Mesters Tap Sheffield: First look inside new bar opened by Little Mesters Brewing in 'overlooked' Woodseats

This is the first look inside a new Sheffield bar being opened by a popular brewery in a 'forgotten' city suburb.

Little Mesters Brewing has been a big success since launching its micro brewery with a tap room at Meadowhead in 2020.

Now it hopes to bring its drinks to a wider audience, while also celebrating other top brewers, at its new Mesters Tap bar on Chesterfield Road in Woodseats, which opens today, Friday, September 15.

Little Mesters director Ben Shaw told The Star: "We've been looking for the right location in the general vicinity of our brewery for a while and this site was perfect for us.

"It's going to be a chilled out and relaxed tap room where we can put our beers on, alongside some other quality craft beers and a really good range of wines and spirits.

"We want to make it as welcoming and comfortable as possible for everybody, and we're really keen to engage with the local community.

"Woodseats is a thriving area which in our view has been slightly overlooked compared with the likes of Kelham Island and Abbeydale Road. We're hoping to breathe even more life into the area, alongside the other great craft beer places already operating here: The Boston Arms, Guzzle and The Herd."

Mesters Tap will initially be open on Wednesdays and Thursdays, from 5pm-10.30pm, Fridays and Saturdays, from 12pm-11pm, and Sundays, from 12pm-10pm, though it may extend its hours and open on Mondays and Tuesdays in future.

It will not serve food at first but there will be a range of bar snacks and there are plans for a potential collaboration with a local food vendor.

Little Mesters Brewing is named after the talented craftspeople who formed the backbone of Sheffield's cutlery industry. Perhaps its most famous beer is the Stan IPA, which was created in memory of Stan Shaw, described as the last of the 'little mesters' and helped to raise money for a memorial and heritage trail in his honour.

Other memorable creations include its Sheffield Home of Football IPA and lager, which were created to help promote the city as the true cradle of the beautiful game, with a slice of the profits going to the Sheffield Home of Football Charity.

The Mesters Tap replaces the short-lived Bulldog Value Bar on Chesterfield Road, which declared a price war with Wetherspoons when it launched earlier this year. The site was previously home to the Sport Shack sports bar and before that a Greggs bakery.