50th edition of the beer and cider festival organised by Sheffield CAMRA, with drinks, live music, street food and more.
The Steel City Beer & Cider Festival returns to Kelham Island Museum from Wednesday 21 to Saturday 24 October, and this year is a big one: it's the 50th edition. It's run by the Sheffield & District CAMRA volunteer organising committee, so it's a proper community effort from people who just love good beer. The venue is right in the brewery quarter, the heart of Sheffield's real ale heritage, which suits it perfectly — you can work your way from a hand-pulled bitter to a heavy, barrel-aged stout in a single afternoon.
The scale is hard to overstate: around 200 cask ales, 70 craft beers on keg, and 30 ciders and perries. On Wednesday night, the Champion Beer of Sheffield & District is judged. Live music follows on Thursday with Highway Child, Friday with Soul Battalion, and Saturday afternoon with the Loxley Silver Band and Kelham Rapper, then The 88s. On Saturday, the museum's River Don Steam Engine will be running demonstration trips. There's plenty of street food to keep you going, too: Yuleys Bratwurst, Sunshine Pizza, Smith's Fish & Chips, Caribbean fusion, Taco Trailer, Cheese Factor and Fairfax Chocolatiers & Spirits.
If you want more than just drinking, there's a programme of talks, tours and tastings. Wednesday at 19:00 is a Beer & Music pairing with Pete Brown. Thursday morning brings the Little Chicago guided walk at 11:30, led by Sheffield's Real Heritage Pubs editor Dave Pickersgill and local historian John Stocks, following the streets that feature in the book Sheffield 1925: Gang Wars and Wembley Glory. At 17:00, Kelham Island Brewery's owner-directors give a talk looking back at the history of the Fat Cat and the pioneering work of Dave Wickett. And at 19:00, Abbeydale Brewery — the oldest established brewery in Sheffield, wholly employee owned and producing over 200 barrels a week in 2025 — hosts a tutored tasting.
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Entry is free on Wednesday, £5 on Thursday, and £8 on Friday and Saturday (free for CAMRA members showing a valid membership card). You'll need a souvenir glass (£3) for all drinks, and printed programmes are £1. Opening hours are Wednesday 21 October 17:00 to 22:30 (16:00 for CAMRA members and industry folk), Thursday 22 and Friday 23 October 11:30 to 22:30, and Saturday 24 October 11:00 to 21:00. The museum is on Alma Street, Sheffield S3 8RY.
