cheers WWW.CHEERSNORTHEAST.CO.UK // FEBRUARY 2018 // ISSUE 77
I T ’ S
A B O U T
P U B S ,
P E O P L E ,
B E E R
CITY’S OX TALE BROUGHT TO LIGHT SOUP-ER CHEF COOKS 1866 RECIPE
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A N D
FREE PLEA
ALCHEMY MAGICIANS BREATHING NEW LIFE COAL BASE TURNS INTO CRAFT BEER
BARK TO THE FUTURE
Y O U !
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WELCOME The best thing about February is not the lengthening days and the promise of spring around the corner but that it’s not January. Or Dry January to be precise. The month of incoming Christmas bills and credit cards payments is bad enough for our pubs – with knock-on effects felt further along the line by our breweries and related services – so any attempt like the drive to get people to renounce alcohol for a month is not at all helpful. Granted, the Dry January intentions might be honourable but when it has the potential to put the final nail into a struggling business it deserves to be challenged. So, thank goodness for the #Tryanuary initiative which in this its fourth year has been organised better than ever – with the North East among the top performing social media drivers in the country. Stand up all you tweeters, bloggers, vloggers, podcasters, retailers and writers who have contributed brilliantly to an amazing campaign. Now is the time to carry the scheme forward by encouraging everyone to support beer businesses for the rest of the year and spread the word that pubs are open for business day in day out. Remember a pub is not just for Christmas. There’s a lot going on in our pubs and breweries at the moment and 2018 could turn out to be a vintage year for many them. Hold on tight for the ride. 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 Photography: Peter Skelton www.thepsp.net
CONTENTS 16
PUB DOGS HIT THE WOOF
Even those of us who don’t have a dog are always happy to see a tail or two wagging under a pub table or bench. It’s a sign of an all-encompassing establishment where, as dog-loving publican Dave Carr puts it: “I think if they’re all right with dogs they’ll be all right with everything else.” Yes, we’re celebrating the Chinese New Year this month – the Year of the Dog – by looking at the benefits of being canine canny. They have doggy beers to sup, ciders named after them and sculptures built in their honour, so let’s get bark to the future.
COVER: GABBY MCCANN AND INDIE THE ALASKAN MALAMUTE EXCHANGE WOOFS. PHOTO (AND DOG): PETER SKELTON
WE STARTED BREWING IN 90-LITRE STOCKS POTS THAT THE ARMY USES FOR COOKING POTATOES CARL KENNEDY NORTHERN ALCHEMY
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MEET THE NEW FACES ALL WORK ALL PLAY EATING PRAGUE 1866 SOUP TASTE TEST
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
ALL CHANGE AT CAMRA? WAIT FOR THE VOTE The Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) is set to take a vote on the biggest change in its 46year existence. If its members approve recommendations put before them at its annual conference in Coventry in April, it will widen its remit to represent drinkers of quality beers, ciders and perries of all types, as well as moving its focus beyond “traditional” pubs, rather than focusing its attentions on real ale and its outlets. Camra launched a root and branch review of its purpose and objectives, called the Revitalisation Project at the start of 2016. Its 190,000 members have been involved and consulted throughout the process. Camra chairman Colin Valentine said: “We’re now at the point where we’ll be giving all our members the chance to vote on the final recommendations.” At the end of 2017, Colin Valentine announced his intention to retire from his role as chairman but has since denied the decision had anything to do with the Revitalisation Project which he headed.
DELIGHTS OF THE SKY AT NIGHT What would you say to a Milky Way and a Galaxy sampled with the delights of a real star bar? Whether you’re a complete photography beginner or have a wealth of experience, the two-day Introduction to Astrophotography courses courses using the observatory at Battlesteads Hotel & Restaurant in Wark, Northumberland, provide the perfect stargazing setting while discovering techniques on specialist equipment – plus the opportunity to enjoy a range of beers to simply wonder at. The extensive programme begins on various Saturdays over this and coming months together with a sumptuous dinner in the
restaurant, followed by a sky event where objects such as the Andromeda galaxy, star clusters and nebulae can be seen with the naked eye. Learn long-exposure photography, image processing, and how to use specialist astrophotography cameras. Then put your new-found skills into practice with exclusive use of the observatory to take your own pictures with a specialist tutor. In between are the delights of a selection of top-notch beers from the likes of Sonnet 43, Durham and Cullercoats breweries, plus a bit more. Details: www.battlesteads.com Sky at night: The Battlesteads observatory
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INGREDIENTS TRUE CASK CONDITIONED Delivered directly and through SIBA DDS in the north and by good wholesalers nationally.
hexhamshire.co.uk • 01434 606 577 Enjoy our beers, delicious home cooked food and a warm welcome at our cosy pub with real fire and beer garden – diptonmill.co.uk We are easy to find & only 2 miles south of Hexham. Dipton Mill Road, Hexham NE46 1YA
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NEWS
COUNCIL REJECTS PUB PROPOSAL Northumberland County Council planning chiefs have concluded that a village pub was “deliberately run down” before the owner submitted a controversial plan to convert it into a six-bedroom home. Geoffrey Smart’s April 2017 proposal for the Railway Inn at Fourstones led to dozens of objections from concerned residents with more than 160 people signing a petition aimed at saving the pub which closed in 2015. The application was rejected following
the conclusion that not all possible options for retaining it as a pub had been explored with the report citing: “No investment, erratic opening hours, and a lack of food and drink on offer.” It also criticised the lack of heating. Ken Page, one of the leading campaigners, said they would work to encourage Mr Smart to sell the Railway Inn with a view to it reopening as soon as possible. He is believed to be appealing against the council’s decision.
CLEAR RESULTS FROM EXPERIMENTS
Brausol to the test in a direct laboratory comparison against traditional finings – with some encouraging results. Brewlab director Keith Thomas says: “Nongluten beers were selected for testing after primary fermentation when attenuation was complete – the extent at which fermentable sugars have been used up by the yeast – and before primary settlement of yeast. “Initial settlement after 23 hours indicated a marked difference in original gravity with little difference between isinglass, auxillary and Brausol samples. However, Brausol was comparable or better than isinglass or auxillary finings on the primary settlement at 70microlitre and 350microlitre doses.” Results like this would be perfect for racking, kegging or bottling clarified beer, though Brewlab did note that when the beer was unsettled in cask, traditional finings produced better results in clarifying the resuspension.
