Category: Inn Brief

Inn Brief

Posted on by Andy Cullen
The Dove & Rainbow in Sheffield City Centre is to close for a refurbishment and will be having a pre-furbishment party on Saturday 3rd August.  There will also be a weekend of live music on 19th to 21st July running alongside the Tramlines fringe. The refurbishment will see the toilets brought up to standard and the main pub and smoking area benefit from something of a fettle, however the general vibe of the pub is staying with the stage, sound system, pinball and pool tables, end wall murial, bar heads and memorials all set to remain! The Devonshire on Devonshire Street in Sheffield City Centre is reverting to it’s previous name – The Old House – following a refurbishment. It was due to reopen on 21st June. The Albion on London Road has been closed for a refurbishment and has now reopened with a new look! The Cowshed bar at the Graze Inn on Ecclesall Road has been refurbished, renamed and refocused, it is now a craft beer pub called the Eagle serving Thornbridge beer. The Big Tree at Woodseats has been closed for a refurbishment. A new Kelham Island venue has opened – Pa’s Bistro on Green Lane serves fresh food in a family run restaurant, it is open 8am to 10pm Mon-Sat and 10am to 10pm on Sundays. The drinks range includes a number of cask beers on handpump, currently from Fuggle Bunny Brewery. The Devonshire Cat has a tap takeover event with Chorlton Brewery planned for Thursday 25th July, from 5pm. The Derby Tup at Whittington Moor, Chesterfield, has been sold by Castle Rock Brewery to Rob Goodwin who will be running it as a free house. It will be closed from 30th June to 12th July for a cellar refit before reopening with an improved range of beer on both cask and keg. Rotherham CAMRA branch have presented a runner up certificate in their Rural Pub of the Year competition to the George & Dragon in Wentworth. A new food hall called “Loading Bay” has opened in Rotherham town centre, 5 minutes walk from Rotherham Central  tram/train station and bus interchange. It is the usual format with a number of street food counters and a bar. The bar has 4 handpumps, generally 3 regional or national cask ales and a cider. The Little Haven micropub at Parkgate, Rotherham (5 minute walk from the tram terminus) is holding a music and charity event on Sunday 4th August from midday through into the evening.

Inn Brief

Posted on by Andy Cullen
The Bloomery at Broomhill have removed their handpumps and no longer sells real ale, although some craft beers still feature on the keg taps. CAMRA  award winning licensee Karen Lang-Norris is now at the Ranmoor Inn, Fulwood Road. The Ranmoor has a delightful enclosed stable yard for smokers and a glorious patio with seating out the front. There is a general knowledge on Thursday at 9.30pm. Seven beers are usually on the bar, Abbeydale Deception, Bradfield Farmers Ale and Blonde, Taylor Boltmaker and Landlord, Tetley Bitter and an ever changing guest beer. Local pork pies are available. The frequent 120 bus will get you there. The new manager of the Shiny Sheff, Paul, is hoping to bring back life into this Marston’s pub at Lodge Moor. There is a games area with dart board and pool table and the split level lounge has conservatory leading onto the decking with views over the golf course towards Stannington. Thursday is karaoke night with live music on Saturday and a midweek quiz night is planned. There are food offers every night and drinks offers throughout the week. On a recent visit there were Hob Goblin Gold, Jennings Cumberland and Vantage 82. The beer range changes with the wide choice from Marston’s. The 51 bus serves the pub. The Castle Inn at Bradway has been shortlisted for an Ei-Group (formely Enterprise Inns, the national pub owning company the pub is leased from) award for best food offer. It has already won the divisional award and this puts the pub, lead by chefs Jack Baker and Jack Windsor, in the top 9 to be judged in the national final, which is due to be announced at a gala award ceremony in July. As well as good food, the pub offers up to 3 real ales. The Cross Keys at Handsworth has been refurbished and reopened as the Chantry Inn, under the management of Chantry Brewery of Rotherham. The Punchbowl at Crookes has joined the fold of True North Brewery and is to undergo refurbishment before reopening. Meltdown Sheffield, an e-sports gaming bar, opened on the 11th May in the premises on Snig Hill previously known as Under the Boardwalk (and various other incarnations before that, it was once a tap for Samuel Smiths Brewery when the venue upstairs was the Black Swan). Triplepoint Brewery & Bar on Shoreham Street is running an after work social type event every Friday from 6:30pm, usually involving live music and pizza as well of course as a range of beers brewed on site. The Northern Monkey micropub is due to open soon at 8 Middlewood Road, Hillsborough. It is being opened by the same people as the Brass Monkey further up the same road. The usual Saturday tap session at Drone Valley Brewery on Saturday 25th May sees the added interest of the brewery yard being the finish line for a charity duck race on the river Drone. The event runs from midday until 4pm, the location of the start line hadn’t been confirmed at the time of writing. A planning application has been submitted to convert a shop unit into a micropub on Mosborough High Street. The Little Haven Ale House micropub at Parkgate, Rotherham, is celebrating its first birthday on Saturday 1st June from 7pm with a buffet, raffle and prizes as well as the usual attractions such as real ale! This friendly little bar is 5 minutes walk from Parkgate tram terminus.

