Vernon Kay, off of BBC Radio 2, has been running 115 miles across Derbyshire to raise funds for the Children in Need charity appeal, followed by an entourage that includes Pudsey Bear. As he passed through Bakewell he was presented with a Bakewell Pudding by the Rutland Arms, he also visited the Queen Anne in Hucklow then in the village of Hope the party was welcomed to the Old Hall Hotel by landlord Rick for an overnight stay and full Derbyshire breakfast to set them up for another big day which saw Vernon run past the Rambler Inn at Edale!
Vernon Kay outside the Old Hall HotelPudsey Bear outside the Old Hall Hotel’s tea roomVernon Kay at the Queen Anne in Great Hucklow
The tourist board for the Peak District and Derbyshire have announced the shortlist for their annual awards, due to be presented at a ceremony held at the Museum of Making on 7 March.
A number of venues that serve good beer on or near our patch have made the shortlist:
Hotel of the Year and Taste of the Peak District – Maynard in Grindleford
Tourism Young Achiever – Steph Taylor of Atlantik Inns (who runs the Anchor near Tideswell) and Emma West of Longbow Bars & Restaurants (the company that runs the Maynard in Grindleford, George in Hathersage and soon the Ashford Arms).
Unsung Hero – Adrian Gagea of Longbow Bars & Restaurants.
The multi award-winning Sheffield beer shop celebrate their 10thbirthday with a weekend of events & launch a collaboration beer with Peak District brewing legends Thornbridge Brewery
November 2023 marks the 10thanniversary of award-winning Sheffield based beer shop and tasting room Hop Hideout. In itself, after the last few years traversing through a global pandemic, is a significant achievement. One of a handful of female-owned beer shops in the country, Hop Hideout’s Jules has always championed diversity and welcoming spaces within the industry. With a weekend of celebrations from Friday November 10ththis includes the launch of their anticipated Thornbridge Brewery collaboration beer and a ticketed party on Saturday.
Jules Gray shared that, “It’s a real pinch me moment to collaborate on our tenth anniversary beer with Thornbridge. When I first moved back to Sheffield, around 2011, and before Hop Hideout started in 2013, this brewery was our go-to for beer and ten years later still is!”
She continued. “So we’re thrilled to announce this collaboration. From delicious cask Jaipur to phenomenal collaboration beers with the likes of international breweries like Sierra Nevada and Odell. To their thoughtful, intensely flavoursome and skilful barrel-aged range. Whether it’s Days of Creation Flemish-inspired sour ales or their imperial stout series Necessary Evil. Or the way they brew timelessly quenchable lagers with such finesse. To brew a beer with Thornbridge for Hop Hideout’s celebrations is honestly a dream come true and feels like a very full circle moment to complete this decade!”
The beer is a ‘crowd-pleasing’ hazy pale ale full of tropical and citrus hits from Cashmere, Idaho 7 and Simcoe hops. A base of Maris Otter and plenty of flaked wheat and oats, With California ale yeast completing the fermentation. A joyful beer to celebrate the last decade’s achievements, including becoming a new mother and continuing to drive Hop Hideout onwards. The beer is named ‘Diamond Day’ and references folk singer Vashti Bunyan’s 1970s classic. A song which Jules often plays to her daughter.
Simon Webster, CEO and Co-Founder of Thornbridge, says “Hop Hideout is a jewel in the crown of the Sheffield Beer Scene, they have supported us since first opening and it is great to see them celebrate their ten-year anniversary. We’re proud to be part of the festivities having worked on this collaboration brew together.”
Diamond Day will be available on tap throughout November and December on draught at Hop Hideout. Once it’s gone it’s gone, so be quick!
The Raven celebrated its 4th birthday on 16 November and held a quiz night with a £100 jackpot, pint prizes and buffet! The pub is run by the same people as Loxley Brewery and the Wisewood Inn.
December sees a number of pubs get into the Christmas spirit and host carol singing, brass bands and the like. This includes Stannington brass band going on tour taking in the Waggon & Horses in Millhouses, Rose & Crown in Stannington, British Oak in Mosborough, Punchbowl in Crookes, Crown & Glove in Stannington, Rivelin in Stannington, Ball Inn in Crookes and finally the Dog & Partridge in Sheffield City Centre.
