Next from our Mythical Creatures inspired series we have Hydra, a 3.9% pale ale single hopped with Elani. Vibrant and tropical, with aromas of guava and lime alongside a delicious peachy character and a zesty zing in the finish.
The light vs dark duo of Archangel and Dark Angel make a return – both 4.5% and hopped with Simcoe and Vic Secret, the beers partner each other perfectly. In the pale version, expect a bright tropical character and a piney, fresh finish. In the stout, the hops meld with the rich malt backbone for tasty fruitcake flavours and a long-lasting bitter finish.
Through the Hopback – Superdelic (4.1%) is a delicious pale ale featuring an exciting and unique new hop! Fruit forward in flavour with notes of red berries and citrussy notes, paired with a sweet candy character.
And our 2024 vintage of Old Ale is on the way too – rich, mellow and well balanced, this release is a blend of two years of craftsmanship. Flavours of toffee, fruitcake and raisins meet a light wood character and a subtle spiciness from UK grown Fuggles and Olicana hops. Smooth and sensuous with a warm, lingering finish. 8.0% ABV, designed to be savoured.
Thornbridge have become one of the latest members of the Zero Carbon Forum, a non-profit organisation, empowering members to reach sustainability targets with more speed, efficiency, and profit as a united effort.
As part of Thornbridge’s commitment to social responsibility they are striving to making their operations more sustainable by assisting with measuring their carbon footprint, addressing their emissions and environmental and social governance as a matter of priority.
Zero Carbon Forum stated ‘At Zero Carbon Forum, we’re working with over a third of the UK’s hospitality and brewing sector to drive the changes we need to ensure our restaurants, bars and pubs can be enjoyed for generations to come.’
Jim Harrison, Co-Founder and Chairman of Thornbridge, explained ‘Our journey to improve the environmental impacts of our beer is a key part of our business for the future and we are proud to be a new member of the Zero Carbon Forum to work with businesses embracing the same ideals.’
The Forum has provided a space for Thornbridge to work with like-minded businesses in sharing knowledge and new ways of working. They are excited to become an integral part of the Forum in the future.
Brewer Jim Rangeley with Abbeydale’s marketing manager Laura. CREDIT: Noelia Amado Photography
Sheffield’s Abbeydale Brewery are celebrating this week, after their Lead Brewer, Jim Rangeley, was named Brewer of the Year at the 2024 Brewers Choice Awards.
Jim was presented with the prestigious award at a London ceremony earlier this week, where he and the team celebrated alongside hundreds of their brewing industry peers at the annual industry event. Jim, 35, who hails from Sheffield and this year celebrates a decade of working in the beer industry, heads up Abbeydale’s small batch, mixed fermentation “Funk Dungeon” project, alongside being a valued part of the brewteam.
Jim says “I’m privileged to have a job I truly enjoy, working as part of a brilliant team for a company that puts its trust in me. To have even been shortlisted was incredibly humbling and it’s a true honour to have won.”
Judged by a panel of industry experts, this accolade recognises Jim’s talent and passion, as well as his strong sense of values and commitment to progress within the wider industry. Beer writer and judge Melissa Cole said “What Jim has achieved at Abbeydale is nothing short of excellent. From the Funk Dungeon to churning out great core ranges and being a decent human at the same time, this award is well-deserved.”
Tim Sheahan, editor of The Brewers Journal and organiser of the awards, added: “The level of competition for the ‘Brewer of The Year’ category is always incredibly high and in 2024 this was no different. But the judging panel at The Brewers Choice Awards recognised not only Jim’s ability to produce a wealth of different styles with unerring ease but his commitment to the industry, too.”
In addition, Abbeydale Brewery were also shortlisted in the Branding of the Year category for their cask beer focused Travel Poster series, the artwork for which is created by designer James Murphy, who has been working with Abbeydale Brewery since 2016. James described making the top three in this hotly contested category as “fantastic”, adding that the unique branding for this range is intended to invoke an emotional connection between the beer, the place, and ultimately the drinker.
Abbeydale Brewery, Sheffield’s longest established brewery, are well known for producing a huge range of beers (in particular their flagship pale ale, Moonshine), blending innovation with heritage and reflecting these values across their beers.
