Category: Breweries

August is our birthday month! And it’s an extra special one this year as we’re celebrating our 25th anniversary, so we’ve worked hard to bring out a series of beers befitting the occasion.

We’ve put twists on a couple of our most favourite beers which we’re very excited about – first up is Double Deception, an 8.2% DIPA version of our much loved Nelson Sauvin hopped pale ale. And we’re making Heathen even Mosaic-ier with a 5.0% Cryo hopped version, which we’ve imaginatively decided to call Cryo Heathen! Dr Morton is getting in the party spirit with his Birthday Extravaganza (4.1%), hopped with Citra and Centennial, and we couldn’t have a birthday without a cake so the next Indulgence is a super sweet and sumptuous chocolate cake stout (7.0%).

We’ve also got the next in our Hidden Treasures series being released – Dreadnoughts Upriver to Peaceful Power (4.0%) is hopped with Chinook and Green Bullet and features the River Don Steam Engine on the pumpclip. Brewery co-owner Sue used to work with this engine and was there when it was run for the very last time before being moved to its current home at Kelham Island Museum, so we really wanted to include this connection in our series of Sheffield’s lesser known gems.

As well as all these newbies, we’d love it if you helped us celebrate our milestone birthday by enjoying one of our flagship, classic cask ales, which have been a part of our history for a quarter of a century. We reckon that’s worth a pint – mine’s a Moonshine!

Laura – Abbeydale Brewery.

We’re thrilled to have been selected as one of just three breweries nationwide to create a special collaboration with Indie Beer Shop Day, which will be exclusively available in the 100+ independent beer shops around the country who have signed up for the event. We’ve named the beer Independence, in keeping with the theme! A 4.0% pale ale single hopped with Idaho 7, vegan and gluten free, intended to be deliciously sessionable and very accessible. It launches on 2 July so there’s plenty of time to pick up a can before the day itself on 17 July, when we’ll be taking part in a special virtual beer tasting evening hosted by the legendary beer write, Pete Brown. Find out more about where you can find it on the Indie Beer Shop Day website, and look out for the other two national collaborations from Pilot and Double Barrelled Brewery too!

In cask, we’ve got a new release in the form of Speculation, a 4.0% easy drinking pale hopped with Summit and Southern Cross. And our Geoglyph series comes to a close with Phoenix (4.1%), named in celebration of the birth of our designer James’ baby. This one is a gorgeous golden beer hopped with Chinook and Pacific Jade, for flavours of bold citrus coupled with grassy hints of pine. July also sees the return of our summer seasonal special Splendour (4.4%), infused with boxes and boxes of fresh oranges along with Amarillo and El Dorado hops. This one will be released in cask as well as keg and can.  So look out for these popping up on bars during July. 

Plus we’ve got three all new beers due out under the Brewers’ Emporium banner – the latest in our Wanderer series is called Outlaws IPA, a 6.0% crisper take on the New England style with plenty of maize in the grist. Inspired by our brewer Christie’s love of country music, this is a Will(ie)amette Nelson Sauvin IPA! We’ve teamed up with Batch Tea Co to make an Earl Grey infused wheat beer, called Reaper – and check out their Crowdfunder campaign to find out how to snap up one of the places on a very exclusive brewery tour! Finally we’re very excited to have another special beer coming out to celebrate our 25th anniversary – Celebration, a Mimosa Quarter IPA (2.8%). Juicy and refreshing and featuring an all new product from our friends at Yakima Chief Hops called Cryo Pop for a supercharged hop character! Here’s hoping we’ll all be able to drink one of these together very soon.

Laura, Abbeydale Brewery

Hello! We hope you’re all enjoying your indoor pints now that more pubs have been able to re-open – we here at Team Abbeydale certainly have! Our pub The Rising Sun is back open indoors, with a full food service running too, so do pop along for a pint!

We’ve got some lovely new releases out in the coming weeks. The next in our Hidden Treasures series is Explorer’s Sweets from Cobbled Streets, a classic 4.1% pale ale which features the Simpkins Sweets factory, located in Hillsborough, on the pumpclip. A family owned business, Simpkins celebrate their centenary this year and their travel sweets are recognised nationwide. The beer itself is hopped with Enigma and Green Bullet, available in cask only.

