Hopulist issue 5

Jules wanted
to g|ve the
c|ty someth|ng
more. SHE
wanted to
make |t a place
where the
scene really
thr|ved – so
SHE began HER
add|t|onal
venture
– Sheff|eld
Beer Week.
Broaden|ng hor|zons
Far from content with just giving the city of
Sheffield a stylish watering hole with a great range,
Jules wanted to give the city something more. She
wanted to make it a place where the scene really
thrived – so she began an additional venture
– Sheffield Beer Week.
“To be honest, one of the main drivers behind
this was frustration,” explains Jules. “Frustration
from the fact that I was seeing a huge number of
great independent beer events springing up almost
on a weekly basis, but nearly all in London and
Manchester. I thought - why not Sheffield too?”
So in 2015, the Jules ran the first ever Sheffield
Beer Week with around 10 or 15 venues taking part
and including interesting aspects like beer history
walks with local historians as well as the usual
party atmosphere in bars and pubs.
Jules continues: “It was a bit of a struggle in the
first year, but then I think people saw what we were
trying to do and the support has grown with each
year. We like to focus on the history of Sheffield as
a beer town, including cask ales as well as craft, and
then link in its place on the global stage – like how
many Yorkshire breweries are using international
ingredients to make international beer styles.”
Each Sheffield Beer Week has a theme and the
2018 edition, which happened in March, focused
on women in the beer industry – something close
to Jules’ heart.
“We were delighted with the support from
Sheffield businesses and the wider beer scene.
We even had a group of guys come over from
Scandinavia who wanted to visited the old cask
breweries of the area.”