Category: Inn Brief

Inn Brief In addition to the Castle at Bolsterstone, John and Tracy, have recently also taken on the Green Dragon at Thurgoland. They have been at the Castle for some months and have built up, what was, a declining trade. Three handpumps are in use on a daily basis, usually including beer from Bradfield and Robinsons. The new managers at the Castle Inn, Bradway are Mark & Gillian. Abbeydale Moonshine is now the regularly available beer, usually alongside Bradfield Farmers Blonde and a guest bitter. Food is now available again served Tuesday to Saturday 12:00-15:30 and 17:00-20:30 plus Sunday lunches served 12:00-15:00. Live music features one Saturday a month and there may be a second entertainment night added per month soon. The Angel at Holmesfield now has four beers on handpump: The two regulars are Abbeydale Moonshine and Chatsworth Bakewell Best Bitter. These are backed up by two guest ales. At time of visit these were “Wards” Best Bitter and Wychwood Hobgoblin Gold. The Horse & Jockey at Unstone has introduced real ale, at last report this was Timothy Taylors Boltmaker at a bargain introductory price of £2.20 a pint. The Inn at Troway now has a guest beer alongside the Thornbridge offerings, with the latest guest at time of writing being Bradfield Farmers Brown Cow. The Peacock at Owler Bar has reopened following a minor refurbishment. A framed document on the wall of the Palm Tree, Walkley lists the landlords of the pub from Joseph Smith in 1856 to David Harrison 2000 to 2015. Jo now runs the pub and David who lives nearby still calls in. The pub is open plan with a neat and tidy beer garden and play area at the back and a smoking area at the front and is child and dog friendly. On Palm Street the pub is served by the number 52 and 95 bus routes. Jo says she will continue with free snooker on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday is open mic night with a light buffet provided. Saturday there is live music in the evening and Sunday is Fun Day. Tetley Bitter and Farmer’s Blonde are on the bar at a very reasonable price. The Ball Inn, Crookes has had the old wooden decking replace with stone flags and a stylish stainless steel and glass surround. Having 14 hand pumps there is always a good choice of beers and ciders. The Red Deer on Pitt Street, Sheffield City Centre, has increased the discount offered on pints of real ale to card carrying CAMRA members to 10%. Confirmation of news from the Wellington at Shalesmoor is still awaited at the time of going to press. It will soon be under new ownership. Watch this space! Work has finally started on the refurbishment of the Ship Inn at Shalesmoor, following a period of closure since Greene King Brewery sold the pub to the pub company that now owns it. It is expected that the refurbishment will be a simple and sympathetic one, preserving the character of the pub but making it a bit less ‘worn out’. A date for reopening hasn’t yet been announced but it is expected to be late September. Beery Bits North Union Brewing Co, the beer business set up by Iain Kenny who previously brewed for Kelham Island Brewery, may soon be getting premises! Currently North Union is cuckoo brewing at Harthill and selling only bottled beers, however Iain is looking at moving his own brewery into a railway arch near the Victoria Hotel in Sheffield and expanding into craft keg. Worksop and Retford Brewery – Local Sheffield CAMRA members, Dave Pickersgill and John Stocks are giving their illustrated talk, ‘The Worksop and Retford Brewery,’ at Worksop Library on Wednesday 16th.September @ 14:00. The associated e-book is available on Kindle. Travel news Stagecoach Supertram are now back running normally following a summer of works to replace the track in a number of areas, to celebrate this along with the 21st anniversary of the tram system opening there are cheap fares being offered on the trams and the dedicated link buses to Stocksbridge, Stannington and Killamarsh – a maximum single fare of £1.70, day ticket at £3 and weekly ticket at £9.80.  These offers run from Saturday 29th August to Sunday 25th October. Additionally there is a £1 all day travel offer on Sundays in August with free car parking at park & ride sites also offered on those Sundays. On the bus front a consultation on changes to the bus network took place during July, this is due to be implemented from 1st November – so advance warning – look out for the new routes, timetables and tickets coming soon!

The Devonshire Cat continue with their programme of food and drink themed evenings, dates coming up of interest to the beer drinker include a night dedicated to strong beers, a night for Stouts and Porters and a night all about Abbeydale Brewery. See their advert elsewhere this issue for listings.

