Cheers North East magazine #86 - Dec 2018 / Jan 2019

cheers WWW.CHEERSNORTHEAST.CO.UK // DEC 2018/JAN 2019 // ISSUE 86

I T ’ S

A B O U T

P U B S ,

P E O P L E ,

B E E R

CARTOON CHARACTERS THE CREATIVES BEHIND VIZ

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WELCOME Just as we enter the final straight of the year, we’re hit by the realisation that one in four pubs have closed since 2000. It’s a disturbing statistic but one we shouldn’t really be surprised at, given the parlous state of the high street and the simple fact that people don’t have the money to go out as much.

Austerity is over, eh?

Many of you have had a great year, some of us are soso, but others have not been so fortunate, and overall there always seems to be an air of constant struggle. It’s one thing after another.

But let’s face 2019 with renewed vigour and see all the hard work paying off.

As is customary at this time of year, we’d like to take this opportunity to thank our various contributors and our brilliant commercial partners who know the power of a great medium and without whom we simply could not exist.

Then there is you, dear reader. Thank you for your continued loyal support and your positive messages (turn to page 52 and see what many readers think of our magazine). Yes, we’ll get quiz answers wrong and allow the odd error to creep in, but we’re doing our best for everybody and your support is all very much appreciated.

CONTENTS 14

Creativity and great pubs go together.

They’re ideal places to observe people at leisure and to eavesdrop on dialogue – plus there’s many a novel that could be written from stories gathered while sitting in a corner supping a pint. Characters from the venerable comic Viz have invariably started life in a pub somewhere, so we celebrate that by talking to three of the cartoonists who created them.

Simon Thorp, Davey Jones and Alex Collier reveal their relationships with beer, pubs – and each other.

COVER: ALEX RATTRAY, NEW SENIOR CRAFT BREWER AT SONNET 43. PHOTO: PETER SKELTON

WE SAW A GAP IN THE MARKET FOR BEERS FOR ITALIAN RESTAURANTS

Have a happy and safe festive season.

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

THE ART AND CRAFT OF VIZ

DANIEL VECSEY BREWLAB

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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

THE GRAND OLD DAME OF YORK A former Cheers cover “girl” has decided to call it a day. York Theatre Royal’s regular panto dame Berwick Kaler is to hand up his ginger wig plus countless frocks and props when this season’s run of performances come to an end on Saturday February 2.

Berwick Kaler, who was born in Sunderland and has starred in pantomimes for 50 years – 40 of those at York – featured on the cover of Cheers in December 2013. He writes and co-directs every production which always begins with the introduction: “Me babbies, me bairns”.

The Grand Old Dame of York is his wellearned farewell.

During our interview with him five years ago (armed with a giant inflatable Newcastle Brown Ale bottle), he revealed that rocker Suzi Quattro is a regular audience member but Berwick is so well known in York that when they stride out in the city together, people will say, “Who’s that with Berwick Kaler?”

We wish him a long and happy retirement – break a leg, Berwick.

REDUCE TO EXPAND

Battlesteads Hotel and Restaurant (and fine pub) in Wark, Northumberland, is setting the standard for energy saving and environmental responsibility in hotels, after recording a carbon footprint five times lower than the industry average.

The award-winning eco hotel has been tracking its energy usage since 2012, and in that time has reduced its carbon footprint from 24.64kg CO2 per room night to just 5.85kg CO2 per room night in 2017.

Carbon footprint is measured by the Hotel Carbon Measurement Initiative, the accepted standard for the hospitality industry which has set the benchmark for hotels at 31.1kg CO2 per

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room night – more than five times greater that Battlesteads’ figures.

Richard Slade, owner of Battlesteads, said: “Initiatives like switching to 100% green energy supplier Ecotricity, installing a biomass boiler, producing solar energy on-site, being very selective with our suppliers and constantly looking for new ways to save energy all help pave the way for a new generation of environmentallyconscious, sustainable hotels while also increasing our occupancy.”

Battlesteads has also been named Editor’s Choice in the newly-published Good Hotel Guide 2019 for eco-friendly hotels which highlights the top ten hotels in 16 categories.

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NEWS

NETHERLANDS UPON TYNE

The Café Amsterdam series of pop-up events is really getting into its stride. The brainchild of Andy Hickson (right), manager of The Green at Wardley, Gateshead, is a celebration of Dutch beer, genevers and tasty pub snacks that Holland is renowned for.

It’s not easy to create Netherlands upon Tyne but Andy took another step in that direction through a collaboration with Flash House Brewery in North Shields and their regular Saturday open days.

Andy has opened our eyes to beery delights

from Brouwerij Kaas, De Molen, Frontaal, Viltje and Brouwerij Vandenbrock, and in the process flying the flag for our North Sea neighbours. The next Café Amsterdam appearance is on December 14-16 as part of the Festoon Winter Social at Warehouse 34, Hoult’s Yard, Walker Road, Newcastle, alongside Belgian beer specialists Lanterne Rouge and Moxie Beer Truck who are presenting some of the most popular beer styles available throughout Europe. 2pm-11pm. Free entry.

ONE FOR THE MANTELPIECE Cheers editor Alastair Gilmour has received an award from the British Guild of Beer Writers for his contribution to regional beer writing.

Chairman of the judging panel, Adrian Tierney-Jones, said: “Our winner showed incredible knowledge of his local beer and brewing scene; has a distinctive voice, well-honed words, sparky, perky voice, gorgeous production values and tells stories about beer, brewing, pubs and people which made the judges want to get up to the North East as soon as possible.”

Alastair says: “It’s a great honour but it’s really

Winner: Alastair Gilmour with Sarah Fisk from sponsors Adnams for all of you folks who are doing such great things that make my job a pleasure.”

The organisation also named Brighton-based writer Emma Inch as its overall writer of the year.

Full results at www.beerguild.co.uk

BRIGHT LIGHTS BIG CITY Emma Howe, Cheers sales manager, is leaving us after five successful years, locating to London to be with her partner. Emma’s new job is with The First Mile company where she will work with businesses to encourage them to understand the importance of an environmentally-friendly workspace and to encourage them to work “green”. The company was recently awarded Green Infrastructure Project 2018 at the Business Green Leaders Awards and has been shortlisted for a Positive Impact Award at the UK Business Awards.

During her time on Cheers, Emma has forged many good relationships with pubs, breweries and associated trades and has also been heavily involved in the production of two brewery guide publications. Never one to sit on the fence or shy to offer an opinion, whether it be on the best beer to drink or the performance of her beloved Newcastle United, she’s quite a character and will be a real miss – we wish her all the very best for the future.

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NEWS

GREAT COMMUNITY SPIRIT A Newcastle pub has come up with a way of helping vulnerable people in the east end of the city this Christmas with an event aimed at helping the less fortunate. The Northumberland Hussar in Heaton is launching a Buy One Give One Free event this month – a day when the pub will provide a hot Christmas dinner for a vulnerable member of the community for every meal purchased by a customer.

In a link-up with Byker Community Centre, the pub’s staff are volunteering to cook and serve a traditional turkey dinner at the centre for those who might otherwise miss out.

The pub is also encouraging a “toy drop” at the pub, where customers can donate gifts that can be wrapped up and taken to the community centre meaning parents can not only give their kids a Christmas meal they couldn’t otherwise afford – but also a Christmas present.

The event is on Sunday December 9 and staff will be serving at the community centre the next day, Monday December 10. Unwrapped toys can be dropped off at Byker Community Centre, Headlam Street, NE6 2DX up until Friday December 7 or The Northumberland Hussar, Sackville Road, NE6 5SY up until Sunday December 9.

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NEWS

Middlesbrough has its Bottle of Notes, a monumental sculpture by celebrated sculptors Claes Oldenburg and Coosje Van Bruggen, and now Northumberland can boast its own artistic bottle which it’s hoped will become as famous.

Twice Brewed Inn, the popular pub

and hotel located adjacent to one of the most dramatic parts of Hadrian’s Wall, has designed and installed a giant beer bottle for tourists to capture their best selfie.

With the iconic Sycamore Gap serving as a spectacular backdrop, visitors to Twice Brewed can climb into the 12-foot high structure and capture a lasting memory, before stocking up on ales to take home from the next-door brewery.

Many of the 10,000 hardy visitors who walk the 84-mile route along Hadrian’s Wall each year stop at the Twice Brewed Inn to rest and recuperate with food and drink or stay overnight to soak up even more of the Roman Occupation ambience.

And now they can not only buy bottles of beer to take away with them – they can also take a photo with their favourite. The huge construction will change labels weekly to feature all of the Twice Brewed beers such as Ale Caesar, Sycamore Gap Pale Ale, Vindolanda Excavation and the award-winning Steel Rigg Porter.

FOUR PUBS IN THE POTY FINAL The Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) has named its best four pubs in the country as part of its Pub of the Year 2018 (PotY) competition, one of the most respected and well-known pub awards in the UK. Among the finalists is the Volunteer Arms (aka Staggs) in Musselburgh, near Edinburgh, a traditional local with timber flooring, wood panelling and mirrors from defunct local breweries. Run by the same family since 1858, it offers a regularly changing range of real ale.

Also in the running are the Chequers in Little Gransden in South Cambridgeshire, a village pub that is also the home of Son of Sid Brewery.

Saved from closure and now run by a persevering community group, the Wonston Arms in Wonston, Hampshire, has made it through to the final for the first time.

The current Camra Pub of the Year – The Cricketers in St Helens, Merseyside – is once more in the frame. A friendly local community pub also saved from closure, the pub boasts 13 handpumps on the bar and offers brews from newer, regional and local brewers and local.

All of the pubs in the competition are selected by Camra volunteers and judged on their atmosphere, decor, welcome, service, value for money, customer mix and most importantly – quality of beer. The National Pub of the Year title will be announced in February 2019.

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INNOVATION

BANDIT COUNTRY Could Sunderland be in the forefront of a beer revolution, asks Alastair Gilmour

A new beer has been developed that could give Italian restaurants on Wearside the edge over their competition. Birra Brigante Saison (4.9% abv) is inspired

by Belgium, influenced by Italy, and brewed by Darwin Brewery in Sunderland in an innovative project that should inspire diners to think a little more closely about what they order with their arancini, lasagna and carbonara.

Italian entrepreneur and skilled homebrewer Gianni Lombino is working with Darwin and Brewlab – the training and scientific analysis provider for the international brewing

Voyage of discovery: Left to right, Julio Romero Johnson, Gianni Lombino, Victoria Thomson and Dave Smith at Darwin Brewery.