The Mount Pleasant at Norton Lees has a brass band on Sunday 17 December from 4pm.
The Old Hall Hotel in Hope has a number of evening events in December including folk music on the 13 December, Christmas Carols with Tideswell brass band on 20 December and a Christmas party night with a DJ on from 9pm on 22 December. Then for New Years Eve for those with tickets they are hosting a gala dinner and disco. There is also of course a Christmas menu in the restaurant.
The Woodroffe Arms in Hope have updated their food hours. Monday is pizza night 4-9pm, Tuesday is chippy night 4-9pm then the full menu is available Wednesday/Thursday 4-9pm, Friday and Saturday 1-9pm then there is a carvery on Sundays from 1pm.
The Peak Hotel in Castleton evening events in December include a jazz pianist on the 2nd, singers on the 9th and 16th, Christmas quiz on the 21st whilst Christmas Eve and New Years Eve will see the pub hosting a disco from 9:30pm until late. There is also of course a Christmas menu in the restaurant.
The Bike & Boot Inn Hotel near Bamford doesn’t have cask ale on the bar but you can still get a local beer with Peak Ales supplying bottles and Thornbridge Brewery cans available.
The George in Hathersage suffered from flood damage in storm Babett in October and is expected to remain closed for repairs for around 6pm. Some hotel and function bookings have been transferred to their sister hotel in Grindleford.
The Rutland Arms on Brown Street in Sheffield City Centre holds their annual Christmas lights switch on party on Thursday 7 December. The party kicks off from 7pm with lights on at 9ish. They are also taking bookings for their Christmas menu, which is usually a little alternative!
Triple Point Brewing have various events coming up in their bar including a cheese and beer pairing night on 10 December and a brewery tour on 30 December. Both require booking in advance which can be done online.
The Devonshire Arms in Dore now have a pizza truck outside the pub every Thursday between 5pm and 8pm.
The Castle Inn in Hillsborough now have at least 1 real ale on (Marston’s 61 Deep) and by the time of publishing should have Bradfield Belgian Blue alongside. The problem with the real ale pumps not being used for a couple of months was the instalment of a new cellar system that failed on two occasions.
The Old Queen’s Head in Sheffield City Centre now has a new menu operating with Lunch Club Specials (12-4pm) burgers, mains and grills Mon-Sat 12-4pm, then 5-8pm. Beer is on 4 pumps with Bradfield Belgian Blue, a Thwaites beer or two, and guests.
The Railway in Wadsley Bridge has now completed the renovation of the backroom gig space. After removing 3 layers of old flooring, it has now been screed and sealed. Seating and a small dancefloor is available for all concerts. A couple of new key kegs have been introduced recently.
Lost in West Bar now has a weekly acoustic jam session on Fridays from 7pm.
Abbeydale Tap has introduced a happy hour from 5pm to 7pm with cask ale reduced to £3.50 a pint. They also have revised opening hours for the winter.
Happy’s Bar at Neepsend now serves food until 10pm, has a quiz on Sundays at 7pm and a DJ night most Fridays with the bar open until 4am!
The Chantry Inn at Handsworth was one of the pubs that featured Chantry brewery’s special halloween beer, Frankenstein’s Brew. It was a 4% dark bitter.
Vocation & Co.bar in Sheffield City Centre has introduced beer tasting flights.
Dead Parrot beers noted on the bar at Perch in early November were Jet (Stout), Cow Hollow (Blonde), Vitriol (Bitter) and Pole (Blonde).
By the time you read this it is expected the Three Tuns in Sheffield City Centre will have introduced bar food. There is now a regular quiz on Wednesdays at 6:30pm and a programme of entertainment planned including comedy and live music.
The Dronfield Arms has been running special early bar prices on weekdays 3-5pm with cask ales at just £3 a pint. Pizza Pi is also now resident behind the pub from Thursday to Sunday, serving from 4pm. They’ve also launched a quiz night on Wednesdays from 7:30pm and continue to host an open mic night on Thursdays from 8:30pm.
