There are tens of thousands of pubs across the country serving cask beers, and many of those serve really good pints.
For lovers of a decent pint, it’s important to be able to find them. CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide has been the ‘bible’ for finding the very best ones since 1974 and continues to be relied upon by tens of thousands of people.
CAMRA’s online pub guide camra.org.uk/pubs can also help because beer quality is indicated by the ‘3 Pints’ symbols that CAMRA members can see when logged in.
Pubs and clubs that serve really excellent pints, and serve them consistently well, can be potential candidates for the Good Beer Guide.
To help identify them, CAMRA members score their pints whenever they have the opportunity. Their scores help local branches determine candidates for the Guide, and these can change year on year because the standards are high. Serving live cask beer requires skill in the cellar and attention by bar staff all the time. Competition for a place is stiff because only 4,500 places are available.
Up until now, the scoring system has used a numbering system of 0 to 5. But there are problems with this. It requires memorising the criteria for each score and using them consistently, but memories can be variable. Some people genuinely struggle with numbers, so they don’t take part. It becomes open to individual interpretation with resulting inconsistency between scorers. There’s also the potential for individual bias and a reluctance to ‘award’ high scores.
We all know when we are drinking a good pint that’s been well-kept, and we also know when a pint is very good or excellent – who cannot resist telling everyone else about it! And likewise, a pint that is simply OK or, hopefully not often, undrinkable.
So, to make things easier for everyone, a new intuitive ratings system is being introduced, which is more descriptive of the beer being drunk.
Each of the new ratings has a description and a likely reaction to help you pin down the most appropriate rating.
Ratings can be recorded on CAMRA’s online pub guide camra.org.uk/pubs by all CAMRA members so start rating your beer now.
Previously known as the Heritage Award, part of CAMRA’s annual Pub Saving Award, it is now a standalone competition, aiming to promote and preserve historic pub buildings, while recognising and rewarding those who run them.
The award will go to a pub or pub operator showcasing activity which has reinvigorated it, while benefiting the business and having a positive impact on its local community.
The winner will be announced during Heritage Open Days, a week of free events across the country, celebrating heritage and history between 11-20 September. Similar events will also be taking place across Scotland and Wales.
Previous winners of the former Heritage Award include the Drewe Arms in Drewsteignton, Devon, a 17th century inn which has remained unchanged for 100 years, and the Vine in Pittshill, Stoke-on-Trent, a Grade II listed back-street Victorian local.
CAMRA’s 40th National Breweriana Auction; Saturday 24th October 2026
Have you ever fancied owning a slice of brewing history? Then this Auction is just the thing for you. Run by the Campaign for Real Ale, the National Breweriana Auction returns to Burton on Trent’s Town Hall on Saturday 24th October but sadly, after 40 events, this will be the very last national one so don’t miss it!
It will have circa 150 interesting auction lots; everything from mirrors to trays; advertising signs, water jugs, flagons, bottles, books and pump clips as well as a few more unusual items. Plus there will be a number of stands selling brewery memorabilia adding to the atmosphere in this wonderful Victorian venue.
There are all sorts of items from all over the country to decorate your home. What about a flagon from Wadworths? Wadworths is based in Devizes, Wiltshire. They were founded in 1875 and remarkably are still owned and run by the descendants of John Smith Bartholomew, the co-founder of the brewery.
Or what about a limited-edition commemorative Millennium Ale set comprising of an unopened bottle, glass and bottle opener in a lovely metal container. This is from Mansfield Brewery, who first started brewing in 1855 in North Nottinghamshire, taken over by Wolverhampton and Dudley in 1999 and closed in 2002. Wolverhampton & Dudley then took over Marston’s and adopted that name. Sadly, following acquisition by Carlsberg, the Wolverhampton Brewery was closed in 2026.
