Category: Breweries

Brews News – this year’s seasonal line up from Bradfield Brewery sees the return of Jack O’ Lantern Ale. A spooktacular brew with no unwelcome surprises, this traditional dark amber coloured ale offers a 4.5% abv and a sharp dry aftertaste. November seeks to remember the fallen with a sensitive creation, 10pence from every pint sold of Farmers Poppy Ale is donated to the Royal British Legion. This light coloured fruity ale is one to remember for the 11^th November. And dare we speak of the festive season??………the Holidays are surely coming and with them, so will Farmers Belgian Blue. For those that simply cannot wait until November for a taste of the finest, Belgian Blue will be putting in a guest appearance at this year’s Sheffield Beer Festival – 19-22^nd October at Kelham Island Museum. Charity News – St Luke’s Tractor Rally 2016, supported by Bradfield Brewery, raised a moderate £6209.82 for St Lukes Cancer Charity. The Rally saw over 70 tractors make their way through Stannington, Storrs, Dungworth, Bradfield, Broomhead, over the hills and finishing at the Brewery Tap, The Nags Head at Loxley where a charity auction was held, fuelled up with a pint of Farmers Red Diesel. Sticking with the auction theme, Bradfield Brewery are holding their annual Harvest Auction at the Brewery Tap, the Nags Head on Saturday 1^st October. Kicking off at 7:30pm with performances from Bolsterstone Male Voice Choir, the event promises to be an evening full of auction comedy and bargains! The Farmers Ales will be flowing in accordance!

SO MANY exciting new brews to share with you this month! First up, our friends at Opus Independents are hosting the Autumn Season of the Festival of Debate.  And so following on from Spring’s Why Not Give A Toss?, we’ve got Why Not Give More Of A Toss? coming out,  a 4% session pale ale brewed with Motueka, Cascade and Pacific Jade hops for a well-rounded, eminently quaffable brew with floral and spicy notes. Plus, an OUTRAGEOUSLY pink pump clip, so definitely no missing that one on the bar! Doctor Morton’s been busy cooking up Mandarin Claw of Death (4.1%), featuring Mandarina Bavaria and Amarillo hops for a veritable burst of citrussy flavour – “not suitable for ducks”! We’ll also have a stout out towards the middle of the month, name and details as yet TBC but it promises to be a luscious and full bodied autumnal treat.

With all the festivities of the season coming up, we’ve got two spooky brews to be out ready for Halloween – the return of Evil (4.6%) and a brand new collaboration with BrewDog Sheffield. Brewed for their annual CollabFest, Iced Tea Dead People is a 4.6% iced tea beer using peach-infused Sencha tea from Birdhouse Tea Co. and a plethora of fresh peaches, to be available in both cask and keg.

Finally, for something a bit cheerier to combat all this talk of Halloween naughtiness, the next in our Beer Heads series will be out right at the end of the month. Our new pal Frolicker will be a 3.8% Sorachi Ace session IPA, promising tantalising flavours of lemon and coconut.

We’ve been busily brewing new beers over the last month here at Neepsend. First up was Hop Rocket IPA – a bold and seriously hoppy Red Rye IPA brewed with Australian Galaxy and Topaz hops. The beer was the winning entry from a competition held at the Sheaf View and Blake Hotel for customers to submit ideas for a beer and the winning entrants, Victoria and Jay, came and helped out (read: did all the hard work and dug out he mash tun!) on the brew day.

Sharpshoter, another new beer, is a 4.7% NZ Pale hopped with fabulous Nelson Sauvin and Pacific Jade hops. It’s dry, sharp and crisp with distinctive fruity white wine notes from the Nelson Sauvin and has flown out and been very well received.

Undine, a 4.2% Oatmeal pale ale hoped with Sorachi Ace and Calypso is making it’s way out into pubs. Expect smoothness and body from the oats and coconut, lemon and pear notes from the hops. Next up will be a (rare for us) return to a beer we’ve brewed before: Triton, a 4.5% pale ale triple hopped with Citra. Cascade and Chinook and this time round with added dry hops. Following that, look out for something tasty using the Mosaic hops we’ve been saving for a rainy day… Cheers, Gavin  

As the summer comes to an end and we start the slow, long descent into winter, hop growers have been out in their fields collecting the harvest of hops that will soon adorn many of the beers we all know and love.  And what better way to celebrate hops than to pack them into an old favourite in our core range… Seven Hills has been reimagined as a dry and hoppy pale all, full of Northern Brewer, Magnum, Chinook and Centennial, giving this pale ale bags of citrus flavours and packing a bitter punch.

But it doesn’t stop there with the new beers.  This autumn, we’ll be welcoming new and returning students to Sheffield with our 2016 edition of Fresh Start, hopped with Rakau, Goldings and Bobek; and a special beer which will have you joining the stampede down the local. We will also be raising money for The Children’s Hospital Charity by releasing a special elephant beer to promote the Herd of Sheffield www.herdofsheffield.com. The money raised through donations to The Children’s Hospital Charity will help buy life-saving equipment, fund vital research and treatment for thousands of children from across the world and help create a comfortable, engaging environment for patients. Pubs who participate may also raise funds on their bar through sales before the elephants depart. A celebration farewell is scheduled to be held at the Crucible theatre (we’ll Facebook further details) in October so there will then be an opportunity to donate and sip our charity special on that night too. Ten pounds from each cask we sell will go direct to the charity. Finally, our September bash in our Brewery Tap Room was a roaring success and thanks to Tom and Rich on Friday and Tom Jones on Saturday for playing live and keeping everyone entertained. We shall once again throw open the doors again on Friday 7^th and Saturday 8^th October from 6.30pm.  Come and join us for fresh beer, banter, live music, and good times.  Take advantage of our Beer Club by becoming a member for £15 (annual subscription) and enjoy discounts on our bar. Peddlers will also be on so it’s sure to be a lively weekend!

