October sees the return of our ever-popular Beer & Cider Festival at Kelham Island Museum. Taking place over 4 days from Wednesday15th to Saturday 18th, we are expecting over 5,000 to come and sample the very best in Real Ale, Real Cider and Craft Beer. Street Food, talks, tastings, and demonstrations add to the atmosphere and make this one of the highlights of the Sheffield beer scene.
Local businesses and individuals can get involved by taking advantage of some of the sponsorship opportunities still available. All options come with a number of sponsor tickets which include FREE entry; FREE festival glass; FREE pint; FREE programme & a FREE go on the pub games. All sponsors are also named in our programme, have their logo (and link) on our website, and feature on the sponsor posters at the festival.
Here’s what on offer.
Stillage Sponsor
An A2 board featuring your logo, attached to the top of one of the stillage racks.
£125 + vat. Includes 3 Sponsor tickets
Banner Sponsor
Your banner hung in a prominent place at the festival. Banners can be any size up to 3m wide and 1m high.
£100 + vat. Includes 2 Sponsor tickets
Cask Sponsor
A4 sheet with your logo attached to one of the casks on the rear stillages.
£60 + vat. Includes 2 Sponsor tickets
Handpump sponsor
A6 card with your logo attached to one of the handpumps on the front of the bars.
Three limited-edition sets of 13 mint beer mats promoting the 49th Sheffield Steel City Beer Festival (SCBF49) are to be auctioned on eBay. On one side of each mat is the SCBF49 logo, with the reverse carrying the sponsor. The first set went live on 15th August: two other sets will follow at monthly intervals: search eBay using SCBF49.
There are 75,000 SCBF49 beer mats available. Over the next few months, these will be distributed over Sheffield, the surrounding area and wider afield. However, a full set is very unlikely to be seen in one place at any one time.
The sponsors are:
Breweries: Abbeydale, Ashover, Blue Bee, Bradfield, Chantry, Ossett, Peak, Tapped, Thornbridge and Triple Point
Non-breweries: Abel Magnets, MKM Builders Merchant and Reyt Good Kitchens
Profits from the eBay sales will go to the official SCBF49 charity, Sheffield Children’s Hospital. The money raised will contribute to life-saving equipment, research and treatment for thousands of children and also help to create a comfortable, engaging environment for patients.
The festival will be held at Kelham Island Industrial Museum from 15-18 October.
Again we have a programme of talks, tours and tastings available as an optional extra for your Steel City Beer & Cider Festival experience. Please book your place in advance online then simply pay for your festival entry on the gate as normal.
These can be booked in advance: follow the QR codes to the booking site.
A guided walk with a difference – you will explore Sheffield’s Little Chicago Quarter before your fast-track entry to our Beer Festival. Led by local author, John Stocks and editor of ‘Sheffield’s Real Heritage pubs,’ Dave Pickersgill, you will explore the beer, social and Industrial heritage of the area. The walk will explore streets that feature in John’s book ‘Sheffield 1925: Gang Wars and Wembley Glory,’ and also explore the beer, social and Industrial heritage of the area.
The comfortable walk, with one minor ascent, is just over a mile. It will last for approximately 90 minutes before concluding at Kelham Island Museum for a post-walk drink and discussion.
A tutored beer tasting (five beers) and discussion led by experts from one of the largest breweries in Sheffield. The second oldest Sheffield brewery, Bradfield were established in 2005 on a farm situated in the Peak District countryside.
Delivered by Dave & John, this short pub heritage talk will concentrate on the Little Chicago area of Sheffield, taking you back from the 19th century and up to the current day. Along the way, mention will be made of the 1884 ‘Sheffield Drinks Map,’ the establishment of a coaching inn and the Sheffield pub with the most CAMRA awards.
From 25 to 27 July Hillsborough Park is host to Tramlines festival, a popular ticketed event with several stages of live music, comedy and more including some big names for ticket holders to enjoy.
Meanwhile in Sheffield City Centre on Devonshire Green is the centrepiece of the Tramlines fringe – a main stage in use on the Saturday and Sunday with acts curated by Papa Al who will be bringing a mix of artists including local and emerging talent, community groups, energetic ska bands and a headline set from “a huge social media star”. The Saturday headline band is Jungle Lion, who return with their full ska orchestra whilst Sunday will see Macka B and the Roots Ragga Band.