There are numerous items that you can either use, or more likely display. What about a tray from Bass and there are a number of lots from Worthington including an ashtray (well used!), a match holder and the famous Worthington Mayor jug. And straddling the two brewers is a trio of leaflets listing their bottlers . These two Burton on Trent breweries were founded in the mid/late 1700’s with Worthington 16 years older. By the late 1800’s, Bass was the biggest brewery in the world and merged with Worthington in 1927. Bass sold the brand to Coors (now Molson Coors) in 2002. Maybe their best known brand was Worthington White Shield; an iconic British style IPA, which ceased production in 2023 but you can still purchase it in Norway and the Netherlands! Included in the lots is an unusual display card advising customers to order their last bottle at last orders ‘to allow for the care necessary in pouring the last rush of orders for Worthington White Shield”.
And the Auction wouldn’t be the Auction without a Guinness item or two. This year we have a mug and a display stand among the lots.
These are just a few of the items on sale, each with a history to tell. You don’t have to be an expert to attend the National Breweriana Auction. The Auction is great fun to take part in (or even just to watch) and it’s an opportunity to get some great bargains plus many of the items on sale can appreciate in value. And, of course, like any CAMRA event, there is some good beer on sale all day (from a local brewery).
Burton on Trent is less than an hour by train from Sheffield and the Town Hall is just a short walk from the railway station. The event starts at 10.30am with the opportunity to view the lots and browse the breweriana stands that will also be there. Bidding starts at noon and is normally finished by 3pm, giving a chance to have a final perusal of the stands before visiting some of Burton’s iconic pubs and heading home.
Thanks to Micropub Adventures (Scott Sinclair) and Sheffield with Pubs (Niall Green), for joining several of us on a recent guided Pub Heritage walk. We took the Neepsend route (as in our walk-booklet) before going, via the New Barrack, into Hillsborough. The booklet is available from our website with paper copies obtainable at several local outlets.
We were very impressed by both the range and quality of the available beers, but also, by the many bar-staff we encounted – polite, professional and enthusiastic: an excellent advertisement for the city. Thanks for looking after us.
Neepsend pubs visited were: Church – Temple of Fun, The Old Workshop, Alder, Forest, Heist Brew Co. and the Gardeners Rest. We also passed the ruins of both Stones Cannon and Deardens High House Breweries. In addition, I played bar billiards for the first time in about twenty years, and managed to rack up over 1000 points. In all, an excellent afternoon.
Sheffield City Council have ruled regarding the recent retrospective planning application (25/030409/FUL) for the Royal Standard: Refuse with Enforcement Action.
‘The Local Planning Authority (LPA) consider that the impact of the works, principally the introduction of inappropriate windows and works to the entrance including the loss of historic fabric have a detrimental impact on the character and architectural and cultural heritage of the building which is a non-designated heritage asset. No clear justification for alterations has been put forward. The building could have been brought back into use in a manner that respected the character and history of the building. It is considered that the proposal is unacceptable and harms the character of the building itself and the immediate locality being contrary to paragraph 135 and 216 of the NPPF and policies BE5 and IB9 of the Unitary Development Plan and Policy CS74 of the Core Strategy.’
The current owners of the building made many alterations to this 19th century public house, without obtaining planning permission. Their retrospective planning application has been refused.
The Planning Officers Report states that: ‘It is therefore expedient to require removal of unauthorised works with a remedial scheme to be provided by the developer and agreed with the Local Planning Authority to reinstate the original building fabric.’
Abbeydale Brewery‘s Black Mass (a black IPA at 6.66% ABV) made it as a finalist in the “Barley Wines & Strong Ales” category of the Champion Beer of Britain awards. The winter ales categories were judged at Liverpool beer festival.
To reach the competition’s final in Liverpool all the beers had progressed through a year of local and regional blind judging heats.
The winner was London Brewing‘s Beer Street. Judges were blown away by this winner, with judging panel coordinator Christine Cryne describing Beer Street (4.0%) as: “A sparkling golden amber bitter, with spicy rye and a roasty nose, sweet biscuit on the flavour, where the spicy rye notes increase and linger in the dry and slightly bitter finish. Very easy drinking.”
Taking the Silver award was Cairngorm, Black Gold, 4.4%. A black session stout with red hues and oyster head. Aromas of black treacle and faint hits of dark fruits. Caramelised fruits on a sweetish chocolate base with some plums create a moreish stout. The dry finish is slightly sweet with some spicy notes.