With ever-more North East breweries offering gluten-free and vegan-friendly beer, the search is on for the most appropriate ingredients and working methods to ensure that the product in the glass can stand up to any scrutiny. Finings are a case in point – often known as isinglass, the glutinous syrup is derived from the swim bladders of fish and added to casks of beer to “collect” yeast cells and to leave the beer clear. But that practice is anathema to vegans and many vegetarians, so brewers are turning to a product called Brausol P Special, a naturally-occurring silicabased clarification aid which gives results comparable to traditional finings. Added benefits are that it’s a cheaper alternative with a longer shelf life. Brewlab, the Sunderland-based brewing training and analysis centre, has been putting
BACK TO SCHOOL FOR TOP CHEF Not content heading up one of the North East’s most acclaimed dining pubs, Rhian Cradock, chef/patron of The Feathers Inn at Hedley on the Hill, Northumberland, is about to pass on his skills and experience at a new cookery school. Courses and classes are taking place throughout February and March (Mondays 6.30-9pm) at Ovingham Middle School. Courses and classes are taught by professional chefs who are working or have worked in the Feathers kitchen – all are hands-on, designed to develop the skills and confidence to make the dishes at home. “All ingredients are provided,” says Rhian. “We have a demonstration kitchen and participants have their own work spaces with all the equipment needed – and the type you will find at home. You will be amazed how much you can learn.” Speciality classes include bread, fish, pies, ferment and pickle; cheese, butter and yoghurt, and cooking vegan. Joining Rhian are expert tutors Pip Pedley and Phil Carr. And the best part? Every session involves tasting. Details: thefeathersinn.net
Tastetest: Pip Pedley and Rhian Cradock
www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 5
NEWS
RAILWAY ON THE RIGHT LINES
The Railway Hotel in Birtley, Tyne & Wear, is on the lookout for a new engine driver. Current tenant Alan Lynn is moving on and owner John Brearley is inviting talented, passionate and committed teams or individuals to continue its forward momentum. John Brearley says: “The Railway Hotel has been splendidly refurbished, from the garden with its quoits to a proper catering kitchen with the interior refreshed and the flat above renovated. It’s all physically ready to go offering quality traditional ales and great craft beers with a difference. “What it needs now is someone with real passion
BEER AND GIN FEST BY THE SEA
and drive to really get hold of it. It’s a good moment to be involved and a very attractive proposition for an enthusiastic tenant.” The Railway Hotel sparkles from its Ionic pillars to the deep-buttoned upholstery, impressive island counter, domed stained glass skylight and original mirrors. Another attraction is a workshop at the rear of the pub that could easily house a microbrewery, tapping into the emerging trend of provenance and individuality. Interested parties should contact: johnbrearley@ hotmail.co.uk or 07776 216 551.
A North East hotel is playing host to a Craft Gin and Beer Festival this month with in excess of 50 gins and 40 beers on offer. The event takes place over three sessions on Friday 23 and Saturday 24 February at the Roker Hotel in Sunderland. Two main gin bars will focus on London Dry style gins and the other on flavoured gins with a cocktail bar in attendance plus a hog roast and live music. On the beer side, there are cask and kegged beer bars as well as a selection of craft bottles and cans. The full selection of Poetic License gins and Sonnet 43 beers will be available and their teams will be on hand sampling along with a few other producers, so drinkers can try before they buy. Masterclasses are also being held to give keen-beans a further insight into their favourite tipples. Tickets are £12 each (only 300 tickets available for each session), so booking is essential – from Roker Hotel reception or call 0191 5671786.
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NEWS
THE DYVELS IS IN THE DETAIL
One of Northumberland’s most popular pubs has settled down nicely under new ownership. The Dyvels Inn in Corbridge was taken over last October by Leanne Muirhead, former area manager for local pubco Proud Inns Ltd. “It’s been busier than we thought it would be,” says Leanne. “We’ve had great local support from the village, the rugby club and The Valley Indian Restaurant, so the word’s getting out there. “We just want to carry on the theme of what’s been done before
– the quirky but traditional look with an emphasis on good, homecooked food.” The Dyvels had been totally refurbished in June last year following the floods that Storm Desmond brought so destructively to Corbridge, so the pub is in good order, but plans are also in place to upgrade the beer garden, put new steps in, and use the terrace area for outdoor entertainment. “We’ve got a brilliant gardener who’s even going to plant up the fallen tree in the garden,” she says. “Bless him.”
CAN THE CAN IN CHAMPION STYLE
James Andrews at Champion Bottle Shop & Taps in Heaton, Newcastle, reckons the latest canning initiative he has in place represents the first for any bottle shop in the country. Basically, customers choose a beer from the taps and have a 500ml can filled and sealed to take away. “A few brewers do it,” says James,
“but I think we’re the first shop. We flush the aluminium can out with CO2, to get rid of any oxygen, fill it with the beer or wine of your choice, and the little machine spins and rolls around to seal it.” Finally, an in-house label is applied with the date and details of contents, right before your very eyes.
TOP NOTCHERS HIT THE TONNE
A Wylam Brewery collaboration with Northern Monk from Leeds has been voted among the World’s Top 100 Beers. The selection was made according
to public preference on the RateBeer website and weighted by performance within its style. And the beer? I Like To Moob It Moob It. www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 7
NEWS
NEW BASE FOR BREWING SORCERERS
There could be no more fitting finale for the Tryanuary pub and beer campaign than the news that a new brewery is set to open. Northern Alchemy has been gathering plaudits for its innovative approach to brewing since it set up in a shipping container next door to the Cumberland Arms in Byker, Newcastle, in 2014. At the end of this month, brewing will take place at a site near the eastern end of Byker Bridge which will form a whole new community of artisans. Northern Alchemy consists of brothers-in-law Carl Kennedy and Andy Aitchison, along with “our little pit pony” Jamie Hall. Cheers put a few questions to Carl.
WHAT STARTED YOU THINKING ABOUT BREWING BEER?
“About 12 years ago we were standing outside the pub having a beer – this is when the beer market was completely different to what it is now – and talking about how to take the pub forward. Andy went out into the world of brewing for eight years working for different breweries, cleaning casks, helping to brew, delivering, and basically learning his craft.” THEN DID YOU DO MORE TALKING?
“We decided to start our own brewery and called it Northern Alchemy because it describes who we are and where we are – alchemy is the act of changing base ingredients into something greater than the sum of its parts.”
The Quayside Exchange 197 High Street East, Sunderland, SR1 2AX Tel: 0191 514 4574 Email: events@quaysideexchange.com www.quaysideexchange.com
8 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk
NEWS Work in progress: Andy Aitchison, left, and Carl Kennedy. Photo: Peter Skelton
SO YOU BOUGHT A 30-FOOT SHIPPING CONTAINER AND SET UP IN THAT?
HAD YOU LOOKED AT AN EXTENSION TO THE PUB TO HOUSE A BREWERY?
“We thought the container would be here (at the pub) for the foreseeable future. It had been all around the world from Tokyo to Boston and then to Byker. We converted it into ‘The Lab’ and started brewing in 90-litre stocks pots that the Army uses for cooking potatoes. Local brewing consultant Ken Oliver built our first kit and it did us really well, working 18hour days sometimes brewing twice a day. After nine months, we realised the kit was nowhere big enough and scaled up to 300-litre vessels to enable us to brew 200 litres at a time.”
“It proved prohibitively expensive to build onto the side of the Cumberland Arms, so we started looking at other properties within a two-mile radius. We looked at a few then struck gold within 100 metres of the pub at The Old Coal Yard – also known as Potts Yard – a building where coal was dumped from railway wagons onto carts pulled by horses to be sold locally. It’s a massive site, cavernous – and it’s our new home.”
AND IT KEPT ON DEVELOPING?
“Two years ago we were ready to be bigger again and did some ‘cuckoo’ brewing at Brinkburn St and Flash House breweries. Working with other people with new ideas is brilliant. It makes you think of things you normally wouldn't dream of on your own. Anyway, we had got a bit stir crazy with three guys in a shipping container.”
DID THINGS MOVED QUICKLY AFTER THAT?
“We’ve got a 10-barrel brewery built by Oban Ales in Scotland – Three Kings, Almasty and Box Social breweries all had there’s built there. We’ll even start canning ourselves. The entire flooring was cobbled, so we got them lifted and are using them all around the
£99 dinner,
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building. We take great pride in doing everything ourselves – and properly. Most breweries will tell you ‘get your floor sorted first’ because once you’ve got your kit in, making changes is very, very expensive. Architects Steve and Jane Miller at Miller partnership have been brilliant and local graphic designer Colin Hagan has done all our artwork which we're really pleased with. “We want to keep the shipping container theme going, so we’re moving ours in for an office and will gradually fill up the extra space with others made into ingredients preparation store, hop store and casking area with more stacked up for other businesses to create a community. "They could be anything from a café to T-shirt printers or a bike shop or anything all producing stuff. It’s all very exciting.”
