Category: News

The Sheffield Best Bar None 2018/19 awards were held at Sheffield City Hall on 8 February and several pubs and bars serving real ale were among the big winners. The Common Room on Devonshire Street, which serves a selection of True North beers, was awarded the overall prize, while the Benjamin Huntsman on Cambridge Street and Champs on Ecclesall Road placed first and second respectively in the Best Pub category. Finally, Maida Vale on West Street was named Best Newcomer. Meanwhile, Sheffield’s Best Bar None scheme has been awarded the Most Innovative Scheme at the national Best Bar None Awards. The awards, which recognise the promotion of responsible management and operation of venues which are licensed to sell alcohol, named Sheffield’s Best Bar None Champion Scheme as the most innovative scheme in the country. Across the UK, 75 Best Bar None schemes operate with the aim of reducing alcohol-related crime and disorder, building positive relationships between licensed venues, the police and local authorities, and helping staff responsibly manage licensed premises. In Sheffield, the Best Bar None scheme contributes to reduction in alcohol-related disorder and helps to boost the city’s evening economy.

Sheffield is not only blessed with a great number of innovative breweries, producing delicious beers with numerous and varied pubs to enjoy drinking them in, it also has many green spaces within its boundaries and surrounding it to the south and west. Many of these areas and villages have great pubs in them and all are worth visiting. We are also lucky to still have within the city a public transport system that will get you there and back. Although we as a branch have organised bus trips to many of these pubs – usually on our way to present one of them with an award – these are limited. To supplement them we are continuing our RambAles; a series of roughly monthly led walks in the countryside surrounding Sheffield visiting a number of pubs for a drink whilst enjoying a not-too-strenuous walk. We hope that people won’t find the walks too long or too difficult and most will feature a number of drop-out points where people can leave and make their own way back, by bus or train, to Sheffield if they don’t fancy doing the whole walk or want to stay for another drink in a particular pub. These will also provide joining points for any latecomers. Some timings and fares will be given in the walks listing. Any late changes will also be shown on the branch website, future editions of Beer Matters or by contacting the walk leader on 07842 530128. Everyone is welcome to join us on one of these walks but they are advised to come suitably equipped for the day’s walking, which may be rough, wet and muddy in places, especially at this time of year. You should also come prepared for the possibility of changeable and inclement weather. In most cases you will also need to bring (or be able to buy) sufficient food and drink for yourself for the day. We hope you can join us on one or more of our RambAles! The first RambAle of the year will take place on Saturday 31 March and will be a walk of roughly 4 miles taking in Bradwell, Castleton and Hope. We are aiming to catch the 10:45 272 (FirstBus) from Sheffield Interchange as far as Bradwell (arriving around 11:40). We shall walk over to Castleton for a choice of pubs and lunchtime bites, before following field paths back to Hope, in time for the Old Hall Hotel‘s first Beer Festival of 2018. There is a choice of buses or trains back from there. Malcolm Dixon

Celebrity chef Marco Pierre White chose the real ale capital of the UK as the venue for the relaunch of his signature amber ale, The Governor. Brewed in collaboration with Manchester-based brewers J.W. Lees, the all-malt beer crafted solely with British ingredients was designed by the Michelin-starred restaurateur to perfectly accompany traditional favourite dishes such as shepherd’s pie, sausage and mash and fish and chips. Having previously enjoyed limited releases, the beer will now be brewed full time for at least the next five years. As well as being available in bottles at all Marco Pierre White restaurants and in selected supermarkets, the ale will also be available on cask at 3.8% and has already been offered in the Steel City at the Sheffield Tap and other pubs. Dominic Nelson

It has been confirmed that the 44^th Steel City Beer and Cider Festival will take place from 10–13 October 2018. The festival will again take place at the historic Kelham Island Industrial Museum. This year’s festival has been moved forward a week, mainly to avoid clashing with the larger Nottingham CAMRA festival, which has had to be put back following a change of venue from Nottingham Castle to the Motorpoint Arena. The dates should return to normal for 2019. Anybody who is interested in volunteering at this year’s festival is encouraged to come along to the festival planning meetings that take place on the third Tuesday of every month at the Harlequin on Nursery Street; see the branch diary for more details.

Downloads of the Sheffield Pub Heritage Book have exceeded all our predictions: as 2018 dawned, downloads had passed 22,000. There are far more (electronic) copies of this heritage book in existence than the hard copies of any of the previous Pub Heritage books produced by CAMRA.