Alongside the main stage up to 40 different local venues are taking part in the fringe putting on entertainment over the weekend with much of it free of charge. Among the list are a number of pubs that serve real ale to enjoy with the live music such as the Washington, Frog & Parrot, Church House, Shakespeares Ale & Cider House and Harlequin.
We are pleased to announce this years festival is taking place at Kelham Island Museum from 15 to 18 October.
It will offer a range of around 200 cask ales spread across three bars plus a list of around 50 other craft beers rotating on the taps in our keg bar. Our traditional cider & perry bar will offer a choice of around 30 plus hopefully some locally produced mead too. New this year you will be able to use card payment (including Apple/Google contactless) to pay for drinks at the bars as you go. Alternatively we will still be doing bar tokens which you can buy using cash or card.
As usual we’ll have a range of street food traders to satisfy your hunger plus the old skool pub games in the marquee and the tombola upstairs to keep you amused (and there are prizes to be won!).
On the Wednesday we’ll be judging the champion beer of Sheffield & District with all the local brewers based in the City and our part of the Peak District invited to enter a cask ale, we’ll announce the winner early on in the evening. On Thursday evening our friends from Bradfield Brewery will be hosting a tutored tasting event (advance booking required) whilst for those interested in local history our pub heritage officer Dave Pickersgill and local historian John Stocks will be hosting some talks and tours themed on the “Little Chicago” booklet on Thursday and Friday. Again advance booking is required.
From Thursday onwards we have a programme of live music planned – Thursday evening is Mari Wild and the Reprobates, Friday evening is Soul Battalion then Saturday afternoon we have Loxley Silver Band, Kelham Island Rapper (dancers) and Blyth Power.
With the bars taking card payments we are no longer bundling bar tokens in with the admission – the entry fee is £5 on Thursday and £7 on Friday and Saturday with free admission offered on Wednesday. You’ll also need to get a festival glass for £3, you can keep this as a souvenir or return it for a refund when you leave.There will be a printed programme available containing the beer and cider list for £1 or you can find all the details online at sheffield.camra.org.uk/sc.
The charity collection this year will be for the Sheffield Childrens’ Hospital Charity. You can chuck cash donations and unspent bar tokens in the buckets to help this worthy cause.
The festival opening hours is Wednesday 5pm to 10:30pm, Thursday/Friday 11:30am to 10:30pm and Saturday 11am to 9pm. Nearest tram stop is Shalesmoor or there are bus stops on Nursery Street and Gibraltar Street. It is also walkable from the City Centre and the Kelham Island district has some fantastic pubs forming a buzzing unofficial festival fringe!
TALKS AND TOURS – SCAN THE QR CODE TO BOOK…
Bradfield Brewery tutored tasting (ticket is for tasting event only, festival admission is also payable on the day)Little Chicago Guided Walk (ticket includes the walking tour, a copy of the booklet and entry to the festival)Little Chicago talk (ticket reserves you a place in the audience and includes a copy of the walk booklet, festival admission is also payable separately on the day)
One Valley Festival sees a number of different pubs, a club and a brewery tap all host events on the same day so you can explore Dronfield town and surrounding countryside experiencing a variety of beer, music and food. The town centre venues are all walkable from Dronfield railway station whilst all venues are on a bus route (one of 15, 16, 43 or 44). The date this year is Saturday 7 June.
The rural pub that takes part is the Miners Arms in Hundall. This sees a stage appear in the beer garden with live music through the afternoon and the outside bar open with an extended range of ales and cider plus a burger stall. Hundall is a hillside location with the pub offering a view over the valley as well as the neighbouring cricket pitch! Bus 15 (Dronfield-Chesterfield) stops outside the pub until about 6pm.
Down in the valley at Unstone is Drone Valley Brewery who have a tap staffed by volunteers (most of the profits go to local good causes) and they rather push the boat out for One Valley day. Various tents appear in the yard to supplement the bar in the brewery with seating areas, music stage, cocktail bar and food vendor (Gow’s Kitchen). Buses 43 and 44 (Sheffield-Chesterfield) stop on the main road at the end of their drive.