Inn Brief

Posted on by Andy Cullen
The Devonshire Cat in Sheffield City Centre is hosting a meet the brewer event with Wilde Child on 25th April. The Saturday of Easter weekend saw the final day of food service by Wing Kings at the Dog & Partridge. Wing Kings’ kitchen residency is moving to the Blind Monkey in Walkley. The Dorothy Pax bar at Victoria Quays is holding their ‘Canal Lines’ music festival on the 20th and 21st July (yes the same weekend as Tramlines – see what they’ve done there?!) with the Honey Bee Blues Club curating a days entertainment. The event starts at midday both days with entertainment currently scheduled from 3:30pm on Saturday and 4pm Sunday. The Rutland Arms is celebrating Star Wars Day (May the 4th be with you – geddit) by hosting the latest Stout Wars Trilogy of beers from Steel City Brewing (and collaborative partners!) The Washington on Fitzwilliam Street in Sheffield City Centre is hosting a music festival on Sunday 5th May with live music inside and (weather permitting) DJs in the beer garden. The event is organised jointly by Violet Gang and Musicians Against Homlessness, doors open at 2pm and entry is free. The Washington normally has a range of 6 real ales on the bar. A new micropub is opening soon in Bakewell in a former newsagent shop located by the area all the buses, including the 218 from Sheffield, stop. The pub is to be called “The Joiners Arms“, a reference to the fact the guy opening the pub also owns a joinery business (as well as owning the Dronfield Arms and a co-owning the Beer House micropub on Ecclesall Road). The planned opening date is 3rd May and the bar will feature 6 cask lines and 6 keg lines. The Harley Hotel on Glossop Road, near the University of Sheffield tram stop, closed suddenly at the beginning of April. This hotel and bar was also home to the Twisted Burger Company, live music and club nights and is leased from a pub company. The statement on their Facebook page, which has now been deleted, talked about them like many others struggling to keep a live music venue financially viable. It apparantly won’t be the end of Twisted Burgers and we are advised to look out for an announcement on that subject, the same management also run the Wick at Both Ends bar on West Street which has recently been refurbished and is home to their Twisted Pizza operation. They are also involved with organising Tramlines festival. Kommune Food Hall on Angel Street (part of the old Co-Op department store building) is now open for business with a range of street food kitchens, coffee counter bakery and bar all with shared communal seating. It is also the new home of the Hop Hideout beer shop. Neither the main ‘Drinks Department’ bar or Hop Hideout are serving cask beer, however both have some decent craft beers available on keg and of course Hop Hideout have an impressive bottle selection! Their first EVER beer festival will be held at the Wisewood Inn from 21st to 23rd June. There will be over twenty cask ales, plus can/bottle bar, cider and craft. Food and live music throughout. Open Fri-Sat noon- 11:00pm, Sun noon-10:00pm. Free admission at all times. Bus 31 from Sheffield City Centre (Angel Street) stops right outside. Sheffield’s annual folk music sessions festival was held over the Easter weekend across a number of participating pubs – the Dog & Partridge, Kelham Island Tavern, Shakespeares, Hillsborough Hotel, Gardeners Rest, Bar Stewards, Ship Inn, 3 Tuns and Church House. A local member has reported the Chapeltown Taphouse has extended their CAMRA members discount to be available all week subject to some terms and conditions whilst offers on a Monday have been opened up to all customers. You can keep up with their latest news by liking their Facebook page as things can change from time to time! The Three Cranes on Queen Street in Sheffield City Centre has two real ales available, at last visit these were from Kelham Island Brewery.  