Category: Festivals

Here is a roundup of the events advised at the time of going to press. It is likely there will be many more events over the week – check out sheffieldbeerweek.co.uk for more details and of course these are in addition to the quizzes, music nights etc that take place in Sheffield’s pubs week in week out. Friday 10th March Magic Rock Meet the Brewer – Hop Hideout, 8:30pm Tickets £10 via www.hophideout.co.uk Over the last six years Magic Rock have had grown phenomenally and had a big impact on the modern brewing scene here in the UK and abroad via their collaborations with the likes of Gigantic, Cigar City Brewing and more. Hop Hideout welcomes Magic Rock Brewing to Sheffield for this Meet the Brewer, expect some beery treats on draught for this occasion! Saturday 11th March Beer & Breweries of Little Sheffield – Meet at Regather Works, 11am Tickets £5 via www.eventbrite.co.uk Meet at 11am at Regather Works on Club Garden Road for a visit to what must be Sheffield’s smallest commercial brewery…? Then visit several of the area’s best pubs including the Beer Engine, Old Crown, Railway and Cremorne. Plus – the history of two lost local breweries: the famous Richdales ‘Rich Ales’ and Anchor Brewery of Cherry Street. Led by Brian Holmshaw of Sheaf Valley Heritage. Sunday 12th March Petrus Blending – Hop Hideout, 5pm Tickets £5 via www.hophideout.com Join Hop Hideout as they play host to Belgian brewery De Brandebere’s UK Brand Ambassador Charlie Pountney as he takes you through their core range: Petrus Aged Pale, Oud Bruin and Aged Red. This generational family brewery has recently redesigned their packaging & embraced consumer blending. You’ll find out about their history, their close connection with Michael Jackson, the UK beer writer and sample and blend their beers on the journey too. 2017 marks ten years since Michael Jackson sadly passed away; this event raises a glass of Petrus Aged Pale to him in celebration. Brewing Beer: Science, art or magic? – Sentinel Brewhouse & Taproom, 7pm Tickets £5 via www.scienceweeksy.org.uk Join University researchers Dr Susan Cambell (Biomolecular Sciences Research Centre, Sheffield Hallam University) and Dr Daniel Allwood (Biomolecular Sciences Research Centre, Sheffield Hallam University) alongside head brewer Alex Barlow for an evening of enlightened discussion. The event will include an introduction, followed by an insight into brewing chemistry with Dr Daniel Allwood, yeast and the miracle of fermentation with Dr Sue Campbell and brewing is alchemy with Alex Barlow. This will be followed by a panel discussion and Q&A plus enjoy some great beers to accompany the conversation. (Price includes a flight of 4 x 1/3pint measures of Sentinel beers). Monday 13th March City Centre Pub Heritage Walk – meet at Fagans, 5:30pm Tickets £2.50 via www.eventbrite.co.uk Dave Pickersgill (author of the ebook, ‘History of the Worksop and Retford Brewery’ and Pub Heritage Officer for Sheffield CAMRA) will host this short walking tour around some of the entries in the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) ‘Yorkshire’s Real Heritage Pubs’ book. Also included are a number of ‘try also’ pubs which include aspects of architectural merit. Route: commence at ‘Fagans’ and proceed to the ‘Dog and Partridge’ via a short stop outside the ‘Grapes.’ After a short refreshment break, we will proceed past the ‘Red Deer’ and ‘Bloo88,’ before completing the walk at ‘The Bath Hotel.’ Real Junk Food Project – Sentinel Brewhouse & Taproom, 7pm Tickets £5.00 via eventbrite.co.uk (plus cost of food payable at venue) For this month’s event, The Real Junk Food Project Sheffield and Sentinel Brewhouse have teamed up to kickstart #sheffbeerweek in the best way possible…four tantalising courses paired with the finest craft beers made by Sentinel’s on site brewery. Learn more about The Real Junk Food Project Sheffield from its directors and enjoy a truly tasty pay-as-you-feel meal! Each £5.00 ticket guarantees you a place at the event, with 4 x ⅓ pints of Sentinel’s craft beers paired by the owner Alex Barlow included. The 4 courses are available to all on a pay-as-you-feel basis. Discounted drinks will also be available at the bar all night. Tickets are limited to a max of 4 per group and per booking. Tuesday 14th March Elusive & Siren Craft Brew Meet the Brewer – Hop Hideout, 7:30pm Tickets £10 via www.hophideout.co.uk The two neighbours and good friends Elusive and Siren have joined forces to