Cheers North East magazine #72 - July-August 2017 by Offstone Publishing

cheers WWW.CHEERSNORTHEAST.CO.UK // JULY/AUGUST 2017 // ISSUE 72

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 !

HITCHCOCK BY WESTWOOD A NEWCASTLE UNITED MATCH

A SWEET AND DRY SPARKLING SUMMER WRIGGLING AND WIGGLING AND TIGGLING IN CIDER

PARTNERS IN CRIME

THE WRITE APPROACH TO A PECULIER FESTIVAL

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WELCOME

Here we are with the big issue – not the wonderful publication that gives a hand-up not a hand-out to homeless people, but our July/ August issue packed with stories, fun and information that should keep you entertained all summer. The Cheers team has been enormously encouraged of klate by the opening of new pubs, the reinvention of previously stagnating ones, and the innovation and enterprise shown by people who firmly believe there’s life (and a lot of it) still in the licensed sector. The pub and beer scene is buzzing whether it’s a mini-microbrewery, a micropub, a railway arch conversion, or an audacious step into selling beer and meat (Block & Bottle), beer and cheese (Hops & Cheese) or beer, coffee and cakes (Arch2). Confidence is returning and the message is as always – go to the pub, enjoy it, tell your friends, then go back again. And again. But it’s no longer enough to sit back and wait; potential customers have myriad alternatives and a multitude of sweeteners demanding our spending power, so we have to try that bit harder to win support – and to keep it. A final note; a farewell to Ailsa and Davy Patton who are off to a new life in Glasgow. Ailsa – one of those bar staff who can serve two people at once and assure the third they’re next – has done her last shift at The Schooner in Gateshead (before that, The Central, Gateshead), while talented musician Davy is hugely influential in the region’s live music scene, playing with the likes of The Sour Mash Trio. Good luck folks, you’ve done us proud and you’ll be a big miss. Cheers, Alastair Gilmour Editor, Cheers North East

EDITORIAL

Alastair Gilmour 07930 144 846 01661 844 115 alastair@cheersnortheast.co.uk @CheersPal www.cheersnortheast.co.uk We are tweeting. Follow us @cheers_ne

CONTENTS 24

PARTNERS IN CRIME

The annual Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival draws some of the best writer of genre in the world to Harrogate in North Yorkshire. T&R Theakston, through its flagship brand, has supported the event massively virtually since it started in 2003 in a sponsorship programme that the brewery’s chairman Simon Theakston is particularly proud of – boosting the moral of the community in which we all live and work. The arts are hugely important to Theakstons as it is the foundation of our culture and something from which everyone derives pleasure, inspiration and a sense of belonging.

COVER: THEAKSTONS OLD PECULIER PHOTO BY PETER SKELTON – WITH THANKS TO THE SCHOONER, GATESHEAD

IT WAS IMPORTANT FOR US TO NOT LET THE BUILDING BECOME ANOTHER STUDENT ACCOMMODATION BLOCK MARK LAGUN, EARL OF PITT STREET, NEWCASTLE

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LATEST NEWS THE CLUNY’S NEW KITCHEN PSYCHO MEETS WESTWOOD THE CIDER INSIDER

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GIN AND BEAR IT READING INTO BOOKSHELVES RAILWAY’S NEW LINES A SUMMER OF EVENTS

CHEERS NORTH EAST

brings out the best in pubs and brewing that exists in the region. The magazine, published ten times a year, is distributed to almost 300 pubs, bottle shops and specialist outlets from the Borders to North Yorkshire and across to the fringes of Cumbria. It is packed with stories from them with suggestions on where to go and what you’ll find there. But most of all, Cheers is about people – after all, it’s people who make beer and people who make pubs what they are. And to be able to bring you more information, our A-Z pub guide can now be found at www.cheersnortheast.co.uk Tell them who sent you.

NEWS

WAY OUT WEST FOR CHARITY BIKE RIDE Ride ‘em cowboy: Rob Ford ready to roll

They were counted out and counted back in again – 40 cyclists dressed as cowboys riding all shapes and sizes of “steeds” in a charity run starting and finishing at Station East, Gateshead. The aim of the Broken Spoke ride to The Red Kite at Winlaton Mill; Vale of Derwent Club, Rowlands Gill, and The Sun Inn at Swalwell, Tyne & Wear, was to raise funds for The Alzheimers Society. The hospitality at each stop-off (which included beer, of course), was little short of amazing, while safely back at Station East after the 18-mile round-trip, a buffet (courtesy of The Atkinson Girls) and cupcakes made by Lynn Campbell certainly topped up lost energy. Then more beer provided by Hadrian Border Brewery and a set from The Sour Mash Trio rounded it all up. Yeehah!

4 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

TRIBUTES POUR IN FOR CRAIG DAVID Regulars at the Free Trade Inn, Newcastle, and even those who have never set foot inside the pub, were saddened by the passing of Craig David, the resident cat. Hundreds of messages were posted on social media, while letters and even a small painting on an easel were pushed through the letterbox in an outpouring of affection. “He was a people’s cat and we knew how popular he was, but not quite like it’s turned out,” said Free Trade manager Mick Potts. “The response was absolutely incredible, silly in fact. People have been posting pictures of him, writing letters – one of them from a woman who didn’t know him and who had never been in the pub, but was so touched by the support she saw. “Someone also handed in a vase of flowers for the bar. We’re so touched by people being so touched; it’s all been a bit bonkers. “We weren’t too concerned when he went missing – he’s done it before and always turned up, usually covered in oil from the scrapyard – but then we got the sad news that he had been found. It was when I had to write a

Not forgotten: Free Trade Inn pub cat Craig David. Photo: Peter Skelton message to Sue Dyer who looked after him that it hit home.” Craig David turned up on the Free Trade doorstep on a stormy Wednesday in January four years ago, but wouldn’t come in. He sat outside for a week, then when he did decide to venture into the pub

he never left, except to go for a little wander now and again. Fittingly, several local breweries have been in touch with Mick offering to donate beer for a celebration of his life with every penny going to a local cat and dog shelter.

NEWS

WIZARD TEAM SHOW THEIR WORTH

It’s definitely a family affair at The Electrical Wizard in Morpeth, Northumberland, with a set of four brothers and sisters on the staff. Alice (21), Callum (19) and 16-year-old twins Adam and Rebecca Oxby from nearby Pegswood all enjoy different roles at the Wetherspoons pub. Alice joined the staff three years ago and progressed to shift leader but has now taken a part-time role while she studies law and psychology at university, while Callum joined the team in September 2014 as a part-time pot washer – and is now a full-time kitchen associate, hoping to progress further. The quartet is made up by floor associates Adam and Rebecca, each working two or three shifts a week while still studying at Ashington College and Ashington High School respectively. The Electrical Wizard manager Siobhan

Brilliant team: The Oxby family. Photo: David Webb

Hodge says: “It’s great to have them here; they work really hard and are a family of grafters. They are a brilliant team and I couldn’t ask for better.”

NEW VENTURE FOR AWARD-WINNING BREWERY North Tyneside-based Mordue Brewery has unveiled plans to open its first bar – in the heart of Newcastle. Garry and Matt Fawson are set to fulfill a long-term ambition by opening Beeronomy on Newcastle’s Hood Street, taking over the former Newcastle Building Society offices next to the Vivienne Westwood store. Rhian Cradock, chef and owner of the successful Feathers Inn at Hedley-on-theHill, Northumberland – a long-time Mordue collaborator – is on board to create a menu

which will match food with beer, while a beer sommelier is also joining the team to offer customers expert advice. Planning approval has been granted by Newcastle City Council, clearing the way for the basement and ground floor alterations to begin. It is hoped the venue can be opened before Christmas. In August, Mordue celebrates the 25th anniversary of being awarded Champion Beer of Britain by the Campaign For Real Ale (Camra) for its flagship Workie Ticket.

FOLLOWING IN A TRUE GENTLEMAN’S FOOTSTEPS A total of around 80 pub enthusiasts took part in two memorial walks around the Ouseburn Valley in Newcastle in honour of the late Eric Larkham, a founder-member of The Ouseburn Trust. As the brass plaque on the bar at The Cluny reads, he was “a true gentleman”. Eric’s passion for good ale, great pubs and the Ouseburn Valley’s heritage and history were celebrated by guide Mike Greatbach’s research into the pubs and livelihoods in this crucible of North East industry. A permanent memorial to Eric, designed by artist Colin Hagan with woodwork by Pavel Petria, is to be unveiled this summer in the Ouseburn and intended to encourage visitors and those who live and work in this unique area to explore every aspect of it and to get to know it better.

Celebration: One of the groups on the memorial walk. Photo: John Hipkin, Ouseburn Trust

www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 5

Investment: Mark Brooker at The Dipton Mill Inn. Photo: Peter Skelton

BREWERY NEWS

THE DEVIL WATER’S IN THE DETAIL

Hexhamshire Brewery, now based at the top end of the Dipton Mill Inn beer garden is about to take another step into the future. The archetypal country pub near Hexham soaks up the bulk of the brewery’s Whapweasel Bitter, Devil’s Water and the rest of a portfolio of harmonious ales, but demand from elsewhere has persuaded owner Mark Brooker to seek funds in order to improve and expand. The Dipton Mill Inn is quite simply the pub you never want to leave at last orders but the Brooker family is investing some £40,000 in plant and equipment at the brewery – such is their confidence in the quality of the ales first brewed by the late Geoff Brooker in 1993. Mark says: “Very basically, we are

investing in upgrading the electrical power to the brewery, buying new and larger equipment with additional fermenting capacity, and a new package sewerage treatment plant to serve both the brewery and pub. The latter is not sexy but very necessary. “We are also building a huge – for us – cold store so we can carry on cask conditioning the beer, a necessity in warm weather. We have a few tweaks to consider, including fitting big glass doors to the front of the brewhouse so customers can see how their beer is produced.” Locating the brewery from its original home a couple of miles away has meant a tremendous improvement in time management and consistency. “I’ll be so pleased to be able to focus on ‘just brewing’ again,” says Mark.

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BREWERY NEWS

BREWER INSPIRED BY LOCAL GROWTH A Northumberland farm-based brewery is working with other independent producers to highlight what the county has to offer. Rigg & Furrow, based at Acklington Park Farm near Morpeth, has produced two beers that combine flavours blended with working practices borne out of rural heritage and youthful enthusiasm. Brewery co-owner Theo Howie says: “The idea is that the brews celebrate the best of Northumberland produce. We are brewing an Earl Grey-infused IPA on my kit with tea from BariTea in Alnwick and a Viking-inspired smoked honey ale on Credence Brewery’s equipment at Amble using Robson’s Chain Bridge honey from Horncliffe. We both use Simpsons malt from Berwick, so they are on board too. As for Rigg & Furrow, we’ve expanded the core range to four beers; English Pale Ale (3.8% abv), Run Hop Run which is a 4.2% abv Simcoe session IPA, Owl Porter (4.0% abv), and Trickster, a 4.3% abv hoppy amber ale. We’ve

Expanding: Theo Howie, Rigg & Furrow. Photo: Peter Skelton done a few small batches bottle-conditioned which are slowly making their way to market. “I’ve got the next two ‘farmhouse’ seasonals in the fermenters – Elderflower Farmhouse Ale, and a rhubarb one both brewed with ingredients from the farm. I’ve got some KeyKegs for the rhubarb beer, so that will be our first ‘keg conditioned’ release which I’m really excited about. It’s lightly tart, very refreshing, and benefits from the extra effervescence that the kegs provide.”