Saturday night are generally party nights with a DJ on, check their Facebook page for event details, whilst on Sundays they are serving roast dinners. The Punchbowl at Crookes has reportedly been sold by Greene King to a local brewery. A licence application has been made for the former off licence unit at 8 Middlewood Road (just up from Hillsborough corner), this could see another micropub join the Brass Monkey and Sports Shack in the area. The Dead Donkey bar opened at 240 Abbeydale Road (the former Mr Pickles shop) on 12th April offering craft beer, wines, spirits, cocktails and grilled cheese sandwiches. Sheffield Beer Week saw the launch of  “Out & About“, a new LGBT+ social group for those that enjoy craft beer, their mission to create a safe space within the Sheffield beer community. Their launch party was at the Devonshire Cat with a second social taking place in April at the Rutland Arms. If  you’d like to join them you can find out a bit more via Facebook.com/outandaboutsheff. Work continues on renovations, refurbishment and fitting out at the Crow Inn on Scotland Street, a craft beer bar and boutique hotel being opened by Chris and Kate from the Rutland Arms. At the time of going to press an opening date hadn’t been announced but the current target is mid to late May. A special collaboration beer has been brewed with Steel City Brewing for the opening of the Crow Inn. It is a 7.2% ABV dry hopped sour Brut IPA called Corvus Corone, which is the scientific name for the Carrion Crow, which according to the RSPB is a species that can be quite fearless yet wary of man. Make of that what you will. The King & Miller at Deepcar (Bradfield Brewery’s second pub after the Nags Head near Loxley) have been recruiting staff for their newly refurbished kitchen and are to introduce food. JD Wetherspoons, you’ve probably noticed, regularly review their locations with new openings as well as closures. The latest round of closures around the country have been announced with the only one in South Yorkshire being the Rhinoceros in Rotherham, where customers will of course have an alternative branch – the Blue Coats – that is bigger and nicer just up the hill! Rotherham CAMRA branch have announced their Pub of the Year winners. Their overall winner was the Wath Tap micropub – a wonderful friendly little community orientated bar with good ale just a couple of minutes from Wath bus station (buses 22a/22c/22x run there regularly from Rotherham Interchange via Parkgate, if you are going from Sheffield there are plenty of buses, trams and trains connecting to Rotherham). They also presented a ‘most improved pub’ award to the Church House Wetherspoons, also in Wath upon Dearne and a Rotherham town centre pub of the Year to the Blue Coats Wetherspoon. The latest from Rotherham branch can be found on their Facebook page. Dronfield & District branch, another of our neighbours, have also presented their awards with the Pub of the year going to the Miners Arms in Hundall, Cider Pub going to the Travellers Rest in Apperknowle and Club of the Year going to the Pioneer Club in Dronfield. Their Winter Pub of the Season was the Cross Daggers in Coal Aston. More details can be found in their ‘Peel Ale’ magazine or online at www.dronfield.camra.org.uk. Sheffield Brewery are supplying beer for a Mayday bank holiday weekend tap takeover at the Chesterfield Alehouse micropub.

Inn Brief

Posted on by Dominic Nelson

Planning permission has been applied for to convert the former Travellers Rest in Dronfield into a domestic dwelling. The pub was notable for being the location of the first ever branch meeting of Sheffield & District CAMRA.

