In addition to a number of very good pubs, a new craft beer off licence has opened in Dronfield in December. Called The Beer Stop, it is situated at the bottom of Callywhite Lane, behind the post office at Dronfield bottom. Similar to Real Ale Corner in Chesterfield, it has 2 cask ale pumps, and an excellent range of bottled beers. Not only bottled beers from local breweries such as Acorn and Bradfield but also bottled beers from the likes of Kernel, De Molen, Brew By Numbers, Rogue and Wild Beer Co. Prices are very reasonable. The shop, including it’s sampling bar, is open Tuesday to Thursday midday to 8pm and Friday to Saturday midday to 10pm.

“The bells were ringing in Beer Central last month as they celebrated their first birthday on the 25^th November. It’s been a busy year for the city centre’s bustling bottle shop and with Christmas approaching it’s been  a frantic few weeks. Back in early November Beer Central smashed through the 50,000 bottles sold mark, a real landmark for such a young company, but the thirsty folk of Sheffield have really embraced the chance to call in for a few bottles or mini-kegs whilst in or around The Moor Market. Joint owner, Sean Clarke was full of praise for Sheffield, “We were hopeful that the beer community of Sheffield would support our new venture, but the response we’ve had has been phenomenal! Beer lovers, young and old, male and female, of all nationalities have bought a great range of quality real ales and craft beers from us, and local and regional brewers have also benefited as a result.” It’s clear that things continue to buzz down at Beer Central, they’re open Sundays up to Christmas and some late evenings as well. Keep an eye on their Twitter and Facebook feeds for more details and offers, including info on their Christmas gift range. @BeerCentralLtd or www.facebook.com/BeerCentralLtd The latest copies of Beer Matters are also available from their shop.

Sheffield based specialist beer shop, Hop Hideout, is celebrating its first anniversary after opening its doors in November last year. Located within the Vintedge arcade, at 444 Abbeydale Road, Hop Hideout stocks beers from Saltaire, Bradfield, Buxton, Great Heck, Thornbridge and Summer Wine as well as other local breweries. A loyal following of beer enthusiasts keep owners, Julia Gray and Will Linford, on their toes as they ensure more intriguing and harder to find brews such as Eight Degrees (Ireland), North Coast Brewing (America) and Oud Beersel (Holland) are also regularly available. Julia Gray, joint owner of Hop Hideout, said: “We’ve had a fantastic first year. We’ve especially enjoyed hosting events including tutored tastings, art exhibitions and ‘Meet the Brewer’ evenings – it’s really important for us to engage with our customers and inspire them to try something new. “We’ve already got some plans in the pipeline for next year when we hope to run further beer and food matching events,” continued Julia. Hop Hideout is open 12 to 5pm on Wednesday and Thursday, 10am to 6pm on Friday and Saturday and 11-4pm on Sunday. Look out for birthday celebration event details on Hop Hideout’s website – 15^th and 16^th November.

Beer Central have just celebrated their first six months of trading down in the Moor Market and continue to sell an excellent range of bottles, cans, mini-kegs and gift boxes. In addition to local stuff from Bradfield, Kelham Island and Wood Street, they’ve also had other UK leading brews in from Wild Beer Co, Siren, The Kernel,  Tempest, Weird Beard and loads of others. Plenty of Tour de France and World Cup beers have also been available for those who like to celebrate sport with a well brewed ale! Keep an eye out for their newly organised ‘Bottle Share’ events in some of the city’s best pubs. A once a month chance to meet up with fellow beer lovers and share a few special bottles and beery chat. As well as promoting their latest stock via Twitter and Facebook, the good news is that their website is just about finished and will include an online shop and UK wide delivery service. You’ll find them at www.beercentral.co.uk The latest copies of Beer Matters are also available from their shop which opens Mon-Sat 8.30am to 5.30pm.

StarmoreBoss

StarmoreBoss (above) is a new boutique and bespoke off-license retailing specialist quality wine, craft beer and intriguing spirits. Situated at 257 Sharrow Vale Road in Sheffield, it is a welcome addition to the community of shops situated around the Porter Brook that also include a fishmonger, grocery, bakery, delicatessen, butchers and other small independent cafes and craft shops. Owners Barry Starmore and Jefferson Boss are well known public figures within Sheffield and the wider drinks community. Barry has over 25 years of wine experience. Having started out as a Sommelier at the Savoy Group, he’s well known for running the Oddbins shops in Sheffield for the last 18 years and also for his involvement with the Wig and Pen. Barry has run hugely popular wine and whisky tasting evenings at venues across Sheffield. He’s also been invited first hand to many wineries across the world and learnt how to make whisky at Bowmore Distillery on Islay, Scotland. Jefferson has worked behind a counter for over 15 years. Some will recognise him from 10 years service at Record Collector in Broomhill. Or from Oddbins on Abbeydale Rd, where he met Barry and started his passion for drinks. Jefferson has also run bars and pubs, most notably the Shake­speare on Gibraltar St, where he started its transformation to an award winning real ale pub and attracted musical acts from around the world. Currently he has been part of the management team at the Blake Hotel in Upperthorpe and is responsible for one of South Yorkshire’s best whisky selection. Focussing on the growing concern of food provenance the shop will sell stock that has been sourced and selected by the owners for their quality, heritage and provenance. “Our wines have been selected from outstanding producers and small growers with a passion to deliver that special glass. We will be running ‘Meet the Winemaker’ events with your chance taste and chat directly with those who make the wine. We shall be supplying specialist whisky and showcasing independent bottlers, small batch and artisan gins, some of the best vodkas and rums from around the world as well as small run tequilas unique to individual villages in Mexico. We will also be selecting small parcels of whisky that we shall bottle under our label exclusively for the shop. Our beers will encompass a rotating range of local brewers as well as international beers from Belgium, Germany, Scandinavia and some top picks from the craft brewing movement that has swept across America. We believe in all of the products that we sell and each one has its own unique story that we are proud and passionate to share with the public. The shop will also host small tasting events and master-classes. We will guide a small group through various beverages explaining how they are made, their history and what qualities to look out for. We shall also have guest speakers from the drinks industry, producers and ambassadors come give talks.”

Beer Central

Beer Central (front cover) opened in the new Moor Indoor Market as planned and in the run up to Christmas proved popular with almost constant queues for bottled beers and mini casks of beer.

Hop Hideout

Another new bottle beer shop to open before Christmas was Hop Hideout, a speciality beer shop housed within a vintage emporium (Vintedge) offering 150+ independent brewed beers from UK, European and American breweries. You’ll find local ales from Kelham Island, Bradfield and Thornbridge housed next to Beavertown, The Kernel, Brooklyn, Sierra, Nogne, Nomada, De Molen and more all jostling for space on the shelves. Upcoming events, tickets available in shop. Venue is Electric Candlelight Cafe (next door to Hop Hideout) 7-9pm (doors 6.30pm): Sat 25th Jan: Meet the Brewer with Northern Monk Brew Co £10; Fri 28th Feb Leigh Linley presents Better Beer Blogging £5; Fri 21st March Meet the Brewer with Steel City & Hopcraft £10