Year: 2012

It made me quite nervous actually, when Cheryl told me that she wanted me to be a “runner” – which meant i had to fetch the beer to my allocated table for blind tasting by the judges.  Yes of course it seems simple now but in the hustle and bustle of activity in the hall and not having done this before I was more than a little apprehensive at the start.  Ren, was chuckling at me, he’s so Old School you know!

As a runner we had a list of codes and a string of labels with the same codes and strictest instructions from Sir, to make sure we brought out the beers according to our list.  So we had to go get some empty jugs, label them up, take them to the cellar for filling and then fetch them to the table.  Hopefully, if you had timed it right the judges would be just about finishing tasting the last ones – God forbid that you’d have kept them waiting!  In between fetching out the beers you just about had time to clear the used glasses and get some fresh ones ready.  Not to mention clearing the table between rounds, fresh water, new scoring sheets and pens and lots of crackers. Running – you bet!

So yes for a few hours it was busy, busy, busy – but the camaradie between all the helpers was just brilliant.  David (Merlin) and other Dave (Acorn) were running on the tables by mine with Dave and Steve also from Acorn and Lee and Kim from Bollington on glass / jug washing duties, so as you can imagine there was plentry of banter and laughter with a little bit of sneaky sampling happening as well.

Finally, all the sniffing, eyeing, tasting and judging was done, the debris cleared away, our volunteering complete and we could at last start enjoying some of the 260 plus beers on offer.  It seemed ages till the results came through but here they were.  Its like you daren’t hope but yet you love your own beer, surely they deserve some recognition you’re quietly thinking.  So just sitting there, going through the motions, noting down in the programme (that i subsequently lost!) who’s won what, graciously acknowledging and applauding as each one is announced.  Woo and then it was “and Gold in the Best Bitter category goes to Abbeydale Brewery’s Deception”  Yes, yes oh yes!!  And then Deception got Bronze Overall – t’was just fabulous to hear.

Winning gold at this festival means that Deception automatically qualifies for SIBA’s big National Beer X Festival in Sheffield next March.  Promising to be big and bold, Beer X is set to be a four day celebration of British beer, combining the SIBA annual conference with the final judging and presentation of the National Brewing Competition.  But best of all there’s to be a three day beer festival!  It’s something like this is going to be the first time all the SIBA brewers, from all over the country will be showcasing alll their beers at one event – and it’s happening here in Sheffield!  Ooooh fingers crossed.

http://siba.co.uk/beerx

We’ve heard through the hop vine that Rev Mark Abrey and his parishioners, so bereft at losing the sanctuary of their village pub in Ascott-under-Wychwood, converted the Holy Trinity Church into the Trinity Arms – for one night.  Included as part of the service were “Confessions” and “Absolution” which they sourced through a local micro brewery.

Does that not just warm the cockles of your heart – but also show how invaluable our local pubs are.

Perhaps its just me, but until recently I still had a bit of an old fogie image of CAMRA folk, of all men with beards, socks in sandals and that sort of thing!  So on my first rambale I was fully expecting to be the only girl.  Not that that would have bothered me, the thought of a new (and guided) walk with a couple of good pubs thrown in is an ideal day out for me with my hubbie and our dog.  

But I wasn’t the only girl, in fact there was lots of other girlies and all of the same mind, a good walk with a few pit stops thrown in.  Of course there was a chappie with a beard but he was really cool and had us laughing all day.  Our walk was exactly what it said on the tin – a very nice ramble, at your own pace but with some cracking pubs at the beginning, loads in the middle and a couple just for good measure at the end.  A fab day out – can’t wait for the next one……….

Check out Beer Matters – Dates for your Diary for forthcoming RambAles

http://www.sheffieldcamra.org.uk/422web.pdf

Welcome everybody to our 6th Annual Sunfest. Many thing we have kept the same this year including the type of high quality beers you have come to expect from the likes of Bollington, Kelham, Marble, Acorn, Raw, Brew Company & Abbeydale to name but a few. The ever popular fruit beers this year are from Saltaire (Elderflower, Raspberry & Blackberry beers), Marble and their Ginger Stout 6.5%, Downton’s Chocolate Orange Delight 5.8% and Apple Blossom Ale 4.3%, Off Beat’s Wild Blackberry Mild 3.6%, Dunham Massey’s Chocolate Cherry Mild 3.8% and their Blossom Honey Beer 4.3%. I have managed to hold the offering at just over 100 different beers in total which proved quite a challenge are there are so many fantastic breweries to choose from.

New(ish) breweries we are hosting this year include the likes of The Hop Studio (York), North Yorkshire Brewing Company (Hull), Chester Ales (Chester?), Oats Brewery (West Yorkshire), Front Row Brewery (Congleton) and Merlin Brewing Company (Sandbach, Cheshire). All will be worth seeking out!

One aspect of the beer festival which is different this year is the decision to include a small selection of craft keg beers and lagers in the beer tent. As this is our first time I have decided to only go for 5 different beers including one Raspberry Framboise from Kirkstall Brewery brewed in Belgium!

One beer I’m particularly excited about is the one-off brew, Dr. Morton’s Old stock. The Old Stock (Pat Morton’s creation) is special in many ways. Not only did he cook up 50kg of candy sugar to go into the boil but this 6.9% monster got dry hopped with Celia and Cascade and primed in the cask with 150g of maple syrup. If that wasn’t special enough for you, this one and only cask we have for the Sunfest has been ageing for 4 months on a bed of Jack Daniels bourbon oak aged wood chips. We haven’t tried it yet but the Dr. and I believe this tawny, red beer will be a tastebud sensation. Other old aged beers worth seeking out are Raw brewery’s Dark Peak Reserve 6.0% (2011 vintage) and of corse our Black Mass 6.66% and Black Lurcher 7%.

I know the ABV is incorrect but this is the pump clip we had made up for this unique beer.
                                             

Any questions about the North Riding Brewery’s Dan’s Stag Do Mayhem, come and ask me!

Hope you enjoy the festival 🙂

Dan Baxter, Abbeydale Brewery.

Those of you who came to Sunfest 3 or were around in the July of 2009 might remember that our Charity beer that year was Shepherd Wheel Ale and our supported charity the Shepherd Wheel Restoration Fund. We raised over a thousand pounds towards this good cause, a tiny drop in the budget needed for the restoration, the bulk of which came from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

On Saturday 12th May, all of the hard work of the fundraisers and the Sheffield Industrial Museums Trust came to a wonderful conclusion with the official opening of the restored Shepherd Wheel. We were delighted to find that Abbeydale Brewery gets a mention on the plaque – really it is a mention for all of you who came to Sunfest or drank the beer.

I’d suggest that if you haven’t visited it before or haven’t been there for a while, you go and take a look at Shepherd Wheel. It is currently open every weekend and bank holiday Monday and it’s free. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and an incredible piece of Sheffield’s early industrial history. There is a leaflet which you can use to walk right up the Porter Valley from Hunters Bar, which points out lots of vestiges of the industry which once thrived right along the Porter Brook. And of course just a few minutes up from Hangingwater road or down Fulwood Road is an excellent pub – The Rising Sun.

And of course it is soon Sunfest time again. This year 5th to 8th July 12-11 daily. Our supported charity this year is Rain Rescue, our charity from 2010. So please come along and drink some beer, have a good time and contribute to a good cause.