In the suburb of Dronfield Woodhouse are two pubs, the Jolly Farmer (on bus route 43) and Miners Arms (on bus route 16). At the Jolly Farmer festivities take place around the outdoor drinking area with outside bar, BBQ and live entertainment. They also serve breakfasts in the morning (booking recommended) Meanwhile up the road at the Miners live entertainment is planned in the evening with an acoustic set by Ethan Massingham. During the afternoon you can chill out with a beer in their garden and maybe grab a bite to eat!
Dronfield town centre is split into two areas – The High Street and Dronny Bottom and each have a cluster of venues. The Civic Centre is the bus terminus for rural bus routes 15 and 16 whilst bus 43 stops outside Sainsburys, these are all close to the High Street. Meanwhile Dronny Bottom is where the railway station is, with bus routes 15 and 44 passing through too.
There are Three venues along High Street and Church Street – Blue Stoops, Manor House Hotel and Green Dragon whilst at Dronny Bottom you will find the Beer Stop, Dronfield Arms, Underdog bar and White Swan. Also not far from the High Street, across the road from Sainburys, is the Victoria.
The Victoria is a typical street corner boozer with dart board, pool table and football on the telly. For festival day they will have a DJ on playing tunes from 3pm until about 10pm.
At the Manor House, their cafe bar opens serving breakfast in the morning with their bar opening from 10am. However festivities are outside from midday with the rear drinks terrace extended into part of the car park where they will have two outside bars (one serving cask ale from Abbeydale Brewery with the other bar serving lager, spirits etc) and a food trailer from Pellizco (Mexican street food). Live music will be provided outside by the Britpop rockers at 4pm and 6pm then from 7:30pm onwards DJ Brad Gee will be keeping the party going.
The extensive outdoor drinking area at the Blue Stoops gets extended into the closed off car park and will be filled with 4 outside bars, a food stall doing burgers and loaded chips whilst a DJ will be out there providing a sound track!
The Green Dragon also extends their outside drinking area into a closed off car park on festival day. An outside bar serves cask ale, shorts and bottles supplementing the normal pub bar inside and a fish & chip van will be serving food there. It all opens at midday with DJ Higgz providing a soundtrack throughout the event until late except when live acts are on stage – We are Little Rock at 3pm, Andy Gates at 5pm and Cabronitas band at 8pm.
The Dronfield Arms closes their car park off too in order to add extra features to the usual pub bar, terrace and Pizza Pi kiosk. On festival day there is an outside bar, Cow Boys Burgers stall and music stage. Live music kicks off at 1pm with Josh Feely followed by Magenta Apricots at 2pm, Factor 50 at 3pm, Kickback at 4pm and Leo Millobarrow at 5pm. From 6pm until midnight DJ Phill will be providing party tunes outside for their popular One Valley sunset disco surrounded by trees, river, railway bridge and buildings!
Next door the Underdog bar also adds an outside bar round the back with a range of ciders and craft beer plus hot sandwiches whilst across the road the White Swan make use of their patio area. Live entertainment here begins with We Are Little Rock at 1pm then Dan Aspinall on at 4pm and finally Katie Rose. The England match will be on the TV inside the pub at 5pm.
The Beer Stop is just the other side of the railway bridge, this is a small specialist craft beer shop that also has a few taps of craft beer that can be enjoyed on the yard outside. Two street food traders will be popping up for the afternoon serving fried chicken and tacos and an outside bar is also planned.
Finally a short walk from Dronny Bottom (alternatively a ride on bus 15 or 44) is the Pioneer Club. This is a classic social club building with two rooms – lounge (with pool table and TV) and concert room. It also has a huge grass outdoor area, smoking terrace and car park. The Pioneer run a family friendly event for One Valley outside with bouncy castle, goody bags & games for the kids plus a BBQ stall whilst for the adults there will be a reasonably priced bar and a DJ on all day inbetween live acts – Marie Wells and Ken Lambert Drag.
