Beer Matters
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Issue 500 Issue 500 September 2019 sheffield.camra.org.uk /sheffieldcamra @shfcamra Issue 500 2 September 2019 The free magazine of CAMRA Sheffield & District Issue 500 September 2019 Beer Matters 500 5 From Roger Protz From printer to pub Issue Letter from the (acting) editor Now and then: the beer scene and CAMRA 3,000 monthly Letter from the (former) editor 500 Editor circulation Andy Cullen [email protected] Opinion 16 A way forward through diversity Articles, comments and suggestions are most welcome so please send them in* Pubs 18 BM 500: A day out in 1975 Portland House Advertising Dragon’s Tap Vanessa Dove & Rainbow [email protected] Quarter Page £50+VAT Breweries 24 Half Page £70+VAT BM 500: Breweries we Full Page £100+VAT have known, Kelham Island, Inside Front Cover £110+VAT Abbeydale, Bradfield, Back Cover £120+VAT Sheffield Brewery Co, Steel Discounts for regular placements City, Ward & Houldsworth PDFs or high-res bitmaps (300 dpi) only please Awards 30 Pub of the Month September Design from £30 Yorkshire Cider PotY 2019 Updates from £10 Pubs and Clubs of the Year Next copy deadline Travel 34 Friday 6 September Beer on my travels: Morecombe Hopping around Poland Opinions expressed are those of the author and may not represent those Festivals 40 of CAMRA, the local branch or editor. BM 500: Steel City over the years Beer Matters is © CAMRA Ltd. Festival Guide SC45 Beer Mats *For legal reasons a full name and address must be provided with all contributions. Diary 46 Committee 46 Issue 500 September 2019 in Keighley and asked if he could buy an 18-gallon cask of Landlord and was told Sheffield was outside the brewery’s delivery area. So Dave drove to Keighley, put the cask in the boot of his car and took it back to the pub. Two days later he phoned Taylors who said they From Roger Protz expected he’d been unable to sell the beer. My earliest beery memories that destroyed the Vaux of Sheffield are sad ones. I group. “No,” Dave told them. “It went recall going past Whitbread’s in two days and I want two enormous Exchange Brewery And then came Dave Wickett, more casks.” which the group upgraded who started the beer revival at a cost of £12 million then in the city, first with the Fat “In that case, we’ll deliver,” closed a couple of years later, Cat and then Kelham Island Taylors said and with just such was the profligacy of the Brewery. I got to know Dave three cask of ale Dave Wickett beer giants at the time. well as we shared a love of helped the brewery turn both beer and football – I think Landlord into a national brand. There were two Bass breweries we spent more time discussing in the city and I visited one on the mixed fortunes of Sheffield From small acorns...today the outskirts with views of the United and West Ham United there are over 20 breweries moors. It had open Yorkshire than we did brewing! in the city. The choice is Square fermenters and amazing, with superb beers – if memory serves me – was Dave told me a wonderful in some equally superb pubs. producing Worthington White story of how he bought the And what better way to greet Shield, the legendary Burton Fat Cat, refurbished it and was visitors to Sheffield than to IPA that had become a beer ready to open but he didn’t offer them a pint or two in the on wheels when Bass got tired have any beer. He phoned Tap at the station. Behind the of brewing it in its native town. Wards, who were still brewing, downbeat address of Platform and none other than the head 1B stands an architectural gem Bass owned Stones, a fine brewer came round and asked serving fine pints. beer that rivalled Boddingtons to see the cellar. in its pallor and equally Beer Matters has been refreshing character. It was “I’ll tell you what I’ll do,” he recording the ups and downs brewed elsewhere in the Bass told Dave. “I’ll put a cellar tank of Sheffield beer and pubs for group when the brewery in with pressure points on the 500 editions. It’s a remarkable closed but is never seen these bar and away you go.” achievement and underscores days. all that is best about CAMRA “I don’t want that,” Dave – volunteers devoting many Closer to the centre, Wards said. “I want casks and hours of their time to support was a Sheffield icon, handpumps.” good beer and good pubs on producing soft, malt-driven, their local patch. creamy but refreshing beers “Nobody wants to drinks for legions of thirsty steel that anymore,” the man from Many congratulations – and workers. I visited shortly Wards said and stormed here’s to the next 500! before it closed, a victim