Category: Inn Brief

Blind Monkey in Walkley is no longer showing Sky Sports because the subscription fee has been increased to a level that isn’t viable for the pub. They are looking to replace football screenings with a new programme of entertainment events.

Centre Spot at Base Green has temporarily closed with the departure of the licensee. Stonegate pub company are advertising the lease, so it should reopen as soon as a new tenant is recruited. The Hyde Park in Dronfield and the Angel in Holmesfield, among others, are in the same situation!

A number of Stonegate’s branded venues are being moved from managed to leased models. In Sheffield city centre, the former Yates on Cambridge Street is closed for refurbishment and expected to reopen as Barkers & Co. Graduate on Surrey Street and the now-closed Walkabout on Carver Street are also being advertised for tenants to take over.

The Stocks in Ecclesfield reopened at the start of October.

Beerworks on Abbeydale Road took part in SIBA’s Drop the Pint Day on 9 October. This saw the price of a pint of Abbeydale Moonshine reduced to what it would cost if we paid German levels of tax on beer. SIBA points out that the UK has one of the highest rates of tax on pub pints in Europe, 10 times as high as in Germany.

The dates have been announced for Sheffield Beer Week 2027 – 8 to 14 March. This sees a huge list of venues across the city putting on special beery events, including tap takeovers, meet-the-brewer events, food and beer pairing menus, themed quiz nights and more. There will, however, be no Indie Beer Feast, which is taking a year off and is expected to relaunch at a new venue in 2028. Jules Gray of Hop Hideout isn’t simply taking it easy, though, and will be running some special beer week events in Leah’s Yard outside her shop and bar.

Dog & Partridge on Trippet Lane in Sheffield city centre held another ‘Dogfest’ event on 10 October, with live music from 3pm and 12 different artists on the bill. These events have been run for a couple of years now and continue to be popular. Also look out for their other music events, including Dog Jam on the first Thursday of the month and Americana(ish) sessions on the last Thursday of the month.

Old Queen’s Head, next to Sheffield Interchange, now opens for breakfast at 10am.

We are reminded that Christmas is coming, and there are a number of pubs that host brass bands and carol singing. Three Merry Lads on Redmires Road in Lodge Moor are hosting Loxley Silver Band on the evening of 23 December.

Albion on London Road in Sheffield hosted a Little Mesters tap takeover on 18 September.

The former Foresters on Division Street in Sheffield city centre reopened on 16 October after refurbishment as Six Barrel Drafthouse. There are six handpumps on the bar for cask ale and cider.

There’s been lots going on at the Commercial in Chapeltown recently, including their Oktoberfest celebration featuring the Frumptarn Guggenband, followed the next day by a charity chip butty day with John ‘The Man with the Pram’ Burkhill as guest of honour.

Drinkers at Hallamshire House on Commonside, Sheffield, who were around at 5pm on Friday 16 October got to enjoy a free drink thanks to a bar tab paid for by comedian Joe Lycett as part of his Channel 4 TV show, Live from the Lycett Arms.

Hallamshire Hotel on West Street in Sheffield city centre (no real ale or craft beer, unfortunately, but it is good for music) is hosting a Pulp takeover on 30 October. They previously ran a pop-up event at a Manchester pub in August, when the Rat & Pigeon had Pulp decor, a jukebox programmed by Jarvis Cocker and Pulp merchandise on sale.

Rutland Arms on Brown Street in Sheffield city centre, hot on the heels of a Holy Goat tap takeover on keg and bottle that featured a number of birthday beers, has the newly launched session-strength edition of Allsopp’s IPA on cask. The Allsopp’s brand is a revival of the original Samuel Allsopp brewery of Burton upon Trent, which dates from 1822 – you could say it has over 200 years of heritage to draw on! The beer is a 4.4% ABV dark copper-coloured ale with herbal, spicy and resinous notes and a refreshing, rounded bitterness from the UK Challenger hops, complemented by a sweetish character from the Golden Promise malted barley.

Fat Cat in Kelham Island has announced they are planning a January sale with selected drinks half-price from 2 January at 11am. This includes their Fat Cat House Ale, which will be on offer for a bargain £2.30.

Eyam Brewery Taproom in Tideswell continues to develop. New toilets have opened upstairs, heaters have been fitted above the tables ready for the winter, and the open kitchen has been built, with the first burgers coming off the griddle on 9 October. The kitchen is using local suppliers wherever possible, including Hancock’s butchers in Stoney Middleton, potatoes from Mosley’s in Wormhill, bread from Tindalls of Tideswell and everything else from Holdsworth’s in Tideswell.

The shop area still sells branded clothing and small-pack beer to take away and, of course, the bar showcases their range on both cask and keg.

With the change of season, many pubs have launched new food menus, including Old Hall Hotel in Hope, Red Lion in Litton and Scotsman’s Pack in Hathersage.

The arrival of autumn has also seen the fires lit in country pubs, including the Peak Hotel in Castleton and Three Stags Heads in Wardlow Mires.

Horse & Jockey in Tideswell has taken Halloween decorating time as the start of winter, which means the fire is now getting lit on cold nights! They’ve also adjusted their opening hours following customer feedback and are now open from midday every day, with a new lunch menu served from midday to 2:30pm Monday to Thursday. The kitchen is also open from 5pm to 8:30pm on those days, midday to 9pm on Friday and Saturday, and midday to 7pm on Sunday.

Shoulder of Mutton in Bradwell has been running a fundraising campaign for causes associated with Sheffield Children’s Hospital, including a darts knockout and raffle. A total of 33 players took part in the darts tournament and lots of raffle tickets were sold on the night, raising £1,560. Further fundraising plans include a kids’ Halloween party and a Christmas hamper raffle.