JIMMY’S BEER IS PERU-VING POPULAR A fictional supervillain with links to Newcastle has produced his own ale to serve in the pub he co-owns. Although he was a regular at The Bodega on Westgate Road in the city – particularly on Newcastle United matchdays – Jimmy McManners is now settled in Lima, Peru, where he runs Wicks’ pub and microbrewery alongside business partner Will Wicks. The pumpclip for Jimmy’s Riddle (we all get the rhyming slang connotation) shows the likely lad in Riddler costume, about to tackle arch-enemy Batman once again. We don’t know the style or strength of Jimmy’s Riddle, but we’re sure that a Geordie used to drinking Fyne Ales Jarl and Allendale Pennine Pale in The Bodega would make a canny job of a beer with his name writ large on it.

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VIEW FROM ABROAD

BELLS RINGING FOR TOP BEER After eight years running of Russian River Brewing Company’s double IPA Pliny the Elder dominating the top spot, Bell’s Two Hearted Ale has been named number one in the 15th annual Best Beers in America survey conducted by Zymurgy magazine in an online voting system. Laura Bell, chief executive of Bell’s Brewery, whose father Larry started the business in 1985 in Kalamazoo, Michigan, said: “This is an incredible honour for us. We got our start as homebrewers – that’s how my dad got going – so we really identify with the homebrewing community. We take a lot of that spirit into what we do today.” Russian River Pliny the Elder came second in the poll with Founders Breakfast Stout taking third spot. The complete list of Zymurgy’s Best Beers in America is available at homebrewersassociation.org where the AHA also provides clone recipes.

CLARITY BEGINS AT HOME

The world’s largest beer competition ended with all the whoopin’ and a-hollerin’ you’d expect from a convention at the Minneapolis Convention Centre in the US. Homebrew Con 2017 – also known as the 39th annual National Homebrewers Conference – concluded with the Homebrewer of the Year Award, earned by Zach Kosslow of Wilmington, North Carolina. The new set-up features a tapRecognising the most outstanding homemade beer, mead and cider from homebrewers

Yippee: A winning homebrewer shows his emotions worldwide, this year’s competition (hosted by the American Homebrewers Association) saw 8,618 entries from 3,530 homebrewers located in all 50 US states and 13 other countries evaluated by some of the top beer judges in the country. The current revolution in craft beer in the UK owes a debt to the

US homebrewers who have been driving taste and flavour profiles across the country for decades. Over its 39-year history, the National Homebrew Competition has evaluated 134,835 brews. As a measure of its growth, the first homebrew competition, held in 1979 in Boulder, Colorado, judged 34 beers.

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14.3° Plato | OG 1058 | ABV 6.2%

14.3° Plato | OG 1058 | ABV 6.3%

19.6° Plato | OG 1081 | ABV 8.8%

A Limonata Pale… An Ultra Pale which emulates almost toxic levels of citrus zing. A nuclear sherbet dib-dab of lemon, lime and tropical pineapple.

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HAPPY IN HIS COMFORT ZONE The brief was to restore the pub kitchen’s previous reputation – and he’s succeeding. Alastair Gilmour talks to The Cluny’s new head chef True to his word, Julian Ive, (fairly) new owner of The Cluny in Newcastle, has invested in the back office by aiming to get the pub’s food offer back to its former glory – the days when it had a reputation for simple, wellcooked dishes with a splosh or two of adventure. Joining the team last month is John Nellist, formerly of Longhorns BBQ Smokehouse in Newcastle; hired to head up the Cluny Kitchen. And it has started to pay dividends after a mere few weeks. “I’ve know Julian for years and we share the same passion for music, pubs and food,” says John, himself a musician. “We always said we’d love to do something together, then when he took over the pub in April he said ‘I’m now in a position to offer you a secure job’, which was a big help. “I told him what I’d like to do

with the kitchen and he loved the ideas – I’d worked really hard on menus before we had a chat – so I left Longhorns on the Friday and started at The Cluny on the Monday.” John Nellist’s ideas are designed to attract daytime diners with original menus using local produce. Live music and an impressive range of cask ales and craft keg beers have made the pub into something of an institution, but these days you need something even more than that. It was while working in a Gateshead pub last year that the penny finally dropped for Julian, who had previously spent 11 years at The Cluny in various roles. He told Cheers North East in May: “When I was doing shifts at The Schooner in Gateshead I saw that there were maybe 100 people in for Sunday dinners, then there was a band on at 4.30 which made

PUB FOOD

Fresh ideas: John Nellist at The Cluny (pictured left) Photos: Peter Skelton

the pub continuously busy from 12 till nine. It opened my eyes a bit to what could be done. “The Cluny is a local pub for local people and we need that daytime trade back again to give it a buzz.” What John Nellist focuses on is great tasting comfort food, constantly monitoring just how much fun everyone’s having with it. He says: “It’s going really well and we’ve had people coming in just to try the food. I always like to talk to people about it – for example, we’re looking more into vegan and vegetarian options and doing little things like using freshly-baked baguettes rather than frozen which is all going down well. “I absolutely love it here, Julian trusts me to just go for it although I always run everything by him. We’re so much busier now on the food side, even on the days when there are no gigs on. “I always welcome suggestions, especially from vegetarians. I spent a lot of time in the meat game and my girlfriend’s vegetarian, so it makes a difference.” John wasn’t always a chef; he was made redundant from Formica in North Tyneside some eight years ago and looked everywhere for a job. Eventually he walked into Belle & Herbs in Heaton, Newcastle – now the Butterfly Cabinet – and was willing to do anything. He was offered a position in the kitchen and admits he took to it “like a duck to water”. He went on to Lola

Jeans in Tynemouth and also runs a blues club at Billy Bootleggers in Newcastle. And he’s concentrating on his surroundings which Julian Ive is keen to support. “The Cluny has always been about the Ouseburn community – and we’ve already got a lot of our old regulars back,” he says. “We’re back to getting our coffee from a local company, for instance, as well as using local musicians and breweries. Sometimes that sort of thing isn’t fully understood by big companies with lots of individual businesses to look after and they can’t make an exception of one.” The Cluny Kitchen menu now features the likes of The Rumble Po’ Boys Jumble, a New Orleans-style sandwich of crispy fried chunky cod, shrimp and squid/octopus in a crusty toasted baguette with bacon, melted Cheddar and Remoulade sauce. The world-famous Cluny burgers have been given a tweak, as has fried suckling pig chop with seasoned mashed potatoes and a choice of home-made sauces (which will shortly be available to buy over the counter) and John’s halloumi cheese fries are proving a hit. So, with exceptional beers to try after a hot day in the kitchen, what do chefs head straight for? “I don’t actually drink much,” says John. “After a shift I like to get home to the kids, but I might stop in the bar for one of our wheat beers which might be only 2.4% abv, but it’s lovely.”

www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 11

PUB NEWS

A MATCH FOR ANYONE A Newcastle pub/restaurant is full of surprises, as Alastair Gilmour discovers August 12 is the first match of the Premier League 2017-18 season and Newcastle United are at home to Tottenham Hotspur. And the day the fixtures were announced, The Earl of Pitt Street in Newcastle took a lunch booking from four Spurs fans. Squatting a goal kick and a couple of bounces from St James’ Park means the pub/ restaurant (formerly The Greyhound) is popular on match days, but it doesn’t necessarily follow that it’s a raucous bar – it actually swings towards the opposite. Football chants

and horseplay aren’t tolerated and anyway the choice of drinks and, dare we say the pricing, tends to be self-policing. Fans seeking cheap, national brands and multiple offers are directed elsewhere. “The booking from the Tottenham supporters says a lot,” says Earl of Pitt Street general manager/partner Mark Lagun. “That’s how far our reputation has spread from every aspect of being a good, safe, friendly environment. On match days we get a fantastic crowd but not a rowdy crowd.”

The décor plays its part too. It wavers between the calm and the slightly chilling, designed to look like Vivienne Westwood had styled an Alfred Hitchcock movie. Safe to say, fabric designer Libby Lagun’s showerhead roller blind motifs (think Psycho) are like no other, as are the Birds wallpaper (the scene from the 1963 classic where they begin to settle in the children’s play area), Tippi Hedren motifs, and the “if-Westwooddid-camouflage” fabrics and stained glass at every turn. The effect is amazing. Also, large images of rare chickens line a couple of walls in the street-

level bar, which tends to make groups of young men looking for a pre-match pool table and gallons of cheap lager feel uncomfortable and decide almost subliminally that this isn’t the place for them. It’s psychology developed from Mark Lagun’s 30-odd years running Newcastle restaurants – Barn Asia, Barn Again, Barn Under A Wandering Star, Barn@theBiscuitFactory and Electric East. The view out front is of the ambitious Science City – or it will be when the former Scottish & Newcastle’s Tyne Brewery site has been fully developed. Going up is a campus of odd-shaped, surface-

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PUB NEWS patterned and contemporaneously coloured buildings seemingly designed by an artist with a free hand. Mark Lagun says: “Come September, the first one of those buildings completed will have 1,400 students and staff in it and there are another five being built over the next two years along with 200 eco-friendly homes. It’s all happening here.” The Earl of Pitt Street and The Strawberry are the last surviving pubs that once circled the brewery where Newcastle Brown Ale was born in 1927. “It was important for us to not let the building become another student accommodation block,” says Mark. “We’ve still got the Newcastle Breweries’ blue star logo here

because we’re very keen to keep that link with brewing. It’s also very important to me that the locals still have a nice pub in the neighbourhood – everybody’s welcome.” On the counter, Wylam Gold Tankard, Mordue Apollo and Flash House Apricot IPA represent the region’s eclectic range of flavours, adventure and sensible sessionable beers, plus Caledonian Coast To Coast and 3-Hop Lager from Edinburgh. There’s something for everyone. There’s very much an Asian

influence to the menu with sauces and dips referencing the Pacific Rim, although grilled sea bass fillets and beer-battered haddock with skin-on chips hold up a British flag. Portuguese seafood cataplana with chorizo, fresh parsley and crusty bread will set up any United fan for everything that any Premier League side can throw at their team. Tapas platters are remarkable – and decent value at three for a tenner – tempura tiger prawns, sautéed chorizo with honey and red wine, Vietnamese pork sliders served in brioche (a bit of a master stroke this), with salads of feta and orzo plus tomato and mozzarella contrasting perfectly. A must to finish is Vietnamese coffee – tasted blindfold, it’s pure melted chocolate. In the upstairs restaurant, Wandering Star-style furniture emblazoned with Cowboy and Indian illustrations soften any hard edges, a huge wine rack shows off what can

be achieved in a glass, while at the other end, a huge mirror reflects the counter and bar fittings in all their gleam and glister. It’s Manet’s Bar At The Folies-Bergère in real life. The Earl of Pitt Street combines cutting-edge design, classic film, French Impressionism, pan-Asian platters, football, and honest-togoodness beer, wines and spirits in a multi-cultural team much like the one playing a goal-kick and couple of bounces away.

