Category: Festivals

Indie Beer Feast Trail

Posted on by Andy Cullen

The normal beer festival at Abbeydale Picture House has been unable to happen this year due to Covid, but the Festival trail is here over the weekend of 6 to 8 August. Here is our mini-guide to the venues taking part.

The Indie Beer Feast Festival Trail Facebook event has the latest information.

There are some discount deals on public transport passes at the moment, for example a Citywide pass for all day unlimited travel on any bus or tram in Sheffield costs £3.80 (normally £5.10). More information about this can be found on the Travelmaster ticket website whilst timetables and maps are available from Travel South Yorkshire.

THE VENUES

THE BEERS

AT SHAKESPEARE’S

CASK

  • Neptune Enzili Pale Ale 4%
  • Neptune Galene Session IPA 4.3%
  • Neptune Mosaic Pale Ale 4.5%
  • Neptune Nelson Sails Again NZ Pale 4.5%
  • Neptune Camulos Belgian Dubbel 6.9%
  • Torrside If You Build It oak smoked Pale 4%
  • Torrside Slice of Heaven NZ IPA 6.2%
  • Torrside Valour 1917 Imperial Stout 7.7%

KEG

  • Neptune River Runs Free Pale Ale 4.5%
  • Neptune Ostara Currant Bun Saison 5.6%
  • Torrside Franconia Smoked Beer 5.2%
  • Zero Ducks Raspberry IPA 6.2%

AT BAR STEWARDS

  • Abbeydale DRY HOPPED Heathen 4.1% American Pale Ale which has been dry hopped in the cask with extra Mosaic for an extra hoppy kick! ?
  • Abbeydale Double Deception 8.2% Nelson Sauvin DIPA on CASK! An extra special beer to celebrate Abbeydale’s 25th birthday and we’ve only gone and got some on cask ?
  • Abbeydale Celebration 2.8% Mimosa Quarter IPA. To balance out the craziness of that DIPA we’ve got a nice sessionable fruity small IPA, an equally celebratory beer but at a lower ABV.
  • Abbeydale Wanderer 6.0% Outlaws IPA. A lovely Willamette and Nelson Sauvin IPA, a crispier take on the New England IPA.
  • PLUS – beers from Lost Industry and Turning Point.

AT HOP HIDEOUT (INCLUDES CIDER TOO!)

At Hop Hideout we’ll be pouring @rockleopardbrewing@pomonaislandbrew @wildernessbrew @rosscider @hoganscider (bottle only)Each day Jules will be hosting a short mini-tasting, limited samples, once they’re gone they’re gone! Head to the counter:Fri 6th 1pm Rock Leopard Sat 7th 1pm Hogans / Pomona Island 4pmSun 8th 1pm Wilderness / 4pm Ross

AT KELHAM ISLAND TAVERN

AT RUTLAND ARMS

AT THE CROW INN

KEG:

  • Duration: Shifting Bassline – 5.0% Mosaic pale
  • Duration/ Beak: Sail – 4.2% Cellared saision
  • Duration/ DEYA: Crocs in the Coolship – 5.7% Coolship wit
  • Mobberley: Summer IPA – 6.0% IPA with Citra and Mosaic
  • Mobberley: Circuit Breaker – 10.5% Imperial Stout

CASK:

  • Mobberley: Elysium – 4.7% Session IPA.
  • Black Iris: Divine Elements – 6.0% IPA.
  • Black Iris: Stab in the Dark – 5.0% New Zealand stout

2021 Steel City Beer & Cider Festival cancelled

Posted on by Paul Crofts

No doubt you will have heard by now about the cancellation of the 2021 Steel City Beer & Cider Festival that was due to take place in October at the Kelham Island Museum.  This is the second year running that we have had to cancel due to the situation surrounding the Covid 19 pandemic, but the planning committee felt that there were still too many uncertainties to be able to organise the festival to it’s usual excellent standard.

