But the industry has changed considerably over the years, with the larger breweries having mostly disappeared and been replaced by smaller firms.
These photos from the noughties, 1990s and beyond, look back to the last days of Ward's Brewery, on Ecclesall Road, which has long since been converted into flats, and the old Cannon Brewery, in Neepsend, where there are £200 million plans to create 500 flats, a public square and a new park.
They also show Kelham Island Brewery, which was recently saved from closure, during its early years, and Bradfield Brewery in its infancy. This retro photo gallery features the Sheffield beer which was crowned best in Britain, and a famous bear which lived in the property department of the city's Whitbread Brewery.
It's not just the breweries and their beers which are celebrated in these photos from the archives, but the workers who have helped to keep the city well watered over the decades.
1. Cannon Brewery
Brewery manager Nigel Haighton and Sheffield Eagles' Paul Broadbent enjoy a pint outside the Cannon Brewery. Photo: Sharron Bennett
2. Whitbread Brewery bear
Hayley Goodwin at the Whitbread Brewery on Shepcote Lane, Sheffield, with the brown bear in the property department office which was leaving for a new home at the City Museum, in 1999.
4. Farm brew
Richard and John Gill pictured at Watt House Farm, Sheffield, where they were setting up a micro brewery, in April 2004.