Abbeydale Brewery Funk Dungeon brewer Jim Rangeley – CREDIT Mark Newton PhotographyAbbeydale Brewery brewer Jim Rangeley mashing out – CREDIT Mark Newton Photography
Drone Valley Brewery‘s latest release is one of their classics making a comeback – Station Porter, a 5.7% ABV porter. A new range of seasonal specials is being launched, known as Pick & Mix, although this is about the hops rather than being themed on bags of sweets! The first in the series features Brewers Gold and Amarillo hops and is a sessionable 4% ABV. The brewery is also planning for the run up to Christmas, expect a spiced amber ale and an 8.4% ABV imperial Russian stout to make an appearance.
Collyfobble Brewery‘s next seasonal brew is a yet unnamed hoppy red ale.
Bradfield Brewery’s annual release of Belgian Blue in cask is planned for 4 November.
Eyam Brewery launched a new beer at their recent open day – “Bring Out Your Dead”, a 4.4% ABV Cappuccino Stout, brewed with beer from Ground Effect Coffee roasters located next door to the brewery!
Chantry Brewery have some of their bottled beers available at the new ARC cinema on the Forge Island development, located across the river from Rotherham Central station.
Fuggle Bunny Brew Houseare hosting an Oktoberfest event as an extra tap session at the brewery on Saturday 28 September, 2-9pm, featuring live music (at 4:30pm), Northern Burgers and special beers.
We’re all really looking forward to the Steel City Beer & Cider Festival, taking place from 16th-19th October and always one of the highlights of the year! We’re hosting a tutored tasting on the Thursday evening, showcasing a selection of our beers including a limited edition release from our Funk Dungeon project! We hope to see you there.
On to the beers! The big news first, it’s almost time for the return of Last Rites (11.0%)! A bold and full-bodied barley wine still brewed to the original 1997 recipe. Single hopped with Willamette for delicately spicy notes and hints of zesty lemon. Smooth, robust and luxurious with a tempting aroma of rich caramel and warming flavours of toffee, candied peel and dried citrus fruits. A long standing favourite and a beer to truly savour.
New from our Salvation series is a Black Forest Gateau Stout (5.2%). Decadent and delicious, seemlessly melds chocolate and cherry flavours in a homage to a rich and retro cake that’s a classic for a reason! Smooth and creamy, with a fruity-sweet finish.
We have a New Zealand IPA coming up from the Wanderer series (6.0%), brewed using a brand new hop, currently known as NZH-106, which we’re amongst the first in the world to trial! Tropical fruit and zesty lime and grapefruit dominate the flavour, with complementary herbal notes layering up the backbone.
In cask only Doctor Morton’s Non-Stick (4.1%) is on the way, a refreshing golden beer with Mosaic, Columbus and Chinook hops. Aromas of mango and subtle melon which continue to develop throughout alongside a tasty pine character and a crisp bitter finish.
We are very excited to be teaming up for a collaboration brew with Liverpool’s Neptune Brewery – the name is still TBC but it’ll be a 5.0% “Retro IPA” featuring UK hops, and will come under our gorgeous Travel Poster series.
And finally, making a welcome return is our classic ESB from the Restoration series, using UK grown Fuggles and Goldings hops. Deliciously drinkable and a great choice as we start to move into autumn.
Kelham Island Brewery (who currently brew at Thornbridge) are celebrating the 20th anniversary of Pale Rider winning CAMRA’s Champion Beer of Britain competition with a special double dry hopped edition of the beer. This was launched at the Sheffield Tap on 14 August. On their social media they have been sharing thoughts and memories of the occasion from a few high profile folk including Garrett Oliver, the brewmaster at Brooklyn, who was on the judging panel at the Great British Beer Festival that year!
Eyam Brewery are hosting the third and final of their open days of this year on Saturday 14 September. The brewery is in Great Hucklow, bus 65 (Sheffield-Buxton) will get you there.
Neepsend Brewery recently celebrated their 1,000th brew with a 10% imperial stout called Titan.
A new beer from Bradfield Brewery for August/September is Farmers Harvest Gold, a 4.2% golden ale brewed with Nelson Sauvin and Archer hops, giving a note of stone fruit in the flavour and a sharp but juicy finish. Coming up in October are two regular seasonal ales, Farmers Jack O’ Lantern (for Halloween) and Farmers Poppy Ale (for Remembrance Sunday with a donation from sales of 10p per pint going to the Royal British Legion).