The Old Grindstone at Crookes is under new management again and the incoming management pair have also brought two dogs with them. Just up the road, the Punchbowl is also under new ownership, having been taken over by the People’s Pub Company.

Licensee Alan Ward has left the Walkley Cottage, having been the landlord since 2011. He had been in the pub trade for more than 40 years, having previously run the Freedom House on South Road.

The Penny Black on Pond Hill has undergone a full refurbishment, including the installation of three hand pumps. Two beers from the Greene King range feature alongside Black Sheep Best Bitter.

Sticking with the theme of refurbishments, the Hare & Hounds at Dore and the Nursery Tavern on Ecclesall Road both closed briefly before Christmas for renovations, while the Milton Arms in Elsecar reopened on 8 December after an extensive refurb.

The long-anticipated Brass Monkey micropub has now opened on Middlewood Road, Hillsborough. There are three real ales on offer, often featuring local breweries such as Bradfield, Loxley and Kelham Island. Owner Stacy Reed and his business partners also have plans for another bar in the city centre.

Rumour has it that the Sleep Hotel on Scotland Street (formerly the Crown Inn) is turning back into a real ale and craft beer pub at the hands of well-known local publicans, licensing permitted.

The Pointing Dog on Ecclesall Road has been renamed the Lost & Found. Meanwhile, the former Champs sports bar in Malin Bridge is now known as the Loxley. It remains a sports-themed venue with three real ales available.

The Dore Moor Inn is no longer a pub after Mediterranean restaurant chain Ego purchased it from previous owners Vintage Inns. Set to reopen in March, it is rumoured that Bradfield cask beers will still be available.

St Michael’s Social Club on Hunter Road is set to be sold at auction on 29 January. The building includes a bar, cellar, beer garden and living quarters.

The Riverside on Mowbray Street (owned by True North) reopened on 12 January following a bar refit. There is now a wider range of craft keg beers alongside the seven handpumps.

The Devonshire Cat is holding a Meet the Brewer evening with Manchester’s Marble Brewery on Thursday 21 February, with a number of Marble beers appearing on cask and keg.

Shakespeares on Gibraltar Street will be hosting a Meet the Brewer and tap takeover event featuring Ridgeside Brewery from Leeds on Friday 8 February from 6pm.

Over in Dronfield, the Beer Stop has expanded its range of craft lines to 4, including permanent lines from Northern Monk and Cloudwater.

Another new craft beer bar is heading to Abbeydale Road. The Dead Donkey is set to open later this year in the former Mr Pickles’ Yorkshire Food Emporium unit.

The Cross Keys at Handsworth closed before Christmas and is currently boarded up. The Everest, also in Handsworth, is undergoing refurbishment.

Someone must have been swearing at the Cow and Calf, the Sam Smiths pub at Grenoside, because the gates are closed and there are massive boulders behind the gates.

The Prince of Wales, Ecclesall Road South, will reopen on 26 January after refurbishment. The beers usually on are Abbeydale Moonshine and Old Speckled Hen; these will remain but there will be a greater range of keg beers and food.

Well done to the Gardeners Rest on Neepsend Lane and the Hallamshire House on Commonside, which have just been granted Cask Marque accreditation.