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A CIDER SUMMER

WRIGGLING AND WIGGLING AND TIGGLING IN CIDER When taking a look at cider – and having a taste of it, of course – there’s surely no better folks to ask than those at the region’s cider pub of the year. The Station House in Durham wears that title with pride. Co-owner Susannah Mansfield takes her pick of the summer crop All the draught ciders recommended here are often available at The Station House, and have also been seen regularly in other good cider retailers in the area, so let’s go. On draught: Chants Badger Spit (7.5% abv): If you like your ciders dry enough to strip paint, this is the one for you. Chants is based near Glastonbury Tor in Somerset and Badger Spit is one of their most renowned products. This exceptionally dry, sharp, but clean-tasting cider is an incredibly refreshing palate-cleanser, perfect for hot days. Harleston Cider Co, Cid’er’oad (6.2% abv): Harleston is relatively new on the scene

in the North East. The company started in Norfolk, but now works between there and the North East – the apples for Cid’er’oad are collected and juiced in Norfolk and fermented in Newcastle. The cider itself is medium, rich and fruity with a strong flavour of russet apples that slips down a treat. Circle Cider, Butchers Boy (5.5% abv): Butchers Boy is a sweet Wiltshire cider, made from a mixture of apple varieties. Although it falls at the sweet end of the spectrum, this full-bodied beauty has plenty of tannins which give a nutty, oaty flavour that balances the sweetness and makes it taste like apple pie. Pulp Rhubarb (4.0% abv): Pulp is a brand

Gateshead’s great outdoors Gateshead has a strong industrial heritage, but did you know that today over half of Gateshead is made up of countryside?

14 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

There is so much to see and do in Gateshead’s great outdoors; with a rich history, a beautiful natural environment, a fantastic variety of wildlife, and a thriving network of businesses selling local produce, and all just minutes from the A1. You can choose from a number of ways to explore the area; from taking a casual stroll through the country parks to mountain biking, and you may even spot one of the reintroduced red kites, a roe deer, otter or fox as you go.

Find out more at

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A CIDER SUMMER

Photo: Lemon Top Creative of wholesalers the Real Cider Company based in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire. Rhubarb is their best seller (and ours, as it happens), made from medium, easy-drinking apple cider blended with fresh rhubarb juice. The result is a medium-sweet cider that tastes tartly and refreshingly of rhubarb. Now let’s get on to the bottles: Whin Hill Perry (5.8% abv): Whin Hill, from Wells-Next-The-Sea in North Norfolk, produce a range of refreshing ciders which can be bought via their website (www. whinhillnorfolkcider.co.uk). Their perry (made from pears) is particularly good, pouring a pale yellow colour and light in body with a slightly floral, citrussy aroma. In bottle it is lightly sparkling and being less sickly sweet than some perries, this is superb as an aperitif or as an alternative to sparkling wine. Caple Road (5.2% abv): Caple Road is Weston’s “craft cider” brand, available in supermarkets in cans. Weston’s proudly proclaim that the cider is made from “fresh pressed, not concentrate” apple juice. Caple Road is a deep straw colour, with an initial aroma when first poured hinting at oak and leather that dissipates quickly to leave a strong apple aroma. Initially sweet on the palate, it finishes dry and astringent. This is the one for taking to barbeques and music festivals.

APPLE OF OUR AYE

Cider can be made out of virtually any old apple variety, even the much maligned Golden Delicious. A large proportion of commercially produced ciders are actually made from everyday cooking apples such as Bramleys and the all-purpose James Grieve, but the best cider is made from apples that are just about inedible. It’s about acids and tannins. One great place to learn everything you’ll ever need to know about cider is The World’s Best Cider: Taste, Tradition and Terroir from Somerset to Seattle by Pete Brown and Bill Bradshaw. Travelling from the Old World to the New and teaching us not only how to taste it but how to cook with it, Brown and Bradshaw explore every aspect of this fascinating drink and the people who produce it.

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GIN

GIN HELPS TREASURY SOAK UP RECORD REVENUES British drinkers downed 12% more gin last year than in the previous 12 months, while beer sales – despite the boom in the craft category – remained fairly flat. This has allowed tax revenues from sales of spirits to overtake those from beer for the first time ever and is undoubtedly due to record sales of gin, according to HM Revenue & Customs. Duty from spirits (including big sellers whisky and gin) rose by 7% to £3.37bn for the tax year 20162017, while beer revenues edged up by a mere 1% to £3.32bn. However, the Treasury still trousers more from wine than either beer or spirits, collecting nearly £4.17bn in tax, up 5% on the year. British drinkers bought 40 million bottles of gin in 2016, enough to make 1.12 billion G&Ts – or 28 for every person of legal drinking age in the UK. In the spring and early summer, Cheers North East, along with sister publication Appetite and foodie book producer Relish Publications, hosted two highly successful Planet Juniper gin festivals – at Durham County Cricket Club and South

Northumberland Cricket Club in Gosforth, Newcastle. More food and drink events are planned, initially for September, so keep your eyes on Cheers and Appetite. Festival director Mark Carton said: “This last decade has seen a crop of outstanding new gin distilleries grow in the North east. From Hepple Gin in Rothbury, Northumberland, to Masons Gin in Bedale, North Yorkshire, we have an amazing array of talent and quality in the region.” More than 50 new distilleries opened in the UK last year, displaying “explosive creativity”, according to one report. And the number of “boutique” distilleries is pushing big brands of the shelves as artisan brands continue to take market share from the global giants, says James Simmonds of accountancy group UHY Hacker Young. He says: “Both the craft spirits and craft brewery sectors are going through a period of explosive creativity. You can see that in everything from their logos, branding and advertising. “The quality of the product is streets ahead of their big brand competitors and it’s no wonder the

NO MORE CLUTCHING AT STRAWS UK pub chain All Bar One has taken the lead on eliminating plastic straws from pubs and bars in the UK, pledging to phase out their use as part of its #strawssuck campaign and replacing them with ecofriendly alternatives. Plastic straws, like all plastic items, are incredibly damaging to the environment with a single straw taking 500 years to decompose. The chain currently serves straws in 25% of its drinks, the equivalent of 13,000 a day across its venues – or put another way, 4.7 million a year. 16 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

GIN

Ready for take-off: Gracie, the Poetic License gin still

global drinks giants are worried. The best way they have found to deal with the new competition is to get out their chequebooks and buy them up.” London gin maker Sipsmith, founded less than ten years ago, was bought last December by the Japanese giant Beam Suntory which owns the Jim Beam, Teachers and Courvoisier brands. Other recent deals have included the Edinburgh Gin brand being snapped up by Ian Mcleod Distillers, Scotland’s tenth-largest whisky producer, and Casamigos, the premium tequila brand cofounded in 2013 by George Clooney, sold to global giant Diageo for around £790m ($1bn). Beer-wise, London-based Meantime Brewery was bought by SABMiller in 2015 then subsequently sold to Asahi Breweries of Japan after SABMiller was taken over by Anheuser-Busch InBev in 2016, while a San Francisco company has agreed to buy a 22% stake in “punk” beer maker BrewDog in a deal worth £213m.

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PUB REVIEW

WORTH ITS WEIGHT

There are few simpler pleasures than being perched at a pub window, sipping ale, just watching the world go by. Darlington’s impressive Market Square – viewed from The Pennyweight – is a prime example of a town centre attraction with a lot going on (twice-weekly market days, for instance) or nothing, dependent on time of day or day of the week. And that’s the beauty of a pub like this; an ever-changing scene spied through a range of beers accompanied by a food menu

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that appears to cover all options. The Pennyweight, refurbished a few months ago, is a community pub rich in honeyed timber, open fireplaces and exposed brickwork. The main bar area has always been a busy spot for regulars and also attracting passing trade and it has been softened at the edges by plush settees and the low lighting of a couple of “break-out” areas forming a more intimate corner. An ever-changing line-up of cask beers could include Black Sheep Holy Grail, Sharp’s Doombar and Sonnet 43 Raven Stout with Theakstons IPA, Barista Stout

and Fruli Frambois on keg. It’ll be different every time. The back bar is kitted out with an eclectic range of spirits jostling for eye contact. An extensive menu features pub food in its traditional expressions plus modern takes on classic dishes, such as steak and stout pie, the Teesside delicacy chicken parmo, bangers and mash, and a selection of burgers complemented by “bar bait” Cajun crab cakes and a trio of Yorkshire puddings loaded with five bean chilli. Darlington is famous for its wynds – narrow alleyways between streets – and as the afternoon

sun warms the scene outside, The Pennyweight offers a fine opportunity to unwind.

“SOMEONE ONCE TOLD ME DRINKING WAS SLOW POISON. I REPLIED ‘WHO’S IN A HURRY?” ROBERT BENCHLEY

PUB BOOKSHELVES

DO YOU TAKE BOOKINGS?

A branch of Oxfam has received an average one copy a week of The Da Vinci Code ever since its staff can remember. In fact, they have so many, its manager has made a tower of them with a note attached that they’d rather have vinyl donated – because it sells well and makes money for the charity. It might be no surprise that, with 80 million books sold making it the second-most popular book of modern times, The Da Vinci Code turns up in large numbers. Oddly, however, crime writer Ian Rankin is reckoned to be the third-most donated author while also being the best-selling charity shop writer. So we decided to take a look – not at charity shops, but at pub shelves where a commendable “bring one, borrow one” scheme exists. Can you work out from the photos and descriptions where our bookworm has been? 1 - Here we have a shelf with probably the oddest selection of books we’ve seen. It’s cerebral and perhaps a bit left-wing with a literary thrust and a penchant for food and travel (Anthony Bourdain) and anarchic comedy (Alexei Sayle). Is this a haven for those of a more eccentric nature? 20 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

2 - A clue: This isn’t a traditional pub but functions as one. There are a lot of “charity shop” style donations (Michael Chrichton, PD James) and also several aimed at children (Milly Molly Mandy) and political investigations in the guise of Fast Food Nation. A complete mix which its custom probably is.

3 - Aha, there’s Dan Brown and the Da Vinci Code – alongside an indulgence of Thomas Hardy plus Balzac and Bronte which suggests a literary bent. At the

PUB BOOKSHELVES other end of the spectrum are titles you’d normally find in the remaindered section of bookshops. A wide customer base, we’d say. with a touch of brainbox. 4 - This pub isn’t a particularly sporty venue, regardless of the biographies and autobiographies (note only one of 11 isn’t football related). A psychologist might point to a tidy mind – with a touch of obsessive-compulsive if we’re being cruel, as the

shelf on the opposite side is more “charity shop” in its collection of unloved titles.

A REAL RECORD-BREAKER

5 - This could be another obsessivecompulsive, but also a real foodie pub. We think the latter, simply

because there are books here that only a huge food enthusiast would hoard and display. Interesting to note that some look hardly touched, while others – Gordon Ramsay and Thomas Keller – are well thumbed. BOOKSHELF ANSWERS 1 The Tannery, Hexham. 2 Tyne Bank Brewery, Newcastle. 3 The New Bridge, Newcastle. 4 Left Luggage Room, Monkseaton Station. 5 The Feathers Inn, Hedley-onthe-Hill, Northumberland.

The ever-popular Tynedale Beer Festival, held at the Corbridge headquarters of Tynedale Rugby Club in June, broke all records for attendance and fundraising. The gates had to be closed early on the Saturday evening session, having reached capacity and draining beer glass resources and though the final total of charity donations hadn’t been totted up by the time we went to press, all indications point to more than the previous best £80,000 to be shared by Marie Curie North East, Calvert Trust Kielder, and Hexham and Corbridge youth initiatives. The event is a joint venture between the rugby club and Tynedale Lions with support from the Tyneside & Northumberland branch of the Campaign For Real Ale (Camra) and generous local sponsors. Along with the 124 beers on offer were 25 different ciders and perries as well as a wine and gin bar. The brilliant sunshine admittedly helped a touch as there were more than 4,000 beer enthusiasts across the door on the Saturday alone, but this amazing event deserves high praise indeed.