Photos: Peter Skelton industry. He chose the threemonth assignment to broaden his knowledge of brewing in the hope of one day opening his own brewpub in his homeland of Sicily.

Gianni embarked upon his entrepreneurial journey on an Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs Programme, which offers those in the early stages of starting a business the chance to spend one to six months working in a European business.

The North East Business and Innovation Centre (BIC) is a UK contact for anyone wishing to take part in the programme and the

BIC matched Gianni with Darwin and Brewlab. The programme has provided a way for him to broaden his horizons and develop new skills, whilst it has given Brewlab the opportunity to demonstrate its ability to fast-track a successful beer to market.

“We need to attract more business into Darwin,” says Daniel Vecsey, senior manager at Brewlab.

“What we have here is perfect for bigger breweries to collaborate with us on developing new beers and styles which is faster and more cost-effective than them taking up full tank capacity and using all the

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INNOVATION

ingredients that they would need to do.

“We saw a gap in the market for beers for Italian restaurants and got hold of Gianni to help us design an Italian-style craft beer. We thought Italian restaurants would be a good place to start because there is so little choice of beer once you’re in them – it’s either Peroni or Moretti.”

Gianni invited a clutch of local restaurant owners to a tasting and marketing session with representatives from Angelo’s, Volare, Mama Mia, Gabrielle’s, Marcello’s, Mama Italia and Luciano’s grasping the project with great

enthusiasm.The tasting consisted of four beer styles; lager, wheat beer, blonde and saison. Gianni always suspected the saison he developed would be popular in Italy but was unsure how the restaurant owners would react. Following a very interesting morning’s work that combined science with blind tasting and aroma and flavour evaluation – and with great credit to the tasting panel – a unanimous verdict came down on the saison beer.

Saisons were originally brewed in the early spring for summer consumption, though contemporary Belgian saisons are brewed all year

round. The colour is golden orange and the flavours are refreshing with citrus and fruity hop notes.

Lively carbonation ensues from a secondary fermentation in the bottle.

Gianni’s task also included design and marketing. He chose the name Birra Brigante in honour of the area of Sicily he’s from. The mountainous region around Palermo has a reputation for rebelliousness – plus he was well aware that Italian revolutionary Guiseppe Garibaldi spent several weeks in the North East in 1854, gathering support for his notion of a unified Italy.

“I need to improve on everything I do,” says Gianni. “That’s why I’m here. It was also an opportunity to continue the craft beer trend with a catchy name, a contemporary and attractive label, and an original beer. I tried to come up with a name that’s easy to pronounce in English.

Brigante means ‘bandit’… but this one is a good bandit.”

The orange tree decoration Gianni chose for the bottle

label symbolises the connection between Sicily and Sunderland – Mediterranean warmth with a Wearside welcome that demonstrates people are all the same wherever they are and appreciate being indulged with something of quality.

Taste-wise, a perception of malt combines with fruitiness from the orange peel that Birra Brogante contains with spice flavours emerging from the yeast plus floral hop notes – all perfect for accompanying meat and fish dishes.

And the end result? The eight Italian restaurants have all placed orders for the beer.

Gianni says: “I’d like to thank Dave Smith and Julio Romero Johnson at Brewlab, and Victoria Thomson of Darwin Brewery for their support. I’m also very thankful to the BIC’s Louise Hardy, Lilla Preston and the European Centre of Studies and Initiatives (CESIE) in Palermo.” www.brewlab.co.uk www.darwinbrewery.com

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CREATIVITY

Picture perfect: Josh Tinsley and Laura Hinshaw at Brick Club. Right: Anarchy packaging designed by Josh, and a sample of Laura's skin craft

ARTISTS AT WORK One works on beer cans while another works on skin.

Alastair Gilmour meets two very talented people

Dawn Miles (Anarchy’s owners) several ideas and I Next to some amazing beer, Anarchy Brew Co did the painting. We also did the external sign high has made a name for itself in the art world. up on the building using a cherry picker – very The tradition of decorating the brewhouse wobbly. It all took three days working at weekends.” with murals has continued into the company’s Laura also graced Simon and Dawn’s skin at her new base at Heaton, Newcastle, having moved salon, Brick Club Tattoo, which is named after the there in November from their long-term working men’s club in Red Row, Northumberland, Whitehouse Farm Centre near Morpeth.

Huge images of the likes of Marilyn Monroe – celebrating Blonde Star – and a gas mask representing Quiet Riot are something of a lucky charm, so it was an idea well worth pursuing. Visitors to Anarchy’s regular taproom sessions have been amazed at the wall painting that greets them – a large depiction of the brewing process. And there are plans for more.

The artists involved are partners Laura Hinshaw and Josh Tinsley.

Laura is a tattoo artist with a salon Hoppy days: The mural at Anarchy Brewery. in Morpeth and Josh is a graphic Photos: Peter Skelton designer who also produces the frequented by her late father. images for Anarchy’s canned beer range.

She says: “When he passed away, I wanted to Laura graduated from Northumbria University do something that would remind me of him.” with a degree in fine art and was looking for Laura also has a sample of her dad’s somewhere to hang and sell her work. A tattoo handwriting tattooed on her arm and a beautiful salon offered a space and invited her to try her hand at with the handheld needle and foot pedal – image of a handsome matinee idol which turns out to be him in his Merchant Navy days. then woosh, she was off on a different career.

The art of tattooing has exploded in recent years “Josh designed the mural after giving Simon and 10 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

– helped in no small measure by David Beckham – and they have become much more acceptable in society when previously a tattooed hand would be frowned upon for a customer-facing job.

“One woman was 84 years old when she came in for her very first one,” says Laura. “Black-andwhite portraits are very popular with pets and other animals being favourite subjects – especially flying tigers. One woman wanted a goldfish below her eye, and somebody else brought a photo of his dog dressed as a policeman which he wanted on his leg.

“Another guy got an engagement ring tattooed on his neck before asking his girlfriend to marry him.

That was his proposal. She said ‘yes’.

“We’re also going to get a Brick Club beer brewed by Anarchy and apply for a license to sell it in the shop.”

Laura will print off a photo or a customer’s preferred image onto special carbon paper which is attached to the skin and worked on.

She says: “We have a lot of regulars who keep coming back for more so they must be very happy.”

Her appointments book is testament to her ability and popularity; it’s filled until May 2019. https://m.facebook.com/brickclubtattoo/ StudioTinsley.com

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BREWSTORIES

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WHAT TO DRINK AND WHERE TO DRINK IT

Hello and welcome to Brew Stories, where it’s our mission to meet the people and bring you the stories behind the best beer around.

We’re fast approaching the business end of the year for the discerning beer drinker. With the festive party season upon us, we’ve been focusing on what to drink and where to drink it.

We’ve just finished a “brewers table” episode at the Head of Steam, Quayside, where we were joined by Mark from Alamasty, Carl from Northern Alchemy, and Stuart from Anarchy sampling the brews they recommend for over the festive period (basically, we sat around a table and talked beer with our brewing mates). Check out the video.

We enjoyed it. We hope you will too.

We posted a “beer and bites” episode from Brinkburn St in the Ouseburn, Newcastle – a brewery, bar and kitchen where Gaz the chef is doing some great things with beer-inspired food. It’s definitely worth a visit and, take it from us, their Sunday lunches aren’t too shabby either.

We’ve also been out in the wilds to sample the country air and meet the good folks at First & Last, a great little brewery at Elsdon on the edge of the Northumberland National Park. We met up with brewer Red Kellie and found out about the F&L approach to both brewing and life in general. Check out the video to find out more.

As we look back at 2018 and the nearly 40 or so videos we’ve produced, it’s fair to say it’s been a busy but very enjoyable year.

We’ve met some great people from across our region and beyond, from brewers to bottle shop owners, from foodies to folks who just enjoy great beer. We’d like to take this opportunity to personally thank you for welcoming us into your world – and not forgetting everyone who has taken the time to view, like and follow our efforts online. We raise a glass to you all.

See you next year. After all, we do this for the love of beer!

PS. Don't forget to visit www.brew-stories.com

BEER AND ART

CAMPBELL’S SOUP? THESE CANS ARE PROPER ART JOIN THE TEAM Pop artist Andy Warhol might have famously elevated Campbell’s soup into one of the 20th Century’s most iconic images, but there are a handful of contenders now snapping at his heels – with Newcastle’s Wylam Brewery in the pack.

Beer + Art is a project that has been six months in the planning, getting together with seven of the UK’s finest breweries and the people behind their artwork to create a limited-edition, one-off series that celebrates great beer and the packaging designs that go with them.

Organisers Pig’s Ears spent the day with each brewery helping foprmulate the beers and then each artist created a unique design for that beer inspired by a number allocated to them in a range of 01 to

07 (which ties in quite nicely with this year being the seventh of Pig’s Ears’ existence).

At the end of November, no less than the Tate Modern in London hosted a tap takeover special that featured the first public pour of all seven beers with large scale prints of the original artwork on display and commemorative art prints and postcards available to purchase.

The teams behind the seven breweries and Tate Modern treated guests to a variety of big flavours, moreish brews, stone baked pizzas and an array of brewery artwork on display throughout the evening.

The seven Beer + Art breweries are. left to right, Wylam, Northern Monk, Track Brewing, Left Handed Giant, Deya, Verdant and North Brewing.

Tryanuary is a nationwide campaign, founded in 2015, to encourage support for the beer industry throughout January, traditionally a “slow” enough month in pubs without people going on health-kick regimes.

Looking to host a Tryanuary event? Contact your local champion to let them know: www.tryanuary.com/teams and download the logo to add to your publicity www.tryanuary. com/resources in all social media posts.

www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 13

COMIC GENIUS

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A GLASS OF VIZ Does creativity sit well with pubs and beer?

Alastair Gilmour finds out. Almost

Some call it a comic and others a magazine, but there’s no doubt that Viz has been entertaining us for a great portion of our adult lives. First published in 1979 by Chris Donald, it grew to become the biggestselling magazine in the country. Or comic.

Only two of the long-term artists remain full-time, writing and drawing the characters we identify with – Simon Thorp and Graham Dury – but Davey Jones and Alex Collier continue to contribute on a freelance basis while involved with other projects.