Fuggle Bunny Brew House continue to host food traders at their Friday Fuggle tap sessions into September. 6 Sep its the Tacho Trailer, 13 Sep Lush ‘n Loaded and 20 Sep Poblano Mexican. Food is available 4-8pm. The brewery is just off the Halfway-Killamarsh road and walkable from Halfway tram and bus terminus.
Triple Point Brewery have released iteration number 11 of their DYAD series. The hop pairing this time is Cryo Pop and Centennial and is sweet, fruity and hazy. Its also gluten free and suitable for vegans. In other news, the tap room will again this year be hosting an Oktoberfest event, on 27 and 28 September.
One of the more recent additions to the range from Tapped Brew Co, which was launched in time for Tramlines festival, was Station Yard, a 4.2% ABV golden ale.
So the big news here at Abbeydale HQ as we start to look autumn-wards with our beer releases is that Pilgrim is back! Our 5.0% Pumpkin Spiced Ale has become somewhat of a cult classic for us and we know there’s lots of people who look forward to it along with us. After the success of the Pumpkin Spice Latte inspired Twilight Pilgrim stout version (also 5.0%) last year, that’s making a very welcome return too, and we’re completing the trilogy with a special release of Imperial Pilgrim, weighing in at 8.0% but with the same delicious blend of cosy spices as the OG. All will be available in cask, keg and can too, and we’re all pretty excited here to unleash this trio on bars across the city and beyond!
Also getting ready for Autumn we have Harvested, a 4.1% pale ale brewed with Galaxy hops. Expect a fruity beer with refreshing tropical character alongside a clean, grapefruit bitterness and a subtle spiciness in the finish.
We’re incredibly excited to launch the “home” leg of our collaboration with Devon’s outstanding Utopian Brewing, who hosted us to create a Nelson Sauvin hopped lager last year. In keeping with this theme, we’ve created Nelson Pale (5.2%), which uses Nelson Sauvin in whole cone, T90 pellet and Cryo form for a bold and hop forward pale ale. Tropical fruit, citrus and hints of elderflower on the nose, followed by a smooth body and a crisp, clean bitter finish.
And next from our Mythical Creatures series is Failinis, a 4.2% Citra, Columbus and Cascade hopped pale ale which promises a predominantly citrus character with subtle black pepper notes in the background, followed up by a pleasingly robust bitterness.
Steel City’s latest brew is a collab (pick yourselves up off the floor…) with Ten Men Brewery from Ukraine. Ten Men’s original brewery was within a few miles of the Russian border and as such was lost very early in the invasion. They have been cuckoo/contract brewing in Lviv but are keen to build a new brewery of their own (and a ‘brew hub’ to allow others to brew, test and experiment) and to fund it have launched their ‘100 Collabs’ project, the first two brews being with Memento (Canada) and Modus (Australia). Dave and former Steel City business partner Gazza had both enjoyed Ten Men’s beers on visits to Ukraine before the invasion, especially their heavily fruited sours in the Not For Breakfast series, and so were keen both to help and to work with the brewery (they also plan to go to Ukraine for a return collab at some point!).
The beer is ‘Men of Steel’, a sour based on the traditional Ukrainian drink Uzvar (aka Kompot), a refreshing concoction made from apples, pears, cherries, plums, berries and apricots. Hopefully there will be two versions, a ‘straight’ fruited sour, and a dessert sour version with lactose and vanilla for a thicker (or thiccer if you’re a hipster) feel and a sweet & sour taste.
Looking further ahead, September marks the 15th anniversary of Steel City (the 10th anniversary celebration feels like five minutes ago not five years!), so will be marked with a small celebration at the pub where it all began, the Harlequin. The original beer Hop Manifesto will be rebrewed but for a 2024 audience, which basically means 15 grams per litre of dry hop in the tank. There will also hopefully be a 15% version as a one-off for the event.
The Little Critters single batch cask special in July was a mango sorbet session pale. It is designed to be a refreshing summer beer at 4.4% ABV with sweet mango, creamy lactose, citrusy hops and a solid malt backbone.