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NEWS

HERMITS ENJOY A SPOONS FULL

Cheers readers of a certain vintage will remember the name Herman’s Hermits, the 1960s chart-topping group fronted by Peter Noone (Something Tells Me I’m Into Something Good). Herman’s Hermits continue to tour the UK as part of The Sensational Sixties Experience, playing 65 theatres a year, visiting a Wetherspoons pub in every town to dine before each show and to wind down after. The sole original band member is drummer Barry Whitwam who has been keeping the beat for 53 years. He said: “Over 65 shows across the six years we’ve been doing the Sixties Experience with 20 band members, plus audience members

equals a lot of Wetherspoons meals and drinks.” This gives us the opportunity to mention the late James “Tappy” Wright, the Whitley Bay lad who became road manager to The Animals, then right-hand-man to Chas Chandler who managed Jimi Hendrix and Slade. Chas – along with Tappy – also worked closely with Herman’s Hermits. When North Easterners Ray Laidlaw and Paul Irwin created TyneIdols with the aim of providing music heritage tours on Tyneside they naturally hooked up with their old pal Tappy who brought his worldwide rock’n’roll tales to life. Paul Irwin said: “As part of the tours, we would stop off at Newcastle City Hall where Tappy

Top four: Herman’s Hermits (left to right) Paul Cornwell, Geoff Foot, Tony Hancox and Barry Whitwam at the Blue Bell Inn, Scunthorpe. Photo: David Webb would sit on the stage with our guests about meeting who I can only term as ‘music legends’.” One of those tales involved Herman’s Hermits who were then making it big in America. Tappy Wright looked after them on one memorable US trip that included Hawaii. Checking in late at their hotel, Tappy insisted that there should be no interruptions to a good night’s sleep – however, he was wakened in the wee sma’ hours by the phone and the caller saying he

The Quayside Exchange 197 High Street East, Sunderland, SR1 2AX Tel: 0191 514 4574 Email: events@quaysideexchange.com www.quaysideexchange.com

22 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

was Elvis Presley and as he was a big admirer of the band, could he meet them. Tappy told the caller – in basic Geordie terms – to go away. He then stormed down to reception to remind staff that they didn’t want to be disturbed, particularly by malicious phone calls, only to be told that “Mr Presley has taken the whole top floor; is there anything wrong?” “No,” said Tappy. “Only I’ve just told Elvis Presley to fuck off.”

NEWS

CITY STYLISH

Durham Brewery Birthday Beer Bash

LITTLE DEVILS ARE AT IT AGAIN Durham Brewery – 23 years old this summer – has been experiencing a rush of creativity which spells good news for us all. The complex Diablous is back in a new incarnation. Previously a sour beer, this little devil has been oak-aged with a number of yeasts, developing into even more of a force to be reckoned with from its hints of whisky, sherry and Rioja wine. The advice is to drink slightly cool but not too cold for maximum appreciation. The sun has brought out Interstellar with an overhauled recipe and is traditionally lagered

(stored) in a long maturation process that smooths out and unites flavours and aromas for a refreshing and satisfying bottle-conditioned summer beer. Durham’s latest cask beer is Nelson Sauvin IPA, a single New Zealand hop used at various points during boiling and fermentation to bring out its multi-layered fresh and aromatic aspects. These can all be tried and tested at the brewery’s annual festival (August 5) where ten cask and keg beers are promised with a full range of bottled beers alongside Durham Gin, Fentimans soft drinks and gourmet food.

Newcastle city centre is to benefit from a pub group’s investment that is renowned for its sites in York, London and Sheffield. The Tapped Brew Co is opening Pivni, opposite Central Station (pictured), scheduled to be operational by the August Bank Holiday. The award-winning group is owned by former railway engineers Jamie Hawksworth and Jonathon Holdsworth. Its pubs vary from the Grade II listed Pivni in York, the restored Edwardian First Class Dining Room at the Sheffield Tap (on the city’s station) with its own brewery, York Tap – also on the station – and Euston Tap in London. Elsewhere, Star Pubs & Bars – the leased pub division of Heineken – has been ploughing £1.5m into pubs across the North East, including Newcastle venues The North Terrace and the 1970s-vintage Punch Bowl (Jesmond), both of which were closed for some time.

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BOOKS AND BEER

CRIME PAYS A good thriller and a classic beer are as good a reason as any to settle down for a handful of chapters and several glasses, writes Alastair Gilmour Beer, books and crime have long proved perfect partners – a well-deserved break with a cops-and-criminal novel in one hand and a glass of beer or whisky (or both) in the other is the perfect drill for relaxation. The Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival taking place from July 20 to 23 is ranked as one of the top three literary festivals in the UK by The Guardian, and has featured in The Independent’s 50 Best Festivals. Behind the its twitching curtains, the event is one of the most important in the literary calendar, with publishers, agents, publicists and authors flocking to Harrogate, North Yorkshire. T&R Theakston chairman Simon Theakston is particularly proud that his company and flagship beer support the arts in the community in which they live and work. “The arts are hugely important as it is the foundation of our culture and something from which everyone derives pleasure, inspiration and a sense of belonging,” he says. “The association between the arts, beer and public houses is well established. For many years we have supported arts in various forms and for the last 14 years have been proud sponsors of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival. “Starting from a small acorn, the festival has grown into biggest of its kind attracting the world’s leading crime authors to North Yorkshire every year. Commercially, our sponsorship has exposed the name of Old Peculier to a huge and growing audience of consumers throughout the country and overseas.” The Crime Writing Festival began in 2003, co-founded by crime author Val McDermid, her agent Jane Gregory, and the arts charity, Harrogate International Festivals with 24 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

Theakstons becoming title sponsor a year later. The 15th Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival takes place at the Old Swan Hotel in Harrogate – appropriately where Agatha Christie spent 12 undiscovered and unexplained days after disappearing from her London home. This year’s special guests are Lee Child, Arne Dahl, Dennis Lehane, Ian Rankin, Stuart MacBride, Peter May and Kathy Reichs with special sessions featuring Val McDermid, Ian Rankin and Ann Cleaves. Val McDermid, who had a spell living in Alnmouth, Northumberland, is in the New Blood hotseat again this year to present her four hand-picked brightest new talents – Fiona Cummins, Jane Harper, Joseph Knox and Kristen Lepionka – ready for a new crime wave. “Like a good crime novel, you don’t get the ‘whodunnit’ on the first page,” says Simon Theakston. “The plot unfolds, the characters are developed and then mixed together in a crescendo reaching the climax when all is revealed. “Old Peculier works in the same way, the full glory of which is only realised after the initial aroma and taste of the wonderful blend of malts and Fuggle hops combine to give a deeply satisfying finish. The parallels were obvious! “The clincher was the history of the name of Old Peculier which stems back to medieval times when the application of civil law was granted by the church in York to the vicar and four and twenty men of Masham to avoid the occasional disappearance of taxes and tythes at the hand of vagabonds and thieves who accosted the churchmen in the woods on their return from Masham to York, hence the formation of The Court of the Peculier of Masham.”

BOOKS AND BEER This year also marks the 30th anniversary of one of crime fiction’s greatest characters, John Rebus, created by Ian Rankin. Rebus returned from retirement in 2012 to star in Standing In Another Man’s Grave and is heading for immortality, even though he appears to be drinking himself into a grave of his own. A Rebus 30-year-old whisky has been produced by Highland Park in honour of the testy detective, while a recent RebusFest proved hugely popular in Edinburgh. “It’s a thrill to be spending 2017 celebrating the man, his legacy and his taste in music,” says Ian Rankin. Now pet, not since Lieutenant Frank Columbo has the trench coat been so much in vogue, topped with a floppy fishing hat and seen regularly stomping around the North East. The unglamorous, shambolic but highly effective DCI Vera Stanhope has attracted a legion of fans through the TV series Vera, starring Brenda Blethyn – and Ann Cleaves, the character’s creator will join her along with Kenny Doughty who plays Vera’s right-hand man DS Aiden Healy in a special TV Panel event. Ann Cleaves celebrates 30 books in 30 years with her latest, Cold Earth part of her Shetland series – also a major television series. The Theakstons name has also been so entwined with the crime genre that the beer has featured in an episode of NCIS Los Angeles. But Harrogate tops that by hosting a very Peculier festival indeed. Details: harrogateinternationalfestivals.com (01423 562303).

OLD PECULIER

“LIKE A GOOD CRIME NOVEL, YOU DON’T GET THE WHODUNNIT ON THE FIRST PAGE” Doors Open: A right riveting read. Photo: Peter Skelton

Around 200 years ago, British brewers produced a dark, strong “stock” ale in the winter months to provide a base amount of fermented beer to add to those brewed in the summer months when variations in temperature with no refrigeration played havoc with fermentation. The name pays tribute to the unique ecclesiastical status of its home town of Masham in North Yorkshire as a Court of the Peculier. For many years, Old Peculier (5.6% abv) was affectionately referred to as Yorkshire’s Lunatic’s Broth. Old Peculier is a beautiful, yet very simple beer, brewed with a generous blend of pale, crystal and roasted barley with two bittering hops combined with the majestic and noble Fuggles to produce a beer of full-bodied flavour with subtle cherry and rich fruit overtones. Terrific on its own, it tastes delightful when accompanied by rich stews, strong cheeses and sweet puddings.

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NEW OPENINGS

BLACK PAW BREWERY

RE-LAUNCHING SOON FOLLOW US @BLACKPAWBREWERY

CENTRAL STATION ATTRACTS RAIL ALE There’s a new departure on Platform 12 at Newcastle Central Station. Not a Trans-Pennine Express or Northern Railway service, but a beer emporium stacked with all manner of goodies in can and bottle. CentrAle is run by Bruce and Donna Renwick – with mascot Dixie – who until last year worked for Asda in Washington, Tyne & Wear. Bruce was transport operations manager and Donna worked in training before the company went through a restructuring exercise and they felt it was time to stop dreaming and get on with doing something for themselves. “I’ve always been interested in beer and we’d been thinking about doing something like this for about 18 months,” says Bruce. “I left Asda on July 1 last year and thought we’d be up and running by Christmas.” The couple believe they probably looked at every empty shop in Newcastle and Gateshead before setting on an empty station unit next door to a Sainsbury’s outlet. “We saw this place and thought it was just right for us,” says Donna. “My dad worked on the railways, the last few years at Central Station, so it seemed to all come together.” A counter and shelving units constructed from reclaimed timber

are now chock-full of bottles and cans predominantly from the North East and sectioned off into breweries (from right to left) Tyne & Wear, Northumberland and County Durham before continuing into nationwide offers and international beers – and even a rock’n’roll “ducket” reserved for beers with music connotations, such as Brinkburn Street Brewery’s House of the Rising Sun and Rōadcrew from Camerons Brewery which celebrates the mighty Motōrhead. Bruce says: “It’s taken a full year to get off the ground although everybody concerned was pretty receptive to the idea. But with the licensing coming under two police forces – Northumbria and British Transport Police – and with Virgin Rail operating the site and Network Rail owning it, there was always a double sign-off with everything. “Eight million people use Central Station every year and five million use the Metro, we’re in the city centre, so we have a good mix of people to go at. CentrAle is intended to be a showcase for local brewers, all of whom have been very, very supportive. We’ve even got local gins, vodka and rum, plus all local soft drinks from Fentimans – and Gateshead snacks from All Good on Team Valley.” All aboard for the Dixie line.