SIMON THORP

CHARACTERS: MRS BRADY OLD LADY; FARMER PALMER, FINBAR SANDERS, BILLY THE FISH. PUB: THE RAT INN, ANICK, HEXHAM Simon Thorp, originally from Pontefract, studied fine art at university in Aberystwyth and while he was painting he drew cartoons for the university magazine.

“I saw an advert in the back of Private Eye 14 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

asking for cartoonists and sent some work.

When I finished uni I went on an Enterprise Allowance scheme and freelanced for Viz and Oink, which Davey Jones did as well. Chris (Donald) told me there was a party coming up in Newcastle which I went to – they were on a deadline at the time and offered me a job. That was 30 years ago – 34 from first getting stuff in.

“At first we worked in Chris’ bedroom at his mum and dad’s in Jesmond. The weird thing is we never had lunch. We would sit there until late afternoon then go out to a small supermarket off Osborne Road and buy nuts and go to the pub.

“We used to go a lot to the Free Trade and the Trent House in Newcastle. It seemed to be a thing then that you’d go to the pub after work.

Nowadays I just have a nap after a few pints or take the dog out for a walk. Dogs put a big hole into your day. Now I go to Graham Dury’s shed in Whitley Bay to write stuff and drink tea.

“We’re what’s left of Viz; we write all the articles and the cartoons and do stuff for other people too. We own 44% of Viz; Chris owns

6% and the publishers have 50% but don’t do anything. Everything else is done by freelancers.

“We were owned at one time by Virgin and went to the opening of the Newcastle shop with Richard Branson. We always thought he had a really long head. We had an office in Milburn House in Newcastle then one in Tynemouth.

Virgin sold us to John Brown Publishing who flogged us to James Brown Publishing and never really told us. Nobody said, ‘By the way…’ Then we were bought by Dennis Publishing.

“When Felix Dennis died, he owned one of the world’s largest broadleaf woodlands through a charity, so you could say we were owned by a forest. Now the owners are a venture capital company who don’t meddle a lot.

“Every day Graham and I start with the opening topics of conversation: ‘What’s going on with Brexit?’ and ‘What’s going on with Trump?’.

Then Graham will sit back like a country squire.

“In the old days when we were doing Mrs Brady we would sit Graham down and tell him to talk like an old lady. He was good at that. We

COMIC GENIUS spent lots of hours just sitting around talking about work. The Beano can repeat their plots as readers grow up and new ones come in, but we can’t – people would notice.

“We’ve got a new Profanisaurus out. It’s a massive work which has more words in it than the whole Lord of the Rings trilogy. It’s all about making each other laugh, all working together.

We have quite a good laugh, not like other writing teams who apparently hate each other.

“Every year we go to an authors’ evening at Waterstones in Piccadilly – they can’t really turn us away – and there’s all these famous authors there like Michael Palin and Stephen Fry and that bloke who was Lady Di’s brother.

“In one issue of Viz we had a Lady Di game on the centre spread which hit the shops on the Thursday then she died at the weekend. John Brown Publishing had them withdrawn from the shelves and I think they pulled out the pages and put them back on the shelves again. It would have been cheaper to reprint it.

“Oh, this is like Christmas pudding. (Simon has just taken a sip of his Titanic Plum Porter).

“Our two boys Peter and John have worked here at The Rat at one time. Our daughter Alice, who works at the Theatre Royal, hasn’t. She can’t stand the thought of getting her thumb in gravy.”

Is there any time a Viz cartoonist and writer switches off? Simon looks at his Plum Porter, gestures around the pub and says: “This is it.”

Plum spot: Simon Thorp at The Rat Inn. Left: His magnificent vision of a pub

DAVEY JONES

CHARACTERS: THE REAL ALE TWATS, GILBERT RATCHET, MAJOR MISUNDERSTANDING PUB: THE FREE TRADE INN, BYKER, NEWCASTLE Davey Jones is originally from Hereford and

freelanced for Viz for a few years before joining the staff in 1990 and settling in Newcastle in 1996.

“The Free Trade was the first pub I was ever in in Newcastle. I’m glad to see it hasn’t changed at all.

“I told Chris Donald I was thinking of moving to a town again – I was living on Anglesey at the time – and he said if you do, I’ll give you a job. When I came

www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 15

COMIC GENIUS

Comic star: Davey Jones at The Free Trade Inn up he brought me to the Free Trade. It’s a great traditional place to sit and look at the bridges. So you could say he bought me off in a decent pub.

“But I had to adapt to the Geordie accent. My first taxi driver was broad Geordie and I thought ‘I’m never going to get by here’, but you get used to it.

“I also found a great mix of people in the Tap & Spile on Shields Road. I would go to the pub just to get used to the accents. They knocked it down to build a Morrisons. For a while after that you’d get

16 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

these old fellas standing outside, saying, ‘My stool used to be there’.

“I’ve worked from home since 2012. There were a lot of changes going on; we had moved from offices in Newcastle to Tynemouth. Eventually it was decided that there wasn’t any need for an office because we could work from home and also get freelancers in. I also do a lot of one-offs – celebs and politicians mainly.

“I’m naturally lazy and want a bit of time to sit

about. Holidays are quite difficult to arrange around deadlines. I took a book on the last holiday I had – and realised it was the first one I’d read for a year.

I’d been too busy working and thinking and couldn’t relax at all. I thought, sod that.

“The Real Ale Twats (RATs) comes from sitting on your own in a pub and observing what’s around you, seeing what games people are playing with each other. The RATs are stereotypes – it’s a cartoon after all and not meant to be serious.

"You always get the one in a group mouthing off and being opinionated – and the RATs are my chance to be opinionated.

“I’m quite keen on taking my dog to the pub but I don’t tend to write things down when I’m there, you just save it in your head.

“When we all worked in the office we’d do a lot of sitting around then go off on our own to do some work. If nobody felt like thinking about anything you just got on your drawing board or did some admin stuff.

"People used to come to the office and were always disappointed at how normal we all were.

“Funnily enough, we didn’t drink at all during the day. There’s a danger that what you think is funny when you’re having a drink is not so funny after all.

I’ve got wise to it now; been caught out too many times. I have a one-pint rule when I’m working.

"I like the Chillingham Arms which is fairly close to where I live, and the Northumbrian Hussar which I actually haven’t been to for a while. Then there’s

COMIC GENIUS and I always have a pint in the Bell & Bucket in North Shields on music nights.

"Some of the best pubs I’ve been to are in London, they’re very distinctive, all etched glass and that.

It’s a real shame that a lot of them are closing.

“Characters take on a life of their own and you mix all different types in. Sid The Sexist was a friend of Simon Donald’s, based on one guy who thought he was super sexy. If you hear someone on the bus or in the street, you’ll think that’s a good thing for this or that character to say.

Buses are great places for getting ideas.

Freelancer Barney Farmer (who sounds like a Viz character himself) writes a fairly black cartoon called The Drunken Bakers about a pair of alcoholics running a bakery. Barney goes around on buses in Lancaster Dynamic duo: Alex Collier and shivering whippet. listening to odd conversations, Photo: Peter Skelton observing people without being observed.

“Simon Thorp is especially talented, he’s the only the Cumberland Arms in Byker which I go to one of us who is a proper artist. I’m glad to have occasionally. I get up the coast with my mates on a been part of it all.

Thursday night – North Shields, Tynemouth, Whitley “Go on then. Same again.”

Bay – my favourite there is The Rockcliffe Arms

ALEX COLLIER

CHARACTERS: SASHA SLAPPA, BROWN BOTTLE, THE REAL ALE TWATS (WITH DAVEY JONES), 8 ACE, ROGER MELLIE (WITH GRAHAM DURY), THE FAT SLAGS (WITH THE OTHERS) PUB: THE THREE HORSESHOES, LEAMSIDE, DURHAM “I like it here in the Three Horseshoes, I like really, really nice pubs and this has Private Eye cartoons in the toilets. I like the fact you can sit and drink the beer that’s made next door (at the Working Hand Brewery). Coming here was when I really started taking an interest in real ale. Matthew (Frankland) is really enthusiastic about brewing.

When my wife Jurate and I eloped to Gretna Green to get married we took some of his beer with us to have a little bit of our pub in Scotland.

“I should always say ‘long suffering’ wife – she’s very patient. Being from Lithuania, it’s vodka all the way with her – come the first frost and we’re out picking sloes for gin. We come here a lot, sometimes we’ll walk with the dogs or bike it (Alex’s two whippets lie patiently under the table).

“I’m not full-time on Viz any more; I write mostly for kids’ television – Mr Bean, Danger Mouse and Dennis And Gnasher.

“I could spend all my time in pubs. I once lived across the street from the Carling Academy in Newcastle. We’d go to the Tut N Shive, Tilleys and The Bodega, though never at weekends when

www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 17

COMIC GENIUS everybody from out of town would flock in. I never used to go out then, there were so many people out in Newcastle and it was a bit crazy. It was great fun as a young lad but I couldn’t do it now.

“I went to Viz straight from school at 18. Working with the likes of Davey Jones and Simon Donald was great, a really creative atmosphere.

And Thorpy is a top fella, one of the funniest blokes I’ve ever met, and a superb artist to boot. We’re all pretty spread out now and don’t all actually work together any more.

“You never switch off. Idle thoughts are the best ones.

Me and Davey do the Real Ale Twats between us. We’ll say things like, ‘What if the RATs went to a library’ then go away and work something up on owr own.

“Sasha Slappa is based on girls I knew from school. I’d listen to their conversations on the school bus – ‘wheaa yeeze gannin like?’

“The Brown Bottle has taken over. I’ll email Roger Mellie in pencil to Graham who’ll draw him up in his own style. I left Viz at the same time Simon Donald left and tried various things.

“Drawing cartoon strips is like animation, so the next stop was to make them move so I went to

18 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

university to do animation and did a Viz one on a small budget. I met Tim Searle there who works for Baby Cow, Steve Coogan’s production company, and found we worked well together. Then I got a call: ‘Do you want to write Mr Bean?’ I wasn’t going to say no to that. Jurate’s parents just don’t understand Viz, it’s beyond them, being Lithuanian. But show them Mr Bean and they get it. “People don’t realise he was originally for adults but since it went into cartoon form it’s become more child-like. It’s great doing it. I’m a massive fan of the Beano and I’ve written a new series of Dennis And Gnasher which is brilliant – and it’s been nominated for an Emmy.

“I never thought I’d be a kids' writer. I've written a new series of Danger Mouse – I think it’s the nearest thing in this country to The Simpsons.

