Category: Breweries

Back in October at the opening night of our Steel City Beer & Cider Festival we judged a cask beer from most of the breweries in the Sheffield & District CAMRA branch area in our Champion Beer of Sheffield competition. We mentioned the winners briefly in our festival review last issue, but here is a closer look at them!

BRONZE WINNER – Little Critters, Great Danish

This is a 7.4% ABV pecan and maple stout that brings you chocolatey richness, bolstered by a subtle hint of pecan and finished with sweet maple. It is brewed with English malt grains, pecan extract (nut allergy free) and maple syrup.

SILVER WINNER – Tapped, Brook

A porter called Brook (Porter Brook – the Sheffield river, get it? Groan!)

This London Porter is brewed with a generous mix of brown malt and chocolate malt to give depth in flavour and colour, dark brown with ruby hints when held to light. The mix of the dark malts give aromas of chocolate, caramel and subtle notes of coffee which develop in the flavour. Hopped with two UK hops, Phoenix and Goldings.

GOLD WINNER, CHAMPION BEER OF SHEFFIELD – Heist, The Bad Part of Gnome Town

A 4.6% ABV hazy session IPA. It is juicy and refreshing and the aroma is an immediate explosion of citrus and tropical fruits thanks to the generous use of Citra hops. Balance by subtle pine and earthy undertones from the Simcoe hops. As well as the usual keg and can this beer saw a limited quantity go into cask for the beer festival with Heist really proving they can also do that well!

Abbeydale Brewery are celebrating twice over this week, after two of their permanently available beers scooped medals at the prestigious Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) Regional Bottle & Can Awards (North East Region).

Heresy Lager (a 4.5%, gluten free continental style lager) received a Bronze medal, and Black IPA Black Mass received a top class Gold award in the Speciality IPA category, meaning it scored over 90/100 and will go forward to the National Finals, due to be held in March next year. Just three of the highest level Gold awards were given out across the whole region. 

This is the second year running that Black Mass, a 6.6% ABV, gluten free and vegan friendly Black IPA, has come out as the top Speciality IPA in the region. Following the award in 2022, the beer subsequently went on to win National Gold in category before being declared Overall Champion beer in can in the whole of the UK – so the team at Abbeydale Brewery will be eagerly waiting to find out if it can defend the title. 

Black Mass has been one of Abbeydale Brewery’s permanently available beers since the business was founded in 1996, and the team believe it to be one of the world’s first and longest standing beers of this style in existence. Lead Brewer Jim Rangeley says of the award, “Black Mass has always been one of my favourite beers to both make and drink, and it’s great to see that the judges agree! I’m looking forward to celebrating with a can of it.”

The SIBA Bottle & Can Independent Beer Awards 2023 see beers marked against internationally recognised style guides for the different beer award categories – looking at appearance, aroma, flavour, aftertaste and saleability. The awards are judged by beer sommeliers, experienced beer judges and fellow brewers. Neil Walker, SIBA Head of Comms, praised this year’s winners: “This year’s SIBA Independent Beer Awards Bottle & Can competition was our biggest ever, including seven regions of the UK and hundreds of individual beers. The expert judging panel only give awards where deserved, so the winners listed really are the very best beers in the region.”

Well. Where on earth did 2023 go?! December brings us a cornucopia of seasonal releases, starting with Dr Morton’s Our Wayne (in a manger)! A 4.3% Simcoe hopped pale ale intended to bring to mind other old favourites such as “While shepherds washed their socks by night” and the unforgettabubble “O’ little toe of Bethlehem”. Also due for release in cask only is Winter (4.2%), brewed with Ekuanot hops which give an aromatic fruitiness and flavours of citrus and berries, plus a delicate herbal note in the finish. 

And from our Brewer’s Emporium range, Wilderness (4.5%) and Hibernation (4.2%) are making a welcome comeback. Both flavourful hazy pale ales – Wilderness is in the New England style, for a juicy character and low bitterness, whilst Hibernation is punchy, vibrant and crisp.

We’ve also got an incredibly special limited release on the way – our Old Ale is the perfect winter warmer. 8.0%, beautifully rich, mellow and well balanced. Toffee, fruitcake and raisins are the prevailing flavour notes with a light wood character and a subtle spiciness. This will be making rare appearances on cask and is also available in 750ml bottle conditioned bottles.

Our first beer of 2024 will, as is tradition, be the always popular Dr Morton’s Duck Baffler, a 4.1% Citra hopped pale ale. And we’ll be experimenting with a new-to-us hop in the next of our Through the Hopback series – Moutere, from New Zealand. This one will be a 4.1% pale ale and we’re hoping for a powerful grapefruity character along with hints of pine. Finally, we hear a rumour that Cryo Heathen (5.0%) is making a comeback to help us ring in the New Year in style!

A recent new brew from Temper Brewing of Dronfield has been Nectaron, a refreshing session pale with notes of passion fruit and peach in the flavour. This sold very quickly when it hit the Dronfield Arms bar!

