Category: Pubs

Brewpubs and tap rooms

Posted on by Andy Cullen

We have many breweries in our area and a number of them offer the opportunity of drinking the beer at source. Some of them are attached to a regularly open bar whilst others run special tap events on certain days.

SHEFFIELD TAP

This wonderfully restored bar at Sheffield railway station is also home to the Tapped Brew Co with the brewery located in one of the drinking rooms behind a glass screen, so on a brew day you can sit and watch the brewer at work! The bar is open 7 days a week serving their own beers plus guests.

  • GETTING THERE – tram or train to Sheffield Station, various buses to Sheffield Interchange
  • NEARBY REAL ALE PUBS – Rutland Arms, Old Queens Head

TRIPLE POINT BREWERY + BAR

If you aren’t tempted to base yourself in the extensive outdoor drinking area you walk through to get to the front door, almost all the indoor tables are on the other side of a glass screen from the brewery. The bar features a huge range of beer brewed on site, the majority of their beers are hoppy pale ales or European style lagers but not exclusively so and all are of great quality and also mostly gluten free too. You’ll find this venue on Shoreham Street, on the edge of Sheffield City Centre.

  • GETTING THERE – Buses 1, 24, 25, 47, 48 and 51 stop close by or it is walkable from Granville Road tram stop (Blue or Purple route).
  • NEARBY REAL ALE PUBS – Rutland Arms, Lord Nelson

FUGGLE BUNNY BREWHOUSE

Fuggle Bunny Brew House is located on an industrial estate a short walk from Halfway tram and bus terminus and brews a range of mostly traditional real ales along with the occasional special on cask or keg. The beer names are themed on telling a story and the pump clips are designed like book marks. A bar is opened in the brewery once a week, on Fridays, with a selection of their beers available. The “Fuggle Friday” tap sessions do have the vibe of a local community pub with folks that live nearby walking their dog down their for a beer and chat! During the summer months they also have a monthly Saturday tap event with live music and a food trader, keep an eye on their Facebook page for those being advertised – the last one of this year is an Oktoberfest event on 27 September.

  • GETTING THERE – Blue route tram, buses 26, 26a, 53a, 74, 120, 120k
  • NEARBY REAL ALE PUBS – Guzzle, Belfry, Scarsdale Hundred (Wetherspoon), Craftworks

LOXLEY

Loxley Brewery is located at the Wisewood Inn where you can enjoy a range of their beers and food is served too. There is a beer garden at the rear and some lovely scenery! The pub also hosts a beer festival every June in a marquee outside.

  • GETTING THERE – bus 52a, 61, 62

TOOLMAKERS

Tookmakers brewery, off Rutland Road in Neepsend, brews a selection of traditional cask ales in small batches to supply their pub, the Forest, which is next door. They also have a seperate brewery tap room across the yard from the brewhouse which hosts events including live music and comedy shows.

  • GETTING THERE – bus 7, 8
  • NEARBY REAL ALE PUBS – Gardeners Rest, Neepsend Social

DEAD PARROT

This could be described by some as something of a Frankenstein’s monster, assembled from the parts of two former breweries – Aardvark and Frog & Parrot. The brewery tap bar is Perch, located on Garden Street on the edge of Sheffield City Centre (near Fagans and Butlers Balti!) with the brewery in the building behind. At present their beers are brewed in small batches to supply the handpumps in their own bar and occasionally beer festivals. The bar also serves very good quality burgers and pizzas.

HEIST

This is a modern craft beer tap room with in house brewery. There has been a change of ownership after which brewing was suspended but that is due to resume any time now. The venue is on Neepsend Lane, next door to the Gardeners Rest.

CHANTRY BREWERY

Chantry are based in Parkgate, Rotherham, a short walk from the Tram Train terminus. They mostly brew simple session ales – traditional bitter, pales and blondes, however do also produce a stout, special reserve and lagers along with specials. Part of the brewery building, which is two neighbouring industrial units, doubles up as a live music venue with a programme of gigs booked for many Fridays and Saturdays through the year. The stage is on the ground floor and the bar is upstairs on a mezzanine level with a range of their beers at reasonable prices.

  • GETTING THERE – Tram Train or various buses from Rotherham Interchange
  • NEARBY REAL ALE PUBS – Little Haven

TEMPER BREWING

Temper is a small batch independent brewer that leases the set up underneath the Dronfield Arms pub, supplying the bar upstairs and sometimes other connected pubs including the Joiners Arms in Bakewell and the two Sheffield Beer House venues. The Beer Stop (craft beer shop) nearby is owned by the brewer but doesn’t usually stock Temper beer.

  • GETTING THERE – walkable from Dronfield railway station or bus 44 stops close to the pub.
  • NEARBY REAL ALE PUBS – Underdog, White Swan, Pioneer Club.