We are also releasing the first of our Hopback series since the easing of lockdown, this time featuring British Fuggles! We don’t get many opportunities to shout about English grown hops, so thought this series was the perfect place to showcase them. Gently earthy and floral, we’ve chosen to boost the aromatic characteristics with some bergamot juice for a delicately perfumey and well rounded beer.

And from the Brewers Emporium we’ve got two exciting new beers on the way – the next in our Deliverance series is a DDH Mosaic NEIPA at 8.5%, showcasing Mosaic in leaf, T90 and Cryo hop form! And our popular stout series is back with Salvation Tiramisu (6.3%), with coffee and cocoa combining over a complex malt bill, with sweet vanilla for a rounded finish and a fluffy creaminess. Delicious!

Cheers!

Laura, Abbeydale Brewery.

With pubs now able to serve customers at indoor tables, Stancill Brewery have released a new beer to mark the occasion.

Outside In is a blonde cask ale at a sessionable 4.3% ABV brewed with Motueka and Comet hops from New Zealand and the US giving a floral aroma and zesty flavour.

Bradfield Brewery has recently released a limited edition of 500 numbered 750 ml bottles of their new 7.5% Kerry imperial stout. Only available from the brewery shop and with limited social media advertising, within less than a week, this was a sell-out.

Like most Bradfield beers, this stout is named after a breed of cow. ‘Kerry’ is appropriate as the breed hails from Ireland, ’the home of stout,’ and is coloured black with white udders. It also, like a strong stout, enjoys a long life.

Brewed using a variety of speciality malts, this bottle conditioned Imperial Stout is full-bodied, smooth and rich. It has a complex mouth feel with bold roasted coffee and rich chocolate flavours.

Imperial stouts derive from the strong versions of beer and porter brewed in London in the C18th and C19th for export to Russia and the Baltic States. Warming alcohol is often noticeable due to the relatively high alcohol content. The wood aging can also produce caramel and vanilla flavours. The most well-know is probably Courage Imperial Russian Stout which was originally brewed by Courage, Barclay and Perkins for Catherine the Great of Russia.

Each bottle was carefully hand-filled, labelled, numbered and waxed by the three brewers: Kieran Chadwick, Sam Jubb and Bruce Woodcock. Six and 12 month bourbon and whisky barrel aged editions will follow this initial batch. Credit is also due to local designer, Anthony Corrigan whose drawing takes centre stage on every bottle.

What commenced as a lockdown project has materialised into an exciting new brew. We look forward to the next release.

Cask is back! With (some) pubs now re-opening their outdoor spaces, we’ve been working hard here at Abbeydale HQ to ramp up our production, and we’re all thrilled to be back delivering to pubs around Sheffield and beyond.

With that in mind, we’ve got some deliciously quaffable cask beers coming up over the next few weeks that are absolutely perfect for beer garden pints!

Originally released in March 2020, shortly before lockdown took hold, we’ve decided to bring back Family Heirlooms and Tuneful Endings, a 4.1%, pale ale brewed with El Dorado and Eureka hops. It’s a beer that tells the story of an important part of the history of Abbeydale Brewery, so we felt it deserved another opportunity to shine – you can read all about it here.

Doctor Morton is back with Demon Drink (4.2%), a golden beer with a hint of caramel, hopped with Simcoe, Ahtanum and a little Sorachi Ace for a piney, tropical flavour and a well balanced bitterness.

Usually one of our annual releases as we start to approach summer, Belfry is back after a hiatus in 2020. This always popular Cascade hopped pale ale (4.5%) has a fruity and floral aroma, which gives way to a smooth citrussy flavour with a hint of biscuit. Crisp and refreshing with a lasting finish.

And coming soon to can, we have the newest release from our Funk Dungeon project – Blind Devotion, 6.2%. This beer is a pineapple weed saison, the recipe of which was the winner of our Funk Fest 2019 homebrew competition, created by Leeds based James Newman. Rye spice, sweet floral characteristics and Nelson Sauvin hops combine with our house brett culture for a beer that’s gently funky with light acidity and oodles of flavour.