You’d think that following the various television and radio appearances that it would be full steam ahead for the Emmanuales production machine to keep up with the rising demand for our beers of biblical proportions.  Our latest beer – As The Deer Pants For Porter (5.0% Smoked Porter) ended up in smoke in more ways than one.  Unfortunately, the kit we used finally gave up the not-so-holy-ghost and breathed its last breath, spontaneously combusting. And so, the wheels have ground to a halt.  But be ye not afraid!  We’ve commissioned a new, shiny brewing system and aim to get production into full swing again in the coming weeks, just in time for several beer festivals. The Independent Salford Beer Festival takes place at Saint Sebastian’s Community Centre from 20th-22nd October, where you’ll be able to sample the aforementioned beer in cask for the first time. Back in the heart of God’s own county, we’re hoping to provide an array of beers for the much loved Sheffield Steel City Beer & Cider festival, taking place on 19th-22nd October.  After which, we’ll be ramping up production for Christmas gift packs.  Watch this space! Fingers crossed this new kit doesn’t blow up! Nick Law

This month Stancill Brewery has embarked on a journey to the other side of the wide in its quest to give drinkers in Sheffield a taste of the antipodean. The result is Pacific Gem, a brand new easy-drinking session beer. Developed by apprentice brewer Jonathan, Pacific Gem is the eagerly anticipated follow up beer to his first offering, Jaxon and features New Zealand hops. This refreshing drink features a subtle berry taste and designed to be enjoyed whilst lapping up the last of the summer sun or settling in front of a roaring as the temperatures start to plummet as the nights start to draw in. In stark contrast, Stancill Brewery has also produced its hoppiest beer to date –  that is, according to head brewer Dean! The 4.8% pale ale is an all-American hop affair designed to tempt beer connoisseurs with a citrus aroma, delicate floral notes and a spicy aftertaste. The powerful cascade and chinook hops help ensure this pint packs a punch.  If you’re a bit of hop monster, then American Beauty might be for you!

Steel City’s brew for September is a home collaboration, and as Dave owed collabs to both Mike at Landlocked and Jimmy at Lost Industry, and has an eye for a BOGOF bargain, it’s a three way collaboration. AFA (which stands for Absolutely something something…) is a pale hoppy number, 111ibu and featuring Chinook, Kazbek and a mystery hop we think is Galaxy! Dry hops are Mount Hood and Mosaic. Mike will also be experimenting with a couple of casks of AFA, fruit and brettanomyces have been mentioned…   Two special variants will be appearing at the 42nd Steel City Beer Festival, Life the Universe and Everything being extra dry-hopped, and Grim Reaper being subtly* dosed with Carolina Reaper chillies *Dave’s idea of subtlety may not match that in most dictionaries! Dave Szwejkowski

As summer draws to an end we keep ploughing forward with new specials. The first of which is brewed with the one of our favourite hops of the moment: Equinox. We have showcased this American hop in Equinox Pale 4.2% which has big tropical fruit and grapefruit flavours accompanied by pie like flavours leading to a dry finish. On top of this we have brewed Olicana Gold 3.8%. A crisp, refreshing, session pale which unusually for us is brewed using only English hops, the relatively new hop Olicana is used to give tropical fruit flavours with a slight earthy finish. As well as this we have re-brewed Motueka IPA 5.0% as our single hopped IPA for September. This beer showcases New Zealand Motueka hops which impart their lime and floral hop characteristics. And finally we are on American 5 Hop Version 15 4.3% which this month blends Columbus, Sorachi Ace, Equinox, Simcoe and Chinook.

A big thank you to everyone who came down to raise a pint with us at the Devonshire Cat in celebration of Moonshine’s 20th birthday! Moonshine is much-loved here at Abbeydale HQ, and it’s had a sensational journey over the years, becoming one of Sheffield’s most iconic and well recognised beers and now being distributed nationally through Heineken, TradeTeam, Greene King and Carlsberg #proudface. Anyway, from one of our very oldest beers to what’s out this month! Illumination (4.8%) is making a comeback, and will be lighting up bars once again having not been brewed since 2010. A classic pale and hoppy ale, with a powerful bouquet from the hops used.

Doctor Morton’s Non Stick (4.1%) is another old favourite making a return and promises to be a refreshing golden beer with fruity aromas and a crisp bitterness. We’re also planning a collaboration with one of our local favourites, The BBQ Collective at The Hop. This 4.5% pale will be fresh and fruity, taking influence from culinary ingredients and designed to perfectly complement BBQ food. Sales guru Ethna Wild will be launching her signature beer this month too… she’s kept her plans for this one tightly under wraps so we all can’t wait to see what “Wild” brew she’s conjured up! Cheers! Laura