“A wall of shelves”: Craft beers at The Bear
In celebration of the many new independent traders opening up across Sheffield, we asked ale aficionado Matt to tell us more about The Bear beer shop and his recommended beers.
A new addition to Abbeydale Road, The Bear is a beer emporium offering a range of craft beer, wine, cider and spirits to enjoy at home or in the comfort of their cosy bar. Bears are of course very popular in the city at the minute, as the Bears of Sheffield have arrived and you can follow the trail.
Owner and ale aficionado Matt told us more in his own words about The Bear and what beers he is enjoying at the moment.
The Bear is a cosy beer shop and bar.
You can expect a friendly welcome, a range of local, national and a few imported beers on tap and in bottles and cans.
There’s a good range of styles, including three fridges full of pales, IPAs, lagers and sours, and a wall of shelves of stouts and porters at the other side of the shop; from simple stouts to complex pastry stouts and barrel-aged treats, from 4% to 15% ABV.
I always try to help someone find what they like.
I encourage people to sample what’s available on keg, where we will always have some fantastic local beers alongside the best breweries from across the country.
Recently we’ve had Little Mesters, Abbeydale and Triple Point on, alongside the Kernel and DEYA. We are incredibly lucky to have such fantastic breweries in Sheffield and they will always form part of our offer.
What I am loving about the shop so far is the interaction between customers.
I enjoy sharing advice and chatting about our experiences of different beers, and people asking me to help put them in a box together to try.
I also have some regular customers already, including people who are experienced with drinking IPAs and sours, and also people who consider themselves craft beer amateurs. They are picking up good habits very quickly!
My favourite beer I have on offer at the moment is…
The Queer Brewing Pale Ale. It’s an absolutely top-notch juicy pale which also supports LGBTQ+ charities. Perfect for a summer’s day and good vibes.
If like me you love a deep, dark stout, I have a massive selection. The Maltgarden Iceman Interviews is hard to beat, with chocolate ice cream flavour from cocoa nibs, vanilla and milk sugar.
They also do a fantastic coconut version too in nice big 500ml bottles, which are perfect for sharing. They are around 10%, so are made to be savoured – if you can restrain yourself...