Homecooked Food I Live entertainment Bespoke events I World Lagers & Ales Premium spirits I Coffee Accommodation I Dog Friendly
bed & breakfast
throughout
February
The Dyvels Inn | Station Road | Corbridge | NE45 5AY Tel: 01434 632888 www.thedyvelsinn.com Visit us on www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 9
NEWS
THE BEAR NECESSITIES OF LIFE A tiny Northumberland brewery impresses London-based beer tutor, writer and master trainer Christine Cryne Berwick upon Tweed is one of Cheers’ favourite destinations – pubs aplenty, local beers and home-made pies galore might be the main attraction, but next time you’re around North Northumberland, take a look at Spittal on the other side of the Tweed. A short walk from the promenade – and one of the county’s finest beaches – you’ll find Bear Claw Brewery tucked away down a back street with a stained glass maker and coffee roaster for company. The tiny, 1.5-barrel brew plant is
the baby of Rikki Graham, who set it up in 2014; an interesting choice of career for someone who’d studied instrument-making in Glasgow. However, the practical bent has clearly been a benefit when you see what he done with the small space available to him. The mash tun doubles as the copper and the heat exchanger would fit in a large coat pocket. But there are advantages in this small brewhouse, if a little gory. Rikki says: “The unit used to be a slaughterhouse so the floors and drainage were OK.” Brewing takes place about once or
EXCITING OPPORTUNITY TO LEASE THE NEWLY REFURBISHED RAILWAY HOTEL BIRTLEY The owner of the newly refurbished Railway Hotel in Birtley is looking for a motivated individual or couple to take on the lease of this beautiful Edwardian pub and drive it to deliver its full potential. The Railway has been sympathetically restored, equipped with all the modern facilities including a catering kitchen and has probably the most striking pub garden in the area. There are outbuildings that would be ideal for a microbrewery if desired. We are trying to achieve something special here – a pub true to its history and culture, at the same time right for the modern age, not a museum piece but a living thriving pub appealing to a wide customer base – the very essence of the word ‘public house’. We want our lessee to share that passion – the pub should have the best beer, the best simple honest food, the best atmosphere, the best entertainment and the best general buzz and be known for that throughout a wide area. If this opportunity is of interest drop us an email with your cv and stating reasons why you would be the person for this opportunity to johnrbrearley@hotmail.co.uk Based on that we would be very happy to have a chat, and will make full particulars available if you are interested in exploring further. We are hoping to see interested parties during March.
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BOG STANDARD
They always say you should judge a pub or a restaurant by its toilets. There are other things equally – if not more – important than a wee break during a night out, but obviously toilets have to come into consideration somewhere along the line. Wee are (sorry, We are) about to feature a range of lavatories, toilets, bogs – call them what you will – to celebrate the fact that some pub operators really care about their customers’ comforts. Here we have the gents in Station East, Gateshead, owned by Hadrian Border Brewery, making full use of materials to hand – aluminium beer casks. They’re quite a talking point, immaculate, and particularly user-friendly. What the ladies’ is like we have no idea but someone will surely contact us with all the details. If you know of a North East pub toilet worth highlighting, please let Bog Standard know at info@cheersnortheast.co.uk
NEWS
Hands on: Rikki Graham at Bear Claw twice a week depending on demand with a mix of bottles and cask produced. “I hand-bottle and package the beer, which takes a lot of my week but I hope eventually to be able to afford a bottler,” says Rikki. “The local market is still cask dominated so I will do both.” Don’t expect to see him doing the usual 6am mash; 5pm is more likely with an early morning finish – 2am is not unknown. His partner works at Kielder Observatory in the heart of
Northumberland International Dark Sky Park so he has adjusted his working day to suit. As happens in a lot of breweries, the spent malt goes for animal feed and Bear Claw’s goes to the Clydesdales at the Hay Farm Heavy Horse Centre on the Ford & Etal Estate a short haul away. Expansion has been steady – Bear Claw’s philosophy is to plough back surplus profits into the brewery, such as the cask washer bought as a result of a successful weekend at Berwick
Food and Drink Show last September. Although still small, the brewery is twice the size it was two years ago when it moved into a second unit. Upstairs is the ingredients store and the extra space freed up downstairs has allowed more experimentation into beer styles – plus a bit more elbow room that all brewers need. Look over the various bits of equipment and you’ll spy two large wooden barrels (ex-Thistly Cross Cider) formerly used for whisky cider. They contain two completely different
beers which have been maturating for months. Lambic, Saison, Heather Ale, Imperial Stout – worked on with local resident Dr Mall who used to brew for Courage and work for Simpsons Malt – Belgian Blonde and Red Ale all feature in Bear Claw’s repertoire. Beer Claw Brewery opens its doors on the first Wednesday of most months (noon-11pm) but seek out their beers in Curfew, Berwick’s award-winning micropub, or the Brown Bear on the town’s Hide Hill. For tasting notes and more photos visit: http:// cryneinyourbeer.sitelio.me
THERE’S A BLACK STORM BREWING
WWW.BLACKSTORMBREWERY.COM www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 11
CULTURE
EVERY PICTURE...
The story of the Pitmen Painters working on kitchen tables and in village halls between long shifts in the coal mines around Ashington in Northumberland is well documented. Less familiar, however, is the story of the artists who worked in Tyneside’s other major industries. Shipyards like Swan Hunter, Palmers and Redhead, employed thousands of men and women from local communities, building vessels of all shapes and sizes and exporting goods around the globe. Among the workforce was James Williamson Bell who began
12 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk
Artist’s view: The Alum House, South Shields. Left: Rose & Crown, Newcastle. Right: The Wooden Doll, North Shields (lino cut) his career at Swan Hunter as a draughtsman in the 1960s. A talented artist from a young age, Bell was one of a number of painters, sculptors and printmakers
who used their expressive art as a relief from the precision and attention to detail required on the yard. By 1974, the need to paint took
CULTURE
BREWING BESTSELLER
over, and Bell took the difficult decision to leave Swan Hunter. One of the privileged few able to make a living from his art, his great strength was a restless, eclectic
application of techniques, creating a diverse body of work inspired by membership of the prestigious Society of Wildlife Artists and having spent months in China where he developed a fascination with Chinese brush painting. Bell exhibited his work as far afield as Paris, New York, South Korea, Nairobi and China, but it was the River Tyne and industrial North East that provided the rich source of imagery that he constantly returned to. Towering cranes, characterful pubs and crowded
bridges are all included in a new exhibition in Newcastle, alongside exquisitely detailed wildlife studies and energetic travel sketches. Taken together, these images create not just a portrait of working life on Tyneside, but of an artist’s overflowing creativity with a drive to capture the world around him. James Williamson Bell 19382010. A Retrospective. February 2-March 10, 2018 Gallagher & Turner, 30 St Mary’s Place, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7PQ.
Sales of the Great North East Brewery Guide, published by Offstone Publishing – publishers of Cheers – are going extremely well, according to booksellers across the region. The definitive guide to the region’s breweries costs £15 and is available from Waterstones stores, independent bookshops, pubs, breweries and from the Cheers website www.cheersnortheast.co.uk in the North East.