White Hart in Bradwell has been running a happy hour offering 10% off all drinks between 4pm and 8pm on Mondays and Tuesdays.

A party was held at Olde Bowling Green Inn at Bradwell on Saturday 24 October to celebrate the first anniversary of the current management getting the keys to the pub!

Hope Valley Tap & Bottle in Hope have extended their opening hours – Sunday to Thursday 3pm to 9pm and Friday and Saturday midday to 9pm. They are predominantly a bottle shop but, for those drinking on site (there’s seating upstairs, plus some tables outside in the evening), they also have some keg taps showcasing local beers from brewers such as Intrepid, Buxton and Torrside, plus a small list of wines by the glass.

The landlord of the White Lion in Great Longstone has moved on, with the pub closing for refurbishment. This Robinsons Brewery pub will be reopening with a new couple running it and a new look!

The beer festival held at Anglers Rest in Bamford raised £500 for the Bamford Carnival Committee, which supports local community organisations such as Bamford Pre School and Bamford Tennis Club. The pub has an ongoing rotation of weekday promotions and events: half-price main meals on Mondays, pizza and pool on Tuesdays, curry and quiz night on Wednesdays, two-for-one burgers and music on vinyl every third Thursday, and fish, chips and cocktails on Fridays.

Rambler Inn at Edale now has a station departure board in the pub. They also celebrated a year of Jo and Chris at the helm on 17 October with a party featuring live music.

If you are a budding artist who enjoys painting as well as a pub pint, the Calver Arms Sip & Paint events may be for you. The next one is on 3 November, with a theme of ‘Tiggy Tales’.

There has been frustration at the Plough at Leadmill Bridge, near Hathersage, with the road past the pub closed from the Grindleford end and buses diverted for a fair few weeks. The good news, if you fancy a trip there, is that the road reopened on 16 October and the 257 bus can drop you off near the pub again!

The Bank House bar in Hathersage celebrated its eighth birthday with a bit of a bash on 2 October.

The Crispin at Great Longstone is taking part in Robinsons’ annual Old Tom birthday celebration on Saturday 7 November, with the beer available on cask. Old Tom is an 8.5% ABV dark ale that has been brewed for 127 years!

Gardeners Rest celebrate their 10th anniversary of community ownership on Saturday 26 September with live music, BBQ and a special beer. The event is on from midday until 9pm.

High Green Club has gone through into the national Club Awards 2026.

JD Wetherspoon’s Rawson Spring pub in Hillsborough has a new ale champion working there and has organised a number of beer events including a Roosters tap takeover on 21 September, a Buxton meet-the-brewer on 22 September and a beer festival from 30 September.

Another branch of JD Wetherspoon hosting a beer festival is Bluecoat in Rotherham town centre – their ‘Octobeerfest’ takes place from 7 to 18 October featuring some specialty ales and international brewers. A range of 30 beers will be available, spread between the regular bar and a pop-up festival bar. Other Wetherspoon pubs will also feature the festival bars on rotation.

Those of you who drink in the Woodseats area may have noticed a lack of cask ale on the bar at the Boston Arms during the heatwave; this was due to their cellar cooling system failing. They now have a brand-new cooling system installed and cask is back.

Blake Hotel in Walkley, which is owned by Trust Inns, is being advertised as available to lease.

Shakespeares are hosting one of the final tap takeovers of the now-closed Queer Brewing with a selection of their kegs featured on 31 October.

It has been revealed that the refurbishment of the Foresters on Division Street in Sheffield city centre will bring a new name for the pub; it will reopen as the Six Barrel Drafthouse, operated by the Pub People Company.

Shepley Spitfire at Totley is under new management. Gradual changes are planned, including extended food hours.

Sir William Hotel in Grindleford closed last December, and Greene King Brewery have put the property on the market.

Hare & Hounds in Barlow has reopened after being closed for at least six years. The old landlady closed the pub and retired before Covid. After she sadly passed away during Covid, the pub was put on the market, with local expectation of it being converted to fully residential use. The pub hadn’t changed in many years and was listed in CAMRA’s heritage inventory for its interior. Prior to reopening, the pub has had significant renovations and refurbishment, losing all the heritage and now has a smart, modern look. However, actually being open as a pub is something of a win! There are two cask ales available on the bar.

It’s that time when pubs start advertising Christmas festivities. Among recent events advertised is a Christmas retro disco at the Anchor near Tideswell on 19 December.

The George in Castleton made it into the final of the Pub Aid Community Pub Hero Awards for their sustainability initiatives. They were up against three other pubs in the final, from Surrey, Wandsworth and West Suffolk. At the time of going to press, the winner was not yet announced. The award ceremony at the Houses of Parliament was on 8 September.

The current tenants at the Travellers Rest at High Moor, Killamarsh, moved on mid-September to instead run the Red Lion in Cloughton near Scarborough. The lease had come to its end, and the new lease being offered included a substantial rent increase. The pub is owned by Thwaites Brewery.

A new venture has opened on the junction of Ecclesall Road and Rustlings Road. Manfred’s is a coffee shop/bar named after owner Patrick McClure’s German grandfather who hailed from Wesel, near Düsseldorf. After finishing his degree in Durham a few years ago, Patrick was lured to Sheffield by friends from the area, and has now managed to combine his love of good coffee and German lager.