host this collaboration event! Expect some special collaboration beers on the evening too. Wednesday 15th March Beavertown tap takeover and Meet the Brewer – Hallamshire House, 5pm Tickets free via www.eventbrite.co.uk Everyone’s favourite London brewery Beavertown will be heading to The Hallamshire House for an epic Tap Takeover. All Beavertown beers will go live at 5pm. To get more of an insight into the company and there awesome beers they will also be hosting a FREE meet the brewer & tasting. This will be FREE for the first 25 customers who register. Keep your eyes peeled on Eventbrite to sign up for this event. Beer & Cheese matching – Portland House, 7:30pm Tickets £20 via www.eventbrite.co.uk An evening of beer and cheese with Claire Monk, Head Brewer at Welbeck Abbey Brewery. Thursday 16th March Wild Beer Co tap takeover and Meet the Brewer – Bath Hotel, 5pm Tickets free via www.eventbrite.co.uk The Bath hotel will welcome one of the UK’s most loved Breweries. Wild Beer Co will be taking over the Taps and hosting a Meet the Brewer evening. Beers will be available from 5pm for anybody to come and try at their own leisure, staff from Wild Beer Co will be on site to chat throughout the evening. At 7.30pm we will be hosting a Meet the Brewer and tasting. This will be FREE for the first 25 customers who register. Keep your eyes peeled on Eventbrite to sign up for this awesome event. Brooklyn Brewery big bottle tasting – Riverside (Mowbray Street), 7:30pm Tickets £26 plus booking fee via www.eventbrite.co.uk Join the Riverside and Brooklyn’s UK brand ambassador as they host this big bottle tasting. You’ll sample some of Brooklyn’s best loved beers, as well as some rare quarterly experiments. In addition, the Riverside team will match each beer with some classic American eats – think Louisiana Pulled Pork, Texan Chilli, Buffalo Wings and S’mores. CAMRA’s Steel City Beer Festival Award presentations part one – Bath Hotel, 8pm Tickets not required We present the certificates for some of the beer of the festival awards from last Octobers Steel City Beer & Cider Festival. Friday 17th March SIBA Beer Alive – Ice Sheffield, 3pm Tickets £7 plus booking fee via beerx.org Huge bar serving award winning beers on cask, keg and bottle, tutored tastings, street food and live music. CAMRA’s Steel City Beer Festival Award presentations part two – Rutland Arms, 4pm Tickets not required We present the certificates for the remaining beer of the festival awards from last Octobers Steel City Beer & Cider Festival. Saturday 18th March Beer & Breweries of Neepsend – Meet at Sheffield Brewery Company, 12 midday Tickets £5 plus booking fee via www.eventbrite.co.uk A Three Brewery extravaganza. Meet 12 noon at Albyn Works – the home of Sheffield Brewery Company for a history tour of the pubs and breweries of Neepsend: Sheffield’s own brewing quarter. These include Neepsend Brewery, the Gardeners Rest and Little Critters Brewery. SIBA Beer Alive – Ice Sheffield, 11am Tickets £7 plus booking fee via beerx.org Huge bar serving award winning beers on cask, keg and bottle, rugby on big streen, street food and live music. Sunday 19th March Quiz night with additional beer theme – Portland House, 6pm Tickets £1, pay at venue Portland House play host to their quiz night and will be adding beery topics to highlight Sheffield Beer Week celebrations. SIBA Beer Alive – Ice Sheffield, 11am Tickets £7 plus booking fee via beerx.org The Sunday brunch session is the final day of the Beer Alive festival featuring a more laid back atmosphere and families are welcome (under 14s admitted free). Again there will be a range of award winning beers, street food and live music. All week Sheffield versus Manchester – Riverside (Mowbray Street) The bar will be showcasing beers from Sheffield and Manchester throughout the week and feedback on favourite beers encouraged! 20% discount off a pint of real ale available for CAMRA members. Beer Festival – White Lion (Heeley) All handpumps on all three bars will be in use offering a huge range of cask beers and various brewers will be dropping in over the week to host meet the brewer sessions. More details to be confirmed at time of going to press. Beer Farts Exhibition – Hop Hideout With a hefty Instagram following, Beer Farts composes and shoots beer and Lego photos with fun and humour. Hop Hideout’s walls will be playing host to their commissioned birthday series and a selection of others for two months starting on 10th March.

