Castleton) that go via Bradwell will drop you off at the end of the drive, bus 173 (Bakewell-Castleton) also stops there.

The Rugby world cup in August/September saw a special Bradfield beer brewed for the occasion, Farmers Line Out was a 4.7% bitter.

Recent beers noted from BrewSocial include “Rubber Duck”, a 6% Admiral IPA, “New Season”, a 4% Amarillo hopped session pale and “Going With the Flow”, a 4.2% Cascade hopped session pale.

Sheffield Mead has been packaging a rather special mead in bottle and keg – it is Barrel fermented with Brett and Kveik Redcurrant Mead. It’s light, funky, dry and tart. Lead with a honey aroma from Peak District Heather Honey and beautifully easy drinking. On the beer side Grizzly Grain is again brewing a green hopped beer using freshly picked locally grown hops, look out for this once a year special in the pubs soon!

We’ve teamed up with our good friends at Ossett Brewery to create a hybrid between two of our much loved core beers! After making Silver Moon at their place earlier this year (no prizes for working out this was a mash-up of Moonshine and Silver King!), our recipe is a fusion of Deception and White Rat. Name currently TBC but expect a delicious and classic pale ale with a robust bitterness and fruity character.

Doctor Morton’s Four Yorkshiremen make a return, with Simcoe and Amarillo hops giving notes of spicy pine coupled with juicy stone fruits, and a pleasant citrus bitterness.

And a special double release is coming up too. Archangel and Dark Angel will both be 4.5% and feature the same hops, but one a pale and one a stout! This has been a really fun project so we’re looking forward to trying them side by side.

From our Brewers Emporium, the freshest variation of our Heathen APA is a showcase of new innovations which are making waves in the beer world! Incognito Heathen (4.1%) is single hopped with Mosaic, which this time is added in Incognito and Spectrum form – these are cutting edge hop products which bring maximum flavour impact in a super efficient, more environmentally friendly way. Expect big citrus notes, a punchy tropical character, and a clean, zesty finish.

And finally, we’re joining the battle for the Soul of Sheffield, with a 5.6% amplified IPA brewed in collaboration with Sheffield institution and legend of late nights, The Leadmill. Single hopped with Vic Secret for a clean and vibrant character with oodles of tropical fruit notes riffing alongside a delicately herbal finish. At the time of typing, we’re awaiting the outcome of the public hearing which takes place on 18^th September, but whatever happens, #wecantloseleadmill. 

Yorkshire’s multi award-winning Acorn Brewery is set for growth with a change of ownership at the 20-year-old Barnsley brewery.

Launched in 2003 on an ex-Firkin 10-brewers-barrel plant, Acorn’s cask-ales quickly gained renown to see expansion to a 25-barrel brewery in Wombwell. Today there is the capacity to produce 170 brewers-barrels (278 hectolitres) a week with  annual turnover of some £1m.

Now, directors Dave and Christy Hughes have decided that new ownership is needed to take the business forward. The brewery has been sold to Sonas Capital; a Greater Manchester based company specialising in developing successful small businesses (SMEs).

Over the years, Acorn has been much celebrated for its traditional Barnsley Bitter (3.8%abv) and Old Moor Porter (4.4%abv) in its core range.* Most recently Barnsley Bitter took overall champion at the SIBA (Society of Independent Brewers) North Beer Competition.

With the sale, the employment of the seven strong brewery team has been secured and a general manager will be recruited. Founder Dave Hughes will continue in a consultancy role for the forseeable future while Christy will take retirement, due to recent ill-health.

Dave Hughes said: “We have enjoyed 20 successful years since launching in Barnsley with just my late first wife Judy and our current brewer Steve Bunting. In recent years, with Christy heading marketing and sales, we have continued to drive the brewery forward, despite being badly hit by the Covid pandemic. Throughout lockdowns we continually brewed, pouring the beer away, to regularly refresh our unique original Barnsley Brewery yeast strain from the 1800s, so we recovered quickly. Now we feel we have taken the business as far as we can and we are handing it on in very good shape to Sonas.  

