Category: Inn Brief

Another wave of pub re-openings following lockdown has happened in the last week or two, although of course still all a fairly different experience with Covid-Safe measures.

Out at Woodhouse Mill the Oxbow micropub has recommenced bar service for drinking on the premises after a period of operating as an off licence with a couple of tables added outside. Opening hours are reduced and it is contactless payment only, check their Facebook page for details.

Meanwhile in the City Centre Fagans, Beehive and the Washington have now reopened. The Washington now has table service and as government guidelines currently forbids dancing, the dance floor has been converted into a couple of cosy seating areas although a programme of DJs and live music of sorts is still taking place (at reduced volume!).

Down in the Kelham/Neepsend area Church – Temple of Fun has reopened with a bit of a reconfiguration of the venue, new vegan food menu and table service. A cask beer continues to be available on the bar, on the opening weekend this was Abbeydale Behemoth.

The Albion on London Road, run by Stancill Brewery, reopens on 18th September.

The Three Cranes in Sheffield City Centre has closed due to Covid.

The Hanover‘s lease is up for sale due to the current owner expecting a baby.

The Old Workshop bar on Hick Street, Neepsend, reopens on Friday 18th September as a fully vegan venue and will be the new home of Make No Bones vegan fast food, who were previously based at Church Temple of Fun (and before that had a little cafe in Heeley).

The Industry Tap bar in Sheffield City Centre celebrates its first birthday from 17th to 20th September with an extensive and special tap list.

The Fulwood Ale Club have received conditional planning permission for outdoor seating and awning until 9pm.

The Kelham Island Tavern is joining the ranks of the Harlequin and Gardeners Rest as a pub in the area offering beer to take home. They are opening as a trial over the weekend of 30th April to 2nd May, see their Facebook page for details. The Plough at Hathersage has taken advantage of the Coronavirus closure to get a bit of decorating done. The Beer House micropub on Ecclesall Road is planning on setting up a beer delivery service. Keep an eye on their Facebook or Twitter accounts for announcements. The Joiners Arms at Bakewell is looking to recruit a new manager for when they reopen post lockdown. The Harlequin on Nursery Street are selling home made pies to take home. Advance order is required. The Two Thirds Beer Company is offering a delivery service of beer and snacks. Customers within 3 miles of the bar on Abbeydale Road can enjoy free delivery by their staff, if you are further away you can order via the Citygrab app (the City Taxis delivery service). The Wisewood Inn is taking advantage of the Coronavirus closure to get their planned refurbishment done early, meanwhile Loxley Brewery which is based on site is now bottling beer available either by bulk local brewery or via selected specialist beer shops. Abbeydale Brewery is offering free local delivery on orders over £25 from their webshop which are being undertaken by brewery staff whilst delivery further afield is available via courier for a fee. Available to order are minikegs, cans and merchandise with Moonshine soon to be added to the canned range. Eyam Brewery are offering delivery of bottled beers. The area they cover stretches roughtly speaking from Buxton to Dronfield. Chantry Brewery now have an online shop selling bottles and minikegs with delivery available to addresses within 15 miles of their Parkgate based brewery. Beer Central based at the Moor indoor market are now offering beer boxes to order for delivery. Those already engaged with “save boxes” where new beers that come in stock promoted on social media are put to one side can pay and have their beers delivered once the order is big enough whilst others can order a “thrifty for fifty” mixed box containing £55 worth of beer for £50 on a lucky dip basis! The Red Deer are offering local delivery of drinks on selected days, order in the morning and receive delivery in the afternoon. Check their social media for details. Turner’s Bottle Shop on Abbeydale Road are offering delivery. Check their website or social media for details. Archer Road Beer Stop off licence in Millhouses are open for business as usual including hand pulled real ale to take home. Bradfield Brewery are offering home delivery of beer in bottles and minikegs. Minimum order £30. Hop Hideout have their webshop back online to order beer from their shop for delivery. Original Infused are delivering their bottled beers. Triple Point Brewery are selling beer in cans and bag-in-box online, either for collection from the bar or delivery via courier for a fee. Thornbridge Brewery continue to sell beer online for delivery. Peak Ales are back up and running, bottled beer can be ordered online for collection or delivery. Drone Valley community Brewery are offering free local delivery of bottled beers ordered online by their members (membership also available online). The Beer Stop at Dronfield are offering local delivery. Order your bottles, cans and minikegs via email and pay via Paypal or BACS. Check their Facebook page for details. The White Swan in Dronfield are offering delivery of “PieMinister” meals on Friday and Saturday nights, this needs to be ordered in advance via the pub’s website. The Norfolk Arms at Ringinglow are doing takeaway 3 course meals at the weekend on a simple set menu that changes each week. Collection or local delivery is available and must be ordered two days in advance. Real Ale is available to takeaway with your meal too! See their Facebook page for more information. The Old Hall Hotel in Hope are now serving a takeaway food menu with local delivery available. The Gardeners’ Rest at Neepsend has been having beer takeaway days, check their Facebook page for details.