The bottle fridge has an excellent selection of lagers, including some no-alcohol options, and Patrick is looking to offer a couple of draught options at some point in the future. Wine is also available. For anyone drinking in, the chilled glasses are a nice touch, and pastries are on offer for anyone feeling peckish. Hours are 8am to 8pm Wednesday to Friday and 9am to 8pm at the weekend.

Richard Hough writes: “I owe the good folk at the Itchy Pig Banner Cross a heartfelt apology. In August’s Beer Matters, I wrote a piece focusing on the price of beer across Sheffield. I got the price wrong at the IPBC. All cask ales are either £4.20 or £4.50 a pint, on top of which they offer a loyalty discount scheme. Excluding JDW pubs, this makes the Itchy Banner Cross one of the best value-for-money pubs I encountered. Apologies to all concerned.”

The Dove & Rainbow on Hartshead Square in Sheffield City Centre has an upcoming celebration of 20 years in its current guise as a rock and alternative bar run by Dawn Gunther. The event takes place on Friday 6 November from 8pm.

The Waterbear Green Room in Sheffield City Centre opened for the first time under the new ownership over Tramlines festival weekend and was one of the fringe venues, no real ale was available. This was just a temporary opening and work is still ongoing with regular opening expected to launch in September.

The Pig & Whistle at Gleadless Townend is holding a German Oktoberfest themed event from 25 to 27 September.

The Brothers Arms in Heeley held their summer bash music festival on 22 August.

True North have sold two of their pubs to other operators – the British Oak in Mosborough and the Old Grindstone in Crookes.

The Abbeydale Tap micropub is hosting a weekly cask club Tuesday to Friday between 5pm and 9pm with rotating beers available for just £3 a pint or 4 for a tenner.

The Fat Cat celebrated 45 years on 21 August with some special birthday beers on the bar.

The Hammer & Pincers at Bents Green offers discounted beer on Mondays.

Princess Royal at Crookes is saying goodbye to Jane, the landlady of 18 years, next April.

The Closed Shop at Commonside is now open and has cask ale.

The former Mesters Tap at Woodseats has had the decorators in and has reopened as The Counter Micropub.The bar offers 2 cask lines and 6 keg lines plus a selection of cans.

John Coyle, the manager of the White Lion at Heeley, has announced he is leaving. His replacement is moving down from another pub in the group.

The Greenhill Tap on Westwick Crescent, Greenhill, has tried introducing a local cask ale at the weekend following customer requests, starting with Drone Valley Derbyshire Blonde, available Thursday to Saturday. The venue is a new small bar and tapas restaurant in premises that was previously “Sarah’s Kitchen”.

The reopening date for the Red Deer in Sheffield City Centre has been announced as 26 August. It is under new management and has had an internal refurbishment including a new kitchen, renovations to the outside of the building and some improvements to the outdoor drinking area too. The pub is leased from Heineken’s Star Pub Company.

The Foresters on Division Street in Sheffield City Centre, which is operated by the Pub People Company, has temporarily closed for a refurbishment. An investment of £250k will see both the interior and outdoor drinking area transformed.

Eyam Brewery‘s tap room in Tideswell is now also opening on Thursday evenings from 5pm to 9pm. There are plans to introduce a quiz night on Thursdays at some point. They continue to open 1pm to 9pm on Fridays and Saturdays, midday to 6pm on Sundays.

The Horse & Jockey in Tideswell hosted a Timothy Taylors tap takeover on 6 August. This saw 4 of their cask ales on the bar (Landlord, Boltmaker, Golden Best and Blonde), spin the wheel competition with merch to be won and a representative of the brewery around to answer questions. This was followed by their regular quiz night and was well attended.

Angela and Glyn have finally closed the doors and retired at the Queen Anne in Great Hucklow after 19 years there and 38 years in the trade.

The Mallard pub and cafe on Moorthorpe station, which was opened by Jolly Boys Brewery, is changing hands in September and will become a tap for Chin Chin Brewing Co.

The Canary bar on Waverley’s Olive Lane pedestrianised shopping street continues to host a regular programme of events including DJs, live music, quizes, game nights and street food pop ups as well as a regularly changing range of craft beers on both cask and keg.

The Blue Bell in Harthill is hosting “Hartfest” on Saturday 5 September. This sees an afternoon of live music from 3pm with food also available.

The Dronfield Arms celebrated 15 years under its current ownership over the weekend of 22-23 August with Abbeydale Moonshine reduced to just £2.50 a pint and on Sunday there was a guest food trader and live music.

The former Beer Central shop at the Moor Market is making a comeback as “Barrel & Anvil” – and the founder of Beer Central, who sold up to become a business advisor, is the guy that offered the advice to the guy opening the new shop! That guy is Vince, who had been working at Beer Central prior to its closure as well as a stint at the Beer House in Hillsborough. His craft beer journey started when he worked in Morrisons way back when the supermarket stocking Brewdog and Meantime was an exciting, eye opening development!

The Tram Stop micropub at Hillsborough Park is now open and looking smart, although cask ale doesn’t feature. There are however some local beers on keg and in bottle.

The upstairs seating area at Hope Valley Tap & Bottle in Hope has now opened, adding a drink in option to the retail shop on the ground floor. A selection of local craft beers are available on keg as well as a wide range of bottles and cans.

The Old Queens Head by Sheffield bus Interchange continues to run a cask club promotion on Mondays.

The food shack outside the Raven Inn at Walkley is back in business for the summer with Freak Street Cafe taking a guest residency there serving their Himalayan inspired street food.

Following the closure of the “Av It Bar” in the premises on Wellington Street in Sheffield City Centre that was originally the Devonshire Cat, work is taking place to convert it into a new venue opening soon – Alura bar & bistro.