“We wish to thank the team for their loyal support across the years. I look forward to continuing to work with them in my consultancy role. We must also thank our valued suppliers, loyal trade customers and, of course, our ever-faithful fans for their ongoing support for our beers.”

“This is a very exciting time for Acorn and we would like to reassure those suppliers, licensees and beer fans that the brewery is going into good hands. We are confident that Sonas will continue to reflect our passion with the energy and impetus to take the business forward, maintaining our highest standards of products and service under our banner of Tradition and Innovation.”

Acorn directly supplies outlets across the North of England and further afield through wholesalers and pub companies. The core of the business remains cask-conditioned ale but bottled and keg beers are also produced. Barnsley Bitter and Old Moor Porter are exported to Italy in keg and bottle in summer with some supplied in cask for the winter months.

Brendan Fitzpatrick of Sonas said: “Acorn has an outstanding reputation for their product quality and great service and we see the business as a perfect fit for our portfolio. We are dedicated to empowering companies through investment and strong marketing to realise their full potential.

“Dave and Christy Hughes are delighted to be working closely with the founder of Sonas Capital, a boutique investment business who just also happen to love beer, as they begin their transition away from the business. Dave will move to a more technical and creative role alongside the brewing team whilst the Sonas team will focus on the development and growth of the business in what are challenging times for the industry.”

Acorn was advised on the deal by Brian McCann and Angela Downey from Shareholder Strategies as well as Ryan Marr from Jolliffes Solicitors. Sonas Capital was advised by Guy Bartlett from Fidelis Advisory and Tom Sutcliffe from Excello Law.

Acorn is acclaimed for brewing more than 150 single hop variety IPAs (India Pale Ales) since 2006 – only the hops change for each carefully crafted cask brew and each release has been warmly welcomed. To mark the brewery’s 20^th anniversary a celebratory pale ale ‘Two Decades’ (4%abv) will be brewed for the Wetherspoons annual beer festival in October.

The new Kelham Island Brewery Company have added a second beer alongside Pale Rider – their own version of Gold Label, a barley wine at 9.9% ABV. Kelham beers are currently brewed at Thornbridge in Bakewell.

Grizzly Grain Brewery, the home of Sheffield Mead, has in their latest mead experiment filled an oak cask with Peak District Heather Honey, Rivelin Valley Blossom Honey, Organic Redcurrants and water to see what comes out after fermentation! Meanwhile on the beer side of things released on cask is “Milk Crate Throne”, a hazy pale ale brewed with Waimea, Motueka and Enigma hops.

Eyam brewery’s final beer in their summer special series – 8/23 (as in August 2023!) was a dry hopped summer pale ale with a light floral aroma at a sessionable 4.2% ABV. It is available exclusively in cask.

Bradfield Brewery have introduced a new Light Ale, at an easy drinking ABV of 3.4%. It is brewed with British hops and has a tropical fruit aroma. Looking further ahead their usual seasonal rotation will be featuring into the autumn and winter including Jack O’Lantern for Halloween, Poppy Ale for Armistace Day and Rememberence Sunday then of course Belgian Blue for Christmas!

Meanwhile on the bottled beer side of things at Bradfield, a gluten free version of Farmers Blonde and Farmers Brown Cow has now been launched, available from the brewery shop.

Fuggle Bunny Brew House continue to run some Saturday tap events as well as their usual Friday openings, Saturday 26 August (bank holiday weekend) sees live music from Celana Deans and the street food offering is Paella.

A recent collaboration brew at Heist Brew Co., with Dexter & Jones, is “Whose Round Is It Anyway?”, a juicy 5% ABV IPA with tropical, citrus & pine flavours.

Little Critters have launched a new session IPA, “Spot On”, which is a sensible 4.3% ABV.

Little Mesters Brewing are planning on opening “Mesters Tap” soon, in Woodseats – the little bar that used to be the Bulldog Value bar and Sports Shack before that. Keep an eye on their socials and website for any announcements!

