cheers WWW.CHEERSNORTHEAST.CO.UK // SEPTEMBER 2018 // ISSUE 83
I T ’ S
A B O U T
P U B S ,
P E O P L E ,
B E E R
–
A N D
Y O U !
JUST ASKING FOR A FRIEND SUPPORT ACTS FOR GUITARIST
MOUNTAIN MAN’S ICELANDIC SPIRIT LEATHER FORECAST IS MORE OF A GAME
FERMENTER MENTOR
TRAVELLING WILKINSON’S ON THE ROAD AGAIN
FREE PLEA
SE TAKE A COPY
WELCOME The summer that was has almost dimmed into the memory – and while most of us were pleased to experience a long spell of hot weather, it hasn’t been plain sailing for many of our pubs. Those with a beer garden, a terrace or pavement area have benefitted enormously while shaded town venues prayed for rain to attract custom. More than one city-centre pub landlord could be heard muttering “roll on winter”. No, we can’t please everyone. The schools are back, the evenings are getting gloomier earlier and we’re heading for the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness. We’ve had our summer break and Cheers is back with a flourish, bringing you a wide range of pub and beer topics – with a dash of wine and a splash of vodka thrown in to keep the variety fresh. We’re constantly amazed at pubs’ and brewers’ initiatives – take a Portuguese beer festival in one as an example (page 26). Rarely has a representation from this magazine been so impressed by the offering from a country not exactly known for brewing. We’ve got some clever folks doing some great things in a terrific industry. Of course, that industry is all about people and it’s the people who visit our pubs and drink our beer who keep its wheels turning. The nights might be drawing in, but the pub is still a huge attraction – see you there. 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
TRAVELLING WILKINSON
Learn to brew and see the world might be the new mantra. It certainly has worked for Ben Wilkinson, head brewer at Wylam and By The River Brew Co. He has not only travelled the length and breadth of the country hosting tap takeovers and meet the brewer events – with a brewing collaboration or two thrown in for good measure – he has visited Poland, Sweden, Denmark and Germany doing much the same. And such is his reputation in the brewing industry, he’ll soon be off to San Francisco to brew with Anchor Steam.
COVER: BEN WILKINSON, TRAVELLING BREWER. PHOTO: PETER SKELTON
WE’RE VERY HAPPY WITH THE FIT AND REALLY EXCITED ABOUT WHAT IT CAN BRING JAMES DAVIE-BAGULEY, BEER BOX
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NANO BREW TAKES OFF
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
MULTI-MILLION DEAL GOES AHEAD North East pub group Wear Inns has been snapped up by real estate investors in a £22.4m deal. The County Durham-based firm which has 25 pub venues around the North East and Yorkshire, has been acquired by Aprirose, owners of the QHotels chain. The Wear Inns group – which includes The Guide Post in Sunderland, The Millstone in Gosforth, The Crown in Whickham, Gateshead (pictured), and the Black Bull, Morpeth – has traded strongly throughout the rollercoaster faced by the pub industry in recent years. The group lost its two founders; John Sands, a former North East Business Executive of the Year, who died last August, a year after co-founder John Weir passed away.
TEN-YEAR COLLECTION UP FOR GRABS Cheers reader Peter Evans is offering his complete collection of the magazine to anyone who would like them – we’re now at number 83 after more than ten years. “I’m decluttering,” he says, “and I’ll hand them over in exchange for a donation to charity.” It’s great to know that we’ve got such a loyal following and we’ll pass on any messages sent to info@cheersnortheast.co.uk Please head the email “Magazine Collection”. Cheers Peter.
FRESH FACE TO THE WORLD
You’d think that a spruce-up at a favourite old pub would be met with universal approval. Not, as it happens, if it’s the Free Trade Inn in Newcastle. A fresh coat of paint on the fascia and frontage plus new signage has apparently been received with praise and brickbats in equal measure. “Social media – particularly Twitter – has been going mad about it,” says Free Trade landlord Mick Potts. “Some have been saying it’s great and others moaning ‘you’ve spoilt our pub’. The reality is we’re sitting high on a hill here and get really weatherbeaten, so the exterior was due for a tidy up – and the new lettering is exactly the same as it was previously. But it’s been interesting to see what people think and to get them engaged.
HALL WELCOME FOR BEER FEST
Look out for a beer festival at St Nicholas Church Hall in Gosforth, Newcastle (opposite South Gosforth Metro) which we’re assured is St Nick’s biggest weekend – September 7 (3pm till late) and Saturday September 8 (12noon-8pm-ish). Organiser Gill Mitchell is promising
THE GUIDE POST The Guidepost has long since been the beacon for the local community in Ryhope, a real pub from inside to out and offers a home from home to our locals. With a well-presented beer garden to the rear, complete with a children’s play area, The Guide Post welcomes the whole family.
Find us on Facebook
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GUIDE POST, RYHOPE, SUNDERLAND SR2 0RN 4 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk
“It was last done about seven years ago, then about seven years before that and in all that time nothing really has changed.” The award-winning pub’s legendary jukebox has also been overhauled and the choice of great beer just gets more exciting, so if anything the pub is even better.
40 ales and ciders with barbecue food available plus complimentary coffee, soft drinks and snacks – wine and prosecco too. Live music is courtesy of the fabulous Hop Pickers and their invited gust performers. Admission: £10 for five beer/bbq/wine tokens, programme and glass.
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NEWS
WHISKY ON THE MENU
Ambitious plans have been unveiled for a distillery and visitor centre in Northumberland. The multi-million pound development at the former Redpath’s Yard in Wooler could become one of the region’s tourism and business magnets as early as 2020. Developers – the Ferguson family who have extensive haulage businesses based in Northumberland – hope their Ad Gefrin Distillery (named after the
Anglo-Saxon palace at nearby Yeavering Bell) will reinvigorate the local economy, help to retain young people in the area, and regenerate the town and surrounding area. Businessman Alan Ferguson, a former president of the North East Chamber of Commerce, told the Berwick Advertiser: “Our ultimate aim is to develop a unique single malt whisky and a major attraction as well as opening a new chapter in the cultural development and tradition of Glendale.”
Artist's impression of the new distillery (Glendale PR)
Badged up: Corbridge Cricket Club First XI
PITCHED IN AGAINST THE BEST Hadrian Border’s long-running shirt sponsorship of Corbridge Cricket Club entitles the brewery to an endof-season match against the club which this year takes place on September 9. The brewery eleven is made up of staff and friends, plus it could include illustrious former Australian Test cricketer Marcus North, who is now chief executive of South Northumberland Cricket Club. Hugely community-orientated, Corbridge runs three senior men’s teams and two ladies’ sides as well as juniors. And there’s real ale on the clubhouse bar, obviously.