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Local focus: Donna, Dixie and Bruce Renwick at CentrAle. Photo: Peter Skelton

NEW OPENINGS

RAISE A GLASS AND SAY ‘CHEESE’ A trend is developing that sees pubs and bottle shops doubling up with something complementary to fine beer. It doesn’t take much working out that the Box Social Barcuterie in Newcastle has cold meats and sausages on offer alongside great beer from its “mother” brewhouse. The Block & Bottle in Gateshead is a traditional, organic butchery with fridges full of interesting beers and a growler station primed with four craft kegs, so it comes as no surprise to discover a pub with cheese attached. Cheese and Scotch eggs. The aroma in Hops & Cheese in Hartlepool is faintly Brie in origin – wafting from the

The

chiller that sits next to the pub counter. This is a well thought-out pub, a former printing shop in Tower Street in the town run by Hannah Thompson and Callum Willmott who previously worked at the celebrated Dr Phil’s Real Ale House in Middlesbrough. The interior fittings and fixtures sit well together with blue-grey walls broken by splashes and strips of bright colours; a large “fat-bottomed” pew is softened by cushion work, a huge bookcase offers a mix of reading matter and quirky details like cheese-grater lampshades don’t go un-noticed. The counter front is papered with maps showing New York, Paris, Asia, Italy and the World at

large, while behind the handpulls (Hawkshead Bitter, Three Kings Dark Side of the Toon and Flat Tyre Slack Alice Cider) and keg Vedett, Fruli and Thornbridge AM:PM, a gin cabinet peers out sparkling with regional expressions. Hops

& Cheese is also high on wine, seemingly put together by someone who knows what they’re doing. The pub is barely three minutes walk from Hartlepool Station – it’s closed on Tuesdays, so check your cheese and beer times Caerphilly.

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PUB NEWS

BOTTLE SHOP & TASTING ROOM

OPENING SOON 165-167 PARK VIEW, WHITLEY BAY

Independent beer distributor selling cask, keg, bottles and cans from select breweries across the UK

RAILWAY NO LONGER STATIONARY

A Gateshead social club has been given a new lease of life The world of pubs and clubs is changing fast. There has always been fluidity; that’s what keeps the leisure sector interesting and dynamic – and also alive. Social clubs, however, appear to be lagging behind pubs in their approach to reaching out to new custom. Many have gone to the wall and we can all name a club that has boarded up its windows and flogged off its furniture. The reasons are many and varied; ageing memberships, out-of-touch committees, a failure to embrace change, competition from other leisure activities – we don’t really

have to look far. There are many exceptions, of course – Haltwhistle Comrades Club in Northumberland promotes a choice of ales and a welcoming atmosphere the envy of many a pub, as does East Boldon Club, Tanfield Lea Club, and sports clubs such as Newcastle Cricket Club, Chester-le-Street Cricket Club and Darlington Snooker Club. It’s with those in mind that Phil Hughes has taken over Gateshead Railway Club & Institute in an unusual deal that has every reason to be a success. The club, housed in a listed brick building at the Gateshead side of the High Level Bridge and worth more than a cursory glance,

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Sunday, Monday, Wednesday: 2-9, Tuesday: Closed, Thursday, Friday, Saturday: 12-11 11 Tower Street, Hartlepool | contact.hopsandcheese@gmail.com @HopsandCheese

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PUB NEWS sometime of Lindisfarne. This part of Gateshead is being marketed The Bridges Quarter, an area which includes Arch 16 Café-Bar, Block & Bottle butchery and beer shop, The Central, Station East and Prohibition pubs as well as Box Social Barcutery and the Split Chimp micropub across the river in Newcastle. Plans for combined festivals, ale trails and events are under way. It’s this sort of faith blended with hard graft and a few connections that can make a business sing – and music man Phil Hughes is in the right place at the right time.

a little bit at a time at the moment, baby steps.” Phil is a music promoter and a musician himself so it’s little wonder that this is where the focus will lie, while his enthusiasm and knowledge of great beer is obvious from the introduction of contemporary styles in offerings such as Flash House Apricot IPA and Shy Bairns Get Stout, Almasty Session IPA, and Tickety Brew Fuggles. Regular blues sessions and busker nights will be supplemented by musicians of the calibre of George Shovelin and Steve Daggett,

has been separated into two distinct businesses with a public housestyle bar now operating alongside the members-only business where railway staff and their families have enjoyed a social for decades. threelife kings Advert.pdf Phil’s plans are of the “how long

have you got” variety with music events already in action, a revolving beer selection and a plea to local artist and photographers to come and hang their works. “We want to fill the walls and make 30/10/2014 18:33 it into a great pub,” says Phil. “It’s

Phil Hughes behind the bar of Gateshead Railway Club, also left. Photos: Peter Skelton

CMY

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BREWERY NEWS

BREWERY LIFTS OFF AFTER A PAWS The latest brewery in the North East to fire up isn’t actually a new business. But Black Paw in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, has lately been producing beer for bottle only, so there’s a big trade gap to fill – and entrepreneur Paul Hughes knows just what to do. Paul has been studying for an MA in entrepreneurship, a course unique in Europe, where students create a business and work towards setting it up. His “live” project was in creating a series of micropubs. Before that, however, he’d had 15 years in the licensed trade, building up an estate of pubs around Warwickshire and Oxfordshire.

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The university course allowed him the time to get out and meet people in the pub and brewing business to learn from them, pick their brains, and generally progress towards creating a good, strong action plan. “Then Phil Whitfield at Black Paw Brewery in Bishop Auckland got in touch,” says Paul. “He asked me if I wanted to buy the 10-barrel brewery as he was relocating to the South East. I was interested; it’s a starting point. “Black Paw hadn’t been producing beer in cask for the last 18 months, only in bottle, so there’s a bit of work to do there and we’re very keen to get back into pubs. I’ve

got Andrew Ferriman from George Samuel Brewing in Spennymoor as head brewer and also a Brewlab graduate coming on board.” Paul intends to retain the Black Paw name and brands to get up and running but a full rebranding is in the business plan and new beers on the cards. “That way we’ll hit the ground running,” he says.

At the moment Paul has been doing stints behind the bar at various Fitzgerald houses around the region – The Bridge Hotel in Newcastle and the Ridley Arms at Stannington in Northumberland – so he is well aware of what a good pint should look and taste like. He says: “There’s a lot of growth for Black Paw and we’re all about championing North East beers.”

TH E

AYDO BL

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SUMMER EVENTS than 200 artists, encompassing a diverse range of contemporary paintings, prints, sculpture, glass, ceramics and jewellery, also spotlighting the Biscuit Factory’s young artist collection and the finalists from the 2026 Cordis Prize For Tapestry. wwwthebiscuitfactory.com

Gin Society festival, see page 39

SUMMER TIME AND THE LIVIN’ IS EASY A selection of festivals, fun, food, music, arty and beery things to celebrate sunny days UNTIL AUGUST 6 SOUTH TYNESIDE COMEDY FESTIVAL Simply the best in North East comedy with Sarah Millican, Rory Bremner, Chris Ramsey, Jason Cook, The Geordie Rat Pack, Steffen Peddie, Sean Collins and a guy who looks like The Fonz but is

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actually Carl Hutchinson. www. southtynesidecomedyfestival. co.uk UNTIL AUGUST 27 SUMMER EXHIBITION The Biscuit Factory, Newcastle Featuring new artwork from more

UNTIL AUGUST 29 HARTLEPOOL FESTIVAL OF ILLUSTRATION Various venues Hartlepool is once again the home of world-renowned illustrators, cartoonists and comic artists with a comprehensive programme of events that include talks, exhibitions and workshops. festivalofillustration.com UNTIL SEPTEMBER 16 KYNREN Flatts Farm, Bishop Auckland, County Durham DL14 7SF Kynren takes you on a captivating, action-packed journey through 2,000 years of British history, myth and legend, from the Roman Occupation to World War II via the Viking and Norman invasions, medieval feasts, he splendour of the Tudors, the Georgian era, Industrial Revolution, and the Roaring Twenties. Ships, steam engines, mass choreography, dazzling pyrotechnics, fire and astonishing lighting and water effects brought to life by 1,000 volunteers. The 9-minute show starts at sunset set to an original soundtrack by

award-winning composer Nathan Stornetta. Fridays and Saturdays. Tickets and info at kynren.co.uk or 0300 300 3028. UNTIL OCTOBER 15 SCOTTISH COLOURISTS The Granary Gallery, Berwick YHA, Dewar’s Lane, Berwick upon Tweed TD15 1HJ Berwick Visual Arts presents a free exhibition of works from the key Scottish Colourist artists marking the first major exhibition curated by the renowned Fleming-Wyfold Art Foundation which owns the finest collection of Scottish art outside public institutions. www.scottishcolouristsberwick. com JULY 3-9 MOUTH OF THE TYNE FESTIVAL Tynemouth Priory and Castle, Tynemouth, Tyne & Wear Featuring Elbow, Laura Marling (fresh from Glastonbury), King Creosote, Tom Odell, Billy Ocean, Roachford, Roddy Woomble, Martha Wainwright, Cornshed Sisters, Sam Fender, Cattle & Cane and many up-and-coming local artists. Also HMS Tyne is making its annual visit to its home river for an open day. Visitors welcome on board. www.mouthofthetynefestival. co.uk JULY 4-8 TWELFTH NIGHT Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, County Durham

SUMMER EVENTS photography and much more. Tel: 07973108608 JULY 7-8 THE BATHTUB SESSIONS Wylam Brewery Palace of Arts, Exhibition Park. Newcastle A Gin Festival with a Twist brought to you in partnership with Fentimans Mixers. £10 ticket includes a swanky commemorative glass. 18plus. Doors 5.30pm www.wylambrewery.co.uk Bathtub sessions The Castle Players community drama group based at the Old Well pub in Barnard Castle bring Shakespeare alive and this idyllic setting could not be better. Tickets can be bought online at www.thewitham.org.uk, by phone 01833 631107, or in person at The Witham, Barnard Castle. And in true Castle Players’ style, director Jill Cole has given it a new twist by giving the land of Illyria a quirky Victorian steampunk setting. Special beer from Mithril Brewery. JULY 5 TYNE IDOLS COASTAL HEROES TOUR Celebrate North Tyneside’s diverse group of actors, musicians, writers, poets, producers and film-makers from a diverse bunch that includes Sting, Stan Laurel, the Pet Shop Boys and Dinner Ladies. Travel on the yellow retro double-decker with Lindisfarne’s Ray Laidlaw as your

host and get in the mood for the Mouth of the Tyne Festival. Tickets £10 each, more at www. tyneidols.com JULY 6 BOX SOCIAL TAP TAKEOVER @ HOS LEEDS Head of Steam Leeds – 12 Mill Hill LS1 5DO HOS Leeds welcome the team behind Box Social Brewing hosting a very special evening of beer tasting, food pairings and musical delights courtesy of Muted Productions.Times and full details of the evening to follow shortly. Check out www.boxsocial.pub and HOS Leeds Facebook page for more info. JULY 6-8 SCOTTISH REAL ALE FESTIVAL Edinburgh Corn Exchange, New Market Road, Edinburgh EH14 1RJ

JULY 7-23 CRAFT CIDER FESTIVAL Wetherspoons’ pubs region-wide So much more than your five a day with fabulous cider makers supplying a 17-day celebration of the fermented apple. Some 20 ciders on offer from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland with ciders made not only from apples but pears, elderflowers, strawberries and rum and raisin. Maybe even toffee apple plus ginger lychee and ginseng. Look out for The Artful Roger (6.0% abv), Kung Fu Cider (4.0% abv) and Pear Mania (7.0%abv).