of off in a huff. In desperation the shocking asset stripping Dave phoned Timothy Taylor Roger Protz Issue 500 September 2019 Beer Matters 500 From printer to pub As a magazine that has been appearing in the pubs and clubs of the Sheffield area for many years, you may take it for granted that Beer Matters will arrive in your local each month for you to pick up a copy. However, as we celebrate our 500th edition we thought we should shine the spotlight on the talented professionals and dedicated volunteers who make this happen. Our state-of-the-art desktop publishing workstation. One of our contributors composing an article. Design Content This is where the first of our professional colleagues gets The first step is to collect up involved. Robin collates all all the various content for the website content and the magazine. Items such as adverts, and turns it into the brewery and pub news are a well laid-out and readable combination of information format that you see in the being picked up by various final magazine.Beer Matters members on their travels, recently reached the last plus details we are sent by four of the National CAMRA our local breweries and pubs. magazine of the year award, mainly thanks to Robin’s We also have articles skills. written by our members, and I’m sure many of you You may also be familiar with will be familiar with regular the other work he does for contributors such as Andy us which is the poster and Cullen, Andrew Morton, flyer designs for the Steel Dave Pickersgill and Dom City Beer & Cider Festival. In Nelson. Most of this content, our opinion the last few years although not all, will be designs have been some of added to our website prior to the best festival posters we inclusion in the magazine. have ever seen. Issue 500 6 Beer Matters 500 September 2019 Distribution None of the above would matter if we didn’t have a group of willing volunteers to distribute the finished magazine to the local pubs and clubs for drinkers to enjoy. One of our longest serving These dedicated branch distributors is the indefatigable members call in each month John Beardshaw. to pick up their allocated copies and then give up their “I was born in Crookes and An early issue being printed. free time to do the rounds knew all the pubs in the area of their area placing the and 57 years ago started drink- ing in them. I usually visited magazines in over 100 local two or three pubs a night so Printing hostelries so that you, the when I started delivering Beer reader, can be kept informed Matters it was an easy thing to In the early days this on what’s happening in the take a few copies for each pub consisted of a few sheets of Sheffield beer scene. out with me. A few pubs have photocopied pages being either been converted to flats stapled together by willing Beer Matters is very popular or demolished but I still deliver branch members. However in our pubs, with some taking to most pubs in the S10 post the modern version is around 100 copies each code area. vastly different publication, month. As you can imagine sometimes running to 40 this means some distributors pages. are collecting and distributing large numbers of magazines, Once the magazine is laid and in one case 750 copies out, and following collective each month! This can result proof-reading from the in multiple trips and Sheffield branch committee, it is sent CAMRA are lucky to have so I used to visit a few pubs in to our printers, 221 Creative. many dedicated members Derbyshire and the picture shows me with friends at the who are willing to put in the Old Bowling Green at Bradwell. A locally based company, time and effort to make sure Left to right are Edgar Blagden, 221 Creative have been Beer Matters is available Ron Nuttall, John Beardshaw printing Beer Matters for across the area. Some of and Phil Patts. Theakston’s Old a couple of years now these volunteers are quite Peculier was served into stone- and provided a noticeable well-known locally, such as ware mugs.” increase in quality as well as Andy Cullen, Alan Gibbons a quick turnaround from the and Andy Morton, but other final proof. less so, and we felt it was If you fancy being part of our time we gave them the pat on distribution team, or know 3500 copies of each issue the back they deserve. So if of any pubs not currently are printed, and then you see one of them bringing receiving Beer Matters who delivered in to the Dog & the magazine in to your local would like to in future, please Partridge for collection by I’m sure they would welcome contact us at the final and undoubtedly a few words of thanks to let [email protected].