ISLAND LIFE Steel City Beer Festival 2022

After two years away, the Steel City Beer and Cider Festival returned in October and Dronfield CAMRA members were again on-hand to serve customers and sample the unique atmosphere of the Kelham Island Museum venue. Over three hundred different beers and forty ciders were available across several different bars and the festival was busy on all four days. We arrived on Wednesday and were diverted towards the Crucible Room at the rear of the museum which was home this year to the Key Keg bar which became busier as the night wore on.

Resplendent in our blue beer festival t-shirts, we served a selection of over thirty beers from local names such as St Mars of the Desert, Neepsend, Lost Industry and Heist and others from further afield. Whilst this was a school night and percentages were kept sensible, there was an opportunity to sample a few of the more exotic beers, all of varying descriptions and strengths. As usual, there was good food available on the evening and the cask ales from neighbouring bars were not neglected either. This included the champion beer of the festival, Devika IPA, from Sheffield’s own, Triple Point.

In my experience, serving at a beer festival is much more fun that it looks. It was nice too to bump into a few familiar faces over the course of the evening.

I occasionally meet drinkers who’ve not quite got themselves together and taken in the festival. At the time of writing, you have several months to arrange a visit the 2023 festival, which I’m sure will be just as good as last year’s.

Pat Hancock