DRONE VALLEY BREWERY

This brewery is unusual in that it’s owned by the community, staffed mostly by volunteers and profits go to local good causes. The beer range is mostly traditional cask ales with pales, blondes, bitters, stout and porter although occasional brews include a black IPA and a Scottish Export Ale. The brewery itself is in an industrial unit in Unstone with the tap room located in a tent next door, this opens every weekend on Friday, Saturday and Monday plus some special ticketed events are hosted there on a Sunday from time to time.

  • GETTING THERE – bus 43 or 44
  • NEARBY REAL ALE PUBS – various pubs in Dronfield town centre are a short bus ride away.

THORNBRIDGE BREWERY

The brewery started its life as a small kit in a brick shed in the grounds of Thornbridge Hall but is now spread across multiple industrial units on an estate in Bakewell! One of the units has modern kit brewing beer like Jaipur IPA in large volumes and also hosts a bottling plant whilst a second unit is home to the smaller, traditional kit where the small batch seasonal cask ales are produced along with barrel aged beers. This unit is also home to their huge tap room where a range of their beers is available to try along with pizzas. You can also book a “Thornbridge Experience” where you get a talk about the brewery and a number of different beers to taste.

  • GETTING THERE – a short walk from Bakewell town centre where buses 218 and 257 will drop you from Sheffield, alternatively buses 173 and Transpeak stop at the end of the drive.
  • NEARBY REAL ALE PUBS – various in Bakewell town centre including the Joiners Arms micropub.

INTREPID

a part time operation located in the Peak District hamlet of Brough. A number of regular beers including pale ales and a stout are produced and the brewer regularly works on something “more interesting”. An open day is hosted at the brewery twice a year in the summer when a pop up bar is opened in the brewery with a pizza stall, seating and music outside in the yard.

  • GETTING THERE – bus 173 or 272
  • NEARBY REAL ALE PUBS – various in Bradwell and Hope

EYAM BREWERY

The name of this Peak District brewery is slightly misleading as when they upgraded to bigger kit they relocated away from Eyam to the nearby village of Great Hucklow. The beer names do still retain the same theme though, which plays on the historical reputation of Eyam as the plague village! It is located in a beautiful rural location with views of hills and fields! They host three open days a year when they open a pop up bar and shop in the brewery with seating and a street food trader.

  • GETTING THERE – bus 65 or 173
  • NEARBY REAL ALE PUBS – Queen Anne

ACORN BREWERY

Acorn are best known for their Barnsley Bitter but do produce a varied range. They run a beer club scheme which gets you access to their monthly ticket only tap events.

  • GETTING THERE – walkable from Wombwell railway station
  • NEARBY REAL ALE PUBS –

RESTING DEVIL

This brewery is located in the former function room at the Chesterfield Arms pub, located close to Chesterfield town centre.

  • GETTING THERE – buses 44, 44 or X17
  • NEARBY REAL ALE PUBS – Neptune, various town centre pubs.

BRAMPTON BREWERY

Located in an industrial yard just off the end of Chesterfield’s famous “Brampton Mile” pub crawl producing a range of traditional ales. They have a tap pub – Tramway Tavern – on the main road near the brewery, however there is also a bar in the brewery itself where you can get beer when booked on a brewery tour or attending an open day.

  • GETTING THERE – various buses from Chesterfield town centre
  • NEARBY REAL ALE PUBS – numerous on and near Chatsworth Road including the Rose & Crown, Chesterfield CAMRA’s Pub of the Year award winner.

The Brewery of St Mars of the Desert (SMOD)

Brews mostly their modern twist on traditional European beer styles. Tap room opens Fridays and Saturdays (not in winter).

Inn Brief

Posted on by Andy Cullen

The Brothers Arms hold their Oktoberfest party on Saturday 4 October with live music from 2pm onwards, concluding with a DJ set by Tink & Annala. Bratwursts from Worrall Foods will be available too.

The Green Room in Sheffield City Centre now once again has cask ale on the bar after a long spell with no craft beer of any description. On the newly installed handpump is Abbeydale Moonshine and they now also have a couple of Abbeydale beers on the keg taps too. The bar has an open mic night on Mondays, DJs at the weekend and a back room filled with retro video games!

The JD Wetherspoons chain hold one of their regular real ale festivals from 1 to 12 October which involves a number of international collaborations. At the Rawson Spring in Hillsborough they are hosting a special preview day on 30 September with beer tastings, festival ales at just £2.15 a pint and a special 20% discount on food for CAMRA members that day. You can download a copy of the festival beer list from their website or pick up a printed copy in their pubs.