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NEWS
GONGS GALORE AND MORE DUE
In these days of oneoff brews and speciality seasonals (when it’s gone it’s gone), it’s all the more refreshing to find an “old-fashioned” bitter just plugging away nicely. Mordue Workie Ticket (4.5% abv) won bronze at last month’s Camra Great British Beer Festival, being pipped by Siren Craft Brew Broken Dream (6.5% abv) for the Champion Beer of Britain crown. Green Jack Ripper (8.5% abv) took silver. It’s 21 years since workhorse Workie was champion beer in the same competition, so here’s to consistency and longevity.
MAKING A HASH OF IT? YES BUT NO BUT
It’s that time again for runners who like a pint and for beer drinkers who enjoy a run. Every year for the past 21, Newcastle Hash House Harriers have provided a beer stop at the 10.5-mile stage of the annual Great North Run. This month – Sunday September 9 – a contingent of Hash House Harriers will be on John Reid Road to dole out beer to many of the near60,000 thirsty participants on the world’s biggest half-marathon. “It’s the only beer stop on the route,” says Newcastle Hasher Keith “Counterfit” Hudson. “We’ve got great support this year from local breweries such as Twice Brewed, Hadrian Border, Brinkburn St, Anarchy, Durham, Hexhamshire, Sonnet 43, Tyne Bank and Camerons Last year
www.bytheriverbrew.co 6 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk
Welcome sight: The beer stop at the Great North Run
we were able to hand out 3,200 beers – about one eighth of a pint measure each – to thirsty athletes and we’re on course to beat that this time. “We are in a prominent position on the route displaying contributors’ banners and logos and easily picked up by the TV cameras. Our little venture is now a recognised feature of the event and looked out for by regular runners. Hashing is a form of noncompetitive cross-country running where the main objective is to work up a decent thirst (they coin themselves “a drinking club with a running problem”). It’s a fun activity and must not be taken at all seriously. Details of Newcastle Hash House Harriers at www.nhhh.co.uk
NEWS
IT’S ALL ABOUT BALANCE
A North Yorkshire pub is in the running to be crowned LGBTQ+ pub of the year at the Great British Pub Awards. The Little Angel in Whitby has been shortlisted with other LGBTQ+ pubs representing Cardiff, London and Brighton for its ability to strike the right balance between the traditional and the alternative. The multi-award winning Camra cask ale pub is regarded as a haven for visitors to the popular seaside town. Owner Richard Nattriss says: “For many years The Little Angel has been the Goth/ALT pub in the town and consequently we have a very
varied customer base. To that end we have very understanding and accommodating staff who take everyone for who they want to be – we never judge. “We are a place all groups, including LBGTQ, who can come and enjoy their time with us and have fun and are encouraged to so. We are not out to shout about being LBGTQ-friendly as most of our customers don’t want to be labelled. It points a finger at them. “We just let them be themselves, and we enjoy life’s diversities with them.” The awards finals are at The Royal Lancaster Hotel in London on Thursday September 6.
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www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 7
PUB NEWS
HANDS-ON APPROACH
Newcastle’s latest railway-arch micropub opened this summer after a lengthy gestation period. Beer Street on Forth Street – next door to the burgeoning Box Social bar – is named after the 18th Century William Hogarth engraving which illustrates prosperous people going about honourable business – produced as an alternative to his earlier Gin Lane which portrayed a scene of urban desolation where “mothers’ ruin” was regarded as the curse of the poor. Customers are struck by the graffiti-style wall and curved ceiling coverings which emphasise the contemporary style of the two-level bar and its cutting edge approach. Hogarth’s Beer Street image was the starting point for artist Toby Heaps (aka Sune), but though he says much of his work is figurative, it presented a challenge. “I found I couldn’t get the detail with spray cans,” he says, “so I did it my way, a bit more loose.” Toby works with young offenders painting murals and getting them to channel their selfexpression into something creative rather than destructive. He is also artist-in-residence at the
Sage Gateshead and has even worked on a project with Prince Harry. He says: “He’s a lovely bloke; I feel very lucky to be doing what I do.” Joint owners Pete Allan and Karl Parkin (with their respective partners), are delighted with Toby’s interior design which sets the tone they were after and helped get the pub successfully off the ground. Pete says: “It’s going well, heading in the right Well covered: Toby Heaps (aka Sune) direction. It took a long time at Beer Street. Photo: Peter Skelton to get it open, everything kept getting put back but which can be part of the fun,” he says. “I still look in the end it all came good. Week on week it’s around and think ‘that would be a brilliant place picking up, so we’re very happy.” to paint’.” Despite enjoying a regular stream of work, He was also commissioned to paint a wall at Toby says he does all sorts of different things; the car park wall at the Brandling Villa in South being a freelancer is always a case of boom or Gosforth, owned by the equally creative Dave bust. “You never know what’s round the corner
THE
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PUB NEWS
NEW LIFE FOR OLDEST PUB
Carr. Once a piece is finished though, what does he think of it? “Most creative people are really, really harsh on themselves,” he says. “For example, I never hang any of my own work up at home – I can see all the mistakes.”
1724 and all that: Charlie Crowlet at The Clarendon
The Tall Ships extravaganza this summer gave Sunderland and its surroundings a well-earned economic boost. And none more so than The Clarendon in the east end of the city from where much of the nautical action could be observed. Pub owner John Taylor – head brewer at The Stables, Beamish Hall – has appointed Charlie Crowley as the new tenant , a man eager to take the business forward, having previously worked there. “Charlie has now taken on the tenancy himself,” says John. “He’s a local lad and although he’s never run a pub on his own before, it’s all he’s ever wanted to do. He’s a good, honest, hard-working lad. “It will act as The Stables brewery tap. We’ll
start with two handpulls – it’s been a lot of years since the pub has had cask ale available so it’ll be a bit of an uphill push.” Charlie Crowley will run The Clarendon along the lines of a micropub with shorter opening hours the norm, more than likely 2pm till 9pm. He has begun a programme of live Sunday afternoon music with bands already booked till Christmas. The Clarendon is the oldest licenced premises in Sunderland, first opened in 1724 as a “beer house” before it obtained a full licence in 1753. However, it’s the quality of the beer and the ambience created that is its future. Hardworking Charlie Crowley will see to that.