It is particularly frustrating this year as we had some exciting new things planned which would have made the festival even better. The Museum had allowed us the use of the rear Courtyardand adjacent room, which would have given us an extra bar area and additional food stalls.An extended range of talks and presentations was also being developed to add to the variety of events at the festival.

We are taking a positive view that we will be able to stage next year’s festival, so these ideas will be carried forward and should appear in 2022. Thanks must go to everyone who has worked so hard on the planning committee, the sponsors who had already pledged their support, and the volunteers who were eager to return and help play their part. Their efforts are much appreciated each year, but especially this year when there was no end result. One consolation is that a lot of this work can be carried forward to next year, which actually puts us way ahead of schedule for next year’s festival.

However in the last few weeks the committee has been talking to various pubs and breweries and we can now announce that the Steel City Beer & Cider Festival will be going on Tour!

Venues around the city will be arranging events to take place over the same weekend in October to bring you a flavour of the festival. Special Beers, Brewery Events, Tap Takeovers, Food Stalls, Live music and Talks will all be taking place from the 7th to 10th October. 

The Festival page on the Sheffield CAMRA website contains all the details and will add extra events as they are arranged. You may have already seen posters and flyers around the city, and of course anyone who would like to be involved can contact festival@sheffield.camra.org.uk for more details.

One large festival may not have been possible, but with the Steel City Beer & Cider Festival On Tour we’ll have a plethora of mini-festivals bringing you the range and quality of beer and cider you have come to expect from us. Please come along and help support all our excellent pubs and breweries that have had such a difficult time during the pandemic.

See you there!
For more details visit sheffield.camra.org.uk/festival

Real ale at Tramlines fringe

Posted on by Andy Cullen

If you haven’t got tickets to Tramlines music festival, which takes place in Hillsborough Park 23-25 July, but still want a weekend of live music, DJs and good beer, then there are many venues around Sheffield independently putting their own events on as part of the Tramlines Fringe, some of which are in real ale pubs!

To help you with some ideas of where to go over the weekend, we’re compiling a list of all the real ale pubs putting events on that we are aware of. If you know of any we’ve missed please send us the details and we’ll look at adding it to the list.

Each pub on the list has a link to its entry on whatpub.com where you can find details of their social media for more information along with a location map and public transport details such as the nearest tram stop!

We’ve only included those venues that normally serve real ale, if you need a more comprehensive guide to fringe festival venues check out our friends at This is Sheffield, Exposed Magazine or Sheffield Outdoor City.

Information on getting there by bus, train or tram can be found at travelsouthyorkshire.com.

Indie Beer Feast cancelled

Posted on by Andy Cullen

The Indie Beer Feast normally takes place at Abbeydale Picture House each March ahead of Sheffield Beer Week and is organised by Jules Gray of Hop Hideout, who also organises the beer week. The format involves a number of craft breweries hosting their own bars at the event alongside a Hop Hideout bar and street food area.

The 2020 festival was one of the last beer festivals that took place before Coronavirus lockdown happened. This year the dates were moved from March to August with a hope that Coronavirus restrictions would be gone come 21 June. This has now been moved to 19 July but of course there are no guarantees that will happen and the August festival date gets ever closer, so the difficult decision has been made to cancel the event with tickets valid at the next one in March 2022.

All is not lost though, a replacement event is taking place on the same weekend: 6-8 August. The Indie Beer Feast Festival Trail will see beer and cider related goings on spread across 6 venues – Hop Hideout (in Kommune), Crow Inn, Bar Stewards, Shakespeares, Kelham Island Tavern and the Brewery of St Mars of the Desert taproom.

For the latest news follow Indie Beer Feast on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.

A taste of Sheffield

Posted on by Andy Cullen

We were hoping to welcome over 1000 beer tourists to Sheffield in April for the CAMRA Members Weekend but with the Coronavirus restrictions this was sadly not to be. So we are bringing you the next best thing, a box of six different beers from breweries in the Sheffield & District branch area to enjoy at home along with a live online tasting event with all six breweries included in the price

The online tasting event is at 6pm on Saturday 16 April and the beer box will be delivered to you in time for this.

