Cheers North East magazine #68 - March 2017

cheers WWW.CHEERSNORTHEAST.CO.UK // MARCH 2017 // ISSUE 68

I T ’ S

A B O U T

P U B S ,

P E O P L E ,

B E E R

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A N D

Y O U !

BREWERIES TO PACK BAGS WATERTIGHT ARCHES ARE A PRIORITY BROWN NOT POLARISED BERWICK BEARS ALL

THE ISSUE WITH ART

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WELCOME Research from Oxford University shows that the happiest people in society are those who live near a pub and use it as a social hub.

They meet friends there (and tend to have more of them than other people), they enjoy better life satisfaction, and are less likely to drink to excess.

It’s also a factor in people’s quest in where they want to live in the first place – buying a house near a pub comes below good transport links in most people’s tick list, but ranks close to the proximity of supermarkets and schools.

Gazing out of my office window – handily within walking distance of several pubs – I can see we’ve just about shaken off the winter blues and look forward to the lengthening days, a ray or two of sunshine – all of which should translate into the sound of pub tills ringing.

There’s so much to look forward to in March with beer festivals in the diary, St Patrick’s Day, Mothers’ Day, the Cheltenham Festival, season-defining matches for our football clubs, and the introduction of new beer styles that reflect the changing season.

The development of our pubs is also a fascinating aspect of today’s leisure industry – immensely pleasing refurbishments such as The Brown Bear in Berwick, and the micropub phenomenon characterised by the Town Mouse in Newcastle and the One-Eyed Stag in Whickham, Gateshead.

And, while we’re on the pub theme, let’s extend huge congratulations to the region’s Campaign For Real Ale (Camra) Pubs of the Year. Your hard work doesn’t go unnoticed.

Cheers, Alastair Gilmour Editor, Cheers North East

EDITORIAL 07930 144 846 01661 844 115

Alastair Gilmour alastair@cheersnortheast.co.uk @CheersPal www.cheersnortheast.co.uk We are tweeting.

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CONTENTS 20

THE CRAFT OF ART

Many an artist will confess that showing their work in a conventional gallery isn’t the best way to get it known to the general public. Rather, it’s prints and paintings hanging in pubs or painted on the walls that excite producer and viewer in equal measure. We have time in pubs to examine and appreciate what’s in front of us, and anyway artwork shouldn’t be confined to hushed rooms and the fear of squeaks on parquet flooring rising from our Air Max trainers. We look at the art and artists making our pubs that little bit different.

COVER: STREET ARTIST HUSH AT THE BRIDGE TAVERN, NEWCASTLE. PHOTO: PETER SKELTON

IT’S GOING TO BE A BRILLIANT PUB AGAIN. THE BROWN BEAR IS AN ELEGANT BUILDING IN A BEAUTIFUL TOWN MARK DODDS

ADVERTISING 01661 844 115 07854 011704

04 08 12 14

LATEST NEWS SCOTCH EGG CHALLENGE

GRIN AND BEAR IT GIN GIN CIN CIN

16 28 36 38

DISCOVER DARWIN BOTTLES ARE CHAMPION THE A-Z OF PUBS FUN WITH FUN STUFF

PUBLISHED BY:

Emma Howe emma@offstonepublishing.co.uk

Publishers: Jane Pikett & Gary Ramsay Unit One, Bearl Farm Stocksfield Northumberland NE43 7AJ

Photography: Peter Skelton

enquiries@offstonepublishing.co.uk twitter: @offstonepublish www.offstonepublishing.co.uk

While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, the publisher cannot accept responsibility for omissions and errors. All material in this publication is strictly copyright and all rights reserved.

When you have finished with this magazine please recycle it

NEWS

BREWERIES MAKE TRACKS TO QUIT ARCHES Two highly-acclaimed microbreweries have had their dreams dashed through remedial work by rail track management company Network Rail. Arcane Bridge and Errant breweries have been operating for some months in railway arches on the Newcastle side of the King Edward Bridge. But they have now been served notice to quit by the public body, which has cited health and safety issues with water leakage from above which needs extensive and lengthy repairs to rectify – work that can’t be completed while tenants occupy the arches.

“We all have six months to leave, says Kay Masson, who ran Arcane Bridge brewery and taproom with partner Tony Killeen. “In the end, we decided to sell the brewery kit – to a nice guy from Bristol – and we have plans to relocate Arcane Bridge but not until the end of the year.”

Errant Brewery’s Martyn Stockdale were getting to grips with plans for a taproom in the brewhouse.

“Network Rail needs to do some work on the arches to shore up the front and back walls against wind shear,” says Martyn. “This is likely to take a long time and turn the arches into a building zone, which may, in turn, necessitate some tenant contracts being terminated early. They have been keeping us in the loop as much as possible and are

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bending over backwards to make sure that there’s little disruption to our business.

“We’re under no pressure, so it’s business as usual for us. What it has highlighted is our need to expand. Our business has exploded in the short time we’ve been open and we’re struggling to keep up with how thirsty our customers are. It’s important that we now improve our brewing capacity so we can keep up with the insane demand we’ve had for our special beers such as Jungle Simcoe IPA and Black Magic Salted Liquorice Stout.

“We’re hoping to announce the fruits of our expansion very soon and we’d love to host a big shindig in summer at the brewery to celebrate it.”

Kay Masson reveals that she and Tony Killeen are getting married and are about to move house. The pair must be the most hard-working brewers in the region – Tony is a postman by day and Kay is a shift manager at JD Wetherspoon’s Five Swans in Newcastle, while they also brew regularly at the Hop & Cleaver on Newcastle’s Quayside.

It’s understood they’d like to build on that beneficial brewing arrangement.

The King Edward Bridge railway arches at Pottery Lane come under the Stephenson’s Quarter redevelopment remit, so it would be no surprise to see them return in the future fully cladded and gleaming and ready for use as bars… and microbreweries.

Movers: Kay Masson and Tony Killeen

Shakers: Martyn Stockdale, left, and Tom Meads

NEWS

SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE IN NEW MENU

Are you brave enough to invest the thick end of £50 on whisky? Not a bottle, by the way, but a nip.

The City Tavern in Newcastle is offering customers the opportunity to try out a range of rare, vintage spirits – the most expensive of which, Old Parr Blended Scotch Whisky dating from the 1950s, costs £49.95 a shot.

Called Desperate Measures, the spirits menu features highly prized vodka, whisky, rum and gin which include Italian vodka Voskaya and Hennessy Bras D’or Cognac, both from the 1960s, and a 1950s Morin 8 Year Calvados. Many of the distilleries are no longer in operation.

The City Tavern’s James Seabridge-Cooper says: “We’ve always offered a huge range of spirits but these really are something different and once each bottle is gone we won’t be able to replace it, so we will have to find an equally as interesting vintage tipple.”

The City Tavern was taken over by David King early in 2014 and then underwent a £450,000 refurbishment to create a contemporary bar while still retaining the venue’s historic features. Along

Earl of Pitt Street

Different: James Seabridge-Cooper

with its range of spirits and craft ales, the dogfriendly bar also offers a range of home-made comfort food on its all-day menu.

THERE’S A CHEESE FOR THAT

Louise Robinson at The Earl Of Pitt Street in Newcastle tells us she’s hosting a beer and cheese matching session on Monday March 13. Situated within a stone’s throw of St James’ Park, the pub features an Alfred Hitchcock meets Vivienne Westwood inspired decor. Brie-lliant!

MEMORIAL STARTS TO TAKE SHAPE A group of family and friends met last month at the Ouseburn Valley, Newcastle, to consider the proposals submitted for a memorial to historian, critic and ale lover Eric Larkham who died last year.

The Ouseburn Trust, which oversees the creation and maintenance of a vibrant, diverse and sustainable future for this area of the city’s industrial heritage, invited craftspeople to suggest a fitting artwork for the much-missed blender of beer, history, architecture, industry and humour – all the things the Ouseburn represents.

Lesley Turner, admin and communications officer at the Ouseburn Trust, said: “We enjoyed looking at them all and after much discussion settled on a design by Colin Hagan who has a studio at the 36 Lime Street warehouse workshops in the Valley.”

A memorial walk has been organised by the Trust in June this year, while the the local branch of the Society for the Preservation of Beer in Wood branch is also hosting an informal crawl (April 2) of Eric’s favourite Ouseburn pubs, operating on Eric’s principle of starting at the top and using gravity.

Regular Ouseburn Valley updates: www.ouseburntrust.org.uk/subscribe

Newcastle’s

Newest

Micro PUB nOW OPEN

Basement, 11 St Mary’s Place, Newcastle, NE1 7PG /townmousealehouse

@The_Town_Mouse

@townmousencl

Real Ale, Craft Beer, Real Cider, Dog Friendly www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 5

PUB NEWS

MOUSE TAKES UP TOWN RESIDENCY The micropub sector is growing nicely, writes Alastair Gilmour Newcastle’s newest pub is undoubtedly its smallest. The Town Mouse nestles in a basement on St Mary’s Place in the Haymarket, handily placed for the thousands of students and office workers who pass the door every day. Neighbours include JD Wetherspoons’ Five Swans and a hairdresser upstairs (with a “models wanted” sign in its window).

The Town Mouse is the first venture that data analyst Jon Sibley has embarked on, although he had always fancied the idea of

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owning a pub, having been involved in students’ union bars at Hull University. When he got the chance to leave his job at Northumbria University several months ago, he jumped at it.

“My job as a data analyst was to figure out how everything can improve, including saving money,” says Jon. “One of the ways that came up of how to save money was to offer staff voluntary redundancy – which I gladly took for myself.

“When this place came up we hadn’t even thought a name for

???

Say cheese: Jon Sibley at The Town Mouse it. We went through about 20 suggestions, but Town Mouse just sounded right because it’s small and cosy – just the sort of place a mouse would like.”

The Town Mouse is certainly small, it’s L-shaped, dog-friendly, contemporary and rather charming.

Great use has been made of the space and though it’s early days,

there’s a good, positive feel to it.

Jon Sibley, a laid-back character with bags of initiative, subconsciously wears a glass cloth over one shoulder, keeping it handy for rubbing, drying and wiping. He’s that priceless gem of a barperson; someone who tidies and clears as he goes because “there’s always something needs to be done”.

PUB NEWS Cask beers on the bar are Allendale Wolf, Stu Brew Red Brick, Marble Pint and Eden – the very last brew from Arcane Bridge (see article on page 4), while the keg offer includes Allendale Lager, A To K (Alphabet brewery) and Anarchy Blonde Star. A fridge full of bottles and cans extends the range even further.

Jon says: “I want to get some good cider in, but there’s been so much to do to get everything else ready for opening.”

The Town Mouse is already on many a beer enthusiast’s “circuit”, a welcome addition to Newcastle’s burgeoning, quality ale sector. Scurry along.

LOCAL PUB FOR LOCAL FOLK A Northumberland micropub has celebrated its first year of existence with a popular – if necessary – touch. Wor Local in Prudhoe has installed new toilets and additional shelving behind the bar which goes a long way to prove that the tiny pub is moving in the right direction.

It has also been voted as the Campaign For Real Ale (Camra) third-best cider pub. Four regular local ales on handpull – occasionally five – alongside 12 “real” ciders and 70-plus gins also underline its popularity and diversity.

“It’s all going well,” says Lisa Thear, who fronts the family business with son Charlie filling in bartender duties.

“Feedback is really great and we’ve got lots of nice regulars who like the family atmosphere. I wouldn’t have done anything different.

“Lots of people have said ‘I never thought a place like this would work in Prudhoe’ but we’ve shown it has.

We’ve put all our money back into the pub – the next job is to make the window look less like the shop it was and more like a pub.”

Wor Local is a repository for pub games – everything imagineable is available from Trivial Pursuit to Shut The Box. Dominoes and draughts are particularly well used. There is no television or music and it has become something of an obsession for regulars to scour charity shops for games.

“We’re a different sort of pub,” says Lisa. “Customers come in before and after going to the local restaurants – and they’re seeing more trade because of us.”

Wor Local does what it says on the sign.

Year old: Lisa Thear at Wor Local

www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 7

PUB NEWS

PEASE CAN I HAVE SOME MORE, SIR?