“I’ve been doing Viz for half my life but really appreciate doing other stuff. I did the label for Viz Top Tipple which had Sid The Sexist on the Newcastle Brown Ale label. It was for the first Sunday For Sammy charity event because the late Sammy Johnson (who played Stick in Spender) was the voice of Sid when we did the animations.

“Me and Davey will do little private jokes between us in the comic – nobody else in the world is in on them, just me and him. For example. the RATs go into a pub and ask for Collier’s Shivering Whippet.

“Yes please, another pint of Lucky Crown.”

Superhero: The Brown Bottle created by Alex Collier. Left, The Real Ale Twats

NEWS

BITS N BOBS

FIZZING

Wine business the Lanchester Group is popping corks after unveiling a boost in turnover and profit.

Despite the previous year’s poor global wine harvest and heavy investments, the County Durham-based business – which includes Lanchester Wines and Greencroft Bottling – said turnover has increased 20% from £68.3m to £81.8m, while earnings before interest and taxes etc almost trebled from £2.3m to £6.3m.

The figures follow successive years of inward investment in property, personnel and infrastructure, and directors Tony and Veronica Cleary said the strong performance is set to continue.

CHILLING

,

“

Tyne Bank Brewery firmly believes that Sundays should be focused on chilling out.

The Walker Road, Newcastle, brewhouse, taproom and events space has installed bike racks and will open from 10am for coffee and cake (beer also available, of course), to relax with newspapers, or catch breath after a walk or a bike ride – then 12noon-6pm it’s street food with Nin’s Shack and live music for that relaxed, extended Sunday lunch (beer also available, of course).

“ ,

,

GIVING

The Gardeners’ Club which meets every Sunday at The Boathouse, Wylam, hosted its annual Tinned Fruit & Veg Show recently with raffles, an auction of produce (all in some sort of fancy dress) and a whole lot of fun.

The lunchtime session raised an astonishing £650 for Daft As A Brush, the charity that ferries cancer patients from all across Northumberland to hospital appointments.

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CASKING

Champion Bottles & Taps in Heaton, Newcastle, has been sold to a group of beers-from-the-wood enthusiasts, fronted by experienced landlord Rob Shacklock and is turning the premises into a micropub. Its former owner, James Andrews, is now working for a North East coffee roasting company.

The newly-named Heaton Tap subscribes to the aims and ambitions of the Society for the Preservation of Beers from the Wood (SPBW). Visit www.spbw.com for society details.

STOP PRESS

The North East’s own Cafe Amsterdam pop-up bar heads to North Yorkshire to join forces with Yorkshire Dales Brewery to host its Christmas open day at the brewery tap in Askrigg on December 29.

Seven of Yorkshire Dales’ seasonal cask beers will be on tap along with a fine selection of Dutch beers, genevers and gins from Cafe Amsterdam. Open 12noon-7pm, there will be music and food available throughout the day and an endless supply of Christmas cheer.

TRENT HOUSE CAMRA DISCOUNT

The Trent House in Newcastle city centre – closest pub to St James' Park after The Strawberry – is offering CAMRA members pints for £1.95 between the hours of 11am and 5pm, MondayFriday, on production of their members' cards. That's just got to be good!

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www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 19

WINE: COMMERCIAL FEATURE

NOT JUST FOR CHRISTMAS – DISCOVER THE MANY STYLES OF PORT WINE

It is not surprising that Christmas is the time of year when we buy most of our Port wines.

The sweet, fortified wine’s aromas and flavours are reminiscent of the tastes we surround ourselves with during the festive season – Christmas pudding, currants, juniper, spice, cloves, tangerine, walnuts. Yum! But, if you consign Port completely to the Christmas shelf, your missing out, as Derek Colsell from Lanchester Wines explains: From the deepest recesses of the back bar they come, the drinks that only see the light at Christmas – dusty and usually forgotten come January.

Port is often a once-a-year propositions for most people, which is a huge shame, since Ports are some of the finest and best value drinks in the world. So, around Christmas while these bottles are front of the shelf and its delicious taste is front of mind, take the time to sample different types, finding your favourite and how to drink it.

Let's start with the most important question: WHAT IS PORT? Port (also known as vinho do Porto) is a sweet, rich fortified wine made in Portugal and only in the Douro Valley – although the wine takes its name from the coastal city of Oporto from which it is traditionally exported. Fortified wines are made by adding a proportion of grape spirit, or brandy, to the wine at some point during the production process. Port is arguably the greatest of all fortified wines and its paramount expression, Vintage Port, ranks alongside the finest produce of Bordeaux or Burgundy as one of the iconic wines of the world.

Port is made using a unique blend of grapes native to Portugal. There are up to 52 grape varieties used to make Port, with the most common being: • Touriga Franca • Touriga Nacional • Tinta Roriz (aka Tempranillo) • Tinta Barroca • Tinta Cão 20 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

The addition of these multiple varieties of grapes lends a wide variety of flavours to the Port. Some grapes bring the berry flavours, while others emphasise the chocolate, fig, or cinnamon flavours.

By mixing in more grapes, Port makers are able to add a lot of variety to their wines.

Colour is one of the biggest clues to Port and there are three main types: RUBY Ruby Port is the most popular type of Port and are rich in dark plum colour, fruity and vibrant, and made to be drunk when young. Aromas and flavours are typically of red fruit, chocolate and spice. In terms of serving temperature, do not serve them too warm, somewhere between 13-16°C, 15°C would be perfect.

These pair perfectly with rich fruitcakes and dark ginger cakes, or a very rich sticky toffee pudding, or anything with dark chocolate.

Within the Ruby category are Vintage Port and LBV (Late Bottle Vintage), both of which present a selection of very fine, full-bodied red Ports from a single year. The fundamental difference between the two styles lies in the way each is matured: • Vintage Port is kept in wood for only 20 months or so before being transferred to the bottle where it will continue to age.

• Late Bottled Vintage, as the name suggests, is bottled later, remaining in wood between four and six years. During this relatively long period of wood ageing, an LBV matures and settles down – it is ready to drink when bottled, does not need to be decanted and can be served by the glass for several weeks after the cork is drawn.

TAWNY Tawny Port starts out as Ruby Port, but spends 10 to 40 years in the barrel, rounding out its flavours, oxidising slightly and taking on a nice mahogany hue from the wood. There are only four ages a Tawny Port can bear: 10 year, 20 year, 30 year and 40 year. Tawny Ports are sweet or medium dry and

typically consumed as a dessert wine, but their rich, complex flavours can also pair with a main course.

A step up from the standard Tawny is the Colheita – a single-vintage tawny Port aged for at least seven years, with the vintage year on the bottle (instead of the years spent in the bottle, as per the Tawny). Colheita Port should not be confused with vintage Port: a vintage Port will spend only about 18 months in barrels after harvest and will continue to mature in bottle, but a Colheita may have spent 20 or more years in wooden barrels before being bottled and sold. White Colheitas have also been produced.

WHITE White Port is made from white grapes, such as Malvasia Fina, Donzelinho, Gouveio, Codega and Rabigato which are indigenous to Portugal. White Ports of greater age are best served chilled on their own, while dry white ports have delicious flavours of citrus zest, apricot, tangerine and ginger, making an excellent basis for a cocktail – they can also be used in much the same way as gin in cocktails.

Sweet white Port and tonic water is a commonly consumed drink in the Porto region as an aperitif, traditionally served with salted almonds.

There is, unofficially, a fourth colour of Port….

Rosé. Technically a ruby Port, rosé Ports are fermented in a similar manner to a rosé wine, with a limited exposure to the grape skins, thus creating the rose colour. Ranges are still fairly limited but we have a fantastic Rose Port from Vista Alegre which has flavours of raspberry and floral notes. As with a rosé wine, it’s best served slightly chilled as either an aperitif or with dessert – or simply pour over ice as a great party starter.

As with all wines our general advice is to try different styles in different ways and find your favourite. Then make sure you keep it out all year – Port is definitely not just for Christmas All Ports included are available across the North East through Lanchester Wines. Ask at the bar for more details or visit www.lanchesterwines.co.uk

MERRY CHRISTMAS From Lanchester Wines.

Based in County Durham, we’re one of the UK’s leading suppliers of wine and spirits to the trade.

www.lanchesterwines.co.uk

www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 21

PUB NEWS

STAND CLEAR

We’re getting used to seeing small yellow and green boxes sprouting up, fixed to the walls of public buildings with more and more of them outside pubs.

Defibrillators are life-savers and our North East licensed premises haven’t been slow to pick up on them – not that there’s any more risk of someone having a heart attack outside the Red Lion than they have at Sainsbury’s, but if there’s one of these devices at a pub, chances are most people will remember where one is in an emergency.

A defibrillator is a small electronic device designed to allow minimally trained people to provide lifesaving defibrillation – electric shock to the heart – to victims of sudden cardiac arrest. It

applies a brief pulse of electrical current allowing the heart’s natural electrical system to resume control.

The Ship Inn at Wylam, Northumberland, and the Railway Tavern in Rowlands Gill, Tyne & Wear, for example, have had them installed outside recently. It’s part of their community service.

The Ship Inn’s Paul Johnson says: “We had ours installed in October – hopefully we’ll never have to use it. We feel they are incredible and potentially life saving machines.

We have read that places such as Amsterdam they save 20% of people who go into cardiac arrest.

Unfortunately here on the North East, we only save 5% of people.

The main reason behind that is the lack of automated external defibrillator (AED) machines.

“Both my partner Kelly grew up in rural communities and from living in Weardale, Kelly had always noticed that all the pubs there have AED machines. Also when we lived in Cornwall, we noticed that they were visible in most towns and villages. They are fully automated, they talk you through the process, so anyone can use them.

“Moving back to Wylam – we took the Ship Inn in July 2017 – we always wanted to be a real hub in the community and be a part of a village that we both love living in, but we noticed the lack of a machine here and in surrounding villages.

“With just a will to do some good, we decided to hold an event and raise money towards one. Thanks to incredible local support we

Life savers: The defibrillator at The Ship Inn, Wylam.

Below, a similar initiative at the Railway Tavern Rowlands Gill managed to raise enough on the night and purchase the AED machine. We must also thank Dr Michael Norton from Cardioproof

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Paul has arranged for The North East Ambulance Service to take First Aid and defibrillator training on Saturday December 8 so members of the public can learn about saving lives.

