Category: Inn Brief

The Blind Monkey at Walkley had its grand opening on 27 April and has proved popular so far. The pub will be the venue for our branch meeting on 3 July. Huttons Bar on West Street is to become Molly Malone’s, an Irish-themed bar, opening in September in time for the new University year. The Drink Inn on Commercial Street has been closed for some time, and although there has been no definite announcement either way it appears the pub is no longer trading. The Green Room on Devonshire Street now has a comedy club run in conjunction with Last Laugh in the newly built function room; the first one took place on 2 May. The Lescar on Sharrow Vale Road still has its weekly Last Laugh comedy night every Thursday. There is a new film night at the New Barrack Tavern, starting with Quadrophenia on 15 May. The first beer from the new Dead Parrot Beer Company has been spotted on Sheffield’s handpumps. The brewery is owned by Mark Simmonite, formerly the owner of Henry’s Bar in the city centre. Another new Sheffield brewery, Hopscotch, was granted its Alcohol Wholesaler license on 8 May. The Walkley (formerly the Walkley Club) on Lark Street has now closed. Planning permission has been submitted for a new micropub at Arch 2A, Ecclesfield Road, Chapeltown. The Cross Scythes at Totley is set to reopen on 11 May under new management following a refurbishment. On Bank Holiday Monday, 7 May, old regulars of the still-closed Old Mother Redcap in Bradway gathered in the pub’s beer garden with drinks and snacks to demonstrate that they still miss the pub. Samuel Smith’s continue to look for a management couple to run the pub. The Old Club, situated in the former Polish Club on Ecclesall Road, opened for business on 6 May. Loxley Brewery recently released their third beer, Wisewood Three, a traditional Yorkshire bitter (3.9%).

From 9 April, the Sentinel Brewhouse on Shoreham Street will have extended opening hours: Mon-Thu 4pm-11pm, Fri 12pm-12am, Sat 11am-12pm, Sun 11am-8pm. The Blind Monkey (formerly the Firwood Cottage) has a revised opening date of 27 April. The Masons Arms in Crookes is currently being redecorated and signs are that the pub could reopen soon. Planning permission has been granted for the conversion of the Iberico Cafe into a micropub. Meanwhile, plans have also been approved for the opening of a new bar on Ecclesall Road. The Old Club will be located in the former Polish centre. The proposed new microbrewery in the old dairy on Broadfield Road is no longer going ahead. The Bulls Head at Fulwood has reopened having been taken over by Heather, who was previously at the Springvale on Commonside. Little Critters’ tenure at the Fox and Duck in Broomhill is set to come to an end, but the brewery will retain the lease of the Doctor’s Orders on Glossop Road.

The Norfolk Arms on Dixon Lane now sells real ale at weekends. Two casks are available from Thursday and are available until sold out. The Queens Ground in Hillsborough has installed a fourth hand pump. Edward’s on Glossop Road remains closed but there are indications it could reopen in the near future under a new guise. The Brown Bear on Norfolk Street closed suddenly last month but has since reopened under new management. Work has begun and licenses have been agreed for a disused public toilet block on Blonk Street to be converted into a cafe and micropub serving real ales. The new owners of the Farfield Inn on Neepsend Lane have confirmed their intention to return the building to its former usage as a pub, although not in the immediate future. The Masons Arms in Crookes and the Old Crown on London Road both remain closed at the time of writing, with no news on the future of either. The Tramshed at Meersbrook has expanded into the neighbouring unit and is now serving a range of craft beers.