The Canary, Waverley – photo by Richard Allen

A new bar called the Canary opened on the Waverley estate on 12 September. It’s located at Olive Lane, the new shopping area. It has 3 cask ales on handpump along with a number of other craft beers on tap.

The Canary, Waverley, opening night! photo – Stuart Mathers

As usual for the time of year, a number of venues are hosting German themed Oktoberfest celebrations. This includes the Red Lion in Litton 26-27 September, Triple Point Brewing in Sheffield City Centre 3-4 October, Oxbow in Woodhouse Mill 20 September, The Beer Stop in Dronfield 25 September and the Broadfield from 20 September to 5 October.

The Sheaf View in Heeley are holding their annual Winter Ales festival 21-23 November.

There is a proposal to adapt a cafe in Greenhill to operate as a micropub in the evening. Sara’s Kitchen would morph into the “Greenhill Tap” come the evening, however the licence application has attracted a number of objections from local residents worried about noise and disturbance.

The Bath Hotel hosted a Titanic Brewery tap takeover on 12 September.

The King & Miller in Deepcar reopened following refurbishment on 22 August. The pub is run by Bradfield Brewery.

Abbeydale Ballroom, located in the basement of the old Abbeydale Picture House (previously known as Picture House Social) is being refurbished by True North and is due to open on 2 October. It is billed as offering cocktails, food, pool, live sport and a late night buzz.

Shakespeares Ale & Cider House hosted a Duration Brewery tap takeover on 13 September as part of their Ducks in a Row beer launch.

The Angel Inn in Holmesfield is now back open and serving food.

The Manor House Hotel bar in Dronfield has increased their food offering beyond breakfasts and cakes and is now doing bottomless brunches and Sunday lunches.

The Broomhill Tavern is hosting a Timothy Taylors tap takeover 25-28 September.

The Grouse at Longshaw reopened on 12 September following a period of temporary closure caused by issues with their water supply.

The Washington in Sheffield City Centre is one of the venues for Float Along Festival on 27 September and also as ever continues with their programme of free entry gigs. Upcoming events advertised so far inculdes Slackr and Hunchpower on 30 October, providing an evening of pop punk. The pub stays open until 3am every night (2am on Sunday nights) with a rotating roster of DJs keeping the dance floor going!

Jo Doyle, currently assistant manager at the Old Nag’s Head in Edale, is moving down the hill with husband Chris to run the Rambler Inn, which is under the same ownership. There will be some changes to the cask ale range with Abbeydale Deception introduced as a regular gluten free option alongside Timothy Taylors Landlord, Theakston Kinder Downfall (XB rebadged for the Edale area!) and rotating local guest beers. A traditional cider will also continue to be available. Occasional special events are planned such as whisky tastings, a monthly pub quiz and a summer beer festival in the garden. The Rambler is conveniently located right next to the railway station.

Bottling It

Posted on by Dan Rowe

Sheffield is often described as the real ale capital of the UK, with over 400 pubs offering hand-pulled cask real ale in our area. However, it would be remiss to not give credit to the other venues that offer other serving styles of real ale, for off- and on-consumption. With varying opening hours and demand, it’s not always possible for some venues to offer a permanent cask option – there is a risk of wastage, or offering a sub-standard product if demand fluctuates. However, many venues do provide other options from real ale brewers, including bottle conditioned beers. In fact, there are too many to include them all here, so keep an eye out for a second article soon!

Craft & Berry is an Ecclesall Road taproom and bottle shop. They have 6 taps of keg beer, and hundreds of cans and bottles of craft beer – many from local breweries. They also have a good range of bottled real ale from breweries including Bradfield, Acorn, Welbeck Abbey and Peak Ales. The shop is also home to a Gin Emporium with over 80 different spirits (both local and national), and holds regular beer or spirit tasting events. Earlier this year owner Mark worked with neighbours to host the second weekend-long Ecclesall Road beer festival, and there will be a third in October.

Not too far away on London Road is Turner’s Bottle & Tap. They offer bottles from Bradfield, Peak, and Thornbridge, and have fridges and shelves stocked with a huge range of craft beers from predominantly UK breweries. They also have 8 keg lines available. Turners is part of the now annual Abbeydale Road Beer Festival, which has just celebrated its fourth year.

The Dram Shop in Walkley is one of the older independent off licenses in the city offering bottle conditioned beers, though owner Tony mentions that the number of these on offer is dwindling as more brewers embrace canning lines. Tony took on the Dram Shop in 2005, and stocks bottled beers from Durham, Welbeck Abbey, and Loxley alongside a huge wine, spirit, Belgian, German and craft beer selection.

