Category: Breweries

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!

Our annual charity beer launches in early July and we’re hugely looking forward to this one! Swifty (4.2%) has been created in collaboration with and in support of Sheffield & Rotherham Wildlife Trust and its release coincides with Swift Awareness Week. In recognition of the amazing migratory journey that swifts make, we’ve combined UK hops Fuggles and Keyworth Early with African grains of paradise for a unique and aromatic beer with a botanical spice. 

Also in cask only we have Grus (4.0%) coming up, light and delicate on the palate, an easy drinking pale with Delta and Ekuanot hops. And Alchemy (4.2%) is back, an always popular liquid gold kind of pale ale, single hopped with Amarillo. Citrussy, refreshing and the perfect beer garden beer!

From the Brewers Emporium, available across both cask and keg, we have an all new beer! Introducing Tranquility, a 3.8% session New England IPA. Fruity and juicy with a gentle bitterness from the combination of Centennial, Cascade and Mosaic hops. Plus we’ll be launching a new collaboration brewed with Leith’s Campervan Brewery. Wanderer – Transatlantic IPA (6.3%) is brewed using heritage grain Plumage Archer and some of the newest experimental hops available. UK grown CF161 and CF162 are joined by HBC586 and HBC638 from the US of A for a beer that’s bursting with character. Expect clean, sharp citrus upfront with a bright, tropical bitterness. 

Bradfield Brewery have renewed their sponsorship of the Sheffield Steeldogs ice hockey team.

Dead Parrot brewery have been brewing small batches almost exclusively for their own tap room this year but expect to start scaling up to supply the wider trade once again later in the year. They have been taking advantage of this to produce a wide range of test brews and visitors to their Perch bar recently have enjoyed a choice of up to 10 of their cask ales on the bar at the same time!

Fuggle Bunny Brew House continue to open their tap room every Friday, additionally they are opening on Saturdays 28 May, 29 July and 26 August then holding an Oktoberfest on Saturday 30 September. They are also running a bus trip from the tap room for regulars fancying a change on 3 June!

Grizzly Grains have been keeping busy. Recently released in bottle is Bigger Dimples, a 5.7% stout which was parti-gyle brewed with Big Dimples Dark Mild offering flavour and body from the big mash, caramel, toffee, dark chocolate, subtle coffee and fruit cake balanced against a slightly hop bitterness. Since then they’ve been brewing an IPA and a Belgian braggot as well as producing a Bochet Mead!

Loxley Brewery will be selling merchandise at the Loxley Beer Festival, organised at their host pub the Wisewood Inn.

Neepsend Brewery have brewed a West Coast IPA, something they’ve been intending to do for a while! It is called Coyote, is 6.4% ABV with a chewy malt body and a satisfyingly punchy 58 IBUs. This sets the stage for the all star lineup of hops – Mosaic, Ekuanot, Sabro and an impromptu addition of Simcoe.

Tapped Brew co have been collaborating with Round Corner Brewing of Melton Mowbray during April. The away fixture saw an Amarillo hopped golden ale called Cadillac Ranch brewed, then back at the Sheffield Tap during the CAMRA Members’ Weekend a mild was brewed.

Intrepid Brewing‘s April open day saw the launch of a tweaked version of a previous beer – their Spring Pale, Var 4.5%. This years edition uses the same hops and malt but a different yeast blend of Belgian abbey yeast & New England yeast to release a more balanced yet complex flavour profile.
Hop bursted and gently dry hopped this beer has more flavour than you’d expect. Since then Ben has hinted at a new project involving Perry Lees, Wooden Barrel, continental pale & time!

A recent cask release from Temper Brewing of Dronfield is a 4.8% ABV American Brown Ale called Face of the Earth. A rich malt character balances with hints of pine and citrus from Cascade and Willamette hops.

Collyfobble brewery, based at the Peacock in Barlow have been tweaking a number of their beers and the latest updated brew has been their Bob On Best Bitter. The brewer has been playing with the colour of this one and mixed up the malt bill to push it in more of a copper-amber direction. This should also bring some lovely, complex sweet malty flavours to balance out that solid bitterness.

Our classic, satisfyingly simple, most stoutiest stout is back this month in the form of Salvation – Steadfast Stout (4.8%). Tasty and dependable – enough said!

We’ve also got Dr Morton’s Bag O’Nuts (4.1%) in the pipeline, a refreshing and thirst quenching pale ale and 100% nut free!

Our collaboration with Castle Rock is due to be released and will be available in cask, keg and can. Menelaus is a 5.5% IPA, which blends our combined years of heritage with our collective love of creativity and innovation. Here we’re celebrating the emerging array of flavours from UK grown Harlequin and Cascade, layered up with tropical overtones from Galaxy and a flourish of Loral Cryo hops for an international twist. The name comes from one of the lions which flanks the steps of Nottingham’s Council House – so no prizes for working out what our return collab later in the year is going to be called!

Through the Hopback Delta (3.9%) is on the way too – Delta is a lesser known hop, and one which makes up part of the backing blend for Willamette in Moonshine, so it’s really interesting to be able to use it in a single hopped beer and give it some room to shine! Lightly spicy in character with delicate notes of melon and citrus.

And finally, look out for Dr Mortons Rogue Apostrophe (4.1%), sure to infuriate English teacher’s across the city!

Little Mesters Brewing Co continues to grow and evolve and in the last few weeks the business has decided to make a progressive move and become a limited company and take on a new director to help move the company forward in its brewing portfolio. To support this, they have purchased some new brewing equipment, which has just been installed in their Little Norton Brewery next to Mitchell’s Wine Merchants, together with a new canning line, which will compliment the beer products soon to be introduced.

Built on traditional values, Little Mesters Brewing believes their core lines will continue to do well and the introduction of new lines will broaden their appeal to new and existing markets.

“Stan IPA”, an outstanding Pale Ale, continues to be the company’s best seller, but the new equipment will enable them to put together a really impressive brewing portfolio.

Neil Adgie