Beer is one of the most British things that many people can think of. Alongside the Queen and fish & chips, beer is mentioned by a Brit every minute it seems. Many times, just the one word “beer” can be enough for people to start to get their jacket and head to the pub.
In recent times there has been something of a revolution in beer with more people being taken away from the lager lout expectation of the Brit to more of a connoisseur who appreciates the beer for its taste, colour, and texture. Taking their time with beer and not just “downing it”.
Craft ale
In Sheffield the craft ale scene is massive. There is an abundance of bars in the city that will serve you a lovely crisp beer ranging from pilsners to DDHs to NEIPAs. The choice is endless around the bustling city, and you will not struggle to get a pint of craft ale. One of those breweries is certainly Abbeydale.
Abbeydale brewery have been a stronghold in the city for many years and have kept their beers interesting and refreshing for their paying customers. If you load up the app Untappd, which is a beer rating website, they have an average rating of 3.64 out of 5. Other rival breweries in the area such as Northern Monk (3.87), North Brewing Co. (3.85) and SALT (3.70) all have similar, strong ratings to Abbeydale, yet they are more readily available around the country.
Could Abbeydale compete?
Most certainly it could. The beers really hit the spot and the funky labels standout a mile of; it is certainly a way of getting novices attention to trying new beer. However, during the pandemic the brewery, established in 1996, decided to rebrand themselves into producing more and more cans as well as more mini kegs. They put their famous and award-winning beer Moonshine during the pandemic to keep up with the way the world was. Before lockdown, some 80 per cent of beer the firm produced went into casks rather than the focus of cans.
The decision to turn to the online store and producing the beer in cans paid off and the online shop is still producing all the best beer online or in selected beer stores.
Many have looked to help Abbeydale as they have crowdfunded to help the brewery get more of a name for itself and push their name out of Sheffield more and more. They may want to look into trading brokers because their crowdfunded success in 2017 reached over 30,000% of its intended target.
Due to the pandemic, and prior, the company did have to shut one of its most beloved pubs The Devonshire Cat with more and more people avoiding the city centre.
The standout beer
Moonshine is one of the most popular beers but many regard Heathen to be their beer of choice from Abbeydale. With its distinctive bold praying hands graphic on the can and a steady 4.1% abv, this pale ale really hits the stop. As the brewery website puts it itself, “Wonderfully refreshing session beer; Mosaic hops bursting with tropical fruit flavours & a pleasant citrus bitterness. Dry hopped with even more Mosaic for good measure!” What more could you ask for?
It is available in all sorts of forms from can to bottle to draft to being put in a growler! If you want to spread the word of the almighty Abbeydale then try the Heathen first.