The Miners Arms at Hundall has had more handpumps installed with 5 real ales now available. The regular beer on the bar is Abbeydale Moonshine with the other 4 beers regularly changing – on the day the extra pumps went live breweries represented included Shiny, Fuggle Bunny, Oldershaws and Lincoln Green. The Dronfield Arms, under the management of Edd Entwhistle, has made an effort to feature a more interesting beer range and a 7th handpump is due to be installed. There are also plans to install a brewery in the downstairs area previously used as a restaurant. The Beer Stop at Dronfield has reviewed trading figures over their first few months and settled on opening hours, keeping in mind there is only one person running it who has no staff as yet! The Beer Stop is basically a bottled beer shop with an excellent range that is regularly updated, however they also do a couple of handpulled cask ales and you can drink inside or takeaway. The new hours are Tuesday 4pm – 7pm; Wednesday & Thursday 12 – 8pm; Friday & Saturday 12 – 9pm. Sunday opening may be introduced in the summer. The Beer Stop is on Facebook and Twitter, follow on there for latest news! The Old No7 bar in Barnsley is holding an Easter beer festival from 2nd to 6th April which also coinsides with the Barnsley v Sheffield Utd match for all the Blades and Reds reading this! It will feature 23 casks ales, 10 ciders/perrys and a selection of craft keg and bottles from around the world. The Eyre Arms at Calver has reopened with beers from the Marstons range. The Rivelin is due to reopen under new management and is now being run by the same people as the Old Horns in High Bradfield.  The 82 Stannington bus goes there. The Sidings at Brinsworth has had some changes and is now known as the Thirsty Flame. Real Ale now features with Chantry’s Man of Steel being amongst the first casks on the bar. The Closed Shop at Commonside is holding a beer festival from the 21st to 24th May. You can get there easily via the 95 bus and food is available daily until 9pm. The main sign on the front of the Tune Inn @ Royal Standard in Sheffield Centre recently got damaged in bad weather and has been taken down to reveal a bit of unknown heritage – the original tiled pub sign! Beer Central, the excellent bottled beer shop in the Moor Markets, have reported hot demand for Thornbridge’s current big three beers, including Cocoa Wonderland which on cask won the beer of the festival competition at our Steel City Beer Festival last October and Jaipur X, the 10% special edition of Jaipur to celebrate the brewery’s 10th birthday. Other notable specialist off-licences in Sheffield for beer include the Archer Road Beer Stop, Hop Hideout, Beeches of Walkley, Starmoor-Boss and the Dram Shop. The Ship Inn at Shalesmoor has closed down following a change in ownership. It is understood that it should reopen as a pub in due course.

Following Danny Grayson handing the lease of the White Lion in Heeley back to Punch Taverns in order to concentrate on developing his chain of sports bars, a temporary holding company has been running the pub (badly) since, however the new management of Jon and Mandy – who have been regular customers – takeover on Monday 23rd February and will reopen the pub on the Wednesday after getting themselves organised. Under Jon and Mandy’s stewardship it should not only return to being a classic, heritage good beer pub but also have the live music offer developed. The Rivelin is under new management and now run by the same people as the Old Horns in Bradfield.

The new Manager at the  Wharncliffe Arms, Wharncliffe Side is Dave Briggs. Dave has previously worked at the Royal Standard and the Arms.  Currently three Bradfield Beers are available, with the intention of both increasing the range and adding a basic food menu. Folk Night is monthly, on the fourth Wednesday. A Hungry Horse (Greene King) pub, ‘ The Hardy Pick,’ opened in early February. It is situated at Broadfields Business Park, Broadfield Road. Local Sheffield CAMRA members, Dave Pickersgill and John Stocks are giving an illustrated talk, ‘The Worksop and Retford Brewery,’ at The Station Hotel, Worksop on Thursday 26th.March 2015 (7:30 pm start). This talk is supported by the Worksop Archaeological and Local History Society. The Ball at Crookes now has a range of up to 14 real ales, a mix of Greene King house beers and interesting local guest ales. Pete from the Tapped Brew Company, based at the Sheffield Tap, recently took a trip down to Worcestershire to visit hop suppliers with a few of signing a contract to be supplied with new English hop varieties for their beers. The next up and coming real ale circuit in Sheffield may well be London Road if the current developments are a success. Long established is the Cremorne, we also now have real ale available at the Crown and the Albion, the latter having reopened as a freehouse under its old name after sadly not lasting as the Bell Jar. Next to reopen is what was latterly Delaney’s music bar on Cemetery Road, this pub is to revert to it’s previous name of the Beer Engine and feature 5 guest ales and a real cider. JD Wetherspoon has applied for a licence for a potential new pub in Meadowhall. Dada bar on Trippet Lane has closed down after Thornbridge were given an offer they couldn’t refuse to sell the premises. It is to remain a bar, however no more is known about the intentions of the new owner. The Rutland Arms on Brown Street, Sheffield Centre, is hosting a Siren Brewery Tap Takeover on 18th March from 6:30pm and will incorporate a meet-the-brewer session. 4 cask beers from Siren will be available on the bar to try alongside some keg and bottled offerings with at least 7 Siren beers available that haven’t previously been served at the Rutland. Wood Street Brewery at the Hillsborough Hotel are being kept busy hosting brewery tour inclusive social packages booked via Living Social. Their Christmas special, Old Mans’s beard, sold very well and was being brewed weekly. A number of previously popular specials such as that are being considered for another run. Dronfield Brewery Co have made their popular Dronfield Pale Ale, 4.3%, a regular beer and another batch has been brewed.