STEEL RIGG
PORTER
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CULTURE
A SCRIPT FOR GUINNESS
A play that started life as a Facebook conversation that gained a large following has its British premiere in Newcastle when it comes to Live Theatre, Newcastle, and The Peacock in Sunderland this month. The hilarious and provocative Two Pints by Roddy Doyle, the Irish novelist, dramatist and screenwriter renowned for The Commitments, Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha, The Van, and numerous other novels and plays. Doyle has brought the internet characters to life where two men meet in a pub for a pint, to chew the fat and set the world to rights. A bar has been constructed at Live Theatre, stocked with Guinness – full strength for the audience and low strength for the actors who drink three pints each during the show which became a sell-out success touring pubs across Ireland last year.
10 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk
Roddy Doyle said: “When I wrote Two Pints, I didn’t envisage Lorcan Craniton and Liam it being performed in Carney in Two Pints. a pub, but it is part of Photo: Ros Cavanagh the adventure. The play is being put on in from Abbey Theatre, who are the National a context that is unfamiliar to me – that excites Theatre of Ireland to The Peacock in Sunderland me.” is a real coup. The play will undoubtedly be Joe Douglas, artistic director at Live Theatre, a highlight of the autumn programme of said: “Audiences can get a pint, pull up a chair Sunderland Stages, the performance programme and listen in to the conversation at the bar. of theatre, dance and spoken word presented in Wherever you see Two Pints expect big laughs venues and unusual spaces around the city.” and good craic.” As well as producing and presenting new In Sunderland, the performance takes place plays, Live Theatre seeks out creative talent with in the perfect pub-setting of the beautifully a high proportion of its work regularly touring to restored The Peacock pub on Keel Square. other venues across the UK and internationally. Helen Green, head of performance at Details and tickets: www.live.org,uk Sunderland Culture, said: “Bringing Two Pints
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IN WITH THE NEW Newcastle’s Benton suburb isn’t short of a pub or two – and decent ones at that – with the Benton Ale House, the Black Bull, Newton Park and the Ship Inn all within strolling distance of Four Lane Ends Metro station and transport hub. It’s a busy shopping area too with plenty of cafes and the like to attract custom from miles around. The Black Bull, owned by the massive Greene King group (2,900 pubs and counting), has recently undergone an extensive refurbishment to bring it in line with contemporary drinking,
dining and entertainment. General manager Sophie Parker says: “It’s a different bar altogether from what it used to be. We’ve got loads of new faces coming in for our craft beers, real ales and premium lagers and ciders. They’re all being attracted by the selection.” First impressions count, so a wellappointed and attractively planted front beer garden gives the road house-style pub a distinct advantage. Inside, it has clearly delineated areas for socialising while the attractively-shaped areas reduce
NEW FACES
the undoubted size of the place into manageable chunks while still retaining plenty of elbow room. Large picture windows, particularly attractive bays, let in plenty of natural light which emphasises the pub’s comfort – as does possibly the longest deepbuttoned settee in any pub anywhere. A terrific drinks range accompanies a collection of seven television screens primarily for
showing sport while a pool table also caters for closer-to-home live action. Doing The Black Bull proud on handpull are Anarchy Citra Star, Greene King Abbot Ale and IPA plus Rosie’s Pig Cider, with BrewDog Punk IPA, Beavertown Neck Oil and Camden Helles Lager on keg taps and a fridge full of bottled and canned goodies. And there are more than a dozen gins to choose from (“perfect or we’ll replace it free”). Meals range from burgers, sandwiches and sharing plates to Sunday roasts alongside steaks, chicken dishes, local favourites, plus pub classics such as ovenbaked lasagne, beef and ale pie and hunter’s chicken and must-try Yorkie wraps filled with chicken breast, sliced beef or vegetable curry options. Regular events such as a quiz night, karaoke sessions, local radio DJ, live music and fizz weekends are entertainment specials that should keep those newly-varnished doors swinging. The Black Bull, Front Street, Benton, Newcastle NE7 7XE. Tel: 0191 266 2103.
FORGING GREAT REAL ALES Get in touch RUFUS (BREWERY) Tel : 01207 591 540
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BENEFIT GIGS
JUST ASKING FOR A FRIEND Pub regulars who enjoy their music live and rockin’ will be familiar with The Palominos, plus Sour Mash and Honey Bop trios, three of the region’s most anticipated and much-loved bands. It’s crushing to report that Davy Patton, a long-time member of all three groups, suffered a life-changing condition earlier this year – a few months after he and his wife Ailsa left Tyneside for new horizons in Glasgow. However, he is slowly showing positive signs, as Julie Campbell, joint owner of the Mean Eyed Cat in Newcastle, says: “With the devotion of his wonderful wife Ailsa and the amazing NHS medical care it is hoped that Davy will make a steady recovery but it will take a very, very long time. “Davy is a fantastic musician and a wonderful man, who we are lucky enough to call a very good and very
14 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk
close friend – and a very good friend of many Cheers readers. “During the recovery process it’s likely that some very specific therapies will be highly beneficial to him and there is also the possibility that adaptations will be needed to their home environment. With this in mind we have started the process of raising benefit funds to help to ease their way through this difficult time.” Friends and colleagues have rallied round to organise a series of benefit events with the first on Sunday September 16 – a cycle ride from Mean-Eyed Cat to Rowlands Gill (with a few hostelry stops in between). The second will be the following Sunday (September 23) at The Cluny with an extravaganza of music featuring five, local Rockabilly/Americana bands – Sour Mash Trio, The Palominos, Honey Bop Trio, The Groovediggers and Lil’ Miss Mary & The Mr Rights –
running from early afternoon into the evening. It’s important to note that Davy Patton is a youthful mid-fifties creative and energetic guy and that conditions like strokes are not confined to the elderly. Fellow musician Joe Guillan says: “Please take the time to support a good pal who’s in a shit spot.” Julie Campbell says: “We’ve set up Facebook event pages for each of these so please keep a watch on the Mean Eyed Cat NCL page for more information on how to help, join in or get tickets. “Remember the aim here is to collect as much money as possible to help a friend who, until this devastating event, was a selfemployed musician. Please help and let us know if you can offer support.” Details: facebook.com/ meaneyedcatNCL/ thecluny.com
BENEFIT GIGS
T H E G R E AT
NORTH EAST
BREWERY
GUIDE
THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO T H E R E G IO N ’ S F I N E ST B R EW E R I E S
Brio Trio: Davy Patton, right, with Mickie Downey, left, and James Stephenson. Photo: Juan Fitzgerald/Charles Holley
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COVER STORY