Stephen Olver, owner of the Railway Tavern at Rowlands Gill is in complete agreement with Paul Johnson’s approach. He says: “It was something I’d been thinking about for a long time, even before I got the pub last year which was then the ideal opportunity. There wasn’t a public defibrillator in the village, only one in the school and in the doctors’ surgery as far as I can remember, but they were only open when these places were open. I thought I’d put one outside the pub so it was available 24/7.

“They cost up to £1,500 so we did some fundraisers with

football cards, live music events and comedy shows and got a lot of money donated from local businesses – very decent donations.

“Happily we’ve never had to use it; it’s never been out the box.

The North East Ambulance Service gave a free training session and the pub was packed full of local people learning about the equipment by using dummies and doing CPR. Actually, you can’t really go wrong, the instructions are all there.”

Meanwhile, Stephen reports: “We’ve had a decent first year at the Railway Tavern; it’s very hard work and having a knee operation in the middle of the year didn’t really help. We rotate local beers on cask, using as many local breweries as we can – and everybody seems very happy with that.”

It’s heart-warming to hear.

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PUB REVIEW

FILM SET SPLENDOUR The opulence of the Victorian era is celebrated in a South Shields pub, writes Ed Waugh

South Shields may not be the weekend thriving party place it once was but there’s still life in the old town. A strip 100 yards long and 30 yards across from the Ocean Road/King Street junction up Mile End Road boasts no fewer than 11 assorted watering holes.

Ranging from pubs and a workingmen's club to a gin house, these are well frequented. The jewel in the crown of this Bacchanalian plethora, however, is The Criterion.

A new kid on the block, literally; it is situated above the Ladbrokes shop where Ocean Road meets King Street, a mere 30 yards from South Shields Metro station.

Built in the 1860s and based on

the opulent Criterion Restaurant in London's Piccadilly, this historic pub became a shadow of its former self and closed in 2012. However, the upper floor has re-opened after a £200,000 overhaul by new owners.

Young entrepreneurs Christopher Pickering and Kevin McKeith aimed to restore the room to its original 1860s splendour.

Approaching the Criterion and looking up, the first thing that strikes you are the four beautiful chandeliers emitting seductive light through the windows; a magnet on a cold, winter’s night.

Entering the downstairs door one is faced with 20 steps of a wooden stairway that reach a large, ornate

Opulent: The Criterion, South Shields. Photos: Ewan Waugh door which, when opened, reveals a beautiful bar room, the likes of which has been idealised in many a Victorian film.

To the right of the door is a fireplace blazing with a coal fire. In front, customers snuggle up on a

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PUB REVIEW

leather settee and upholstered chairs.

To the left is another open fire, this time in the large range that would have been used back in the day to cook gastronomic treats for weary travellers and revellers.

The enterprising duo have

succeeded big time in restoring many of the original Victorian features hidden by successive refurbs, including the fires, bar, cornices, light fittings and clock. The pub is stunning, and a comfortable setting for around 60 people.

OK, the decor may be elegant, but a pub is only as good as the drinks it serves. The great news is The Criterion will carry two local real ales. Great North Eastern Brewing Co Rivet Catcher and Delta APA are currently on tap – both are crystal

clear and taste divine... and only ÂŁ2.95 a pint!

A large-screen television shows live Sky matches for the clientele that ranges from young male and female singles to predominantly groups of middle-aged people coming out for a sociable drink. Try it once and you'll be hooked. I was!

For further information visit: facebook.com/ thecriterionsouthshields

www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 25

ENTERPRISE

TOAST TO LIQUID BREAD

Beer and bread might be ancient bedfellows but their relationship is even more relevant today, writes Alastair Gilmour When medieval Belgian monks prayed in their monasteries, they would give thanks to God for the “liquid bread” they were in the process of making. It was their way of circumventing any criticism from above about being involved with the Devil’s work of brewing beer and dabbling in alcohol rather than making batches of loaves.

In their early stages, beer and bread share similarities – using grain, water and yeast to produce the simplest of pleasures. They go their own way when the grain is milled into flour for bread and when hops are added (with a lot more water) to produce beer. Amen.

The collaboration between bakers and brewers is alive and kicking at Artisan Baking Community and Tyne Bank Brewery, both sitting not far from each other on the fringes of the Ouseburn Valley in Newcastle. Artisan’s Andy Haddon, however, now positions himself in Shieldfield.

“Shieldfield is up and coming,” he says. “We’re planning a community bakery and community pub there, taking space in a parade of shops.

There’s already a community 26 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

launderette and lots of residents and students in the area.

“The bakery – a social enterprise – is all about the circular economy and sustainability and doing something not too complicated. And we’re also turning something of no value into something of value. We got some beer that was close to its ‘best before’ date from Tyne Bank and Firebrick breweries and made bread with it. Similarly, we’ve got a strain of yeast for sourdough which is worked up with beer. The bread is then toasted and used for making beer instead of conventional grains.

Bread and beer are great to play around with.”

Moving in the opposite direction, Tyne Bank Brewery head brewer Alan Dunlop is up for the challenge of making beer from left-over bread.

Alan says: “I’ve been testing out a recipe for making a beer using Andy’s left-over sourdough. The toasted bread makes up roughly 30% of the fermentables in the mash with Cara and Munich malts also added to the mainly Maris Otter mash. The ale is brewed using Magnum hops for bittering and Cascade, Centennial and Bramling Cross hops for flavour and aroma

ENTERPRISE

– all brewed to 4.9% abv with 11 IBUs (International Bittering Units).”

Andy Haddon is passionate about local produce and that it should be available and affordable for everyone. That leads to jobs being created and a sense of community fostered.

He is striving for the North East to be the leader in that for the rest of the country – all starting with bread. His three watchwords are Collaboration, Community and Creativity.

“They are always in my mind,” he says.

Artisan has also used grains that produce Newcastle Brewing Co’s Red Ale, Northern Alchemy’s Imperial Russian Stout, and Cherry Stout from Tyne Bank.

“We want to demonstrate that artisanal products are not just for the affluent, they should be affordable for everyone,” says Andy. “You have to make it real and relevant for people,.”

Two batches of yeast culture sit in the fridge at the bakery; one called Keith and the other Ronnie. One contains beer and the other doesn’t.

Rock and rollers will find that easy to understand when they think that the Rolling Stones’ Ronnie Wood gave up drinking after a lifetime of excess while Keith Richards is still going at it.

“Both are bubbling away nicely,” says Andy Haddon, who has also experimented with beer crackers to be served with a pint, currently being trialled at Beer Street on Forth Street in Newcastle city centre.

“None of that happens in ivory towers like Science Central,” he says. “Walk out of there and there’s a queue waiting for soup at the People’s Kitchen. We’re starting at the bottom and building up.”

Dearly beloved, let us pray. artisanbakingcommunity. co.uk

Loafing around: Andy Haddon, left, and Nick Metcalf

www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 27

BREWERY NEWS

TEXAS ARRANGER

“I’LL JUST TRY IT. I’LL WALK THE LINE OF SCIENCE AND CREATIVITY”

Determination flows from a new recruit to the region’s brewing scene, as Alastair Gilmour discovers The new senior craft brewer at Sonnet 43 Brew House is getting to grips with the peculiarities of language. It’s not that a young Texan has to shout to make himself understood at the County Durham base – or vice-versa – it’s more the terminology that has the tendency to cause crossed wires.

“It’s all very different,” says Alex Rattray who has been hired to bring a new dimension to Sonnet 43’s portfolio and, one suspects, to do a bit of shaking in the wider beer community.

“A US gallon is different to a UK gallon and I’ll be working in celcius, grams and litres which are all new to me, so it’s like translating between two languages.

“I’m really looking forward to working alongside head brewer Michael Harker, learning and developing new hop-forward recipes. I’m also new to working with whole-leaf hops and couldn’t believe it when I first looked inside a tank to see it a foot deep in spent hops. What?

You dig this out? Every day?”

Alex Rattray’s role is to infuse Sonnet 43’s beers with the boldness of American craft brewing. His Hercule Poirot-style moustache and natty bowtie might point to non-conformity or even eccentricity, but there’s definitely a steely determination lurking there. And, as one of his relaxations is playing chess, problems are merely obstacles to be worked around and eventually eliminated. Rowing is a passion too, so expect energy, drive and persistence.

Alex and his brother set up Freetail Brewing Co, a brewpub in San Antonio, Texas (also home to Lone Star Brewing) and developed a love for and skill with barrel-ageing and blending sour beers. This apprenticeship will stand him in good stead as he helps Sonnet 43 gear up from what has been (it’s fair to say) a period of marking time.

28 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

Completely unavoidably through illness, Mark Hird, managing director of Tavistock Hospitality, owners of Sonnet 43 Brew House, Poetic Licence gin distillery and a dozen bars, restaurants and hotels across the North East, has not been around very much over the past couple of years to oversee change and challenge.

But now he’s back at his desk and facing the future with a lot more positivity.

“I’m involved again,” says Mark. “We acknowledge that at Sonnet 43 Brew House we haven’t progressed at the speed we would have liked to – however, we have an impressive strategy plan in place for the next 12 months that includes rebranding, allowing the brewery to remodel.”

Alex has already started to change the brewery structure around with some new kit soon to arrive from China and is adapting another vessel into a whirlpool. There will be collaborations with sister company Poetic License Gin which should be interesting – distiller Luke Smith has a great love of beer. Alex believes there is still so much UK brewing can learn from the US. The self-titled Yeast Wrangler says: “A British ale in America doesn’t taste like a British ale here. I was known in the brewery back home for my love of drinking big, high-strength beers after work, like barley wines and imperial stouts while the others were enjoying relatively lowstrength pilsner-style beers.

“Getting the maximum flavour and mouthfeel out of a relatively low-strength beer is a really difficult thing to do, a challenge to any brewer. Something like Timothy Taylor’s Landlord has so much happening in it; its crispness then its biscuity flavour coming from a relatively low alcohol brew has all the hallmarks of a great beer.

“I’ve also got some great ideas about the different times during a brew when dry hopping is at its most effective. I’m willing to accept there may be a better way of doing things – I’ll just try it. I’ll walk the line of science and creativity, but if you go too much towards science you can lose the heart of a beer.”

Even getting here from Texas was a challenge.

Yeast wrangler: Alex Rattray, Sonnet 43 Brew Co’s new senior craft brewer.