The Three Valleys Festival takes place across the Dronfield area on Saturday 4th June featuring 15 pubs and a club all with real ale. Many of the venues will also feature food and music. Entry to all the venues is free of charge. We are running a Sheffield CAMRA branch social to this event, catching the 12:05 train from Sheffield station to Dronfield. A return ticket costs £4.60 (remember to buy your ticket at the station before boarding, it may cost more on train). As it is getting quite close now, here is the Beer Matters guide to the festival. Getting there: There are a number of local bus services in Dronfield that pass participating venues, including Stagecoach 43/44 and TM Travel 14/16. There are also some free feeder buses operated by Linburg running to the festival from Totley (11:56 from Cross Scythes or 12:00 at Shepley Spitfire), Bradway (12:03 from bus terminus), Dore & Totley rail station (11:40), Mosborough (11:43 from British Oak), Eckington (11:53 from bus station), Ridgeway (11:55 from opp church) and Marsh Lane (12:00 from opp Butchers Arms). The most popular way of reaching Three Valleys Land however is by train, Dronfield Station will be at the heart of the festival. Trains on the Leeds-Sheffield-Nottingham route call at Dronfield every hour. Getting around: A free festival bus service will operate from midday until 9pm linking all the venues at regular intervals (every 15-30 minutes). The buses run on two routes, both serving Dronfield Station. The station will see 8 departures per hour. route A goes to Dronfield town centre, Dronfield Woodhouse, Hill Top, Hallowes, Unstone and Whittingon Moor. (Note there will be some extra buses on part of this route badged as route C). Route B goes to Coal Aston, Hundall and Unstone. Note that the free bus service can be very popular, some people choose to get a taxi rather than wait for the next bus. New this year is the arrival of Uber at the festival who will have a number of cars around Three Valleys Land that can be ordered on their phone app. If you are new to Uber look out for the 3 Valleys promotional code which will get you your first ride free (up to the value of £15). Other taxi operators in the area include City Taxis and Network Taxis. Some of the venues are of course walkable. From the station it is a reasonable stroll to the Dronfield Arms, White Swan, Three Tuns, Pioneer Club, Green Dragon and Manor House Hotel. What’s on? Coach & Horses, Dronfield: Honey Bee Blues Club is hosting live music from 4pm featuring Alex Haynes, Ash Gray & the Burners and Black Thunder Revue. Beer from Thornbridge plus guests. Food from Chariot’s Kitchen. (Festival bus A, local bus 43). Derby Tup, Whittingon Moor: An extended beer range will be offered featuring Pigeon Fishers, Castle Rock and others. (Festival bus A, local buses 43,44,50,50a,X17). Dronfield Arms, Dronfield Bottom: An extended beer range will be accommodated across 3 outside bars as well as the pub bar, live music throughout the afternoon starting from 12:30 and a disco in the evening from 7pm. There will also be a pizza stall and an auction to raise funds for Coal Aston Cricket Club. (Festival bus A and C, local bus 44). Green Dragon, Dronfield Church Street: A party in the car park with beer, cider, food and music! Horse & Jockey, Unstone: Live music with the Watchsnatchers in the afternoon and Rachel Louise in the evening. Beer and food also feature. (Festival bus A and B, local bus 43/44). Hyde Park Inn, Hill Top: Beer, food, music and a great beer garden. (Festival bus A and C) Jolly Farmer, Dronfield Woodhouse: Extended Real Ale selection from the glass fronted cellar, meet the brewer, normal pub dining available plus festival food. (Festival bus A and C. Local buses 43 and 16a). Manor House Hotel, Dronfield High Street: Abbeydale beer tent, live music from Sam Wain and food from I Love Ostrich, all outside. Normal food and drink service at the hotel bar inside. (Festival bus A and C). Miners Arms, Dronfield Woodhouse: Beer and food, enjoy inside the pub or in the garden. (Festival bus A and C, local