Number 11: The Rat Inn crew, left to right, Connor Mackinnon, Susan Buglass, Phil Mason, Karen Errington and Spike Easthope A Northumberland pub that has gained an impressively high national position for the quality of its food and front-of-house service has been in the judging wars yet again. Last month, The Rat Inn at Anick, Hexham, came in at number 11 in the Estrella Damm Gastropub of the Year and a few days later was then invited – quite separately – to participate in the finals of the Scotch Egg Challenge held at The Canonbury Tavern in London.

There’s apparently quite a bit of “needle” involved with the Scotch Egg Challenge; it’s about prestige, status and influence in the presentation of something as “ordinary” in pub fare as a what some people might regard as a glorified boiled egg.

“We were up against some fierce competition,” says head chef Phil Mason, whose not-so-secret ingredient is pease pudding.

The Rat’s Top 50 success wasn’t to be repeated, however, as the Draper’s Arms in Islington, London, was elected the 2017 winner with a version made with pork, haggis and panko breadcrumbs.

Curiously, competition judge Stefan Chomka, editor of Restaurant Magazine, was quoted as saying: “It’s hard to improve on the classic recipes and the Draper’s Arms pulled off a textbook version of a pork and black pudding one.”

(Mmm… if a restaurant expert can’t tell the difference between black pudding and haggis… we rest or case, m’lud.)

Phil’s partner Karen Errington was nevertheless delighted with the fun aspect of the Scotch Egg Challenge. She says: “It’s quite a big thing in the food calendar – good crack, too. We weren’t disappointed; it was just great to be able to take part.

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“Each chef had 15 minutes to cook the eggs.

Phil and Kevin (MacLean) had them all prepared and ours came out great, although we were the last ones in the fryer. We had to produce 14 eggs to be tested by two groups. One pub had really big eggs – I don’t know where they came from, but ours are just from normal hens.”

Phil is happy to divulge his method. He says: “We mix the pease pudding with ham hock. If you cook Scotch eggs properly in the first place the yolk shouldn’t go hard. We were very pleased with our eggs – but we’re very proud of what we do at The Rat anyway.”

To demonstrate the ingenuity that the competition inspires, one competitor produced a “full English” egg using four types of sausage meat and cornflakes.

Incidentally, the Draper’s Arms came in at 18th place in the Top 50 Gastropub awards – seven places lower than The Rat. “We think it’s down to doing what people want,” says Karen, explaining the pub’s ethos. “We cater for everybody from a sandwich for a fiver to something more special.

But we need to have the food to support the six real ales on the bar, which go really well.”

Idyllic: The Rat Inn, Anick Eggsactly.

PUB NEWS

HOW MANY PINTS IN A GALLEON? Golden galleon: The Gatehead College Cheers North East simply team searching for inspiration had to sit in on a pub quiz night called Schooniversity Challenge, seeing as the competition involved teams of academics representing the region’s further education establishments – and held at The Schooner in Gateshead.

At stake was a “golden galleon” trophy (painted up after languishing in the pub cellar for decades) and, of course, an awful lot of bragging rights. more than a little competitive edge. For example, In a previous life, newSunderland College team leader Simon Haddon ish Schooner landlord Adrian Marley was a wasn’t too bothered about winning, “just as long as maths lecturer at Newcastle College, so he we beat Gateshead”. Gateshead captain Richard rounded up former colleagues from there, plus Wensley is married to Newcastle College team Gateshead College, Sunderland College and member Christine, so the journey home might have Northumbria University – plus a team representing been eventful.

The University of Life. Not a lot different from The eventual – narrow – winners of the Oscarthe classic pub quiz – picture round, general style prize were the Northumbria Uni side. The knowledge, current affairs and specialist questions golden galleon has sailed across the Tyne.

– it bounced along with humour, banter, and

FESTIVAL VENUE FACES WRECKING BALL The home of the Durham Beer Festival for as many years as people can remember is under threat. Dunelm House, Durham University’s Student Union building, is being considered for demolition due to its leaky roof, poor insulation, inadequate services, and a whole host of not insurmountable problems.

Its architectural style is from the Brutalist school and an application for listed status has been deferred for five years, during which time it could be razed to the ground (or the River Wear below). Like Gateshead’s Trinity Square car park, is the fact that some people don’t like concrete as a construction material a good enough reason to pull it down?

Look at the Ove Arup-designed Kingsgate Bridge next to it – it’s also concrete but has a Grade I listing. Arise beer lovers and put your Brutalist shoulders behind saving Dunelm House.

www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 9

PUB NEWS

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THE ONE STOP DESTINATION FOR ALL YOU FLAVOUR JUNKIES OUT THERE

The Black Bull, Etal, renowned in particular for being the only thatched pub in Northumberland, is seeking a new tenant. Following several decades of being let to a pubco, the charming village pub has been returned to Ford & Etal Estates, allowing the opportunity for renovation to create a business which will be the hub of the locality.

The Black Bull sits in a row of cottages in the hamlet, itself sitting on the looping River Till, not far from the border with Scotland. This area once rang with battle and ran with gore – difficult to believe on weekends when visitors pick over Etal Castle and Heatherslaw Light Railway. Close by is the site of the Battle of Flodden where, in 1513, the last great medieval battle in the British Isles was fought – the army of James IV King of Scots alone numbering 30,000 men.

Michael Evans of estate agent Savills in Woller said: “The Black Bull offers an exciting opportunity and is recognised far beyond the north Northumberland area. The Estate is very proactive and hopes to work with an enthusiastic, entrepreneurial tenant to create a destination pub

HOP SECRET NOW OPEN COPPERS NEW PRIVATE TASTING LOUNGE! SAMPLE SOME OF THE BEST BEERS THE NORTH EAST HAS TO OFFER 17 PRINCES ROAD GOSFORTH NE3 5TT TEL 0191 217 0043 FOLLOW US @COPPERSGOSFORTH AND FIND US ON FACEBOOK REFER TO FACEBOOK FOR OUR OPENING TIMES.

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Thatch top: The Black Bull, Etal

at the heart of the community while contributing to the area’s strong tourism offer.”

The pub’s whitewashed, 18-inch thick walls are a welcome sight, particularly if you’ve walked the couple of miles from neighbouring Ford village. The surroundings are blissfully rural – the Ford & Etal estate is supported by 32 farms and 1,480 acres of woodland.

While thatch is the perfect roofing material, shedding rainwater quickly, it requires replacing every 25 years or so. At the last refurbishment in 1999 – completed in Norfolk reed – the team included a female practitioner of the craft, so come 2024, look for the return of yon lady thatcher.

The Black Bull is being offered under a commercial lease for an initial term of 11 years. Deadline for tenders is March 20.

Elsewhere in Northumberland, the pub recently named by Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer as his favourite has been taken over by a newly-formed company. The previous owners of The Diamond Inn at Ponteland, TDI Pont, filed a voluntary liquidation notice in January. Its directors Paul and Margaret Holliday had run the pub since 1986.

PUB NEWS

ON THE POTY FOR A FULL YEAR The region’s Campaign For Real Ale branches have decided on their respective Pubs of the Year (PotY) for 2017. Full results at www.cheersnortheast.co.uk but here are some of the highlights: TYNESIDE & NORTHUMBERLAND Tyneside Pub of the Year: Free Trade Inn, Newcastle (also Tyneside Cider PotY) North Northumberland: Curfew, Berwick South West Northumberland: The Boathouse, Wylam South East Northumberland: The Office, Morpeth (also overall Northumberland PotY) Overall Northumberland Cider PotY: The Tannery, Hexham Tyneside Club of the Year: Newcastle Cricket Club Northumberland Club: Haltwhistle Comrades

Big win: The Office, Morpeth

SUNDERLAND & SOUTH TYNESIDE Pub of the Year: The Steamboat, South Shields Club of the Year: Mid Boldon Club, Boldon

DURHAM Town Pub of the Year: The Victoria Country PotY: Smith’s Arms, Castle Dene, Chesterle-Street Club of the Year: Tanfield Lea WMC Town Cider Pub: The Station House Country Cider Pub: Black Lion, Wolsingham

STATION RENOVATION STILL ON TRACK Work is well under way at Hexham Station to transform the former first-class waiting room into a micropub – a taproom for High House Farm Brewery.

However, Heather Scott, who owns the brewery based near Matfen in Northumberland with husband Gary and family, reports that there’s more slog to be completed before the first beer is pulled.

“Unfortunately at this stage we don’t have an opening date,” says Heather. “We have discovered a bit more work than was initially visible to the eye.”

Nothing’s ever easy, is it?

www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 11

PUB NEWS

Transformed: The Brown Bear, Berwick

BEAR COMES OUT OF HIBERNATION

A historically significant Berwick pub has been transformed by a group of local businessmen. Like so many pubs in recent years The Brown Bear suffered a lack of investment and closed last year, more than likely forever, before its owner, Enterprise Inns, sold it at auction.

Combining huge swathes of vision, courage, concern, local pride and not a little money, the Bring

Back The Berwick Bear group headed by local businessman Frank Flannigan bought the Hide Hill property and set about restoring it into something the town would be proud of.

The business has been set up as a social enterprise where all the profits are invested back into the pub and staff which, as it develops, will be felt throughout Berwick via regional suppliers, local musicians,

craftspeople and food producers.

The Brown Bear straddles tradition and modernity – and straddles them well. It’s full of character, not too overwhelmed by barroom paraphernalia. The front bar’s large windows ensure the room is light and airy and dappled with stained glass with its contemporary touches softened by red velvet curtains straight out of a Vettriano painting. At the rear is a

large, thoughfully laid-out seating and dining area.

Six craft keg beers, four cask ales from Hadrian Border and Cross Border breweries plus a hand-pulled cider are an obvious attraction, and while Berwick is blessed with bakers and butchers who know how to make a good pie, The Brown Bear is no exception with its menu pie-high with various styles. How does wild British venison, bacon, red wine and green lentil sound? Or beef steak and Long Clawson stilton? Then fresh croissants, Tunnocks tea cakes and savoury snacks take it in another direction.

Among the investment group is Mark Dodds, a long-standing licensee and pubs campaigner, who kick-started plans to save the Black Bull in neighbouring Lowick last year.

He says: “It’s going to be a brilliant pub again. The Brown Bear is an elegant building in the centre of a beautiful, completely under-recognised town, steeped in the most fascinating and turbulent history.”

Future plans for the pub include a farmers’ market earmarked for the space beside and behind the pub while ideas are on the to-do list for a microbrewery, distillery and mixeduse arts venue.

Berwick’s town crest features a bear and one appears on the local council’s stationery, so they’re symbolically important. The Brown Bear’s grizzly days are well behind it.

Shortlisted for the FreeFrom Food Awards 2017 in the ‘Down the Pub and Bar’ category

autumnbrewingco 12 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

@AutumnBrewingCo

www.autumnbrewing.co.uk

PUB NEWS

SHED-LOADS OF CREATIVITY Now that spring is springing and the daffs are nodding in the fresh breeze, many a publican will be thinking about brightening their places up, renewing furniture, fixing this, repairing that, and getting round to sorting out the beer garden.

Again.

Now that we’re all tuned into upcycling and reclamation, is there a more satisfying way of doing that than through the help of a social enterprise that helps to improve the lives of people in local communities by sourcing a range of waste and surplus timber to turn it into functional, saleable products?

Gateshead-based charity gwkWoodshed runs an innovative employment scheme that not only helps the disadvantaged in society but produces incredible furniture from discarded wood that looks terrific in a pub setting.

“All the furniture and objects we make is from reclaimed timber,” says gwkWoodshed site manager Nathan Hopkins. “We’re a non profit-making business working with groups who wouldn’t normally find employment, such as those with physical and mental disabilities, depression and stroke groups. We also run an ‘alternative curriculum’ for those outside mainstream education. We

Timber team: The gwkWoodshed crew (Nathan Hopkins, centre) work with potential employers to give these people a chance – for example, a lot of people age 50plus are hung out to dry, finding it difficult to find work. Making furniture taps into their creative side.”

And, what those people can do with discarded pallets and logs dredged from the Tyne is simply amazing. Picnic tables, oak barrel seating, benches, pews, bird boxes, planters, raised beds and dining room sets bring style and

substance to the inside or outside of a pub – plus they’re equally at home at home.