The Harlequin held a Shandy Fest on 18 July including all sorts of exotic and imaginative beer & pop combinations!

Chapeltown Tap are holding a “Pup in the Pub” event on 23 August combining a dog show with their usual bar offering.

The Castle Inn at Bradway has been closed for a refurbishment and reopened on the evening of 17 July.

The Red Deer on Pitt Street in Sheffield City Centre, a Georgian building dating back to 1825 owned by Heineken’s Star Pubs, has closed for refurbishment with work beginning on 20 July, It is due to reopen in late August with a new operator leasing the pub – Karl Seery and food once again available. The refurbishment work is to refresh the interior, upgrade the beer garden and renovate the building’s exterior.

The Royal at Woodhouse has reopened following refurbishment with 3 real ales available – Bradfield Farmers Blonde, Ossett White Rat and Timothy Taylors Landlord.

The Two & Six Micropub in Sheffield City Centre are celebrating their birthday on 5 August with a tap takeover from Wensleydale brewery and complimentary cheese pairing.

The Devonshire Arms in Dore has opened a cafe in the conservatory area offering a brunch menu from 8am to 3pm Tuesday to Saturday.

The previous management of the Blue Bell in Harthill has left due to ill health and the pub is now being run by Ella Ebbs and her father Andy Ebbs, both of whom are local and known to many of the regulars. Food is no longer available following the change of management but they are hoping to get the kitchen back open soon.

The Anglers Rest in Bamford is hosting a beer festival at the pub on the weekend of Bamford Carnival.

The Washington pub in Sheffield City Centre has a happy hour promotion Sunday to Friday until 9pm and all night on Mondays with Abbeydale Moonshine available for £4 a pint among other offers.

Planning permission has been granted to convert the Masons Arms in Crookes to a children’s nursery, so another lost pub in the area!

The Tunnel Tap micropub in Totley features a regular calendar of monthly events including board games club (first Saturday), film club (first Sunday), Tunnel Tracks Open Mic (second Sunday), quiz night (third Sunday) and karaoke (last Sunday of the month).

The Tickled Trout in Barlow has been awarded Silver at the Visit England awards for excellence 2026 in the pub of the year category.

The Foresters on Division Street in Sheffield City Centre are running drinks offers Monday to Wednesday including cask ales at £3.50 a pint. Tuesday is quiz night (8pm start), last Wednesday of the month is open mic comedy jungle (7:30pm start) and on Sundays it is board games from noon and music bingo from 6pm.

The George in Castleton has recently shared a photograph of produce growing in the pub’s garden, once ready it will be used as ingredients in dishes on the specials board!

The Fox & Hounds in Marsh Lane is under new management.

The Horse & Jockey in Tideswell has a new chef and menu featuring pub classics, pizza and the odd special. The Steak & Ale pie tried by your editor is certainly reccommended!

The Royal Oak in Chesterfield will be hosting the launch of the second edition of the “Historic Tales & Traditional Ales” booklet on Saturday 11 July, 1pm.

The Anchor Inn at Tideswell is holding a 10th anniversary celebration on Saturday 15 August from 2pm until late featuring beer, food and live music with fund raising for Ashgate Hospice taking place.

The No Bounds Festival takes place from 9 to 11 October bringing together internationally acclaimed artists, grassroots venues, community organisations and pioneering cultural practitioners across ten independent venues and exhibition spaces in Sheffield and Rotherham. Two of the venues – Alder and Fagan’s – have cask ale.

The Sheffield Half Pint Marathon this year takes place 1 to 30 September, raising money for the Sheffield Mind charity. This annual event sees two breweries producing a special beer which is stocked across a number of venues with participating buying a half pint of the special beer at every venue to fill their collector card up. The breweries and venues were yet to be announced at the time of going to press.

The former Tap & Barrel pub on Castlegate, which has been closed for some time except for occasional special event openings such as the flower market, has been sold to Sheffield Live, the community radio and TV station. They plan to renovate it to accommodate radio, TV and podcasting studios, cafe & bar and performance space. More on this next month!

the Sportsman in Norton Lees reopened Tuesday 16 June at 5pm.

The Tram Stop micropub, to be located at the outbound Hillsborough Park tram stop, now has planning permission and a premises licence. This project will see the Pro Property shop converted into a bar. It is expected to open mid July, in time for Tramlines festival.

The Pig & Whistle micropub at Gleadless Townend has expanded its repertoire further and is now opening from 9am every day of the week serving coffee and cake. Drinks from the bar are available from 11am and coffee service ends at 4pm, with the bar remaining open until 10pm (11pm Friday and Saturday). A range of craft beers is available across cask, keg and can. A programme of events is also advertised including live entertainment and pop up food traders – check their social media accounts for details.

Samuel Smiths Brewery have made their recruitment efforts to get live in management couples to reopen some of their pubs not currently trading a bit more prominent with blue banners on the front of the pubs, including the Old Mother Redcap in Bradway, which has been closed for nearly a decade now.

Meanwhile elsewhere Samuel Smith are selling some of their pubs off, which is something we’ve not seen in a long time, this includes the Travellers Rest in Oughtibridge.

Not to forget of course we do still have some that are open and successful such as the Brown Bear in Sheffield City Centre!

The Royal Hotel in Woodhouse closed on 10 May for a refurbishment and is expected to reopen mid June. The pub is leased from Heineken’s Star Pub Company and the new look will feature sports on TV and a games room with more community events also planned.

The Beer House S6 in Hillsborough, located on the inbound tram platform, held their third birthday party on 24 May.

