Category: Breweries

In November we became one of the sponsors of Kendal Mountain Festival, a world class event that ‘sets the standard as an innovative, inclusive and creative celebration of everything outdoors’. We wanted to work with the festival as we felt they shared many of our values, striving for quality and fun whilst being inspired by the outdoors environment that we are blessed to work in. To celebrate the partnership we brewed KMF a 4.8% Pale Ale, brewed with big American hops that entices with Grapefruit and Mandarin aromas before exploding with tropical fruit flavour. The beer was a big hit at the festival on draft and in bottle. We have been donating an amount from the sale of each keg and bottle to the Kendal Mountain Festival charity funds, however in light of recent suffering facing people in the area due to the flooding we will now be doubling our donations from each keg and bottle sold direct from the brewery and from selected Booths stores from which it will soon be available.  We hope this donation goes a little way to helping people at this time in Kendal and the surrounding area.

When we launched our strawberry beer I Love You Will U Marry Me in 2015 there was always the possibility that someone might seize the opportunity and use the beer to really make that proposal. So we were delighted when Sinead O’Connor contacted us to say that her fiancé Ian Batterbee had done just that by proposing with a bottle of the beer on Christmas Day. Sinead says it was really appropriate to make the proposal with beer as the couple as beer lovers had met in a pub in Didsbury. The wedding – including a selection of great beers – is now being planned for 2017. The proposal took place at Marsden Waterfall in West Yorkshire on Christmas morning where the couple regularly walk their dog. “It wasn’t a surprise to walk there on the morning” says Sinead “but opening my final present and reading the label was a fantastic surprise”. I Love You Will U Marry Me was launched in June 2015. The beer was  brewed to support S1 Artspace’s ambitions to create a major new cultural venue at Park Hill for Sheffield, funds raised from the sale of the beer will go towards this development. The beer’s name originates from a marriage proposal when the words ‘I Love You Will U Marry Me’ were painted onto a Street Bridge at Park Hill, this urban romantic gesture has since become famous throughout the city. This is a fruit beer absolutely packed with fresh strawberries. It has been very carefully brewed so as to not overwhelm the palate with sweetness and create a balanced taste.

Firstly the team at Welbeck would like to wish all our supporters a very Happy New Year. We couldn’t continue if it wasn’t for those who do therefore we wish you all a prosperous and happy 2016. It’s already shaping up to be a busy one here at the brewery and there are plenty of plans afoot and treats in-store. We’re currently in the process of sampling and racking our second batch of Lady A, an abbey dubbel- style ale which is currently wood-cask maturing in the tunnels under Welbeck Abbey itself. It’s a fine libation full of dry wood tannin, rich abbey yeast and red fruits. Imagine a vastly ramped up, imperial strength Red Feather and you may be getting close. Some of you were lucky enough to get your hands on the first batch we released. Keep your eyes peeled on Twitter and Facebook for announcement of the release of the second batch. Our newest venture Portland House, based on Ecclesall Road in Sheffield has settled into its surrounds nicely and the pub is preparing to start promoting tasting evenings in the very near future. It’s a lovely place to sit and watch the world go by (with a tasty beverage in hand) so drop in and say hello if you find yourself in the area. Our January Specials are out now so look out for brewery favourite: Kaiser, a 4.1% lager-style pale brewed with German hops for an authentic herbal aroma and cereal malt tones. It’s crisp, dry and refreshing- just what you need to kick off a new year! Our other Monthly Special for January is Seven Sisters pale ale at 4.2%. It has a refreshing lemon barley citrus flavour, giving way to light bitterness. It was brewed to celebrate a medieval oak tree on the estate, which sprung seven trunks- known locally as the Seven Sisters. February specials are also planned and the hugely successful Savoy Hill (USA pale) and Firehouse Red (hoppy red rye) will be making a return. Finally we have a few staff announcements at the brewery. Some of you may be aware that Head Brewer, General Manager and (brewery) Mother Goose- Claire is expecting her first child. Claire is now on maternity leave for 6 months and we wish her and husband Tom well for the new arrival very soon. During this time please direct all enquiries to Hannah at the brewery who is Acting General Manager in Claire’s place. Unfortunately we had to say goodbye to Assistant Brewer, Joe, as he moved on to an apprenticeship with a civil engineering firm in Sheffield. He will be missed however we wish Joe all the best in his new career. Some of you may now have met our new full-time Delivery Driver, Peter, who has settled into brewery life very well. Give him a wave if you see him on his rounds! Finally we welcome Tom Roe as Assistant Brewer. He is already enjoying learning to brew on a large scale after tinkering on his home brew kit. So that’s it for now folks, we would like to thank you all once more for your continued support throughout the last five years and wish you all well for the year ahead. Hannah Bolton

After a hectic first six months we are looking forward to an exciting 2016 here at Neepsend Brew Co. Since we started brewing in June we have produced fourteen different beers and are starting to settle on a core range of our 4.0% Blonde, 5.2% Stout, a 5.0% IPA with a changing selection of hops and a couple of pale and hoppy specials around 4.2-4.5%. We also brewed Hokkaido IPA – a 5.6% IPA dry hopped with Sorachi Ace – which has been well received and there are plans for some further stronger and more experimental brews. We were delighted and very flattered to be named as ‘brewery of the year’ for 2015 by local bloggers, the Two Beer Geeks. We are a work in progress but are very happy with the start we’ve made and have got big plans for 2016. Watch out for a Neepsend presence at Sheffield Food Festival in May as part of the Sheffield Breweries Cooperative and and a brewery showcase at the Sheaf View during Sheffield Beer Week in March.