The Green Dragon in Dronfield continues with a busy weekly programme including Tapas Tuesday, Thursday quiz night, DJ playing vinyl on Fridays and live entertainment on Saturdays.
The Manor House Hotel in Dronfield has a DJ every Friday night and one well kept real ale in the form of Abbeydale Moonshine.
The Underdog bar in Dronfield now always has a Gluten free beer available. They’ve also launched a “Super Sharer Saturday” on selected dates for those that book where large deli platters are served to eat. Monday is board games night, Tuesday is quiz night and Thursday is pub choir. Abbeydale Moonshine has been removed as the regular house beer and at the time of writing Chantry Brewery Steelos pale ale is now resident on that pump.
There has been a recent change of management at the Old Queen’s Head. The new general manager is Lisa who has plans for special events in the future and will be launching a new food menu following a couple of weeks of the kitchen being temporarily closed to prepare. The beginning of the new management also saw all the cask ales already in the cellar- including the local guests from Blue Bee, reduced to just £3 a pint, whilst stocks lasted!
The Three Tuns in Sheffield City Centre has also had a change of management. It’s operating on a short term lease from Heineken Star Pub Company for now and tied to their beer list with Bradfield Farmers Blonde flying the flag for local alongside a couple of other well known cask brands such as Theakstons and Titanic. In recent years the Tuns has struggled to find its way with the offices surrounding it that used to provide trade no longer occupied and there is an attempt to do something different here – whilst it will remain a traditional, relaxed pub during the week it will change character at the weekend with a focus on entertainment and become the “Three Huns” (look out for the neon sign!) with Karaoke on Saturdays and a drag act on Sundays.
Also under new management is the White Lion at Heeley where a programme of live entertainment continues.
Following a short break whilst Landlord and chef Conor was on holiday for his wedding anniversary, food is back again at the Dog & Partridge on Trippet Lane. The kitchen is open 4pm-8pm on Tuesdays then midday to 8pm Wednesday to Friday, midday to 7pm Saturdays. The menu is similar to before with burgers, wings, sandwiches and chips along with changing specials of an Irish theme!
Lost in West Bar have got going with regular events now including jam sessions, live music & food weekends and a quiz night, keep an eye on their social media for details.
The Railway at Wadsley Bridge continue to host live music on the stage in the back room some weekends, including a gig on 28 October for Switch.
The Anglers Rest in Bamford recently celebrate their 10th anniversary of community ownership. Special events ran throughout the week commencing 8th October culminating in a weekend beer & music festival opened by the High Peak Mayor!
The Richmond Hotel, a large community pub with heritage features that has been closed since September 2021 should have reopened by the time you read this. The pub is owned by the Stonegate pub company who have refurbished it and leased it out to an independent operator.
The Bankers Draft (Wetherspoon) in Sheffield City Centre recently took part in the chain’s national autumn beer festival with a discount for card carrying CAMRA members extended to all day everyday until 22 October.
Meltdown e-sports bar in Sheffield City Centre closes at the end of October as the lease on the venue hasn’t been renewed with the final hurrah being on Friday 27th with “This Party Sucks”.
Hop Hideout is hosting a “Paws Party” on 11 November from 2pm to celebrate their 10th birthday. This is in the Kommunity room in Kommune with a beer, quiz and social. The event will see the first pour of their birthday collaboration beer. Tickets are required and available from their website.
The King & Miller at Deepcar has celebrated 5 years as a Bradfield Brewery tap.
The Ashford Arms in Ashford-in-the-Water, Derbyshire (near Bakewell), which is owned by Heineken and has been closed for some time is set to be renovated and reopened by the same people as the George in Hathersage and Maynard in Grindleford, who have taken the lease on. They are to operate it as a premium country pub blending timeless tradition, captivating charm and limitless fun with the ground floor and exterior completely refurbished in a project costing £1.6m.
