After a thirty-year absence, I made it back to Sheffield. My last visit was to interview for the University of Sheffield’s then-top-ranked PhD program(me) in archaeology, and although they offered me a tempting research opportunity, I opted for the bright lights of London and a master’s degree instead…and, alas the powers that be decided that Sheffield no longer needed an archaeology department (even though my degrees in archaeology and library science are *the core reasons* I am successful in a STEM career – because that’s the only important thing, obviously – but I digress).
The purpose of this trip was to attend Indie Beer Feast, where my friend and fellow Beer Ladies Podcast host Christina was pre-launching her book, The Devil’s in the Draught Lines, and to have a bit of a wander around Sheffield in general. While I cannot say I recognized anything from that previous trip, I did meet something of an old friend in a visit to The Brewery of St Mars of the Desert, which was an utter delight. As a long-ago fan of the brewery’s previous US incarnation, Pretty Things Beer & Ale Project, I absolutely adored their Jack D’Or and Saint Botolph’s Town, and would purchase them whenever they surfaced around Philadelphia, which was, to be fair, not infrequent. I especially loved their collaboration beer, KK, a collaboration with Ron Pattinson – one reviewed long before we ever met in person, in 2010 – and so it was a real thrill to see how the Yorkshire edition of things was faring. Things would appear to be in fantastic shape, as the brewery, tucked away on an industrial estate, was hopping early on a Friday afternoon, though it was their first day back open for the season. I had a glorious D’Or Mouse – a descendent of Jack D’Or – and Laska Pils, a thing of Czech-inspired beauty. It was also fantastic to see such a diverse crowd; all ages, backgrounds and genders seemed to be represented, and there was even an adorable dog.
But I had to be responsible and only have some small pours, as there was a beer festival to manage later, and a highlight there, for both evenings, was finally meeting so many people I’d only ever known online (or by their books); everyone was truly lovely (special shoutout to Jules and the Hop Hideout crew!). I snuck in a Parkrun as well, and though Endcliffe is a lot more like a trail run than my usual Parkrun stomping grounds in Dublin, it was great to see a different part of Sheffield, and to explore the area a bit. I also got a few sneaky cask bitter halves; one of the Kelham Island pubs I stopped in must have had more beer engines than we have in action in the entire Republic of Ireland (still, to be fair, in single digits).
Back at the festival, there were quite a few new-to-me or only-vaguely-known-to-me breweries, and while Torrside may not be a ‘discovery’ to people in the UK, I’d only had a single bottle before, and Abbeydale was a revelation. We get cans from Track nowadays too, but trying them much nearer the source was a treat.
Mostly, though, it was wonderful to see the response to Christina’s book – if you can make one of the upcoming launch events, go for it!