ISSUE 437 DEC 2013/JAN 2014 THE FREE MAGAZINE OF CAMRA SHEFFIELD & DISTRICT EDITOR Andrew Cullen 07554 005 225 [email protected] Articles, letters and suggestions are most welcome so please send them in* DESIGN Robin [email protected] ADVERTISING Alan Gibbons 0114 266 4403 Be an armchair activist 24 07760 308 766 [email protected] Quarter Page £40 Half Page £60 Full Page £90 Back Cover £110 Discounts for regular placements PDFs or high-res (300 dpi) bitmaps only please Tap on CAMRA 16 Community 14 Design from £30 Updates from £10 Inventory pubs update NEXT COPY DEADLINE Friday 10 January Opinions expressed are those of the author and may not represent those of CAMRA, the local branch or editor. Beer Matters is © CAMRA Ltd. *For legal reasons a full name and address Pub of the 20 CAMRA 18-30 22 must be provided with all contributions. Month 4 BREWERY NEWS Steel City Steel City's collaboration brew- day at Fullers was a great suc- cess, though in true Steel City style things didn't all run smoothly, with the computer system having to be completely rebooted mid-brew - in a brew- ery that size, if the computer's not working, the brewery ain't working! The brew process was a surreal experience for gazza and Dave, being mostly clicking a mouse and pressing keys - the Blue Bee Brewery only manual labour was tipping in hops (all 100+kg of them!). Big Beery bits. The sound of punk- and a nice partner to the flagship thanks to John Keeling for the rock continues to emanate from Nectar Pale. Artist Nick has re- invitation and hospitality, look out Blue Bee. Solidus, at 5.4%, is designed the pump-clip as well, for Steel in selected local pubs the latest in the pUnK-tuation to great effect. (and apparently the M&B estate!). series. The odd hand-full of black malt in the mash gives a We hear that both Bees Knees Back home, the lads skipped bit of an amber hue to the beer. Bitter and Lustin' For Stout November brewing due to Dave On the hop front, plenty of Ad- went down a treat at Norwich playing dodge-the-typhoon miral (UK) for bittering, with a Beer Festival in November. Al- around the Far East, but Decem- good charge of Willamette and ways good to see our locally ber will see a long-overdue stout. Cascade (both USA) for aroma. brewed ales being well received Unholy Trinity will be a coffee And it wouldn't be Solidus if it by drinkers from farther afield. and chocolate stout featuring hadn't fermented out to the And the topers of Rotherham Bramling Cross and hopefully sounds of Leatherface's first LP seemed to be fans of Tangled Sorachi hops, and is a three-way "Cherry Knowle", 13 songs in 35 Up, if reports are to be believed. collaboration as Dave tries to minutes one second; in yer face. clear the backlog he owes from Finally, the next batch of Dark 'away' collabs! Festive fare comes by way of Blue should be arriving in a pub Chrimbo Hopping. Originally near you soon. Nicely spicy. Dave Unpronounceable brewed at Raw three years ago, this 4% pale ale is big on hops, Richard Hough 6 BREWERY NEWS pendent, accredited organisation that tests, audits and certifies products and systems. Over the last Christmas period, Abbeydale just about managed to hang in there in terms of quantity of specials available despite their 190 barrel week! So, in an attempt to keep up with demand this year, they'll be brewing a great range of six tantalising, festive treats. By the time this is out, the seasonal Winter 5.2% IPA with juicy New Zealand hops will have hit the streets along with the first of the festive specials, Chocs Away. This 5.5% belter is a full bodied chocolate stout... enough said! Let's also not forget Baubles! A 4.1% pale ale with subtle mar- malade and figgy pudding. Kicking off the famous Dr. Mor- ton's range they'll have; Dr. Mor- ton's Christmas Hamster 4.1%. A very drinkable session beer with Abbeydale Brewery additions of Munich malt turning it a lovely deep golden colour. You'll 3rd Prize for Black Mass at Shef- Absolution 5.3% took 1st prize at also get a Christmas hamper of field Steel City Beer Festival! Dan North Cheshire CAMRA's North- biscuit and caramel derived from at Abbeydale says, “We never ex- wich Beer Festival. The presenta- further additions of Caramalt (in pect to win an award at any beer tion for this was on Saturday 16th the beer not actually a free gift!). festival. It's always a great feeling November at the Rising Sun, Ful- when we get something and joint wood. Keep an eye on Abbey- Then, leave