THE OFFICE MORPETH’S REAL ALE & CIDER HOUSE
SOUTH EAST NORTHUMBERLAND PUB OF THE YEAR SOUTH EAST NORTHUMBERLAND CIDER PUB OF THE YEAR OVERALL NORTHUMBERLAND CIDER PUB OF THE YEAR The Old Toll House, Castle Square, Morpeth OPENING TIMES: MON TO SUN 17.00 TO 22.30
The Waiting Room Durham Station’s New Ale House Opening Mid February Keeping it regional with a fine selection of cask and keg ales Follow us on Twitter or Facebook for updates on opening date Durham Railway Station - Northbound Platform (2) Telephone - 0191 3867773 Email enquiries - graeme@ouseburnleisure.co.uk @DurhamWaiting @thewaitingroomdurham
www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 13
PUB NEWS
REGION LOSES ALE CHAMPION
BROAD RANGE IN GASTROPUB LIST
The North East lost a giant of the licensed trade last month with the passing of Mike Garrett, The best food pubs the country former general manager of the has to offer were announced at Sir John Fitzgerald (SJF) pub the prestigious Estrella Damm group. He had been afflicted by Top 50 Gastropubs 218 event Parkinsons Disease for some in York – with three from the time. region making the top half of the Tony Brookes, friend, competition. colleague and fellow ale Heading the pile at no14 is The Rat supporter, said: “Mike was Inn, Anick, Hexham (pictured right) responsible for keeping with Broad Chare on Newcastle’s exceptionally high standards in Quayside at no18, and Staith the SJF estate. He introduced a House, North Shields, making huge range of regular and guest no24. The Blackbird in Ponteland real ales into their pubs from was shortlisted in the Newcomer of 1980 – the result being the the Year category. continuing way well-respected Partners Karen Errington and SJF pubs operate. Phil Mason run The Rat with Phil “Mike left SJF nearly 20 heading up the kitchen alongside years ago and retired after a head chef Kevin MacLean. Kevin short spell with The Head Of has also reached the final of this Steam. He was a really great year’s Parliamentary Pub Chef of guy, everyone respected him. the Year Awards (announced this He didn’t suffer fools gladly and month). The Rat Inn also features said what he thought – a tough four particularly well-kept ales in its character,Half but aPage veryAd.pdf fair one.1” 30/01/2018 tiny bar. 10:14 Broad Chare (18), owned by
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chef Terry Laybourne, prides itself on being a proper pub, with proper food and proper beer. It holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand for good quality, good value cooking. Beerwise, a strong range is topped by own-label Writer’s Block. The Staith House (24) is run by Masterchef: The Professionals
finalist John Calton, his wife Kimberley, and business partner James Laffan. Seafood tasting menus feature highly. Beers comes from a wide Heineken range with Theakstons products to the fore. Britain’s top gastropub for the third time in four years is The Sportsman at Seasalter, Kent.
PUBS OF THE YEAR
MOUSE POTY TRAINED IN RECORD TIME
A pub that has barely been open a full year has just won the prestigious Tyneside Pub of the Year (PotY) award. The Town Mouse micropub on St Mary’s Place in Newcastle came top in a poll of local Campaign For Real Ale (Camra) members, despite stiff competition from other outstanding real ale pubs. It is the first time in the Tyneside & Northumberland branch’s history that a brand-new venue has won the top award – and it may be a first nationally for Camra. It is also a tremendous achievement for Town Mouse landlord Jon Sibley who was
completely new to the pub trade before last February after deciding on a career move to follow his passion for beer. The overall Northumberland Pub of the Year is also a micropub – The Curfew in Berwick upon Tweed. It is also the winner of the North Northumberland PotY and North Northumberland Cider PotY, so it’s quite a coup for the Bridge Street team led by David and Gemma Cook. Yet another micropub, The Office in Morpeth, took the South East Northumberland award plus Northumberland Cider PotY. The Office was last
Winning ways: Jon Sibley at The Town Mouse. Left: Curfew, Berwick year’s Northumberland PotY and progressed through to the North East Regional stage of the national competition. The South West Northumberland PotY, which covers the Tyne Valley, is The Tanners in Hexham, which was also awarded South West Northumberland Cider PotY. Tyneside Cider PotY is the renowned Free Trade Inn in Byker, Newcastle, while Tyneside Club of the Year is Heaton Stannington
Football Club (and it’s great to see it back among the winners). Northumberland Club of the Year is once more The Comrades Club, Haltwhistle. The club’s stewards, Walter and Carol Eals, hung up their bar towels last month after almost 40 years’ service, having handed the reins to their niece Laura Eals. The Tyneside & Northumberland Camra branch has more than 2,000 members, and is one of the largest in the country.
The Feathers Cookery School Ovingham Middle School Find out more visit www.thefeathers.net
Phone 01661 843 607 www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 15
YEAR OF THE DOG
BARK TO THE FUTURE The Chinese Year of the Dog is nigh. Alastair Gilmour ponders the pub and pooch connection The Chinese New Year begins on February 15 and brings with it a fortnight of celebrations across the world. The next 12 months commemorates the Year of the Dog, as dictated by the Chinese lunar calendar which initiates a cycle of 12 years, each one named after an animal. It’s a time when ancestral spirits are celebrated, family unity is honoured, and a happy future is anticipated. Strict customs are adhered to and superstition is rife, such as sweeping the floor before the big day else good fortune for the coming year be brushed aside, and the wearing of red which symbolises sunshine and brightness. But what is it about dogs and pubs – why are some so accommodating towards them? Certainly, in a rural situation, being dog-friendly is good for business. Many town and city-centre pubs are also canine-keen, so it’s worth sniffing around the pub trade to find out what’s what. Dave Carr’s dog Frank was voted one of the best pub dogs in a lavishly-illustrated book called Great British Pub Dogs which earned him a spot on The One Show on BBC1 in December. Dave is top dog at the Brandling Villa in South Gosforth, Newcastle, and has promoted canine-friendliness mercilessly since he took it over the pub eight years ago. He says: “A lot of pubs are seeing the benefit of being dog friendly, it sets you out as an engaging venue – I think if they’re all right with dogs they’ll be all right with everything else. “I can understand that dogs in pubs are not for everyone, but I probably wouldn’t like to be 16 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk
in one that doesn’t allow them, like some of the ‘corporate’ ones.” Frank – Sunday name Franco after Francis Begbie, the character in Trainspotting – is half beagle, half Jack Russell. Dave says he bought him from a “questionable” man in County Durham who also tried to sell him a ferret on the way out. And we all know a dog who laps up beer (Frank’s favourite is Theakston’s Old Peculier) and it’s one good reason why Gabby McCann from Tynemouth has developed Woof Dog Beer. It’s made from human-grade ingredients that include a broth derived from Aberdeen Angus beef bones and brewers’ wort – a sweet liquid mixture of malted barley and water drawn before it is fermented into beer – from her husband Ewan’s Three Kings Brewery in North Shields. “Everything we use is approved by the Food Standards Agency and Defra (the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) and the beef can be traced right back to individual fields,” says Gabby. “The beer, made from allorganic ingredients, is full of goodness for dogs, it’s non-alcoholic, hop-free and uncarbonated, so you won’t be walking a wobbly dog home. “For some reason, Woof Dog Beer is very popular in the south, London and Cornwall in particular, but we’re going for a big push here in the North East. We’ve developed the business further with Brew Bites – doggy snacks in two flavours made from the brewing mash. They taste really nice.” Gabby – and Woof – are also producing personalised beer mats, bandanas, Beer Buddy
Dog heaven: Gabby McCann with Indie the Alaskan Malamute at the Brandling Villa, South Gosforth, Newcastle. Photo: Peter Skelton. Right: Wire sculpture of a Bedlington Terrier at The Red Lion, Bedlington.
