Sheffield Pub News - February 2008

Sheffield CAMRA members volunteer at Oakwood Festival

The Real Ale & Music Festival at Oakwood Technology College in Rotherham is this week, and runs from Wednesday 13th to Saturday 16th February, to raise funds for the school as well as promoting real ale and entertaining the Rotherham public!

Oakwood is the biggest beer festival held in Yorkshire and the North East, and is the biggest real ale festival anywhere in the world to have all it's beers on handpump, with a range of around 200 cask ales, plus traditional cider & perry, continental beers and wine.

The festival is also home to the Champion Beer of Yorkshire competition - with the winning beer judged by blind tasting panels before the festival opens. The beer that is crowned Champion Beer of Yorkshire get submitted into the Champion Beer of Britain competition as Yorkshire's nomination, which is judged at the Great British Beer Festival at Earls Court, London in August.

All the Sheffield Breweries are represented, with Sheffield Brewery Company, Kelham Island Brewery, Abbeydale Brewery, Bradfield Brewery and Crown Brewery all supplying beers. Our local cider producer - Woodthorpe Hall of Holmesfield, will also be supplying the festival, with their full range including their new cider - Orange Glow.

Members of the Sheffield & District branch of the Campaign for Real Ale will be there alongside their Rotherham branch counterparts and College staff and supporters to staff the festival - Sheffield is providing cellarmen, bar managers, bar tenders and CAMRA membership stand staff. Some of these people, who are working as unpaid volunteers, have been there since Friday helping to build the bars and prepare the casks of beer.

More information about Oakwood Real Ale & Music Festival, including how to buy discounted entry tickets in advance and details of how to claim free bus travel to the festival and back with First, who are one of the festival's sponsors, can be found on the website at www.realale-oakwoodtc.org

Dove & Rainbow voted Sheffield CAMRA pub of the month

Local members of the Campaign for Real Ale have voted the Dove & Rainbow in Sheffield city centre the winner of their February 2008 Pub of the Month award.

Following just over a year of new management, the Dove & Rainbow is a much-improved pub. Much of the decor remains the same, as do the wide variety of customers, which are as diverse and pleasant as the ales which are served at the bar.
Camerons Strongarm is now a regular feature, along with Black Sheep Bitter, Wychwood Hobgoblin, John Smiths Bitter and Wells Bombardier Bitter. Guest beers are also a strong feature.

Some physical changes have been made to the pub by the new management however, with a minor refit, which included the construction of a live music stage and DJ box inside, and a well-used smokers area at the rear outside.

A basic but tasty lunchtime food menu is available, and for the more adventurous Pot Noodles are available at all times (with the Bombay Bad Boy I'd recommend a strong hoppy beer with a citrussy finish!)

Looking ahead, a microbrewery is planned for the cellar to produce a house beer for the pub, and an excellent programme of live music continues to be offered on the stage, the future for the Dove & Rainbow certainly looks bright!

On Tuesday 12th February join us at the Dove & Rainbow from 8:30PM when we present Jason 'Goldenfleece' Leaver, Dawn Gunther and the staff with their well-deserved Pub of the Month award for February 2008, and celebrate the fruit of all their hard work in revitalising a fairly unique city centre real ale pub.

The evening will be shared with the Dove's regular Tuesday night event Angelic Fruitcake, with DJ Starr Green playing Indie, Rock and Punk music.

The Dove & Rainbow can be found at Hartshead Square in Sheffield city centre at the end of Campo Lane, or through the alley next to Pizza Hut on High Street!