Firstly we were really pleased to win two awards back in October at Huddersfield Beer Festival. We won gold in the strong bitter category for Attack of the Geek 6.0% which also just missed out at Sheffield Beer Festival coming second in the same category as well as this Ginger Beer 4.5% came third in the speciality category  at Huddersfield. Ginger Beer will be available throughout the festive period. Although Attack of the Geek has sold out, the next in the series will be available in December: Revenge of the Geek 4.5% is a red hoppy beer packed with Mosaic hops to give plenty of tropical fruit flavours and a combination of five different malts to give a robust malt body. On top of this the next two single hopped IPAs will both feature southern hemisphere hop varieties the first from New Zealand: Rakau IPA 5.0% the hops impart tropical fruit passion fruit and citrus characteristics. The second will feature Australian hops: Galaxy IPA 5.0% these hops impart passion fruit and peach characteristics.  Both beers are sure to have plenty of tropical fruit hop flavours. A few other beers we are working include Into the Void 6.0% a black IPA containing Columbus and Motueka hops. As well as Motueka Pale 3.9% which will be a crisp refreshing pale beer showcasing this New Zealand hop.

Well I can’t believe it’s coming round to the festive time of the year already, we would like to wish everybody Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! And what a year it has been! So much we could talk about, but firstly lets talk about our two pubs! We were delighted that the Devonshire Cat was awarded November Pub Of The Month, and this was a fitting way for our exiting manager, Josh, to sign off with! Thank you to all that came down to celebrate with us. We are equally delighted to announce that our new manager is Elizabeth Casserly, who moves over from the Sheffield Tap. She brings a wealth of experience and knowledge and I’m sure she will continue to improve the pub in every department. The Rising Sun has been undergoing a mammoth expansion project, which is hopefully finished by the time you are reading this! Now with a full kitchen, extra drinking and dining area, and new toilets, we hope that you will come in and enjoy the new environment, with a warm welcome from Ryan, Nicole and their team! The kitchen is being run by our Head Chef from the Devonshire Cat, Pete Lightfoot, and expect the same high quality, freshly prepared pub food. Serving times are TBC.  Also keep an eye out for the brand new website and social media presence for the pub! (risingsunsheffield.co.uk) As much as 2015 has been a great year for the brewery, 2016 is going to MASSIVE! We celebrate our 20th birthday, plus SunFest’s 10th birthday! There will be a range of very special 20th birthday beers released at various points throughout the year and you may even see our beer in containers that we have yet to use before now!!! However that’s all I’m allowed to say right now (“Yes – shut up now Robin!” – Dan)!     Onto beers that I can talk about, our festive offerings from Dr Morton, ‘Our Wayne In A Manger’ and ‘Turkey Surprise’ should be hitting the bar by now, but also look out for ‘Thaw’ (4.8%, pale) and ‘Snowdrift’ (4.0%, pale with orange and cloves) in December and early January. Getting ready for all those New Year promises we bring back ‘Resolution’ a 4.2% pale beer that is sure to keep you on track (unless you give up drinking for January!) Robin

Fuggle Bunny is pleased to announce their latest beer Chapter 8 – Jammy Dodger 4.5% ruby red ale won silver in the Best Bitter category at the CAMRA Steel City Beer & Cider Festival at Kelham Island Museum in October 2015.  The Bunny is well hoppy… 🙂

The Drone Valley Brewery cuckoo brewed its third beer in time for the Chesterfield Market Beer Festival. This was Fanshaw Blonde at 4.8% ABV. The beer proved to be very popular both at the festival and at several local hostelries. Progress has been made in setting up their own brewery, with a target date of December 2015 for the first brew. Volunteers are needed to help with a range of tasks, including decorating the building. Further investment is still being sought, and the series of roadshows promoting the venture continue. There is a ‘community benefit’ element of the brewery’s ethos in that a proportion of each year’s profits will be donated to local good causes. Further details are available at:  dronevalleybrewery.com

Stancill Brewery supported Movember, the charity event promoting awareness of Testicular cancer where during November gents across the UK grow a frankly ludicrous moustache, with a dark, creamy and sweet 5% ABV Stout.

To compliment our current office based sales coordinator a field sales rep joins us from November to help us maintain and grow customers in the North. Continuing on our Club 33 monthly specials theme, Number 3 has been released. It is as always 5.0% and was hopped completely post boil with Calypso, Centennial, Chinook and Crystal. We balanced the bitterness with a darker version of Munich malt, which has given the beer a beautiful burnt orange colour. Number 4 in the series will be a 5.0% pale ale hopped with Mosaic and Citra with continuous dry hopping in the later stages of fermentation and should be ready for late November/early December. We gained great feedback about a trial keg beer we did for the Harlequin, which was our Sorachi Ace special with added fruit in the keg. We will be launching both a cask and keg version for Spring/Summer 2016 based on this recipe. Mocha Milk Stout, our mocha coffee imperial stout, has now been released. And our seasonal golden Amarillo hopped ale Yellow Rose will be back from December, whilst our Centennial single hop Frontier takes a break from our line up. This will allow for the return of Winter Pale from January to March.