The beer festival held at the Old Nag’s Head in Edale was deemed a huge success and they plan to repeat it next year over the weekend of 23 to 25 April.

The refurbishment work at the Mount Pleasant Inn at Norton Lees took a little longer than expected but the pub finally reopened on 11 May.

There was a leaving do at the Millhouses on 24 April with the management of the last seven years moving on. The pub is leased from Stonegate Pub Company.

The management of the Anvil at Stannington are moving on after less than two years and the lease is available again. It is owned by Stonegate Pub Company.

The former Southpaw boxing gym at Shalesmoor is to be converted into a retro video games arcade bar. It will be run by the same people as Retrodome in Barnsley and will charge an entry fee, once in all the games will be free to play.

The Norfolk Arms in Grenoside, which has been closed for 6 years, has building work well underway with a new extension and other alterations along with smartening up the existing exterior.

The Devonshire Arms in Dore and the Castle Inn at Bradway are hoping to go free of tie on their cask lines soon (the pubs are leased from Stonegate Pub Company) which will allow them to order direct from local breweries and offer more variety in their guest ale rotation – watch this space! Both pubs currently have a regular quiz night and occasional live music. The Castle Inn also does food.

Eyam Brewery Tap & Shop in Tideswell has now been granted its premises licence and continues to open every weekend with the bar offering a range of their cask and keg beers to drink in plus a shop selling their cans and bottles along with merch such as t-shirts and hoodies. Currently most Saturdays sees a street food trader pitching up outside, however longer term they intend to build an open kitchen in the tap room to offer their own food.

The Olde Bowling Green Inn in Bradwell will be closing for a bar refurbishment on Sunday 31 May with a party on the Saturday night, 30 May, from 8pm with DJ Euan Halbert. While the pub is closed the landlord and landlady are getting married and reopening the pub as a husband and wife team at 4pm on Friday 12 June.

There has been a management change at the Woodroffe Arms in Hope. The pub is owned by Greene King brewery but leased to independent local operators. The pub is now another one run by Atlantik Inns, who already have the Old Hall Hotel across the road. The Woodroffe is a community local with sport on TV, cask ales and an outdoor drinking area. It also offers accommodation. The food offering here will deliberately be different to the Old Hall with pizzas and bar snacks available.

A new micropub, the Tram Stop Tavern, is proposed in Hillsborough and is currently going through the process of gaining planning permission. This will see the owners of Pro Property convert their shop unit into a bar. The location is at the outbound Hillsborough Park tram stop, opposite Pangolin craft beer bar/shop and just up from the Beekeeper micropub.

Little John Hotel in Hathersage closed for refurbishment following a change of management there. It has now relaunched looking rather smart inside and out, the table football has gone but there is still a pool table! This pub with rooms is now part of the Northern Collective who run a number of other venues including the Bank House in Hathersage and the Cross Scythes in Totley. The bar features three cask ales among its offering.

Dog & Partridge in Sheffield City Centre are celebrating their Sheffield City Centre Pub of the Year award with a special beer in collaboration with Abbeydale Brewery. “Hair of the Dog” is a 4.3% ABV pale ale brewed with Galaxy, Simcoe and Idaho 7 hops and 10p from the sale of every pint will be donated to the Rain Rescue charity.

Red Deer on Pitt Street, in Sheffield City Centre, is under new management and is running a cask club promotion on Thursdays (2pm to 11pm) with real ales priced at £3.50 a pint.

Cricket Inn at Totley have refurbished their parlour room.

Anchor near Tideswell has introduced a beer collector card – get it stamped each time you buy a pint of Robinson’s Trooper, Unicorn or Dizzy Blonde and when you collect eight stamps you can exchange the card for a free pint!

Trippets on Trippet Lane, a bar offering live jazz music, wine & spirits and dining have announced they are closing on 18 April due to significantly rising costs (including business rates and rent) and unpredictable trade making it unviable.

White Swan at Greenhill and Sportsman at Norton Lees have recently had a change of management.

Greene King are advertising for a new tenant to take on the Shepley Spitfire in Totley as one of their Hive franchises. Lesley, Louise and Nicole’s last day running the pub was Thursday 16 April.

Bridge Inn opposite Rotherham Central station, which is currently closed and empty following a change of ownership, has been added to a local heritage list.

Eyam Brewery Tap & Shop in Tideswell reopened Easter weekend. They now have planning permission to convert the industrial unit into a tap room, shop and kitchen although a condition the Peak Park authority have included is that anyone arriving by car has to have their details logged! They are still trading on temporary events notices so only opening at weekends. Now they have planning permission they have been able to go through the licence application process which once obtained will see building work begin to install an open kitchen and be able to offer food. Until then there will be occasional pop ups from traders like Sunshine Pizza and TJ Smash Burgers. If you fancy a trip there buses 65 and 173 stop on the main road nearby.

The current management at the Olde Bowling Green Inn in Bradwell has signed a 5 year lease on the pub.

Mount Pleasant in Norton Lees is temporarily closing for its long awaited refurbishment.

Sportsman Inn in Norton Lees has closed with the management there moving on to turn around a failing pubco venue elsewhere. Real ale had been successfully reintroduced here as well as being host to various social and community groups. The pub is to be refurbished for a new tenant.

Cross Scythes at Norton Lees has seen some internal changes to make it feel multi roomed and cosy and also now has a food offering. The same manager has now also taken on the Old Crown on London Road, still no real ale available here at present though.

Albion on London Road, Stancill’s brewery tap, has a new manager.