Nathan Hopkins is also keen to talk to large regional companies who can offer a future for his workforce. As for the beer garden furniture, this is the time to present a fresh face to the world. What could be more rewarding? *gwkWoodshed, Whickham Highway, Lobley Hill, Gateshead NE11 9RQ. Details: (0191 460 9508) www.gwkwoodshed.org.uk

www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 13

GIN FESTIVAL

THE PERFECT TONIC Newcastle and Durham festivals explore the secrets of gin Assuming you have a taste for gin (and if not, why not?, we’ve got just the tonic for you – the first of three Juniper Planet gin festivals at South Northumberland Cricket Club, Gosforth, Newcastle on April 7, 8 and 9.

We’ve teamed up with festival organiser Juniper Planet, our sister magazines Appetite and Contact, and the folks at Relish Publications to celebrate the growing range of gins, botanicals and juniper-inspired cocktails being produced in the North East, Cumbria and Yorkshire. The Northumberland Gin Festival will be followed by two more – at Durham County Cricket Club (June 16-18) and in Bedale, North Yorkshire (September 8-9) - and all three promise a fantastic line up of gins and tonics, food from regional chefs and producers, and live music. Here’s more...

PLANET JUNIPER Planet Juniper aims to bring together the widest range of gin, botanicals and juniper-inspired cocktails ever seen in the North East.

The three 2017 festivals - in Gosforth, Newcastle, in April, Durham in June, and Bedale, North Yorkshire in September - will each feature more than 70 gins and highlight the region’s fast-growing range of distilleries.

The quiet revolution in distilleries across the North of England has inspired the events, where established brands such as The Lakes Distillery will appear. Guests will also include Poetic License in Sunderland, The Moorland Distillery in Northumberland, home of the outstanding Hepple Gin, the enigmatic Steampunk, Masons Yorkshire Gin in Bedale, and significant players like Alnwick Gin and The Durham Distillery.

As well as a range of VIP experiences on offer, each festival will include free tastings and the opportunity to explore the widest range of gins on the UK market. Fever-Tree is the official drinks partner, and every visitor will also have 14 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

free access to Fevertree mixers and botanical drinks. Festival director Mark Carton says: “We want to show that gin is more than just juniper berries; the sophisticated and complex range of options make gin a drink for every taste. It’s fantastic that so many of our partners are using our festivals to showcase their full range, with Poetic License also launching a limited edition Picnic Gin at our event in April in Newcastle.”

The three Planet Juniper festivals will each take place over three days, each with around 80 gins on offer, a VIP offer including gin cocktail bar, gifts and an exclusive gin flight featuring the premium small batch gins available at each festival.

HEPPLE GIN AND JUNIPER This award-winning premium gin originates from Northumberland, where the Hepple estate is renowned as something of a Gin Eden. It lies in the wild and remote Northumberland National Park, home to four of the UK’s cleanest rivers, the country’s darkest skies and some of its most charming people.

Water of great purity rises from deep within the sandstone hills that surround the distillery and as well as providing the distillery’s water, these springs sustain a tremendous variety of aromatic plants, including the ancient juniper from which the team here pick the young green berries unique to Hepple Gin, strands of sweet gale (or bog myrtle) by the burns, Douglas Fir in the woods and lovage and blackcurrant in the Hepple garden.

These hills also provide the spirit of the gin, which is so crisp and clean it almost crackles in the air. Through its link with the Hepple Estate, Hepple Gin is also engaged in one of the most ambitious juniper restoration and propagation projects in the UK. As well as promoting the healthy growth of the current population of junipers at Hepple, the team has started a successful propagation programme from the

estate’s native juniper seed, with plans to plant many hundreds of seedlings every year in areas supportive of young plants, adding to the great work which is already undertaken by the National Parks.

Meanwhile, inside the distillery, Moorland uses cutting-edge techniques to capture the taste of gin’s foremost ingredient more completely than is possible using conventional distillation. The technique takes seven times longer than usual methods and is designed to capture the taste of juniper in high definition.

From this autumn, a rather more traditional but equally ambitious plan has been given the go-ahead by Natural England to rebuild the once-mighty juniper colony on the hills around the distillery, and again Moorland is fully involved.

THE GIN

With more than 80 gins on offer at the first event - the three-day Northumberland Gin Festival in April - there’s plenty on offer to whet your appetite. Sunderland’s Poetic License will launch a limited-edition Picnic Gin at the event, while Northumberland’s Moorland Distillery, Hepple Gin and Steampunk will also be on site. Alnwick Gin, The Durham Distillery and Masons Yorkshire Gin from Bedale will also be available, while official drinks partner Fever-Tree will provide the best mixers and botanical drinks.

Festival director Mark Carton says: “Gin is more than just juniper berries, and the festival will showcase the sophisticated and complex range available.”

THE FOOD

Northumberland Gin Festival will bring together three of the North’s best street food operators. Indian street food pioneers Dabbawal will be bringing the best of Mumbai’s street food fresh from their Jesmond and Newcastle city centre kitchens, the boys from La Petite Crêperie will be serving up sweet and savoury crêpes throughout the day, and the Scream for Pizza camper van-turned pizzeria will be cooking up a storm all day long.

THE COMPANY

On top of all the top notch food and drink, there’s live music throughout the weekend and the Cheers team will be there along with corporate partners from across the North of England.

LAKES EXPLORER MAKES ITS DEBUT On the back of the fastest sell-out of a limited batch of gin in its history, The Lakes Distillery in Cumbria is set to re-release its award-winning The Lakes Gin Explorer Edition as a permanent member of its family of spirits.

With a nod to diversity, the powder cornflower blue hues with a matte finish and stunning visuals elevate the bottle and the eagerly anticipated contemporary design even features beautiful laser-etched botanicals.

This super premium version of the distillery’s multi award-winning The Lakes Gin features an eclectic mix of 15 carefully curated botanicals, including local Cumbrian juniper and six botanicals native to the Lake District National Park.

On the nose is a combination of zesty orange citrus, coriander and cassia bark followed by hints of Earl Grey tea and cracked black pepper. The palate is almost herbal and complex with vibrant notes of juniper, spice and coriander.

Black pepper dominates and leads to a long peppery finish.

Planet Juniper is showcasing more than 80 gins at its first festival on April 7-9 at South Northumberland Cricket Club, Gosforth, Newcastle NE3 1LU Coming up: Durham County Cricket Club, Riverside Stadium, Chester le Street, June 16-18

TICKETS AVAILABLE ONLINE - £15

www.planetjuniper.co.uk Use the code GIN17 for 25% off your tickets

With your ticket you’ll receive: •A guide to the world’s small batch gins •H i ball glass for all your drinks •F ever Tree tonic and botanical mixers •D iscount vouchers for exclusive products in the gift shop and from selected event partners

Purchase tickets at www.planetjuniper.co.uk www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 15

BREWERY NEWS

VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY

Gaining a certificate in brewing competency is one thing and all very well, but the real learning starts when you’re making beer on your own equipment. The emphasis is on getting it right, getting it consistent, and also allowing some room for experimentation.

But – as Victoria Thompson firmly believes – the priority has to fall on quality.

Victoria is head brewer at Darwin Brewery in Sunderland, a facility first set up in 1997 as part of Brewlab which has since developed into one of the world’s leading providers of training and analysis services for the international brewing industry, now based in purpose-built premises in Sunderland.

Darwin’s equipment is possibly the most gleaming, highly efficient set of vessels anyone could fine anywhere – and it’s an obvious source of pride for Victoria.

She says: “I did a three-week course in practical brewing two years ago and was offered a job on the last day of the course. I suppose I was in the right place at the right time.”

16 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

Victoria hadn’t come from the hobby-brewing side which many microbrewers have; it was while taking business studies in Belgium that started a fascination with beer.

“I had actually bought a home-brew kit after applying for the course,” she says. “I certainly didn’t want to work in an office after university. It was a surprise I hadn’t got into beer before.

“But the real challenge for me now is to get Darwin Brewery functioning on its own rather than being a facility for Brewlab courses.”

As the Darwin name suggests, discovery and investigation is very much part of Victoria’s brief.

“We’ve been helping Peter Briggs at Autumn Brewing Co to develop a range of gluten-free beers which were then brewed at Castle Eden Brewery,” she says. “It was really interesting to be part of that and to see right from the beginning how beer could be brewed from the likes of millet and quinoa.

“We also brew a lager for The Ship Inn at Low Newton by the Sea in Northumberland which sells really well, particularly in the summer.”

Darwin Brewery’s flagship beers are – understandably – Flag Porter (5.0% abv) and Extinction Ale (8.3% abv) with the likes of Galapagos Stout (6.0% abv), Beagle Blonde (4.1% abv) and Rolling Hitch IPA (5.2% abv) in a more-than-capable supporting role.

BREWERY NEWS discovered that it was a strong ale from the now closed Scarborough & Whitby Brewery – a “coming of age” brew laid down to mature for at least 21 years.

Darwin Brewery is also offering groups the chance to brew their own craft beer using its advanced specialist equipment.

Victoria Thompson says: “We supply the ingredients, equipment, recipes and, most importantly, the support for you to experience a proper brewing session, and the end result is yours to pick up a few weeks later.”

Darwin Brew Crew experiences are priced at £65 per person for a half-day which includes the brewing session, beer tasting and light refreshments – available regularly throughout the week and on selected weekends. For information, call 0191 549 9450 or email info@ darwinbrewery.com

Flag Porter was developed from bottles discovered in an 1825 shipwreck in the English Channel. DNA analysis at Brewlab identified the yeast in the sediment which has now been cultured and stored for further use, while the malt used in the beer was identified as from the

Chevallier variety of barley which ceased being used around 1920.

Similarly, Extinction Ale rose from the analysis of bottles recovered from a house cellar on the North Yorkshire Moors and dated 1928. At first thought to be champagne, it was

The Steamboat 2015, 2016, 2017 Sunderland & South Tyneside CAMRA Pub of the Year THE STEAMBOAT - BEER FESTIVAL 30th March - 2nd April Over 200 Spirits / 9 Hand Pulls on rotation Regular events throughout the year, call pub for details Supporters of South Shields FC

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THE

CourtyarD ANNUAL EASTER FESTIVE

THURSDAY 13TH - MONDAY 17TH APRIL

• Showcasing over 50 cask conditioned ales plus real cider and perry • Locally Sourced Food Available from our All New Menu • Live entertainment • Craft, Draft and Bottled Beers available

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A Craft Ale Pub with a traditional Food Menu including a large selection of bar nibbles and sharing boards.

Food served Monday to Saturday 11-9 and 12-5 Sundays Weekly quizzes and live music Open mic on a Friday and Blues on a Saturday COMING SOON Monthly kitchen & bar takeovers and a monthly Jazz Café WE WELCOME TRACKS DARLINGTON TO OUR UPSTAIRS IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS PROVIDING A RECORDING STUDIO, REHEARSAL SPACE FOR BANDS AND MUSICIANS AS WELL AS A COMMUNITY RADIO STATION

(01325)468411 website www.thepennyweight.com email thepennyweight@outlook.com Follow us on Twitter & Facebook @thepennyweight 18 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

PASSION

CELEBRATING THE MAN FROM PERU

Regular readers will recall special correspondent Ian Brown’s report last October on Peru and its beers. As entertaining as ever, Ian also gave us an insight into how he became interested in foreign travel – and like many of us, it was at school through a good teacher who made a subject come alive.

Ian introduced us to geography teacher Fat Alec, aka Mr Wilson, from Blyth Grammar School. Although it wasn’t yesterday, Ian described him as if it were: “He’d point to some obscure place and enthuse in great detail about it,” he wrote. “We were all

convinced he had been there, such was his knowledge and no-one would dare challenge that fact. I remember the day he told us about Lake Titicaca in Peru, the highest lake in the world.”

From that day on, Ian Brown – former senior lecturer at Northumbria University (now retired) – ached to go to Peru.

And now, one of Fat Alec’s sons, Sandy Wilson, has been in touch with him after seeing the article.