The Farfield Inn on Neepsend Lane recently sold at auction for £250,000 – more than two-and-a-half-times its guide price. The buyer is reported to be an individual with experience of pub ownership in Sheffield. The site of the former Botanical pub on Ecclesall Road is currently being refurbished and is set to re-open as a late-bar named the Three Monkeys. The Blind Monkey in Walkley, formerly the Firwood Cottage, has announced that it intends to be open in time for the Easter weekend. The Mason’s Arms in Crookes has closed following the departure of the landlord. The future of the building remains unclear. New landlords have taken over the Three Merry Lads on Redmires Road, Lodge Moor. An offer of £2.95 per pint on all cask ales has been introduced for CAMRA members. The Dog and Partridge on Trippet Lane has a new guest kitchen and is now open 7 days a week. Olu from the Wing Kings will be serving up a selection of chicken wings, waffles, traditional pub food and desserts. The owners of the Iberico Cafe in Crookes have submitted a planning application to convert the business into a micropub. A decision is due by March 23. Prices at the Bradfield Brewery tap at the Nags Head, Stacey Bank, are set to increase from £2 per pint to £2.30 on all cask ales. A new Marston’s pub has opened on Chaucer Road, S5, under the Generous George brand. The Eight Foot Way will serve a selection of five rotating real ales and has an extensive food menu. The Bull’s Head in Ranmoor is currently closed. There are plans to reopen the venue as a gastropub. A planning application has been submitted to the council to build a new microbrewery in a unit in the Old Dairy on Broadfield Road. The Church House on St James Street is opening a fully soundproofed rehearsal and recording space upstairs at the end of February. The pub, which hosts live music every weekend, has also expanded its range of real ales and now features three regular beers from national breweries plus one local guest ale. The Tap & Tankard on Cambridge Street closed its doors for the last time on 3 February. The new Loxley Brewery, based at the Wisewood Inn, has had its brewing vessels delivered and hopes to start production in the near future. The brewery also now has a logo, an Instagram account and a Facebook page.

Enterprise Inns have withdrawn their appeal against the ACV listing of the Cherry Tree on Carter Knowle Road ahead of a planned hearing in late February. The withdrawal of the appeal means that the pub’s status as a community asset will stand for the next five years. The Beehive on West Street is to close for a couple of weeks in early February for a refurbishment. The Washington on Fitzwilliam Street has introduced early evening (until 9pm) drinks promotions on weekdays including house ale for £2.50 a pint. During January this is extended to the full opening hours (6pm to 2am) Monday to Thursday. Live music and DJs continue to be a regular feature, especially at the weekend and a new special event is a video games tournament. They continue to offer 5 real ales. The Blue Ball at Wharncliffe Side recently received perfect scores from Cask Marque on all three of its cask lines. A further two real ales are set to be installed in the near future. The Fox and Duck in Broomhill has expanded its food offerings, with a selection of traditional pub meals available in addition to burgers. Shakespeares on Gibraltar Street is holding a “Stupidly Delicious Beers” event on Friday 2 February. Cask ales include a Toblerone stout from Beer Ink and a raspberry and salted caramel milk stout from Fallen Brewing. New landlords are set to take over at the Bull’s Head on Fulwood Road. Half of the pub will concentrate on food but the other half will remain dedicated to drinkers. The Crosspool Tavern on Manchester Road and the Moorlands at Owler Bar, both formerly Crown Carveries, have now reopened under new Stonehouse Pizza & Carvery branding. Old Hall Brewery in Snaith, near Goole, have appointed Ryan Truswell as their new head brewer. He has previously worked at Elland Brewery and Heineken UK.