The Beers

  • Neepsend Brewery Acadia 3.9%
    New England session pale (440ml can)
  • Kelham Island Brewery Pale Rider 5.2%
    Premium golden ale (500ml bottle)
  • Intrepid Brewery Stanage 4.5%
    Oatmeal stout (500ml bottle)
  • Triple Point Brewery Dyad #4 5.2%
    DDH New England IPA (440ml can)
  • Bradfield Brewery Belgian Blue 4.9%
    Flavoured speciality ale (500ml bottle)
  • Abbeydale Brewery Black Mass 6.66%
    Strong stout (440ml can)

The price is £35, discounted to £30 for CAMRA members. Order your box online from CAMRA (don’t forget, if you are a CAMRA member, to sign in first to get the discount)

Steel City Beer & Cider Festival

Posted on by Andy Cullen

We are pleased to announce that subject to all the Coronavirus restrictions being lifted in time as expected, the Steel City Beer & Cider Festival will be taking place this year at Kelham Island Museum from 6 to 9 October.

Planning is still in the early stages but expect the usual large range of real ales and other craft beers along with traditional cider & perry, street food, live music and more.

The festival is organised and staffed entirely by volunteers who do it because they are passionate about celebrating good beer and cider, if you fancy getting involved you can register your interest in volunteering now and we’ll let you know when the staffing form goes live later in the year. Otherwise keep an eye on our website for announcements as things get confirmed!

In the meantime, have a look at the pictures below taken by Dave Pickersgill at our last festival in 2019 to get an idea of what you can look forward to!

The Upper Hall features a huge real ale bar, book shop, tombola and live music stage
A range of craft beer in keykeg, bottle and can also features alongside the cask ale
Two bars at the festival are dedicated to traditional Cider & Perry
We have live music Thursday and Friday night plus a programme of entertainment throughout Saturday included in the entry fee.
The courtyard areas host a number of street food traders
A huge cask beer bar staffed by our volunteers can also be found in the festival marquee along with old skool pub games!
All the drinks at the festival are served into your commemorative glass. The entry fee includes a deposit on the glass which you can either cash in as you leave or keep as a souvenir!
On Saturday we encourage fancy dress and epic hats as demonstrated by team tombola here!

Members Weekend, AGM & Conference

Posted on by Andy Cullen

The AGM  is where in addition to the mandatory business of an Annual General Meeting (AGM), CAMRA’s volunteer National Executive is elected: and Conference is where campaigning policy is democratically formed and updated by members via debate and voting.  Also featured are award presentations and fringe activities along with a Members’ Bar at the venue and organised brewery trips.

This year the event was due to take place at Sheffield City Hall on the weekend of 16th to 18th April. Unfortunately whilst the Coronavirus restrictions are expected to be lifted enough to enjoy some beer garden action, this kind of event is still out of the question.

So, its all going online, even the members bar!

The Conference will take place in the daytime on Saturday 16th April then afterwards you can relax in the virtual members bar with a “Highlights of Sheffield” Beer Box and an online tasting with the brewers. To register for the conference log in as a member at camra.org.uk.

The Sheffield beer box and the live online tasting event is available to anyone, not just members, and can can be ordered here.

The box contains six beers sourced from the Sheffield & District CAMRA branch area, the brewers represented are Neepsend, Kelham Island, Intrepid, Triple Point, Bradfield and Abbeydale.

The rise of the virtual beer festival

Posted on by Andy Cullen

As we approach a year of Covid safety restrictions with a ban on major events and hospitality, including pubs, either closed or restricted in operation we have seen event organisers including CAMRA adapt to offer curated beer events to enjoy at home.

Established events that have already taken place virtually includes CAMRA’s Great British Beer Festival (which normally takes place in London in the summer and Birmingham in the winter) and the Funkfest, a celebration of sour and mixed fermentation beers hosted by Abbeydale Brewery.

Both these events involved a choice of themed beer boxes delivered to you at home along with access to online content such as live tutored tastings, meet the brewers, discussions and brewery tours.

