BYE BYE, BRIMSTONE… HELLO, DOUBLE BRIMSTONE!

We say a fond farewell to an Abbeydale classic, but not before one last hurrah… Brimstone is a beer that’s been with us for over a decade. An American hopped take on the classic English bitter, it’s become renowned for its robust, well balanced flavour and of course the horny goat-like devil in a pentacle pump clip. It’s a much loved beer here at the brewery and one that our brewers always enjoy creating. However, there’s recently been a bit of a twist in Brimstone’s tale (or should that be tail?!). Many of you may be aware of the global hop crisis that’s going on at the moment. As a result, it’s becoming harder and harder to get our hands on certain hops. One of those most affected for us is Amarillo, the very backbone of our Brimstone brew. With such a distinctive character, we’ve had to have a major think about whether we want to allow our beloved Brimstone to quietly fade away as the hops diminish, or whether it’s best just to call it a day. Sadly, we’ve reached the difficult decision to lay this particular Beelzebub to rest. BUT! This isn’t a beast that’s going to die quietly, oh no! The first of our limited edition birthday beers is to be DOUBLE BRIMSTONE… a 7.8% American brown ale, with a mammoth malt grist, outrageous hop quantities and a special new yeast strain. We’re also thrilled to announce the winner of our competition to design the pump clip for Double Brimstone as Carl Flint. He’s managed to capture the spirit of our beloved beast and suitably soup it up. The “groovy red pentacle shades” really suit him, don’t ya think?! You can find out more about Carl and his work on his website, http://www.carlflint.com/. In further exciting news, and an absolute first for us here at Abbeydale, we’re going to be releasing a limited run of Double Brimstone in bottles! We’ve decided on 750ml bottles to make them perfect for sharing. Look out for them at select local retailers and our pubs, the Devonshire Cat and the Rising Sun, in the spring.

A beer called Mothers Bruin has been brewed in collaboration with Sheffield food and drink bloggers Mashtun & Meow’  It is a gin inspired brown beer brewed with Belgian yeast, Belgian Malt and Juniper berries. The name of the beer is a reference to gin being nicknamed ‘Mothers Ruin’ and the Belgian ‘Bruin’ style of brown ale. It was launched at the Beer Engine in Sheffield on Wednesday 10th February with a cask versus keg event. Both versions were the same beer but the keg was served chilled and carbonated and drinkers were invited to vote on Twitter for which they preferred. The cask version on handpump drank like a smooth bitter with a big twang of flavour in the aftertaste, the keg version seemed light, sweet and fruity. They were like two different beers, despite the cask and keg actually containing the same thing! Your editor, in a shock bombshell, actually preferred the keg version, however Twitter spoke and the vote on the night was in favour of the cask version.

The last two years has seen Stancill Brewery go from strength to strength, with 2016 marking an important next step for the ambitious Sheffield brewery. Stancill are approaching their second anniversary and have seen the business grow and develop considerably during this time. Since acquiring the brewing equipment from Barnsley’s Oakwell Brewery, not only have founders Tom and Adam succeeded in recreating Oakwell’s legendary Barnsley Bitter, but they have won the Champion Bitter of Yorkshire for the past two years. Their range of core craft ales has grown, picking up a number of awards along the way.  Stainless 4.3% has developed into one of their most popular brews and has gathered a dedicated following of drinkers and landlords alike. In addition to expanding their core range of ales, Stancill are even responsible for creating Sheffield’s first ever pilsner. Sheffield Pilsner is available in a number of bars and pubs across Sheffield, with bottles available from selected retailers around the city. In February 2016, Stancill has undergone a rebrand with a new website to match. The iconic steel workers logo has had a slight rework, but the most noticeable changes are in the eye catching pump clip designs and their point of sale merchandising. The brewery continues to grow and while Stancill’s aim is to cement their status as one of the major players in the Sheffield brewing scene, they also have one eye on expanding outside of Yorkshire. Tom Gill, MD of Stancill, “I’d like to thank all of our loyal customers and landlords that have been enthusiastic about our beer since our very first brew, and also thank our suppliers and CAMRA for their support and encouragement”. Stancill also hold numerous events across the city; their most recent was a successful beer and gourmet food evening at the Showroom Cafe/Bar. They will be teaming up with the Red Deer as part of Sheffield Beer Week for a ‘Tap Takeover and meet the brewer session’ on the 17th March. Their core range of beers will be on offer with one or two specials available too.

Steel City have been named by Ratebeer as the best brewery in South Yorkshire for the second year in a row, and made it a hat-trick of best beer awards, this time for Christmas Is Cancelled http://www.ratebeer.com/RateBeerBest/BestBeers-State2016.asp Late April sees the 500^th anniversary of ‘Reinheitsgebot’, the German beer ‘purity’ law that restricted brewers to only malt, hops, yeast and water. More adventurous brewers worldwide are informally celebrating ‘Neinheitsgebot’ with beers that most definitely don’t conform to these restrictions! Find out more on Facebook, Anti-Reinheitsgebot event. Dave will be travelling to Hopcraft to brew a Germanic Insult to History. Hopefully it will appear at the Shakespeare along with a couple of non-conformist beers from Germany.

Having been welcomed into the brewing community here in Sheffield, we’ve already received plenty of advice; most of which has gone something like this: “It’s not for the faint hearted”, “I’d stick to home-brewing” or “What’s your backup plan?”. Starting a new business is hard work and all consuming. Starting a brewery is brutal. Yet, for all the hard work, long hours, getting wet, late night thinking about yeast, and labelling hundreds of bottles by hand, there is nothing more satisfying than being told that your beer was the fastest selling brand in a local bottle shop in the whole of 2015, selling out of Christmas stock in less than 24 hours, or seeing somebody crack open one of your beers all the way over in Germany! In little over a year, since receiving a producer’s license from Her Maj the Queen, we’ve relocated from the cellar of our tiny house in Walkley to The Sheffield Brewery Company, using their mini kit; and, we’re about to release our first beers of 2016, including our first ever cask conditioned ale. Ryejoice, a pale rye made using Nelson Sauvin and Simcoe hops (both of which, it would appear, are a bit like unicorn poo – very hard to get hold of) will be available in the Harlequin throughout Sheffield Beer Week, 14-20 March. Additionally, we’ll be releasing a limited run of Ryejoice in bottles, along with old favourites O Hoppy Day and As The Deer Pants For Porter, available in bottle shops in and around Sheffield. We’re hoping to produce more beer this year, including cask versions of our regular brews, and launch an imperial range – ALMIGHTY – starting with a Russian Imperial Stout, Ex Nihilo. For all the latest Faith, Hops and Love, visit our website www.emmanuales.co.uk Nick Law