Category: Breweries

Steel City attended the European Parliament All Party Beer Group’s pre-xmas bash with their AFA pale and Mayhem stout. The beers went down well, and the latter raised both eyebrows and chuckles depending on political allegiance! A particularly interesting reaction was observed from a Tory MEP… Both beers are available (at time of writing!) from Hop Hideout and Beer Central. Due to forthcoming changes at host brewery Toolmakers, Steel City’s tenure there is ending. The swansong brew was a home collaboration with Lost Industry, in for a penny in for a pound, those mad bastards Jimmy and Nathan convinced Dave to go big or go home, so Steel City wil be signing off with an Imperial Pale Stout. Master of Puppets will hopefully approach or hit double figure ABV, with all the mouthfeel and roasty flavour of an imperial stout, but pale. The brew involves grains selected to provide stout flavours without colour (so the opposite of Black IPA!), supplemented by coffee, cacao nibs and vanilla, along with Bramling Cross and Sorachi hops. It will be available in cask at the Shakespeare, and keg at Sentinel during Sheffield Beer Week. The Shakespeare will also have a special version Pastor of Muppets, with some sort of adjunct (possibly including wafers, red wine and the tears of choristers). The mini kit was also pressed into use – normally the mini kit uses first runnings to make a stronger beer, but this time once the main brew was in the copper the runnings were still at 1050… So it seemed a waste to not use them! For the simple reason that it seemed a good idea at the time, the brew is a stollen pale stout, Drink It Like It’s Stollen, yes made with real stollen. Also available during the Beer Week will be the return collab, no details as yet but expect sour… Negotiations are ongoing regarding a new home, in the meantime there should be plenty of ‘away’ collabs in the UK and abroad!  

Happy 2017 everyone! Okay, so we may be a bit late on that one, but we’ve been busy working hard these past few months to bring you some exciting new developments. With the New Year comes an exciting new collaboration with Lincoln Green Brewing Company. We have teamed up to see whether two beers brewed to the exact same recipe, using identical ingredients from the same batches can taste the same when brewed in two different locations. The end result will be the aptly named Gemini, a 4.3% American hopped pale ale. We are very excited about this collaboration and look forward to hearing the feedback from those who get a chance to try it. This month will also see the return of some old favourites, including the rich and fruity Farrier, a premium amber bitter with blends of sweet caramel which boasts an impressive 5.5% ABV and last but not least the lovely Henrietta Grande, a stronger, hoppier version of our award-winning Henrietta. This 4.0% Golden Ale is packed full of wonderful hop character from German, British and American hops. Finally, we are also happy to announce that we will once again be hosting guided brewery tours this summer! We have 6 tours running from April to September, and tickets are already selling fast. For details on how to book please see our ad on

In 2015, Steel City managed to brew 7 times. Dave decided this was a frankly ridiculous state of affairs, so with grit, determination and sheer hard work has managed to get 2016’s tally to 4… The final brew of the year is a collaboration with Imperial brewery of Mexborough (well, Dave has emptied their hop store a few times now…), a strong stout featuring Steel City’s favourite sugar, dark muscovado. In keeping with the ‘Black Metal series’ the beer is named Mayhem, after the band but also making passing reference to Theresa Mayhem PM (ooh, little bit of politics there…). Mayhem weighs in at 6.66%, and is 66.6EBC and 66.6IBU. A little bit more politics in view of America ‘Trumping’ the UK in the mad decisions stakes, a special version for the Shakespeare is dry-hopped with American and English hops and named ‘Dumb & Dumber’. After the death of the minikit earlier in the year, a borrowed boiler was put to use for ‘Nigel Fromage’s Schokolade-Kirschkäsekuchen‘, a Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake Imperial Stout which should end up well over 10% ABV. The brew features lactose, cacao nibs, cherries and shortbread. A pin will be making its way to the Boardwalk for Chris & Kate’s grand opening whenever that may be, and the rest will be bottled, available from Beer Central, Hop Hideout and Cotteridge Wines. Speaking of Black Metal, the long awaited collaboration with Black Metal Brewery is finally happening in December, no details yet apart from it’ll be an Imperial Stout. Finally, Dave and Gazza were pleasantly surprised to be invited to the European Parliament British Pub & Beer Group xmas reception in Brussels. Unfortunately there’s no Turkey’s Voting For Christmas left to send… Might have to brew a new one and call it ‘Economic Suicide’… Dave Szwejkowski