Photo: Peter Skelton

He was offered the job last May, then his wife Leah announced she was pregnant, but thought there was loads of time to prepare before starting in October. However, there were so many delays in the process that it was getting near the time when Leah wouldn’t be able to fly – so many that Alex had to book the whole journey again.

An added complication was that the couple’s two pugs couldn’t fly with them direct to the UK, so they accompanied them – along with six suitcases – from Austin to New Jersey to Oslo to Amsterdam then by train, bus and ferry to Newcastle, taking 48 hours in total. Leah gave birth to Griffin Alastair Rattray in early November.

When Sonnet 43 brewery manager Alan Brown heard the tale, he thought: “If this is what he has gone through to start a new job, this is the guy I want.”

Alex and Leah had already visited the UK

on holiday – he was actually born in Leicester when his parents were working in the ministry in churches across the country and spent his early life in London, so he already felt a kinship.

They also visited the village of Rattray in Perthshire, considering it the family’s ancestral home. It’s what you do when you have a curious mind, isn’t it?

“We visited all these old pubs, distilleries and breweries,” he says, “and the beautiful weather we had tricked us – but we were ready for a change anyway. I had developed a love for cask ales which you don’t get a lot of in Texas. It’s too hot for a start. I wanted to be somewhere I could brew real ale and drink it.

“I was at a kind of transition point in my career. The brewery was only small, so I was running the restaurant side of the brewpub.

There was just me brewing and I wasn’t learning anything new and felt topped out. My mind was already in transition.”

It’s going to be the end of January before the first of Alex Rattray’s beers leaves the Sonnet 43 premises, with him being allowed time to study what’s required and where the gaps are in the marketplace. Thereafter, it’s two new beers a month which is a fairly punishing regime when there are core beers such as Seraphim, Abolition, Impressment and The Raven to be brewed as well to satisfy the public thirst.

“It’s a vision but one with loose edges,” he says. “I’ve been told ‘do what you do and be creative’ so I’ll also be doing some stuff that doesn’t work, but if you’re worrying all the time about screwing up, you’ll screw up.

“You’ll never learn everything there is to learn. Sometimes we’re experimenting and don’t know why the beer’s doing what it’s doing.”

There is no doubt – an absolute certainty – that one young Texan in Coxhoe, County Durham, knows what he’s doing. www.sonnet43.com www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 29

THE CRITERION IS BACK!

THE CRITERION, 2 OCEAN RD, SOUTH SHIELDS NE33 2HZ

BREWERY NEWS

THE BEST-LAID PLANS. . .

It’s difficult to keep up with new beers by Newcastle Brewing Co, operated by father and son Mike and Leo Bell at Arch 2 Brewhouse & Kitchen in Ouseburn, Newcastle.

One of the latest on the roster is Barberry Blonde (3.6% abv), made from small, red berries popular in continental Europe for jams and jellies due to their high pectin content. In this country they were known as pipperages and were much valued for their ruby appearance but were eradicated by wheat rust which devastated crops. Dried barberries (or berberries) are also used in Iranian and Middle East cooking

and prized for their sweet, sour and sharp nature and the vibrant colour they impart to dishes.

In October, Mike and his wife Patricia took a trip to friends in Austria with the intention of loading up the car with barberries for the beer – expecting a bumper harvest just like they collected last year.

But there were none, not a berry, nary a sign of one.

Bushes were eerily empty and nobody knew why.

Their friends were bemused, but managed to unload their freezer-load of previous pickings so the Bells could at least have something to brew with. Mike also brought back a boot-full of quinces which he and

ROOSTER BOOSTER Red alert: Patricia and Mike Bell with their haul of barberries. Left, quinces ready for brewing Leo have brewed a saison-style beer from.

The quince has also become something of a forgotten fruit perhaps because its flesh is astringent and sour, but when cooked they become both sweet and savoury, and perfect for pastes and jellies. And beer.

It’s been some year for North Yorkshire brewery Rooster’s. The Knaresborough-based business started off 2018 celebrating 25 years of brewing astonishing beers such as Yankee and Baby Faced Asassin. It embarked on a series of collaborations with other brewers which proved highly popular, if not a little stressful.

A brewery expansion and move has been all-but signed and sealed, then to round off one of the most eventful 12 months of its existence, Rooster’s received a silver tankard from the British Guild of Beer Writers in its corporate communications awards category for a book it produced to mark its quarter-century. Phew!

Well done from all at Cheers.

REAL HONEST

CHRISTMAS SPIRITS AVAILABLE AT

WWW.DURHAMDISTILLERY.CO.UK

FACEBOOK @DURHAMDISTILLERYUK INSTAGRAM @DURHAMDISTILLERUK TWITTER @DURHAMDISTILUK

www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 31

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Fine ales, great atmosphere, honest food.

The heart of Birtley.

PROPER NORTH EASTERN PUB, GREAT WELCOME, REAL TRADITION.

Cask and craft Ales including Bass • Fine Lagers and Stouts Regular Live Entertainment • All sports shown • Quiz Nights • Pool Great Juke Box • Stunning Beer Garden • Discount for CAMRA members

Durham Road, Birtley • Tel: 0191 4102582 Just 20 minutes from the centre of Newcastle or Durham on the frequent Angel 21 bus route which stops right outside our front door.

Mon to Thurs 11-11 • Fri & Sat 11 – Midnight • Sun 11.30 -11

www.railwayhotelbirtley.co.uk 32 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

NEWS

READ ALE ABOUT IT

Cheers' new guide to breweries in North Yorkshire joins our indispensable North East guide in time for Christmas We're delighted to announce the publication of our first Great North Yorkshire Brewery Guide - a 152-page beer lover's odyssey from the Dales to the Moors, down to York and across to the Wolds, engaging brewers in tales tall and short over pints pale and dark.

Brought to you by the Cheers team, The Great North Yorkshire Brewery Guide is our second regional guide, joining our first book, The Great North East Brewery Guide, on this year's musthave beer lover's Christmas list.

With a foreword by the brilliant beer writer, author and proud Yorkshireman Pete Brown, our North Yorkshire guide profiles dozens of craftsmen and women for whom the pursuit of the perfect blend of malted barley, hops, yeast and water is a life's work.

These folk, who toil tirelessly in brewhouses large and small, make North Yorkshire a great brewing region; home to established names like Theakston, Black Sheep, Yorkshire Dales and Wold Top, youthful innovators like Brew York and Beer Monkey, and newer names making their mark, including Hop Studio and North Riding.

Our book profiles 25 great breweries large, small and micro, exploring behind the scenes where the alchemy takes place, chronicling some fascinating brewers' stories, and tasting numerous beers across a huge range of styles from traditional Yorkshire bitter to new brews inspired by the styles of far-flung continents.

The result is an entertaining, informative and

thirst-inducing story of great beer and the people who make it.

It joins our first book - The Great North East Brewery Guide - which we published last November and which graced the Christmas stockings of many thousands of drinkers in the region and beyond.

If you haven't read it yet, you can still buy it at featured breweries, bottle shops, branches of Waterstones in the region and via the Cheers website, where you can kill two birds, as it were, by purchasing both guides at a bargain price.

Happy Christmas!

The Great North Yorkshire Brewery Guide (Offstone Publishing, £15) and the Great North East Brewery Guide (Offstone Publishing, £15) are available from the breweries featured in the books plus pubs, off-licences, bottle shops, independent bookshops and branches of Waterstones.

If you want to make the beer lover in your life particularly happy this Christmas, you can buy both at the Cheers website for £15 each or £25 for both. cheersnortheast. co.uk

www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 33

ARTY PEOPLE

GET THE PICTURE

Molly Mackay is a graduate portrait photographer working from Brighton Road Studios in Gateshead. She has been looking to gain more experience and to branch out into editorial portraits, so when she approached Cheers to see if we could help raise her profile, what could we say?

As she had worked part-time at Hadrian Border Brewery in Newcastle she already had a feel for beer and brewing, so off she went to meet some of the female members of the North East brewing community – who also said “yes”.

Molly says: “I specialise in portraiture photography, realising the true importance of imagery. When I am hired I want to capture you in SHONA BURROWS

34 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

your world and you can count on me to process that in my own unique style.”

Molly has presented us with a fine body of work and we’re very proud to be able to carry it.

EMMA HOWE Sales manager, Cheers magazine JULIA AUSTIN Owner, Tyne Bank Brewery

Her subjects are: SHONA BURROWS Co-owner of Hadrian Border Brewery

DAISY TURNELL Head of Steam and Camerons Brewery marketing manager and beer scene commentator

NICOLA SMITH Co-owner of Muckle Brewery

RED KELLIE Co-owner, First & Last Brewery

DAWN MILES Co-owner, Anarchy Brew Co

Molly’s work can also be viewed at www.mollymackay.com

NICOLA SMITH

ARTY PEOPLE DAWN MILES

www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 35

ARTY PEOPLE EMMA HOWE

JULIA AUSTIN

Wishing all of our customers a very Merry Christmas 2015, 2016, 2017 & 2018 Sunderland & South Tyneside CAMRA Pub of the Year Over 200 Spirits / 9 Hand Pulls on rotation Regular events throughout the year, call pub for details

OPENING TIMES: WEDS & THURS 2pm - 8pm, FRI 2pm - 9pm, SAT 12pm - 9pm, SUN 12pm - 4pm

QUIZ NIGHT THE 1ST THURSDAY OF EVERY MONTH

The Steamboat

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

BEN & LAURA WELCOME YOU TO DURHAM’S FIRST INDEPENDENT BOTTLE SHOP AND TAPS

DOG

FRIENDLY

PUB

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.... @TheHopKnocker 32 Marshall Terrace, Durham, DH1 2HX

ARTY PEOPLE DAISY TURNELL

RED KELLIE

WHY NOT CELEBRATE THE FESTIVE SEASON HERE WITH US AT THE SHIP, WYLAM CHRISTMAS FAYRE - Served throughout December Two Courses £20 | Three Courses £25

NEW YEARS EVE - £50 per person Canapes, fizz, 5 course dinner Advanced booking only

NEW YEARS DAY - Special Brunch Menu served 10-6pm

Sit back, relax and enjoy your time on board The Ship

Main Road, Wylam NE41 8AQ. Tel: 01661 854538 www.theshipinnwylam.co.uk www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 37

TRYANUARY

PROMOTE YOUR PUB

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE GLASS

However, there’s another side to drinking alcohol. It’s estimated that around four million people in the UK take part in Dry January – nearly one in ten of pub-goers. The organisation Alcohol Concern is inviting people to put the excesses of the festive period behind them and start 2019 with 31 alcohol-free days in order to feel healthier, save money and reset their relationship with alcohol.