Lost Industry recently brewed a collaboration with the Gin Bar of Abbeydale Road with the idea of a beer that not only is good to drink as it comes but also perfect to be a cocktail ingredient! The beer is “Smokin Paloma Sour” and the flavour involves grapefruit and liquid smoke!

Triple Point Brewing picked up gongs in this years World Beer Awards for four of their beers – Tinto, Libertas, Catharina and Kerlsch.

Peak Ales have a new Mango Pale Ale and have released a small batch of it in cask for pubs.

Resting Devil, the brewery based in the Chesterfield Arms pub, has won a Great Taste Award for their Chatsworth Honey Ale. This beer is available in bottles from the Chatsworth farm shop.

Sheffield breweries, True North Brew Co. and Abbeydale Brewery have teamed up to bring the Sheffield Half Pint Marathon back for its eighth year!

The month-long charity event will run throughout September in 13 of Sheffield’s favourite bars and pubs, with each brewery offering a special edition beer. ‘Tempo’ from True North Brew Co. and ‘Set The Pace’ from Abbeydale Brewery will be available in all participating venues. For each Half Pint Marathon beer purchased throughout September, a donation will be made to local charity Sheffield Mind.

Sheffield Mind is a Sheffield-based charity which provides support to people with mental health issues. Sheffield Mind Business Development Manager Lindsay Doyle-Price said “Sheffield Mind is delighted to be a part of the Sheffield Half Pint Marathon again this year. The ongoing support of True North Brew Co. and the support of Abbeydale Brewery this year means a lot to us.

Not only does this annual partnership generate much-needed funds to support the work we do in the city, but by engaging local people in the campaign the teams are helping raise awareness of mental health and the work Sheffield Mind does to support people with mental health needs.”

The premise of the Sheffield Half Pint Marathon is simple – at the starting venue of your choice, you will receive your Half Pint Marathon card. Then, for each venue you visit and purchase one of the speciality beers in, you receive a sticker. Register online, and when your card is completed, you will receive an email to let you know when and where you can collect your limited-edition print.

The Sheffield Half Pint Marathon print features hand-drawn illustrations of the participating venues by the incredibly talented Will Rea.

Participants can complete the marathon at their own pace, in a day, week or even over the whole month.

Dean Hollingworth, Brewer at True North Brew Co. said “The Sheffield Half Pint Marathon is something we’re proud to hold every year.

It’s a fantastic opportunity for people to get together and visit some of Sheffield’s best independent pubs and bars. We’re looking forward to seeing people enjoy our special edition beers ‘Tempo’ from us and ‘Set the Pace’ from Abbeydale Brewery and, more importantly, raising money for Sheffield Mind”

Sam Webber from Abbeydale Brewery said: “We were delighted when True North approached us to be part of the Half Pint Marathon this year. It’s a great concept that brings together a fantastic list of pubs for drinkers to enjoy the beers at, as well as supporting an important charity.”

Whether you’re a local or a visitor, beer lover or beer novice, the Sheffield Half Pint Marathon is not to be missed!

The Sheffield Half Pint Marathon runs throughout September 2023. More information is available at www.truenorthbrewco.uk/halfpintmarathon or on socials @sheffhalfpint.

• Stag’s Head
• Beer House S6
• Riverside Kelham
• Rising Sun
• Broadfield
• Waggon & Horses
• Head of Steam
• Beer House
• Old Grindstone
• Raven
• York
• Punchbowl
• Forum Cafe Bar

We’re getting September off to a celebratory start! New from our Restoration series we have an Irish Red Ale (4.3%), a special release created especially for our brewer Thom’s wedding to the lovely Lisa. Gently sweet with notes of caramel, balanced by a piney, spicy edge. The addition of Columbus, Cascade and Centennial gives a modern American-style twist and a fresh, light bitterness. 

For our cask only specials, we’re starting to head towards autumn with Harvested (4.1%), a lip-smacking pale ale with Galaxy hops for a deliciously tropical flavour and delicate notes of melon. Doctor Morton’s Demon Drink (4.2%) features Citra, Cascade and Chinook hops for a citrussy character and a gentle grassiness. And from our Geoglyph series we’ll have Ursa Major (4.0%), easy drinking with a punchy bitter finish.