The monthly cask special from Thornbridge in July (apart from the Union beers!) released under the year on beer scheme was called “Red Rye at Night”, a red rye IPA with 5.4% ABV. This has been followed by the comeback of a beer that some may consider a favourite from the past – “Melba”, a peach flavoured IPA.
Emmanuales, who brew in very small batches and generally only package in cans or bottles, recently released a couple of cask beers available at only two outlets – Swinton beer festival and Walkley festival. The beers were both pale ales called “Cask and it will be given” but with different hops and ABVs – one used British hop varieties and was a sessionable 4.3% whilst the other used Calypso hops and was a stronger 5.6% ABV.
Eyam brewery are hosting another open day on 27 July, from 1pm to 7pm. As well as a range of their beers there will also be pizza and coffee. They are located in Great Hucklow and bus 65 will get you there from Sheffield. In other news they have started putting beer into minikegs again with the first release in this format being Antidote Pilsner.
Drone Valley Brewery this year celebrate an anniversary, being 9 years since they were registered with the FCA to become a community interest company. They are hosting a music festival at the brewery on 1 September. Tickets are available to buy online or from the bar at their weekend tap sessions.
Last month we mentioned Collyfobble brewery’s summer special, it is now available and is called “t’inna code owt” (roughly translates as “it isn’t cold out, you won’t need your big coat”). The beer is an nice, refreshing 3.6% ABV blonde ale packed full of Amarillo hops. We’re told it is perfect with a BBQ, after a day on the beach or after a long walk in the woods!
A couple of new beers already out from Chantry Brewery, King of Hops in cask (a light refreshing pale beer at 4% ABV brewed with Chinook, Mosaic and Harlequin hops) and The Beer Inspector in keg, a 4% ABV hazy pale ale brewed with Citra, Mosaic and Amarillo hops.
In a recent issue of Beer Matters, we reported that Thornbridge brewery had taken delivery of one set of the Burton Union brewing system. This system had operated in the Marstons brewery for over 100 years, and it was a great relief to know that at least part of it would continue being used. We visited the brewery to see it in action, and to have a chat with joint owner Simon Webster, and head brewer Rob Lovatt.
Rob Lovatt, Thornbridge head brewer,
We should start by explaining what the Union system actually is. The process begins as usual in the brew house. After mashing, boiling and cooling the yeast is pitched. Twenty four hours later the wort is transferred to the unions where the magic happens. The six 750 litre wooden barrels are filled to the brim and each is fitted with an outlet tube at the very top leading to a large stainless steel trough. As the fermentation gets going the yeast head is expelled into this trough, the liquid component settles and is returned, by gravity, to the barrels. The temperature is monitored at the end of the swan necks filling the trough and adjusted as necessary. The speed at which the trough is filled rises and falls as the fermentation progresses and is usually complete in 5 to 6 days. From there the beer is transferred for conditioning and racked into barrels as usual.
Some minor tweaks have had to be made to reflect the different factory conditions. At Marstons the Unions were in a large enclosed warehouse avoiding contamination with the open trough. Due to the position of the set in Thornbridge’s premises, clear plastic covers have been installed over the trough for this purpose. They have also installed thermometers in the pipes to ensure a constant fermentation temperature of 22 degrees.
One of the original cellarmen from Marstons was invited to Thornbridge to see the Union in place, and was happy to impart some of his experience in looking after the sets. He had first hand knowledge of all the barrels that were in Burton and as they were all numbered he was able to pass on useful tips for maintaining the specific barrels now residing in Bakewell.
The system was originally devised to “clean” the beer, and the first test run on the Thornbridge sets were of their flagship beer, Jaipur. Head brewer Rob Lovatt produced 90 casks of the union version and described it as being more rounded and with more esters than the original.
Simon explained that although they have been pleased with the success of the ‘unionised’ Jaipur, they really want to use the system to produce new beers, with recipes designed to make the best use of its unique brewing method.
First up will be a 6% English IPA, called Union, which was happily fermenting away during our visit, followed by an English pale ale at 7%. Both will feature English hops such as Northdown and Goldings and will be worth looking out for. After that there are some collaborations planned and a version of 90 Shilling Ale from Colorado-based Odell Brewing Company was mentioned.
Credit is due to Thornbridge for taking the time and effort to rescue this important bit of British brewing heritage and we’re sure it will be producing interesting beers for us all to try for some time to come.