Pubs around the Kelham Island area including Shakespeares and Harlequin report being incredibly busy over the Easter weekend due to Kelham Festival and Sheffield Folk Music Sessions Festival taking place in the area. Other upcoming events in the area include Get Together Festival (16 May) and Kelham Pride (20 June).

Devonshire Arms in Dore reopened as planned under new management following a refurbishment.

Cherry Tree Inn on Carterknowle Avenue in Millhouses, now has four regularly changing cask ales including Abbeydale’s Daily Bread bitter at a reasonable £3.70 per pint.

The newly opened Pig & Whistle at Gleadless Townend has now established itself and proving popular. It has a regularly changing range of craft beers including two cask ales alongside some more mainstream options and has a regular program of events including street food pop ups, quiz nights, live entertainment and tasting evenings. They are also planning to start offering coffee and cake too!

Rivelin Hotel has a new manager who was previously at the Walkley Cottage Inn.

Beer Central in the Moor indoor market has ceased trading. We’re sorry to see them go and thank them for their support over the years. Other specialist beer shops available around Sheffield to satisfy your quality home drinking needs include Hop Hideout, The Dram Shop in Walkley, La Di Da in Chapeltown, Archer Road Beer Stop in Millhouses and Mitchells at Meadowhead.

The relatively recently relaunched Boddingtons cask Bitter, brewed by JW Lees under licence, has been spotted on this side of the Pennines at the Ranmoor Inn, Bath Hotel and Beer House S6.

White Hart Inn at Bradwell celebrates being 350 years old this year and will be holding a party later in the summer. Obviously it hasn’t been under the same management that long of course and is currently operated by Bradfield Brewery.

Garry Scott, landlord of the Red Lion on Charles Street in Sheffield City Centre, recently celebrated 40 years in the business with a bit of a do in his pub on 17 April featuring a DJ and buffet.

Big Tree on Woodseats, a Greene King pub, has been closed for refurbishment and the grand reopening is planned for 1 May after which we are promised it’ll be “bigger, better and louder than ever” with live entertainment and big sports atmosphere on the reopening weekend.

The owner of the Tunnel Tap micropub at Totley Rise has handed over full responsibility for ordering beer to manager Jess who is now enjoying getting some of her favourite craft beers on the guest taps and handpump alongside the four Thornbridge beers. There is also a change being made to their pie offering, this used to be a Friday night thing with a tray of freshly baked pies delivered and available that weekend until they sell out (usually fairly quickly), in the future a wider range of pies will be delivered frozen and heated up in an air fryer when ordered, this will mean more variety and availability every day they are open.

George Inn in Tideswell, which is now operated by Atlantik Inns (leased from Greene King), has the kitchen and hotel rooms back up and running as well as a diary of events planned for the year ahead. The food is billed as proper pub food done right and is served from midday until 8pm on weekdays, midday to 6pm Saturdays and Sundays. Three cask ales are on the bar, all usually well known brands like Timothy Taylor’s Landlord, Theakston Old Peculiar and Greene King Old Speckled Hen.

Walkley Beer Company has been sold and is now under the same management as the Kelham Island Tavern.

Fuggle Bunny Brew House continue with their programme of tap room openings every Friday plus the last Saturday of the month. The Fridays are just like a local pub whilst the Saturdays are something a bit more special, usually featuring a street food trader and entertainment. The 25 April event is open 3-9pm with hot pork sandwiches available and live music at 5pm provided by Sean Stevens.

Commercial in Chapeltown is running a European beer & food festival during May.

The opening date of the Watt Bar on Charles Street in Sheffield City Centre has been announced – Friday 27 March at midday. You’ll find it between the Red Lion and Rutland Arms in a former electricity sub station and they plan on opening all day, serving coffee and brunch in the morning from 9am with food continuing through the afternoon up to 9pm with Creole inspired dishes and DJs on in the evening.

The Beer Engine on Cemetery Road no longer serves food with the rising cost of operation making it unviable. They continue to open serving beer Tuesday to Saturday.

The Devonshire Arms in Dore has had a change of management. It initially closed for a refurbishment, reopening at 5pm on 20 March. and is now the third pub leased by Tom South and his team, who also operate the Castle Inn at Bradway.

The proposed JD Wetherspoons branch at Valley Centertainment has been given planning permission by Sheffield City Council. This will see the former Chiquito restaurant converted into a pub.

A little more about the new owners of the Green Room bar on Devonshire Street in Sheffield City Centre – it is the Waterbear music college and the venue will be rebranded as the WaterBear Green Room. In the daytime it will operate as a rehearsal space for students then open to the public in the evening as a live music bar. The venue had been run by Patrick Flynn for 23 years who is selling up in order to retire!

The annual Sheffield Folk Music Sessions festival takes place over the Easter weekend from 3 to 5 April spread across a number of pubs. At the time of going to press the programme and venues hadn’t been announced but usually involves places like the Dog & Partridge, Fagan’s, Perch, Shakespeares, Kelham Island Tavern, Harlequin, Gardeners Rest and Forest.

The Broadfield on Abbeydale Road are giving their outdoor area a bit of a fettle and we can apparently expect BBQ events in the garden over the summer!

The Queen Anne in Great Hucklow, which is up for sale as a result of the long standing licencees retiring, was due to close after 1 March but “due to popular demand” will be continuing to trade on reduced hours until it sells. The opening hours at time of going to press are Thursday to Saturday from 5pm and Sundays from midday. If you fancy a trip to visit this pub buses 65 (Sheffield to Buxton) and 173 (Castleton to Bakewell) pass the front door!

The Anchor Inn at Tideswell saw their tractor space in the car park make the news again with a local young farmer and his date turn up for a valentines meal there in his tractor!