AND IT’S BACK… yes it’s that time of year again and our Pumpkin Spiced Ale Pilgrim (5.0%) will be rolling out from the middle of the month ready to get you in the mood for spooky shenanigans. And this year it’s got a stouty friend! Twilight Pilgrim (also 5.0%) is ready to make its debut – we’re keeping some of the details under wraps just for now, but we absolutely can’t wait for this one.  

Grizzly Grains have released a new beer hopped with Citra and Belma, named “Get Going”. Expect big fruit flavours in this – ripe strawberry, pineapple and grapefruit. Available in cask and keg. Since then the brewery has received delivery of some Australian hops and Sam is looking forward to using them!

As with last year, Bradfield Brewery‘s August seasonal beer is Blueberry Ale, a refreshing malty session strength beer (4.4% ABV) with fruity, spicy overtones and a not too unusual blue tint to the head!

Fuggle Bunny Brew House continue to open every Friday for a tap session, selected dates now also has “As Tha Got Beef?” in attendance serving burgers up to go with your beer! Upcoming dates include 28 July, 18 August, 1 September and 15 September. Additionally they are opening Saturday 29 July from 2pm to 9pm with live music and pizza.

Triple Point Brewing had brought back their Kashmir Mountain IPA for the summer. It is a similar recipe to their award winning Debut IPA but at a more sessionable 4.4% and in terms of style combines the juiciness of a New England IPA with the bitterness of a West Coast IPA with just the right balance provided by the Centennial, Kashmir, Citra and Admiral hops.

Grizzly Grain may be best known for their beers, however brewer Sam is also behind Sheffield Mead and has been enjoying experimenting a bit with honey based beverages! For those following what he has being doing a visit to the tap sessions at the brewery provides an opportunity to try his regular mead, however on Thursday 6 July a special event was organised at Shakespeares Ale & Cider House on Gibralter Street.

Two special things were available from cask on the night – a batch of session mead had been put in cask and served on handpump and a pin of Belgian style honey braggot was on the bar on gravity serve. Additionally Sam was hosting a tasting of a number of bottled meads, complimented by cheese, honey and crackers (not just any of course – charcoal sourdough crackers with local cheese & honey!)

The mead in cask was Sam’s session strength (3.9% ABV) version with Motueka hops added. This had a wonderful honey aroma and subtle flavours from the hops, it was served still and refreshing. Those folk attending the Cider & Mead festival at Heist on 15 July will have been able to try a version put in keg and served sparkling for comparison.

Available in bottle to try was another variation of the session mead, with the addition of locally foraged elderflower and fermented with Kviek yeast, making a lovely fruity and floral drink to refresh on a hot summers day!

On the stronger side at 10% ABV (although not strong by mead standards I’m told!) to try in bottle was Bochet mead. This is made to a traditional medieval recipe where the honey is boiled in a cauldron then fermented with Norwegian farmhouse Kwiek yeast. It is full flavoured with notes of sweet toffee, caramel honey and tangerine on the flavour and a tart finish.

You can keep up with the latest from Sheffield Mead on their Facebook page.

A little bit of good news to start off our monthly preview – we’re really happy to say that our cask beer release schedule is now back at pre-Covid levels! So a big thank you to you all for supporting your local pubs and drinking real ale. We couldn’t do what we do without you! Talking of local, Abbeydale Road Beer Festival takes place on 4^th to 5^th August and is sure to be a great neighbourhood event, there’s loads of venues and breweries getting involved! 

We’re starting off August with a splash of tingly tangly and refreshing Doctor Morton’s Aftersave (4.1%) with Amarillo and Simcoe hops. Expect a balanced bitterness and flavours of zesty orange with a twist of lemon peel and pine needles to finish.

We’re looking forward to hosting our friends at Loxley Brewery, creating an all new 4.2% pale ale called “Walk the Loxley Valley” (name TBC at the time of typing!), with Sabro hops giving a beautiful coconutty character and a creamy finish. 