Heist Craft bar in Clowne are celebrating their third birthday over the Easter weekend, this is also their last weekend before they close and relocate to Sheffield. Bus 53/53a goes there from Sheffield. Boozehound, who run the upstairs beer bar at Cutlery Works, are organising a brewers social event at Lion Works over the Easter weekend, 10-13 April.  The venue is where Neepsend Brewery used to be based, on Ball Street/Mowbray Street and will be open from midday to 10pm each day serving beer from Triplepoint and Crosspool Ale Makers. Bus 7/8 goes there or it is just a few minutes walk from Shalesmoor tram stop. News on the currently near derelict Farfield Inn at Neepsend, which has been closed since the floods damaged it, a planning application has been lodged with the council to restore this building with a pub on the ground floor and flats upstairs. The Silver Fox at Stocksbridge is closed and up for sale or rent. The Talbot Arms at Dronfield Woodhouse is to be demolished and the site redeveloped for housing, subject to planning permission. The Inn at Troway (previously known as the Black-a-Moor) is also subject to a planning application to be converted to housing. Both former Enterprise Inns (Ei group) properties. The Three Tuns behind the cathedral on Silver Street Head is due to reopen on 20 March under new management after closing last month. Yet to hear whether the long-running Wednesday quiz, as hosted by our very own typesetter [hello] will return. Shakespeares put on a lot of rather interesting cask beers for Sheffield Beer Week. Those attending on Friday 13 were able to enjoy a number of Torrside Smoke and Monster beers on the main bar alongside a 20% ABV cask stout brewed as a Steel City, Emporor’s and Fantome collaboration, brewed at Fantome’s brewery in Belgium while upstairs a festival bar hosted the ‘Collabracadabra’ collection of beers Shakespeare’s Lucie had helped brew. Those sampled by your editor included a hoisin sauce stout brewed with Steel City, a marshmallow mild brewed with North Riding, an apricot pastry braggot brewed with many different local brewers, a black IPA brewed with Blue Bee, a peppermint saison brewed with Torrside and a banana hefe brewed with Lost Industry. The Friday of Sheffield Beer Week saw Triplepoint Brewery & Bar celebrate their first birthday party with a range of their own beers on the main bar and guest beers on the ‘secret warehouse’ bar. On the Saturday at the end of Sheffield Beer Week the Rutland Arms had a Cloudwater brewery tap takeover, including some cask beers.

The Gardeners Rest at Neepsend is hosting a bar billiards tournament on 18th March with a 6pm start. To take part you need to register in advance at the bar and the entry fee is £1. Beery events coming up at Shakespeares on Gibraltar Street include tap takeovers with Howling Hops (27th February) and Torrside (9th March) then “Collabracadabra”, a festival of collaboration brew beers from 13th to 15th March. The Devonshire Cat in Sheffield City Centre host one of their regular Abbeydale Brewery Funk Dungeon events on Thursday 27th February from 5-8pm with brewer Jim hosting private tastings. The Funk Dungeon range tend to be sour, barrel aged and other experimental brews and the latest releases will be available on cask, keg and can. Jabbarwocky bar on London Road are hosting a Wylam tap takeover from 6th to 8th March with a range of 2 cask and 5 keg beers plus a selection of cans. The Blue Stoops on Dronfield High Street is hosting tap takeovers with Ilkley and Drone Valley Breweries between 9th and 15th March. The Ratebeer website has been naming their annual award winners with national recognition given to the Sheffield Tap (brewpub category) and Shakespeare’s (pub/bar category). Within South Yorkshire Hop Hideout was the top bottle shop so along with international honours for the Brewery of St Mars of the Desert there is a lot of love for Sheffield’s beer scene there! The Masons in Crookes was due to reopen on 21st February following refurbishment. Mid February saw a number of venues in our area joining in Tiny Rebel Brewery’s 8th birthday with tap takeovers, including the Head of Steam, Two Thirds Beer Co, Millowner Arms and Chesterfield Alehouse. Toolmakers Brewery tap room is hosting a comedy night on 5th March with free entry. The New Barrack Tavern is hosting a cider & cheese tasting night on 18th March, check their Facebook event or ask at the bar for more details. The Swan at Ridgeway has announced that they will again this year be teaming up with 3 other pubs in the village to put on Ridgeway beer festival on Saturday 16th May featuring real ale, live music, food and more.

