Sheffield ranked second best in UK for local beer with more than 1,000 independent pubs

It comes after COVID-19 had a devastating impact on independent pubs, causing thousands of beloved boozers to close across the country.

So, to help encourage Brits to support local craft beer and visit microbreweries, a new study from comparison website Bionic set out to uncover Britain’s best craft drinking destinations and the cities where pub goers can find the most pubs in that location.

It put Sheffield as the second best for a UK winter bar crawl - with more than 1,875 independent pubs to choose from.

The survey says: “Sheffield makes the perfect location for a pub crawl!”

From the data, some of the favourite city-based independent pubs are The Sheffield Tap, conveniently located next to the railway station. The Fat Cat, in Kelham Island, known as the home of real ale, also gets a mention as does the Wick At Both Ends, a cosy pub on West Street in the city centre. Newcomers like The Ale Bar on Ecclesall Road are also proving popular.

The survey said: “In total, Sheffield scored a total of 45 out of 100 in Bionic’s Brewdex.

"The steel city has received a 6.2 average star rating for pub location, meaning this winter punters will never have to stumble very far in the cold to their next boozy destination.”

London topped the list with Birmingham third and Manchester fourth. The study combined data on customer reviews, number of unique beers and the number of top rated pubs and microbreweries in each city to create an index ranking.

It also looked at the most popular pints to share on social media and which independent beers are each generation’s favourite.

In Birmingham, punters can choose from 1,643 pubs to find a comfy seat to sit back and relax with their favourite pint. Overall, Birmingham scored a star rating of 5.9 for pub location and a total index score of 47.

Manchester has 1,613 pubs for punters to discover, a pub location star rating of 6 and an total index score of 77.