He writes: “Dear Ian, “It was a delight to read of your sampling of beery delights in Peru and your touching and nostalgic introduction referencing both our parents was deeply

Schoolboy dream: Lake Titicaca, Peru

appreciated by all my far-flung Wilson siblings.

“As you can imagine, we think of and celebrate both of them – long deceased – regularly, given that their six kids are so globally peripatetic and their 15 grandchildren even more so.

“My father always seemed to draw on perceived experience

but in reality, I can share with you that upon returning to Newcastle Airport after a few weeks visiting me while at Yale in the early 1980s, and having taken in the northeastern seaboard from Washington DC to Boston with my younger sister, he reportedly wept when my mother greeted him and said simply: ‘I’ve

been to America...’

“This speaks volumes and touches me to this day to tell you. He loved and was steeped in geography, geology, anthropology and people and civilisation (oh, and beer too). His passion has infected all of his offspring.

“It is an insightful and truly helpful tool which informs my own

PASSION work and I treasure it as a gift from my father which keeps on giving. Thanks for sharing your story – it’s truly moving to hear it.

“I am fortunate to live in San Francisco which is home to many fine craft beers as well as of Fritz Maytag who, as saviour of the Anchor Steam Brewing Company, is regarded as a leading light in the resurgence of craft brewing nationwide. Fritz has become a personal friend – in no small part because he embraces the craft and traditions as well as the ongoing ‘journeyman’ experiment surrounding fine beer and winemaking worldwide.

“This extends in his unique case to the tradition of building string instruments. My colleagues and I are proud and privileged to play on an extraordinary quartet of instruments that Fritz commissioned some 30 years ago to commemorate his late sister, a fine violinist who died prematurely.

“I often wonder how Fat Alec and Fritz would get along – famously I imagine...”

Thank you, Ian Brown, Sandy Wilson, Alec Wilson and Lake Titicaca for bringing such a beautiful story to the pages of Cheers North East.

www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 19

ART & CRAFTT

A SWIRL OF PAINT IN EVERY PINT We can never separate pubs from other cultural activities, writes Alastair Gilmour There’s a world of difference between viewing works of art in a bar – drink in hand – to creeping around the hushed atmosphere of a gallery full of studiously nodding heads, drink in hand. Pubs are the perfect setting for appreciating culture.

The reasons for that are for art historians and psychologists to explain fully, but when you’re in a pub you’re more relaxed and better equipped to give or take criticism, while at a more basic level, your senses are heightened by a sessionable ale.

Pubs in Sheffield discovered this a few years ago when art lovers set up a Pub Scrawl.

Organised tours slipped between them with a chance to buy artworks there and then. The rationale was that people might make considered decisions on paintings, photographs and prints in a pub that they might not in a gallery. And, pubs, like any other businesses, need to create more ways of attracting custom and to keep it.

Over the next few pages, we’re looking at the craft of art as well as the art of craft. They go hand in hand. Creativity knows no borders – it’s a Shengen Area that allows beer, pub and art lovers to criss-cross disciplines at will until they merge as one united family. And the North East family has world-class talent to call on.

“I can’t tell you which celebrities own my work because I have to sign confidentiality agreements,” says street artist Hush, as we sit in front of the mural he installed at The Bridge Tavern in Newcastle.

Hush can sell his work in the US for $140,000 – and the fact that he’s a died-in-the-wool Geordie 20 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

should take nothing away from his undoubted ability.

“If a work of this size was on canvas it would cost £70,000,” Hush says. “People want my work in their venues, it’s buying into the underground art culture.

Many of my murals are in Miami, California and New York, but the only things I do for free are for Dave Stone and Rob Cameron (directors of Greenan Blueye, the company that owns The Bridge Tavern).

“They have supported a lot of the nightlife culture in Newcastle; it’s amazing what they’ve done, they’re a big part of the community. Every week I get offers to do a restaurant or pub for £20,000 to £40,000 but I turn them down because I don’t want to be associated with that particular venue.

“Do you know what? I’m still very pleased with this (closely examining the mural in the terrace bar of the pub). It marks a time in my career. My work has progressed over the years.

This has been a bit picked at but these things can’t be perfect for ever – sometimes that can even add to the price.”

From Newcastle Art School (now the hugely expanded Newcastle College), Hush started off in graphic illustration and became an art director for advertising agencies in London, Edinburgh and Hong Kong. But he admits he has always tackled street art on the side.

“That whole thing evolved out of nothing,” he says. “You never thought you would be going to private parties with Kim and Kanye. I could be in Miami one day and Los Angeles the next doing a mural.

ART & CRAFT Wall art: Street artist Hush is internationally renowned.

Photograph: Peter Skelton

“THERE’S NOTHING WORSE THAN GOING INTO A PUB AND SEEING PICTURES OF BULLDOGS PLAYING SNOOKER OR WINGS OF LOVE”

“This sort of street art was made famous by Banksy and everybody wants to know the identity of the artist. It was all illegal at one time but now it’s a brand. My style is usually strong enough to not need to sign it. If you sign a canvas it takes the work into a different realm, almost a loss of identity.”

Banksy’s street art – high on political and social commentary – has featured on walls, bridges and commercial interiors in cities throughout the world.

Dave Stone was an early supporter of Banksy’s work, commissioning the now legendary series of chimps strung with political placards and the Punk Angel door at a Brighton night-spot.

He says: “We had a club, the Ocean Rooms, when Banksy was just breaking, so we got him down to do it out. We knew he was on the ascent. But eventually we fell out with the club owner. We had paid Banksy £2,500 for the work and I read in the Sunday papers later that the club owner had sold it for quarter-ofa-million.

“Artworks like this have always been in our DNA here at The Bridge Tavern and at the Town Wall and Wylam Brewery with Mr Scruff ’s work, another of our favourite artists. Making beer, after all, is an art form, it’s creating a different type of art. There’s nothing worse than going into a pub and seeing pictures of bulldogs playing snooker, or Wings of Love.”

Hush is fascinated that people take selfies in front of his work to distribute on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – fascinated and tickled.

“Images are the new social currency,” he says.

“You take an image of yourself beside an image that says you’ve been there. It says you’re cool and you’ve seen it.

“Each piece of work has taken a lifetime to produce. I tend to use a lot of different techniques.

I produced this one in the studio then ripped it up and reassembled it on the wall at The Bridge Tavern so it’s almost like a collage.”

But who is the girl in the painting? Is she a pub regular? Does she even exist?

Hush says: “She was actually a French girl. She looks a bit Asian maybe because of how I’ve done the lips and the white skin. It’s nothing to do with race or colour, it’s just a depiction of a female.”

Now, is there a better invitation to nod your head in appreciation? Ale in hand, of course. www.studio-hush.com www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 21

ART & CRAFT

ART’S SAKE Pubs and breweries have picked up the culture theme

TYNE BANK BREWERY It’s fortunate for the artistic community that Tyne Bank Brewery’s general manager is himself a painter.

Rich Higgins studied fine art at Newcastle University so went back to his former tutor for advice on artworks to hang in the brewery tap and events space.

This scheme would not only add a different visual dimension to the room, but is the ideal way for artists to show their work in a relaxed atmosphere, aided and abetted by all things beer.

“I was put in touch with Tommy Keenan, a post-graduate, as he thought it would fit in really well with this place,” says Rich. “The intention is to change it regularly with every Craftwork event we put on.

“But being a painter myself, I’m a bit careful about what we put up on the walls; it’s really got to fit. It’s all going really well, though.

Rich has managed pubs in the past, but admits to nothing on the scale of Tyne Bank with its brewhouse, highly-popular taproom and events area where live music and DJs set the tone for great beer and terrific street food vendors on a monthly basis.

Lucie Clarke, who runs a

22 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

Newcastle textile business called Lucy In The Sky With Sequins has also shown her print work at Tyne Bank, drawing inspiration from nature and travel, although her main business is in wallpapers and fabrics.

Rich Higgins says: “The idea is we can pick up anybody’s work in our van, hang them in the brewery for customers to see, and sell them if they want. We get a lot of people through the door, so it’s a great experience for everybody concerned.

“As long as the work is good enough and of a good standard we’ll work with the artist. It’s not as if we’re a traditional pub where more traditional watercolour landscapes would fit better. We’re looking out for figurative and abstract work. We’d happily show photographs as long as they’re skillfully done and if I get desperate I might put some of my own up.”

Under Rich’s guidance, Tyne Bank has restyled some of its imagery to reflect the target audience of a particular beer and also to give the brands a bit of an uplift.

Brewery owner Julia Austin says: “We like to keep things interesting and it sits well with our Craftworks weekends which are really taking

Sitting comfortably: Tyne Bank’s Rich Higgins and Julia Austin with works by Tommy Keenan (also below). Photograph: Peter Skelton off. We’re bringing out a new beer every week which is a lot of work.

Eventually, some of them will become regulars, like our Strawberries & Cream.

We’re very happy with the way things have gone since we moved into our new premises last September. We’ve even got sporting activities going on like darts, table tennis and table football which are hugely popular.

“We’re getting big groups bookings and people arriving on the Q3 bus from town and we’ve even got a local bakery making “bible bread” out of our beer. It goes great with the meatballs and cheese we serve.”

Julia reveals Tyne Bank has secured a listing with giant pub group Mitchells & Butler for its new lager, Helix, which will be on permanently in certain pubs in their estate.

She says: “It’s great news and it’ll also be great to get into pubs with our more experimental beers that we normally can’t get into. It’s been a good move all round.”

Planning for the future is an art in itself.

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FOR NEWS OF OUR EVENTS IN 2017

ART & CRAFT was show Gavin the space to be covered, give him the beer labels and allow him freedom of expression to get on with it. That same freedom is at the heart of Anarchy’s success, brewing what they feel is right and experimenting with raw materials.

“It’s a reminder of where we are from and where we want to go,” he says.

On the walls, an eerie figure in a gas mask represents Quiet Riot South Pacific IPA; a gorgeously pouting Marilyn Monroe boop-oopie-dos the best-selling Blonde Star, while a pair of hands breaking free from Houdini-like wrist chains reaches for hops inspired by Strait Jacket Session Pale. Urban Assault Pale Ale is depicted by a massive flame-thrower.

Simon says: “It was great watching Gavin work with only a sheet of A4 paper in his hand to refer to, using spray cans with all sorts of different nozzles. He just kept on adding bits – and now the lads in the brewery want us to keep on going with it.”

Quiet rioter: Les Stoker, Anarchy Brew Co Photograph: Peter Skelton

ANARCHY BREW CO The fifth anniversary of starting up a business might be a time for reflection on how hopes and dreams have performed and how well financial columns have totted up – or not. But if a bottle of champagne wrapped in a ribbon from your bank manager and delivered on the special day is anything to go by, Morpeth-based Anarchy Brew Co could be viewed as doing rather well.

Anarchy has recently installed another ten-barrel brew system to run alongside its existing one which gives owners Simon and Dawn Miles the flexibility of producing several beer styles a week, rather than tying the brewhouse up with a single run.

A new fermentation room and separate raw materials storage area have also been

24 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

incorporated into the former farm buildings in recent months.

“We love it here and didn’t want to move, so we’re making maximum use of the space we’ve got,” says Dawn.

Anarchy’s storage space is easily cleared for regular events such as beer festivals and celebrations and is arranged to allow easy access for bands to set up and a bar to be wheeled in. But rather than inviting revellers to stare at bare walls, every spare surface is being decorated with mural-sized artistic interpretations of the brewery’s core products.

A call went out on social media for creative minds to help out – and answered by tattoo artist Gavin Golightly from Hetton-le-Hole. All Simon Miles had to do

Blonde Star: Mural by Gavin Golightly

Brick by brick: The Free Trade Inn by Ben Holland, who always includes a star somewhere in his work

High House Farm Brewery is an exciting and unique venue situated just a stone’s throw away from Hadrian’s Wall.

A micro brewery standing within a 200 acre working farm.

We brew over 18 different beers At High House Farm Brewery, you are always welcome – whether it’s visiting the restaurant and tearoom, sitting and relaxing with a pint or two while the children play outside in the playground or attending a wedding to dance the night away.

There is full disabled access, including a platform lift & plenty of parking.

