ISSUE 459 - DEC 2015/JAN 2016 THE FREE MAGAZINE OF CAMRA SHEFFIELD & DISTRICT ISSUE 459 DEC 2015/JAN 2016 NEWS 4 Good Beer Guide 2017 BeerX 2016 Sheffield Beer Week 2016 3,500 MONTHLY CIRCULATION BREWERY NEWS 6 Blue Bee Abbeydale EDITOR Fuggle Bunny Andrew Cullen Drone Valley 07554 005 225 Acorn [email protected] Exit 33 Welbeck Abbey Articles, letters and suggestions are most welcome so please send them in* PUB NEWS 11 Pioneer Club Portland House DESIGN Punchbowl Robin [email protected] ADVERTISING Alan Gibbons [email protected] AWARDS 12 Quarter Page £40 Pub of the Months Half Page £60 Steel City Awards Full Page £90 Vote for Pub Awards Back Cover £110 Dronfield Most Improved Pub Discounts for regular placements Awards Gallery PDFs or high-res (300 dpi) bitmaps only please Design from £30 PUB TRAVEL 16 Updates from £10 A Pub Crawl in Castleton A Day in Liverpool NEXT COPY DEADLINE Friday 8th January FESTIVALS 20 Opinions expressed are those of the author and may not represent those of CAMRA, the local branch or editor. Beer Matters is DIARY 22 © CAMRA Ltd. *For legal reasons a full name and address THE COMMITTEE 22 must be provided with all contributions. SHEFFIELD RETAINS BEERX IN 2016 FOR FOURTH YEAR The Society of Independ- year, so we are running ent Brewers (SIBA) has more of these and giv- announced its annual ing the public additional GOOD BEER GUIDE 2017 BeerX event is to return unique opportunities to to Sheffield for its fourth interact with brewers and THE JOURNEY STARTS HERE year in 2016. industry experts. We will The flagship beer indus- have a variety of brewery Although we are only just entries are looked after try event will take place at bars at which people can approaching Christmas by those who volunteered iceSheffield, located near meet the brewers them- 2015, when I’m sure a to be Brewery Liaison Of- the Sheffield Arena tram selves.” few people will find cop- ficers. stop, from Wednesday BeerX will open its doors ies of the 2016 Good Beer So back to the pubs - 16th to Saturday 19th to the public for longer Guide in their Christmas how do we choose them? March 2016. this year for the Festival gift stocking, we are now Principally it is a vote BeerX will once again of Beer. Ale lovers will be starting work on select- open to all our members combine SIBA’s AGM, a able to visit the infamous ing which pubs will be with the highest rated trade exhibition, semi- 30 metre bar to sup from awarded a listing in the pubs in the vote getting nars, keynote speakers over 250 beers from the 2017 edition! in the guide. The pubs and business awards for Wednesday evening, the In the pub section of chosen by the members SIBA members throughout night of the SIBA National the guide we have an vote are then checked to the week. It will also open Brewing Awards, with ses- allocation of 30 places ensure they are still up its doors to the Festival of sions then running every for the City of Sheffield, to standard though - via Beer to enable consumers day until Saturday. 6 places for our part of two methods. First of all to attend and try hundreds Friday night’s headline Derbyshire and 3 places we look at the beer rat- of SIBA award-winning music act will be former for Dronfield. Of course ings submitted to CAM- beers. Inspiral Carpets lead there are so many more RA’s National Beer Scor- Nick Stafford, SIBA’s singer Tom Hingley, sup- good pubs in the area so ing System (now part of operations director, said: ported by soul/Motown it is all about featuring whatpub.com) and sec- “BeerX has firmly planted aficionados Vernon Lewis the best of the best, pubs ondly we send surveyors its roots in Sheffield and & E-Maculate. Saturday where it is guaranteed to to the pub who try the the city has really em- will once again show be worth making the ef- beer and check the facts braced it. As well as BeerX all the final Six Nations fort to travel to and try, to be written in the guide hosting important events Rugby matches live on a somewhere a visitor will with the staff there. for our members we also giant screen, followed by be rewarded with great Voting papers will be have plans to make the live music from Sheffield beer and more. issued at the December Festival of Beer bigger and supergroup The Bootleg- The brewery section branch meetings in Shef- better this year. gers. of the guide lists all the field and Dronfield - see “We’ve seen beer tasting BeerX