A new micropub has opened in Woodhouse Mill, at the bottom of Furnace Lane. The Oxbow offers a range of beers on both cask and keg. The former Rising Sun near Bamford, in the Hope Valley, which has sat closed and derelict for a few years now, has had the go ahead from Peak Park Planning Board to be redeveloped with a new hotel on the site. It is to be run by an independent operator aimed at visitors to the Peak District. The Bankers Draft (JD Wetherspoons) at Castle Square in the City Centre is hosting a Little Critters meet the brewer event on Tuesday 11th February at 7pm. The Cavendish on West Street, Sheffield, reopens following refurbishment on Saturday 25th January. A new restaurant specialising in vegetarian and vegan dishes has opened in Kelham Island in an old works on Cornish Street. Named V or V, the bar also has real ale and other craft beers for diners to enjoy – all unfined and vegan of course! The Dorothy Pax at Victoria Quay has had a bar refit and now boasts an increased number of beer lines! The Fulwood Ale Club, a micropub by the same people as the Ecclesall Ale Club, is now open on Brooklands Avenue. Sheffield Brewery Company‘s tap room is now opening to the public most weekends to serve their beer to drink in the brewery! Check their social media for opening hours. Also one that has opened since we published our guide to the Kelham Island area is Saw Grinders Union in Globe Works at Shalesmoor. This smart bar has 2 cask ales and a variety of other craft beers available along with cocktails and food. On Abbeydale Road, the Two Thirds Beer Company is now open. This bar in the unit previously occupied by Steel City Cakes, near the Broadfield, boasts 16 beer lines with a mix of cask beers on handpump and other craft beers on keg taps. On 30th January Shakespeare’s are serving a range of American Sours, the Joiners Arms in Bakewell are hosting a Thornbridge tap takeover & meet the brewer and the Kelham Island Tavern is hosting a ticket only Tryanuary tutored beer tasting. The Devonshire Cat are hosting a charity fundraising dinner for Cavendish Cancer Care on 6th February. In return for a generous donation you will enjoy a 3 course dinner and a gin & tonic. Of course it being the bar it is there will also be an excellent choice of ales on the bar to buy too! Advance table bookings are required for this event. The Jolly Farmer at Dronfield Woodhouse sees managers Karl and Ash celebrating 15 years at the helm this month and they will be celebrating at the pub on 8th February from 7:30pm. Expect live entertainment, food and beer to feature! Tiny Rebel have brewed a range of special beers to celebrate their 8th birthday and these will be available as part of a tap takeover at the Chesterfield Alehouse micropub on 13th February. A recent opening is the Parrot Club at Neepsend, owned by the same people as O’Hara’s Spiced Rum. There isn’t any cask beer, however a range of 3 craft beers from Triple Point is available on keg taps. Opening late January is Matilda Bar, an underground speakeasy style joint under the Sidney Warehouse gallery space. Access is via a door on the corner of Sidney Street and Matilda Street. A membership scheme will operate however anyone can sign in at the door. This is in addition to the existing bar in the gallery. Local craft beers will be available on keg tap. Just to add some confusion however, there is also rumour of the old Matilda Tavern pub that has sat boarded up for quite a few years reopening very soon! Toolmakers Brewery (on Botsford Street, which is behind their Forest pub on Rutland Road, just up the hill from Cutlery Works and the Gardeners Rest in Neepsend) continue to host music events at weekends in their tap room. The first Saturday of the month its Trojan Explosion from 8pm to 1am featuring Ska, Rocksteady and early Reggae music played on vinyl whilst most Sunday evenings sees live music. Check their Facebook page for details. The Royal Standard has closed, ei group are advertising the lease so it should reopen as soon as someone new takes the pub on.