FERMENTER MENTOR Today’s brewer has to cope with more than the daily commute, as Alastair Gilmour discovers Click on to any music festival website and you’ll discover an encouraging crossover of international acts – with British ones involved at every beat. Similarly in sport; Team Sky’s Michał Kwiatkowsk is inspired by Geraint Evans and vice-versa. Tennis is even more eclectic. Twenty-time grand slam winner Roger Federer’s current coach is Ivan Ljubicic. Brewing is no different. We in the UK learn from the US, they in turn lean on Europe for inspiration; brewers from Ecuador to Osaka learn how to make beer in Sunderland; Manchester develops friendships with Leeds, and Liverpool enjoys a healthy relationship with Newcastle. Which brings us to Ben Wilkinson, Wylam Brewery’s head brewer in Newcastle and hands-on top cat at Gateshead-based sister brewery By The River Brew Co. Ben’s passport is probably floppy with use and he’s covered more miles in the UK than a train driver’s sandwich. And it’s all in the name of beer. Ben and the team at Wylam and By The River – two separate companies but united by abv – are in constant demand across the country and internationally for brewing collaborations, tap takeovers and meet-the-brewer events. It’s an exhausting schedule (remember, they all have day-jobs) but a modern brewer’s phenomenon. Take Ben’s recent “ordinary” week. Monday, a Northern Monk collaboration in Leeds for By The River Brew Co, then off to work with Track Brewing in Manchester. Tuesday, left Manchester for Deya Brewing in Cheltenham. Wednesday, from Cheltenham to Bristol and Left Handed 16 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk
Giant, one of the country’s most highly-rated outfits. Thursday, home and overseeing brewing at Wylam. Before our chat for this article, Ben, Lee Howourth and Chris Lee have been brewing a Farmhouse IPA at Wylam alongside visiting Browar Stu Mostow craft brewery from Wrocław, “the Polish capital of good beer”. “We’re being represented at De Molen’s Borefts festival in Bodegraven, the Netherlands, in September,” says Ben. “It’s great to be asked. There are only twenty breweries invited and that’s it. I met the great Menno Olivier in Sweden last year although I’ve been a huge fan of his beers since 2009…. It was like meeting your hero! “They hand pick breweries and keg beers to pour at the festival. Menno personally requested that we include some of our cask beers which is great to know – cask is still important for us. “We’ve been asked to do a return collaboration with Anchor Brewing, so it’s possibly San Francisco early in the new year. Brewmaster Scott Ungermann and myself developed a recipe for an IPA which we brewed at Wylam, then I’ll brew exactly the same beer in San Francisco with their yeasts, malts and water profile to see how differently they come out. So, its Kill Phil Volume 1 and Volume 2. “The beer went out there in August completely under cold chain storage arriving within eight days – with the help of James Clay (the West Yorkshire-based independent importers and distributors of specialist craft beers). “I think some people tend to forget what James Clay has done over the years for the beer industry, through
Where to next?: Ben Wilkinson at By The River Brew Co. Photo: Peter Skelton Left: With brewers from Browar Stu Mostow, Poland.
COVER STORY representatives like Bruce Virgo in the North East.” There’s also a collaboration with Alefarm, a brewery in Copenhagen where Ben produced only the second brew on their new kit. Alefarm brew craft beer with a focus on modern hoppy offerings and a wide array of unique, flavourful mixed-fermentation farmhouse ales. Ben is also experimenting with Belgian styles and brewing with British heritage malts such as Chevallier, a long-neglected British barley variety that fell out of favour when higher-yield varieties came along. “It’s good to travel to new places and get to a new country, town or scene, meeting people who you have been following for years,” he says. Judging by his international profile, they’ve also taken note of the Wilkinson effect. Preparations are well advanced for Craft Beer Calling in October – Wylam Brewery’s special home game is simply one weekend dedicated to an assembly of some of the world’s leading craft breweries all under one roof. Ben’s passport is back in action for Gothenburg, Sweden, in November and the All In Beer Fest which is about quality over
“BE PART OF THE FESTIVAL, BRING SOME CASK BEER” quantity. Invited brewers here tend to be smaller establishments from Sweden, Denmark and the US and the selection of brews they bring to the festival is world-class. Ben says: “We also kept our word to take beer to Beavertown’s Extravaganza Festival in London (despite the uproar from some other brewers and the general public after the company sold a stake in the business to Heineken for a reported £40m). It’s not our style to back out of anything.” Berlin is also on the horizon – the craft brewing sector in Germany has been slow off the mark with many brewers wary of producing beer that doesn’t conform to the Reinheitsgebot, the country’s purity laws. Ben mentions Brlo Brwhouse, a small-batch container craft brewery, in glowing terms, and has brewed beer with Fuerst Wiacek a brewery in Berlin-Spandau. “They produce great beers and are really good guys,” says Ben. “They’re coming to Wylam to brew with us at some point soon.” With all that in mind, should we moan about paying a little bit more for the national and international influence on our Newcastle and Gateshead beers? No siree. As Ben Wilkinson says: “People now appreciate what goes into their beer and recognize they can be expensive for a reason. It’s not about taking a slab back home to skull.” www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 17
BREWERY NEWS
FREEDOM FOR HARTLEPOOL
Being153 years old doesn’t stop you coming up with fresh, new ideas. Camerons Brewery, born in Hartlepool in 1865, has installed a nano-brewery and bar area within the main brewing site to develop a range of beers developed by staff from its 500-plus workforce. Called Tooth & Claw (in deference to the Camerons lion logo) it has the capacity to brew 70-litre runs, and quickly totted up the involvement of 30 volunteers from all parts of the business. The collective of enthusiasts covering craft beer enthusiasts who have never brewed a pint in their lives to brewing experts is dedicated to producing a range of innovative beer styles in total creative freedom. Using the small pilot brewery, the Tooth & Claw team’s aim is to brew more than 40 different gyles a year with a selection of the very best being scaled up in 16-hectolitre brews and sold as limited edition runs across bottle shops
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Pilot brewer: Simon Whittington at Tooth & Claw and pubs predominately in the North East. The first two beers into production were Peach Cream Pale which was developed by lab technician Matthew Coates, and Breakfast Stout, created by development brewer Simon Whittington. Both beers have been packaged in keg and bottle and sold across the Head of Steam pub group. Chris Deakin, director of brewing operations at Camerons, says: “One of the first things I noticed on joining Camerons was the
workforce’s commitment and passion, with plenty of enthusiastic craft beer aficionados to boot, so I decided to give them a place to create. I’ve always worked on the basis that if you give people the opportunity, the freedom to decide, the autonomy and belief, then great stuff happens.” As well as collaborations with fellow brewers, the Tooth & Claw team is inviting local businesses, trade journalists and bloggers to have a go at creating their own beers.
BEN & LAURA WELCOME YOU TO DURHAM’S FIRST INDEPENDENT BOTTLE SHOP AND TAPS OPENING TIMES: WEDS & THURS 2pm - 8pm, FRI 2pm - 9pm, SAT 12pm - 9pm, SUN 12pm - 4pm
Follow the page on Facebook for events. We have tap takeovers with meet the brewer, bring your own vinyl, Mikkeller running club and much more....
