Sheffield's industrial heart is currently doubling as a giant beer hall. The Steel City Beer and Cider Festival has taken over Kelham Island Museum on Alma Street for its milestone 50th edition, running from Wednesday 21 to Saturday 24 October, and it's the kind of event that only makes sense in a city built on steel and real ale.
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The first thing to know is that this is a proper labour of love. The whole festival is organised and run entirely by volunteers from CAMRA Sheffield & District, and it's been going since 1975, so the 50th anniversary is no small thing. Last year more than 5,500 people came through the doors, and this year's proceeds go to Support Dogs.
If you're heading down, the hours and prices shift a bit each day. Today, Friday 23 October, the festival opens at 11:30 and closes at 22:30, with admission at £8 for non-members and free for CAMRA members. Tomorrow, Saturday 24 October, it opens an hour earlier at 11:00 and wraps up at 21:00, again £8 for non-members and free for members. On both days, children are welcome until 20:00, after which it becomes over-18s only. A festival glass is £3, and you can either return it for a refund or keep it as a souvenir. Your admission comes with enough tokens for your first drink, and any unused tokens can be refunded up to £5 or donated.
The drinks list is the real draw. There are over 300 to choose from: around 200 cask ales, about 30 ciders and perry made in the farmhouse style from freshly pressed apple or pear juice, and roughly 80 KeyKeg beers, plus a curated selection of bottles and cans. To keep you going, there's a long line-up of food traders, from Sunshine Pizza Oven, Yuleys Bratwurst, Smith's Fish & Chips and Caribbean Fusion in the courtyard to the Taco Trailer in the Stone Garden, Cheese Factor, Fairfax Chocolatiers, Henderson's in the Upper Hall, the Millowners Arms pub (card only) and Joni's cafe.
It's not all drinking, either. The museum's centrepiece, the River Don Engine, is a 425-tonne steam engine with 12,000 horsepower and the most powerful working steam engine in Europe, and it's being run for demonstrations. Today's times are 13:00, 16:00 and 18:00, with 12:00, 16:00 and 18:00 tomorrow. On the talks front, tomorrow at 13:00 Rachel Auty of Women On Tap CIC leads 'Where Are All the Women?' for £4.00, and the music keeps going with Soul Battalion at 20:00 tonight, and the Loxley Silver Band at 14:00 and The 88s at 18:30 tomorrow, with the Kelham Island Rapper popping up at various times.
Getting there is easy. The Shalesmoor tram stop serves the Yellow and Blue lines, buses 57/57a, 81, 82, 86, 7/8/8a, 75 and the free Sheffield Connect SC2 all stop nearby, and Sheffield station isn't far. Parking at the museum is limited, but the Alma Street car park is close by and free for the first hour, then £1.50 an hour, with limited free parking behind the Bessemer Converter for blue badge holders. It's a big weekend for a small museum, and a good excuse to spend a few hours in the middle of Sheffield's industrial history.
Published Date
23 October 2026
