Sheffield Hopcast

Yeah it should be Eurovision this weekend, but of course it isn't happening - but never mind, we'll create our own. Sort of. The gang all pick beers with a connection to Eurovision - some a little looser than others. We also discuss all things beer including another couple of big local events which have just been cancelled this year. And our special guest is the extremely lovely Darren Hebden. Stay safe, and safe alert.

Bank Holiday Beers in our theme this week - and boy do we have a variation in style: five very different beers. We're joined by Mark Gannon and his bulging fridge to talk all things hoppy. And it's the return of Sean's ridiculous bottle opener which seems to do many things - apart from actually open bottles. Want it? Listen in for your chance to win! A huge thanks this week to Heist and Thornbridge who have sent some fantastic beers to try - including two we crack open on this episode. Uase the discount code HOPCAST15 on the Thornbridge website for 15% off pick and mix beers. Stay safe, and safe home.

Yep, we are still here with our 6th episode from behind closed doors, but all is fine, we've got the pleasure of the company of Dann Paquette from St Mars of the Desert... or is it Dessert? We hear about what they SMOD has been up to and how they've found these more challenging times and also look ahead to what they have coming up in the coming weeks and months. Dann also relives a few stories about how they ended up over this side of the pond. Big thanks to Utopian Brewing for sending us some top notch lagers to try out as we sample their Unfiltered British Lager and their seasonal Dark Lager.

A week of Hopcast records and firsts... Sean sets a record for the most expensive beer we've featured. Well, we think it's Sean, it might be his clean-shaven and fresh-faced nephew. Adam and James manage to bring the exact same beer, but thankfully James has a more than adequate replacement. Laura's got a hoppy beer. Or is it a sour? And our special guest this week is the lovely Rob from HopZine. He has a lot of subscribers on YouTube because he's bloody good. Have a look if you haven't before: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQCHf0Oq6YHqi35qMyZE4gg (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQCHf0Oq6YHqi35qMyZE4gg) Stay safe, and safe home.

They all seem to be merging into one, but we're pretty sure this is our fourth lockdown episode. And this week we all crack open the same beer despite the miles between us - a real classic too: Timothy Taylor's Landlord. Sean possibly enjoyed it in 1952 when it was first brewed while James is drinking it for the first time (which is a bit criminal, really). We're joined by fellow podcaster Nick Law (check out http://hopforward.beer/ (http://hopforward.beer/)) to hear how he's getting on during lockdown. Stay safe, and safe home.

We reach the end of the third week of lockdown, and indeed the end of the Easter weekend. So there's only possible theme for this week's beers: Easter, of course! Unless you're Sean, that is... We're also joined by the super lovely James Buxton of Thornbridge Brewery fame to see how he's coping with lockdown (and to sink a cool 12.5% imperial stout too, obvs). We hope you're doing alright in these challenging times and that we're able to provide a little bit of company once a week - please let us have any feedback and if you have any ideas or potential themes we could do let us know. And we're always looking for guests to join us too.

We're back with our second weekly 'lockdown' episode of the Hopcast. The team get together remotely to share a beer of their choosing and a chat about things - and this week are joined by a friend from a fellow beery podcast.

Well, what a few weeks it has been! Laura, Sean, Adam and James get together (virtually) to enjoy a beer and reflect on what's going on in the world - and particularly in our local beer scene. It's a hard time for just about everyone in the beer industry, but we try to find a few more positive notes as well. Plus four very good beers (hint: three of us go hard for a Sunday afternoon tipple!) There is also a video version of this podcast coming soon on our Facebook and YouTube channels

This month to celebrate International Women's Day and all the great women in the beer industry, Laura has taken the reins and invited the Seven Hills Women's Institute for a bit of a chat over beers from Bath Ales, Ashover Brewery, Wiper and True Brewery and Wild Card Brewery.

This month's episode is brought to you from Hop Hideout in Kommune. Our guest is Jules Gray, owner of Hop Hideout and 'Chief Instigator' of Sheffield Beer Week and founder/organiser of Indie Beer Feast. We chat about this year's Indie Beer Feast and Sheffield Beer Week over beers from Donzoko, Torrside, Turning Point and Kees.

On our 2 year anniversary episode we are back at Bar Stewards with Charlie and Al. As money can be tight in January, we were each tasked with finding a great beer for under £3.50. We also hear from some of our social media followers about what beer they would choose on a budget and finally have a chat about our favourite breweries from the past year.

Following last year's fun on our Christmas 'pod crawl' we are out and about again this year with visits to Shakespeares for their beer festival, The Wellington (Neepsend Brewery Tap) and finally the newly opened Millowners Arms over at Kelham Island Museum.

This month’s episode is brought to you from Sheffield’s newest bar (at the time!) Industry Tap. As the colder, darker nights draw in we opt for some winter warmers from Titanic Brewery, Peak Ales, North Riding Brewery and Brouwerij De Halve Maan.  

Adam and Laura on the show this week (along with a bonus guest). We drink beers from RedWillow Brewery and Alvarado Street Brewery and chat about what we’ve been up to since the last show along with some regular beery news.

This October we are back at the Steel City Beer and Cider Festival at Kelham Island Museum. James and Adam are part of the judging panel this year so we hear how that went. We’ll also be picking a beer each from the beer list to talk about along with all the usual beery talk. Finally, we had the pleasure of chatting to acclaimed beer writer Roger Protz.

This month we return to the Rutland Arms for September 2019’s Hopcast Half Pint. James and Adam sample a couple of beers from Sheffield’s St Mars of the Desert and Nottingham’s Black Iris Brewery. We chat about our recent visit to Abbeydale Brewery’s Funk Fest, the opening of the new Industry Tap and other local pub news. We also look forward to October and the Sheffield Steel City Beer Festival.

We’re at the Itchy Pig in Broomhill – it’s a small pub, so we’re drinking small beers. The now-legendary Schofferhofer is first on the agenda, followed by a Northern Monk lemon raddler, North Brew Micro IPA and a typically stupidly named Cloudwater. Which will get the vote of Adam, James, Laura and Sean as the best? Plus we talk Funk Fest, a sour beer festival at Abbeydale Brewery this weekend, and look ahead to the Sheffield Beer Festival in October.

This month after a couple of months away from our usual Half Pint format, James and Adam are back with a couple of beers to drink while having a catch up about what’s been happening in the Sheffield beer scene. Beers from Vocation Brewery and Siren Craft Brew. Recorded at The Rutland Arms on 8th August 2019

This month we celebrate Yorkshire Day with a head-to-head with some Yorkshire beers and non-Yorkshire beers. With 3 rounds covering 3 different styles of beer, will Yorkshire be victorious? Recorded at the famous Kelham Island Tavern, we chat to Josh who took over the pub 8 months ago to see how things are going on after taking on the multi-award-winning pub.

This month we’re at The Rising Sun in Nether Green ahead of their annual Sun Fest. Sean has been tasked with picking 4 ‘sunshine’ beers and opted for offerings from Brass Castle, Shindigger, Northern Monk and Thornbridge. James is away this month so, friend of the show, Lucienne joins us and tells us all about here beery history in Sheffield and beyond.