32 Marshall Terrace, Durham, DH1 2HX
@TheHopKnocker
BEER AND BREWERY NEWS
Voila: James Davie-Baguley, right, with customer Lee Kelly
STORMING ALONG
When you name your brewing and beerrelated company Black Storm, it’s perhaps a forecast that business will sweep along relentlessly. And so it is proving with the Whitley Bay-based firm. Its inaugural pub, The Storm Lounge, is proving
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very popular – and a site in North Shields is coming close to being agreed on with more ideas in the heads of managing director Paul Hughes and operations manager James Davie-Baguley. Their newly-opened Beer Box at the STACK social hub on Newcastle’s Pilgrim Street/New Bridge Street is performing up to, and exceeding, expectations. But there’s even more… “We’ve purchased Autumn Brewing, the glutenfree beer specialist, and brought it into the Black Storm family,” says James. “We’re very happy with the fit and really excited about what it can bring.” Autumn Brewing produces high quality glutenfree beers using brewing alternatives to barley
such as rice, millett and quinoa. “We’re still in the early stages of building the business and we’re looking at every opportunity,” says James. “We’ve launched our own Storm Gin and looking at opening another Beer Box in Newcastle. With Beer Box we’re starting small but thinking big. Our STACK store might be only 20 foot by eight foot but we’ve packed it with the most innovative craft beers from the UK and worldwide. “We’re really excited; it’s mental.” As for its own beers, Black Storm Porter – one in a core range of four traditional styles – has been named the UK’s best porter in the World Beer Awards. Paul Hughes says: “It’s a pat on the back for the Black Storm team and our supporters that our passion for beer and precision with flavours has been recognised at international level.” For the time being, the Black Storm range is contracted out but a fully functioning brewery is also on the cards. James says: “Paul and I bring different skill sets to the business and he’s building the company really well. We’ve introduced great initiatives such as Beer Box offering 15% discount to members of the armed forces, the police and NHS staff.” In weather forecast parlance, Black Storm is intensifying – or as James says, “it’s mental”.
NEW FACES
A SPLASH OF ENTERPRISE
When your first production run of 50,000 runs out in three months, you might start to think you’re onto a winner. Lixir Tonic is the creation of Newcastle University graduates Jordan Palmer and Matt Mahatme did exactly that. The range of five flavours blend stunningly well with gin and darker spirits as well as lengthening a glass of white wine in pleasant fashion. The dynamic duo have signed up several bars and pub groups in Newcastle and around the North East to the Lixir brand and are also in advanced talks with Washington and Middlesbrough-based LWC Distributors who know a thing or two about getting liquid to lips. “We’ll expand out of the region and nationally once we feel it’s right,” says Jordan. “The two of us are still working in bars, mostly at weekends. It’s invaluable experience and helps us get to know the trade better and what people want. Plus, when we go out to meet people in the business we can talk the same language.
Just the tonic: Jordan Palmer, left, and Matt Mahatme with their Lixir range “Our first product was launched in May at a Gin Discovery event in Fenwicks, Newcastle, following a reward-based crowdfunding initiative. It reached the £16,500 target in 35 days.” Jordan and Matt had been experimenting with tonics since 2016, mixing syrups and soda water concoctions in their kitchen and testing them out on friends. Both had gone into drinks retailing – coincidentally – Jordan representing Guinness for Diageo and Matt beating a similar path with spirits giant William Grant (Glenfiddich, Hendrick’s Gin).
But it became difficult to juggle full-time jobs with 16 months of market research, experimentation and putting out feelers. Jordan says: “Like everybody else, we love a good G&T. However, we believe tonic water is so much more than just a great pairing with gin. “It’s all about brand awareness at the moment. The bottles look great in the fridge in a bar and local spirits companies have given us a lot of support.” Local customers too, we suspect. Detail: lixirtonic.co.uk
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www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 21
NEWS IN BRIEF
One of the UK’s leading suppliers of wine and spirits to the trade.
Grape expectations: A vineyard in Alsace
SMALL MEASURES
SACRE BLEU: French agricultural ministry experts say this summer’s scorching weather boosted grape growth and allowed an early harvest in northern regions in particular such as Champagne and Alsace. Wine output for 2018 is estimated at 46.1 million hectolitres – up 25% on the weather-ravaged harvest of 2017 when hailstones fell in June and a late frost lingered. A hectolitre represents 133 standard bottles of wine. You do les mathématiques. BRONZE BEAUTY: Durham Magus has been selected for a bronze medal in the speciality beer category of the 2018 International Beer Challenge in partnership with Drinks Retailing News. Magus (3.8% abv) is straw-coloured and aromatically hoppy with a clean, bitter mouthfeel and lingering citrus-dry finish. In other words, it’s a bit special.
www.lanchesterwines.co.uk
01207 52 1234 / sales@lanchesterwines.co.uk
22 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk
SHARP INTAKE: Europe’s first student-run microbrewery is recruiting brewers for the new university term. More than 500 students have been involved with Stu Brew since its launch in August 2013 – in leadership roles to guide and deliver the microbrewery enterprise, in practical volunteering to develop recipes, brew and cask beers, and through linked market research and academic projects.
Profits are invested into training, development and overall sustainability, such as hops grown on student allotments and hot water recovery systems to make the process more energy efficient. Spent malt is sent to a local farmer for animal feed and hop residue gets composted on the allotments. Stu Brew has won international awards for enterprise and sustainability, including this year’s silver in the sustainability category of the prestigious Reimagine Education Awards in the US. Beers can usually be found around Newcastle pubs – the Crows’ Nest and Town Mouse among them.
PURPOSE HAZE: Do you like your beer to be crystal clear or do you enjoy an unfiltered haze through your pint? Either way, haze is here to stay, according to trade group the US Brewers Association. Three juicy and hazy style have made it into the organisation’s beer style guidelines for this month’s Great American Beer Festival, with 706 entries in the categories Juicy or Hazy Pale Ale, Juicy or Hazy India Pale Ale and Juicy or Hazy Imperial or Double India Pale Ale – ousting American-style IPA which has historically enjoyed the highest number of entries. Results are announced on September 22 (visit www.brewersassociation.org)
WINE: COMMERCIAL FEATURE
A ROSÉ BY ANY OTHER NAME...