Alcohol is a factor in more than 60 medical conditions that include various cancers, high blood pressure, liver problems and depression. www.alcoholconcern.org. uk/dry-january

A nationwide drive is under way to persuade people not to give in to temptation – and we in the North East are right behind it. Dry January, the well-meaning initiative that invites us to give up alcohol for a spell following the excesses of the festive period, does untold damage to the licensed trade.

Pubs are under enough pressure as it is without yet another block on their business, so we’re fighting back with Tryanuary, a UK-wide campaign which aims to inspire people to seek out and try new beers. Finding new beers in new places – and familiar beers in favourite haunts – provides crucial revenue to an industry of independent businesses in a historically quiet month for socialising.

Founded in January 2015 by Andy Heggs, Tryanuary began as a way to support a nation of fantastic, hard-working, independent businesses. By using the hashtag #Tryanuary 1949 on social media, the campaign aims to promote

conversation about new and interesting beers and in turn inspire people to venture out to support fantastic local pubs, bars, bottle shops and eateries.

The campaign open to volunteers – "local champions" – to help spread the word about what’s happening in their area. Your local pub will also be running initiatives to invite you to join them – and enjoy yourself at the same time. It certainly makes sense to us at Cheers North East.

For more and to Life.pdf join in Tryanuary, THK Christmas Ad information, 135 x 92mm_Northern 1 23/10/2018 please visit www.tryanuary.com

THE

TURKS HEAD

WISH YOU A BEERY

aka THE STUFFED DOG 8 Cask Lines 5 Craft Lines 50+ Gins 20+ Whiskey/Malts Dog Friendly Live Sport 7 Screens

Cask Club – Every Monday £2.30 Camra Discount 10% Monday Night Quiz – 8:30pm

C

M

Y

CHoppySYear

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K

Food Served Daily: Mon-Thurs 12pm-9pm Fri-Sun 12pm-5pm

41 FRONT STREET, TYNEMOUTH NE30 4DZ TEL

0191 257 6547

BUY ONLINE AT THEAKSTONS.CO.UK/SHOP Theakston Brewery Tap & Gift Shop, Masham, HG4 4YD E: info@theakstons.co.uk T: 01765 680000

38 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

17:

PUB PROFILE

Right direction: The Railway Hotel, Birtley

RIGHT ON TRACK

What happens when great pubs and great beer meet in the middle, asks Alastair Gilmour It’s not easy to find Draught Bass these days. In a world of brewery collaborations and diverse ingredients, it has somehow slipped under the radar. But seek and ye shall find – and thankfully, a pint of Bass at the Railway Hotel in Birtley, Gateshead, is a reminder of what great English Pale Ale can aspire to.

It’s on the bar of the Durham Road pub along with Daleside Bitter, brewed in Harrogate along with other North Yorkshire classics such as Monkey Wrench, Ripon Jewel and Old Legover (which has somehow managed to escape the political correctness police for decades).

It’s appropriate that the Railway Hotel serves handpulled Bass – both are revelations; slips of mind that never deserved to fade in the first place.

The pub’s solid brown façade of Ionic pillars and picture windows is an imposing sight. Inside, it’s absolutely sparkling, from its deep-buttoned upholstered seating that ranges in colour from

forest green to rich red, to the impressive island counter and glorious gantry that separate barroom from lounge and games area more effectively than any partition.

A highly-coloured, domed stained glass skylight depicting the points of the compass catches the eye (orientated correctly, too), as do the tartan carpet at one end and polished timber flooring at the other. It all seems to hang together well.

A dozen or so mirrors adorn the walls with several advertising McEwans, William Younger or Bass Ales. Also dotted around are framed adverts showing old Birtley retailers from the days when you could buy a three-piece suite for less than £10 (that’s suite, not suit), plus other town images and railway paraphernalia. At

the rear, a delightfully-appointed beer garden is a stone-walled haven. Joining our Bass is a bit of juke-box reggae which invariably lightens up the soul: “Don’t worry ’bout a ’ting, cos every little ’ting gonna be alright". Together they’re more than “alright”.

Manager Karen Timney (who apparently knows everybody in Birtley) reports that the Railway’s trade is building nicely. Owner John Brearley had invited tenants to run the pub but realised that a managed house with a well-regarded local character in charge was the way forward.

“Karen loves the place and is very enthusiastic to make it really fly,” says John, who has also taken on another project, the Grade II-listed Swan And Railway Hotel in Wigan. “Like the Railway Hotel, it’s 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 essence of the word ‘public house'." www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 39

S I X C A S K A L E S - T WO C R A F T K E G S R E A L C I D E R - R E A L F O O D - R E A L F I R E

R E G U L A R B E E R F E S T I VA L S A N D E V E N T S , F O L L O W U S O N FAC E B O O K F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N .

D O G S W E L C O M E Y E

O L D E L M T R E E , 1 2 C R O S S G AT E , D U R HA M C I T Y, D H 1 4 P S

1 2 C R O S S G AT E D U R HA M C I T Y 40 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

5 3 C R O S S G AT E D U R HA M C I T Y

9 1 A C L AY PAT H D U R HA M C I T Y

PUB NEWS

FINGERS CROSSED

The deadline for pledges of support to save a Tyneside village pub loomed – and passed – as Cheers was at print, so we keep our fingers crossed that the investors have reached their target.

For the past six months, Ye Olde Cross in Ryton Village, Gateshead, has been the focus of an action group that includes Blaydon MP Liz Twist who are hoping to buy the 1909-vintage pub and have it up and running as a cooperative for the benefit of the local community.

Owners Enterprise Inns decided it was no longer viable and put it on the market for £295,000.

The village pub is too important an asset to lose, so a steering group of local people was set up to assess, among other issues, why the pub didn’t seem to work in latter years and if it wasn’t making any money previously, how they could do things differently and make it sustainable.

Local opinion ran along the lines of: “If it’s run by the community it’ll be for the community, plus it’ll be more than a pub, it’s too important an asset to simply give up. It could be also used

by disability groups and creative circles, it’s on popular walking and cycling routes, so let’s have a go.”

Friends of Ye Olde Cross report that pub is generally in good condition, plus there’s a very well-equipped kitchen and a two-bedroom flat above. Campaign co-ordinator Jenny Wotherspoon said: “We set up a community benefit society called Ryton Cross Community Society Ltd and have successfully listed the pub as an Asset of Community Value. We’ve been working with community business experts The Plunkett Foundation to put together a business plan and share offer, and have received the Community Shares Standard kitemark.

“Enterprise Inns have accepted our offer to buy Ye Olde Cross. Between the community shares we have raised so far, and a grant and loan from Power To Change’s More Than A Pub programme, we’re more than half-way to raising the money we need to buy the pub.”

By the time you read this, the clock will have struck. Fingers crossed. Visit yeoldecross.co.uk

WINE, DELI, ENOTECA TA S T I N G S a n d E V E N T S

GIFT VOUCHERS and GIFT WRAPPING 3a Elmfield Road | Gosforth | Newcastle upon Tyne | NE3 4AY

Tel 0191 2131818

www.carruthersandkent.com www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 41

BREWERY NEWS

TAKE IT FROM THE BOTTOM

Bottle conditioned real ale from our tiny brewery in the wild and wonderful Hadrian’s Wall country where we brew, bottle, label and package the ales in our garden brewery.

www.mucklebrewing.co.uk | brewer@mucklebrewing.co.uk

Reece Hughill is a brewer who doesn’t know the meaning of the word “shortcut”. Some 90% of beer production at his Donzoko Brewing Co in Hartlepool is the Munich-inspired Northern Helles Lager which sits in conditioning tanks for anything up to six weeks.

It’s a long and slow process necessary for a cool secondary fermentation and a long way from mass produced lagers that see the light of day in less than a fortnight.

“Northern Helles is our version of a Bavarian style unfiltered lager,” says Reece, who studied chemistry Newcastle University and in Germany at LMU Munich where Bavarian styles and the rich beer culture

became a big part of his life. “It’s inspired by lazy days by the River Eisbach for a sweet malt, subtle floral hop flavour and a crisp refreshing finish.

“Northern Helles is a really clean lager. People are moving into things like Pilsner Urquell (premium Czech lager), getting back to really crispy styles. They’re talking about it more and we let the beer talk for itself, although unfiltered beer is not an easy sell. Customers are paying for that maturation time – but some will pay five or six pounds for a beer but quibble at four for a lager.”

Customers are also paying for high quality German malts, New Zealand hops and Swiss yeast but the point is, would you rather sip

Home Brew

CRAFT YOUR OWN BEER. MALT. HOPS. YEAST. WATER.

YOUR WAY. 42 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

BREWERY NEWS

Lager than life: Reece Hughill, Donzoko Brewing Co

a beautiful, home-grown, deeply traditional beer that maybe costs a pound more than normal, or slug a mass-produced bland brand for under three quid?

Reece also fills in with shifts at the Free Trade Inn, Newcastle. He says: “It’s great when I’m working there and you can see them really enjoying Northern Helles. It’s nice to have a little band of followers and they’ll say, ‘Did you brew this? Really?

Fantastic’.”

Lager actually has a long history in Britain but it’s never been fully appreciated. Breweries in London, Wrexham and Edinburgh all have legitimate claims to having produced the first British lager in the late 19th Century but further research leads to William Younger & Co starting brewing lager at their Holyrood Brewery in Edinburgh in December 1879 using a yeast strain imported from Carlsberg in Copenhagen.

Perhaps mass-produced Carling and Fosters have made life difficult for other lager producers, but the likes of Donzoko Northern Helles

and Thornbridge Lukas are certainly helping people reassess their opinions. (Donzoko, by the way, is Japanese for “rock bottom”.)

Reece Hughill says: “Everything is going well, getting really good consistency with our beers. We brew off-site at the Lion’s Den microbrewery at Cameron’s in Hartlepool and transfer the beer in thousand-litre sterile containers – basically a bag in a box – to my own place which is basically full of fermenters.

“I’m trying to put his own spin on things but there’s a lot of tweaking before you get it right. Each village in Bavaria has its own brewery and everything is delivered super fresh, so that’s what we’re trying to do.

“We were invited to take our beer to the Indy Man Beer Convention in Manchester a couple of months ago.