It’s the most wonderful time of year to live in Sheffield.  There’s nowhere more magical than walking down Fargate during the festive season, savoring the smell of roasted chestnuts, enjoying the hearty brass bands of Yorkshire, and taking in the fairy lights hanging from the Christmas trees. We end our tenth year celebrations this month with our final Ten of the Best range special: Ginger Secret Santa is a full bodied, winter warming, Chocolate Ginger Bread Stout celebrating Sheffield at Christmas.  Mashed with a variety of specialty malts and more packets of ginger nuts than you can cram into a stocking, Ginger Secret Santa is Christmas in a pint glass. It doesn’t stop there with the celebrations!  This Christmas, you can purchase a selection of The Sheffield Brewery Company beers in 500ml bottles.  Beers on offer are Seven Hills (4.1% Pale Ale), Millowner’s Ale (4.3% Best Bitter) and new comer Brunswick Black (3.4% Porter). Gift packs are available from www.sheffieldbrewery.com with collection  from the brewery, or down your local bottle shop.

That time of year already! It’s going to be a storming end to 2016 for us here at Abbeydale as by the time you read this the new artwork for our core beers – Moonshine, Deception, Absolution, Black Mass and Daily Bread – will have been unveiled! We hope you’ll agree that the new designs form a much more coherent and modern looking range whilst at the same time paying homage to the history of the beers they represent. We’re thrilled with how they’ve turned out! We also hope you’ve been loving the new look Devonshire Cat, recently reopened just in time for festive frolics! Anyway, onto the beers. Kicking off December will be Destiny at 4.3%, destined to have a hearty Munich malt backbone, and single hopped with Simcoe at different stages of the brewing process. Our popular Beer Heads series now has a little Reveller to add to its repertoire, another session IPA at 3.9%. This one has a blend of American Simcoe, Summit and Chinook hops for a cornucopia of fruity flavours including pink grapefruit and passionfruit.  Surreal Ale #1 is making a return at 4.1%, and the next in our Animal Vengeance series will be out this month too… this time it’s the Crocodile Farmer! A 4.0% pale, promising to be full snappy Motueka and Rakau hops from down under. The first beer of 2017 will be a return for Doctor Morton’s Crispy Automatic Duck, pale and aromatic with a distinctive orangey bouquet. We can also announce that January will witness an evolution of the range which began with Heathen earlier this year. Full details still to be confirmed at this stage but expect an exploration into exciting ingredients, forward-thinking beer styles and more of that amazing artwork that makes Heathen so instantly recognisable! Finally, may I wish you all a very beery Christmas and a hoppy New Year! Laura

Christmas comes but once a year and to celebrate, Sheffield’s Stancill Brewery has produced a trio of seasonal festive specials to enjoy by the fireside in your local, bringing together flavours from Christmas past, present and future! Blizzard is features the classic characteristics of everything that’s great about a Stancill brew; a smooth, sweet and malty pale ale which is golden in colour and complimented with a creamy white head. If you do happen to get stuck in a blizzard, this is what you would want in your belly to warm you up! Meanwhile, Red Velvet is a the epitome of a festive brew. Rich, fully flavoured and full bodied. The strong spicy and winter berry notes are contrasted with milk chocolate and cocoa – all the scents of Christmas rolled into one! With an ABV of 6.0% it’s guaranteed to keep Jack Frost away from your door and fill you with festive spirit. In stark contrast, Mistletoe is arguably one of the most unusual beers produced by Stancill Brewery. The pale, hoppy beer is refreshing with hints of lime and citrus flavours. A cheeky beer, filled with festive cheer. One kiss of your glass and you’re sure fall in love with it. Did we mention it’s also a festive green colour? Stancill’s range of festive beers will be available at selected pubs across the city throughout December including The Horse & Jockey and Norfolk Arms. And if that wasn’t a good enough reason to celebrate Christmas with a Stancill beer, don’t forget CAMRA members will receive a 20% discount, making a pint of Stancill beer just £2.00 a pint. How’s that for spreading good festive cheer?! On behalf of all the Stancill Brewery team, we’d like to wish you a very Merry Christmas and happy and enjoyable 2017.

True North Brewery have made their brewery tap day sessions, where the brewery is opened up to the public with a temporary bar open, a monthly event. This month the brewery will be open Friday 11th November 5pm-11pm and Saturday 12th November 12pm-11pm.