July already! And that means it’s time for the release of our annual charity beer, which this year is supporting the work of wonderful local cause Ben’s Centre. Ben’s Bazaar will be a classic, cask only, hop forward 4.1% pale ale. Please do visit our website to read more about this partnership, it’s such a unique and worthy charity and we’d love to raise as much awareness and funds as we can.
From our travel poster themed collaboration series, we’re looking forward to welcome our friends at Brampton Brewery to Abbeydale HQ to brew Inspired in Chesterfield (4.3%), with hints of pine and gentle pepper alongside punchy passionfruit citrussy notes from the combination of Columbus, Centennial and Vic Secret hops.
Dr Morton’s Demon Drink 4.2% is making a reappearance to our selection, a tasty and refreshing golden beer with aromas of berry fruits and citrus overlying a caramel and biscuit malt character. And new to the stained glass series will be Invocation (4.2%), melding Citra and Pacific Gem hops for a refreshing beer with notes of zesty citrus and blackberry, rounded off with a clean cutting bitterness in the finish.
From the Brewers Emporium, look out for the return of Dry-Hopped Deception, an amped up iteration of our familiar Nelson Sauvin hopped NZ pale which was incredibly popular last time we released it. And from the Salvation Series we have a smooth and inviting Oatmeal Stout (4.5%) on the way too.
When Thornbridge first commissioned the Burton Union set they’d saved after Carlsberg announced they were no longer using them at their Marstons brewery the first beer they put through was a special batch of Jaipur IPA, their flagship brand. Since then a series of special one off beers have been produced, providing an interesting demonstration on how this traditional production method can affect the taste and aroma of different styles of beer. The recent news is a second batch of Jaipur Union has now been brewed, so if you want to try tasting the difference, this is another opportunity!
Neepsend brewery, having just celebrated their 10th anniversary, have hit another milestone with their 1,100th beer brewed!
They are also celebrating a win in the Champion beer competition at Barrow Hill Rail Ale Festival.
Ashover brewery, of Clay Cross (Chesterfield), is under new ownership and back in business as Ashover Brew Co. They are running a crowdfunder to help invest in improvements such as a canning line. The range being brewed for the relaunch is Font (3.8% Chinook hopped session pale), Poets’ Tipple (4% best bitter), Littlemoor Citra (4.1% Citra hopped pale ale), Rainbows End (4.5% american hopped pale ale), Coffin Lane Stout (5%, brewed with chocolate malt), Zoo (5.5% Mosaic and Citra hopped pale ale) and Butts Pale Ale (american hopped, 5.5%). The official launch event is scheduled to take place at the Tupton Tap on 4 July with their full range of beers, outside bar, food truck and live music.
Ilkley Brewery has been bought out of administration and saved by Ilkley based businessman Graham Smith, who is also a director of Roosters brewery.
Intrepid Brewery in Brough, near Bradwell, hosted their first open day of the year on Saturday 24 May, which also coincided with the usual bank holiday beer festival at the Old Hall Hotel in Hope, which isn’t far away! The open days involve a bar open in the brewery, an outdoor drinking area and Sunshine Pizza trading outside. Buses 173 (Bakewell to Castleton) and some journeys on 272 (Sheffield to Castleton) pass the end of their drive.
Eyam Brewery in Great Hucklow are also hosting a number of open days this year after their successful introduction last year, the first is planned for Saturday 28 June and again will involve a pop up bar with a range of their beer in the brewery, seating inside and out and Sunshine Pizza trading outside. Bus 65 (Sheffield to Buxton via Tideswell) and 173 (Bakewell to Castleton) stops in the village a couple of minutes walk from the brewery.
Fuggle Bunny Brew House run a weekly “Fuggle Friday” tap session all year round, however as we approach summer they add a monthly Saturday tap event on the last Saturday of each month. The 31 May event has live music with James Scanlan at 5pm and Nico’s Pizza will be trading outside. The bar will be open 3pm to 9pm. The brewery is about 10 minutes walk from Halfway tram terminus (Blue route) or various local buses such as the 120k pass close by.