More centrally (puns fully intended) is Beer Central, located in the Moor Market. As an off license they have no taps, but pack a large range of beer into a small space, with bottled beers often seen from Samuel Smith, Drone Valley and Titanic. They also have a wide European selection alongside craft beer offerings. During Sheffield Beer Week they ran ticketed tasting and food pairing events in the small event space in the Moor Market.

Beer Capital Survey 2025

Posted on by Phil Ellett

On Saturday 31 May, members of the Sheffield & District branch headed all around the city and its surrounds to complete the Sheffield Pub Survey (Last one was done Feb 2023). The purpose of the event was to take a snapshot of the range and cost of real ales and hopefully confirm Sheffield’s rightful status as the Beer Capital of the UK.

Groups on various different routes set off at midday and met up at the Red Deer in the City Centre. From here, those that could still make it, headed out to other areas and pubs which had not yet been surveyed. As during our last two surveys the weather was extremely good.

158 Pubs were surveyed (27 more than last time), with a respectable 629 beers recorded. From this data 376 unique beers were identified from 149 different breweries. We believe these figures maintain Sheffield’s claim to be the Beer Capital, offering the widest choice of cask ales. For the 138 pubs which were surveyed in person (rather than using data available via social media) an average of 4.34 cask ales per pub were available for sale on the day. Only slightly down from 4.6, the last pre-COVID figure. For the 79 pubs which were surveyed both in Feb 2023 and May 2025 there was a small drop of 1.5% in the number of beers available.

The average cost of a pint of real ale was £4.13 (up 50p/13.8% compared to Feb 2023). If Wetherspoons and Samuel Smiths are excluded from this data the average cost per pint was £4.44 (up 54p/13.8%). With no beer duty increases since the last survey, prices are up 6% per year which represents an above inflation increase (average inflation being around 4.5% per year over the 2.3 year period). The cheapest beers were Green King’s Ruddle’s Best and IPA at £1.79 a pint. The dearest was a 5.7% Big Hoppa by Little Critters at £6.50 pint.

Again this year local breweries dominated the pumps with Abbeydale having 62 recorded beers, followed by Bradfield and Thornbridge both on 44 beers each.

Beer availability wise the top spot this year was Abbeydale’s Moonshine available in 28 of the pubs surveyed, with Bradfield Farmer’s Blonde second in 26 pubs and Thornbridge’s Jaipur third in 16 pubs. Sharp’s Doom Bar, third place for many years has dropped down to 7th place.

A special thanks to everyone involved in going out to venues and gathering all the data to make this survey possible.

Inn Brief

Posted on by Andy Cullen

SHEFFIELD

Bear on Abbeydale Road now has a permanent cask line! For the Abbeydale Road beer festival the beer was from Weekend Project, however it is expected that the usual brewery on the handpump will be Two by Two.

Mount Pleasant at Norton Lees reopened under new management on Friday 1 August, although cask ale wasn’t immediately available awaiting the delivery from the Heineken Star Pub Company who it is leased from, however they are now regularly available with a range including Bradfield Farmers Blonde, Timothy Taylors Landlord and Tetley Bitter. Wednesday 20 August saw a food trader, Curbside Cravings, at the pub with a view of making it a weekly event if popular.

Old Red Lion in Grenoside is hosting ‘Top Red 12 Years On’ family festival on Saturday 13 September 2-8pm with live music & DJ, food, kids games, bouncy castle and market stalls.

King & Miller in Deepcar closed for a week from 11 August for a bit of a refurbishment and the instillation of a new kitchen.

Old Shoe are to host ‘Oldshoeberfest’, their take on Oktoberfest, on 26 and 27 September.

Sheaf View in Heeley are hosting their final live music event of the summer on Saturday 30 August dubbed ‘Last of the Summer Music’ with a programme of 8 different artists performing at the pub from 3pm onwards.

Sportsman Inn at Lodge Moor was expected to reopen over the August bank holiday weekend. The pub jas been taken on by the same management as the Ship Inn.

Fat Cat in Kelham Island held their 44th birthday beer festival on 21 August.

The pubs and bars participating in this years Half Pint Marathon have been announced and it is quite a long list! They are Alder, Forum Cafe Bar, Hop Hideout, Hymn to Ninkasi, Kapital Beer Hall, Over The Yardarm, Riverside Kelham, Shakespeares Ale & Cider House, Brewery of St Mars of the Desert, Beer House S6, Blind Monkey, Broadfield, Common Room, Dog & Partridge, Gardeners Rest, Hallamshire House, Harlequin, Itchy Pig 2 Banner Cross, Old Grindstone, Punchbowl, Rising Sun, Stag’s Head, Wonky Labrador, Turner’s Bottle & Tap, Two Sheds and Two Thirds Beer Co.. The event runs throughout September and involves two special beers – a cask beer from True North and a keg beer from Abbeydale with a 25p donation from the sale of a pint going to Sheffield Mind. Take a collector card and get a stamp each time you order the special beer at a participating venue and when you’ve collected stamps from 13 different venues you can claim a limited edition print. Check out their website or social media for more details.