We want to formally thank everyone who has assisted in publicity: social media comments, displaying posters and written mentions. In addition to Beer Matters, the latter include The Bar, What’s Brewing, Now Then and the Sheffield newspapers. The aim is to produce a second edition to coincide with SCBF44 in October. Research is happening and more photos and text will be included. Suggestions of pubs to include are more than welcome.

Images are (i) a 1996 architectural drawing of a corbel, a structural piece of stone, wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a weight and (ii) plasterwork illustrating the insignia of long-lost Sheffield Brewery, Tennants. The pubs concerned are the Church House and the Norton. Dave Pickersgill

Over the past few weeks, a number of Sheffield’s pubs and micropubs have been the target of vandalism and break-ins. We are now aware of at least six venues that have been affected. The Beer House on Ecclesall Road was broken into by thieves who stole a collection tin for St. Luke’s Hospice. Just down the road, the Ecclesall Ale Club had its front door vandalised just two weeks after opening, with the repair bill coming in at around £600. The Itchy Pig on Glossop Road in Broomhill also had its front door targeted by vandals who threw a slab of concrete through the glass. Meanwhile, the Bar Stewards on Gibraltar Street was broken into twice in the space of 48 hours, resulting in beer, cash and music equipment all being stolen and considerable damage to the shop front. A number of city centre pubs, including the Bath Hotel, the Three Tuns and the Three Cranes, have also been targeted. Anyone with information on any of these incidents should contact South Yorkshire Police on 101.

The recent release of the Good Beer Guide 2018 (an ideal Christmas present if you’re struggling for ideas, by the way) means it’s that time of year again when we have to decide our entries for next year’s edition. For the 2019 guide, we are expecting to be given the same number of entries again; 30 pubs within the Sheffield city boundaries and a further 6 from the Derbyshire part of the branch. All CAMRA members are able to take part in voting by selecting the allowed number of pubs on the form below. Alternatively, you may download the form and hand it in at any branch event or post it to the address given. All forms must be received by 31 December 2017 to allow the selection committee time to visit the nominated pubs to confirm they are eligible.

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Sheffield (0 of 30 selected)

City Centre

Bankers Draft Bath Beehive Benjamin Huntsman Brown Bear Bungalows & Bears Church House Devonshire Devonshire Cat Dog & Partridge Drink Inn Fagan’s Grapes Head of Steam Lord Nelson Museum Old Queens Head Red Deer Red Lion Rutland Arms Sentinel Brewhouse Sheffield Tap Tap & Tankard Three Tuns Wick@BothEnds

Kelham Island

Bar Stewards Fat Cat Harlequin Kelham Island Tavern Riverside, Mowbray St Shakespeares Ship Inn, Shalesmoor Wellington, Shalesmoor

North

Blake, Walkley Crown & Glove, Stannington Forest, Neepsend Gardeners Rest, Neepsend Hillsborough Hotel Horse & Jockey, Wadsley New Barrack Tavern, Hillsborough Norfolk Arms, Grenoside Peacock, Stannington Queens Ground, Hillsborough Rawson Spring, Hillsborough Rose & Crown, Stannington Walkley Beer Co Walkley Cottage Wisewood Inn

South

Albion, Highfield Ale House, Millhouses Archer Road Beer Stop Beer Engine, Sharrow British Oak, Mosborough Broadfield, Nether Edge Brothers Arms, Heeley Castle, Bradway Clubhouse, Highfield Cremorne, Highfield Cricket Inn, Totley Cross Scythes, Norton Lees Cross Scythes, Totley Crown, Totley Guzzle, Woodseats Mount Pleasant, Norton New Inn, Gleadless Picture House Social Railway Inn, Highfield Sheaf View, Heeley Stags Head, Nether Edge Union, Nether Edge Waggon & Horses, Millhouses White Lion, Heeley Woodseats Palace

West

Ball Inn, Crookes Banner Cross Beer House, Hunters Bar Closed Shop, Commonside Cobden View, Crookes Crookes Social Club Devonshire Arms, Dore Doctor’s Orders, Broomhall Fox & Duck, Broomhill Fox House Francis Newton, Broomhall Greystones, Ecclesall Hallamshire House Hammer & Pincers, Bents Green Hare & Hounds, Dore Interval Bar, Sheffield University Itchy Pig, Broomhill Lescar, Sharrow Norfolk Arms, Ringinglow Porter Brook, Sharrow Porter Cottage, Sharrow Princess Royal, Crookes Punchbowl, Crookes Ranmoor Inn Rising Sun, Nethergreen Sheaf Island, Sharrow Sportsman, Crosspool Sportsman, Lodge Moor Three Merry Lads, Lodge Moor University Arms, Broomhall York, Broomhill