Fuggle Bunny have released a new beer too, which made an appearance at Barrow Hill Rail Ale Festival – a 6% ABV pineapple IPA.
Bradfield’s 20th anniversary beers now available include Farmers XX Best (a traditional best bitter, 4.6% ABV and amber, brewed with Maris Otter amber and chocolate malts) and Farmers Celebration Pale (a straw coloured oat pale ale brewed with new world hops, 4.2% ABV).
Little Mesters brewing have relocated from Meadowhead to Attercliffe, with the unit at Meadowhead next to Mitchells Wine Merchants to become a cigar shop and tasting room for Mitchells. We understand the brewing kit installed at Attercliffe was acquired from the closed Lost Industry brewery with the kit that was at Meadowhead no longer in use. The Little Mesters Tap bar remains in Woodseats.
Loxley Brewery beer to drink at home is now available from all their pubs with the Raven selling the bottles and No3 Sharrow offering take away containers for cask ale. They will also be hosting a merchandise stand during the beer festival at their Wisewood Inn 20 to 22 June.
First up this month we have Linden, a 4.1% pale ale single hopped with Most, our first time using this hop. Most are a new variety grown due to a collaboration between our hop suppliers Charles Faram here in the UK, and growers based in the Czech Republic – the word “most” is Czech for bridge, so the name represents this union. Expect an aromatic beer with notes of tropical and berry fruits, and a clean, sweet finish.
Next in our Mythical Creatures inspired series we have the mighty minotaur! Asterion (4.0%) is a fruit forward and floral pale ale with the delicious combination of Amarillo, Nelson Sauvin and Galaxy hops. And It’s all systems go with the Dr’s latest stellar sup! Dr Morton’s Rocket Surgery (4.1%) is crafted with UK grown Olicana and Bullion hops to straighten tail fins and reorient your nose cone, all without any disruption to your flight path or launch window.
From our collaboration range with artwork inspired by vintage travel posters, look out for Heading into Harrogate (4.6%). We’re honoured to be hosting fellow UK beer pioneers Roosters Brewery to create a West Coast style pale ale, piney and resinous with Centennial and Citra hops.
And from the Brewers Emporium we’re excited to be releasing our first ever Kölsch! Top fermented like an ale but cold fermented like a lager, this hybrid beer (4.8%) is clean and crisp with a light hop character and a soft crackerbread sweetness. Plus, it’s a welcome return for Tranquility, a 3.8% soft and pillowy New England style Session IPA, and finally a sweet treat in the form of a Coconut Macaroon Stout (5.4%), a new addition to our dessert inspired Indulgence series.
Kelham Pride took place for the first time last year and the event is back for 2025 on Saturday 21 June. This features a parade and an outdoor stage with live entertainment followed by festivities in various venues around the area. Local breweries Blue Bee, Little Critters and Toolmakers have teamed up for a collaboration to produce a special cask ale for Pride with social media followers invited to help choose a name for it, the name chosen being LGBTQIPA+.
I’ve tried mead on and off for many years – I recall my first time was while watching the extended Lord of the Rings trilogy in 2002, and mostly associating it with National Trust gift shops. Later, I discovered better meads – from the various honey types used by UK and German brewers, to those enhanced with fruit or spices.
When visiting the Crow Inn in February 2024, I spotted a small chalkboard advertising local mead. I gave it a try – it was called Salvation and billed as a traditional mead. It was light and fresh-tasting, and when I enquired about it, I was told the brewer had a taproom in the middle of its soft launch.
Tim Young was an English teacher overseas, teaching in Vietnam when the pandemic hit in 2020. While unable to teach, he began brewing mead. On his return, Tim – originally from Essex – chose Sheffield as his new home. Still home-brewing at the time, he decided in late 2023 to give full-time brewing a go.
Paradise Garage, his meadery, is named after a long-closed nightclub in New York – and each of the meads follows suit. Salvation is Tim’s first and only ‘classic’ mead, with the others becoming increasingly adventurous: Roxy, with blackcurrant and peppercorn; Funhouse, featuring chilli, apricot and hibiscus; and AM/PM, the latest addition, made with plum and Lapsang Souchong tea.