PEAK DISTRICT

Old Nag’s Head in Edale held a beer festival over the weekend of 15-17 August with a ‘Sheffield versus Manchester’ theme, along with live entertainment.

Miners Arms in Eyam held a beer festival and hog roast on the Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend.

DRONFIELD

Blue Stoops in Dronfield closed from 18 August for a refurbishment representing an investment by Chilled Pub Co of nearly a million pounds which they say will better bring out the natural charm and warmth of the old building!

The 29 and 30 August sees a final farewell weekend for Tom & Vee at the Hyde Park Inn at Dronfield Hill Top after which they are retiring from the pub trade. They have been running this pub for the last 11 years and feel part of the community but between them have 40 and 38 years experience in the industry. Tom is going on to be a bus driver and Stonegate pub company are advertising the Hyde Park’s lease for a new tenant to take it over.

ROTHERHAM

Blue Bell at Harthill is hosting Hartfest on 6 September with gates opening at 2pm and music kicking off from 3pm. Entry is £10 with the event raising funds for Harthill Football Club to restore the former Spens field pitch so they have somewhere in the village to play their home games.

Over in the Brecks area of Rotherham a new venture called Barrel & Bean is planning to open towards the end of September. It is a combined coffee shop and micropub where you can go in the morning for coffee and cakes or in the afternoon for beers on both cask and keg. They are having 4 handpumps installed with a range of three cask beers on rotation. Buses X1/X2, X11 and 19/19a go there.

Inn Brief

Posted on by Andy Cullen

The Brothers Arms have announced details of their “Summer Bash”. It is taking place on Saturday 30 August from 2pm to 1am with a musical line up of 6 live acts plus DJs Tink and Mojo.

The Old Shoe opened their Speakeasy wine bar “Not Open, Don’t Come” on 28 June. It is open every Friday and Saturday night from 7pm to 2am. The entrance is around the corner from the Old Shoe via what used to be a fire exit door in the red wall!

The Heeley Artisan bar is a new opening on Chesterfield Road in Heeley in a former restaurant premises. It is brought to you buy the same people as Mesters Tap in Woodseats and of course Little Mesters Brewing. A range of both mainstream and craft keg beers are available along with bar snacks including loaded wedges and burgers. The bar has a handpump installed with cask ale from Little Mesters new brewery in Attercliffe, the first being “Mesters Mate”, a hazy session pale ale.

Jabbarwocky on London Road in Highfield has had a change of ownership with a leaving party held over the weekend of 11/12 July followed by a week of being closed for a bit of a spruce up before relaunching in time for Tramlines festival fringe!

The Cremorne, also on London Road in Highfield, are proud of their hand painted A-Board produced by Greg of @ayup.art!

The Coach House Cafe in Hillsborough Park have withdrawn their planning application for an outside drinks kiosk.

The Bessemer in Sheffield City Centre has been closed for a refurbishment and was due to reopen on 18 July.

The Crown in Totley is celebrating the current management’s 10th anniversary on bank holiday Monday 25 August with festivities including live music, food truck, bouncy castle and kids games.

The new management, Dan & Casper, are now in at the White Lion in Great Longstone and the pub is open serving food and drink.

The Scotsman’s Pack in Hathersage hold their annual beer festival on Saturday 9 August. Then later on in the month on the bank holiday weekend the Old Hall Hotel in Hope hold one of their regular Hope Valley Beer & Cider festivals.

The Hathersage gala took place over a week at the beginning of July. This involves scarecrows being displayed around the village, numerous events and finally on the Saturday a carnival parade through the village and stalls on the football field. The Millstone, located in the hills above the village near Surprise Corner got involved too and did appear down in the village at events with a cask of Stancill Stainless!

The Anglers Rest in Bamford has introduced Friday ABC – Anglers Beer Club. This offers 20% off drinks between 4pm and 6pm each Friday. Meanwhile there have been some changes on the food side of things for the summer with a new country tapas menu introduced whilst the traditional roasts continue to be available on Sundays. Pizzas are available for the quiz night on Wednesdays until 9pm.

The Angel in Holmesfield should have reopened by the end of July following a minor refurbishment with Stonegate pub company running it themselves until a new tenant can be signed up.

The George & Dragon in Holmesfield, which is now run by Boston Brewery, has been presented the Summer of the Season award by the Dronfield & District CAMRA branch. They normally have 5 or more of their cask ales on the bar and on Wednesdays they are available for a bargain £3 a pint. Tuesday is quiz night.