Inn Brief

Posted on by Dominic Nelson
The Gardeners Rest on Neepsend Lane now has a function room seating up to 40 people. The room can be booked free of charge by community groups but is not available for private parties. Just next door, the new Cutlery Works is now open and serves a range of cask (six handpumps) and keg beers alongside a plethora of culinary choices. Beer Central in the Moor Market recently celebrated their fifth birthday with a rebrand. They also collaborated on a special birthday brew, Candidiate Breakfast Stout, with Five Towns Brewery which should be available soon. The Archer Road Beer Stop has had a change of ownership, with Dave Daykin selling the shop, after 24 years at the helm, to new owner Richard Hattersley. Cask beer is still available to take away and recent breweries featured include Abbeydale and Dancing Duck. Jabeerwocky is the latest addition to the London Road/Abbeydale Road beer scene after opening in the former Bar Ambasada PL unit. The new bar offers UK craft beer (including cask), Polish lagers and spirits, plus dumplings. There will also be a pub quiz on Monday nights. Meanwhile, the folks at Hop Hideout have announced they are set to leave their Abbeydale Road shop in order to relocate to the city centre. While the old shop is closed, there will be pop-up stalls at the Sheffield Christmas Market on Fargate (until 5 December), the Ball Street Deli on 2 December and the Nether Edge Farmers Market on 9 December. More details on the new venue should be announced shortly. The Old Grindstone on Crookes has a new licensee, who has indicated that the kitchen is set to be refurbished in the near future. Pour, the new dog-friendly vegan beer and pizza bar next door to the White Lion in Heeley, opened for business at 4pm on Friday 16 November – a couple of days too late to get an article in Beer Matters! Our correspondents are hoping to visit to write something in time for the next magazine. To Øl will be taking over the guest taps at BrewDog on Division Street on Thursday 13 December, with four beers from the Danish brewery available.

Inn Brief

Posted on by Dominic Nelson
Black Friday returns to the Devonshire Cat on 23 November. This celebration of dark beer will feature a range of high ABV stouts and porters. The new Brass Monkey micropub on Middlewood Road now has an online presence, which says the pub is “coming soon”. The Two Sheds micropub, located in the former Iberico Cafe in Crookes, opened for business on Friday 28 September. It offers four cask and four keg lines, plus a bottle shop. The Chapeltown Tap House & Gin Bar is now open for business. The pub has five cask lines and is offering a 50p per pint discount for CAMRA members on Mondays. Mitchell’s Hop House are not currently brewing, but the wine shop is still open. Refurbishments are still underway at the Masons Arms in Crookes, although a reopening date does appear to be ever closer. The New Inn on Hemsworth Road is currently closed and Star Pubs are advertising for a new licensee. The infamous Roger & Out beer is set to return to the Frog and Parrot on Division Street and will be brewed by Dead Parrot. It is not yet known how much of a resemblance it will have to its previous incarnation. The Pointing Dog on Ecclesall Road is set to reopen as a Victorian-themed cocktail bar.

Inn Brief

Posted on by Dominic Nelson
Pour is set to become the latest addition to the Heeley Triangle and Sheffield’s craft beer scene. The new bar (previously an Italian restaurant) is next door to the White Lion and will feature up to eight craft keg lines and a range of vegan and vegetarian pizzas. The owners – Jon Terry from the White Lion, HopJacker brewer Edd Entwistle and chef Simon Naylor – hope to open some time in October. The Shepley Spitfire at Totley, currently a Greene King managed pub, is set to become a leased pub in November. The Olde Mustard Pot in Midhopestones, the most northerly pub in our branch region, is currently closed. In Stocksbridge, the Silver Fox on Manchester Road has reopened after a period of closure. Work is still ongoing at the King & Miller in Deepcar, which was purchased earlier this year by Bradfield Brewery as their second tap pub. The Ale House on Fraser Road is hosting an American whiskey night on Saturday 24 November, which will feature a selection of rye and bourbon whiskeys with matched food pairings. Contact the pub for more details. Barrowboy on Abbeydale Road is now open, serving Korean bao buns and other street food. No cask ale is available but Abbeydale Heathen (4.1%) features on keg. The Old Crown on London Road has reopened but on our correspondent’s visit there was no real ale on offer. Thor’s Tipi Bar in the Peace Gardens is set to make its annual reappearance on Tuesday 20 November, where it will remain until New Year’s Eve. There will be a cask takeover featuring seven beers from Almasty Brewery at Shakespeares on Thursday 18 October from 5pm. Wander Beyond Brewing will also be taking over seven keg lines at the same time.