The former Firwood Cottage in Walkley is currently undergoing renovation and is set to reopen as the Blind Monkey, a speakeasy-themed gastropub, in the new year. The Ecclesall Ale Club, located in the former Eccy Booze shop on Ecclesall Road, opened on 17 November and is serving five cask ales from the Brew Foundation and guests. There are also eight keg lines and an extensive range of bottles and cans. The micropub is open 11:30am-11pm seven days a week. A new pub quiz has started at the Bar Stewards on Thursday nights. The first quizmaster was our very own social secretary, Patrick. The Rutland Arms on Brown Street is set to undergo a bar refit with all the handpumps being replaced with new ones, and extra keg and cider lines added. The new Public bar, located in the former public toilets underneath the Town Hall, is set to open on 24 November. A new bar called Café Totem has opened on the site of the former Rocking Chair on Furnival Gate. According to their website, they are hoping to have real ale available again soon. Bungalows and Bears on Division Street is set to reopen on 30 November following refurbishment. The Psalter on Psalter Lane has been purchased by a Chinese investor, who apparently plans to renovate the building before leasing the ground floor as a bar and restaurant and converting the former hotel rooms into residential accommodation. Linzi Talbot and her partner Paul are the new licensees at the Chantrey Arms in Woodseats, having previously run the Hollin Bush in Intake. The current real ales are Tetley’s and Abbeydale Moonshine, but they are hoping to extend the range soon. The Guzzle micropub in Woodseats is now open and proving very popular. Owned by Jason Thompson and Craig Singleton, the bar offers five regularly changing real ales. Opening hours are 3pm-11pm Monday to Thursday, 12pm-11pm Friday to Sunday. The former landlord of the Wharncliffe Arms, Dave Briggs, has moved just up the road to take over at the Blue Ball.

Thanks to everyone who attended the recent Heritage Pubs walks, which were completely sold out. The tours will take place again next year, during Sheffield Beer Week in March and again in September during Heritage Open Days. The Portland House micropub on Ecclesall Road is set to close in the new year and the building is currently being advertised to let. After months of speculation, the people behind the Brew Foundation have announced that their new micropub, the Ecclesall Ale Club, is hoping to open for business in early November. The Miners Arms in Crookes is no longer serving real ale, and is set to close completely in March next year. A new management couple is still being sought by Samuel Smith’s to take over the Old Mother Red Cap in Bradway. The Bar Stewards micropub on Gibraltar Street is now open six days a week. The new opening times are 17:30-23:00 Tue-Thu, 17:00-23:00 Fri, 14:00-23:00 Sat, 14:00-21:00 Sun. The saga surrounding the future of the Firwood Cottage in Walkley continues, with the latest rumours suggesting that the pub could stay open after all. The Silver Fox in Stocksbridge has now reopened. Edward’s on Glossop Road (formerly Stone & Taps and the Swim Inn) is set to officially open on Thursday 12 October. The pub will feature 10 local cask ales. One year after a successful crowdfunding campaign and six months after taking over operations, The Gardeners Rest Community Society has managed to complete the purchase of The Gardeners Rest pub to preserve its identity. Eight hand pumps (plus two for cider) will continue to dispense a changing range of well-kept real ales to suit all tastes.