The Eyre Arms in Calver is under new management and reopened on 8 September. The new owner is Edward White, a local businessman who has given the pub a refurbishment including converting a room into a sports bar and upgrading the kitchen. Buses 65 and 257 go there from Sheffield.
The Closed Shop on Commonside is expected to reopen on 8 September with the lease from Heineken taken on by Sophie, who also runs the Clubhouse on London Road. Initially it will be a drinkers pub with beer from the Heineken list, with the kitchen reopening sometime in October.
The Horse & Jockey at Wadsley reopened under new management on 31 August. This is no longer run by True North Brewery.
The Head of Steam in Sheffield City Centre is now opening at 10am on Friday and Saturday serving breakfast.
Little Mesters Brewing’s tap bar on Woodseats opened on Friday 15 September. Mesters Tap is a micropub in the unit that was originally Sports Shack, a few doors down from Wetherspoons. The bar has a range of 2 cask and 5 keg beers showcasing their own beers plus guests and art on the walls was produced by the same person that designs the brewery’s cans.
Up at Ranmoor the Bulls Head is expected to reopen soon, meanwhile the Ranmoor Inn is due to be closed for refurbishment 16-22 September.
A new bar called Pearl has opened at Park Hill. Two real ales are available along with cocktails, natural wines and bar snacks.
The Dorothy Pax is holding their Pax Pint Party mini beer festival from 6 to 8 October.
The Big Gun Hotel on the Wicker has now closed down and it expected to be converted into a fast food establishment. Whilst it hasn’t served real ale in a long time, this closure does represent a loss of a piece of Sheffield’s pub heritage.
The Riverside Cafe in Hillsborough is now only opening the upstairs bar on Sheffield Wednesday match days and for private functions.
Some have asked whatever happened to the plans to restore and open Barrowboys under the Commercial Street bridge. It is still happening, however problems with the drains need to be dealt with first then it will be full steam ahead to create a rock bar in the space!
The Two & Six Micropub opened on Saturday 5 August at 26 Snig Hill in Sheffield City Centre. This is the unit that was previously home to theSocial bar and behind the new venture is Juliet and Dan, Juliet being the manager who was employed to run theSocial. The bar offers a choice of real ales, craft beer on keg, wines and spirits in a cosy and comfortable micropub atmosphere, there is a downstairs function room and the opening hours are Wednesday/Thursday 2pm to 10pm, Friday/Satuday 12pm-11pm and Sunday 2pm-8pm.
The Sportsman at Lodge Moor had another successful Gillyfest and raised £2,580.13 for St Luke’s There were eight bands throughout the day on the outdoor stage. Fairground stalls, children’s play area, BBQ and outdoor bar it was a family event. Beers both inside and out were Bradfield Farmers Blonde and Taylor’s Landlord.
The Beer House S6 at Hillsborough have now opened their downstairs room, which contains a pool table.
Recent reopenings include the Brown Bear in Sheffield City Centre and the Closed Shop on Commonside.
Lost in West Bar have been running a 10% off cask ale promotion on Sundays.
Heist Brew Co. are hosting a Northern Monk tap takeover on Friday 25 August.
Perch Bar are hosting a Belgian beer festival from 1 to 3 September.
Chantry Brewery’s tap room, a short walk from Parkgate tram terminus, has introduced a monthly Northern Soul DJ night on the first Friday of the month with free entry, from 7pm to midnight. Coinciding with the launch of this event Chantry launched a new beer, Vespa, a 4% ABV pale ale with the image of a classic scooter on the pump clip and bottle label! The brewery tap also continues to have a busy programme of ticketed gigs!
Drone Valley Brewery will once again be hosting a pop up bar at the Bradway Action Group’s annual family fun day which takes place on the Bradway Village Green on Saturday 9 September from 1:30pm to 4pm. The Village Green can be found on the junction of Bradway Road and Twentywell Lane (near the shops) and you can get there on buses 25 or M17.
The Old Shoe is a brand new bar in Orchard Square, with the premises converted from a former shoe shop, hence the name – they probably realised Sheffield people always continue to refer to places by their old name, such as calling John Lewis Cole Brothers (until it closed of course!).
