We want to do the city justice
First and last impressions are everything at the Sheffield Tap, the former Edwardian waiting rooms restored as an opulent shrine to world beer inside the city’s main train station. With Sheffield’s reputation as a brewing mecca now recognised right across the globe, the bar’s role as a gateway to the city’s beer scene – often pulling the first pint for new visitors, and serving up the last one before they leave – is something taken very seriously here indeed.
As such you’ll find the largest beer range in the Steel City behind the bar (11 cask, 15 keg, 200+ bottles and cans), complete with an equally well-curated selection of ciders, wines and spirits. Not content simply showcasing worldwide breweries, the team behind the Tap got in on the action themselves with the addition of their own on-site microbrewery, The Tapped Brew Co., which has allowed them to throw their own brews into the mix – while also filling the large ornate rear room rather fittingly with the distinct aroma of hops.
Nick Marchant – head brewer
“Being surrounded by good beer really spurs us on,” Tapped Brew Co’s Ben Tysoe tells us. “We make sure that if anything from Tapped is on the bar, it’s because it deserves to be there. It’s a brilliant setup too, because having a brewery inside the pub, literally a few yards from the bar, means we can serve the freshest beer in the city.”
Naturally, brewing inside their own pub brings a range of other benefits too. From near-instantaneous feedback on the brews – “Bar staff will be constantly chatting to customers and relaying to us what’s being said, so we know what’s working or what might need changing” – to reducing the brewery’s carbon footprint in distribution, it all works for an immensely efficient process and sustainable operation. “We even have a local farmer who will come and take the used hops for compost and malt grain for chicken feed!”
The ethos at the brewery overlaps nicely with that of the venue itself: a deep-founded respect for tradition and heritage coupled with a modern touch. Pivovar, the company behind the Sheffield Tap and Tapped Brew Co., now have a total of 10 bars – including recent addition The Market Cat, opened in collaboration with Thornbridge Brewery – all based on the premise of promoting high-quality, innovative beers from across the globe in locations bursting with character and charm.
“We want to do the city justice,” says Liz. “It’s such a brilliant place to work so we really keep our standards high and the heritage aspect is very important to us. It’s impossible not to be a beerhead working here and we invite our staff and customers to come and see the brewing process, so they feel just as much a part of it as we do.”
It isn’t just beer though. New for August, Sheffield Tap is introducing a new ‘Summer Spritz’ menu in association with Ketel One and London Essences.
Platform 1B, Sheaf St
Sheffield S1 2BP
sheffieldtap.com // tappedbrewco.com