Lothian Bus 35 or 4, 20, 34, 44 will get you there; Slateford Railway Station within 200yds. 160-plus Scottish real ales plus cider and perry. Camra products, tombola and games. Open: Thu-Sat noon-10.30pm. Hot food available throughout. Entry: £6/£4 Camra members. Free re-entry to all sessions with 2016 souvenir glass. Live music every night and Sat afternoon. www.sraf.camra.org.uk JULY 7 ARTS STEAMER Central Station, Newcastle NE1 5DB Located on the main concourse of Newcastle Central Station on the first Friday of each month, Loveartnortheast host around 20 local artists, designers, craftersselling everything from original art from original art and prints to ceramics, glass, jewellery,

JULY 8 THE 133rd DURHAM MINERS’ GALA Various locations around Durham Free event, popularly known as The Big Meeting that celebrates the working-class traditions of the coalfields that helped fuel the

THURSDAY 20TH JULY TO SUNDAY 23RD JULY Over 20 beers, ciders and foreign lagers to try BANDS INCLUDE

GIN BAR

Selection of 8 fabulous gins

Friday 21st The Stax Brothers Saturday 22nd (afternoon) The Mudskippers Saturday 22nd (evening) Alive and Kicking

NEW FOR 2017

PROSECCO BAR

Festival in aid of

ADMISSION

Thursday 6pm until 11pm FREE / Friday and Saturday 12noon until 11pm £4 Sunday 12 noon until the beer runs out FREE Transport service available from Hexham - Friday night and Saturday afternoon/early evening.

Battlesteads Hotel & Restaurant, Wark on Tyne, nr Hexham, Northumberland NE48 3LS Tel: 01434 230209 Email: info@battlesteads.com www.battlesteads.com www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 33

SUMMER EVENTS British Empire. The march itself is a celebratory affair with countless colliery bands marching from their home villages around County Durham to various assembly points in Durham City – the Market Place especially – before heading off to the Racecourse ground. Expect to hear “for the many, not the few” a time or two, see the colliery banners held high and red flags hoisted in a glorious indulgence of community spirit melded with Socialist principles. Information: durhamminers.org JULY 8-10 THREE MILE INN BEER FESTIVAL Three Mile Inn, Gosforth, Newcastle NE3 2DS Great selection of ales from local breweries, live music in this second beer festival. www.threemileinn.co.uk JULY 9-30 SOUTH TYNESIDE FESTIVAL SUNDAY CONCERTS Bents Park, South Shields July 9: KT Tunstall, Big Red & The

Grinners, Charlotte Yanni July 16: Busted, The Understudies, Call On Sunday And Sonny July 23: Louisa Johnson, Jedward, 5 After Midnight, South Tyneside Samba Drum Club July 30: Sister Sledge, The Shakes. www.southtynesidefestival.co.uk JULY 14-17 BANGERS AND BEER FESTIVAL The Woodman Inn, 23 Gilesgate Durham. DH1 1QW The 2nd Annual Bangers and Beer Festival will host a great selection of over 20 real ales and ciders from local breweries, plus a great selection of flavoured sausages. A fantastic Durham pub to visit in the sunshine with a mighty impressive beer garden – what more excuse do you need? info@woodmaninn.co.uk JULY 14-AUGUST 6 GATESHEAD Q FESTIVAL STARRING JESTERVAL Baltic Square, Millennium Bridge, Gateshead Jesterval, The North East’s premier comedy festival, returns as part of Q

THE

CourtyarD ANNUAL SUMMER BEER FESTIVAL 24TH TO 28TH AUGUST 2017

DEZI DONNELLY & MICHAEL MCGOLDRICK PERFECT FRICTION THE NAVVIES MUHAMMAD AL-HUSSAINI LECTURES DRAMA FILM WORKSHOPS

www.tynesideirish.com Draught and bottled real ale at the Tyneside Irish Centre

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• 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

FREE ADMISSION Arts Centre Washington, Fatﬁeld, Washington NE38 8AB T: (0191) 417 0445 E: thecourtyardbar@aol.com

www.facebook.com/courtyardales | www.twitter.com/courtyardales

SUMMER EVENTS them in the not-too distant future. Tel : 07983389793. E: della@ Jesterval.com QFestival.co.uk JULY 17-23 MASALA FESTIVAL Newcastle and Gateshead, various venues. A mix and blend of the finest South Asian arts and culture featuring Riverside Ragas: The Monks of Majuli, Mini Mela, Shri Sriarm’s Just A Vibration. Film screenings, workshops and demonstrations of South Indian cooking, meditation, yoga, Bollywood dance and more. Tel: 0191 440 4124, www. gemarts.org

Festival an exciting collaboration with Gateshead Council. Fun for summer days and long hot summer nights. The stunning Spielgeltent on Baltic Square will play host to a vibrant and eclectic programme of daytime activities and evening events for adults, children and families that also includes a gin festival with burlesque, immersive cinema, family carnival day, crafts,

storytelling, performance and DJs. Jesterval will continue to feature some of the most exciting and finest comedians working in the UK today. From household names to hotly-tipped acts alongside the best local talent, don’t miss this opportunity to see the acts up close and personal at a very affordable price, as there’s a chance you’ll be paying a lot more for a ticket to see

JULY 18-AUGUST 18 GATESHEAD ART SOCIETY ANNUAL SUMMER EXHIBITION St Mary’s Heritage Centre, Oakwellgate, Gateshead Gateshead Art Society’s amateur artwork. Pictures will hang from the pillars for you to enjoy throughout the months of July and August. All of the pieces on display will be available to purchase. Free. www.gateshead.gov.uk/whatson

JULY 20-22 NORTHERN CRAFT BEER FESTIVAL The Beer Hall, Hawkshead Brewery, Staveley, Kendal, Cumbria LA8 9LR Hawkshead’s 11th festival continues to draw beer lovers to The Lakes to witness craft brewing in the north of England at its finest. It’s all about British craft brewing... what’s new, who’s new, what’s stood the test of time, but most of all... what’s good. It’s mostly cask, but there’s a fair amount of keg too. It’s a family affair... kids, dogs, babes in arms, great grandmas, weird brewers – all are welcome. There’s food all day, live music, great beer, good crack and no tickets – the Beer Hall is a pub, it doesn’t charge entry. www.hawksheadbrewery.co.uk JULY 20-23 SEVENTH BATTLESTEADS BEER FESTIVAL Battlesteads Hotel, Wark, Northumberland NE48 3LS The seventh annual beer festival at Northumberland’s eco-

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SUMMER EVENTS friendliest pub, hotel and restaurant features great beers, lagers, ciders, food and live music from The Mudskippers and Alive And Kicking. This year’s charity is The Great North East Air Ambulance. Stay the weekend and unwind. Great sponsorship opportunities too. Contact Katherine Meyrick for more details. Tel: 01434 230209. www.battlesteads.com JULY 21-23 SUMMERTYNE AMERICANA FESTIVAL Sage, Gateshead Quays NE8 2JR The soaring popularity of Americana and country music in the UK is celebrated at the 12th SummerTyne Americana Festival at Sage Gateshead, bringing together legendary artists, rising stars and the best of the next generation in a full, three-day programme of special events and some exclusive performances. The weekend-long party introduces another sizzling celebration of American roots music. The hugelypopular event this year features The Shires, William Bell,Beth

Nielsen Chapman, Merle Haggards Strangers, Chuck Prophet, Jim Lauderdale, Sam Outlaw plus many, many more (local and breakthrough). Plus, following rave reviews for her new album Wrangled, Kentucky native and Pistol Annie Angaleena Presley and a double bill of two of the finest female blues voices from both sides of the Atlantic, Jo Harman and Lisa Mills. Godfather of the Nashville scene, Jim Lauderdale, will play an unmissable double-bill with Californian rising star Sam Outlaw and making a welcome return to SummerTyne, much lauded American singersongwriter Chuck Prophet, with his five-piece band. Back for 2017 will be the hugely popular Jumpin’ Hot Stage, its stunning riverside setting perfect for audiences to kick back and enjoy a sizzling combo of country, blues, folk, rockabilly, bluegrass and soul with headline sets from Earl Thomas & Band and Savoy Family Cajun Band, alongside a wide range of burgeoning talent from the US and UK including: Rhona Dalling,

Summertyne Americana Festival Noel Haggard Buffalo Skinners, Paul Handyside Trio, The King Bees, Archie Brown & The Prisoners of Fender, Big Ray & the Hipthrusters, Stax Academy Revue, Dexeter, Fargo Railroad Company and much more. Another must-see at SummerTyne Americana is an exhibition of artwork by Jon Langford probably best known for his striking portraits of country music icons that include

Hank Williams, Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash. www.summertyne.com JULY 22 and SEP 23 THE ART MARKET Grainger Market, Newcastle NE1 5QG Loveartnortheast’s latest art and design market. It takes place on the fourth Saturday of every month

The Steamboat BEER FESTIVAL 2017 JULY 27TH - 30TH 2015, 2016, 2017 Sunderland & South Tyneside CAMRA Pub of the Year Over 200 Spirits / 9 Hand Pulls on rotation Regular events throughout the year, call pub for details Supporters of South Shields FC

27 Mill Dam, South Shields, NE33 1EQ (0191) 454 0134 36 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

DOG

FRIENDLY

PUB

SUMMER EVENTS inside the historic Grainger Market Arcade. Each month around 20 of the region’s best artists, designers and crafters pop up from 9am till 5pm. Each month the traders taking part varies. Tel: 07973108608 JULY 27-30 KENDAL CALLING Lowther Deer Park, Cumbria The Lake District’s music festival celebrates its annual success (now a 12,000-capacity, threeday event) with a lineup that includes Stereophonics, Manic Street Preachers, Franz Ferdinand, Frank Turner, Brian Wilson, Tinie Tempah, Jake Bugg, Editors… and mountains more. See you in the fields! www.kendalcalling.co.uk JULY 28-29 TASTE TYNEDALE FESTIVAL Sele Park, Hexham, Northumberland Beer lovers can sample the best brews in the North East when Taste Tynedale festival returns to Hexham this summer with an array

of gourmet treats, craft beers and drinks and activities for all the family. On the Friday night, the beer festival will feature a huge selection from Muckle Brewing, Allendale Brewery, Matfen Brewery, Hexhamshire Brewery and gluten-free beers from Autumn Brewing Company. There will also be a wine and Pimms bar hosted by Bin 21, and fizz and cocktails from The Tipsy Filly, aka Helen Askew, who serves drinks from a vintage horsebox. Alan Philipson landlord of the Heart of Northumberland in Hexham, said: “It’s great to have this coming to Hexham to show off what we do here. The Tyne Valley makes so many great ales and beers and to have them all in one place for the Friday beer festival and on Saturday too will be fantastic. “There’ll be lots of local food suppliers with stalls over the weekend presenting the talents of the food makers too, and our chef Jack Henrikson will be putting cooking demonstrations. It promises to be a great weekend.” The event is sponsored by Hexham

Town Council and organised by CN Events who also stage the Taste Cumbria festivals which have attracted more than 200,000 visitors since they were established in 2009. www.cnevents.co.uk JULY 29 CRAMLINGTON PROPER FOOD FESTIVAL Seven Oaks Park, Dudley Lane, Cramlington, Northumberland Sixty of the finest artisan food producers selling the best locally made food the country has to offer. Licensed bar selling real ales and ciders from Wylam Brewery and others, plus wine and cocktail bar. A huge array of hot food. Producers selling the best food from around the world to eat in a huge outdoor picnic area. Live entertainment and lots more interesting stuff. www. properfoodanddrinkfestivals. co.uk AUGUST 4-28 EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL

City-wide One of the world’s biggest and best performing festivals – only 90 minutes up the train track from Newcastle. A summer must-do for three weeks of opera, dance, comedy, music and street theatre. www.eif.co.uk AUGUST 5 DURHAM BREWERY BIRTHDAY BEER BASH Durham Brewery, Bowburn North Industrial Estate, Bowburn, Co Durham DH6 5PF Celebrating its 23rd anniversary on August 5 (12noon-5.00pm), this brewery festival is now a yearly tradition on the first Saturday in August. It’s a great afternoon of good beer and food plus gin from Durham Distillery; a way to meet the brewery’s customers and say thank-you for their support. Steve, Christine, Elly, Georgie, Sean, Craig and Will will be available to answer any questions. At least six cask beers and four keg beers on offer – some old favourites as well as new beers launched on the day – with the first pint of 5% abv and

CRAFT BEER CALLING

INTERNATIONAL BEER FESTIVAL

26/27/28 OCTOBER 2017 WYLAM BREWERY | PALACE OF ARTS | NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE

firstries e brew unced o ann ets on tick ale s

visit www.CraftBeerCalling.com for details CBC17_Cheers.indd 1

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SUMMER EVENTS under free. There’s also a massive range of bottle-conditioned beers to try with 10% discount on bottles, mini-casks, glasses or gifts from the brewery shop on the day. The visitor centre, marquee and main brewery will keep everyone dry should it rain. www.durhambrewery.com

Real Ale (Camra) and offers visitors over 900 real ales, ciders, perries and international beers as well as fantastic entertainment, food, seating areas, and traditional pub games to enjoy all under one roof in the heart of London. www.ggbf.org.uk

AUGUST 9 ANARCHY BREWERY SUMMER BEER BASH Anarchy Brew Co Morpeth, Northumberland, NE61 6 Book your seat on one of our buses from The Plough-Cramlington, Olivers-Blyth, Bridge HotelNewcastle to the annual Anarchy Brewery Summer Beer Bash. Only £5 return pick-up at 5:30pm returning at 11:30pm. Longhorns will be providing the food with Green Days playing throughout the night. Free Admission.