The Bronze winner was Green Jack, Baltic Trader Export Stout, 10.5%. A dark ruby brown imperial stout, with aromas of sweet black treacle with some damsons. A rich smooth mouthfeel with bitter black chocolate, sweet molasses and damsons. The finish is sweet, smooth with bitter roasty notes remaining. Very warming.
The category winners now go forward to the final judging in May at CAMRA’s Cambridge Beer Festival where they’ll battle it out to take the crown of Supreme Champion 2026.
Reacting to the win, Director of London Brewing Senan Sexton said: “We’re absolutely delighted that our best bitter, Beer Street, has been named Champion Winter Beer of Britain 2026 by CAMRA. We’ve been brewing Beer Street since we founded the brewery in 2011, and it’s a real testament to the skill and dedication of our head brewer, Alex, that he has continued to refine and elevate the recipe over the years.
“This accolade means a tremendous amount to a brewery of our size. It’s not only a proud moment for our team, but also a fantastic boost that celebrates the enduring appeal of high-quality cask ales enjoyed in pubs across the UK.”
CAMRA’s Awards Director, Shelly Bentley, said: “Our Champion Beer of Britain competition is the only truly independent beer contest in the UK. Brewers can’t simply enter their beers into it; they have to be nominated by beer lovers or expert tasting panels.
“London Brewing are incredibly deserving winners of the winter crown, and everyone taking home a category win or top three placement should be proud that their beers have been declared the cream of the crop by expert judges.”
The Cannon Brewery site in Neepsend, the original home of Stones Bitter, is currently under regeneration. The brewery closed, almost thirty years ago, in 1999, when Bass acquired their Burton-on-Trent neighbour, Ind Coope, and decided that their Sheffield Brewery was surplus to requirements.
The Cannon Brewery was named in 1868 by William Stones (1826-1894) and purchased by Bass Charrington in 1968. William started brewing in 1847 with Joseph Watts. Following Watts’ death in 1854, Stones continued. In 1868 he bought the lease of the brewery of Shepherd, Green & Hatfield (the Neepsend Brewery), renamed it the Cannon Brewery and continued to brew there until his death. Shortly afterwards, the company was registered as William Stones Ltd. This success saw him become one of the richest men in Sheffield.
Stones Bitter was introduced by Head Brewer, Edward “Ted” Collins in 1948. It was popular with Sheffield’s steel workers and was originally available across South Yorkshire, Derbyshire, and Nottinghamshire. Increasing demand saw the beer brewed at other Bass breweries from the 1970s onwards. Distribution was extended to the rest of the north of England in 1977, and accompanied by a considerable marketing push, nationwide from 1979.
The beer’s popularity reached its peak in 1992 when it was the country’s highest selling bitter, selling over a million barrels. In 1994-96, the “Sheffield Gold” campaign was set in a steel foundry: it was filmed in the Czech Republic because Sheffield’s own foundries were considered to be too clean and automated for the desired gritty, industrial effect. The beer has been lauded as “one of Sheffield’s most famous exports.”
At closure, the site consisted of buildings of differing ages, character and size clustered round a large triangular internal courtyard. Little of the original Victorian and Edwardian buildings remained: the water tower and some internal features. In August 2024, Capital & Centric obtained hybrid planning permission. Their outline plans included the repurposing of several buildings, new builds of cultural and workspaces and over 500 homes, a new public square and an urban park. Subsequent investigation has shown the grain store to be in a critical state of disrepair: Regent Street Disease, corrosion of the steel frame within a masonry-clad building, is prevalent. There is also cracking of concrete on the façade and deterioration of the roof slab.
Demolition is now in progress: the end of a significant chapter in the history of brewing in Sheffield.
The planned redevelopment, with support from the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, will see further growth of the community living around Kelham Island and Neepsend.
Here is a summary of events that were confirmed at the time of writing to offer an idea of what to expect – many more will be added after we’ve gone to press, check their website for the latest information – sheffieldbeerweek.co.uk.
If you fancy nipping between a number of venues by bus or tram then an all day travel pass from Travelmaster such as the Citywide ticket may prove good value. Public transport information can be found online at travelsouthyorkshire.com.
