HB&B Blog — Sheffield

Fundamentals #122 — St Mars of the Desert Làska Pils

Fundamentals Lager Matthew Curtis Pilsner Sheffield St Mars of the Desert

Fundamentals #122 — St Mars of the Desert Làska Pils

According to Sheffield brewery St Mars of the Desert, Làska means love in Czech. It’s also the name of its latest lager, and trust me when I say this lager is definitely for lovers. I have shared my own love for this exceptional beer producer many times, often in my Instagram posts, and at length in a profile of the brewery I penned for my magazine Pellicle back at the start of 2021. There’s something undeniably wonderful about this brewery who’s name has been shortened by fans and locals to simply “Smod”. And it’s true that every time you drink one...

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Fundamentals #88 — St Mars of the Desert Old School Quality West Coast IPA

Fundamentals IPA Matthew Curtis Sheffield St Mars of the Desert

Fundamentals #88 — St Mars of the Desert Old School Quality West Coast IPA

If you’re really into beer and Online All The Time like I am, you’ll be aware that we’re now at the stage of the current West Coast IPA discourse where people are now complaining about the West Coast IPA discourse. If you’re not, let me explain it to you: People really missed West Coast IPAs (by which I mean dry, bitter, malty, citrusy, crystal-clear delights in the 7%-ish region) and said so. Brewers then started making them again with aplomb, and now when someone says that they miss West Coast IPA, you can’t bet your bottom dollar someone will come along...

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Fundamentals #56 — Abbeydale Funk Dungeon Ryes From The Grave

Abbeydale Fundamentals Matthew Curtis Sheffield Sour beer

Fundamentals #56 — Abbeydale Funk Dungeon Ryes From The Grave

There are several UK breweries for me that – criminally – fly under the radar. Few, perhaps are as overlooked as Sheffield’s Abbeydale Brewery. Established in 1996 and located just off Abbeydale Road towards the south of the city, this brewery has slowly but steadily built a reputation for solid pale ales such as Heathen and its suppable best bitter, Daily Bread. But this is beginning to change, thanks largely to the efforts of Jim Rangely, one of their brewers who is somewhat obsessed with all things wild and funky. With his Funk Dungeon project, Jim has gradually began to...

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