the brandy aside for 3rd prize for Black Mass is no ex- dale's blog page on their website Santa this Christmas as the pumps ception. It's great to know our for details on that. will be alive with the sound of Dr. prized Black Mass still cuts the Morton's Christmas Cheer 4.5%. mustard.” Black Mass is a 6.66% More great news, thanks mainly to It's brim full with hard hitting hops rich, aged and complex stout. the efforts of John Parkinson (pro- and expect to taste coconut and Truly some to savour in front of an duction director) Abbeydale have lemon from the superb Sorachi open fire in the cold winter been awarded a gold standard by Ace. It doesn't stop there! You also months. the NSF for the second year run- have Dr. Morton's Paranoid ning. NSF International is the most Snowman 4.1% with a stunning On a similar note, Abbeydale were widely known and respected food line-up of Wakatu, Motueka, absolutely thrilled also to learn that assurance brand and an inde- Rakau and Galaxy hops. 8 BREWERY NEWS Sheffield Brewery Co's Forgemaster beer Sheffield Forgemasters has new challenge. And with some Peter Rawlinson, director of The swapped castings for casks in a of the county’s finest breweries Sheffield Brewery Company, partnership venture with The right here on our doorstep it said: “We were delighted to be Sheffield Brewery Company. seemed like the ideal project, to selected and the venture engineer the perfect pale ale and between the brewery and Shef- The iconic 200-year-old engin- to market it through the region’s field Forgemasters is a great ini- eering heavyweight has teamed best pubs. tiative and celebrates all that is up with the brewery to deliver a good about the city.” tailor-made Forgemasters beer “Sheffield has a status of quality at the company’s historic brew- across the world for its engin- Tim Stillman, the brewer, said: ery building in Neepsend. eering achievements and this is “We have delivered a bespoke simply an extension of the philo- beer for Forgemasters, to their It is now widely available in tra- sophy which underpins that eth- specification, which uses Lager ditional casks via an initial 16 in- os, to take something and make malt and Maris Otter pale malt to dependent pubs across the city it to the best of your ability. give a very pale, straw colour, and through a limited bottle-run with Saaz hops used at the be- which is only available to pur- “Crucially, I wanted the beer to ginning of the brewing process chase directly from The Sheffield become a household name in and American Cascade hops at Brewery Company. the region. I’d like people to walk the end to give a really nice cit- into the pub, see the Forgemas- rus twist to the drink. This has Numerous local luminaries ters beer label on the bar and created a beer which we think gathered to sample the brew order it, confident that it will be has broad appeal.” and gave it the thumbs up at a of the best quality. launch event at The Sheffield Pubs serving the Forgemasters Brewery Company. “We chose to work with a small, cask beer initially include The artisan brewery that could deliv- Old Monk, Crucible Corner, The Forgemasters beer has been er the beer to our specific re- Red Lion, Shakespeares, The Fat created by the company’s chief quirements, which involved a Cat, Kelham Island Tavern, The executive, Graham Honeyman, significant amount of research Ship Inn, The Gardeners Rest, who recognised Sheffield’s and development to get the cor- The Sheffield Brewery Company, growing status as the real-ale rect balance of qualities – as do The Cremone, The Place, The capital of the UK and saw an all of our projects! Even the Jolly Farmer, Sheaf View, opportunity to team up with loc- bottles for the beer have been George & Dragon (Rotherham), al brewery boffins to engineer hand selected because nothing Rutland Arms (Holmsfield) and the perfect pint. about this beer is run-of-the- The Wentworth, which is located mill.” next to the Forgemasters facility Graham said: “Sometimes it is in Brightside. good to step back and take on a 10 BREWERY NEWS Acorn New conditioning and fermenta- tion tanks are now in place en- abling us to produce small runs of a new range of cask and keg products in the new year, more info to follow! Investment of £20,000 for a new cask wash is complete and working very efficiently. New website will be live from December keeping you up-to- Thornbridge Brewery exports date with everything brewery re- lated: acorn-brewery.co.uk.