Sheffield Pub News - October 2008

The Acorn Inn at Chapeltown celebrated its 150th anniversary by staging a family fun day. The event was attended by Lord Mayor Councillor Jane Bird and Sheffield Wednesday footballers Sean McAllister and Akpo Sodje. The former coaching inn was built in 1858 after being relocated from Bracken Hill.

The Hillsborough Hotel is holding the PUB TIC TRAM SPORT festival between 16th-18th October. This festival links the Hillsborough Hotel with the University Arms and the Devonshire Cat using the Supertram. Twenty real beers are available at each venue. Admission is free and participants receive a free brochure listing all the beers available. Rare and unusual beers will be found at this event.

Sheffield's first Oktoberfest, held for its inception year at Sheffield's
Showroom Workstation.

We have over 150 beers and ciders confirmed as available at this year's
festival!

17th, 18th, 19th October 2008

100 cask ales
30 bottled Belgian beers
16 Continental draught beers
10 traditional ciders
Numerous wines
4 Sheffield bars
3 Regional bars
2 other bars
1 main bar
and a stage

Friday 17th Okt'
TRUE GENTLEMEN (myspace.com/truegents)
the saga (myspace.com/thesagasheffield)
cabfire (myspace.com/cabfire)
simon thompson (myspace.com/alvarez kings)

Saturday 18th Okt'
CATS:FOR:PERU (myspace.com/catsforperu)
pirouettes (myspace.com/pirouettesuk)
the inner state circus (myspace.com/theinnerstatecircus)
paperdots (myspace.com/thepaperdots)

Sunday 19th Okt'
HAZE (myspace.com/hazeuk)
treebeard (myspace.com/treebearduk)
paul pearson & friends (myspace.com/pauldavidpearson)
old perculiar

All three nights music will commence at roughly 7PM (ish)

Local members of the Campaign for Real Ale have voted for the University Arms as the winner of their October Pub of the Month award, which will be presented to manager Mike Pidgeon at the pub at a special celebration on Tuesday 14th October, from 8PM. The Pub of the Month award scheme is designed to highlights those pubs and bars in Sheffield and District that serve top quality real ale in pleasant surroundings on a day to day basis. It's voted for by those that drink in the pubs every day to show their appreciation of what's good.

Sheffield CAMRA's 34th Steel City Beer Festival, which took place last week in a marquee in Cemetery Park - the first time the festival has been run as a tented event - saw thirsty drinkers flocking to the event and drinking it dry!

When the festival opened on Thursday night, a range of 96 different real ales were available, along with 24 different ciders and perries, along with bottled continental beers and a selection of fruit wines. At 11pm on Saturday as time was being called a customer ordered the last pint in the last barrel!

At the busiest session on Friday night, beer was being served at the rate of 50 gallons per hour, and Saturday daytime proved much more popular than in the past. Despite getting Acorn and Abbeydale Brewery rushing more beer to the festival Saturday afternoon, organisers had to make the decision to close the gates at 8:30pm and not let anyone else in, as there was only enough beer left for those already in the venue!

When the organisers of the Steel City Beer Festival this year put their budget to CAMRA's expert scrutineers, we were told that the budget that expected 1,700 people through the door was a bit over ambitious, the festival actually saw 2,400 turn up - 700 more than expected!

Being so busy, combined with the appalling weather, proved a big test and quite a learning curve for the team of volunteer enthusiasts that organised, ran and staffed the festival. This year when we moved to the tented format in an attractive location the festival slogan was 'something a bit special'. Next year we've already decided it will be 'bigger and better', with more beer, more cider, more food and more capacity. Oh and probably some sort of technology that puts a stop to mud and cold!

After being renamed to The Sheffield in 2006, the Shiny Sheff has now been reopened and its original name restored.

New licensees Sally and Neil Bowden have updated the pub's layout and exterior, and installed a high-tech entertainment system for interactive video quizzes, on-screen bingo, karaoke and a monthly race night.

The pub will now serve lunch and evening meals, with two-for-one offers, and there will be a carvery every Sunday and a steak night every Friday. The Shiny Sheff will also cater for parties and special occasions.

Teams of experienced beer tasters, comprising of representatives of Sheffield's pub and brewing industry along with senior CAMRA members from South Yorkshire and the East Midlands, spent last night at the Steel City Beer Festival taking part in a blind tasting session, featuring all the regularly brewed beers in the festival, to judge the champion beer of the festival.

The Champion Beer of the 2008 Steel City Beer Festival is Dunham Massey's Milk Stout. Dunham Massey's brewery is based in Altrincham in Cheshire. In second place is Thornbridge Jaipur IPA. Thornbridge Brewery is fairly local, based in Ashford-In-the-Water, Derbyshire. Third place is Dark Star Hop Head. Dark Star is based in Anstey, West Sussex.

For the first time this year, we also judged the ciders and perries, with an enthusiastic team of volunteers doing the tasting. The winning cider was Wilkins Sweet Cider, the winning perry was Hecks Perry.

Full category results are below. The Steel City Beer Festival, which is being held at Cemetery Park, opens Thursday 2nd October at 5PM, then Friday 3rd October Midday to 11PM and Saturday 4th October Midday to 11PM.

MILD
1st Dark Star - Over the Moon
2nd Rudgate - Ruby Mild
3rd Castle Rock - Black Gold

BITTER
1st Dark Star - Hophead
2nd Crouch Vale - Brewers Gold
3rd Acorn - Yorkshire Pride

BEST BITTER
1st Thornbridge - Ashford
2nd Sheffield Brewery - Paradise Pale
3rd Marble - Manchester Bitter

STRONG BITTER
1st Thornbridge - Jaipur IPA
2nd - Thornbridge - Kipling
3rd Kelham Island - Pale Rider

STOUTS AND PORTERS
1st Dunham Massey - Milk Stout
2nd Bradfield - Farmers Stout
3rd Acorn - Gorlovka

OVERALL CHAMPIONS
1st Dunham Massey - Milk Stout
2nd Thornbridge - Jaipur IPA
3rd Dark Star - Hophead

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