YEAR OF THE DOG t-shirts, bowls and gift packs. The list of dogfriendly pubs is endless – The Boathouse in Wylam, Northumberland, is one, as is Caps Off micropub in Bishop Auckland and the City Tavern in Newcastle. In December, the City Tavern was listed as one of the top 12 pubs across the North East in the DogBuddy Dog-Friendly Pub Awards. Judges looked for venues which went that extra mile to give dogs the VIP treatment, and looked at factors including the availability of water bowls plus dog-friendly food and drink. “Dogs are a big part of our life here, and we pride ourselves on being one of the go-to places for dog owners,” says pub owner David King. “It’s always been something we’ve been passionate about, but I believe we have the perfect balance. We are still a pub at the end of the day, and food and drink is what we specialise in, but we’re also big dog lovers and have tried our best to incorporate them into the pub.” David’s own dogs – three Irish terriers – also have pride of place at the bar. “We have three ales which have been specially created for us and one of our dogs, Dillan, appears on one of the logos. We’ve also named our Hector’s Cloudy House cider after another one of our dogs.” Pub dogs have also made it into works of art. The Red Lion in Bedlington, Northumberland, features a six-foot high wire sculpture of a Bedlington Terrier. Give A Dog A Bone was “woven” by former chef and “Jaws” impersonator Gary Tiplady. Appropriately enough, the popular Wetherspoons pub stocks BrewDog Punk IPA and Flying Dog Snake Dog IPA, while the lunch menu features Gourmet Dogs. www.woofdogbeer.co.uk
THE CHINESE NEW YEAR The Chinese New Year can fall anywhere between late January and the middle of February. Legend has it that the Lord Buddha summoned all the animals to come to him before he departed from Earth. Only 12 came to bid him farewell and, as a reward, he named a year after each one in the order they arrived – Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. The dog is man’s best friend and the Chinese regard it as an auspicious animal that can understand the human spirit. If a dog happens to come to a house, for instance, it symbolises the beginning of fortune. The invincible God Erlang in Chinese legend used a loyal wolfhound to help him capture monsters.
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NEW FACES
IT’S GOOD TO SEE THEM THE WAITING ROOM, DURHAM STATION There are going to be some late departures from Durham Station from the middle of this month. That’s not a warning from Network Rail, but the announcement that a new micropub opens on the northbound platform. Many a commuter will be tempted to linger longer in the former first-class ladies waiting room – there’s always the next train, isn’t there? The Waiting Room has been carefully restored to a period alehouse under the direction of Graeme Robinson, with the intention of selling ales from regional microbreweries. Four handpulls and four keg fonts should cater for every eventuality.
Graeme says: “It’s a grade-II listed building dating from 1872 and we’ve exposed two lovely fireplaces, put wood panelling around the interior, and uses stonework from the original quarry. We got a grant from the Railway Heritage Trust while Virgin Train East Coast have also been very supportive and upgraded the power supply to the platform.” It could be argued that railways and beer are in Graeme’s blood – his grandfather was a signalman at Wylam Station, the Northumberland village where he himself comes from, and is also the birthplace of George Stephenson “the father of the railways” – not forgetting Wylam Brewery. Design work – heady on
railway-ania – has been carried out by Newcastle award-winning Collective Design and One Concept shopfitters. “You need to have the right people on board to pull a contract like this together,” he says. THE YARD HOUSE Andrew Philips had run Priory News in Tynemouth since 2004 and three years later put a small of-license in with a standard range of beers. The postmaster at the Post Office across the road expressed his desire to retire and asked if Andrew wanted to take it over. He says: “There are so many post offices and similar facilities being lost which is a shame, so I decided to move it into my shop which lost me quite a bit of retail
space, especially the off-license which I cut back on.” So having got tired of hearing himself talking about investing a small taproom, so at the back end of 2017, he and business partner
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NEW FACES back to their growlers refilled with something new. Peter and I are both beer lovers and we’ve just taken on a new member of staff so it’s working well between us. “I always think that in retail if you stand still you actually go backwards, so we’re organising meet the brewer nights and those sort of events.
Weighty project: Durham Station, where the Waiting Room pub opens this month Peter Carr decided to use what was the back office and stripped it back to the brickwork, installed a few keg taps, a fridge and about four metres of shelf space for bottles and cans.
“It’s going well, and we’re trying to get lots of different stuff in and getting people in Tynemouth interested in craft beer,” says Andrew. “It’s about repeat business, they’ll come
BLACK STORM BREWERY Paul Hughes founded Black Storm in early December with a core range of four traditional beers – a 4.3% abv golden beer, a blonde at 4.0% abv, a 5.5% abv IPA and a porter at 5.2% abv, brewed at Hadrian Border in Newburn, Newcastle. He says: “They’re going really well and have been distributed between Darlington and Edinburgh, plus we’ve had our first pop-up bar in a former café in Whitley Bay – which was a sell-out. We’re doing another couple there during February and one for Easter then we’ll apply for something more permanent. “The beers are very well
balanced and very traditional classic British in nature with a lovely smoothness throughout from the yeast and malt. The long-term goal is to have our own brewery, but it’s great at the moment to be backed up by the Hadrian Border team’s expertise. The idea is to build the audience and we’re very happy with the way it’s all going at the moment.” MONTAGU ESTATE CRAFT BREWERY Newcastle brewing consultant Ken Oliver has invested in his own kit once again after deciding the stop-start approach he had been employing was simply frustrating him. Montagu Estate Craft Brewery was officially launched at the beginning of this month with a tap takeover at the Free Trade Inn, Byker, Newcastle, which featured six of his hand-crafted beers. Ken has previously been involved with Wylam Brewery, Tyne Bank and Northern Alchemy – and if that’s not a reference and a half, we don’t know what is.
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A GLUG OF THIS AND A MMM OF THAT A couple with their fingers definitely on the North East drinking and dining pulse have been welcoming new faces at their Newcastle shop since their move there in November. Simone and Ian Clarkin run Mmm…Glug delicatessen and bottle shop on Grainger Street in the city, having been a feature in the nearby Grainger Market for several years. Simone capitalised on her background in sourcing and importing food and drink – wine in particular – to restaurants and independent shops all over the country by opening Mmm… in May 2008 in a tiny, open-sided unit. The shop quickly grew
a reputation for being able to winkle out deli goods ranging from olive oil, pasta and pickles to flour, spices and honey that supermarkets didn’t stock. Inevitably, a bigger unit was needed in the Grainger Market, then the next-door premises fell vacant and Ian who then had a full-time job but had helped out as “Saturday Boy” in Mmm… felt the time was right to develop the Glug part of the business – selling beer principally from the locality with wines and spirits as chasers. Business continued to soar and a move to premises just outside the historic market was prompted by calculating the footfall on late shopping nights
NEWS one side while balsamic vinegar, dry goods, continental sausage and eggs take up the other in a complementary cycle. A large downstairs space is to be used as a tasting room and for private functions kitted out with a bar and storage. The name Mmm…Glug sums it up well. It’s onomatopoeic; it lives up to its promise.