The (hopefully) hot September afternoons and balmy evenings are perfect for beer gardens. Rosé wine is the ideal warm weather wine – its light, crisp, cool and refreshing. And, this summer’s unusually warm weather provides a great opportunity to try something a little different when it comes to pink wine. Cheers caught up with Lanchester Wines’ Lesley Cook who told us about her favourite rosés. As you’d expect, there’s many different styles of rosé ranging through dry, sparkling and sweet, and there’s a rosé to suit all occasions. Rosé has become so popular in France it now eclipses sales of white wine! Rosé isn't from a specific grape or region; it's just a genre of wine, like red or white and most rosé wines are blends of multiple grapes. Some of the most common grape varieties used in dry/European-style rosé are Grenache, Sangiovese, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Carignan, Cinsault, and Pinot Noir. So, which rosés should you try? PROVENCE ROSÉ Provence rosé is one of the best-selling and fashionable styles of rosé. Its fruitiness and pale colour makes it instantly recognisable while its fresh, crisp, dry style is a masterful match for almost any dish. Of course Provence is the region rather than the grape so you’ll find Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah and Mourvèdre used to create
this pale, pink rosé with aromas of strawberry, fresh-cut watermelon, and rosé petal, finishing with a distinctive, salty minerality on the palate. But Provence style rosé doesn’t have to come from Provence… New York based Charles Bieler is one of America’s rosé pioneers and started making rosé with his father Phillippe at his Provence chateau. He then took this expertise back to the states where he’s joined forces with Washington winemaker Charles Smith. Working together the Charles & Charles range was born which includes an outstanding, limited edition Provence style rosé with an aromatic nose of raspberries and cherry. WHITE ZINFANDEL Staying in America, White Zinfandel is a Californian staple and globally, the best-selling rosé wine. Most White Zinfandel is made deliberately to an ‘off-dry’ style with high residual sugar making it sweet. You’ll want to serve it ice cold perhaps with spicy food. However, White Zinfandel is not a grape variety but a method of processing Zinfandel grapes, which would otherwise produce a bold and spicy red wine. And, it was invented by accident. "I was trying to make a white zinfandel which was really white," says winemaker Bob Trinchero, whose family owns both Sutter Home and Trinchero Family Estates.
"This wine just stopped fermenting, so I figured I'd wait and it would start fermenting again. When I came back, it was pink, even though it was white when I put it in the tank. And it was slightly sweet." SPARKLING ROSÉ Sales of Prosecco continue to soar so jump onto this trend through offering a sparkling rosé option. Prosecco, Cava, Champagne etc, all have rosé options, but why not go for something different and try a sparkling Moscato? Rosé Moscato wine is made with mostly Muscat grapes and usually a touch of Merlot or a other red grape to give it a ruby-pink colour. The McPherson Wine Company’s Princess Butterfly sparkling Moscato is a sure fire beer garden hit. With a light spritz, this sweet, low alcohol wine is perfectly balanced with lovely length and simple fruit flavours – strawberries and cream in a glass. And, such a sweet wine makes a wonderful accompaniment to many foods, particularly cuisines of Southern Asia and India. All the wines mentioned in this article are available across the North East. Ask your bar staff for more details or visit www.lanchesterwines.co.uk www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 23
CULTURE
FOLLOW THE GALLOWGATE LAD
North East pubs were the making of a Tyneside legend Like many entertainers today, Joe Wilson spent much of his professional working life in drinking establishments. It’s where most learn their trade and in Joe’s case and that of Ned Corvan (the region’s first music-hall superstar), where they regularly stared death in the face, both eventually contracting tuberculosis due to the close proximity of “the great unwashed” audience and their airborne bacteria. Joe Wilson was born in 1841 in Stowell Street in Gallowgate, Newcastle, opposite the Northumberland Arms pub (now Rosie’s Bar). He wrote around 360 songs in his brief existence – he died in 1875 aged 33 – and deservedly earned the accolade The Bard of Tyneside. I mean, how can you not
admire a bloke who wrote a song called (When I Marry) The Landlord's Daughter?” A chronicler of working class life, he wrote about day-to-day subjects like romance and lost love but he wasn't averse to tackling grittier issues such as domestic violence, poverty and drunkenness. He also wrote songs for, and performed in support of, striking engineering workers. A star throughout the North East, he is buried in Jesmond Old Cemetery, where people still gather to sing his most famous songs Keep Your Feet Still Geordie Hinny, Gallowgate Lad and Sally Wheatley. A new play The Great Joe Wilson is written by South Shields-based playwright and former Vaux Breweries publicist Ed Waugh is touring the North East this month. Ed has had hit plays
with Mr Corvan's Music Hall which toured the region to great acclaim last year, and Hadaway Harry which also played London in 2017 and sold out Newcastle Theatre Royal where it received standing ovations. Both Ned Corvan and Harry Clasper – the subjects of these remarkable plays – were pub landlords. (There seems to be a theme emerging in Waugh’s writing!) Ed Waugh says: “Joe Wilson was up there with the great singersongwriters and like Dylan, Weller and Alan Hull he could encapsulate a brilliant story in a few verses. Working class people wanted a good night out and Joe, who sang in the Tyneside vernacular, spoke to them directly. His
2018 GIN BAR & BEER FESTIVAL M P 1 1 2PM
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songs combined humour and emotion. People bought his songsheets and sang in pubs and on the streets. “His work is magnificent and we’re delighted to have songs for the show whereby Pete Scott and Alex Glasgow have put fantastic tunes to Joe’s words.” The Great Joe Wilson drama revolves around his rise and tragic fall
CULTURE Shields (next to The Steamboat) in 1869, where he was also stage manager, but the venture was doomed to failure as the owner – a Mr Siddall – refused to allow alcoholic drinks to be taken into the auditorium. His next ports of call were theatres in Spennymoor and Carlisle. Ed Waugh says: “Thanks to Dave Harker’s excellent book The Gallowgate Lad: Joe Wilson’s Songs and Life, we have been able to follow him from cradle to grave. In December 1871 Joe and his wife Isabella returned to Newcastle to run The Adelaide pub in New Bridge Street but it was such an experience it turned him teetotal. Sadly, his life spiralled into hardship. To pay back debts he lost control of his copyrights and ended up in poverty, living behind Newcastle Central Station. “He continued to perform even though TB was ravaging his body. His life may have ended tragically young, but he left a magnificent legacy – Keep your feet still: work that is inspirational and still Micky Cochrane, Sarah Boulter and stands up to this day, 150 years later.” Jordan Miller in The Great Joe Wilson. Tour details: Far left: The former Traveller's www.wisecrackproductions.co.uk/ HALF PAGE ADVERT.pdf 1 25/04/2018 13:56 Rest in Newcastle joewilson
but, like everything Ed Waugh writes, you can guarantee he has inserted large quantities of comedy to match the pathos. “It’s funny and sad but ultimately a tremendously uplifting story,” he says. “Joe Wilson became the region’s undisputed concert-hall superstar after the deaths of Geordie Ridley in 1864 and Ned Corvan in 1865 and, after a three-month residency at the 2,000-capacity Oxford (Balmbras Music Hall) in Newcastle’s Bigg
HOS_DURHAM_MAKEOVER
Market, he was soon in demand throughout the region’s burgeoning new venues, topping the bill in Newcastle’s Tyne Theatre plus in Sunderland, Stockton, Middlesbrough and Darlington.” Trained as a printer, Joe Wilson initially produced his lyrics above his sister’s pub, the Travellers Rest on Marlbrough Crescent (opposite today’s Centre for Life). Eventually marrying and settling down, he performed at the 2,000-capacity Alhambra in South
YET ANOTHER NAIL…?