The proposed micropub in Fulwood previously mentioned is going ahead and will be the sister venue to the Ecclesall Ale Club, run by the guys from Brew Foundation. The new bar & bottle shop is the Fulwood Ale Club, located at 4 Brooklands Avenue and is due to open some point in November. You can follow them on Twitter @AleClubFul. Thor’s Tipi bar returns to the Peace Gardens for it’s usual Christmas season alongside the Christmas market on 22nd November, staying a little longer this year, until 5th January. After having cask beer for the first couple of years, there was no ale last year which was disapointing (guess mulled wine and hot chocolate is the big sellers!). They are promising a bigger venue this year with a double tent space and extended choice on the bar, the online drinks menu shows a Thor’s Pale Ale so we’ll see! The food this year is pizza. The Green Room will only be opening in the evening from November, which means “Butties to Banquets” will no longer be serving breakfasts and lunches from their kitchen. The outside catering will still be available, check their Facebook page for contact details. In the evenings the programe of music and other events are now back in full swing following the summer holidays and the guest ale has recently been provided by Loxley Brewery. The Indie Beer Feast is back at Abbeydale Picture House on 6th and 7th March 2020. Shakespeare’s are holding a fruit sour event from 25th to 27th October. The Devonshire Cat’s Black Friday, a celebration of dark beers, takes place on 29th November from 5pm. The next Ball Street Deli takes place on Sunday 8th December, on a closed off Ball Street Bridge in Kelham Island. At the last event the Kelham Island Tavern provided a real ale tent. The Mallard at Worksop station host their Halloween beer festival from 31st October to 3rd November featuring 20 real ales and 4 ciders. The Wig & Pen has had a change on the food side of things. The restaurant partner has changed from Craft & Dough to Edo Sushi (all part of the Milestone Group). The Shepley Spitfire at Totley closed for refurbishment on 14th October, plans after reopening include an open mic night and an improved food menu.

Lost Industry Brewing have announced they are opening a City Centre tap room on SIdney Street in the new development built on the site of the old Niche nightclub. It will offer 21 lines of beer showcasing their own and guest beers plus pizzas and panninis to eat. They are aiming to have it ready to open in the Autumn. The former Psalter Tavern is due to reopen soon having been converted into a boutique hotel with a cafe bar on the ground floor offering craft beer. The Half Pint Marathon initiative is back throughout September. Two special charity beers have been brewed – True North Strider and Abbeydale Threshold – which will be available in 13 participating venues – Beer Engine, Rising Sun (Nether Green), Forum, Riverside (Kelham Island), University Arms, Broadfield, Church Temple of Fun, The York, Head of Steam, Brothers Arms, Old House, Bar Stewards and Devonshire Cat. Pick up a Half Pint Marathon collectors card and get it stamped at each venue when you buy one of the two charity beers, collect a stamp from each venue and you qualify for a shirt! Neepsend Brewery are hosting their monthly tap session on Saturday 7th September from 3pm to 10pm. This coincides with Peddlers Market. The Crow on Scotland Street is hosting Steel City Brewing’s 10th anniversary “a decade of bitterness” on 5th October. The annual Bradway family fun day takes place on Saturday 14th September from 1:30 to 4:30pm. This is organised as a community fundraiser for the Bradway Action Group. It takes place on the “Old School Field”, located on the junction of Bradway Road and Twentywell Lane. Drone Valley Brewery will be hosting the beer tent this year whilst a Wood Fired Pizza Oven and Bradway Meats will be selling hot food, whilst the community volunteers will be selling cakes and other treats! The event features fun for all the family including games, a circus entertainer, bouncy castle and a dog show. Bus 25 and M17 will drop you close by on Bradway Road. A planning application has been made to open a micropub in Fulwood on Brooklands  Avenue whilst in the City Centre there is a proposal to knock 3 shop units on West Street through to convert into a bar. True North Brewery have taken the lease for the Punch Bowl at Crookes and are currently refurbishing the pub before reopening it. The pub originally opened in 1920 and the brewery have run a photographic competition inviting locals to provide pictures of the pub and Crookes High Street over the years to feature on the walls when it reopens. Molly Malone’s Irish theme bar on West Street has removed the handpumps and real ale is no longer available. Coming soon to Dronfield is the Underdog bar, in the premises on Chesterfield Road previously occupied by Smiffy’s, who closed and sold up back in May. The new owner hasn’t moved far – she was previously the manager at the Dronfield Arms! Underdog promises an extensive selection of craft beer and cask ale, an enviable gin and wine list plus sharing boards. Talking of the Dronfield Arms, they now have a house beer brewed on site, it is a Mosaic hopped pale ale. The outdoor drinking area has been refurbished. Those familiar with pubs in the area may recognise the new manager, her parents run the Hyde Park Inn! Since the Urban 52 bar at Rotherham’s Loading Bay food hall has closed and been replaced with a pizza counter, cask beer has now been introduced on the venue’s own bar.  The regular beer is the ubiquitous Sharp’s (Coors) Doom Bar but regional guests from breweries such as Leeds have been reported alongside it! Newly opened in Rotherham on the High Street is the Three Cranes Inn. Rotherham CAMRA have named the New York Tavern, run by Chantry Brewery, their town pub of the year