Inn Brief

Posted on by Dominic Nelson
Hop Hideout on Abbeydale Road have a couple of interesting events coming up. The last weekend in October sees a tap takeover from New Mills’ Torrside Brewery, while the second weekend in November will be the shop’s 5th birthday celebration, featuring 5 Bill Murray-inspired beers and a Bill Murray fancy dress party. DinoSours returns to the Rutland Arms on Brown Street from 12-15 September following the success of last year’s event. Two cask and six keg sours will be available. The Sentinel Brewhouse has reverted to its previous opening hours and as such is no longer open on Mondays or Tuesdays. Barrowboy on Abbeydale Road is set to open before the end of August. So far it is unclear where real ale will be available. The new Pitcher & Piano on Holly Street now has an official opening date of Friday 19 October.

Inn Brief

Posted on by Dominic Nelson
The Stag’s Head on Psalter Lane recently underwent a bar upgrade and now has eight handpumps installed. These are mostly Thornbridge beers but on our last visit there was also a guest ale from Tiny Rebel. The Bar Stewards on Gibraltar Street is set to celebrate its first birthday on 28 July with a party including street food, music and a range of special beers. The Church House on St James Street is hoping to reopen on 20 August following refurbishment and building repairs. Church – Temple of Fun on Rutland Way is the latest addition to the Kelham Island beer scene. The new venture from Bring Me the Horizon frontman Oli Sykes features a 100% vegan bar, including an unfined cask ale and a range of craft keg and cans. There is also vegan food from Make No Bones and a range of classic video arcade games. A new café bar is heading to Nether Edge, with a grand opening on 28 July. Brewer & Hop (40 Wostenholm Road) will feature craft beers, ales, gins and cocktails and is part of the Dalbury Hotel complex. Hathersage Social Club is hosting a “Praise Be to Beer” supper night on 3 August in collaboration with Abbeydale Brewery. The four-course meal will be served with matched beers and costs £32.50 for food only, or £45 with the tasting flight. The Old Queens Head on Pond Hill has introduced a new weekday lunchtime menu, with all dishes priced at £3.50 between noon and 3pm. Stancill Brewery have submitted a planning application to Sheffield City Council to transform the former HSBC building in Chapeltown into a pub. This could be the second new pub to open in Chapeltown in the near future, along with the proposed new micropub in the former Marie’s Tea Rooms. Residents have put in a number of complaints against Hawthorn Leisure’s application for a late license for the former Edward’s pub on Glossop Road. The bar is currently being transformed into the Swinging Sinatra’s bar and was proposed to open until 2am on weekdays and 3am on weekends. A new bar from the Marston’s-owned Pitcher & Piano chain is set to open on Holly Street in September this year. It is assumed that real ale will be available as it is in most of the existing pubs in the chain in other cities. Hop Hideout on Abbeydale Road is holding a celebration of sour beer over the August Bank Holiday weekend.

Inn Brief

Posted on by Dominic Nelson
The Old Mother Redcap in Bradway is now closed again after the new management couple were ousted by Sam Smith’s brewery. An application has been made to Sheffield City Council by Hawthorn Leisure for extended opening hours at Edward’s bar on Glossop Road. The venue, which has seen several reincarnations in recent times, would also be re-branded as Sinatra’s under the plans. The Shakey in Hillsborough reopened on 7 June following a comprehensive refurbishment. Woody’s bar on West Street offered cask Abbeydale Moonshine over the recent Spring Bank Holiday Weekend. It isn’t clear whether there are plans to continue serving real ale. The Church House on St James Street is set to close for a few weeks after Tramlines weekend for essential building maintenance. The interior will also be given a full renovation. Plans have been submitted for a new micropub in a former children’s craft café at 185 Middlewood Road, S6 4HD. It is hoped the pub will be open in time for Tramlines weekend. The proposed new micropub in the former Iberico Café in Crookes has hit a setback after objections were raised over disabled accessibility. Walkley Beer Co is hosting a takeover from Leeds-based North Brewery on Friday 6 July, with cask, keg and canned beers on offer.