AUGUST 11-12 BOGSTOCK 2017 Carts Bog Inn, Hexham NE47 5NW Carts Bog Real Ale & Music Festival faetures real ales and ciders. Live music from the Gate Crashers & Wild Murphys, The Happy Cats & The Baboons. £10 entry includes two beer tokens (£16 both nights), 6pm-12midnight. Group rates are available and limited camping available by arrangement with the pub. Set in a traditional country pub in the North Pennines surrounded by stunning countryside. www.cartsbog.co.uk

AUGUST 8-12 Olympia, London CAMRA GREAT BRITISH BEER FESTIVAL The Great British Beer Festival is organised by the Campaign for

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AUGUST 11-12 ASHBROOKE BEER FESTIVAL 2017 Ashbrooke Sports Club, West

Lawn, Sunderland Sunderland’s favourite Beer Festival returns with even more to offer in 2017. Alongside a fantastic selection of 30 real ales, ciders and perries, Ashbrooke will host their very own gin bar. Food will be provided by local suppliers. Tickets are £10 and includes 3 free drinks and commemorative glass. The festival kick off on Friday 11th from 4pm and Saturday’s session starts at 12.00pm. AUGUST 12 JUMPIN’ HOT CLUB COUNTRY CANTINA Acklington Village hall, Amble, Northumberland NE65 9BN A family-friendly all-dayer in a quirky village hall. Live music showcase with food and coffee from La Fiesta, beers from Hadrian Border, accompanying The Honeycutters (USA), Mary Jean Lewis & Her Lowmen (USA and Scotland), The Kentucky Cowtippers, Mush, Skylark Song, Sour Mash Trio and special guest The Lathe Revival recording artists live on stage on their 78rpm machine. Also DJ

Stagger Lee spinning country music and Shipcote sampling his rare 78s. Not forgetting Songwriters Circle, a one-off special with Tom Blackwell, Tony Bengtsson and Gem Andrews. Tickets £22.50 from wegottickets.com AUGUST 13 THE ROCK’N’ROLL BIKE RIDE The Schooner, South Shore Road, Gateshead NE8 3AF The 6th Annual Tyne Cruise is in aid of the Daft As A Brush cancer charity. The trip takes the route of The Schooner to The Boathouse, Wylam, with select stop-offs en route to a few pubs and breweries. Last year the ride broke its record for the number of entrants with 130 taking part and raised an amazing grand total of £7,057 with donations going to the MS Society and Daft As A Brush. Get your name down and your tyres pumped! www.theschooner.co.uk AUGUST 18 MADNESS @ HARDWICK HALL HOTEL Hardwick Hall Hotel, Sedgefield,

SUMMER EVENTS

Pete Doherty Editorial credit: / Shutterstock.com County Durham, TS21 2EH The British Ska legends will be performing at one of the region’s best outdoor venues. Hardwick Hall Hotel has become a haven of live summer music in recent years and it promises to be a fantastic night of live music with support from the fantastic Smoove & Turrell. www.hardwicklive.co.uk AUGUST 18-19 GIN SOCIETY FESTIVAL The CastleGate, Melbourne Street, Newcastle

Gin lovers can raise a toast to their favourite tipple when a special festival makes its Newcastle debut this summer. The Gin Society is presenting some of the world’s finest gins – more than 95 of them – along with finding out more about the fashionable spirit. Distillers will give an insight into the history of the spirit, talk about the distilling process, and share their skills in a series of gin master classes. There will also be vintagethemed entertainment, courtesy of a DJ, with live dancing by Newcastle

Lindy. All gins and Fentimans tonics with special garnishes are priced at £5 and the Prosecco cocktails cost £10 each. Friday August 18, 6.30pm-11pm; Saturday August 19, 12.30pm-5pm and 6.30pm-11pm. Tickets, £7.50 per session plus booking fee includes a bespoke Gin Society souvenir gin goblet and a booklet of tasting notes. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-ginsociety-newcastle-august-2017tickets-32361046762. AUGUST 19 HARDWICK LIVE Hardwick Hall Hotel, Sedgefield, County Durham, TS21 2EH Hardwick Hall Live is bursting onto the Summer Circuit with a might fine line-up that speaks for itself. The festival will feature fantastic acts such as Ocean Colour Scene, Peter Doherty, Fun Lovin Criminals, Soul II Soul, Buzzcocks, Gabrielle, The Brand New Heavies and Cattle & Cane. Prices start at £8 for a child and £49 for an adult day ticket. www.hardwicklive.co.uk

AUGUST 25-27 THE BLAYDON BEER & MUSIC FESTIVAL Blaydon Rugby Club, Hexham Road, Swalwell, NE16 3BN Live acts, 50 beers and lagers, eight ciders, gin and wine bars, all in a big marquee. Sunday rugby tournament. Tel: 01661 853 431. AUGUST 25-27 THE BOATHOUSE WYLAM BANK HOLIDAY BEER FESTIVAL The Boathouse, Station Road, Wylam, NE41 8HR The award-winning pub’s annual August Bank Holiday Beer Festival with some of the finest ales available. Live music and great company. More details in July/ August Cheers. Tel: 01661 853 431. AUGUST 29 LIVE MUSIC Wylam Brewery Palace of Arts, Exhibition Park. Newcastle Parquet Courts plus support from Ultimate Painting. All standing. Doors 7.30pm. Tickets £16.50’ www.wylambrewery.co.uk

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SUMMER EVENTS AUGUST 31-SEPTEMBER 2 DURHAM BEER FESTIVAL Dunelm House, New Elvet, Durham DH1 3AN One of the region’s most popular beer festivals with 120 real ales, ciders and perries, wines and spirits. Battle of the Beers competition. Entry £10 includes glass, programme and three tokens. www.durhambeerfestival.org.uk AUGUST 31-SEPTEMBER 3 LINDISFARNE FESTIVAL Beal Farm, Northumberland TD15 2PB (overlooking Holy Island) More than 100 acts on seven stages, music till 4am from Norman Jay MBE, The View, The Fratellis, Huey Morgan, Slipmatt, Beans On Toast, Snowhawk, The Skapones, The Joe Mangels, Rob Heron, The Brothers Gillespie, Mad Ferret… and a whole lot more. Workshops, fire shows, indie disco, comedy, yoga, meditation, street food market, camping, glamping, you name it. lindisfarnefestival.com

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SEPTEMBER 1-3 BERWICK FOOD AND BEER FESTIVAL Berwick Barracks, The Parade TD15 1DF Now in its tenth year and one of the best places to buy fresh, local and seasonal produce. Organised by the town’s Slow Food Group and sponsored by local business Silver Tweed, the event highlights the region’s thriving food and drink scene. More than 40 local produce stalls, street food, children’s entertainment, demonstration kitchen. Berwick Beer Festival features up to 10 local artisan brewers from Alnwick and Amble to Galashiels and Wylam. www. berwickfoodandbeerfestival. co.uk SEPTEMBER 15-17 SCARBOROUGH SOUR Scarborough Spa YOH 2HD Northern Soul is alive, kicking and preparing for a three-day jamboree. Line-up to be confirmed at time of going to press, but it’s sure to please seasoned fans.

Berwick Food and Beer Festival

SEPTEMBER 22-24 WHITBY SIXTIES WEEKEND Whitby Pavilion YO21 3EN Relive the music of the Sixties for an entire weekend with tribute acts while exploring this wonderful town in between times. Weekend ticket £85, whitbylive.com

are local – with a twist. It’s expected they’ll all be collaboration beers each produced between two breweries or more which will include Tyne Bank, Two by Two, Errant, Wylam, Box Social, Cullercoats, Almasty and Dog & Rabbit breweries. The collab beers will also be available in local pubs. More details in the July/August issue of Cheers.

SEPTEMBER 28-30 TYNEMOUTH BEER FESTIVAL Tynemouth Cicket Club, Tynemouth, Tyne & Wear Featuring 60 beers, 20 of which

SEPTEMBER 28-30 GILBERT & SULLIVAN Tyne Theatre & Opera House, Westgate Road, Newcastle NE1 4AG

Adult day tickets from £45, scarboroughsoul.com

SUMMER EVENTS Featuring The Pirates of Penzance, The Mikado, and HMS Pinafore on three consecutive dates. The colourful productions by the National Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company range from swashbuckling pirates and bumbling policemen for an allsinging, all-dancing experience. www.tynetheatreandopera house.uk

Tickets and full programme information available at www. tynesideirish.com

OCTOBER 26-28 CRAFT BEER CALLING INTERNATIONAL BEER FESTIVAL Wylam Brewery, Palace of Arts, Exhibition Park. Newcastle The cream of the world’s leading craft brewers assembled under one roof for one weekend OCTOBER 15 – 22 only. Gin palace, cider cellar, Tyneside Irish Festival Tyneside Irish Centre, Newcastle sumptuous street food market, top-class DJs, break-out events NE1 4SG for special tastings… what more The annual Tyneside Irish Festival do you need? Breweries involved returns in 2017 with 7 days of events at the Tyneside Irish Centre include Basqueland Brewing Project, Beavertown, Cloudwater, in Newcastle. The festival will Wild Beer Co, Verdant Brewing open with traditional Irish singer Co, Buxton, The Kernel, Magic Muhammad Ak- Hussaini and Rock, Northern Monk, Siren guests from around the world. Craft and, of course, Wylam. The There will also be a performance invited breweries run their own from Newcastle University Irish bars which means more taps Dance Society. Other performers running at the same time and across the week include world renowned fiddle and flute acts Dezi an opportunity to interact with visiting staff to get to know more Donnelly& Michael McGoldrick about their beers. and an Irish sing-a-long with the fantastic 5 piece band The Navvies www.craftbeercalling.com

WHISKY BAR OVER 100 WHISKYS TO TRY

Carts Bog Beer Festival

SOUTH SHIELDS & WESTOE CLUB MUSIC FESTIVAL FRI 4TH - SUN 6TH AUGUST LIVE BANDS / MARQUEE / WIDE RANGE OF REAL ALES, CIDERS, LAGERS WINES & GINS FRI 4TH - 7.00PM - 11.00PM | SAT 5TH & SUN 6TH - 2.00PM - 11.00PM DAY TICKETS £5 - 1ST DRINK FREE