The Cherry Tree on Carter Knowle Road has retained its Asset of Community Value status after surviving the review requested by Enterprise Inns. The planning appeal has also been won. The Frog & Parrot has reopened following refurbishment to freshen up the interior. The Old House on Devonshire Street has reopened as the Devonshire following a makeover. Edward’s bar is set to open at the end of September on Glossop Road in the premises previously known as the Stone & Taps and the Swim Inn. The closed down West Street Ale House, along with the neighbouring building, is being demolished to be replaced with an 11-storey block of flats. The Old Mother Redcap at Bradway (a Samuel Smith’s pub) is currently closed and looking for a new live in management couple. The Old Hall Hotel at Hope was recently noted as having guest ales on the bar from JW Lees and Robinsons rather than an all-Theakston range on your correspondent’s last visit, with the Lees Epic (3.9%) being a very pleasant golden ale. Work has started on the Guzzle micropub at Woodseats in a former shop unit across the road from the library and KFC. It will offer draught cask and keg beers and is hoping to be open by October. You can follow the progress on their Facebook and Twitter accounts. A micropub and bottle shop is still being planned for the unit on Ecclesall Road previously occupied by Eccy Booze, by the people behind the Brew Foundation. Things have been moving slowly but we are told it is still happening. Exit 33 Mosaic is now a regular beer on the bar at the Washington. With the end of summer, Sunday roasts are now back on the menu at the Beer Engine. The Ale House on Fraser Road is holding a ‘Not the Whitby Folk Week’ from 29 September to 1 October with a range of beers from Whitby Brewery – including a meet the brewer event on the Friday, a music programme and a food matching event. Details on their Facebook page – www.facebook.com/SCKB250. The Rutland Arms on Brown Street is holding a vegan tasting menu event on 1 November, advance booking is necessary. The Off the Shelf Festival of Words will see beer writer Pete Brown come to Sheffield on 27 October for an event at Hop Hideout to talk about his new book Miracle Brew, where there will also be a beer tasting. Tickets are available from the festival website. The Butcher’s Arms at Marsh Lane is now run by the Hop & Hook Pub Company, a joint venture involving RAW Brewery and Pigeon Fishers with their beers on the bar plus guests. The Grindstone in Crookes has reopened under new management; it is still a Greene King pub but they are now featuring guest ales from local brewers, such as Chesterfield’s Ashover Brewery. The name of the new bar being built in the old Town Hall toilets has been revealed as the Public. The bar will be run by the team behind the Great Gatsby on Division Street and Picture House Social on Abbeydale Road. The Old Crown Inn on London Road has reopened under new management, and will continue to serve real ale. The second of the Steel City Beer Festival beer mat auctions raised £10.45 for Weston Park Cancer Charity. Hopefully next time there will be a few more bidders and we can raise even more money for the charity! The results of a recent national survey have found that Yorkshire is the joint-cheapest county in the country for a pint of beer, at an average price of £3.30 a pint, a price matched only by pubs in Hertfordshire. Plans have been submitted for the demolition of the former Acorn Inn, Shalesmoor (most recently a printing shop), to make way for a block of 21 apartments. The Punchbowl in Crookes is advertising for a new licensee after the former landlord moved to the Three Tuns on a tenancy-at-will. The Tuns will continue to serve real ales from the Punch Taverns list, and has a small selection of hot and cold sandwiches and chips available at lunchtime.

The first of the SCBF43 beer mat auctions on eBay raised £23.15 for Weston Park Cancer Charity, so thank you to everyone who bid on them. The second auction is set to take place towards the end of August, ending on Bank Holiday Monday. The Bar Stewards micropub on Gibraltar Street is now open on a permanent basis. The pub currently only opens on Fridays and Saturdays, but plans for extended opening hours are in the pipeline. Stancill Brewery has confirmed plans to take over the Closed Shop on Commonside, which is currently being run by a community group on a tenancy-at-will. The Wagon & Horses in Chapeltown is hosting a “Meet the Brewer” event with Bradfield Brewery on 31 August. CAMRA members will receive a 20% discount off all food on the evening. The Firwood Cottage in Walkley has been taken over by a new landlord, who hopes to keep the pub open and abandon the plans of the previous owner to turn the building into flats. True North have submitted plans to refurbish the Old House on Devonshire Street. Part of the update involves changing the pub’s name to the Devonshire, which references the building’s former name but, with a very similarly named pub already in the area, could cause some confusion. The Norfolk Arms, one of Stancill Brewery’s taps, is hosting a rum tasting event on 1 September. Guests will be given the chance to savour four different rums from around the world and learn all about their origins, tasting notes and perfect pairings from the pub’s in-house rum expert. Tickets for this event are priced at £15 per person and available from the Norfolk Arms or by emailing hayley@stancillbrewery.co.uk. The Green Room on Devonshire Street has closed temporarily so that building work can take place. Planning permission has been granted for the proposed new micropub in Woodseats, which is hoping to open in the next few weeks. Welbeck Abbey’s micropub, the Portland House on Ecclesall Road, has launched a new and improved menu, with new food and drink offerings. Larger pork pies, toasted pitta strips and marinated olives now feature, alongside ice creams, a gin sorbet, milkshakes, hardshakes and an overhauled wine list.