The Sheffield Beer City Report, first published in 2016, is to be revisited and updated, and will be launched at the 2024 Sheffield Beer Week.
The report will once again be written by beer writer Pete Brown. It has been commissioned by Prof Vanessa Toulmin, director of city, culture, and public engagement at the University of Sheffield. Jules Gray, founder and director of Sheffield Beer Week and owner of Hop Hideout, completes the team.
“The first report had a huge impact on how Sheffield is seen, particularly in terms of the visitor economy,” said Prof Toulmin. “But the numbers in it are now nearly eight years out of date. It’s clear that the report is valuable, so we have to have an updated version.”
Pete Brown added: “A great deal has happened in the beer world since 2016. Sheffield is still a great city to drink beer in, but like everywhere else, brewing and hospitality have been hit by Covid and the cost-of-living crisis. Some brewers have closed, but other new ones have opened.
“I get the sense that the Sheffield beer scene is actually more interesting and diverse than it was, even more of an attraction to the city and the region than it was in 2016, but I’m very keen to put some numbers on that and dig deeper.”
The team are exploring the Sheffield beer scene at this week’s Steel City Beer and Cider Festival, at the Kelham Island Museum until Saturday. They’ll then be gathering data from brewers to produce an up-to-date snapshot of current activity and trends, and exploring deeper themes, including the role of brewing in the regeneration of parts of the city, and the increasing role of women in the industry.
As well as the report, there will also be a series of podcasts and other online materials that will dive deeper into some of the issues explored in the report.