Joe Wilson’s pub, the long-gone Adelaide, was in the same row next to Manors Station as The New Bridge. But there's sad news for lovers of traditional pubs – The New Bridge has been sold by the Sir John Fitzgerald group to 857 (NE) Ltd, a company set up in June 2018 with one active director. Notices stuck to the 134-year-old free-house windows of this fine street-corner building reads “closed for refurbishment”. The New Bridge was rumoured by pub regulars in July to be up for sale, but was open for the World Cup and well supported by locals and students. It closed suddenly in late July, since when nothing appears to have happened. “Toonguy” told Cheers North East: “An enquiry by text (to the number on the notice) on the future re-opening of the pub led to the response ‘Hi. Sorry we are not sure yet. Regards 857 Ltd.’ "We fear the worst.”
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BEER FESTIVAL
A RATHER FINE PORT OF CALL
When discussing the great beer nations of the world, the name Portugal isn’t likely to feature early in the conversation. But, like many other nations more noted for wine production, the potential and sheer willingness to make craft beer to a very high standard is driving brewers and customers into previously unexplored territory. A Portuguese Beer Festival runs throughout this month at Hemelvaart Bier Café in Ayton, Berwickshire – which sits six miles north of Berwick itself. The quirky pub’s owners John Atkinson and Phil Walker are as adventurous as they come in their quest for great beer, so they invited a couple of brewers they met at the Lisbon
Corned beef eater: Portuguese brewer and distributor José Diogo Trindade
The
Duke of Wellington Inn
Newton, Northumberland, NE43 7UL Tel: 01661 844446 www.dukeofwellingtoninn.co.uk
5* GOLD ROSETTE QUALITY FOOD AND LUXURIOUS ACCOMMODATION FIZZY FRIDAY GLASS OF PROSECCO £3.50, BOTTLE OF PROSECCO £18.00 AVAILABLE ALL DAY
PUB QUIZ EVERY SECOND MONDAY (SEE WEBSITE FOR DATES) TEAMS OF UP TO 6 PEOPLE, ENTRY £1 PER PERSON, SUPPER & CASH PRIZES
SERVING 5 CASK ALES Duke of Wellington Newton @DukeinNewton
26 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk
Beer Festival earlier this summer to show and talk about their wares. António Lopes is a farmhouse brewer who imports Simpsons’ malt from Berwick for his company Lupum Wild Beers. “I was at a trade show in Nuremburg in Germany and Simpsons had a stand there,” he says. “I nibbled at their various malts and really liked them. My brewery wasn’t finished then but I told them I’d order their malt when it was. I did; I’m a man of my word.” António was recently invited to produce a beer to celebrate the third anniversary of the opening of Catraio, Porto’s first craft beer bar – so naturally he produced a Triple IPA. José Diogo Trindade is a “gypsy”
NEW FACES
brewer, producing his Lindinha Lucas Craft Beer portfolio on other people’s kit – and what a job he does with that too. He is also a beer distributor (Major Roçadas) and an aficionado of corned beef. Lindinha Lucas Session IPA (5.6% abv) with its underlying fruit and cream soda spritziness delivers bags of flavour in a real tonguedancer. Lupum Imperial Stout (13.4% abv) is a truly international affair – made with Ethiopian coffee beans roasted in a port wine cellar, also using Madagascan honey – with Simpsons’ roast malt emphasising its sheer quality and mighty backbone. There are nine Portuguese breweries beers on tap and in bottle at Hemelvaart’s festival – brown ales, American IPAs, lagers and saisons. It’s a heady feast of Iberian decadence. More information at: www. hemelvaart.co.uk, Facebook. com/LupumBeer/, Facebook. com/MajorRocadasCervejas/
3
PHOTO SHOOT
Here’s a round-up of recent images that sum up the working day, charity efforts, a nice view and a welcome initiative. 1T he chalkboard at The Bridge Tavern in Newcastle gets regular updates 2 Inside out at the classic Free Trade in Berwick 3C ycling for charity (Sunday For Sammy and Daft As A Brush) from The Schooner, Gateshead, to The Boathouse, Wylam. And back 4C afé Amsterdam pop-up descended on the Cumberland Arms, Byker, Newcastle
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Situated within the CAMRA Award winning pub The Little Angel, Whitby. A town full of culture, heritage and strange goings on. We pride ourselves on creating nothing short of the most unique, full bodied and flavoursome beers based on our brewing ethos. Newly established in 2017 we have made a huge impact on the local scene, with The Little Angel dedicating two of nine cask pumps to rotating the mouth-watering beers, this is due to the popularity of cask ales within the pub. We devote ourselves on naming Lady Luck beers after lucky, or not so lucky things, the ominous names of our beers such as Black Cat Porter and Magpie Mild symbolise the items that many associate with luck, good or bad… but don’t worry, our beers won’t bring you any misfortune, we don’t think…
www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 27
MOUNTAIN MAN
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RIVET DEEP MOUNTAIN HIGH Icelandic fact and fiction are bound together in a leather belt from Newcastle, as Alastair Gilmour reports
Happenstance makes the world go round. Many other factors do, but coincidence suits our story. On the same day that we came across a new brand of Icelandic gin and vodka, we bumped into a friend of a friend who helps supply leather goods to the phenomenon that is Game of Thrones. The owner of the distillery that produces Mountain Vodka and Eagle Gin in Iceland is none other than Hafthor “The Mountain” Björnsson, also known on screen as Gregor Clegane. Leather produced in Newcastle finds its way to the highly-successful television series which is about to air its ninth series. Mountain Vodka and Eagle Gin are handcrafted in Reykjavik with Icelandic water the key element in both. The vodka is glutenfree and distilled seven times so it feels extra smooth while standing strong at 40% abv.