Recently released in cask by Grizzly Grain brewery is Get Back, the latest in their “Get” series, hopped with Citra and Bru-1 which brings pineapple flavour with citrus background and refreshing bitterness. Meanwhile in bottle and keg is their latest farmhouse Saison, brewed with Sheffield grown Opal Plums. Looking forward, Sam with his Sheffield Mead hat on has been up at the Old Shoe bar pressing apples as part of a collaboration with Exemption Ciderhouse.

November saw Bradfield Brewery launch the 2023 brew of Belgian Blue for its annual outing in the run up to Christmas, however they have been hinting that December will be seeing the release of something a bit more limited edition and special and posted an image of some wooden barrels. Back in 2021 they produced “Farmers Kerry Stout”, a 12 month barrel aged 8% ABV stout, sold in bottles.

Emmanuales‘ annual Christmas event, “Hope & Beers”, is this year being hosted at the Raven in Walkley from 6pm on Saturday 9 December. The bar will be pouring some exclusive draught beers from Emmanuales (as well as the Loxley casks the pub normally serve) whilst brewer Nick will be leading carol singing including some funked up festive hymns. So come all ye faithful, it’s a most wonderful time for a beer!

Welbeck Abbey Brewery has decided to discontinue “Beer in a Box” polypins as they strive to reduce their use of single use plastics in the business.

One of Neepsend Brewery’s stronger offerings recently has been Apollo, an 8.4% ABV Double IPA hopped with a combination of Talus, Azacca, Citra, El Dorado and Lupomax Mosaic. This beer also marks their Gyle 900! If you missed it on cask at pubs like the Wellington (the brewery tap) and the Sheaf View (where it featured in their winter beer festival) it is also available in can.

New Triple Point Brewing beers seen on their bar recently includes AAGGHH!! brewed in collaboration with Loud Shirt Brewery of Brighton. This is a 5.4% ABV New England IPA brewed with Galaxy, Cryo Citra, and Cryo HBC 586 hops giving a fruity character and not too much bitterness. Also appearing ready for the winter is their Porter, 4.4% ABV with tasting notes of rich chocolate and spiced berry with a smooth coffee finish.

Drone Valley Brewery has brewed a special Christmas beer, it is a 4.5% ABV spiced amber ale.

We’ve previously mentioned collaborations between Dronfield CAMRA committee member (and keen home brewer) Rob Barwell and Collyfobble Brewery, including the introduction of their Grindleford Grit, he has now officially been recruited as assistant brewer!

Grizzly Grain have now got their green hopped beer in cask and bottle going out to bars and shops.
The fresh hops used this year are giving a floral aroma and good bitterness with flavours of orange, grapefruit, herbs and spice. Also package recently is a fresh batch of their Tilt Hammer Stout.

October saw BrewSocial release “Shooting Stars”, a triple hopped beauty.

The next bonus tap session at Fuggle Bunny Brew House is on Saturday 28 October from 2pm to 9pm (they also open every Friday). As well as the beer they will have music from Vicki France and food from Bakers Dozen, who will be serving up hot pork sandwiches.

Bradfield Brewery Shop is gearing up for Christmas with all sorts of merchandise in stock suitable for presents including mugs and clothing! Meanwhile on the beer front of course the run up to Christmas means just one thing – Belgian Blue! It was on the bar at our Steel City Beer & Cider Festival and is likely to be in a pub near you now! Also on the roster of seasonal beers is the Farmers Poppy Ale, which was released in time for remembrance Sunday.

Latest from Heist Brew Co. on tap and in can is “That’s Between a Man and His Haddock” which is just 3.4% ABV but packs a lot in – its as hazy as anything and single hopped with Simcoe.

October saw “Honey Bear” from Little Critters hit the bars, this was a collaboration with Grizzly Grain and is a honey porter.

“Sheffield Home of Football” is a new organisation just officially launched with charitable status that is campaigning for the city’s recognition and the creation of a football museum. There are official beers too – an IPA and a lager – that is brewed by Little Mesters Brewing, these were recently on the bar at the Gardeners Rest for a talk on the subject as part of the Heritage Open Days programme.

Our Through the Hopback series sees us experimenting with Nectaron, a hop that we have never used before! We’ll be showcasing it in a 3.9% pale ale, and we’re really looking forward to the promised tropical fruit notes sure to tantalise the tastebuds. 

New to our Restoration series, we’ll be releasing a classic English Porter (5.0%). Considered to be one of the oldest beer styles in the world, malt is the true star of the show here, with six different grains carefully selected to give a rich, rounded, deep and chocolatey character. Expect light roasty toasty notes layered with unctuous caramel, followed by a balanced bitter finish. 

We’re teaming up with Knaresborough’s Turning Point Brew Co for the next version of our Wanderer, which this time takes the form of a Cascade IPA (6.0%). It’s a homage to one of the USA’s very first IPAs, and as the name suggests is single hopped with Cascade. Expect a crisp, vibrant and beautifully balanced beer with rounded citrus notes and a light floral character, leading the way to a zesty grapefruit bitterness in the finish. 

And, you guessed it, the Christmas beers are on their way! Starting with Doctor Morton’s Rude Elf, a classic pale ale at 4.1% with Centennial and Chinook hops. We’ll also have a festive addition to our gorgeous stained glass inspired series of pale ales. Look out for them on a bar near you! 

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.