Whatever the reason, a warm welcome always awaits at High House Farm Brewery.

BEN HOLLAND, ARTIST Some people maintain their favourite view is looking out from inside a pub. It could be anything from back lanes with overflowing bins to sweeping countryside dotted with sheep – no matter, the crux is that they’re on the inside doing all the things folks inside a pub do.

Ben Holland spends a lot of time on the outside looking in. He’s an artist and if you see him loitering outside your local, chances are he’s about to draw it.

Ben makes meticulous blackand-white, pen-and-ink drawings of pubs simply because he loves them and all they stand for. Pubs aren’t just a subject matter, they represent entertainment, history, architecture and social structure, and every brick and detail on the finished artwork is as sound as the

buildings themselves. The first pub Ben drew was the Crown Posada in Newcastle and since has depicted the Free Trade Inn, The Strawberry, The Forth, the Tyne Bar and George Scott Gentlemen’s Hairdressers in a series called Low Moon Over High Town.

“I’ve got a liking for pubs in Newcastle which mean something to people rather than the Tyne bridges and the Angel, of the North” he says.

The latest pub to show his work is the newly-opened Town Mouse on St Mary’s Place at the Haymarket, Newcastle. Ben also sells limited-edition prints of his originals from his website www. lowmoonoverhightown.com and at Tynemouth Market, but is also happy to take commissions and to personalise prints.

HIGH HOUSE FARM BREWERY, MATFEN, NORTHUMBERLAND, NE20 0RG www.highhousefarmbrewery.co.uk / info@highhousefarmbrewery.co.uk

www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 25

ART & CRAFT

Artists wanted: Gavin Sinclair, manager, The Central, Gateshead

Fri 14th - Mon 17th April T H E F E AT H E R S I N N , H E D L E Y O N T H E H I L L , NEAR STOCKSFIELD NE43 7SW

THE CENTRAL, GATESHEAD The Central in Gateshead has quite a tradition of showing works of art – the bar features several steam train-inspired originals by Arthur Gills, but getting artists to collaborate has become a bit of a problem of late.

Central manager Gavin Sinclair says: “I prefer work with a local interest, but I’m pretty open to what we show. It’s actually quite difficult to get artists to exhibit their work, even though we don’t charge them for doing it or take a commission.

“We’ve had Ben Holland’s work here and Keith Opie which were popular shows. At the moment we’ve got part-time barman Martin Simm who’s taken the opportunity of some free space.”

The Central has also displayed photographer Adam Lang’s brilliant prints of local scenes, particularly Newcastle Quayside and the Tyne bridges.

“I’m looking to do another one as soon as possible,” says Martin. “I’ve got so many pictures that need

some wall space. I think a pub is an ideal place to showcase art; people can be in a pub for hours and spend time looking at an image that they otherwise wouldn’t go out of their way to see. They’ll go to a gallery to view work, but how many more are going to the pub anyway?

The amount of exposure your work will get in a bar is huge.”

Martin Simm’s photographs have a poignancy to them. They can range from expressions of love and togetherness to loneliness and separation. Martin – besides working at The Central – is studying television and film production at Gateshead College; he’s an Army reservist and official photographer for 101 Unit RA, “The Geordie and West Riding Gunners”. He also takes time out to “shoot” family gatherings.

He says: “The photos on display showing the two hands with the wedding rings and the group going across the High Level Bridge are of my cousin’s same-sex marriage.” *The Central (0191) 478 2543.

Atmospheric: Station East pub by Adam Lang 26 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

ART & CRAFT

BEER FOR THE POP ARTIST A full-bodied bottled lager, brewed in Edinburgh and heaped with accolades from the World Beer Awards and the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) is currently causing a stir with London’s cultural set.

The London launch of Paolozzi Lager (5.2% abv) coincides with the first exhibition for over 40 years in honour of Edinburgh-born Italian/Scot Eduardo Paolozzi, who is often referred to – according to the press release – as the Father of Pop Art. It’s no doubt he was one of Britain’s most influential post-war artists, but any cultured soul with the tiniest connection to Newcastle will tell you that this particular title belongs to Richard Hamilton who commanded the global art establishment’s attention during his spell as lecturer in fine art at Newcastle University through, in particular, his 1956 artwork What

Is It That Makes Today’s Homes So Different, So Appealing?. But let’s not be churlish.

Paolozzi Lager is an unpasteurised Helles lager – a malty, low bitterness style of beer originating in Munich, where Eduardo Paolozzi lectured for more than 10 years. It is brewed using 100% barley malt (lager pils and Caramalt), then hopped with Saaz and Hallertau hop varieties.

Following fermentation, the beer is cold-conditioned for a five to six weeks, allowing the flavours to round out, resulting in a full mouthfeel and smooth finish.

Paolozzi’s famous print Illumination and the Eye features on the bottle label and tap, and for every pint and bottle sold, its brewers, Edinburgh Beer Factory (EBF), makes a charitable donation to the Paolozzi Foundation.

John Dunsmore, co-founder of

family company EBF and former chief executive of Scottish & Newcastle, said: “Eduardo Paolozzi believed in creating art from ordinary everyday objects, what he called “the sublime in the everyday”.

A Paolozzi sculpture called Vulcan was erected in 2000 on

Forth Street in Newcastle, right next to The Telegraph pub. It mysteriously disappeared in 2009 to be replaced by a work depicting a pile of shopping trolleys. Vulcan’s fate may be unclear, but his creator’s lager is so appealing, so different.

www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 27

BEER NEWS

SMALL BUT PERFECTLY FORMED A tiny shop in a city suburb has beer lovers forming a queue, writes Alastair Gilmour While turning over the idea of opening a dedicated beer shop, James Andrews put in endless legwork. Quite literally, he would wander the streets and avenues of Newcastle’s suburbs, taking note of single premises and shopping parades where he would feel comfortable and where a customer base was likely to emerge from.

James knew the Heaton area of the city quite well so he let his ideas and dreams filter subconsciously into what has become Champion Bottles And Taps. (He already knew

28 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

a fair bit about filters as he had worked in the coffee machinery industry, helping set up independent business around the region.)

“I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time and kept looking for the right premises,” says James, now firmly settled into Warton Terrace, just off Chillingham Road. “We used to wander round different areas to see if we could find anything and happened to stumble on this.”

James fitted the tiny shop out himself and even converted a commercial catering fridge into a

cooler for storing and dispensing a revolving range of keg beers to??? take away. The idea is that litre-sized bottles branded with the Champion logo cost an initial fiver so you can bring it back to get it filled as often as you like.

Alongside that there are shelves lined with interesting and exciting beers from breweries run by enthusiasts with innovation woven into them.

Champion Bottles And Taps probably about as small a shop as you can get, but it’s packed with

Champion: James Andrews at his Heaton bottle shop.

Photograph: Peter Skelton double IPAs, sours and modern interpretations of classic styles from the likes of Magic Rock, Twisted Barrel and Partizan. There are also a couple of shelves of small production ciders and a selection of naturally-produced wines with low

BREWERY SHOP NOW OPEN Home of Rivet Catcher & The Magnificent 7 NOW AVAILABLE IN BOTTLES To Order Beer Please Call 0191 5970151 environmental footprints. A full beer list is updated daily which is where an organised mind comes in handy, although James doesn’t take credit for that.

He says: “My wife works at Northumbria University library and she knows as much about beer as anybody I know – and she’s much more organised than I’ll ever be.

“We want to keep what we offer as high quality as possible. You can grab any bottle in here and it’ll be a good one. Our off-sales license

means we can only offer small tasters in a certain size glass, but it’s very popular and most people will then buy a litre.”

Things are going so well in this can’t-swing-a-cat shop – open only since January 5 – that he’s already got his eye on another unit. Further plans – apart from expansion and a self-congratulatory pat on the back – include a couple of tables and chairs on the equally tiny terrace to take full advantage of the afternoon sunshine. Champion.

Contract House, Wellington Road Dunston, Gateshead @GNEBCO

BIG MATCH TURN-OFF Two Tyneside licensed premises have been hit by large fines for showing televised football matches illegally. The action is part of a national crackdown on piracy brought by the Premier League to protect its copyright and its investment from broadcasters Sky Sports and BT Sport.

The Sandpiper in Washington and the Glebe Sports Club, Whickham – both Tyne & Wear – were fined £15,000 and £7,900 respectively.

Suppliers of illegal equipment for showing matches were fined huge sums, while a Nottingham businessman involved was jailed for four years in December which shows how seriously the Premier League is taking the problem.

QUOTE: “A MAN CAME TO SEE ME

THIS MORNING ABSOLUTELY REEKING OF HORLICKS.” SIR THOMAS BEECHAM, CONDUCTOR AND IMPRESARIO

www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 29

BEER NEWS

BOOK A BEER TO WOLF DOWN A renowned story from Northumberland’s rich history has been given an update. A new e-book, The Wolf of Allendale, has been published by author Hannah Spencer which fictionalises the century-old true tale of a wolf escaping from a County Durham zoo to wreak havoc in the Allen Valley where it mauled sheep and terrorised farmers.

The animal narrowly escaped local shotguns several times, but its body was eventually discovered in Cumbria, apparently having been struck by a train. Allendale Wolf (5.5% abv) was one of the first beers from the Northumberland brewery when it started up in 2006. The full-bodied ruby red ale flows between chewy toffee and ripe fruit flavours.

Brewery owner Tom Hick

MARCH SAT 11 SUN 12 THUR 16 FRI 17 SAT 18 SUN 19 FRI 24 SAT 25 SUN 26 MON 27 FRI 31

says: “Brigitte in the sales team is reading the book and I’m also looking forward to it. Allendale Wolf has some real loyal fans and a great following.”

Elsewhere at Allendale, the canned Mosaic that won silver at the recent Brussels Beer Challenge has made a reappearance alongside Vienna Lager, while Galaxy is about to be produced in cans for the first time.

“We’re starting off a new GoCreate series where each of the brewers will get a chance to design their own recipes and brew five-barrel batches on our End kit,” says Tom. “So far, Ric has brewed Jacob to celebrate the birth of his first child – a 5.5% abv IPA made with a touch of acidulated malt to bring out the citrus freshness – and Paul is about to brew Nitro Scotch Heavy.”

KING SIZE VOODOO TRAVELLER SKYWALKERS ACOUSTIC GATHERING TAYLOR PAYNE NUTOPIANS RUBY AND THE MYSTERY CATS SHIPCOTE AND FRIENDS SHAKE THE SNAKE SUSPECT DEVICE PETER BRUNTNELL CIVILLIANS

8.30PM 4.30PM 9.00PM 7.30PM 8.30PM 4.30PM 6.00PM 8.30PM 4.30PM 7.30PM 7.30PM

ON WEDNESDAY’S WE QUIZ FROM 8PM 30 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

Red-eyed: Allendale Wolf has a loyal following

BEER NEWS

INDUSTRY FIGURE STILL HAS STRONG PULL

The founder of Black Sheep Brewery has been caricatured in a limited-edition handpull figurine.

Paul Theakston’s contribution to the 25-year existence of the Masham, North Yorkshire, business has already been recognised by the creation of Pathmaker (5.0% abv) through his reputation as a battler against bland beer and mass corporations after he founded the brewery in 1992.

But this month a cask version of the bottled beer hits pub counters in Yorkshire and the North East.

Jo Theakston, Black Sheep

sales and marketing director says: “Pathmaker embodies the spirit of our rich history and the commemorative pump handle complements the beer perfectly, as well as making a striking sight at the bar. It’s a special year for everyone connected with Black Sheep, so it’s only fitting that we recognise Dad’s achievements.”

Pathmaker is brewed with Chinook, Citra and Simcoe hops and comes with an adventurous fresh aroma, juicy hop and malty mouthfeel, and a daring bitter finish. It is also available as part of Black Sheep’s bottled craft beer range alongside Glug M’Glug and Moose Jaw. Mini-me: Black Sheep Brewery founder Paul Theakston

CELEBRATING OUR FIRST ANNIVERSARY We host locally made Real ales, Ciders and over 60 UK Gins at our small friendly local micropub Check out Facebook for our weekly specials CAMRA Cider Pub of the Year South West Northumberland - 3rd Place tel - 01661 598150 email - worlocalmicropub@hotnmail.com Front St, Prudhoe NE42 5HJ

CHEERS ON THE ROAD

Regular reader Phil Thompson sent us this photo from Portmerion in Wales, home of 1960s cult television drama The Prisoner, which was Cheers!: Phil Thompson at Portmerion taken on holiday during an admittedly rare break from the daily cider quaff.

