Category: News

On 6 June we enjoyed the launch of the University of Sheffield, Place, Craft and Alcohol Exhibition and the Five and Half Moments When Alcohol Changed the World podcast at Locksley Distilling, Portland Works. 

This project explores the history of alcohol in Sheffield and its post-industry present and future. The research has involved oral histories and the development of a map which maps the alcohol topography from the 19th century onwards. For more information: https://tinyurl.com/3pp5ze53

On Saturday 31 May we are asking all our members that are visiting pubs in Sheffield that day to record the choice of cask ales available and where possible the price of a pint. This data is an incredibly useful snapshot of the state of the real ale scene in the city – as well as continuing to prove that Sheffield is the beer capital of Britain (in terms of how many different beers are available to choose from) we can track year on year variations in beer choice, prices and commonly available brands. You can enter your data using our dedicated website – https://track.beer/survey/.

We have organised a number of survey pub crawls on the day to make more of a social occasion of it, meet the leader in the first pub:

In most cases buying an all day travel pass such as the Citywide ticket may prove worthwhile – see sytravelmaster.com or the Travelmaster app for details.

Firstly many thanks to our members who attended our AGM at the Lescar pub on 10 May. We enjoyed a good meeting and social helped by a CAMRA discount on their cask ales.

We heard our chairperson’s annual report, passed a couple of motions aimed at improving our ability to change internal process and our Pub of the Month awards policy and received our branch accounts (which are in a good state). The existing committee were all re-elected with Paul Manning as chair, Phil Ellett secretary and Paul Crofts as treasurer along with all our other members. We welcomed Dan Rowe onto the committee as our new Pub of the Month coordinator. My thanks go to all our committee who work hard all year to support the branch.

We had good input from Kevin Kearney, our Yorkshire regional director who also handed over two awards to Dave Pickersgill our heritage secretary who was a runner up in the national CAMRA campaigner of the year competition and to Andy Cullen & Robin Lunnon as our website editor and designer which won a bronze award in the national CAMRA website of the year competition. Both were very well deserved. 

Finally thank you again to all our members for your support this year and please continue to join us at our branch socials and events, contribute to and enjoy our excellent BEER MATTERS magazine and most importantly support our fantastic local pubs and breweries.

Paul Manning

Chair, CAMRA Sheffield & District

It seems a growing number of people are getting diagnosed with health conditions that require them to cut gluten from their diet, although that may just be that myself and other people I know are getting older and more decrepit of course! Either way it had always been game over for the beer lover as most beer is brewed with malted barley which provides the sugar to turn to alcohol as well as influencing the colour and flavour of many beers.

That’s not to say there wasn’t any gluten free options available – a handful of some more traditional ale breweries had experimented with alternative ingredients but it is safe to say they weren’t the same!

The good news is that now an increasing choice of beers are available thanks to the availability of a proline specific oligopeptidase enzyme that brewers can add to the beer to reduce the gluten content to below the 20ppm threshold required to label a product as gluten free and is tolerable to those sensitive to Gluten.

Locally all the beers produced by Abbeydale Brewery and Triple Point brewery are treated this way and can be considered Gluten Free so the many pubs in our area with Moonshine on cask now cater for drinkers with a Gluten free requirement! Chantry brewery’s Full Moon pale ale is gluten free, some of Bradfield’s bottled beers are too whilst Thornbridge’s gluten free options are AM:PM session IPA, Lukas lager and Bayern Pilsner.

A growing number of breweries across the UK are now joining the list that offer Gluten Free options and looking back at our Steel City Beer & Cider festival held at Kelham Island museum last October we offered a range of 19 cask ales and 13 keg beers that were Gluten Free and this is choice many beer festivals now seek to offer.

Some pubs also make the effort to keep their Coeliac regulars interested too, for example at the Kelham Island Tavern one of the regularly changing guest ale lines is dedicated to Gluten Free beer whilst the Dog & Partridge has a handpump that usually has the current Abbeydale seasonal special on it which of course is gluten free. It also of course goes without saying that Abbeydale’s own pub, the Rising Sun in Nether Green along with the bar at Triple Point Brewing are a good destination for drinking gluten free beer!

There are some pubs that don’t have a dedicated gluten free line but do regularly stock something suitable, examples here include the Head of Steam in Sheffield City Centre and the Beekeeper in Hillsborough. It is also worth noting that some local music venues such as the Leadmill have beer from Triple Point or Abbeydale either on keg or in can.

So if you have Gluten free dietary requirements and enjoy good beer, do seek out the beers and support the brewers and pubs that are making the effort!

CAMRA warns of more shuttered pubs as double whammy of tax changes come into force

The consumer group fears that more pubs will close their doors because of the extra costs of National Insurance rises and an increase in business rates bills in England coming into force this week.

CAMRA is warning that rates of pub business closures and conversions could be on the up this year as licensees face extra costs from the increase in Employer National Insurance contributions which begin on Thursday 6 April.

Pubs in England will also see an increase in the cost of their business rates bills this week, as business rates relief provided by the Government is reduced from 75% to 40% as of 1 April. Some pubs in Scotland and Wales will also receive 40% relief on business rates bills. CAMRA is calling on governments in all nations of the UK to introduce new, fairer business rates systems that are fairer to pubs.

CAMRA’s pub data shows that in 2024, 1,062 pub businesses across Great Britain were no longer operating, with buildings standing empty. A further 210 pub buildings have been converted into other uses like shops or housing.

In the first three months of 2025, 303 pub businesses across England, Scotland and Wales closed – whilst a further 46 pubs have been converted into other uses.