East

Carlton, Attercliffe Cross Keys, Handsworth Old Crown, Handsworth Sportsman, Darnall

Villages

Castle, Bolsterstone Cock, Oughtibridge Commercial, Chapeltown Nag’s Head, Stacey Bank Old Horns, High Bradfield Plough, Low Bradfield Royal, Dungworth Royal Oak, Deepcar Strines Inn Wagon & Horses, Chapeltown Wharncliffe, Chapeltown Wharncliffe. Wharncliffe Side

Wildcard

Derbyshire (0 of 6 selected)

Anchor, Tideswell Angel, Spinkhill Angler’s Rest, Bamford Angler’s Rest, Miller’s Dale Bowling Green, Bradwell Bridge, Ford Bull’s Head, Foolow Castle, Castleton Cheshire Cheese, Castleton Cheshire Cheese, Hope Eyre Arms, Hassop George, Castleton Grouse, Longshaw Horse & Jockey, Tideswell Ladybower Inn, Bamford Millstone Inn, Hathersage Monsal Head Hotel Moon, Stoney Middleton Old Hall, Hope Old Nag’s Head, Castleton Packhorse, Longstone Peaks, Castleton Plough, Hathersage Queen Anne, Great Hucklow Red Lion, Litton Scotsmans Pack, Hathersage Swan, Ridgeway Three Stags’ Heads, Wardlow Traveller’s Rest, Brough

Wildcard

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Twice a year, in May and October, CAMRA makes a special effort to promote real ciders and perries. Unlike real ale production, which can happen at any time of the year, real cider and perry can only be made when the fruit is ripe and is tied to a natural cycle of the apple and pear trees found in orchards around the country. October is a very active time for cider makers, especially for those who make only a small amount. Harvest time for cider fruit is roughly from September to November, and by October production is in full flow. According to WhatPub, there are 70 pubs in the Sheffield & District region serving real cider, so why not go out and try something different?

It’s that time of year again when Sheffield welcomes around 20,000 new students who are beginning their degrees at one of our two excellent universities. Sheffield & District CAMRA would like to welcome you to what we think is the best city in the country for real ale! There are more than 300 pubs in the Sheffield region serving real ales and ciders, so there’s plenty of choice for even the most discerning drinkers. Furthermore, whichever university you are attending there is a real ale society you can join. The University of Sheffield has a long-established Real Ale and Cider Society, which holds socials every Thursday and organises regular trips and pub crawls. A year’s subscription costs £3 and members receive discounts in a number of local pubs. The University also holds an annual beer festival in Bar One and Interval, which this year featured more than 100 real ales and ciders. Both Bar One and Interval also serve a selection of real ales throughout the year at very reasonable prices. Near to the university, the University Arms – our branch pub of the month for May 2017 and a regular feature in CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide – serves up to eight real ales at any one time. The Doctor’s Orders round the corner also has a selection of ales from local brewery Little Critters (I can personally recommend C Monster and Nutty Ambassador!). For those with lectures in St George’s Church or the Stephenson Building, the Red Deer is ideally placed for a post-study pint. Meanwhile, students in halls can check out the excellent pubs of Broomhill and Ranmoor. Sheffield Hallam’s Real Ale Society was founded just over twelve months ago and at the end of its first year was awarded “Best New Society” by Hallam Students’ Union. The society holds regular socials, day trips, brewery tours, meet the brewer evenings and ale trails. Members can also get discounts with local breweries, pubs and beer shops. The university is located on two separate campuses, City Campus in the city centre and Collegiate Campus on Ecclesall Road. City students will find a number of pubs serving real ale in the vicinity, with the Globe in particular being very popular with students looking for some post-lecture relaxation. The Roebuck, Rutland Arms, Red Lion and the Howard are all also within a five-minute walk. Meanwhile, Collegiate Campus students have several options nearby: the Portland House is a micropub owned by Welbeck Abbey Brewery and the Nursery Tavern also serves real ale alongside reasonably priced meals. A little further up Ecclesall Road, the Beer House stocks an excellent selection of well-kept local ales and is well worth a visit! Of course, if you’re not already a CAMRA member, we also welcome you to join the campaign and help us support the promotion of real ale at a local and national level. Those aged under 26 are eligible for discounted membership, but with all the usual benefits including £20 worth of Wetherspoons vouchers. Our monthly branch meetings take place on the first Tuesday of every month; simply check out our branch diary (on our website or at the back of Beer Matters) for the venues of upcoming meetings. Or why not head down to our annual Steel City Beer and Cider Festival, taking place at the Kelham Island Museum from 18-21 October? Welcome once again to Sheffield and we hope to see you soon! Dominic Nelson