bus 16/16a). Miners Arms, Hundall: A rural, scenic hillside location, tap takeover by Pictish Brewery in the pub and a great range of guest beers and ciders outside plus food by Deli-Licious and entertainment. (Festival bus B, local bus 14). Pioneer Club, Dronfield: A family atmosphere here with a bouncy castle for the kids, ice creams, hog roast and other hot foods, music and an outside bar showcasing the new Drone Valley Community Brewery. (Festival bus B, local buses 14,15,44). Royal Oak, Coal Aston: An opportunity to relax in a genuine, traditional village pub with a selection of classic ales. (Festival bus B, local bus 44). Talbot, Dronfield Woodhouse: Outside bar showcasing beers from Peak Ales, Fish & Chips and live music – Rattled in the afternoon, G Men in the evening. (Festival bus A and B, local bus 16,43). Three Tuns, Hallowes: Brewery bars outside in a marquee showcasing Barlow Brewery and Drone Valley Community Brewery, guest beers on the pub bar. Range of cider and perry available on all bars. Various food stalls serving Pizzas, lamb pittas and hog roast. Live music throughout the afternoon and evening commences 2pm. (Festival bus A and C, local buses 43/44). White Swan, Dronfield Bottom: Beer, Cider, BBQ and entertainment. (Festival bus A and C, local bus 44). Yew Tree, Coal Aston: Outside real ale bar, burger van, live music throughout the afternoon from 2pm to 7pm. (Festival bus B).

Still early days, but here’s an update on the preparations. We now have an almost-full committee and have started planning meetings. If you want to help and simply haven’t got round to it, now’s the time. Just turn up at one of the meetings and we’ll find you a job! Dates are on the CAMRA website or in Beer Matters. NEWS There’s a couple of bits of good news already. Firstly, the Kelham Island Museum have offered us an extra room, which means we’ll be able to have more visitors and more beers for them to drink. Secondly, the Sheffield Childrens Hospital has been chosen as this year’s charity, and we’re sure all our visitors will be just as generous as previous year’s in supporting this great local institution. SaxBob has been his usual efficient self and already booked all the entertainment for the festival, almost seven month’s early! We’ll not spoil the excitement by announcing it just yet, but trust us, it’s a great line-up. VOLUNTEERS As always we’re looking for plenty of volunteers and you can contact us at any point to register your interest. Last years festival was staffed by 137 volunteers giving 2,882 hours of time, which averages at 21 hours per person.That might sound a lot, but as it seems more like fun than work the time just flies by. You’ll make a few new friends, get to drink some FREE beer (always good) but more importantly you’ll finish the festival with the satisfaction of being part of a successful team. And don’t forget the free festival t-shirt and glass! SPONSORSHIP For anyone considering sponsorship this year, we’ll have several options announced soon, but in the meantime here’s one to get you started. At this years Festival we are giving pubs/breweries/businesses/individuals the chance to be involved by sponsoring a cask of beer or a box of cider for £60. (£50 + vat) In return you will be acknowledged in the festival programme, on the festival website and have a cask/box end label with your name on it. If you are interested please contact steelcitysponsorship@sheffieldcamra.org.uk TOMBOLA We’re also on the lookout for more items for our popular Tombola. If any landlord, brewery or collector wishes to rid themselves of any brewery related items such as brewery/beer festival glasses, pump clips, bar towels, beermats, books about beer/breweries etc., they would find a good home on the tombola stand at the Festival either as prizes or as items for sale for the festival charity. If you can help please email andrewmorton77@outlook.com We’ll keep the updates coming throughout the summer, but feel free to contact us any time at festival@sheffieldcamra.org.uk if you want to get involved in any way. Paul Crofts