Beer gardens

Posted on by Andy Cullen

As we arrive in peak summer and (hopefully) warm weather, something that becomes an attractive prospect is relaxing with a pint outside in a pub beer garden.

There are many pubs out in the Peak District offering stunning views of the countryside from your table whilst in the Sheffield suburbs there are hillside options like the Brothers Arms in Heeley offering an impressive view over the city. There are also some pubs overlooking the River Don in the Kelham Island/Neepsend area such as the Riverside Kelham and Gardeners Rest.

However, what if you are in the City Centre and are looking for that hidden oasis? Well, they do exist.. The classic of course is the University Arms that has a proper beer garden (with a lawn!) whilst a number of other pubs have patio/courtyard style outdoor drinking areas at the rear, these include the Washington, Red Deer, Grapes, Rutland Arms, Benjamin Huntsman, Triple Point Brewing and Roebuck Tavern. There are also a number of venues with a more continental attitude with tables out front on the pavement such as the Head of Steam, Vocation & Co., Sheffield Tap, Old Queen’s Head, Sheffield Water Works Company, Frog & Parrot, Dog & Partridge, Old Shoe and Two & Six Micropub.

Inn Brief

Posted on by Andy Cullen
The Wharncliffe Arms – photo: Dave Pickersgill

The Wharncliffe Arms at Wharncliffe Side reopened on 23rd May 2025 after closure for almost two years. Extensively renovated by the owners, Bradfield Brewery, with wood half-panelling and leather covered seating: both armchairs and wall-mounted. The one L-shaped room is sensitively split by the use of panelling. Outside drinking areas at both front and rear, with the rear sloping over a grassed area to the River Don.

At the Devonshire Arms in Dore Cath & David are celebrating 10 years there on Sunday 15 June from 3pm.

The Brothers Arms in Heeley is hosting “One Mole for the Road” on Saturday 5 July, this is an annual music festival celebrating a legend – Adrian “Mole” Price. The afternoon starts with DJ Tink from 2pm with bands on from 3pm – The Yons, SPG, Rockett 88 and Kingfisher Blue.

June saw Craftworks in Mosborough celebrate their 4th anniversary. This is a micropub that is open all day catering for all moods – you can enjoy a coffee and cake in the morning, quiet pint in the afternoon or a more lively evening with quiz nights, live acoustic music performances, comedy and more taking place from time to time. A range of real ales and other craft beers are available here. Another small venue celebrating 4 years is the Bear on Abbeydale Road who marked the occasion with a birthday weekend from 20 to 22 June featuring a special one off beer, music and pop up food traders. On a normal day this is basically a specialist beer shop with a number of craft beer keg taps offering the option to drink in as well as taking cans and bottles home.

The Bulls Head in Ranmoor has reopened under new management, who previously ran the Rivelin Hotel. Food is available including classic pub dishes, burgers, steaks and pasta plus of course Sunday roasts.

The Castle in Hillsborough is expected to reopen on 4 July following new management taking on the lease. It is owned by the Stonegate pub company.

The Sheffield Half Pint Marathon initiative is taking place again this year during September. This sees a special charity beer brewed that is on sale across 13 venues including True North’s pubs and others and the idea is you visit all 13 venues and have a half of the special beer at each one, raising money for charity and potentially winning a prize for doing so!

Dog & Partridge food menu

The Dog & Partridge in Sheffield City Centre now has its kitchen open again with a menu of Irish snacks including the Dublin Spice Bags!

The Church House in Sheffield City Centre (near Cathedral tram stop), has started doing food again with a weekly special served Thursdays 4pm to 8pm and Friday to Sunday midday to 8:30pm. At the weekend if you are going there to see the band at night you can now get down there earlier, bag a table and have a bite to eat first!

The Red Lion in Litton took part in Wakes Week celebrations and on Saturday 21 June they not only hosted a weekend beer festival but was also a venue for the steam engine rally.

The Calver Arms is hosting an evening with retired footballer Bruce Grobbelaar on 4 September for £60 per person. This includes a two course meal and welcome drink and there will also be a memorabilia raffle and auction.

The courtyard drinking area at the George in Tideswell, on a rainy day!

The George Inn at Tideswell is now open again under the new management of Sarah as part of Rick Ellison’s Atlantik Inns group. The pub is leased from Greene King brewery and has 3 real ales on the bar, a games room with darts and pool table and a smart courtyard drinking area outside. At some point soon the kitchen is to be opened and the pub has a lounge shaped in a way that naturally lends itself to having a separate dining area. Longer term projects potentially include reopening the hotel rooms and function room upstairs and renovating the other buildings around the courtyard that come with the pub but need work to be brought back into use.