Deli-ite-ful: Simone and Ian Clarkin at mmm... glug...
and Sunday trading when the market was closed. There was also the lure of more visibility and further customer awareness – and a bigger shop with far more potential. “A lot of our new customers hadn’t heard of us before,” says Ian. “They didn’t use the Grainger Market – and a surprising number of them had never heard of it
which I found astonishing. We needed a more prominent city location anyway. “We’ve got an enlarged range throughout the shop through recommendations and based on what a lot of people have asked for.” Even Ian wasn’t prepared for the huge interest in bottled and canned beer that was coming,
but having taken off in the old shop it has accelerated in the new premises. “We listen very carefully to what people are saying,” says Ian. “People will go into pubs and wine bars and next day come in and ask for what they’ve had in bottle or can.” A chiller and shelves of beer morph into wines and spirits on
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PUB NEWS
MAKING AN ENTRANCE One of Newcastle’s newest bars knows its A- Z, as Ian Young discovers
It might look a whole lot different to high-end Grey Street bars but one newly-opened Newcastle venue can go head to head with any of them for style. Alphabetti Theatre Bar, recently relocated from John Dobson Street in the city to a former motorbike accessories shop on St James’ Boulevard, oozes artistic endeavour, down-to-earth atmosphere and no-nonsense creativity. Alphabetti Theatre – and bar – is a work in progress with a first-floor rehearsal room currently being created along with a costume workshop and spaces to sub-let to artists. Ali Pritchard – founder and artistic director – estimates that the age of the
average theatre-going audience across the UK is 40-plus, whereas Alphabetti’s is just 21. “I’m really proud of that,” he says. “We’re effectively engaging young people.” And whereas every bar these days has free wifi, Alphabetti goes one step further by offering pre-loved books for sale and a creative corner where adults and children can read or draw. The aim of the theatre bar is to be similar to a European coffee shop that sells beer – and “the best cheese toastie in town” – rather than trying to be a traditional pub and Ali has strong ideas on its product offer. He says: “Everything we sell has to be locally sourced – especially the beer.”
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The world’s a stage: Ali Pritchard pulls a pint On the day of my visit the draught beers were Tyne Bank Northern Porter (4.5% abv) and two offerings by Northern Alchemy, including the light, hoppy, orangehinted Alphabetti Pale (4.1% abv), brewed specially for the theatre. Attention to detail is such that the bar manager Billy Clark helped brew it. The brewing connection doesn’t end there – Carl Kennedy from Northern Alchemy is also part of the hugely popular Suggestibles
comedy outfit which occasionally performs at the Alphabetti venue. Being a Newcastle United supporter and positioned close to St James’ Park, Ali Pritchard also has his eye on match-day trade with classic football matches on the theatre screen in the pipeline and live music to entertain supporters going to and from the match. “Best cheese toastie in town” is a big boast, so there’s another challenge for beer lovers.
WINE PROMOTION
HERE’S SOME BAD NEWS: THE WORLD IS FACING A SHORTAGE OF WINE Cheers spoke to Lanchester Wines’ head of sales Mark Roberts, about what wine lovers can expect from the 2017 harvest
When pouring a glass of your favourite wine, it can be easy to forget that the grapes it’s made from are an agricultural crop. As with any living element, these crops need the right growing environment to thrive – too hot and they die, too cold and they die, too wet and they die… you get the picture. Fires, floods, frosts and devastating heatwaves. It sounds like the stuff of biblical tales, but unfortunately these are the factors which have affected 2018 wine harvests across the globe. Grapes in France were damaged by unseasonal spring frosts and then heavy hail – the grapes become bruised and unusable. This is an historic low, 16% lower than the five-year average and worse than 1991. In Italy, these devastating spring frosts struck again and were combined with isolated hailstorms and a heatwave known as ‘Lucifer’ resulting in one of the country’s smallest wine harvests for 60 years in 2017, down by 25% on last year. Spanish harvests are down 20% from 2016 thanks to the combination of frost and drought. Frosts in Rioja caused volumes to be down by between 25 – 40%. The German harvest is expected to be 18% down on the previous year after April frosts damaged crops. California experienced the worst wildfires in decades decimating vines across the Sonoma wine region while a Napa heat wave hit 47°C seriously damaging grapes. South African yields are likely to plummet by up to 50% this year due to drought on the Western Cape. Most of the industry’s large irrigation dams are only 30 to 40% full meaning wine grape producers’ water resources were cut by up to
60% and they could not fully meet their vines’ water demands. Earthquakes in New Zealand (November 16) resulted in millions of litres of wine lost and estimates that up to a fifth of storage vats were damaged. The list goes on. Combined, these unfavourable conditions saw the 2017 vintage at the lowest level of production since 1961, down 16% on 2016, resulting in an estimated 3 billion bottles less wine available to buy or source. And, when a commodity is in demand, the price increases. This unfortunately means the price of the glass of wine in your hand will increase – but this isn’t the fault of your bar manager, nor is this the fault of the wine importer (like us), or even the winemaker. It’s just a case of circumstance beyond anyone’s control. And, it’s not just wine. At the start of the year, two of the UK’s biggest brewers (AB InBev and Molson Coors) announced they were putting prices up 2.3% and 2.4% respectively. THE WINNERS But, there are some winners in this tale of woe, namely Eastern Europe. Countries such as Moldova, Romania and Bulgaria may not be front of mind when it comes to wine producing, but in fact they have a rich heritage of viticulture. For example, the history of Moldova’s wine dates back to 3000 BC with the first vines found 700BC. As part of the Russian Empire, Moldova’s wine making flourished when the country supplied wine to the Russian Imperial family and indeed most of Europe during the phylloxera epidemic. We work with wineries from Moldova’s Central zone known as the ‘Codru’ region where 60%
of the country’s vineyards are found. The forests, hills and rolling countryside typical of this region protect the vineyards from winter frosts and dry summer winds. There is also a famous microclimate zone in this region - the Romanesti – which produces the best white and sparkling wines. TIPS – TRY SOMETHING NEW Its unfortunately inevitable that the price of your favourite tipple is going to rise, but the smart drinker will see this as a great opportunity to try something new. Whether that’s a different style of wine or merely switching to a new wine region, there are plenty of options. Over the last three years, Moldovan Pinot Grigio has become one of our best sellers – particularly across the North East! We took the strategic approach to change our supplier which meant not only did we maintain the same price of wine, but we found the wine was a better quality. Great result all round! We’ve also changed our Malbec from the traditional Argentinian wineries to new Chilean partners – same great wine, same great price. And we have an excellent non-Marlborough New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Trying new wines is fun. Wine should be fun. There are no rules to how you drink it, where you drink it or what you should enjoy – so jump in with two feet and take a chance on something different. Each of the wines mentioned in this article are available at pubs and bars across the North East via Lanchester Wines. Ask your bar staff for more details. www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 23
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HOME REQUIRED FOR SHED AND CONTENTS
The race is on to find new premises for a social enterprise that has its furniture items in everyday use at pubs around the region. Groundwork NE & Cumbria has launched an appeal on behalf of GWK Woodshed to avoid its closure in September. The community project, which started up in 2015 at its current site in Gateshead Central Nursery, supports people aged 14 to
64, some of whom are longterm unemployed or from disadvantaged backgrounds, to help them progress into a career or education. It has helped more than 300 people in the region since it opened, producing a vast range of products – picnic benches, tables, chairs, dressers, oak barrel and pallet furniture, planters and raised beds – all constructed from reclaimed timber, some of it dredged from the Tyne.