Eagle Gin (43% abv) combines botanicals such as juniper berries, ginger, angelica, coriander and orange and lemon peel. Both are little short of amazing and worth toying with neat for extra sensuous pleasure. But what of the leather from Newcastle? Le Prevo Leathers, a company run by Stu Hails, started trading in 1972 and has since developed into a worldwide distribution company and wholesalers to numerous organisations that include the NHS and suppliers to film, television and theatre companies. Leather expert Will Stewart says: “We supplied leather scabbards, belts and quivers for the television production Vikings and similarly for the film Gladiator (starring Russell Crowe). “For Game of Thrones we sent them the
MOUNTAIN MAN raw materials – strips of leather for their in-house costume department. Their budgets are huge. We had to cut 700-plus straps at three different sizes so for something like that we have to figure out the most economical use of material. “There’s not enough work from the movie industry to be reliant on for business although we supply the people who make Thor’s armour in the Marvel cinema series. The bulk of our custom comes from hobbyists and semi-professional people making leather goods. “But it’s cool seeing some of what you’ve worked on or supplied on these programmes. I’ll watch them and say, ‘that’s one of ours’. It could even be a buckle or a brooch clip and it’s really interesting to see their interpretation of your leather and what it ends up as.” The leather in rolls on Le Prevo’s shelves – each dyed to different shades, hues and colours – comes from calves, pigs, goats and sheep and is all destined for different uses. The aroma is rich and heady – however the tools that cut, slice, punch, stitch and shape are somewhat less than romantic. “Mallets are very useful in this job,” says Will, grasping a hammer that has obviously pounded leather day in, day out for years. “And this is not a tool I enjoy using,” he says of some strange looking thingymabob that outevils its neighbouring chisels, hole punches, skivers, groovers, knives and edge finishers. All around the workshop are boxes and boxes of rivets, buckles, eyelets, D-rings, press studs, spikes and swivels waiting patiently for their opportunity to star in Game of Thrones or its ilk. Will says: “Everything is in its place and the leather is all in order although it probably doesn’t make sense to anybody else. This can also be a physically demanding job – with rolls of leather weighing 20 kilos and boxes weighing 25 kilos to shift around.” That sort of activity is meat and drink to Hafthor “The Mountain” Björnsson, who stands six foot nine, weighs 185kg (29 stone,
Cutting edge: Leather worker Will Stewart 1lb) and is officially the world’s strongest man. “Coincidentally the mountain is one of four ancient Icelandic spirits, going back to Viking mythology,” says Gerard Connolly who is importing Mountain Vodka and Eagle Gin into the UK from his Northumberland base. “We showed them at the Imbibe Exhibition in London last month and had a great response. We have gained several listings in North East pubs so far, but would obviously like to reach a wider audience.” In his free time, Will Stewart takes part in battle re-enactments, usually from a Viking period of history and has played a soldier at Segedunum, Binchester and Arbeia Roman forts along Hadrian’s Wall. Back in the workshop, Stu Hails carefully unrolls a thick, textured skin. It is tanned Russian reindeer leather dating from the 18th Century and was part of a cargo on a ship sailing from the Baltic bound for Italy when it foundered in the English Channel. It sank in 100 feet of water and was covered in ten feet of mud which preserved it. Stu says: “The Prince of Wales owns all shipwrecks around the coast, so we had to get special permission to obtain it. I’ve been waiting 35 years for that special job to do something with it.”
Needless to say, Mountain Vodka and Eagle Gin won’t hang around that long. Like the workshop at Le Prevo, their aroma
is rich and heady. Coincidence? Sales of Mountain Vodka and Eagle Gin are via www.partnerships.com
www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 30
FUN STUFF
SIGN OF THE TIMES The humour displayed on political demonstration placards is often spot-on. Wit transcends hatred and gets to the point more effectively. Here’s one we liked from a Donald Trump protest march.
THE DIRTY DOZEN
ANOTHER FINE MESS OF QUESTIONS TO ASK AROUND THE TABLE 1 Whose annual salary is £152,819? 2 A Daiquiri is made from fruit juice and which spirit? 3 US cyclist Lawson Craddock was the recipient of this year’s Tour de France Lanterne Rouge (Red Light), traditionally ‘awarded’ to the last man to finish. In what way was he unique in the 115-year history of the event? 4 What are artists’ camel-hair brushes made from? 5 In baseball, what is the distance in feet between bases?
A MAN WALKS INTO A BAR… …AND SAYS TO THE BARMAN: “WAS THAT THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR EDUCATION YOU’VE JUST SERVED?” THE BARMAN SAYS: “YES IT WAS. HE ORDERED A WHISKY SO I ASKED ‘TEACHERS OK?’ AND HE REPLIED, ‘DO I LOOK AS THOUGH I GIVE A TOSS?’”
EEH! NUMBERS
6 What toy was invented by Ole Kirk Christiansen? 7 What links Mario Zagallo, Franz Beckenbauer and Didier Deschamps? 8 Name four FI racing drivers with names linked to places in Scotland (could be tricky). 9 In currency, the Croatian kuna is divided into 100 what? 10 What substance is around 90% of the Earth’s core made from? 11 Born in 1890 as Arthur Jefferson, by what name was he better known? 12 Moving clockwise round a dart board, what number is next to 19?
6
5.0% abv, the average strength of a glass of beer in Poland. 5 A YouGov survey on flexible working has found that only six per cent of UK workers now does a 9-5 shift. 5 In mathematics, the number five is the first Wilson prime, the third factorial prime, and an alternating factorial. Five is also the first good prime. 5 The number of arms/legs on most starfish. 5 In ice hockey, the area between the goalkeeper’s legs is called the five-hole.
QUOTE
“I’M GOING TO HAVE A BURGER AND CERTAINLY A BEER OR TWO” GERAINT THOMAS ON SECURING THE YELLOW JERSEY IN THE 2018 TOUR DE FRANCE AFTER THE 20TH STAGE OF THE RACE.
QUIZ ANSWERS: 1 Prime minister Teresa May’s. 2 White rum. 3 He is the only man to finish last in every stage of the race (but still only 4hr 34min behind winner Geraint Thomas after 21 stages and more than 3,000 kilometres). 4 Hairs from squirrels’ tails. 5 Ninety. 6 Lego. 7 Won the World Cup as player and manager. 8 Eddie Irvine, Lewis Hamilton, Stirling Moss, Ayr Town Centre. 9 Lipas. 10 Iron. 11 Stan Laurel. 12 Seven. UNIVERSALLY CHALLENGED: In the July/August issue we asked how many times would the Earth fit inside the Sun. Not 109 as we thought, but 1092. In the June issue we mistakenly thought that Wetherby was the only Yorkshire racecourse never to stage flat racing. It has done so since April 2015. 31 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk
PROUD TO BREW THE
BEST PORTER