Paradise Garage mead can always be found at the taproom in Merchant’s Court (43 Mowbray St), open Fridays 6–10pm and Saturdays 2–7pm. In keeping with the musical theme, there’s even a record player on hand.
It’s also available by the glass at various Sheffield venues (most commonly the Old Shoe), and Paradise Garage had a stand at the recent Indie Beer Feast – so keep an eye on the website, paradisegaragebrewing.com.
First up this month we’ve got Nuggle (4.2%), a balanced and easy-drinking pale ale, featuring the UK grown hop combo of Nugget and Fuggle! UK hops have come a long way and we reckon they deserve a moment in the spotlight. This one’s from our Mythical Creatures series and is inspired by a magical miniature water horse from Shetland folklore.
And trust we’ll be releasing Dr Morton’s Fake News (4.1%) – a 100% reliable pale ale, featuring juicy Idaho 7 hops balanced by delicately resinous and earthy Savinjski Goldings. Plus we’ve got Through the Hopback – Chinook on the way (4.0%). A vibrant pale ale single hopped with bold and bright Chinook hops. Fruity, piney and spicy all in one, with a clean bitterness in the finish.
Lastly on the cask only side of things we’re really looking forward to hosting a collaboration with superstars Roosters Brewing Co. Heading into Harrogate will be a 4.6% West Coast style pale, with predominantly Centennial hops.
And from the Brewers Emporium we’ve got a couple of tasty treats too – New Zealand hopped pale ale Ōkārito (4.5%) makes a welcome return, and we’ve got a new addition to our Unbeliever series in the form of a 4.7% Mango Sour. A throwback to the first EVER sour we made here, it’s packed with succulent mango, backed up by bold and fruity Galaxy hops. Sweet, tart and tropical.
Sheffield based Abbeydale Brewery has been named the Employer of the Year by the Society of Independent Brewers & Associates (SIBA). This accolade celebrates the pioneering transition of the business to becoming 100% employee owned in 2024, recognising the commitment made by founders and selling owners Pat and Sue Morton to ensure a true legacy of independence and cement the team right at the very heart of the business.
The awards were hosted by Sunday Times Beer Columnist and acclaimed author and broadcaster Pete Brown, who said of the award “the judging panel were unanimous in their praise for Abbeydale who this year were trailblazers in the UK as the first employee-owned brewery, building a future for this much-loved brewery whilst giving back to the team who built it.”
The SIBA Business Awards aim to highlight the UK’s very best brewing businesses, pubs and retailers of independent beer, in an annual celebration known as the “Oscars of the beer industry” and judged by a panel of industry experts.
The award was collected on behalf of the brewery by Christie McIntosh and Finlay MacDonald, who sit on the new Board of Trustees as Employee Representatives, plus their colleagues and Co-Owners Laura Rangeley and Lily Pickles. Alongside the Employee Ownership Trust, the award recognised the company’s long-standing commitment to training, education and emphasis on listening to the employee voice, an ethos which the business has held throughout its existence and has resulted in a loyal and enthusiastic workforce.
McIntosh, who is also a brewer and the Quality Manager at Abbeydale Brewery, said of the EOT; “There are some major perks and holistic benefits which could come with our new status – but we all know we have to put the work in to get there, which is a great motivator. I feel like I can speak for everyone when I say it doesn’t automatically make us the best company in the industry to work for – to become that is now entirely down to us. Thank you to Pat and Sue for their leadership and their trust in our team – this award is for them.”
Can you believe it’s been 20 years since the first brew was crafted at Watt House Farm, marking the birth of Bradfield Brewery?
What started as a side project to supplement the declining income from our dairy farming quickly became a success. As brewing took off beyond our expectations, we soon found ourselves at a crossroads—there simply weren’t enough hours in the day to juggle both dairy farming and brewing. With a heavy heart, we made the tough decision to stop milk production and focus entirely on our growing brewery. As the saying goes, we’ve never looked back!
