With Chesterfield’s love for real ale and beer, the basement of Elder Way has been identified as the ideal setting for an authentic bierkeller.
Bierkeller, which translates to beer cellar, is defined as ‘an underground pub where German beer is consumed’. The popularity of bierkellers is growing in the UK with many towns and cities now boasting their own, including Liverpool, Manchester, Nottingham, Halifax and Birmingham.
Chesterfield has a long-established real ale scene. Most recently hundreds of real ale lovers flocked to the town for the two-day 2023 CAMRA Beer Festival at the Winding Wheel on 3 – 4 February.
The annual festival, returned for the first time since the pandemic. In 2020 the festival attracted more than 2,000 customers over the two days.
Later in the year, Barrow Hill Roundhouse in Chesterfield will hold the popular Rail Ale Festival from 18 – 20 May 2023 which boast 350 beers. The three-day CAMRA approved beer festival has been described as ‘the country’s most atmospheric beer and music festival!’, attracting thousands of visitors over the three days.
In and around the town centre, Chesterfield boasts a number of popular real ale pubs and microbreweries, however it lacks an authentic Bavarian-style bierkeller.
The pandemic saw the increase of bierkellers across the UK, as the traditional trestle tables and benches rather than bar stools, and two-pint steins rather than single pints, cut down on contact with bar staff.
Originating in Germany, Beer halls are a traditional part of Bavarian culture. Bavaria’s capital Munich is the city most associated with beer halls; almost every brewery in Munich operates a beer hall. Bierkellers features prominently in Oktoberfest, the world’s largest beer festival which has been held annually since 1810 in Munich, Germany. Each year it is held over a two-week period, ending on the first Sunday in October.
London launched its first beer festival in 2011 and it quickly became the largest Oktoberfest in the UK attracting around 50,000 beer-lovers every year.
The 16,076 sq ft basement at Elder Way provides the opportunity to capitalise on the town’s real ale movement.
Located underneath the town’s famous 1930s mock-Tudor former Co-op department store, the basement offers an ideal opportunity for transformation into an authentic beer hall. There is ample space for the traditional long trestle tables and bench seating associated with bierkellers. Bierkeller Tables are almost as famous as Oktoberfest itself, designed to seat both locals and visitors together and allow partygoers move from one bierkeller table to another and socialise.
There is ample space for a kitchen in which to create authentic Oktoberfest is food -schweinebraten, würstl, schweinshaxe, and käsespätzle and, of course, space for a stage for live bands, whether that’s a live Oompah band or more mainstream music.
Visitors to Elder Way’s bierkeller will also benefit from the 92-bedroom Chesterfield Premier Inn hotel which occupies the first and second floors of the iconic Elder Way building. Secure parking is close by at Saltergate multi-storey car park.
Located just a short walking distance from Chesterfield Train Station – a mainline station offering direct routes to key UK cities in less than an hour, including Sheffield (10mins), Derby (18mins), Nottingham (36mins), Leicester (40mins) – a bierkeller at Elder Way is also an opportunity to bring Oktoberfest to South Yorkshire and the East Midlands 365 days a year.
If you’re interested in being part of Chesterfield’s thriving real ale scene, then Elder Way could be the ideal location for your bierkeller venture.
Get in touch with our team now to discover what Elder Way can offer your business or contact Jomast Developments on 01642 666936.