One Valley Festival

Posted on by Andy Cullen

One Valley Festival sees a number of different pubs, a club and a brewery tap all host events on the same day so you can explore Dronfield town and surrounding countryside experiencing a variety of beer, music and food. The town centre venues are all walkable from Dronfield railway station whilst all venues are on a bus route (one of 15, 16, 43 or 44). The date this year is Saturday 7 June.

The rural pub that takes part is the Miners Arms in Hundall. This sees a stage appear in the beer garden with live music through the afternoon and the outside bar open with an extended range of ales and cider plus a burger stall. Hundall is a hillside location with the pub offering a view over the valley as well as the neighbouring cricket pitch! Bus 15 (Dronfield-Chesterfield) stops outside the pub until about 6pm.

Down in the valley at Unstone is Drone Valley Brewery who have a tap staffed by volunteers (most of the profits go to local good causes) and they rather push the boat out for One Valley day. Various tents appear in the yard to supplement the bar in the brewery with seating areas, music stage, cocktail bar and food vendor (Gow’s Kitchen). Buses 43 and 44 (Sheffield-Chesterfield) stop on the main road at the end of their drive.

In the suburb of Dronfield Woodhouse are two pubs, the Jolly Farmer (on bus route 43) and Miners Arms (on bus route 16). At the Jolly Farmer festivities take place around the outdoor drinking area with outside bar, BBQ and live entertainment. They also serve breakfasts in the morning (booking recommended) Meanwhile up the road at the Miners live entertainment is planned in the evening with an acoustic set by Ethan Massingham. During the afternoon you can chill out with a beer in their garden and maybe grab a bite to eat!

Dronfield town centre is split into two areas – The High Street and Dronny Bottom and each have a cluster of venues. The Civic Centre is the bus terminus for rural bus routes 15 and 16 whilst bus 43 stops outside Sainsburys, these are all close to the High Street. Meanwhile Dronny Bottom is where the railway station is, with bus routes 15 and 44 passing through too.

There are Three venues along High Street and Church Street – Blue Stoops, Manor House Hotel and Green Dragon whilst at Dronny Bottom you will find the Beer Stop, Dronfield Arms, Underdog bar and White Swan. Also not far from the High Street, across the road from Sainburys, is the Victoria.

The Victoria is a typical street corner boozer with dart board, pool table and football on the telly. For festival day they will have a DJ on playing tunes from 3pm until about 10pm.

At the Manor House, their cafe bar opens serving breakfast in the morning with their bar opening from 10am. However festivities are outside from midday with the rear drinks terrace extended into part of the car park where they will have two outside bars (one serving cask ale from Abbeydale Brewery with the other bar serving lager, spirits etc) and a food trailer from Pellizco (Mexican street food). Live music will be provided outside by the Britpop rockers at 4pm and 6pm then from 7:30pm onwards DJ Brad Gee will be keeping the party going.

The extensive outdoor drinking area at the Blue Stoops gets extended into the closed off car park and will be filled with 4 outside bars, a food stall doing burgers and loaded chips whilst a DJ will be out there providing a sound track!

The Green Dragon also extends their outside drinking area into a closed off car park on festival day. An outside bar serves cask ale, shorts and bottles supplementing the normal pub bar inside and a fish & chip van will be serving food there. It all opens at midday with DJ Higgz providing a soundtrack throughout the event until late except when live acts are on stage – We are Little Rock at 3pm, Andy Gates at 5pm and Cabronitas band at 8pm.

The Dronfield Arms closes their car park off too in order to add extra features to the usual pub bar, terrace and Pizza Pi kiosk. On festival day there is an outside bar, Cow Boys Burgers stall and music stage. Live music kicks off at 1pm with Josh Feely followed by Magenta Apricots at 2pm, Factor 50 at 3pm, Kickback at 4pm and Leo Millobarrow at 5pm. From 6pm until midnight DJ Phill will be providing party tunes outside for their popular One Valley sunset disco surrounded by trees, river, railway bridge and buildings!

Next door the Underdog bar also adds an outside bar round the back with a range of ciders and craft beer plus hot sandwiches whilst across the road the White Swan make use of their patio area. Live entertainment here begins with We Are Little Rock at 1pm then Dan Aspinall on at 4pm and finally Katie Rose. The England match will be on the TV inside the pub at 5pm.

The Beer Stop is just the other side of the railway bridge, this is a small specialist craft beer shop that also has a few taps of craft beer that can be enjoyed on the yard outside. Two street food traders will be popping up for the afternoon serving fried chicken and tacos and an outside bar is also planned.