Phil says: “My wife Trish and I have made Herefordshire our second home over the past few years since stumbling on Robinson’s Flagon Cider in a pub going by the name of England’s Gate.

“Since we acquired the taste for proper cider we have tried as many as possible – Ty Gwyn Cider Company is always worth a visit; Newton Court Farm is real old-school; then there’s Oliver’s cider and perry, Gwatkin and Weston’s, but above all, Dunkertons (available in Fenwicks, Newcastle) which is the absolute king of cider.”

And a good accompaniment to Cheers North East, we imagine.

Picturesque location & only a couple of miles from Hexham Reservations 01434 602814 www.theratinn.com Twitter:@ratales The Rat Inn, Anick, Hexham, Northumberland NE46 4LN www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 31

BEER NEWS

BREW THE BEER, WALK THE WALK The custodians of Britain’s oldest National Trail are seeking a brewery with connections to the Pennines to produce an official beer. The Pennine Way is part of British heritage – walkers have been taking on the 268-mile challenge along the spine of England from Edale in Derbyshire to Kirk Yetholm in the Scottish Borders for the past 50 years, with many pubs located along the route offering rest and refreshment.

It’s expected that the maintenance of the trail will benefit from a financial contribution from each pint sold. The Pennine Way has a long association with beer: legend has it that Alfred Wainwright left money behind the bar of the Border Hotel in Kirk Yetholm so that anyone who had walked the full length could be rewarded with a free pint.

Expressions of interest by March 17 at www.nationaltrail.co.uk/pennineway/news/official-beer-pennine-way

32 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

DOCTORS DO IT

BY APPOINTMENT A highlight of the regular Beamish Hall beer festivals is the research into different aspects of beer drinking

by Stables Brewery head brewer John Taylor (based at Beamish Hall) and a team of doctors.

Although it’s primarily a bit of fun with the Beer Doctors (one of them a real one) sporting lab coats and clipboards, it has some serious merit.

John Taylor says: “The idea is to conduct various taste tests on a number of subjects to try find answers and possibly dispel a few myths. At the Beamish Hall winter beer

and gin festival – a hectic and hugely successful event – the question was, can we tell how strong a beer is by taste only? So, we selected four beers of similar colour ranging in strength from 3.8% Keeping tabs: The Beer Doctors at work abv to 5.4% abv. respondents correctly identified Only three people out of 46 the strongest beer but only managed to place all the beers 28% got the weakest one right. in the correct order – Angus Interestingly, 44% of women Randall, Martin Henderson but only 11% of men correctly and Edd Goundy. If they get in identified the second-strongest touch with the brewery I have a beer, demonstrating that the prize waiting.”

Other findings from the Beer female of the species is indeed deadlier than the male.

Doctors concluded that 48% of

NEWS

LIFE IMITATES ART

This issue of Cheers North East has an arty theme running through it and we’ll use any excuse to introduce a touch of culture to our news pages – plus, you can’t keep a good couple down. Three months after Dave and Julie Campbell passed The Schooner in Gateshead on to Adrian Marley and Chris Reynolds, a wacky image of the Campbells popped into our inbox. Here we have a Tyneside take on the iconic painting American Gothic by Grant Wood (dated 1944) – arguably the most famous of all American paintings – which is on show at the Royal Academy of Arts in London until June 4.

Gothic: Julie and Dave Campbell

The

THREE BEERS LAUNCH GLUTEN-FREE RANGE A new range of glutenfree beers and lagers, brewed using alternative brewing malts and grains, is now available in the North East.

Autumn Brewing Co has its three beers brewed at Castle Eden Brewery using only naturally gluten-free grains – such as quinoa, rice and millet – and brewing malts.

The ALT BREW range of beers (alternative brewing) has been launched with No1 Bavarian-style Pilsner, No2 English Pale Ale, and No3 Dark Roast Stout, specifically for drinkers who suffer from coeliac disease, but also for those who simply fancy an alternative to mainstream barleybased beers.

Peter Briggs, owner of Autumn Brewing Co, said: “After two years of research, training and many small-scale trial brews using different combinations of naturally gluten-free grains, we

Duke of Wellington Inn

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Every second Sunday (see website for dates) Free Entry & Free Supper

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CHEESE & WINE TASTING

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Newton, Northumberland, NE43 7UL Tel: 01661 844446 www.dukeofwellingtoninn.co.uk Duke of Wellington Newton @DukeinNewton

34 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

Autumn Brewing Co

are proud to have created our first range of great tasting gluten-free beers.

“Feedback we’ve had so far has been great.

For those who follow a gluten-free diet, out of necessity or choice, finding great tasting glutenfree beers brewed from naturally gluten-free ingredients is a real joy.”

The ALT BREW range is available from Coppers, Gosforth, Newcastle.

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HAVING A BEER FEST? 2 PINT TAKE HOME BEER HOPPERS These handy biodegradable containers are designed to take out draught beer Box of 100 ex stock just £28+VAT and delivery Buy on-line: www.gnltd.co.uk or Tel: 01233 770780 For further information

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www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 35

A-Z PUB GUIDE Cheers is all about pubs in the North East and this should be a good place to start...

COUNTY DURHAM BUTCHER’S ARMS

Middle Chare, Chester le Street, DH3 3QB t: 0191 388 3605

DUN COW

37 Old Elvet, Durham, DH1 3HN. t: 0191 386 9219

HALF MOON INN

130 North Gate, Darlington, DL1 1QS t: 01325 465765

HAT AND FEATHERS

Church Street, Seaham, SR7 7HF. t: 01915 133040

HEAD OF STEAM

THE CROWN

Mickleton, Barnard Castle, DL12 0JZ t: 01833 640 381

THE BLACKSMITHS

Station Road, Low Pittington Durham, DH6 1BJ 0191 3720287

THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON Darlington Road, Durham DH1 3QN t: 0191 375 7651

THE DUN COW

Front Street, Sedgefield, TS21 3AT t: 01740 385 6695

THE FLOATER’S MILL

3 Reform Place, Durham, DH1 4RZ. t: 0191 3832173

Woodstone Village, Fence Houses, DH4 6BQ t: 0191 385 6695

HOLE IN THE WALL

THE GARDEN HOUSE INN

14 Horsemarket, Darlington, County Durham DL1 5PT t: 01325 466720

ITALIAN FARMHOUSE

South Street, West Rainton Houghton - le - Spring DH4 6PA. t: 0191 5841022

NUMBER TWENTY-2

North Road, Durham, DH1 4NQ t: 0191 3863395

THE GEORGE & DRAGON 4 East Green, Heighington Village, DL5 6PP t: 01325 313152

22 Coniscliffe Road, Darlington, DL3 7RG t: 01325 354590 e: rew@villagebrewer.co.uk www.twenty2.villagebrewer.co.uk

THE GREY HORSE

STATION HOUSE

North Road Durham DH1 4SE

86 New Elvet, Durham, DH1 3AQ t: 0191 3741918

SURTEES ARMS

THE HONEST LAWYER

Chilton Lane, Ferryhill, DL17 0DH t: 01740 655724

THREE HORSESHOES

Maiden Law, Durham, DH7 0QT t. 01207 520900

YE OLDE ELM TREE

12 Crossgate, Durham City, DH1 4PS t: 0191 386 4621

THE AVENUE INN

Avenue Street, High Shincliffe, DH1 2PT t: 0191 386 5954

THE BAY HORSE

28 West Green, Heighington, DL5 6PE t: 01325 312312

THE BEAMISH MARY INN No Place, Nr Beamish, DH9 0QH t: 0191 370 0237

THE BLACK HORSE

115 Sherburn Terrace, Consett, DH8 6NE t: 01207 502585

THE HALF MOON INN

THE OLDE SHIPS INN

The Green, West Auckland, DL14 9HW t: 01388 834834

THE MANOR HOUSE INN

Carterway Heads, Shotley Bridge, DH8 9LX t: 01207 255268

THE MARKET TAVERN 27 Market Place, Durham, DH1 3NJ t: 0191 3862069

THE MILL

The Bank, Barnard Castle DL12 8PH t: 01833 690 130

THE PLOUGH

Mountsett, Burnopfield, NE16 6BA t: 01207 570346

THE PUNCH BOWL INN

Edmundbyers, DH8 9NL t: 01207 255545

THE QUAKERHOUSE

2 Mechanics Yard, Darlington, DL3 7QF t: 07783 960105

THE QUAYS

5 Tubwell Row, Darlington, DL1 1NU t: 01325 461448

THE ROYAL OAK

7 Manor Rd, Medomsley Village, DH8 6QN t: 01207 560336

THE SCOTCH ARMS

Blackhill, Consett, DH8 8LZ t: 01207 593709

THE SHIP

Low Road, Middlestone Village, Middlestone, DL14 8AB t: 01388 810904

THE SMITHS ARMS

Brecon Hill, Castle Dene, Chester le Street, DH3 4HE t: 0191 3857559 Moor End Terrace, Belmont, DH1 1BJ t: 0191 3842667 Beamish Hall Hotel, Beamish, DH9 0BY. t: 01207 288 750

THE STABLES

West Herrington, Houghton le Spring, DH4 4ND t: 0191 584 9226

THE THREE HORSESHOES

Pit House Lane, Leamside, Houghton le Spring, DH4 6QQ t: 0191 584 2394

THE WHITE LION

Newbottle Street, Houghton le Spring, DH4 4AN t: 0191 5120735

THE WHITEHILLS

Waldridge Road, Chester le Street, DH2 3AB t: 0191 3882786

Red Row,Beamish, DH9 0RW t: 01207 232569

Durham Road, Rainton Bridge, DH5 8NG t: 0191 5843211

WICKET GATE

THE CLARENCE VILLA

THE MINERS ARMS

THE WILD BOAR

Durham Road, Coxhoe, County Durham, DH4HX t: 0191 377 3773

THE COUNTY

13 The Green, Aycliffe Vilage, County Durham, DL5 6LX t: 01325 312273

THE CROSS KEYS

Front Street, Esh, DH7 9QR t: 0191 3731279

41 Manor Road, Medomsley, DH8 6QN t: 01207 560428

THE NEWFIELD INN

Newfield, Chester le Street, DH2 2SP t: 0191 3700565

THE OAK TREE

Front Street, Tantobie, Stanley, DH9 9RF t: 01207 235 445

36 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

Hawkshead Brewery, Mill Yard, Staveley, LA8 9LR t: 01539 825260

NORTHUMBERLAND ADAM & EVE

THE DYVELS INN

Front Street West, Bedlington, NE22 5TZ t: 01670 536160

RED LION INN

Stanegate Road, Newbrough, Hexham, NE47 5AR t: 01434 674226

RIVERDALE HALL HOTEL

Bellingham, NE48 2JT t: 01434 220254

RIVERSIDE LODGE

BAMBURGH CASTLE INN

THE STABLES

THE MANOR HOUSE HOTEL

THE BEER HALL

RED LION

THE OLD WELL INN

THE JOHN DUCK

North Road, Chester le Street, DH3 4AJ t: 0191 3871162

CUMBRIA

THE DIAMOND INN

60 Bridge Street, Blyth, NE24 2AP. t: 01670 368346

High Stanners, Morpeth NE61 Prudhoe Station, Low Prudhoe, 1QL. t: 01670 512771 NE42 6NP t: 01661 832323

THE SPORTSMANS ARMS

THE LAMBTON WORM

Vicars Lane, Manfield, DL2 2RF t: 01325 374243

OLIVERS

Durham Road, East Rainton, DH5 9QT t: 0191 5840944

Croxdale Bridge, Croxdale, DH1 3HP t: 0191 3783782

91A Claypath, Durham City, DH1 1 RG

NORTH YORKSHIRE THE CROWN INN

Front Street, Chester-le-Street, DH3 3AX t: 0191 3872960 Frederick Place, Houghton le Spring, DH4 4BN t: 0191 5128050

