Sheffield brewery's first pub under starter's orders

Stancill Brewery has bought the freehold of the Horse and Jockey, at Wadsley, with the aim of transforming the run-down venue into the city’s latest beer haven.

The journey to opening a ‘brewery tap’ has been swift. Stancill started two years ago with a determination to keep alive the name of Barnsley Bitter, which was in danger of disappearing after 150 years.

Friends Tom Gill and Adam Hague opened the brewery in Neepsend, transferring the equipment from Oakwell Brewery after it closed in 2013.

They brought head brewer Jonny Stancill from Barnsley, deciding to name the business after him.

The Wadsley pub has been given a big revamp, with 10 new hand pumps added to the bar, allowing it to feature Stancill’s complete range of beers.

Tom, the company’s managing director, said: “It’s significant, as running a pub is very different to running a brewery, but it’s an exciting step in the growth and evolution of our business.”

The Horse and Jockey, which will officially open next Friday, July 29, will be managed by 21-year-old former nurse Ashleigh McMain. An old friend of Tom’s, she said the opportunity was ‘too good to miss’ and that the pub’s overhaul has been well-received so far.

Built on the site of Wadsley’s medieval village green, the Horse and Jockey’s earliest records date from 1833.

On the pub’s bar will be the owners’ newest drink, Stancill Lager, claimed to be the first lager designed and produced exclusively within the city.

The product follows Sheffield Pilsner, which the company began producing last year. Stancill says it is the only local outfit with the equipment to brew and filter lager.

However, lager has been produced in Sheffield before – the defunct Hope and Anchor firm was involved with introducing Carling Black Label to the UK in the 1950s.

Lager continued to be produced in the city until the early 1990s when Hope and Anchor shut.