CHEERS ON TOUR New Zealand is about as far away as you can get from the North East but that didn’t hinder Dennis and Jan Larkham from showing they’re well in touch with the pub and beer scene here. They’re posing in their favourite Far travelled: Dennis and pub, The Sprig & Fern Jan Larkham Tavern in Thornton, Wellington. It’s renowned for its food and craft beers brewed by Sprig & Fern Brewery in Nelson, so it would appear they picked the right spot to emigrate to. Dennis is the brother of Eric Larkham, the much-missed sage of all things pubs, ale and Ouseburn Valley who died in April 2016. www.sprigandferntaverns.co.nz/taverns/tinakori-road-wellington
NEWS
Recycler: Nathan Hopkins, manager at GWK Woodshed The products are then sold to individual customers, schools, and businesses, including pubs and restaurants such as The Plough at Dipton, County Durham, and The Woodman, Whickham, Gateshead. The project has proved so successful that the charity
The
is seeking to find more permanent premises in order to accommodate the number of people wishing to participate and to increase the level of production. GWK Woodshed’s lease at Gateshead Central Nursery comes to an end in September,
and if the charity can’t find a suitable premises to move to before then, the project will have to close down. It needs to find a large, public-facing space that can accommodate both a workshop and a display area, in order to carry on creating and selling the furniture, and
to continue providing training and support for the people who benefit enormously from the social enterprise. Geoff Dawson, manager at GWK Woodshed, said: “It will be a real shame if we can no longer continue. This will be devastating. We need to find somewhere that could comfortably house the workshop and the public shop – however as we are a social enterprise, we can’t afford to go to an industrial or retail park. “We are appealing for someone who is an investor and looking for a new project, an asset transfer, or someone with a large industrial unit, a farm, or another suitable building that’s standing empty, and they’d like to use it for a great cause. “We’d like to say a huge thank you to Gateshead Council for providing the current site. Without their support we would not be in the fantastic position we are in, to have a successful and thriving social enterprise.” Details: gwkwoodshed.org.uk or call 0191 460 9508.
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VIEW FROM ABROAD
WALL WE NEED IS LOVE
A guided tour of Prague transports Alastair Gilmour to food and beer heaven Here in a historic part of one of Europe’s most beautiful cities I’m about to commit a crime. I’m in Prague with an aerosol paint can in my hand and I’m going to “tag” the wall in Grand Priory Square that belongs to The Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Nervously, I scrawl “Nice Wall” and step back to admire my burst of creativity. It’s all OK, though. We’re at the John Lennon Peace Wall where since his death in 1980, young
people have sprayed “love and peace” messages, poems and flowers – at first to the annoyance of the authorities, but now a blind-eyed tourist attraction. We’re on a food tour of Prague (www.eatingpraguetours.com) with hugely entertaining host Jan Macuch who guides us down tiny picturesque streets, steep stairs and “art” parks to discover some of the city’s hidden gems – little-known wine bars, backstreet bistros and tiny, family-run cafés, in a four-hour quest to savour
the city’s best food and drink. Art, history, geography and opera are thrown in – from David Cerny’s renowned sculptures to a rendition from Smetana’s The Bartered Bride (with Jan doing both tenor and soprano with great aplomb) and a treatise on sugar versus honey. We’re on the trail of authentic Czech food and drink, far from the tourist hot-spots, but still surrounded by glorious architecture. The whole idea is to have antipasto in our meeting place, starters in another,
wine and cheese in the third, the ultimate goulash in venue number three, then divine desserts and digestifs in a classy restaurant complete with grand piano player. The family-run Kafe U Zelenych Kamen (Green Stove Café) is a handsome, cosily wood-panelled delight, set in the former Italian quarter of the city. The food is home-made by the proprietor’s family with his wife responsible for cakes and desserts. It’s difficult not to think of the word
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VIEW FROM ABROAD
“continental” but that describes it well – a front bar area with steps up to small seating gallery. We drink beer from Zatec (Saaz in German, where the legendary hops come from) and pick at a selection of “beer” cheeses with cold cuts, gherkins and pickles. Surely sharing plates and clinking beer mugs is the ideal way of getting to know your fellow diners. Then it’s a short hop to St Martin, a bistro-style establishment quite starkly decorated in its white walls
and tiles where we’re waited on like we were in a friend’s home. Sauerkraut soup is served with a dollop of crème fraiche which one imagines would be perfect for hangovers and ancillary ailments. And then we have more beer. The owner, via Jan’s translation, gave us a lesson in mushrooms. “It’s important to know your winemaker,” says our guide as we settle into Vinoteka U Mourenina, a delightful wine bar staffed by knowledgeable staff who simply gush with Czech wine. Our Rosé Na Zahrady 2016 Vino J Stavek is followed by Sauvignon 2015 Hermes Vinarstvi Gala (white), then Maharal 2013 Vinarstvi Tanzberg – all Czech – as astonishing as any from France or Italy. There are paired with a Czech Gouda, Czech blue cheese and Czech jam and pickles. It’s worth returning if only to buy some classy wine glasses from t large selection. U Krise Restaurant is part of a swish hotel going by the same name. It’s a classic, early 20th Century dining room with an air of decadence
about it. The goulash that Jan has ferreted out is wild boar liberally doused in a paprika-spiced sauce, served with dumplings. There are so many flavours going on that it’s impossible to describe them all. More beer, too. Our final destination is the famous Slavia Café, a traditional café/ restaurant that offers Czech and international cuisine. It’s where our desserts are presented – an amazing array of chocolate confections; fresh fruit, whipped cream, caramel sauce, truffels, cheesecake and marzipan ice cream – all under the gaze of a mural depicting the horrors of
absinthe, “the green fairy”, which we’re encouraged to try as a choice of digestifs. Interestingly, Czechs throw away the least amount of food in the EU. This has evolved through centuries of invasion, persecution and subjugation and now people have it in their DNA to be careful with everything, particularly what’s on their plates. Armed with that knowledge we didn’t dare leave a morsel – nor would we want to anyway. www.eatingpraguetours.com With thanks to Czech Tourism UK for their generous hospitality.
Sweet treats at Cafe Slavia
www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 27
TIME TRAVEL
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Salt of the earth: Tony Renwick at Wylam Brewery Tap & Kitchen. Right: The raw ingredients. Photos: Peter Skelton
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OX TALE BROUGHT UP TO DATE A 19th Century recipe devised to feed Newcastle’s poor has been recreated to gauge its nutritional value. Alastair Gilmour took it to a pub chef to capitalise on his expertise
Buried deep in the Cheers file marked “come in handy one day” is a recipe for soup, dated 1866 and created by the governor of Newcastle Gaol. With the quantity of ingredients enough to produce 100 gallons (455 litres), it didn’t exactly jump out as a quick weekday meal, but it was always at the back of our minds to recreate it at some time. The recipe came from the Soup Kitchen at the 17th Century Holy Jesus Hospital in Newcastle and commemorated “the gift of an ox and vegetables” on Tuesday February 15 1881 to the hospital committee by one Mr D Marks. (Holy Jesus is now Grade II-listed building currently in the care of the National Trust and sits cheek-by-jowl by the Swan House roundabout.) The animal had
been purchased that morning at Newcastle Cattle Market “and driven thence to the Soup Kitchen” before taken to a local slaughterhouse. The resultant 100 gallons of beef and vegetable soup was intended to “alleviate the privations of the helpless poor of the town at the present inclement season of the year”. The deserving poor in Victorian times were those unable to work during the winter months. Individuals classed as undeserving were those whose poverty was deemed to be caused by indolence and alcoholism. The recipe for the soup reads: 112 pounds of beef and bones, 28 pounds barley, 56 pounds peas, 7 pounds flour, 14 pounds rice, 14 pounds onions, 10 pounds salt, ¾ pound pepper, 14 pounds carrots, 7 pounds turnip, 4 pounds celery.