BUSES
15 Dronfield-Chesterfield via Coal Aston, Apperknowle, Marsh Lane, Hundall, Unstone and Whittington Moor. Venues served: Manor House Hotel, Blue Stoops, Victoria, Beer Stop, Pioneer Club and Miners Arms (Hundall).
16 Dronfield-Chesterfield via Dronfield Woodhouse, Holmesfield, Barlow. Venues served: Manor House Hotel, Blue Stoops, Miners Arms (Dronfield Woodhouse).
43 Sheffield-Chesterfield via Heeley, Woodseats, Meadowhead, Dronfield Sainsburys, Dronfield Woodhouse, Gosforth, Dronfield Fire Station, Unstone and Whittington Moor. Venues served: Victoria, Jolly Farmer, White Swan, Drone Valley Brewery.
44 Sheffield-Chesterfield via Heeley, Woodseats, Meadowhead, Batemoor, Coal Aston, Dronfield Station, Unstone and Whittington Moor. Venues served: Pioneer Club, Beer Stop, Dronfield Arms, Underdog, White Swan, Drone Valley Brewery.
All the above bus services are operated by Stagecoach. The maximum single fare is £3 or a “Silver DayRider” ticket is available offering unlimited all day travel on their services in the area – £6.50 adult or £20 for a group of 5 people. You can buy tickets from the bus driver (cash or contactless) or on the Stagecoach app.
Additionally until 5pm the “Travel Derbyshire On Demand” minibus service operates. This is a bus with no fixed route or timetable, simply request a ride at least an hour in advance using their app and a route is created that caters for all the passengers booked that hour. It can be booked for journeys anywhere in North East Derbyshire and Chesterfield, subject to availability.
TRAINS
Dronfield railway station is served mainly by Northern‘s Leeds-Nottingham service, running hourly through the day and with services continuing late into the evening. Journey planning and fares for rail travel is available from nationalrail.co.uk. Venues walkable from the station are Dronfield Pioneer Club, Beer Stop, Dronfield Arms, Underdog, White Swan, Green Dragon, Manor House Hotel, Blue Stoops and Victoria. Buses serving the station are 15 and 44.
As far as an impromptu socials goes, you can’t beat a beer festival in the sunshine.
I arrived to join others around 17:00, to an already packed terrace with no seats to be had. The band was warming up, the food was cooking and the beer flowing.
There was a change from last year, and to be honest, not for the better. The cider tent was placed in a small corner, unlike the double-fronted location of last year. This caused a very congested stand this time around. Fortunately the ciders made up for it and they were proving popular, looking like they were in danger of selling-out the next day!
To begin, I started with a Thornbridge not sampled before, Black & Gold. A nice hoppy pale of a blonde/golden character. Lots of flavour in its 3.4% though, and an easy starter.
Steve, Andy, Paul and Dan at the Student Union beer & cider festival
I joined Paul M, Bev, Dan, and Bev’s sister Teri and husband, Steve for a chat all things ale and beyond. Andy Morten of 50k+ beers fame joined the gathering, but wasn’t stopping too long. It wasn’t long before my friend Bleddyn made it there with his pint of Brew York’s Maris the Otter, a 3.9% bitter from this excellent brewery renowned for its stouts.
Bev, Steve and Teri at the Student Union beer & cider festival
We were a bit jaded, so decided to get a seat, where we were joined my another friend Gordon. We soon felt peckish after the beer, so a Currywurst was purchased, and it was very tasty with fries, sauerkraut and mini-gherkins at £6.90.
The now seated Kevin, Bleddyn and Gordon at the Student Union beer & cider festival
Paul, Bev, Dan and Co bade their farewells, as they were continuing on more beer trails.
Being a suckered for a flavoured stout, my eyes were drawn to the Neepsend Jasmin’s Jamaican Rum Cake Stout. Quite thin and only 4.8%, but the flavour didn’t disappoint.
Now the problem is, sitting opposite the TV advertising beers. You’re always going to see one you have to sample. In this case it was an old favourite Thornbridge Baize, the legendary Mint Chocolate Stout. 5.5% like an After Eight in a glass, not cheap but worth it.
