Sheffield’s breweries will be celebrating the city’s sonic and synth musical heritage when Sheffield Beer Week returns, from 9th to 15th March.
The week-long celebration of the city’s independent beer scene will pay homage to local electronic music heritage and its continuing legacy under the banner ‘Sheffield Synth City’.
Over the years, the city has been home to pioneers of synth-pop, electronic, and bleep-and-bass such as The Human League, Heaven 17, Cabaret Voltaire, Clock DVA, and Warp Records.
Breweries involved so far include:
- Abbeydale
- Tapped Brew Co
- Triple Point
- Kelham Island
- Bradfield
- Little Mesters
- Emmanuales
- Ticking Clock
- Thornbridge
- Duality
- True North
- Little Critters and
- Saint Mars of the Desert.
They will be creating unique brews inspired by classic electronic music genres, iconic Sheffield bands, or even the flavour profiles of their favourite analogue synths. An innovative mash-up of two of Sheffield’s celebrated cultural exports: its renowned beers and its influential music scene.
“Sheffield is a city of steel, beer, and synthesisers,” said Jules Gray, founder of Sheffield Beer Week and craft beer shop Hop Hideout.
“Sheffield Synth City allows us to blend the creativity of our independent breweries with the ground-breaking spirit of our electronic music pioneers. It’s powerful to showcase how innovation thrives across all creative industries in the Steel City.”
During the week, expect Sheffield Synth City beer collaborations to be pouring around the city. There will be tap takeovers from local and global independent breweries, meet the brewer events, brewery tours, beer walking tours, beer and food pairings, beer and music pairings, and more. The event will be celebrated throughout Sheffield’s hospitality venues, from brewery taprooms and pubs to micropubs, bars, and beer shops.
Look out for:
- A visual map project from South Yorkshire artist Lewis Ryan;
- Sheffield’s Abbeydale Brewery celebrating their 30th anniversary;
- International Women’s Collaboration Brew Day on 8th March;
- A Thornbridge beer launch at their venues;
- Beer and history walks with local historian Dave Pickersgill;
- Strange Britain’s Adrian Finney with his popular haunted pub walking tour;
- Carft beer bar The Wonky Labrador’s third birthday;
- A Woodland Brewing meet the brewer event at The Bear;
- Daniel Dylan Wray interviewing Pete Brown at Hop Hideout;
- Belgian beer pop-ups around the city; and
- A beer tankard-making workshop with ceramic studio Earth Paper Fibre in Leah’s Yard.
Find out more at sheffieldbeerweek.co.uk/ and follow @sheffbeerweek on social media.
On the weekend of 6th and to 7th March, to kick-off the week, Sheffield’s craft beer festival, Indie Beer Feast is being staged. A celebration of independent craft beer, with brewery bars, street food, rum, fine wines, and cider, the festival champions and supports The Everyone Welcome initiative.
Beer writers Pete Brown, Rachel Auty, and Adrian Tierney-Jones will be hosting pop-up tastings and judging beer of the festival.
Breweries pouring and announced so far include Sheffield’s Abbeydale, Derbyshire’s Thornbridge and Ashover Brew Co, Manchester’s Cloudwater and Courier Brewing, Nottinghamshire’s Liquid Light and Ticking Clock, Somerset’s Yonder, Liverpool’s Neptune, Leeds’ Tartarus, Reading’s Siren, and Birmingham’s Attic. There will be additional bars from Hop Hideout and specialist rum aficionado RumKeg876.
