Sheffield Hopcast

This month we are back to full strength as we visit newly re-opened Harlequin.

Adam and James get together for our annual Tramlines preview episode.It's just the two of them - everyone else is too busy - but they share a beer together in James' kitchen to look back at last year's washout, and ahead to this year's festival.There's a big development with a new beer area close to the main stage and some awesome local breweries involved.And the weather forecast is good, so stop moaning.

It's been five months but we are finally back.James, Adam, Laura and Sean catch up over a beer at the Rutland Arms.We talk about new jobs, reforming bands and breaking bones... oh, and a teeny tiny bit about beer!

This month Sean, Laura and Adam venture to S10 to a new venue for the team. We are joined by Mac from the very excellent micro pub in the Nether green area of Sheffield… the Wonky Labrador.

T'was the night before Halloween and poor Sean has a bit of a technology horror show so only joins us half way through.But Laura, Adam and James persevere and get through some nice beers - along with one not-really-a-beer. All will be revealed!We're recording online this month but will be back in the wild in November.

This month we are back on zoom. With busy schedules and James swanning off abroad, Adam, Laura and Sean catch up over a beer. Laura chats about her trip to Stockport and Smokefest and we forward to October's Steel City Beer and Cider Festival

Our expedition doesn't take us very far - as we end up at Beer Central's home of the Moor Market in Sheffield city centre.James, Laura and Sean are joined by a special guest to talk about a special beer - called Coalition - and all the usual skulduggery to boot.

We visit the all-new The Old Shoe in Orchard Square... yes in an orchard! You can't write that can you. The Old Shoe is the new collaboration between Matt Beety (The Bear, Abbleydale Road) and Mike Pomranz (The Cider Hole).We talk to The Old Shoe's beer, cider, and wine experts (and all-round awesome guys) about the venue and what you can expect there.

Sheffield Christmas has arrived!We're joined by Alex Deadman from Tramlines to talk about this year's festival in Hillsborough Park.There's beers involved too (and a tiny bit of swearing too, just to warn you!)

We're at the Wisewood Inn in Loxley for May 2023's episode.There's the usual beer talk, some summer plans, and an unboxing of some rather unusual sounding beers.

This month we visit a new pub for the Hopcast but one that has been a Sheffield Staple for a long long time. The Irish run Freehouse, Dog and Partridge on Trippet Lane. Oh do we love a snug!

Sounds quite profound, right?We get the gang together to chat about Sheffield Beer Week earlier in March. Three of us made to Indie Beer Feast, Sean of course had Battle of the Beers once again, and one Hopcaster made it to a ton of other events. Hear about all that.This episode was recorded online - we just couldn't find a way to make our diaries align to get together in-person this month, but we'll be back in the pub next month.

Our February episode comes from Triple Point and was recorded on none other than Pancake Day, so of course there's almost as much talk about pancakes as there is of beer.We're joined by Triple Point co-owner George and Laura's colleague James to give us a busy episode, although we almost lost Sean after he got stuck in the loo.

Happy 5th birthday to us! We mark the start of 2023 by finally making our way to the first micropub in Sheffield - The Beer House on Ecclesall Road.Owner John Harrison joins James, Adam, Laura and Sean for a chat about all things beer and tells us about the second Beer House opening soon in Hillsborough.We share stories of good beers from over Christmas and pick out our favourite breweries that we discovered in 2022.And we look ahead to what could be a challenging year for much of the hospitality industry. Please support your local pubs and venues, if you can.Happy New Year!

Christmastime, mistletoe and mild.Yes, the festivities are upon us, and it's the return of our annual Podcrawl for Christmas 2022.James, Adam, Laura and Sean take in a route starting on Abbeydale Road and heading to Chesterfield Road in Sheffield with a plan of five venues and a couple of special guests.Unsurprisingly, all does not quite go according to plan, but much merriment ensues.Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year to all Hopcast listeners!

Bit of a special one this month, as we hear the amazing story of the resurrection of Kelham Island Brewery.James, Adam, Laura and Sean are joined by Simon Webster and James O'Hara, part of the consortium who have brought the brand back to life.Simon is CEO of Thornbridge, while James owns several pubs and bars around Sheffield as well as co-founding the Tramlines festival.They give us a unique insight into the last few months, which has seen the return of Pale Rider to - and revealed the beer's incredible reach and popularity.We also chat about future plans for the brewery and discuss the increasingly challenging landscape for brewers and venues.

It's back! After three years away, the Steel City Beer and Cider Festival finally returns at Kelham Island museum in Sheffield. James and Laura lead our special episode recorded on the opening night on Wednesday 19 October, with a bit of Sean thrown in when we can peel him away from his hostess with the mostest duties. Plus we have a fine line-up of guests throughout the episode. Depending when you listen to this - still plenty of time to get down to the festival, which runs until Saturday.

We're back after a longer than anticipated summer break and it's all change - we're binning off beer and chugging cider instead. James, Adam, Laura and Sean head to The Cider Hole in Kelham Island to meet Mike and try three very different and unusual drinks. It's described as 'Sheffield's only urban micro-cidery & bar'. This one is a real journey!

It's finally here, our (proper) Pod in the Park for Tramlines 2022. It's something like the 10th attempt we've made to do this episode, so it's great to finally get the Hopcast crew together in Hillsborough Park, overlooking what will be the main stage, along with Alex Deadman from the Tramlines team. We have a good natter about what's going on this year, both within the main event in the park, and also the Tramlines fringe around the centre of Sheffield and other parts of the city. Of course, it wouldn't be the Hopcast without beer, so we each pick out one or two to bring with us. Drinking beer in the park, in the sunshine, with microphones... what could possibly go wrong? PS If you're one of those listeners who don't listen right to the end, you'll want to this time, trust us.

This month we visited the very excellent, rather quirky Dorothy Pax down on Victoria Quays - a first visit for a couple of the team.