The Harlequin on Nursery Street will be hosting a gin tasting event in February and with over 35 different varieties always on sale the event is sure to be gintastic!  For details please phone the pub on 0114 275 8195 or check http://theharlequinpub.wordpress.com. Also don’t forget that for you real cider lovers there’s always at least 12 ciders stocked all year round. The Miners Arms on Warren Lane, Chapeltown, has recently been bought by a consortium of local residents and is now a free house. Caroline and Julian who had a long association with the pub have returned as landlords. Currently there are 2 real ales on hand pull and food should reappear by the end of February. Reet Ale Pubs will be celebrating 2 years of running the Closed Shop on Commonside on the 11th of February with bit of a party.  Expect a build a butty buffet, cake, a Christie’s quiz special, Blue Bee special beer and much fun and games, alongside the usual selection of great ales and atmosphere. Bus 95 stops close to the pub on a regular basis! A couple of new quiz nights recently started in our area – Tuesday nights at the Dronfield Arms and Wednesday night at the Beer House on Ecclesall Road. Legends Sports Bar at Hillsborough has had a bit of a makeover and an improved beer range introduced along with a change of name – it is now the Hillsborough Tap & Kitchen. Sheffield Heeley MP Meg Munn recently visited the New Inn on Hemsworth Road following a £110,000 refurbishment scheme overseen by licensees Clive and Andrea Fletcher and owners Punch Taverns. The work saw major changes take place both inside and outside, including a new seating plan, a new bar and a new beer garden. The Friendship on Manchester Road in Stocksbridge reopened on 19th.December with ‘real ales at reasonable prices,’ ‘log burning fire’ and an aim to ‘return the pub to its Edwardian glory.’ Currently available are two Bradfield beers at £2.20/pint. Buses 57 and SL stop nearby. The Albion on London Road, which for a time recently was known as the Bell Jar, has reopened as a simple, traditional free house pub with a range of cask beers, mostly so far from Abbeydale Brewery. Anchorage, the smart American inspired bar and restaurant on West One Plaza, have expanded their range of craft beers to include a couple of quality cask beers, one of which is usually sourced locally from Skys Edge Brewery. There are some new tenants running the Castle Inn in Bolsterstone –  Tracy and John Raynor have moved there from the King and Miller at Deepcar. Meanwhile at another Castle Inn that closed and reopened – the one at Bradway – Craig and Marie continue to run a great local pub on behalf of Tandem Leisure on a use it or lose it basis. Three real ales are always available, all sourced from Yorkshire and the East Midlands and food is available at meal times too (generally 12-2pm and 5-8pm but not on Mondays). The Anglers Rest in Bamford is holding a beer festival on Sunday 22nd February featuring a range of 10 beers, half of which will be from the local Intrepid Brewing Co. The Sheffield Tap celebrated the 2nd birthday of the Tapped Brewing Company with a week of special events in the bar at the end of January. The Rawson Spring in Hillsborough has been named by the Sheffield Star newspaper as their ‘best bar of the year’. The Rawson Spring is a Wetherspoons pub with their usual offering of reasonable priced real ales and all day food menu, it has also recently benefited from an upgraded outdoor drinking area. The building is a former swimming baths, located at the tram stop.

A new beer venue is to open in Dronfield in early December on Callywhite Lane, behind the Post Office called the Beer Stop at Dronfield. This could be described as a micro-pub, it will basically be a bottled beer shop with a couple of cask ales available with an option to drink on the premises. The venue is on bus routes 44/44A and just around the corner from the railway station. It is also close to the Dronfield Arms and White Swan. Christy Beardshaw has left the Blake and moved to the Wisewood Inn. Real Ale is available here again. The Punchbowl at Gleadless is closed for 1 month. They have applied for a license extension to open at 7am, and open until 1am Friday/Saturday. The Olive Grove is now a shop. The Bell Jar and Delaneys are both closed and to lease. The Royal Standard now has a third handpump on the bar resulting in an increased beer choice here. The Rutland Arms on Brown Street are holding their annual Christmas Lights party on Thursday 4th December with a Magic Rock tap takeover included as one of the attractions. After 2 successful years, Dronfield Arms Landlord Daniel is moving on to pastures new. Owner Chris Sinclair is delighted to announce that Edd Entwhistle, currently Manager at The Bath Hotel in Sheffield, will take over in December! The Cross Scythes on Derbyshire Lane, Norton Lees, has lots planned for the Christmas period kicking off with family fun on Sunday 14th December, Christmas Carols on the 17th, brass band on the 20th, quiz on the 22nd and 29th and finally a New Years Eve party on the 31st with a vintage vinyl disco. SIBA have announced their annual BeerX will be back in Sheffield for 2015, this encompasses their annual conference, trade show, beer awards and a beer festival open to the public. The venue is Ice Sheffield, which is located next to the Arena/Don Valley tram stop. The beer festival is open 20th and 21st March. See www.beerx.org. Another festival confirmed as back for 2015 is the Three Valleys Festival, featuring multiple venues around Dronfield and the surrounding villages all with beer festivals and many with food and music, linked by a free bus service that also picks up at Dronfield railway station. The date for your diary is Saturday 6th June. Keep an eye on www.threevalleysfestival.org.uk. The Three Tuns on Silver Street Head (Paradise Square) are now open on Sundays serving Sunday dinners 12pm to 6pm, as from 23rd November. They celebrated their first Sunday service by offering a free pint with every meal!