Fast forward 20 years, and we’re now brewing over 100,000 pints of beer each week! With a dedicated team of 25 at the brewery and another 20 at our brewery pubs, the beers keep flowing – fresh from grain to glass.
Our farming roots remain a huge part of our identity, and we love celebrating this through our beers. Farmers Blonde, which became our flagship ale, was named after the Blonde d’Aquitaine breed of cow, and many of our other beers follow the same theme.
While we embrace new trends and innovations, our brand is all about keeping cherished traditions alive – meeting friends at the pub, pint in hand, and having a natter. Our session ales are the perfect companion for these moments – a true taste of tradition.
From all of us at Bradfield Brewery, a heartfelt thank you to everyone – our suppliers, our hardworking team, and of course, our loyal customers near and far. Your support means the world to us. Cheers to the next 20 years!
We’ve got some exciting things in store to celebrate our 20th anniversary, we’re celebrating firstly by paying homage to our very first brew Farmers Bitter with a brand new brew, Farmers XX Best! This new 4.6% abv beer for Bradfield Brewery has been Brewed with Maris Otter amber and chocolate malts, giving a full bodied and complex mouthfeel, complimented by a robust bitterness and dark fruit flavours from the hops. Available in cask & 330ml bottles from the end of March, this new brew is the first of more exciting things to come for 2025!
As part of Sheffield Beer Week, the Kelham Island Tavern showcased a number of new beers from Blue Bee Brewery. These included a coffee mild, french oak aged red ale and charred oak aged export stout as well as the usual hoppy pales that Blue Bee are more commonly known for!
Bradfield Brewery have released a special edition of their cask Farmers Stout with the stronger ABV of 8.4%.
As is now traditional, Sheffield Beer Week marked the Brewery of St Mars of the Desert‘s tap room coming out its winter hibernation and it is now open most Fridays and Saturdays, 2pm to 8pm. It is now bar service and card payment only, it continues to be dog friendly. The brewery is just a few minutes walk from the main road through Attercliffe, served by buses 9/9a, 52/52a, 207 and X3.
Fuggle Bunny Brew House is introducing a monthly Saturday tap session in addition to the weekly Friday bar opening. The programme of “Fuggle Saturdays” kick off on Easter Saturday then take place on the last Saturday of each month from 31 May to 29 November with the bar in the brewery open 3pm to 9pm and live music at 5pm. They also plan to host a food trader at the Saturday events.
Triple Point Brewing celebrated their 6th birthday on the 14 and 15 March, neatly coinciding with Sheffield Beer Week! The Friday night involved live music and dancing whilst on the Saturday they screened the Six Nations rugby. A new beer has also launched – Geyser, a 4.3% ABV pale ale brewed with Olicans, Simcoe and Cryo Talus hops offering bold citrus flavours and like most of their beers it is gluten free and vegan.
Due for release from Abbeydale Brewery this month, Dr Morton’s Rogue Apostrophe (4.1%) is back to irritate the grammatically minded amongst us. An easy drinking pale with Pacific Gem and Azacca hop’s, combining to give flavours of tropical fruit’s and berrys. Joining it on bars throughout April is Through the Hopback – Cascade, a 3.9% pale ale and a hop we can’t quite believe we haven’t showcased in this series before! Citrussy grapefruit in abundance on the aroma, with a gentle spicy character and a smooth bitterness.
Fen Violet is the first in a new cask only range for us, with artwork inspired by vintage botanical prints and lithographs. This one will be a 4.3% pale ale with Vic Secret and Columbus hops. We’re expecting lovely aromatic qualities in this one, with gentle herbal notes of marjoram in the background and some fruity tropical flavours up front.
And from our Brewers Emporium we have a couple of exciting new specials on the way too. Cherry Bakewell Stout (5.0%) is a new special in our Salvation series, featuring the enticing combination of ripe, juicy cherry and flavours of frangipane. And from our single-hopped Obsession series, look out for Citra NEIPA (6.5%). A rockstar of the hop world, Citra is famed for an intensely citrussy character. Expect a potent, zesty aroma and a lip-smacking lemony flavour, smooth and fruity with a juicy finish.