THE VICTORIA INN

86 Hallgarth Street, Durham, DH1 3AS, t: 0191 3860465

WOODMAN INN

23 Gilesgate, Durham, DH11 1QW t: 0191 680 8317

ROBIN HOOD INN

Seahouses, NE68 7SQ t: 01665 720283

Military Road, East Wallhouses, Corbridge, NE18 0LL t: 01434 672549

BARRASFORD ARMS

THREE HORSESHOES

Barrasford Hexham, NE48 4AA t: 01434 681237

BARRELS

59-61 Bridge Street, Berwick, TD15 1ES. t:01289 308013

BATTLESTEADS HOTEL

Hathery Lane, Horton, Cramlington, NE24 4HF t: 01670 822410

THREE WHEATHEADS

Thropton nr Rothbury, NE65 7LR t: 01669 620262

Wark, Hexham, NE48 3LS t: 01434 230209 www.battlesteads.com

TWICE BREWED INN

Beadnell, NE67 5AY t: 01665 721211

THE ALLENDALE INN

BEADNELL TOWERS HOTEL

BLACK BULL WYLAM

Main Road, Wylam, NE41 8AB

CROSS KEYS

Thropton, Rothbury, NE65 7HX t: 01669 620362

DIPTON MILL INN

Dipton Mill Road, Hexham, NE46 1YA t: 01434 606577 e: ghb@hexhamshire.co.uk www.diptonmill.co.uk

DOCTOR SYNTAX

New Ridley Road, Stocksfield, NE43 7RG, t: 01661 842383

DUKE OF WELLINGTON Newton, NE43 7UL t: 01661 844446

DYKE NEUK

Meldon, Nr Morpeth, NE61 3SL t: 01670 772662

ELECTRIC WIZARD

New Market, Morpeth, NE61 1PS. t: 01670 500640

FOX AND HOUNDS

Main Road, Wylam, NE41 8DL t: 01661 598060

GENERAL HAVELOCK INN

Military Road, Bardon Mill, NE47 7AN t: 01434 344534 Market Place, Allendale, Hexham, NE47 9BJ, t: 01434 683246

THE ANCHOR HOTEL

Haydon Bridge, NE47 6AB t: 01434 688121

THE ANCHOR INN

Whittonstall, Nr Consett, DH8 9JN. t: 01207 561110

THE ANGEL INN

Main Street, Corbridge, NE45 5LA. t: 01434 632119

THE BADGER

Street Houses, Ponteland Newcastle upon Tyne NE20 9BT t: 01661 871037

THE BLACKBIRD

Craster, Alnwick, NE66 3TR t: 01665 576461

KITTIWAKE

Clairemont Crescent, Whitley Bay NE26 3HL. t: 0191 251 3977

MINERS ARMS

Main Street, Acomb, NE46 4PW t: 01434 603909

LION & LAMB

Hill Street, Corbridge, NE45 5AA t: 01434 632216

THE GOLDEN LION

Market Place, Allendale, NE47 9BD t: 01434 683 225

THE GRANBY INN & RESTAURANT Front Street, Long Framlignton, Morpeth, NE65 8DP t: 0191 488 0954

THE HADRIAN HOTEL

Wall, Hexham, NE44 4EE t: 01434 681232

THE HEART OF NORTHUMBERLAND

5 Market Street, Hexham, NE46 3NS t: 01434 608013

THE HORSESHOES INN

Rennington, Alnwick, NE66 3RS. t: 01665 577665

THE JOINERS ARMS

Newton-by-the-Sea, NE66 3EA t: 01665 576 112

THE MANOR HOUSE

Caterway Heads, Shotley Bridge, DH8 9LX. t: 01207 255268

THE MANOR INN

Main Street, Haltwhistle, NE49 0BS. t: 01434 322588

THE NORTHUMBERLAND ARMS

The Peth, West Thirston, Felton, Morpeth, NE65 9EE. t: 01670 787370

THE OFFICE

The Old Toll House, Castle Sqaure, Morpeth

THE OLDE SHIP INN

THE BLUE BELL

THE PERCY ARMS

Mount Pleasant, West Mickley, Stocksfield NE43 7LP t: 01661 843146

THE BLUE BELL

Wylam, NE41 8HR t: 01661 853431 • 14 Real ales on tap • CAMRA 2013 • Northumberland Pub of the Year Winner

THE BOATSIDE INN

Warden, Hexham, NE46 4SQ. t: 01434 602233

THE CARTS BOG INN

Langley on Tyne, Hexham, NE47 5NW. t: 01434 684338

THE CRASTER ARMS

Horsley, NE15 0NS t: 01661 852952

The Wynding, Beadnell, NE675AX. t: 01665 720 272

NEWCASTLE HOTEL

THE CROWN INN

Front Street, Rothbury, NE65 7UT t: 01669 620334

THE GOLDEN LION

THE PACKHORSE INN

Matfen, NE20 0RP t: 01661 855395

THE BOATHOUSE

JOLLY FISHERMAN

Hedley on the Hill, Stocksfield, NE43 7SW t: 01661 843 607

THE BLACK BULL

JOHN THE CLERK OF CRAMLINGTON

Wansbeck Street, Morpeth, NE61 1XZ. t: 01670 513540

THE FEATHERS INN

9 Main Street, Seahouses, NE68 7RD t: 01665 720 200

Haydon Bridge, NE47 6ER t: 01434 684376

JOINERS ARMS

Station Road, Corbridge, NE45 5AY. t: 01434 633 633

Ponteland, NE20 9UH t: 01661 822 684

Hillstreet, Corbridge, NE45 5AA. t: 01434 431143

Front Street, Cramlington, NE23 1DN. t: 01670 707060

Main Street, Ponteland, NE20 9BB. t: 01661 872898

Humshaugh, Hexham, NE46 4AG t: 01434 681 231

Ellingham, Chathill, NE67 5HA t: 01665 589292 Main Road, Chatton, NE66 5PS. t: 01670 215244

THE PILOT INN

31 Low Greens, Berwick upon Tweed, TD15 1LZ. t: 01289 304214

THE PLOUGH

Village Square, Cramlington, NE23 1DN t: 01670 737633

THE PLOUGH INN

Front Street, Ellington, NE61 5JB. t: 01670 860340

THE RAILWAY HOTEL

Church Street, Haydon Bridge, NE47 6JG t: 01434 684254

THE RAILWAY INN

Acklington, Morpeth, NE65 9BP t: 01670 760 320

THE RAT INN

Anick, Hexham, NE46 4LN t: 01434 602 814

THE RIDLEY ARMS

Stannington, Morpeth, NE61 6EL t: 01670 789216

THE SHIP INN

Monkseaton, Whitley Bay NE25 8DP. t: 0191 251 3677

THE SUN INN

Acomb, NE46 4PW. t: 01434 602934

THE SUN INN

High Church, Morpeth, NE61 2QT, t: 01670 514153

THE SWINBURNE ARMS

31 North Side, Stamfordham, NE18 0QG t: 01661 886015

THE TANNERY

Gilesgate, Hexham, NE46 3QD t: 01434 605537 • Beer & Whisky room • Live music • Dog friendly

THE TAP & SPILE

Eastgate, Hexham, NE46 1BH, t: 01434 602039

THE TRAVELLERS REST

Slaley, Hexham, NE46 1TT t: 01434 673231 www.travellersrestslaley.com

BRIDGE HOTEL

MARKET LANE

THE BRANDLING VILLA

BRIDGE TAVERN

MARQUIS OF GRANBY

• Large selection of real ales • Regular food & drink festivals • Food served

Castle Square, Newcastle, NE1 1RQ t: 0191 232 6400 e: info@sjf.co.uk 7 Akenside Hill Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 3UF t: 0191 232 1122 • Selection of real ales • Food served daily • Roof terrace

BRIDLE PATH

101 Front Street, Whickham, NE16 4JJ t: 0191 4217676

CHESTERS

12 Front Street, Tynemouth, NE30 4DZ t: 0191 2571820 www.cumberlandarms.co.uk

DELAVAL ARMS

St Helens Street, Corbridge, NE45 5HE t: 01434 632020

Old Hartley, NE26 4RL t: 0191 237 0489

THE VICTORIA HOTEL

DOG & RABBIT BREWERY

THE VILLAGE INN

Longframlington, Morpeth, NE65 8AD t: 01665 570268 www.thevillageinnpub.co.uk

TEESSIDE BEST WESTERN GRAND HOTEL

Swainston Street, Hartlepool, TS24 8AA t: 01429 266345 e: grandhotel@tavistockleisure.com

BRITANNIA INN

65 High Street, Loftus, TS13 4HG t: 01287 640612

CLEVELAND BAY

Yarm Road, Eaglescliffe, TS16 0JE t: 01642 780275

THE CLEVELAND HOTEL

9-11 High Street West Redcar, Cleveland, TS10 1SQ t: 01642 484035

TYNE & WEAR ALUM ALE HOUSE

Ferry Street, South Shields, NE33 1JR

ASHBROOKE SPORTS CLUB

Ashbrooke Road, Sunderland, SR2 7HH. t: 0191 528 4536

BACCHUS

42-48 High Bridge, Newcastle, NE1 6BX. t: 0191 2611008

BENTON ALE HOUSE

Front Street, Longbenton NE7 7XE t: 0191 2661512

ODDFELLOWS

7 Albion Road, North Shields, NE30 2RJ. t: 0191 4358450

OSBORNES BAR

CUMBERLAND ARMS

1 Front Street, Bamburgh, NE69 7BP, t: 01668 214431

57 St Andrews Street, Newcastle, NE1 5SE t: 0191 260 2490

COPPERFIELDS

THE WHITE SWAN

THE WHEATSHEAF

NEWCASTLE ARMS

OLD FOX

Main Road, Riding Mill, NE44 6DQ t: 01434 682531 Main Road, Ovingham, Prudhoe Northumberland NE42 6AG t: 01661 833188

Streetgate, Sunniside, Newcastle, Tyne & Wear NE16 5ES t: 0191 257 4831

Chester Road, Sunderland, SR4 7DR t: 0191 5659952 Grand Hotel, Grand Parade Tyne And Wear, NE30 4ER t: 0191 293 6666

THE WELLINGTON

72-74 Pilgrim Street, Newcastle, NE1 6SG t: 0191 232 0251

36 Park View Whitley Bay

CROWN POSADA

31 Side, Newcastle, NE1 3JE t: 0191 2321269

FIRE STATION

York Road, Whitley Bay, NE26 1AB t: 0191 293 9030

FITZGERALDS

60 Grey Street, Newcastle, NE1 6AF t: 0191 2301350

FITZGERALDS

10-14 Carlisle St, Gateshead NE10 0HQ 61 Osborne Road, Jesmond, Newcastle, NE2 2AN t: 0191 240 2811

PUB & KITCHEN

13/14 Albion Road, North Shields NE30 2RJ t: 0191 2573199

St Lawrence Road, Byker, Newcastle, NE6 1AP t: 0191 265 5764

GOSFORTH HOTEL

High Street, Gosforth, NE3 1HQ. t: 0191 2856617

HOTEL DU VIN & BISTRO

Allan House, City Road, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE1 2BE

