Sheffield beer: Craft ale shop Beer Central snapped up by young customer

Beer Central in The Moor Market is back open six days-a-week after being sold by Sean Clarke and Deborah Jackson after 10 years.

New owner Megan Lindop, aged 27, said she was taken there by her dad nine years ago, igniting a love of craft beer.

In January she took finance Ross Lindsay there on a visit. And when the kiosk went on the market soon afterwards they made their move.

The couple are based in Fife where they have another craft ale shop and tap room. 

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Megan said: “We’ve discovered Beer Central has a huge number of loyal customers who are delighted it is back open six days. It was only doing Saturday for a few months during the sale process.

“It’s been brilliant to see people so excited. We’ll be introducing some Scottish ales and taking some up there from Sheffield. But we have reassured people the majority is going to stay the same. Customers love local breweries so much, we definitely want to keep them.” 

Sean and Deborah launched Beer Central at the entrance to The Moor Market on the day it opened in November 2013. In April they announced they were seeking a buyer.

Megan said running a business was 24/7 and Sean wanted a bit more free time to watch Barnsley FC play.

Several parties interested in the unit wanted to do something different with it, but Sean didn’t want it changed, she added.

Now they have hired Gavin Kieran as manager. He is organising bottle share events at local real ale pubs where enthusiasts can bring in exceptional ales for others to try. The first one is at the Harlequin on Nursery Street on October 3.

Meanwhile, Megan says they want to sell 350 different beers at Beer Central.

She added: “It’s a small shop so we’ll have to be very well organised.”