For those who aren’t feeling quite ready to head back to the pub just yet, or if your local hasn’t been able to re-open so far, of course our online shop isn’t going anywhere so we’ve got you covered for beers at home too!

Thunder Bunny, a 4.0% ABV Belgian pale ale is Fuggle Bunny‘s second craft keg beer. This cheeky little number is a session quenching pale with uplifting floral aromas bursting with fruit, raisins & citrus. This along with a range of their cask beers is expected to be available at their upcoming Friday tap sessions outside the brewery.

Bradfield Brewery have once again produced a vanilla edition of their Farmers Stout, a beer which proved popular at our Steel City Beer & Cider Festival a few years ago. It is available in mini-keg for those still drinking at home and the brewery are continuing to offer home delivery for bigger orders from their brewery shop.

Crosspool Ale Makers Society also have good news for those ordering their beers for home delivery with some online prices reduced and a mixed case option introduced. Also in addition to their weekly delivery run they are also now offering click and collect at the Itchy Pig in Broomhill.

Loxley Brewery‘s home, the Wisewood Inn, reopened this week with a range of their cask beers brewed on site, something the brewery has been regearing up to after spending lockdown selling bottled beers online and via independent shops!

Recent brews at Neepsend Brew Co have included Summanus, a 6.2% Black IPA hopped with Citra, Nelson Sauvin, Sabro and Sorachi Ace along with the return of Azeban, a 5% New England Pale made with Mosaic, Azacca & Ekuanot.

Sheffield Brewery Company are recruiting – they are looking for an experienced commercial brewer to manage all aspects of the brewhouse production, packaging, distribution and develop the business. There will be an expectation to help with promotion through social media, events, bar work and run brewery tours and be customer facing when required. Enquiries to sales@sheffieldbrewery.com.

Steel City have had a somewhat quiet year after opting not to pursue the direct home sales route (partly due to license, partly down to not wanting to take sales from brewers for whom this is a livelihood), but have started planning for a hopefully more productive summer. Following the huge success of the Stout Wars series of collaborations with Emperor’s (officially the world’s best brewery according to Untappd) and Lost Industry, the unholy trinity decided to move onto sours… The first brew of the Sour Wars series is a 13.7% Imperial Black Sour, once again the bulk has gone into barrels for the first trilogy:

• Episode I: The Cranachan Menace – Highland whisky barrel with raspberry, vanilla and cranachan mead (made with locally-produced heather honey, Madagascan vanilla and of course raspberry)
• Episode II: Attack of the Stones – Red wine barrel with cherry and vanilla
• Episode III: Orange of the Sith – Hurricane sour, with passionfruit, lemon, lime and orange, in a rum barrel

The barrels are tucked up safe for a few months now, but in the meantime here was a small amount of beer left after filling barrels, so six ultra-limited beers are being released now through Beer Central and Hoptimism, 60-70 330ml cans of each version:

• Rogue One: Live Long and Prosper – the base beer
• Rogue Two: Bean Me Up Scotty – tonka and vanilla
• Rogue Three: Set Phasers to Rum – rum and raisin
• Rogue Four: It’s Lime Jim But Not As We Know It – we’ll give you one guess…
• Rogue Five: Resistance is Fruitile – passionfruit
• Rogue Six: She Cannae Cake Any More Cap’n – cherry and almond

(scroll down for the labels to see more about these beers!)

Imperial stouts haven’t been forgotten however, and the minikit was pressed into service to make a small batch of Black Metal Goat, a tonka and vanilla imperial stout, raising £75 for Heeley City Farm in the process. There is also a very small batch maple mead, which was definitely not brewed just so Dave’s bottle share group could get the style badge on Untappd. At all. No. Ahem. More minikit brews are planned, as well as something on the big kit for when most pubs have reopened in May.