This is a joint venture involving Mike Pomranz of Exemption Ciderhouse (who had the Cider Hole bar at Shalesmoor, which is relocated to this new venue) and Matt Beety of the BEAR on Abbeydale Road.
Installed as manager is Nath Hehir, who many will recognise from various good beer pubs around the city he has previously worked at! Completing the team is Tom, a former wine sommelier who previously worked at the Joro restaurant and among various things he’ll be doing at the Old Shoe is blending soft drinks!
On the beer front there are two handpumps for cask ales along with 17 keg beers on tap. For the cider drinkers there are three keg taps which at the soft launch weekend (8/9 July) were supplied by Ross on Wye, Little Pomona and Orchards of Husthwaite. All the taps and pumps are on the back wall behind the bar and printed drinks menus are available on the bar to peruse.
The Old Shoe is bigger than you might expect when thinking of a former shop unit and is split into two parts, the bar area with plenty of tables and seating and a retail area with numerous fridges full of bottles and cans available to buy to drink in or take away, including a large cider and perry selection. The bar also offers a range of natural wines.
Also located in the retail space is the Exemption Cider House kit that was previously located at the Cider Hole, this is in an extension of the space behind the bar and makes the table in that room feel like a cider equivalent of the “chefs table” you get in some Michelin starred restaurants! There are various events planned in this area including meet the brewer sessions, keep an eye on their Instagram and Facebook for updates. It is also the new home of Mike’s record player and vinyl collection!
Following the two days of soft opening some tweaks are taking place then the bar will open properly from Wednesday 12 July.
You can find the Old Shoe at unit 20 of Orchard Square (off Leopold Street) in Sheffield City Centre. Cathedral tram stop and various bus stops are a short walk away. Opening hours are Wed/Thu 1100-2300, Fri/Sat 1100-0100, Sunday 1300-2000.
The Cider Hole on the Sunday of soft opening weekend. Photo by Brian Exford
Lost in West Bar may sound like some terrible B-Movie set in Sheffield but it is actually a new bar project from Helen Fay Seaton of Lost Industry Brewing, which launched on Friday 7 July.
Calm before the storm… Lost in West Bar almost ready before opening!
The bar is in the premises that was previously Bar Stewards and West Bar Tap, unfortunately they closed down after not working out financially. Lost in West Bar has seen the venue receive a little bit of a refit and the subtle changes have made better use of the space of this micropub, improving the seating capacity, atmosphere and storage space.
The yard at the rear has received a little bit of attention too with some flowers added to make it feel more like a beer garden.
The flowers in the beer garden
On the bar there is a range of 4 cask ales, 8 keg beers and a cider on tap, plus spirits and soft drinks. The beer range showcases Lost Industry brewing as you’d expect, along with some carefully chosen guests.
The launch night saw a band (Tombstone Buzzards) playing outside in the yard and a food stall provided by Pipers Artisan Sausages. It is anticipated a number of outdoor events will take place in the future featuring live music and food.
Whilst getting the bar open was supported by the whole Lost Industry family and friends, its a very small team running it, with the only member of staff being part timer Phob who you will often find behind the bar offering a friendly welcome.
You can find Lost in West Bar at 163 Gibralter Street, S3 8UA. Buses 57, 57a, 81, 82 and 86 go there. You can find out more on their Facebook page. Opening hours are Tue/Wed/Thu 1600-2200, Friday 1400-2300, Saturday 1200-2300 and Sunday 1200-2200.
The Royal Oak at Deepcar, which closed down in 2019, is advertising that it is reopening soon, however a firm date has not yet been announced. *UPDATE* opening 23 July.
The Cremorne on London Road from 14 July is offering a discount on beer to CAMRA members that produce a valid membership card at the time of orderings. The discount is 20% off cask ales, 10% off selected keg beers. The discount is not available on Sheffield United match days and cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer.
The Hillsborough Sports Shack has had a rebrand and has become the “Owls Nest bar”.
The Dog & Partridge launched their food service on 13 July. The menu includes sandwiches, burgers, chicken wings, lasagne, ploughmans and topped chips and is mostly home made.