HUGOS

29 Front Street, Tynemouth, NE30 4DZ. t: 0191 2578956

ISIS

ROSIES BAR

2 Stowell Street, NE1 4XQ t: 0191 2328477

SHIREMOOR HOUSE FARM

Neville Street, Newcastle, NE1 5DG, t: 0191 261 6611

Chillingham Road, Newcastle, NE1 1RQ t: 0191 265 3992

THE CLUNY

36 Lime Street, Ouseburn, Newcastle, NE1 2PQ t: 0191 230 4474

THE COPT HILL

THE COTTAGE TAVERN

Market Lane, Swalwell, Gateshead, NE16 3AL t: 0191 442 9393

THREE MILE INN,

105 Westgate Road, Newcastle, NE1 4AG t: 0191 232 0692

TRAVELLERS REST

North Street, Cleadon, SR6 7PL t: 0191 519 0547

THE COUNTY

High Street, Gosforth, NE3 1HB. t: 0191 285 6919

THE COURTYARD

THE HARRY CLASPER

Front St, Whickham, NE16 4EA

THE HASTINGS

Wheatridge Row, Seaton Delaval, NE25 0QH t: 0191 237 6868

THE HEAD OF STEAM

2 Neville Street, Newcastle NE1 5EN t: 0191 230 4236

THE HEAD OF STEAM

3 The Arcade, Front Street, Tynemouth, NE30 4BS t: 0191 272 8105

THE HOTSPUR

103 Percy Street, Newcastle, NE1 7RY t: 0191 2324352

THE JOB BULMAN

St Nicholas Avenue, Gosforth, NE3 1AA t: 0191 2236320

THE JOLLY STEWARD

Fulwell Ave, South Shields, NE34 7DF t: 0191 427 2951

THE KEELMAN

Grange Road, Newburn, Newcastle , NE15 8NL t: 0191 267 1689

THE KEEL ROW

The Gate, Newcastle, NE1 5RF t: 01912299430

THE KINGS ARMS

Beech Street, Deptford, SR4 6BU t: 0191 567 9804

THE KINGS ARMS

West Terrace, Seaton Sluice, NE26 4RD t: 0191 2370275

THE KING GEORGE

North Parade, Whitley Bay t: 0191 251 3877

THE LOW LIGHTS TAVERN

Brewhouse Bank, North Shields, NE30 1LL t: 0191 2576038

Arts Centre, Biddick Lane, Washington, NE38 8AB t: 0191 219 3463

THE MERCHANTS TAVERN

THE CUMBERLAND ARMS

THE MID BOLDON CLUB

James Place Street, Ouseburn, Newcastle, NE6 1LD. t: 0191 265 6151

1 St Peters Wharf, Newcastle NE6 1TZ. 0191 5971212 60 Front Street. East Boldon, NE36 0SH

THE MILE CASTLE

North Road, Wide Open NE13 6LN t: 0191 2366300

DAT BAR

11 Market St, Newcastle, NE1 6JN. t: 0191 244 2513

52 Westgate Rd, NE1 5XU t: 0191 2111160

TWIN FARMS

THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON

THE MILL HOUSE

22 Main Road, Kenton Bk Ft, NE13 8AB t: 0191 2861263

TYNE BAR

Maling Street, Newcastle, NE6 1LP

TYNEMOUTH LODGE

Tynemouth Road, North Shields, NE30 4AA. t: 0191 257 7565

THE BEEHIVE

Hartley Lane, Earsdon, NE25 05Z. t: 0191 2529352

IVY HOUSE

THE BOX SOCIAL

BIERREX

LADY GREY’S

82 Pilgrim Street, NE1 6SG

20 Shakespeare Street, Newcastle, NE1 6AQ t: 0191 2323606

BLACK BULL BLAYDON

MAGNESIA BANK

1 Camden Street, North Shields, NE30 1NH t: 0191 257 4831

THE CENTURION

SUN INN

Roker Terrace, Sunderland, SR6 9ND t: 0191 5671786 e: info@rokerhotel.co.uk

Bridge St, Blaydon, Blaydon-on-Tyne NE21 4JJ

Half Moon Lane, Gateshead, NE8 2AN t: 0191 4782543 e: central@theheadofsteam.co.uk

Seaham Road, Houghton le Spring, DH35 8LU t: 0191 5844485

THE BODEGA

Worcester Terrace, Sunderland, SR2 7AW

THE CENTRAL

Middle Engine Lane, North Shields, NE29 8DZ t: 0191 2576302

26 Silksworth Row, Sunderland, SR1 3QJ t: 0191 5147684

BEST WESTERN ROKER HOTEL

Beamish Burn Road, Marley Hill, Newcastle, NE16 5EG t: 01207 233925

THE CHILLINGHAM

Algernon Place, Whitley Bay, NE26 2DT t: 0191 2531299

TILLEYS BAR

FREE TRADE INN

THE CAUSEY ARCH INN

ROCKLIFFE ARMS

Redcar Terrace, West Boldon, NE36 0PZ. t: 0191 536 4197

FITZGERALDS

Coalburns, Greenside, NE40 4JN. t: 0191 4132549

25 Broad Chare, Trinity Gardens, Quayside, Newcastle, NE1 3DQ t: 0191 211 2144

• Real ales • Food available • Live sports shown

Great North Road, Gosforth, Newcastle, NE3 2DS t: 0191 255 2100

FOX & HOUNDS

THE BROAD CHARE

RED LION

10-12 Green Terrace, Sunderland, SR1 3PZ t: 0191 5670852 2 South Parade, Whitley Bay, NE26 2RG t: 0191 2511255

Haddricks Mill Road, South Gosforth, NE3 1QL t: 0191 2840490

125 Westgate Road, Newcastle, NE1 4AG. t: 0191 221 1552

High Bridge, Newcastle NE1 1EN t: 0191 261 8852

THE DUN COW

9 High Street West, Sunderland SR1 3HA t: 0191 5672262

THE FIVE SWANS

St Marys Place, Newcastle, NE1 7PG. t: 0191 2111140

THE GREEN

White Mare Pool, Wardley, Gateshead, NE10 8YB t: 0191 4950171

THE GREY HORSE

Blackfell, Birtley, DH3 1RE t: 0191 415 1313

THE MILLSTONE HOTEL

Hadricks Mill Road, South Gosforth, NE3 1QL t: 0191 285 3429

THE NEW BRIDGE

2 -4 Argyle Street, Newcastle, NE1 6PF t: 0191 2321020

THE NORTHUMBRIAN PIPER Fawdon House, Red House Farm Estate, Gosforth, NE3 2AH t: 0191 2856793

THE OLD GEORGE

Arch 11 Forth Street, Newcastle Upon Tyne. NE1 3NZ

Front Street, East Boldon, NE36 0SJ t: 0191 519 1796

Old George Yd, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 1EE t: 0191 260 3035

THE BRIAR DENE

THE GREY HORSE

THE PACKHORSE

71 The Links, Whitley Bay, NE26 1UE. t: 0191 2520926

THE BRANDLING ARMS

176 High Street, Gosforth, NE3 1HD t: 0191 28540

Old Penshaw Village, Houghton-le-Spring, DH4 7ER. t: 0191 512 6080

THE HARBOUR VIEW

Benedict Street, Roker, Sunderland, SR6 0NU t: 0191 5671402

Crookgate, Burnopfield, NE16 6NS t: 01207 270283

THE PAVILION

Hotspur North, Backworth, NE27 0BJ t: 0191 2680711

THE POTTERS WHEEL

Sunniside, Newcastle, NE16 5EE t: 0191 488 8068

THE PRIORY

Front Street, Tynemouth NE30 4DX. t. 0191 257 8302

THE QUEEN VICTORIA

206 High Street, Gosforth, NE3 1HD. t: 0191 2858060

THE RAVENSWORTH ARMS Lamesley, Gateshead, NE11 0ER. t: 0191 487 6023

THE RED KITE

Spa Well Road, Winlaton Mill, NE21 6RU. t: 0191 414 5840

THE ROSE & CROWN

North Street, Winlaton NE21 6BT. t: 0191 4145887

THE RUNHEAD

Holburn Lane, Ryton, Tyne & Wear, NE40 3HJ t: 0191 413 9517

THE SANDPIPER

Farringdon Road, Cullercoats, Tyne & Wear, NE30 3ER t: 0191 253 5050

THE SCHOONER

South Shore Road, Gateshead, NE8 3AF t: 0191 477 7404 • Cask & craft beers & ciders • Fab food to feast on • Old school, not retro

THE SPLIT CHIMP

Arch 7, Westgate Rd Newcastle upon Tyne NE11SA

THE SIR WILLIAM DE WESSYNGTON

2-3 Victoria Road, Concord, Washington, NE37 2JY t: 0191 418 0100

THE STAITH HOUSE

57 Low Lights, North Shields, NE30 1JA t: 0191 2708441

THE STEAMBOAT

27 Mill Dam, South Shields NE33 1EQ t: 0191 454 0134

THE TANNERS

1 Byker Bridge, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 2NS

THE THREE TUNS

Sheriffs Highway, Gateshead, NE9 5SD. t: 0191 4870666

THE TOWN WALL

Pink Lane, Newcastle, NE1 5HX www.thetownwall.com

• Selection of real ales • Food served daily • Cinema room available

THE TURKS HEAD

41 Front Street, Tynemouth, NE30 4DZ. t: 0191 2576547

THE VICTORY

Killingworth Road, South Gosforth, NE3 1SY t: 0191 285 1254

THREE HORSESHOES HOTEL

Washington Road, Sunderland Tyne & Wear, SR5 3HZ 0191 519 2006

YE OLD CROSS INN

Ryton Village, NE40 3QP t: 0191 4134689

www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 37

FUN STUFF

SIGN OF THE TIMES

THE DIRTY DOZEN BEND OVER, HERE COME TWELVE OF THE BEST

Spotted in HiYou Chinese supermarket in Newcastle.

Arguably suave charmer Leslie Phillips’ favourite snack.

A MAN WALKS INTO A BAR ON A SUNDAY LUNCHTIME… …AND THE BARMAN SAYS: ‘HOW DID YOU GET THOSE TWO BLACK EYES?’ THE MAN SAYS: ‘I WAS IN CHURCH THIS MORNING AND NOTICED THE WOMAN IN FRONT HAD HER SKIRT TUCKED RIGHT UP HER BUM, SO I PULLED IT DOWN FOR HER. SHE TURNED ROUND AND PUNCHED ME.’ ‘OK,’ SAYS THE BARMAN, ‘THAT EXPLAINS ONE BLACK EYE – BUT TWO?’ ‘WELL,’ SAYS THE MAN, ‘I THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE THE WAY SHE WANTED IT SO I PUT IT BACK HOW IT WAS.’

EEH! NUMBERS

656

1 If you ordered a beer in Holland ‘met gist’, what would you be asking for?

2 If I was using an adze, a jointer and a croze in my daily work, what would I be?

3 In the 1959-60 Football League Division 4 season, which club was relegated despite finishing third bottom, six points clear of the last team?

4 In the human body, what is the hallux?

5 You’ll Never Walk Alone is from which musical?

6 What variety of orange is used to flavour Earl Grey tea?

7 The registration plate for which vehicle reads SCV 1?

8 Ukrainian athlete Sergey Bubka set 35 world records in what?

9 What is the most common name in nursery rhymes?

10 Cleveland, Ohio, houses which renowned music institution?

11 Two Hungarian brothers Laszio, a journalist, and Gyorgy, a chemist, invented what common article?

12 It was never said on screen, but what was TV detective Columbo’s first name?

QUOTE “(JOHNNY) DEPP ALLEGEDLY SPENDS $30,000 A MONTH ON WINE, AND THE ONLY THING MORE TEDIOUS TO SPEND YOUR MONEY ON THAN WINE IS WATCHES. WINE IS THE ULTIMATE EMPEROR’S NEW CLOTHES, BECAUSE EVERYONE SECRETLY KNOWS THAT WINE, WHATEVER THE PRICE, JUST TASTES LIKE BAD RIBENA.”

The estimated number of Red Lion pubs in Britain.

The year King Oswiu of Northumbria invaded Pengwern (modern Wales) and killed King Cynddylan in battle.

The number of a Parliamentary Early Day Motion tabled in November HADLEY FREEMAN, GUARDIAN WEEKEND MAGAZINE, FEBRUARY 11 2017 2016 demanding the introduction of a plastic bottle deposit return system to help protect the environment.

QUIZ ANSWERS: 1 With a yeast sediment. 2 A cooper or barrel maker. 3 Gateshead. Hartlepools United finished bottom but in those days re-election for the bottom clubs was put to a vote. 4 Big toe. 5 Carousel. 6 Bergamot. 7 The ‘Popemobile’ – SCV stands for Stato della Citta del Vaticano. 8 Polevault (17 outoor and 18 indoor records). 9 Jack. 10 The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. 11 The Biro (their surname). 12 Frank. CORRECTION (Cheers February 2017): We asked the question: ‘Who was the first Tudor king of England?’. The answer we gave – Henry VIII – was wrong, it should have been Henry VII. 38 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 39