South Shields & Westoe Club Ltd, Dean Road, South Shields NE33 4EA www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 41

PUB FURNITURE

Sitting comfortably: Elliot Brook at Wylam Brewery. Photo: Peter Skelton

NOT JUST GOOD BUT DEAD GOOD Ever wondered where all that lovely café, hotel and bar furniture came from? Here’s one answer It’s not quite in the realms of the old television advert where entrepreneur Victor Kiam liked his Remington electric shaver so much he bought the company, but an item of furniture had a similar effect on one of the directors of Wylam Brewery. The Harvey three-seat sofas ordered by Rob Cameron for the reception area at its Palace of Arts headquarters inspired him into buying one for home. The sofa was designed by Newcastle company Deadgood, owned by Elliot Brook and Dan Ziglam, who runs their London office. The Wylam commission is one of hundreds of “products with personality” that Deadgood has fulfilled in bars, restaurants, offices and hotels all over the world. And, where the parts or materials or construction don’t allow Elliot and Dan to manufacture in the North East, the insistence is elsewhere in the 42 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

UK and not abroad. The Deadgood range consists of design-led furniture – soft seating, chairs and stools – lighting, tables for all occasions, and accessories such as bookends, mirrors and clocks. If you also need a stylish doorstop, Deadgood has one. Elliot likes to call his team of eight designers and the freelancers he calls on “a family of lean, green and keen band of pirates”. Deadgood had been working with North East-based interior designer Julie Chambers for a number of years – she has a long association with Wylam Brewery designing pubs and clubs – but it was a specification for another job that didn’t come off that introduced Elliot to Rob Cameron. Elliot says: “He came to our studio and saw some of our products and was so impressed with the settees he bought one for himself. We had already been working with Wylam on cross-promotional events with

our London office for three or four years, with them supplying beer for a Beer And Beats event celebrating Clerkenwell Design Week, so we had built up a great relationship which developed from there. “Our angle is to support local businesses which we’ve been doing for ten years. We’ve always been quite agile in how we work. “London is obviously the biggest market for us by far, but we’ve designed furniture for hospitality projects in Dubai; The Baltic Kitchen in Gateshead; The Core at Science City development and Toffee Factory main entrance, reception and meeting rooms, plus Live Works in Newcastle; Northern Design Centre at Gateshead Quays; the Taproom at Drygate Brewery in Glasgow; Mirabelle Bakery, Copenhagen; the Handmade Burger Co, Newcastle; Tyneside Cinema; Transpennine Express first

class lounge, Huddersfield; BBC Broadcasting House, London, and a hotel in Azerbaijan which was a really interesting one. “Our route to market is through architects and interior designers all coming from our UK networks and supply chains which makes it easier. We also recently got quite a big project from Liverpool FC – 300 pieces for a hospitality suite. “Most of our business is in the commercial field, the workplace. Millennials want their workplaces and offices to be a home-from-home with sofas, booths and café areas, so our products will echo domesticity with an eclectic, design-led element.” So, the next time you wallow in Wylam Brewery upholstery, wait for a train at Huddersfield Station, or check into the Boulevard Hotel Baku in Azerbaijan, think of your surroundings as Deadgood – created with style in Newcastle.

HOME AND AWAY

THEATRE OF DREAMS

TRAVELLER’S TALE

We just love your contributions to the magazine and are constantly impressed that people take a copy of Cheers somewhere in the world with them. Cheers reader Alan Crow writes: “We’re just back from holiday in the Greek island of Santorini. It’s great to see a lovely little brewery (The Santorini Brewing Company) making real beer like Crazy Donkey. They’re going really well and I’ve attached a photo of Rose Summerfield who’s originally from Cumbria and works in the visitor area. “We’d be thrilled if she made it to your photo section; I said I’d send a copy to her if it did and I’m sure her family would know she had made the grade if she graced the pages of the famous Cheers mag.” Alan, Rose, Santorini Crazy Donkey, we’re delighted to help.

Good sport: Rose Summerfield at The Santorini Brewing Company, Greece

A 250-year-old Stockton-on-Tees treasure has recently completed a £1.4m makeover that includes inclusion in a real ale trail. The Georgian Theatre, managed since 1993 by music charity Tees Music Alliance and located in the town’s Green Dragon Yard, has seen its capacity increased from 200 to 300 with vast improvements made to its looks, facilities and accessibility. As well as improvements to the performance space, there is also the addition of a new bar area previously a vacant hotel. It’s been transformed into a warm and welcoming space with comfortable seating and postindustrial décor as well as a mezzanine area complete with additional bar. The bar features on Camra’s Cleveland branch’s Stockton real ale trail and serves a range of cask and craft beer, lager, ciders and spirits that include house lager Coatham Mundeville and Good Man (a light ale falling somewhere between pale and smooth ale) and others in draught and in bottle and can. These are served alongside Hop House, Portland American Ale, Red Stripe, Blue Moon and Theakston’s Barista Stout.

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Micro Brewery equipment from individual components to a turnkey application. All aspects of brewing consultancy if required. admin@scotiawelding.co.uk | www.scotiawelding.co.uk | 01578 722 696 www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 43

NEWS

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BE PREPARED

Heaven forbid it’ll never happen again, but with pubs being on the front line of recent terrorist attacks, the leisure industry has to be prepared for any eventuality. In the atrocities in London and Manchester since March, pubs and bars played a vital role in protecting customers and providing shelter. Official police advice for the public is “Run Hide Tell” if there is a terrorist incident, meaning it is best to run away from attackers rather than surrender or try to reason with them. Hiding and securing your immediate surroundings is another tactic, which staff at The Wheatsheaf in Borough Market deployed, buying time for the police to arrive. Resources are available for pubs, bars

and restaurants from the National Counter Terrorism Security Office (NaCTSO) which provides information for security managers working in busy locations. Training staff in first aid is also well worth undertaking – in fact there are some who believe this should be made compulsory to obtain a license and even to be part of the school curriculum. Lives can be saved by prompt, effective action. There are other simple, practical actions pubs can take, such as staff vigilance, evacuation and lockdown procedures with designated marshalls on every shift. This might sound extreme – and the chance of a terrorist attack is extreme – but we live in troubled times and being prepared should be the mantra.

OUR FRIENDS IN THE NORTH Cheers is a common word, everybody says it regularly on any number of occasions, so it’s not unusual to find a pub or bar with the same name. We present a selection of the good, the bad (spelling) and the other one.

Incidentally, Cheers Café Bar Tavern in Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, pictured here – and a “twin” of Cheers North East – has recently been recognised as Best Licensed Premises in Scotland at the Scotland Business Awards. We’d say “cheers”. Cheers in Sunderland

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Cheers in Stanley Cheers in Fraserburgh

Cheerz in Aberdeen 44 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

NEWS

BLUES IN THE BAY Musician Scott Wall runs a popular Blues In The Bay jam session at Tanner Smith’s in Whitley Bay every Sunday, organised by the Whitley Bay Brewing Company. He tells us that some of the musicians and audience members have reacted to information seen in Cheers. Scott says: “It’s just off-the-cuff requests and jams with whoever turns up. We had a guy the other week who came from Sunderland to play who had seen the blues session piece in Cheers. He’d supported Bo Diddley in the 1970s and was amazing. Another afternoon, some people were drinking in Tynemouth and reading Cheers, so got a taxi straight along to Tanner Smith’s.”

SIMPLY POINT AND PINT A team in Newcastle has released a location-based mobile app that allows visitors to plan and enjoy their nights out in a new city. Tipll lets users filter bars, restaurants and clubs according to their preferences, flags up venue information and offers, and leads them right to the door using a built-in GPS function. Accurate live ratings and reviews let others engage with those experiences in real time, while additional in-app features to be introduced later this year – such as cashless payments, preordering drinks and taxi bookings – could make Tipll a one-stop shop for a night out. The brains behind Tipll is Grant Thompson

who says: “By Tipll-ing it, visitors spend less time searching for a venue that suits them, and more time enjoying the experience when they get there. “Restaurants and pubs can promote their up-to-date offers to passers-by who have the app and simply point their phone at a participating venue to view the current deals. Tipll also tracks what drinks users buy, average transaction value, dwell time in each venue, demographic data, where they are visiting from, and the routes they take between bars, interlinking this with data from hotspots. “We’re really excited about the wider opportunities to promote and understand our vibrant local economies better.”

Bluesman: Scott Wall in action

www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 45

FUN STUFF

SIGN OF THE TIMES Yarm Town Council must have had some inside information for this update to its Nirvana festival. But as far as we’re concerned, Elvis Lives. Thanks to Harry Pearson for alerting us.

THE DIRTY DOZEN

TWELVE QS AND TWELVE AS, HOPEFULLY IN THE RIGHT ORDER 1 Which human bone is broken the most? 2 Agnes Gonxhe Bojaxhui was better known as who? 3 What was Colonel Sanders’ (KFC) first name? 4 What do Edinburgh, Lisbon, Sheffield and Rome have in common? 5 What is the Finnish name for Finland? 6 The 1942 Chicago Pile No1 was the world’s first what?

A MAN WALKS INTO A LIBRARY… …MISTAKING IT FOR A BAR. HE SAYS TO THE LADY BEHIND THE DESK: ‘CAN I HAVE A PINT OF FIREBRICK PAGAN QUEEN AND A PACKET OF SALTED NUTS, PLEASE?’ THE LADY SAYS: ‘WHAT? THIS IS A LIBRARY.’ ‘OH, I’M VERY SORRY,’ SAYS THE MAN, LOWERING HIS VOICE TO A WHISPER: ‘Can I have a pint of Firebrick Pagan Queen and a packet of salted nuts, please?’

EEH! NUMBERS

1032

7 Who broke three world records and equalled another in the space of 45

minutes on May 25 1935?

8 What, according to legend, was Alexander The Great’s body preserved in? 9 If you regularly indulge in onychophagia, what are you doing? 10 In the movies, Major Boothroyd is better known as what? 11 How many countries border Switzerland?? 12 According to BBC Radio Two, which 1967 hit song has been played the most

in public spaces?

The number of pages in the 2017 Campaign For Real Ale (Camra) Good Beer Guide According to the Star Wars Galactic Atlas, the year 1032 BBY was when the Sith were defeated by the Jedi Order and Darth Bane, the sole Sith Lord survivor, created the Rule of Two The year 1032 in the Gregorian calendar was 1576 in the Buddhist equivalent.

QUOTE

“TWO INCHES TO THE NORTH WEST IS WRITTEN A WORD FULL OF MEANING – THE MOST PURPOSEFUL WORD THAT CAN EVER BE WRITTEN ON A MAP. INN.” AA MILNE, IF I MAY

QUIZ ANSWERS: 1 Clavicle (collarbone). 2 Mother Theresa. 3 Harland. 4 Built on seven hills. 5 Suomi. 6 Nuclear reactor. 7 Jesse Owens. 8 Honey. 9 Nail biting. 10 Q in the James Bond franchise. 11 Five (France, Germany, Austria, Italy and Liechtenstein. 12 A Whiter Shade Of Pale (Procol Harum). *Reader Mel (no surname) corrected us on the answer to one of last month’s questions. The New Bridge Inn in Newcastle, he says, was named after the one spanning Pandon Dene (demolished in the 1860s) and not Byker Bridge as we had it. Apologies.

46 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

ALCOHOL 6.9%

Do you dare cross its path?

ALCOHOL 4.1%

ALCOHOL 6.8%

Taxi!

Don't let her fool you...

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