Greene King brewery are looking for new tenants to take on the lease of the Woodroffe Arms in Hope.

The Cow Shed Cafe at Beltonville Farm in Millers Dale are hosting a beer & music festival on 23/24 May and 29/30 August. Advance tickets are advisable and camping is available.

The New Inn at Gleadless is to be refurbished.

Mount Pleasant at Norton Woodseats has a refurbishment planned in February.

Pig & Whistle micropub at Gleadless Townend opened on 7 February in premised on White Lane that used to be a vets.It has 2 real ales available which on the opening weekend were from Abbeydale and Ossett breweries but will regularly change, there are also 8 keg taps including some craft options on rotation. Look out for live entertainment here at weekends.

A planning application has been made to open another micropub in Sharrow Vale. The unit is the former Roney’s butchers shop at 276 Sharrow Vale Road, that has since been used as a gluten free cafe. It isn’t far from No.3 Sharrow and Beer House micropubs; combined with the Lescar Hotel, Porter Cottage and Porter Brook adds another link to quite a circuit locally!

Shakespeares are doing a set of collaborations with local breweries to produce special beers that will be on the bar during Sheffield Beer Week.

Old Hall Hotel in Hope made a shameless attempt at luring in folk doing “Dry January” with their “Pie January” relaunch of an ongoing menu item there – Steak & Old Peculiar Ale pie. It is now an individually pressed pie, but still served with beef dripping cooked chips, seasonal vegetables and gravy!

Chequers Inn at Froggatt Edge is up for sale. It has been owned by Jonathan and Joanne Tindall for nearly 25 years.

Queen Anne in Great Hucklow is another Peak District pub where a long standing management is selling up and retiring, this time after 19 years at the helm. The last day of trading will be 1 March.

Castle Inn at Bakewell hosted a charity darts tournament on 31 January.

Blue Bell Inn at Harthill was closed from 25 to 29 January for a change of management. They are running a pie night every Wednesday.

The 2026 edition of Woodseats Live, a community music festival that sees a number of pubs team up hosting live music on the same day, will be taking place on 28 March. As well as venues along the main Chesterfield Road the Cross Scythes up the hill on Derbyshire Lane is also taking part.

Among the Sheffield venues in Heineken Star Pub company portfolio currently available to lease is the Red Deer, where a refurbishment is proposed for whoever the new management is.

Saw Grinders Union at Shalesmoor is having a refurbishment and refocus featuring a turkish culinery concept and new cocktail list.

There are changes on the food front at the Old Grindstone in Crookes with Forge Bakehouse taking over the kitchen.

Sad news from the Pioneer Club in Dronfield which is run by husband and wife team Tony and Alison Hartigan – it has been announced that Tony has recently passed away following a long illness. Tony was a very friendly, helpful guy and was very supportive of local CAMRA initiatives including the new Dronfield & District branch when it was formed. RIP.

The new management at the Shepley Spitfire in Totley held their relaunch at the start of February with a new menu and two cask ales on the bar – Greene King IPA and Timothy Taylors Landlord.

The Benjamin Huntsman (JD Wetherspoon) in Sheffield City Centre was closed for a refurbishment 9 to 13 February.

The Heeley Tap is now open and has three handpumps on the bar for cask ale.

The Dog & Partridge in Sheffield City Centre seems to be enjoying a lot of limelight and popularity at the moment – hot on the heels of winning our Sheffield City Centre Pub of the Year it was named Pub of the Year by the Great British Pub Crawl Vlog! The pub is a fantastic all rounder with a choice of cask ales plus a range of keg beers of both the craft and mainstream variety, Irish bar food menu, quiz night on Tuesdays and a live music programme including the occasional “Dogfest”, the most recent of which was held on 7 February.

At the time of going to press, Abbeydale Brewery were teasing on social media about a new Beerworks taproom opening but with the location yet to be revealed!

The Shoulder of Mutton in Bradwell has returned to the normal Saturday opening time of midday after three weeks in January/February where it had been altered to 3pm.

The Hyde Park Inn at Dronfield Hill Top now has a pool table.

The Green Room bar in Sheffield City Centre will be closing in its current guise on 25 May after nearly 23 years. It has however been sold to a company that will be reopening it as a bar with live music and it will be trading again in time for Tramlines weekend!

Wenue6, previously the Forum, in Wincobank looks set for redevelopment with a car home planned for the site. The nearest alternative pub for local residents is the Steel Foundry Wetherspoons in the Meadowhall shopping centre.

A new bar has opened on Victoria Quays in the unit where Dorothy Pax was previously found. The Lock Inn is brought to you by the same people as the Dark Horse at Banner Cross and has cask ale from Little Mesters brewing on handpump. There are now three bars at Victoria Quay (the others being the Tavern on the Quays and True Loves), however the Lock Inn is the only one with real ale and is offering a discount to CAMRA members.

Hot on the heels of the Lock Inn has been a second new opening in Sheffield! The Botanical Arms is a new micropub at 507 Ecclesall Road and two handpumps adourn the bar with cask ales available on the opening day being from Kelham Island (Thornbridge) and Acorn Brewery.

The Castle Inn at Bradway is open again. with the lease taken on by Tom South. This is the second pub in the hands of Tom and his team after the Masons Arms in Thorpe Hesley. The food menu is the same at both pubs with pub classics served along with a Sunday roast. Some of you may recognise Tom having worked in a number of pubs including the Cross Scythes in Totley and the Cremorne on London Road in the past.