A further development of the format has been pioneered by the organisers of Manchester Beer & Cider Festival – normally run by local CAMRA branches in the Manchester Central event venue, but this year replaced by a #PubsMatter festival in conjunction with a number of pubs and bars in the area that are known for great beer & cider. Each pub are selling beer or cider boxes for home delivery and each are hosting a festival session online in a style that suits what their venue is known for. For example the Marble Arch bring you brewers hosting a live tasting session and discussion, Wigan Central are hosting a quiz and the Smithfield are presenting a live DJ set.

The CAMRA Members Weekend, AGM & Conference which was to be held at Sheffield City Hall this year also receives the “from home” treatment with all the conference business to take place online and a box of beers from Sheffield brewers available to order to enjoy in the “virtual members bar”. Details are due to be announced soon.

For details of CAMRA’s online beer tasting events visit the website.

Naturally we do look forward to the time we can once again attend actual beer festivals and fingers crossed we can go ahead with Sheffield’s 46th annual Steel City Beer & Cider Festival this October!

Steel City Beer & Cider Festival announcement

Posted on by Andy Cullen
It is with great regret that the Sheffield branch of the Campaign for Real Ale have to announce that we are cancelling this year’s Steel City Beer & Cider Festival. Obviously we were looking forward to staging another great festival, but with the current social distancing measures looking set to continue for some time, it became obvious that we couldn’t ensure the safety of our visitors and still retain the atmosphere that makes it such a special event. Rest assured we are already looking forward to 2021 and in fact have two events planned. The National CAMRA Members Weekend, AGM & Conference takes place at Sheffield City Hall from 16th to 18th April, and of course the next Steel City Beer & Cider Festival, from 14th to 17th October. We anticipate that restrictions will be lifted sufficiently by then for these events to be a fantastic celebration of Real Ale and Sheffield’s role in its continuing success. In the meantime, we encourage everyone to support our local breweries and pubs with their home delivery and off-licence schemes. We are fortunate to have some of the best in the country and I’m sure we all want them to still be here when things return to normal. Stay safe and we hope to see you around in 2021. Paul Crofts, festival organiser

Indie Beer Feast: the start of Sheffield Beer Week 2020

Posted on by Dave Pickersgill
Held in the iconic, 1920s, Grade II listed Abbeydale Picture House, the only cinema I know which has spider plants in the toilets, the third incarnation of the Indie Beer Feast (IBF), the now traditional start of Sheffield Beer Week, occurred in early March. A  new glass design (16.5 Fl.Oz. Mencia Rocks Tumbler) greeted the wide beer range provided by over twenty brewery bars: some cask, some keg, but all interesting. For example: Torrside (New Mills) provided ‘Valour,’ a 7.7% Imperial Stout based on a 1917 recipe while London brewers, Orbit, provided an excellent Kolsh (4.8%) and a Belgian-style pale, ‘Cuvee de Bruxelles’ (4.8%). Closer to home, Sheffield brewers Lost Industry debuted an 8.7% ‘Wild Honey Braggott’ while St.Mars of the Desert (SMOD) exhibited the latest products from their Attercliffe hideaway. ‘Abbeydale BA 1868’ (11.7%), after three years in a cask, was a memorable, positive experience. IBF also provided an increasing international selection. FrauGruber Craft from Augsberg, in Germany, made their UK debut bringing a selection of brews new to the UK. ‘An eye for an eye,’ a 10.5% Imperial Stout collaboration with Dutch brewers, De Moersleutel (Alkmaar) was particularly impressive. SMOD recently made the international Ratebeer top ten list of best new breweries, a compilation compiled from over 4.2 million customer and industry reviews. One future innovation for IBF could be running a series of (silent) films on the big screen: perhaps beer related material from the last century. Such images would make an excellent contrast to the vibrant C21st.vibe emanating from the ample seating in the stalls. It would also be useful to have more opportunities to purchase take-aways: bottles and cans. Yet again, IBF proved a positive start for Sheffield Beer Week: lots of innovative variety in an excellent developing venue – see you there next year!
  • Dave Pickersgill