CAMRA Chairman Ash Corbett-Collins said:

“Hundreds of pubs have already stopped trading this year. How many more need to shut before the Government takes notice? With big increases in costs from higher National Insurance contributions starting this week, and hikes in business rates bills for pubs in England too, it’s important for customers to remember that price hikes at the bar are the fault of the Government, not hard-working publicans.

“Pubgoers are calling on the Chancellor to look closely at the rate of pub closures between now and the Budget in the Autumn, to think again on the Employer National Insurance hike for pubs and to cut rates of VAT and duty charged on beer and cider served in pubs.

“Without action from governments in all four nations, we risk losing more pubs which are a vital part of our social fabric and are at the heart of community life up and down the UK.”

Most years we make an effort to pick a day we encourage as many CAMRA members as possible to go out to pubs across the city and record what cask ales are on the bar and where possible the prices being charged for them too.

There is a fun element of this data in that we can announce how many different beers are available on one day in Sheffield and declare Sheffield the real ale capital of Britain for it, however on a more serious note it is an opportunity to take the pulse of the beer scene and compare with previous years to see variation in choice, prices etc as well as looking at which brands are most commonly encountered – it is good to see local independent brewers like Abbeydale and Bradfield with a strong brand and widespread availability rather than just big national brands from the likes of Coors, Heineken and Greene King!

Data from previous years surveys fed into a wider piece of work about Sheffield being the real ale capital led by the University of Sheffield with a report written by respected beer writer Pete Brown – you can download a copy from https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/city-region/enhancing-cultural-vibrancy/snapshot-beer-industry-sheffield-city-region.

This year the survey day is Saturday 31 May.

We’ll be running a number of survey crawls on the day you can join us on to make it a social thing – you could join us at your local or alternatively use it as an excuse to visit pubs in a part of the city you wouldn’t normally get to! Alternatively you can use our survey app (online at track.beer/survey) to log details of beers from whichever Sheffield pub you happen to be visiting on the day!

ORGANISED SURVEY CRAWLS (more may be added – please check our website!)

Woodseats & Heeley – led by Malcolm DIxon: Meet at Guzzle Micropub at 12:30 (get there on buses 24, 25, 42, 43, 44, 75, 76, M76 or X17)

Bradway, Totley, Millhouses and Nether Edge – led by Andy Cullen: Meet at the Castle Inn at 12:25 (get there on bus M17)

Beighton, Woodhouse Mill and Handsworth – led by Paul Manning: Meet at the Scarsdale Hundred (Wetherspoons) at 11:00 (get there on bus 7 or 26, alternatively the Blue route tram).

Walkley, Crookes and Commonside – led by Paul Crofts: Meet at the Walkley Cottage Inn at 12:00 (get there on bus 52 or 95).

Fulwood and Broomhill – led by John Beardshaw and Phil Ellett: Meet at the Rising Sun at 12:00 (get there on bus 83 or 120).

Hillsborough, Bradfield, Stannington and Malin Bridge – led by Dave Pickersgill: Meet at the Rawson Spring (Wetherspoons) at 11:30 or on the 61 bus to High Bradfield at 11:55.

Hillsborough area – led by Kevin Thompson: Meet at the Park at 12:00. (Get there by Yellow route tram to the Leppings Lane stop; alternatively by bus 18, 31 or 57)

Kelham Island & Neepsend – led by Dan Rowe: Meet at the Gardeners Rest at 12:00. (Get there on bus 7 or 8).

City Centre: Meet at the Red Deer at 19:00.

BUS TICKETS – A Citybus all day pass offers unlimited travel on any bus in Sheffield for £5.90 or a Citywide also includes the trams for £6.70. Buy from the bus driver or on the Travelmaster app.

Sheffield: ‘City Brand Development Work’

Sheffield City Council hopes that a rebranding exercise will improve the perception of the city and hence, subsequently boost both economic growth and tourism. The SCC Economic Development and Skills Policy Committee recently heard that the “Sheffield Inspires” brand would ensure the city was recognised as “one of the UK’s top five most attractive cities for trade, tourism and talent“.

The “City Brand Development Work” report aims to highlight the impact Sheffield has had on the world, from the city’s importance in the birth of both electronic music and football, to its place as a craft beer developer and world-renowned climbing centre. The report highlights that a stronger city brand can bring significant benefits, supporting investment, visitor numbers, and business growth.

Sheffield and District CAMRA is pleased to note the emphasis on craft beer: ‘How Sheffield is a city that puts the UK craft brewing scene on the map.’ We have been promoting ‘Beer Tourism’ for many years: Steel City Beer Festival (SCBF), walks and publications. Both Sheffield Beer Week and SCBF have a significant positive tourism impact on the city. This activity supports both our local independent breweries and pubs but also helps brings more money into the city than the annual two-week World Snooker Championship.

Allied with Sheffield Home of Football (SHoF), the city has two unique selling-points which together bring in thousands of visitors. There is an increasing link between SHoF and Indie Beer: for example, Little Mesters brew the SHoF branded beers. There are also many connections between the early years of Sheffield Rules football and local pubs. For example, one of the SHoF series of football-related blue plaques was recently unveiled at the York Hotel: ‘the world’s first football club to originate from a hotel was formed here in 1861.’ The first pub-based team in the world is also local.

The report emphasises that Sheffield’s brand perception directly impacts its economic prospects. A unified and well-promoted city brand can unlock significant benefits: we anticipate that our local breweries and pubs will take their full part in promoting these benefits.

In ‘Sheffield: The Beer City 2024,’ Pete Brown referred to Sheffield City Council: ‘something more long term and sustainable would solidify the recognition of beer, brewing, pubs and so forth as inherently important cultural and economic drivers.’

It’s positive to see this tangible support continuing to develop.