Our Geoglyph series continues with a 4.0% Citra and Columbus hopped pale, Cetus. A delicious, easy drinking whale of a pale. Expect a nice sharp / bitter balance against the juicy hop flavours.

Plum Porter (5.2%) is the next edition of our Salvation series of dark beers and one we’re all pretty excited about! Smooth, beautifully round and packed with plum character, with hints of dark chocolate and a delectable fruity-sweet finish 

And finally this month, we’ve got an exciting collaboration coming up with Beer Central and Hungry Buddha, representing the wonderful array of independent traders who call the Moor Market their home. Coalition is a 4.3% hazy pale ale with Galaxy, Mosaic, Amarillo and Centennial hops. Flavours of juicy mango and pithy orange are followed up by a crisp, refreshing bitterness.

Cheers!

A new beer from Grizzly Grains on cask is a little bit different to usual but combines the brewer’s appreciation of session beers and interest in different yeasts and Saisons. This is a 3.8% ABV session strength ale inspired by Kviek and Saison styles.

Collyfobble brewery, based in Barlow near Dronfield, continues to see new brewer Ash tweak and develop the beer range and a sales rep has been appointed to help get the beer out into pubs a little further afield. The relationship with former Dronfield CAMRA chairman Rob Barwell, who is a keen home brewer, also continues – his initial involvement saw his “Lawnmower Ale” home brew receipe scaled up to a commercial brew which made its deput at Sheffield’s Steel City Beer Festival, it proved popular and has become a permanant beer under a new name of Grindleford Grit. Rob’s latest challenge from Collyfobble was to try brewing at home tweaked versions of their session IPA and an updated version is being brewed using Mosaic and Centennial hops.

Eyam brewery have apparantly made some changes at the brewery which left them a load of hops to use up and a series of special limited edition summer ales for June, July and August is the result, starting off with 6/23 (as in June 2023) which is a 4.2% ABV cask pale ale with a light bitterness and fruity aromas.

Lost Industry Brewing we are told have something huge and exciting to announce. Unfortunately it wasn’t announced by the time Beer Matters went to press, keep an eye on their social media for news!

The Bradfield Brewery seasonal beer for July is elderflower ale brewed using freshly bloomed Elderflower locally sourced from their own farm fields, this brew is Pale in colour with an Elderflower flavour, giving way to a refreshingly dry finish.

Kelham Island Brewery has had a rebrand with a new style and the pump clips no longer claim the beer is brewed in Sheffield – the company office is based in Kelham Island but the beer is brewed at Thornbridge Brewery in Bakewell, Derbyshire. Pale Rider is now available in cask, keg and bottle and graced the bar at the Arctic Monkeys gig in Hillsborough park back in June!

Chantry Brewery are running brewery tour events on Friday 30 June. Tickets cost £13.20 online via See Tickets or £12 in person from the brewery, the price includes the guided tour and a number of beer tasters. The Tram Train from Sheffield Cathedral will take you to Parkgate, a few minutes walk from the brewery.

Neepsend Brew Co picked up a couple of awards at the Barrow Hill Rail Ale Festival – Ashta got gold in the strong dark ales category whilst Alphito having won the strong pale ale category scooped champion beer of the festival!

Nick Law of Emmanuales fame has been busy with his Hop Forward agency (marketing, design and branding consultancy) and also won an award from SIBA for his Hop Forward podcast, however he has now brewed some new beers – “Ascension” (Strawberry, Mint & Cucumber Saison · 5.6% ABV), “Divine Providence” (Belgian Blonde · 5.5% ABV) and “That Would Be An Ecumenical Matter” (Oud Bruin · 5.5% ABV) available in can and bottle from Walkley Beer Co, Beer Central and the Dram Shop.

Intrepid Brewing have produced a new batch of Faeger (4.5% ABV) with a tweaked recipe. It has been hopped with Saldek and Mandarina Bavaria, the Munich malt has been replaced with Vienna and it now brewed with a Kolsch yeast. Look out for it appearing in bottles in due course!