A recent study has revealed an estimated 42% of Sheffield’s pubs, breweries and other drinking establishments are independently owned or operated.

Co-written by the University of Sheffield’s Professor Phil Withington and research associate Dr Nicholas Groat, the project saw 464 alcoholic retailers surveyed between July 2024 and July 2025. 

Professor Phil Withington said: “Sheffield was an obvious choice because of its reputation for brewing. We wanted to see what ‘craft’ in relation to alcohol really meant to people involved in the industry.”

The study also found that many drinks businesses across Sheffield have favoured moving away from the term ‘craft’, claiming the phrase had increasingly been used in branding by large corporations.

Originally, the term craft had been used to describe small-scale, independent producers of products like micro-brewed beers.

A recommendation in the study suggested embracing the term ‘independent’, saying it better reflects the ‘quality, community and heritage that defines the sector’.

Prof. Withington said: “Independent refers to producers and retailers who own their business and make decisions about the alcohol they make or sell, we also found it indicated a kind of ethos around production and consumption which craft had previously been associated with.”

He added: “We were surprised how big the independent scene was, and a little surprised just how many producers preferred the term.”

Last year the city retained its place as the ‘Real Ale Capital of the World’, with the city boasting 58 breweries equating to 4 for every 100,000 people, more than London, Manchester and Dublin according to the University of Sheffield’s 2024 report. 

Dave Pickersgill, Pub Heritage Officer for Sheffield CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale), says that Sheffield’s independent drinking scene stems from its long history of small businesses working together “for the common good”.

He said: “The brewing trade is no different – there is a camaraderie in the independent Sheffield pub/brewing scene which is perhaps not replicated in other UK cities, people openly share successes and failures, staff move between employers.

“This has resulted in Sheffield having a relatively high number of independent outlets with many inter-links.”

He added: “Sheffield is a good place to be independent and small, this reputation is spreading, it’s not just the infrastructure, it’s also the people.”

The study calls for the creation of a collective body, to give Sheffield’s pubs, breweries and other alcohol retailers a ‘more unified’ voice. 

Prof. Withington said: “We very much hope the city can develop an indy drinks hub to represent the sector, and to maximise its huge potential in the UK and globally.”