The Florist in Walkley is expected to reopen before Christmas after a three month closure. It is a pub company lease and the new operator is Bala Kata, who has run pubs in Manchester previously.

The recent sale of micropubs Mesters Tap and Heeley Artisan to Boston Brewery has fallen though after that brewery appeared to cease trading, and ownership of the two pubs have now reverted to one of the original owners. The Mesters Tap reopened just before Christmas, and Heeley Artisan has been renamed Heeley Tap and will be open by the time this Beer Matters appears. Both bars will be featuring beers from Little Mesters Brewery, as well as rotating guest beers. Initially the lines are all keg, but a cask line is imminent at Mesters Tap, and currently being considered at Heeley Tap. The bar at Heeley had been refitted by Boston Brewery and opened with 8 cask beers to choose from until the financial problems hit and it closed!

The Fat Cat in Kelham Island held their Christmas beer festival on 13 December.

The Boston Arms in Woodseats held a dark beer takeover from 11 December. The two cask ales featured were Thornbridge Jaipur Noir (5.9% ABV black IPA) and an Ossett / Amundsen collaboration which was a 5% ABV chocolate stout.

The Rutland Arms in Sheffield City Centre held their annual Christmas lights switch on party on 4 December. Naturally lots of delicious beer were available!

The Banner Cross now offers a discount to CAMRA members.

The Wobbly Dagger in Walkley has had a cask line installed and is serving handpulled Abbeydale Moonshine.

The Walkley Cottage Inn reopened under new management in December with four cask ales available. A bar snack menu was launched initially with plans to develop the pub’s offering more in the new year.

A planning application has been made to convert the former Chiquito restaurant at Valley Centertainment into a JD Wetherspoon pub.

You may recall back in 2019 there was talk of converting the old substation on Charles Street in Sheffield City Centre (between the Red Lion and Rutland Arms, near Hallam University student union) into a bar called “Watt Bar” with building work starting then all going quiet. The project is back on and the bar is expected to open in “early 2026”.

The Railway at Wadsley Bridge has been closing on weekdays during early/mid January to allow the pub to receive a bit of a fettle but continued to open Friday to Sunday.

The Waggon & Horses in Millhouses closed for 2 weeks after the new year for a refurbishment, reopening on 15 January.

Also taking advantage of the January lull to undertake repairs or refurbishment has been the Riverside Kelham and the Swan in Ridgeway.

A licensing application to open a new micropub on White Lane at Gleadless Townend was facing objections from Sheffield City Council Environmental Protection service and South Yorkshire Police according to the Sheffield Star newspaper. Issues to work through include documentation for electrical systems and proposed opening hours. The good news is they now have the appropriate approvals and coming soon is the “Pig & Whistle”, this is the unit that was previously a vets.

Turner’s Bottle & Tap on Abbeydale Road have announced they are closing after 7 years with a combination of factors leading them to the decision. January saw them selling off remaining stock and equipment.

The currently disused Ball Inn at Darnall is up for sale and expected to be converted to other uses.

The Queen’s Ground Hotel in Hillsborough no longer has cask ale permanently available, although it does apparently get put on from time to time if they expect to be busy for a football fixture.

The Closed Shop on Commonside saw Sophie and the team close the pub after Sunday 11 January due to financial pressures. It is leased from Heineken Star Pubs who are looking for new tenants to open it.

Nether Green micropub The Wonky Labrador closed for a refurbishment in early January. This popular venue features 8 keg lines and a well stocked bottle & can fridge. The initial batch of events are also booked in, featuring Meet The Brewer events with Wiper & True (Non-Alcoholic range) in January; Tartarus in March, as part of Sheffield Beer Week; Only With Love Brewery in May; Duration Brewing in June and Yonder Brewery in July. Full details will be on their website shortly.

The former Middlewood Tavern in Oughtibridge has gone on the market having been converted into a 4 bedroom house.

Greene King brewery are proposing to rename the Big Tree as the Masons Arms following a refurbishment and lease it out on their Nest franchise scheme. It is currently a managed pub.

The Ladybower Inn, a Batemans brewery lease, has reopened under the same management as the Psalter in Sheffield. Both venues offer a public bar, restaurant and hotel rooms. That management is Tom Lawson, his values are hospitality, community and quality.

The Midland in Killamarsh, we assumed was being converted to residential use since is closure and sale, however in fact it has reopened as the 1873 bistro and bar following significant refurbishment.

The Castle Inn at Castleton closed on Sunday 5 January for a refurbishment and is expected to reopen on Saturday 7 February.

The Eckington Beer & Music festival is planned for Saturday 27 June. This sees a number of pubs and bars in the area putting on live music, usually with a minibus service linking them at regular intervals.

The Angel in Holmesfield has been suffering a bit of a run of bad luck with their premises, the most recent was a closure caused by a water leak which damaged their electrics! The pub was hoping to reopen again after that on 14 January but got delayed another few days after more issues were found in the property, which is leased from Stonegate pub co.

The Chantry Brewery Tap in Parkgate, Rotherham, operates as a live music venue, mostly featuring classic rock and retro tribute bands. However they are organising a battle of the bands competition for local bands that perform their own original material. The first round of gigs will be late May and early June with a semi final and grand final to come after. The brewery is a short walk from the Tram Train terminus.

The Canary, on Olive Lane shopping street in Waverley, has started the year as they mean to go on with regular events. Sundays tea time sees music – either DJ based or a live performer, alternate Tuesdays is quiz & pizza truck and various other evenings see a food vendor in attendance or music/entertainment of some description! Check their social media pages for the latest diary. The bar features 3 cask ales and 7 keg beers, including some good quality craft options.