TIME TRAVEL So, we celebrate the 137th anniversary of the occasion by inviting Wylam Brewery Tap & Kitchen to scale down the quantities and produce the soup to see how the recipe would compare with the tastes of today and also how nutritious it would be in “alleviating the privations”. Chef Tony Renwick readily took up the challenge and even surprised himself by the resulting gallon pot of meat and veg. It looked overwhelmingly appetising and smelt glorious – but what of the flavour? “It’s definitely filling with the rice, dried peas and barley being cooked for hours,” says Tony. “It’s actually very nutritious and with the added flour, it was definitely made to feed the poor and the homeless. “The beef gives protein and the vegetables – carrot, onion, celery and swede – are four of your five a day, plus there are carbohydrates from the pulses, then there’s fibre and vitamins from the barley and starch from the rice and flour. Thinking about it, if there was less salt, these ingredients are right on trend for a well-balanced soup.” These days, our top-end butchers hang beef for around 28 days to mature and improve, but if the ox had been slaughtered and cooked on the same day, would that make a difference? Tony says: “The meat would have been very fresh, very wet, and they would possibly have used that amount of salt
to draw out the moisture. If the meat wasn’t of great quality – which it probably wasn’t – it would have been boiled in salt to cleanse it then cut up to start afresh for the soup. “The beef and vegetables would have been boiled for around four hours solid, but I’ve cooked it all slowly and gently, getting all the flavours out.” And what a job he did of such humble ingredients. Sitting before us was a gallon of magnificence and rarely have we been presented with such a flavourful combination, set off against a backdrop of pepper-laced rice and barley. It was definitely a meal in itself – and who knew jail food could taste so good? Tony Renwick hadn’t been too concerned about the amount of salt used, although he admits it would be frowned on by modern palates. The soup hadn’t felt as over-salted as feared but it was around an hour later that it began its thirsty work. In that scenario there’s only one conclusion – a pint of Wylam Hickey The Rake Limonata Pale (4.3% abv) with its citrus zing of lemon and lime and dash of pineapple to slake the driest of thirsts. The prison governor’s soup recipe was devised some three decades after Charles Dickens wrote Oliver Twist. But that character’s famous words immediately sprung to mind: “Please sir, I want some more.”
The New Plough, Mountsett, County Durham
A NEVER-ENDING PROBLEM We might think we’ve advanced so much that feeding the poor and charity donations are have been consigned to history, but as we all know Newcastle’s West End Food Bank is the largest in the country – and still helping local people in crisis with emergency supplies. Now, a North East hospitality group has joined forces with similar food banks across the region to ensure homeless people have a hot meal. Tavistock Hospitality – which owns The Lambton Worm at Chester-le-Street, The New Plough at Mountsett, The Toronto Lodge, Bishop Auckland; Roker Hotel, Sunderland, the Italian Farmhouse restaurants and multi-award winning spirit brand, Poetic License – launched the scheme through its Sonnet 43 pubs, starting off at St Aidan’s Church in Hartlepool last month. The team from Sonnet 43 served a range of dishes inspired by the pub chain’s menus to the regulars who visit for the weekly meal. Jonathan Graham, director at Tavistock Hospitality, said the plan was to run similar sessions at food banks around the North East He said: “I wanted to start in Hartlepool because that’s my home town. Sonnet 43 supported food banks in the run-up to Christmas, donating tinned goods and other items, but we wanted to do something more than that – particularly at the coldest time of year – so we thought the best way was to give people a really tasty hot meal, choosing from a hearty, filling and delicious menu.” This sounds eerily like the sterling work undertaken at the Soup Kitchen at Holy Jesus Hospital 137 years ago. Good on them.
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FUN STUFF
SIGN OF THE TIMES Spotted in a Yorkshire chip shop by “national treasure”, poet Ian McMillan. Perhaps they got their mushy peas and queues confused.
THE DIRTY DOZEN TWELVE TEASERS TO TEST YOUR GREY MATTER 1 Which Scottish football club is named in the Bible? 2 What is the longest-priced winner in British horse racing? 3 Which country has the lowest suicide rate? 4 What was Glubbdubdrib? 5 Which sense does a dying person tend to lose last?
AN EIGHTY-YEAR-OLD WOMAN WALKS INTO A BAR WITH HER RIGHT HAND IN THE AIR… …AND ANNOUNCES TO THE ASSEMBLED COMPANY: “ANYBODY WHO CAN GUESS WHAT I’VE GOT IN MY CLENCHED FIST CAN HAVE SEX WITH ME TONIGHT.” ONE MAN SHOUTS: “AN ELEPHANT.” THE WOMAN THINKS FOR A SECOND THEN REPLIES: “THAT’S CLOSE ENOUGH.”
EEH! NUMBERS
96
6 Against which country did England fight the War of Jenkins’ Ear in 1739? 7 To the nearest million, how many people share your birthday? 8 How many eyes has an earthworm? 9 What was the name of the first Pink Floyd album? 10 What was the first frozen food available in Britain (1937)? 11 What is a bouquet garni? 12 What breed of dog is a cross between a collie and a greyhound?
The number of categories judged at the Great American Beer Festival in 2016. There were 7,227 beers, 264 judges and an average 75 beers in each category. 96 Tears was a song by garage band Question Mark And The Mysterions 96: The common reference to German football club Hannover 96 96: The number of the Go North East bus route from Newcastle to the Metrocentre via Gateshead Interchange.
QUOTE “I GREW UP IN A PLACE WHERE EVERYBODY WAS A STORYTELLER, BUT NOBODY WROTE. IT WAS THAT KIND OF CELTIC, STORYTELLING TRADITION; EVERYBODY WOULD HAVE A STORY AT THE PUB OR AT PARTIES, EVEN AT THE CLUBS OR RAVES.” IRVINE WELSH
QUIZ ANSWERS: 1 Queen of the South (Matthew 12:42. “The Queen of the South will rise up at the Judgement…”). 2 250-1: Equinoctial at Kelso in November 1990. 3 Jordan (0.04 per 100,000 population). 4 The land of sorcerers and magicians in Gulliver’s Travels. 5 Hearing. 6 Spain. 7 Nine million. 8 None. 9 Piper at The Gates Of Dawn. 10 Asparagus. 11 A small bunch of herbs tied in muslin dropped into a cooking pot. 12 Lurcher.
30 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk
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Events @ Arch 2 Ouseburn's newest brewpub and burger kitchen
February 7th 2018 The Crafthood Social
Enjoy a drink and a bite to eat in our modern, friendly bar nestled under one of the Byker Bridge arches in Newcastle's creative quarter. 10 taps of craft beer Onsite microbrewery Undercover courtyard Sit-around fire pit Child and dog friendly Beer tastings Brewery experience days Private parties
February 23rd 2018 GESĂš presents ELECTRIC DISCO MORE INFORMATION AT: www.facebook.com/ arch2ouseburn/events/
Arch2 is the home of craft microbrewery Newcastle Brewing Ltd where son and father team, Leo and Mike Bell, brew a wide range of hoppy, flavourful beers including blondes, pales, lager hybrids, IPAs, and porters.
Arch2 Stepney Bank, Ouseburn, NE1 2NP www.newcastlebrewingltd.co.uk Like us on facebook to keep up to date about our new developments in 2018 facebook.com/arch2ouseburn/