Time for departure, and a walk through town and the West Street Strip to catch my last bus, after a swift last one in the Bankers Draft. We’ll be back next year, possibly attending the Friday evening, and the Saturday, football fixtures allowing?
the printed beer & cider list at the Student Union beer & cider festival
Events at the forthcoming Steel City Beer Festival will include a walk, a talk and a tutored tasting. Following previous successes, local author John Stocks and our Pub Heritage Officer, Dave Pickersgill will be leading a guided walk in Little Chicago on Thursday morning and staging the associated talk on Friday afternoon.
In addition, as part of their 20th anniversary celebrations, Bradfield Brewery will be leading a tutored tasting on the Thursday evening, presenting both core brews and oak-aged beers. Advance tickets for all events will be available nearer the time.
The festival is planned to take place 15-18 October at Kelham Island Museum featuring a huge range of cask ales, a selection of other craft beers in keg plus traditional ciders alongside street food vendors and a programme of live music. The special events including tutored tastings, talks and tours are optional extras to add to your festival experience!
The winter edition of the Great British Beer Festival took place in February at Magna, having relocated from Burton on Trent, conveniently replacing the old Rotherham Real Ale & Music festival which came to an end last year.
CAMRA’s Yorkshire region was originally planning on hosting the event in Bradford but the new venue there was looking like not being ready in time to host events so with 6 months to go, it was switched to Magna. The result was something slightly rough around the edges in presentation but an impressive and enjoyable event regardless.
Much of the action was in the “Big Hall” with the live music stage, main cask ales bar, cider bar, tombola, table skittles, diner, seven brewery bars (Abbeydale, Brew York, Chantry, Radio City, Tatton, Theakstons and Thornbridge) and a number of stalls including a tankard engraver and caricature artist.
There were a number of other rooms to explore too with a “Global Pours” bar in its own room serving exclusively imported beer from around the world and in the rainbow hall an Indie Brewers bar serving a varied range of cask ales only from independently owned breweries. There was also a room featuring UK craft beers in keg and a spirit bar with a range of flavoured gins, vodkas and rums.
Being a national CAMRA event it and now in a bigger venue a feature from the summer Great British Beer Festival was rolled out – the Learn & Discover bar, where the staff talked you through a number of themed tasters and each day a different brewer guested on the bar.
The Champion Winter Beer of Britain award is judged here and there was a bar dedicated to showcasing the finalists. The overall champion was Cairngorm Black Gold, a session stout, with runners up named as Sarah Hughes Snowflake (an 8% ABV barley wine) and Grain Slate (a 6% ABV porter).
The winners were announced on stage as part of the Wednesday trade session.
There were a couple of local beers judged in the final – Abbeydale Black Mass (a black IPA) came second in its category behind Sarah Hughes Snowflake whilst Acorn Gorlovka Imperial Stout came third in its category.
To help with the journey home from Magna a special festival bus service operated from the front door shuttling to Meadowhall and Rotherham, this was operated on behalf of CAMRA by Stagecoach using brand new electric buses. Next year things will be even easier with a station on the Tram Train line due to open this coming December with trams from Sheffield and Rotherham directly to Magna!
This month sees the arrival of CAMRA’s Great British Beer Festival (GBBF) Winter edition at its new home of Magna, replacing the long established Rotherham Real Ale & Music festival which took place for the last time in 2024.
The festival features a range of over 300 cask ales served on either handpump or gravity with many Yorkshire breweries represented as well as plenty from around the rest of Britain; there will also be around 35 other UK craft beers on keg, a dedicated Champion Winter Beer of Britain bar, a learn & discover zone and a world beer bar with a rotating choice of imported beers in bottle, can and keg.
There will also be brewery bars where their staff will be hosting and available to answer questions about the beers which will be served on both cask and keg. Brewers attending are Abbeydale, Brew York, Chantry, Radio City Beer Works, Wantsum, Theaksons and Thornbridge.
A number of tutored tasting events have also been organised as an optional extra, these have limited capacity and need to be booked in advance, they are led by a knowledgeable and respected host and the price includes a number of beer samples and a talk. Themes include Champion beers, beer & cheese, beer & music and beer brewed on Burton Union sets.
Cider & Perry also features on a dedicated bar curated by a team that are very enthusiastic about the real deal, so expect everything here to be made from freshly pressed apple or pear juice, never from industrial concentrate!