Finally a short walk from Dronny Bottom (alternatively a ride on bus 15 or 44) is the Pioneer Club. This is a classic social club building with two rooms – lounge (with pool table and TV) and concert room. It also has a huge grass outdoor area, smoking terrace and car park. The Pioneer run a family friendly event for One Valley outside with bouncy castle, goody bags & games for the kids plus a BBQ stall whilst for the adults there will be a reasonably priced bar and a DJ on all day inbetween live acts – Marie Wells and Ken Lambert Drag.

BUSES

  • 15 Dronfield-Chesterfield via Coal Aston, Apperknowle, Marsh Lane, Hundall, Unstone and Whittington Moor. Venues served: Manor House Hotel, Blue Stoops, Victoria, Beer Stop, Pioneer Club and Miners Arms (Hundall).
  • 16 Dronfield-Chesterfield via Dronfield Woodhouse, Holmesfield, Barlow. Venues served: Manor House Hotel, Blue Stoops, Miners Arms (Dronfield Woodhouse).
  • 43 Sheffield-Chesterfield via Heeley, Woodseats, Meadowhead, Dronfield Sainsburys, Dronfield Woodhouse, Gosforth, Dronfield Fire Station, Unstone and Whittington Moor. Venues served: Victoria, Jolly Farmer, White Swan, Drone Valley Brewery.
  • 44 Sheffield-Chesterfield via Heeley, Woodseats, Meadowhead, Batemoor, Coal Aston, Dronfield Station, Unstone and Whittington Moor. Venues served: Pioneer Club, Beer Stop, Dronfield Arms, Underdog, White Swan, Drone Valley Brewery.

All the above bus services are operated by Stagecoach. The maximum single fare is £3 or a “Silver DayRider” ticket is available offering unlimited all day travel on their services in the area – £6.50 adult or £20 for a group of 5 people. You can buy tickets from the bus driver (cash or contactless) or on the Stagecoach app.

Additionally until 5pm the “Travel Derbyshire On Demand” minibus service operates. This is a bus with no fixed route or timetable, simply request a ride at least an hour in advance using their app and a route is created that caters for all the passengers booked that hour. It can be booked for journeys anywhere in North East Derbyshire and Chesterfield, subject to availability.

TRAINS

Dronfield railway station is served mainly by Northern‘s Leeds-Nottingham service, running hourly through the day and with services continuing late into the evening. Journey planning and fares for rail travel is available from nationalrail.co.uk. Venues walkable from the station are Dronfield Pioneer Club, Beer Stop, Dronfield Arms, Underdog, White Swan, Green Dragon, Manor House Hotel, Blue Stoops and Victoria. Buses serving the station are 15 and 44.

Best rail station bar in Europe

Posted on by Dave Pickersgill

The European Beer Consumers Union (EBCU) has recently revealed the results of its European Travel Beer Survey, celebrating the best places to enjoy a quality beer while in transit: Sheffield secured the best rail station title.

Across Europe, Sheffield has the best rail station for beer – thanks to the Sheffield Tap, a beautifully restored Edwardian pub on platform 1B. With both an on-site brewery and an impressive range of both local and international beers (including ten cask beers), it’s a must-visit.

The old First Class Refreshment Room was originally built by the Midland Railway as part of their 1905 station extension and adorned inside with Minton tiled walls and fine ornamented bar- fittings. The rooms were disused in the 1960s and became a waiting room in the 1970s before closure in 1975. The listed interior was left to decay until 2008 when restoration began. The Tap opened in 2009, with the on-site, Tapped Brewery, following in 2013. The pub is of outstanding historic importance, it is rated at Three Stars on CAMRA’s National Inventory of important historic pub interiors.

Honourable ECBU mentions included York for its nearby pubs and beer-friendly atmosphere. Brussels Central and Munich Hauptbahnhof were both praised for their easy access to excellent beer venues just outside the station. The best airport for beer was Copenhagen, with the Mikkeller Bar frequently mentioned. Also praised were Munich Airport, home to Airbräu, Europe’s first airport-based brewery. London Heathrow was also appreciated for its decent pub-style venues.

Respondents also described disappointing experiences like being served warm, bland lager at major transit hubs or finding themselves in terminals with no beer at all.

On a more positive note, the survey also unearthed some hidden gems, including praise for the nearby Stalybridge Buffet Bar and many smaller bars tucked just outside major train stations in multiple cities.

“We launched this survey to shine a light on how beer culture can thrive even in places of transit,” said EBCU chairman André Brunnsberg. “Copenhagen and Sheffield show what’s possible when quality and locality are put first. These aren’t just places to wait for your flight or train: they’re places worth arriving early for.”

The European Beer Consumers Union (EBCU) represents beer drinkers in over a dozen countries, promoting consumer rights, access to quality beer, and the preservation of local beer traditions. They hope these results will inspire more airports and railway stations across Europe to raise the bar for beer drinking travellers.

Sheffield Tap and Tapped Brewery