It has been announced that the Two Rivers cafe bar should be opening in the autumn. This is a micropub being converted from former public toilets that sits over the confluence of the rivers Don and Sheaf on Blonk Street, an area of the City Centre currently being smartened up as part of the Grey-to-Green scheme which covers the corridor from West Bar to Castlegate. The bar will feature up to 5 cask beers and will also do food. It is owned by Red Sky Inns, who also own the Riverside cafe near Hillsborough and the Wentworth at Carbrook. A planning application has gone in to turn the former Steel City Cakes shop unit at 434-436 Abbeydale Road (across the junction from the Broadfield) into a micropub. The Olde Nags Head at Castleton has a house beer brewed just down the valley at Intrepid Brewery. Lucky Hoof is a 4.3% amber coloured best bitter. The Old Mustard Pot at Midhopestones reopened at the end of June. Under the new management of Matt Dawson, the pub offers an extensive food menu in addition to three cask beers. On our visit, these included Fullers Chiswick Bitter, a beer not often seen in our area. Good luck to Holly Whittaker-Leggett and family who have taken the Castle in Bolsterstone on a six-year lease. The is a large imposing open plan pub next to church in the centre of village. Popular with walkers and frequented by the local male voice choir, it was listed as an Asset of Community Value (ACV) in April 2014, the first Sheffield pub to achieve this status. Beers vary, but often include Black Sheep, Bradfield, Robinsons, Timothy Taylors and Wychwood. There is occasional live music, a quiz on Sunday evenings, Wednesday evening poker and Thursday, bingo and card night. The pub is also one of the sponsors for Stocksbridge Walkers are Welcome. The Green Dragon in Dronfield are holding their annual party in the car park on Sunday 25th August from 3pm to raise money for the local “Sam’s Journey” charity. There will be entertainment, stalls, bacon sarnies plus of course the pub’s bar. The latest addition to the growing collection of pubs and bars around the Kelham Island area is Saw Grinders Union at Globe Works, Shalesmoor, which opened on Thursday 4th July, compromising two buildings around a courtyard which between them feature a bar, coffee shop and restaurant. The smart looking bar has two handpumps serving cask beers which at the time of writing were from Abbeydale Brewery, they also have a number of craft beers on their keg taps. The Peak Hotel at Castleton has had a minor refurbishment and introduced a new food menu, they have also moved onto Heineken’s smart dispense system for cask ales which is more eco friendly, using less cleaning chemicals and also using less energy for cellar cooling. Crookes Social Club is celebrating their 100th anniversary with a festival from 9th to 11th August, raising funds for Sheffield Childrens hospital charity. The New Barrack Tavern on Penistone Road near Hillsborough is hosting a charity music festival over the bank holiday weekend 23rd to 25th August. Out & About, the LGBT+ beer drinkers group are leading a pub crawl after the Pride event in Endcliffe Park on 27th July, starting from the Ale Club on Ecclesall Road at 4:30pm.