is also becoming breweries in our area the diary section of this and food pairing sessions an event for foodies, with producing real ale, these issue for the venues. increase in popularity each an increased and more di- ISSUE 459 4 NEWS DEC 2015/JAN 2016 SHEFFIELD BEER WEEK verse street food offering purchased in advance via BACK IN MARCH 2016 planned for 2016. the wegottickets and SIV Over 6,000 visitors are websites from Friday 13th Thanks to all those who ing that little bit more in expected to attend BeerX November. hosted and attended events March; we’d love you to throughout the week, in- With further details still during the first Sheffield join in. cluding conference dele- to be announced, beer Beer Week 16th March Follow @SheffBeerWeek gates, trade exhibitors and lovers can get up-to-date – 22nd March 2015. for beery updates. beer festival goers. news about the event on We have now started If you are a venue or Tickets for the festival the BeerX Facebook page planning for 2016 – Shef- brewery, business or in- are priced at £8 in advance – facebook.com/BeerX- field Beer Week. YAY! dividual who would like and £10 on the door, with Sheffield – and follow @ The celebrations start to get involved please a £2 discount for students, SIBA_BeerX on twitter for from Mon 14th March. drop us an email on: CAMRA members and the announcements and ticket We know that every week [email protected] Armed Forces who book giveaways. is beer week in Sheffield, in advance. They can be we’re just happy to be shar- Jules ISSUE 459 DEC 2015/JAN 2016 NEWS 5 Abbeydale Well I can’t believe it’s shire Cat, Pete Lightfoot, coming round to the festive and expect the same high time of the year already, we quality, freshly prepared would like to wish every- pub food. Serving times body Merry Christmas and are TBC. Also keep an a Happy New Year! And eye out for the brand new what a year it has been! So website and social media much we could talk about, presence for the pub! but firstly lets talk about As much as 2015 has our two pubs! been a great year for the We were delighted that brewery, 2016 is going to the Devonshire Cat was MASSIVE! We celebrate awarded November Pub of our 20th birthday, plus the Month, and this was a SunFest’s 10th birthday! fitting way for our exiting There will be a range of Blue Bee manager, Josh, to sign off very special 20th birthday Firstly we were really robust malt body. with! Thank you to all that beers released at various pleased to win two awards On top of this the next came down to celebrate points throughout the year back in October at Hud- two single hopped IPAs with us. We are equally and you may even see our dersfield Beer Festival. We will both feature southern delighted to announce that beer in containers that won gold in the strong bit- hemisphere hop varieties our new manager is Eliza- we have yet to use before ter category for Attack of the first from New Zealand: beth Casserly, who moves now! However that’s all the Geek 6.0% which also Rakau IPA 5.0% the hops over from the Sheffield I’m allowed to say right just missed out at Sheffield impart tropical fruit pas- Tap. She brings a wealth of now (“Yes - shut up now Beer Festival coming sec- sion fruit and citrus char- experience and knowledge Robin!” - Dan)! ond in the same category acteristics. The second will and I’m sure she will con- Onto beers that I can talk as well as this Ginger feature Australian hops: tinue to improve the pub about, our festive offerings Beer 4.5% came third in Galaxy IPA 5.0% these in every department. from Dr Morton, Our the speciality category at hops impart passion fruit The Rising Sun has Wayne In A Manger Huddersfield. and peach characteristics. been undergoing a mam- and Turkey Surprise Ginger Beer will be Both beers are sure to have moth expansion project, should be hitting the bar available throughout the plenty of tropical fruit hop which is hopefully finished by now, but also look out festive period. Although flavours. by the time you are read- for Thaw (4.8%, pale) and Attack of the Geek has A few other beers we ing this! Now with a full Snowdrift (4.0%, pale sold out, the next in the are working include Into kitchen, extra drinking with orange and cloves) in series will be available in the Void 6.0% a black and dining area, and new December and early Janu- December: Revenge of IPA containing Columbus toilets, we hope that you ary.