As pubs open for the first time in about six months, albeit just for outdoor table service and we all start to venture out after lockdown, Abbeydale Brewery have released a new session IPA to celebrate named Emergence. This flavourful yet easy going beer is a celebration on the palate and perfect to share in good company! It is dry hopped with Vic Secret and Galaxy for an irresistible aroma and a vibrant pop of flavour that is absolutely packed with tropical fruits.

The newest beer from Crosspool Ale Makers Society is The Lost Tribe, a strong and hazy 6% pale ale, with subtle honey and pineapple notes.

Little Critters Brewing Company have a couple of new beers out for April, OrangeUTan is a 7% ABV chocolate orange milk stout while Groundhog Daze is a 4.4% all day IPA. Meanwhile a new batch of Chameleon Galaxy has been brewed and canned, now available to order from them online.

Emmanuales are back brewing and already racked into cask and keg is The Now and Not Yet a 5.0% dry hopped pale ale with Admiral, Jester and Galaxy hops.

Fuggle Bunny Brewhouse have stepped up their brew schedule now pubs are starting to reopen, through lockdown they have been running Friday takeaways which from 16 April will once again have a drink on site option available again although of course outside rather than in the tap room for now! They now have Russian Rare-Bit Stout in stock. During March three specials were brewed: Pineapple Crush IPA, CBBees Honey Delight and Ginger Snap.

Grizzly Grains‘ move to their new premises is underway and are working hard to set their new kit up before resuming brewing.

Heist Brew Co‘s progress opening their new brewery and tap room in Neepsend has been somewhat delayed by the pandemic but work is now well underway completing the building, but this has hit them financially. They have launched a crowdfunding initiative to help get the place up and running, basically you “pay it forward” and get rewarded with benefits including a supports launch night with beer and food included. The venue when open will feature their brewery, two tap rooms with 30 keg lines, games arcade and burger joint.

Latest brew at Neepsend Brew Co is Antares, 4.3% New Zealand pale hopped with Pacific Jade through the boil followed by healthy does of Rakau, Nelson Sauvin and Kohatu post boil and for dry hopping. This beer will be available exclusively on cask. While Neepsend have been brewing through lockdown and selling beer in cans, now pubs are starting to open they are increasing the amount they are brewing, including cask beer and they were please to note recently that six out of the seven tanks in the brewhouse were full of beer or wort!

Triple Point have brewed the first in what they intend to be a series of single hop variety beers, Solo. This one is hopped with Cascade and is a 3.8% session strength New England IPA. It is described as juicy, hazy and pale with  orange, pine, and lychee notes. This is available to order in cans from their webshop.

Blue Bee as a predominantly cask brewery that doesn’t do small pack has been somewhat in hibernation with very few pubs open to supply but with the upcoming opening of beer gardens have been busy brewing ready to supply! They have produced three beers: Nelson Motueka (4%), Triple Hop (4.3%) and Climbing up the Walls (5.7% with loads of citra hops) and are now doing a little work to finish off improvements to the brewery before the next brewday.

Good news for cask beer lovers, with some pubs able to open for outdoor table service soon local breweries are starting to increase cask beer production ready. Some brewers have still been selling some cask during lockdown but with only a small number of outlets, primarily pubs offering home delivery, the volumes have been minimal.

Neepsend Brew Co. have been brewing during lockdown with their range of beers mostly available in can and minikeg but their latest brew, Wolf IPA (5.5% single hopped beer) will see all going into cask!

Meanwhile Blue Bee Brewery, who don’t do small pack, have been pretty much in hibernation during lockdown but have now started brewing again!

Little Mesters Brewing are selling a couple of gift packs for those that give presents at Easter, one features their Maxons Yorkshire Mixture flavoured IPA, the other their double dry hopped Hazy IPA. Mixed cases of beers themed on the Totley area and Hope Valley railway line are also on sale, these are Little Mesters beers rebranded as house beers for the Tunnel Tap micropub opening this summer at Totley Rise shops.

The latest beers Grizzly Grain have brewed include Bobcat Mk3 which is going into bottles this week and NZ Pale which they are hoping to make available in cask for pubs as well as the bottles that are heading to the shops over the next week or two.