If you’d like to come along and enjoy the atmosphere but aren’t into beer or cider, there will also be a bar offering wine, spirits, soft drinks and no/low alcohol beer. Food will also be available with pub grub style meals available from Magna’s own catering team plus stalls selling snacks.
A busy programme of live music is planned each day and included in the ticket price, this will take place on the stage in the main hall. Rotherham CAMRA branch members will also be there hosting a tombola and old fashioned pub table top games.
The entry price includes a souvenir glass featuring the festival artwork and the sponsor, with a choice of a pint glass or stemmed half, this is yours to take home and keep. There aren’t any programmes this year but the Rotherham Cancer Care charity will be selling printed beer lists for those that want one. This year all the bars will be taking card payment (contactless or chip & pin) on a pay as you go basis, alternatively you can buy £10 beer token cards to spend at the bars, the token sales desks will accept cash.
The festival is organised and staffed by volunteers, if you fancy joining the team please fill in the volunteering form on the website.
All the information and advance tickets is available online at winter.gbbf.org.uk.
OPENING HOURS AND TICKET PRICES
Wednesday 5pm to 10:30pm (with trade tickets offering access from 4pm)
Thursday midday to 10:30pm (please be aware that a small number of bars won’t be open until 3pm)
Friday and Saturday midday to 10:30pm
Tickets on the door £10 for CAMRA members, £12 for everyone else
Advance tickets online £8 for CAMRA members, £10 for everyone else. Group and season ticket deals also available online.
Trade tickets for those working in the pub, beer and cider industry for the Wednesday session are complimentary but must be applied for in advance online.
GETTING THERE
bus X3 (Sheffield to Doncaster, operated by First) stops on Sheffield Road, behind the venue next to the pedestrian entrance which takes you through to the car park. You can board the bus at Sheffield Interchange, Meadowhall Interchange, Rotherham Interchange and Doncaster Interchange. If you are connecting with other buses in South Yorkshire an all day pass may prove good value – see sytravelmaster.com or the Travelmaster app.
If you are going by train, the nearest railway station is Meadowhall where you can jump on the X3 bus for a 5 minute ride to Magna.
From 4pm each day there will also be a special festival shuttle bus running from Meadowhall Interchange and Rotherham Interchange to supplement the X3, this will drop off (and pick up) near the festival entrance and charge a flat fare of £2.50 (other tickets and passes cannot be used). This bus will be operated by Stagecoach and generally run every 30 minutes, ending at 11pm.
Car parking is available at Magna, which is close to M1 junction 34.
LIVE MUSIC PROGRAMME(timings approximate)
WEDNESDAY EVENING:
18:30 Bone Broke Kings
19:45 Lightning Threads
21:00 The Fargo Railroad Co
THURSDAY EVENING:
19:00 Floodhounds
20:30 Northern Citizens
FRIDAY ALL DAY:
13:00 Daniel Horsham
15:30 Eboney Jayne O’Brien
17:00 Kizia and the Kings
18:30 Soul Battalion
20:30 The Leptons
SATURDAY ALL DAY:
13:00 Jack T Harper
15:00 Maltby Miners Welfare Band
17:30 Matilda Shakes
19:00 Republic
20:30 Handsome Dan and the Mavericks
TUTORED TASTING EVENTS
Champion Winter Beer of Britain competition tasting, led by Roger Protz – Wednesday 6:30pm and Thursday 2pm. Members £10, non-members £12. Six beers included.
Brewed on the Union tasting, led by Roger Protz and Thornbridge brewers – Thursday 6pm. Members £10, non-members £12.
Beer & Cheese tasting, led by Annabel Smith – Friday 2pm. Members £14, non-members £16. Five beers paired with cheese included.
Beer & Music matching, led by Pete Brown who is publishing a book on the subject – Friday 6pm. Members £10, non-members £12.
Please note the price of the tasting event tickets quoted are just for the tasting, a festival entry ticket is also required.
LEARN & DISCOVER ZONE – BREWERY PARTNERS
Themed tasting flights will be available from the Learn & Discover Zone, served in partnership with the following brewery bars:
