Steel City Brewery
By: JimOldfield
January 22nd, 2012
Steel City Brewing unites the worldwide reputation for Sheffield craftsmanship, with Dave Unpronounceable and his pal Gazza Prescott’s all-consuming love of… hops!
United by a devotion to pale ales, and sticky green bracts, the two aficionados have literally gone hopping-mad at their “cuckoo” brewery at the Little Ale Cart brewery, attached to the Wellington pub in steel city.
Their fixation on hops is matched only by derision for crystal malt as the pair set out to start a brewing revolution to establish a new style of ale in the UK – one which the duo has coined: “Mid/Trans-Atlantic Pale Ale”.
Their Anglo-American-type brews combine the States’-style of highly-hopped flavours with the growing UK trend for ghostly-pale beer.
Crystal malt is barred because they believe it is “the ruin of many a good beer.”
Said Dave and Gazza: “Crystal malt belongs in old-fashioned British “brown-bitter” and not in pale ales. We want you to be able to taste the hops, not sticky toffee.”
But of hops, they say: “We are both huge fans of the sticky green bracts and, in our opinion, there simply aren’t enough brewers in the UK making beer with enough – or the right types – of hops in them!
“Our beer won’t be for those without a sense of adventure or who consume bland rubbish from multi-nationals. It will be flavoursome, hoppy beer for those with inquiring taste buds who want to find out – as our strapline goes – ‘What hops are for’.”
Dave previously worked as brewer at the Moor Brewery in Somerset, and Gazza is an experienced cellarman and head barman.
They are also devoted beer scoopers and have sipped and savoured their way through thousands of cask ales. They even star in a documentary about their hobby – “Beertickers” – and Gazza runs a dedicated website, www.scoopergen.co.uk on the subject.
Steel City Brewing have also brewed several stouts and a couple of porters among the 30 or so unique beers made since their inception in August 2009. And so far, every “mother” beer brewed, has also had a couple of variants.
As guests at the Little Ale Cart, they tend to only brew six Brewers Barrels once a month. But such is their beers’ popularity and scarcity, they often sell out before they have even started the mash.
To mark the craftsmanship in every pint, every beer’s pump clip has a “Works Plate” marked up with its theoretical colour unit (expressed in ECBs) and bitterness level (expressed as IBU).
As well as the Little Ale Cart brews, they also enjoy teaming up with other brewers to make unusual guest beers.
So far, their collaborative travels have taken them to the Cervesas Marina Brewery in Barcelona, Brodie’s Brewery in Leyton, London, Otley’s in Pontypridd in Wales and Raw in Staveley, Derbyshire.
More pairings are planned in Italy and New York, as well as to Bristol’s Arbor Brewery to brew a 6.66 per cent, 666 IBU Black IPA.
With a Champion ale in D-Generation XX – overall winner at the Doncaster CAMRA 2010 Real Ale Festival – and a string of sell-out brews, Steel City are now among the most sought-after names on the hand-pumps.
Try them now for a total taste revolution! For the inside scoop on all their beers, visit their WEBSITE
Data sheet
Address
Steel City Brewing Ltd
c/o The Little Ale Cart
The Wellington
1 Henry Street
Sheffield
S3 7E
Latest beers
The Grim North BIPA – 8%
(Brewed in Fortiverd, Barcelona)
DILLIGAF – 5.2%
Trees Come Down – 5.2%
Achilles – 5.2%
Previous beers
Escafeld – 5.2%
It’s Better Oop North – 5.2%
Red Eye IPA – 7%
Darkthrone Sorachi Porter 4.5%
Alco Clag Coconut
Porter – 4.5%
Honey Porter – 4.5%
Biscotti Porter – 4.5%