5 March, Fagan’s: 4pm – Kelham Island (Thornbridge) launch their Irish red ale (4%, cask) collab with Fagan’s at the pub. 7pm they’ll be playing the War Child Records Help (2) album, then from 9pm it’s their charity quiz with big prizes (VIP tickets for Tramlines and Kendal Calling).
6-15 March, Two Thirds Beer Co.: a Copenhagen-style taproom for one week, featuring four beers from Denmark’s Warpigs brewery. The selection ranges from a crisp Czech-style lager to full-flavoured IPAs.
6-15 March, Kapital Beer Hall: Czechtoberfest, featuring six different Czech beers on tap from independent breweries. A limited amount of Budvar Reserve (7.5%) will also be available using a traditional Czech side pour tap, rarely seen on UK taps.
7-15 March, Harlequin: The Art of Beer – exhibition of pump clips from local breweries from 2002 onwards curated by Richard Hough.
9-15 March, Aux Bon Vivant (27a Campo Lane. S1 2EG): Beer & Food Celebration – this French-focused cafe & deli have finally brought some Sheffield beers into the house, including Little Mesters IPA and Stout. Pierre will be creating the weekly menu with the beers in mind, pairing dishes to match each one.
13 March, Pangolin: Duration Brewing Great Farmhouse Expo – from 1pm they will have 7 lines of beer from this range including juicy pales on cask, a grisette and even a barrel aged lager!
13 March: Guided Pub Heritage Walk – Little Chicago, 4pm. Advance tickets required.
I was recently invited by George Bushell from the Shakespeare to join him and his colleague Charlie Slack at Loxley Brewery for a brewday. As part of Sheffield Beer Week, the Shakespeare is currently working with several Sheffield breweries and local businesses to produce a range of collaboration beers which will be available during Beer Week – watch the Shakespeare’s socials for details, but at time of writing these were planned to include:
Loxley – Bitter
Abbeydale – El Dorado Deception
Little Critters with Nam Song (Vietnamese restaurant in Broomhill) – Vietnamese coffee stout
Little Mesters/Emmanuales – NZ Rye Pale
Duality Brew Co with Freak St (Nepalese cafe in Walkley) – Juicy IPA
Triple Point – Miso Caramel Mild (and some special pins)
Not all are yet brewed and some may change! A launch is planned for Monday 9 March.
Loxley Brewery was started in 2018 by David Woodhead in a disused garage beneath the Wisewood Inn in Loxley. David, a friend of Wisewood’s owner Stephen Wesley, home brewed before taking on the new role and now mostly supplies beer to Wisewood, Raven (Walkley) and No3 (Sharrow) as well as producing bottle-conditioned real ale on premises. With his assistant Christian, David brews about 3 times a fortnight on the 5BBL custom-built kit.
George, Charlie and I all arrived when the mash was already on, and got to have a good chat with David and Christian about the brewery, and David’s brewing history and prior life in the steel industry. We did a lot of standing around with further talk during the sparge phase – in advance of the day the major elements I knew of for the brewing process were the amounts of waiting involved, with intermittent bursts of cleaning – all of which proved true.
We took turns to ceremoniously shovel bins of spent grain from the tun, which all goes to a good home as animal feed. We also weighed up the hops for the boil, probably our only other contribution for the day! I found it to be a very interesting day and having only had a basic understanding of the steps involved, it was a good learning experience for all the hard work that goes into every pint we sit down with.
At this point the Wisewood Inn had opened for the day and we celebrated what should be an excellent bitter with a pint and a chip butty!
A huge thanks to everyone at Loxley, the Wisewood Inn and the Shakespeare – keep an eye on their social media for upcoming events and where to drink the beer when it’s out.
A new initiative has been launched by the Welcome to Sheffield website, aimed at promoting the city’s various beer festivals around the UK. The Sheffield Inspires section of the website lists seven key themes that are being promoted, one of which is The Craft of Beer.
The pages cover a wealth of information about the local beer scene, breweries, pubs and festivals, and provides a great resource for potential visitors.