Just to be part of it was brilliant – being among some of the best beers in the world was just amazing. I just want to make good lager and if I can do that and sell it locally I’ll be happy.” www.donzoko.com

www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 43

GIFTS

cheers SHOPPING GUIDE A round-up of pressies for the pub-lover in your life THE CLUNY T-shirts are £10 each and there are currently five to choose from... including some fun takes on classic alternative music/rock and roll imagery as well as the Cluny logo.

There are also more to follow!

Totes are £5 each & bear the Cluny C logo and you can also get Cluny branded pint glasses for £2.

These can all be bought over the bar as well as gift vouchers for £10, £15 & £20 which can be redeemed against food, drinks, merch and gig tickets.

Take-out on cans and bottles with a 20% discount plus Cluny branded growlers in the near future for takehome draught.

44 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

THEAKSTONS Another collection of ‘Peculierly’ delightful gifts are available from Theakston Brewery, Masham, North Yorkshire. From Backward clocks to Peculier socks, Theakston has the perfect gift for everyone.

Old Peculier is available on a plate as well as in a pint glass thanks to the brewery’s range of Peculier preserves, Christmas puddings, cheeses and chocolates served on oak cheeseboards handcrafted by the Theakston cooper.

Peculier Gift Boxes are new for 2017, and if you can’t decide on which Theakston gift to select, a tailored hamper may be the perfect answer. Each hamper contains a selection of unique Yorkshire goodies, Theakston merchandise and fine Theakston ales, which makes them the ideal solution.

Shopping with Theakstons couldn’t be easier and everything can be delivered straight to your door. Go to www.theakstons.co.uk/shop and order online or call the gift shop, tel 01765 684 333.

HADRIAN BORDER Hadrian Border Brewery has released two festive beers this festive season, both available in three-bottle gift packs.

First off we have the flavoursome Christmas Baubale 5.1% abv. A full-bodied deep brown beer with a warming hint of blood orange and a pleasant chocolate aftertaste. Available at Fenwick, CentrAle & Beer Box. For the lager lover, there’s Festive Cheers 4.0% abv. A classic light-bodied golden European style beer with mild bitterness and gentle floral finish. Also available direct from the brewery.

ELDERBERRY Elderberry Homebrew has all you need to warm those cockles during the festive season and beyond! For beer enthusiasts, they stock a vast range of hops, grains and ancillaries. Whether you’re just starting out and want some advice on kits or you’re experienced and need all the gear for full-mash brewing, they have you covered as they’ve been around since 1983 so have a wealth of knowledge to draw upon and are always happy to help.

Elderberry is also just the place to find the perfect Christmas gift for anyone likes to drink wine, beer or cocktails. Homebrew is also

GIFTS a fantastic hobby and you could inspire someone with a gift to get them brewing.

They also sell a range of cheese-making kits to enable you to make anything from halloumi to Red Leicester.

Pop along and see for yourself in sunny Whitley Bay, and get brewing in time for Christmas!

CENTRALE CentrAle bottleshop on platform 12 of Newcastle’s historic Central Station has fast become a favourite with beer lovers and train travellers alike. Housed in the station’s former lost luggage office, you’ll find shelves filled with bottles, cans, gift boxes and more.

Organised into areas stretching across Newcastle, Tyneside, Co Durham and beyond. Bruce, Donna and the team have a passion for local beers, as well as spirits, and are happy to help you pick out gifts or something to sample for yourself. You’ll find gift boxes for your favourite beer and spirit drinkers as well as bespoke hampers available on request.

BEER BOX Beer Box has packed its shop within the STACK social and shopping hub in central Newcastle with the best craft beers on the market.

From their own awardwinning Whitely Bay-based Black Storm Brewery beers, to the most innovative ales being created from UK producers and worldwide, their range represents the devoted craft beer drinkers’ ‘to do list’. Their knowledgeable and friendly staff, plus George, their resident brewery spaniel, are on hand to help you choose your gifts, or to suggest the best beers for festive and New Year parties. Gifts include: a select your own three-can gold tube, a range of craft beer gift boxes, and for the beer present of all beer presents – a 24-beer individually curated gift box. Buy in Beer Box or email your order online. www.wearebeerbox. com @itsbeerbox, Unit 12, STACK, Newcastle. NE1 6QE TYNE BANK STUCK FOR A CHRISTMAS GIFT? Look no further than Tyne Bank. For that beer enthusiast how about a BREWERY TOUR VOUCHER? Learn the process, gain the knowledge and afterwards, most importantly, taste the beer with one of their knowledgeable staff members. For those who just prefer to sample they have; GIFT BOXES, choose three from their bottled range or six from their can range to be boxed ready for the big day. From their draught beers chose from 1 or 2 litre GROWLERS, 5 litre MINI KEG and 10 and 20 Litre POLYPINS, perfect as gifts or party supplies. They also have a great range of T-shirts and if you spend £15 or more and they’ll throw in a free Tote bag. Purchase direct from the Brewery Monday to Friday 9-4 or the Tap Room Thurs – Sunday 12-11, free car parking to the rear.

CANNY STUFF “Let’s just clear up this elephant in the room first. There’s no beer on offer here. Sorry about that... Really, we are. What we do offer though, are locally designed T-shirts for you to wear when you are drinking beer, because let’s face it, you’d get a few funny looks if you went to your local with nee top on.

If you’re Toon daft, black and white at heart, are bridge crazy or just from the North of the East, we could be right down your street.

At CannyStuff we create local themes made by local designers of your favourite quotes, people and landmarks and then print them on just about anything to order. T-shirts, cushions for the wife, mugs, hats and bags. If we could print on your face, we would. Choose from thousands of variations that match your style. Or if you ask nicely we can create custom designs for the item of your choice, you’d just need to email areet@cannystuff.com If you fancy ordering something canny for yourself or someone else, then you can use the code SAVEMYBEERMONEY for 10% OFF Price range £10 - £25 Cannystuff.com REHILLS Alongside an impressive array of international, national and local beers, Newcastle’s original Craft Beer store also displays over 300+gins, 450+ whiskies and 250+ rums and vodkas. It won’t be difficult to identify the perfect gift for your loved one in this fantastic store. A recent addition to this specialist shop is the popular Growler Fill System. Purchase your Rehills growler and fill it with fresh beer to take home.

Available in 1 litre and ½ litre growler sizes, it’s a perfect takeaway option for patrons.

245-249 Jesmond Road, Jesmond NE21 LB, Tel 0191 281 4499 www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 45

BE FES ER 21st TIVAL FEB - 24th RUA RY

THERE ARE STILL SOME FIRES BURNING BRIGHT IN CONSETT

THE GREY HORSE HOME OF

The Grey Horse, 115 Sherburn Terrace, Consett, Co. Durham, DH8 6NE. Telephone: 01207 591 540 www.consettaleworks.co.uk

follow us 46 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

12 ALES OF CHRISTMAS

THE

12 Ales Of Christmas

CONSETT ALE WORKS

Santa’s Little Smelter (4.5% abv) An exclusive ale available the first week in December, Santa’s Little Smelter is a lighter take on traditional dark Christmas ales – an amber coloured bitter with a floral aroma and smooth aftertaste.

Limited edition casks. www.consettaleworks.co.uk

TYNE BANK BREWERY

Vesuvius (6.0% abv) This rich luxurious stout is inspired by the Neapolitan ice cream. A drink that definitely comes in layers; first the taste buds are treated to chocolate from the roast malts and cocoa additions, then the vanilla from the Madagascar Bourbon pure vanilla extract and finally the sweet taste of strawberries. Perfect for dark winter nights. www.tynebankbrewery.co.uk

MUCKLE BREWING

TYNE BANK BREWERY

ALLENDALE BREWERY

BLACKSTORM BREWERY

FIREBRICK BREWERY

ANARCHY BREWERY

DURHAM BREWERY

DURHAM DISTILLERY

ROOSTER’S BREWERY

HADRIAN BORDER BREWERY

Muckle Berry (4.5% abv) A rich winter fireside red ale, brewed with Crystal malt and First Gold hops. Muckle Berry balances the dark fruit flavours of raisins and plums with hints of caramel and layers of bitter spiced oranges. www.mucklebrewing.co.uk

Christmas Ale (7.0% abv) A variety of roasted malts give a sweet biscuity flavour with hints of cinder toffee. Generous amounts of English Goldings hops bring flavours of Seville orange marmalade and a floral aroma. www.allendalebrewery.com

Fireglow (4.1% abv) A sweet spiced dark ale – black cardamom, allspice berries and cinnamon bark join a complex malt mix in the mash. British, German and Czech Republic hops complement the spice in this winter seasonal from Firebrick’s Year in Beer Mystical range. www.firebrickbrewery.com

Imperious (12% abv) A limited-edition whisky cask-aged imperial stout, this features a strong bourbon aroma with oily coffee, liquorice and dark chocolate flavours in the massive vanilla body. Matured for over nine months in whisky hogsheads, creating a long rich and warming finish with a hint of brown sugar. Gift boxes also available. www.durhambrewery.com

Three French Hens – (3.9% abv) Brewed using Cascade and Centennial hops and the addition of cinnamon and orange peel, Three French Hens is an amber-coloured beer with citrus-fruit flavours and a light, spicy finish. www.roosters.co.uk

Portrait of a Lady (7.4% abv) Inspired by the rich creamy Italian desert, Portrait of a Lady is Tyne Bank Brewery’s take on a Panna Cotta white stout. A golden ale with a silky mouthfeel, carefully balanced malts and creamy rich undertones of vanilla and lemon. A fantastic desert in a glass. www.tynebankbrewery.co.uk

Snow Storm (abv 7.0%) Created especially for the festive season, Snow Storm is a naturally hazy white stout with a good body and mouth feel from flaked oats and barley.

Roast and chocolate flavours from smoked malt and vodka soaked cocoa nibs. Available exclusively on tap at Storm Cellar, 10 York Road, Whitley Bay. www.blackstormbrewery.com

Xmas Chaos (4.3% abv) Rum Raisin Porter Anarchy’s Christmas special beer, mixing the tastes of raisins and vanilla, with added spices and a cheeky helping of rum. Sure to keep you warm on a winter’s night. www.anarchybrewco.com

Strawberry Collins 50ml Durham Strawberry and Pink Pepper liquer, 25ml freshly squeezed lemon juice, 10ml grenadine syrup, soda water, lemon slices, cocktail cherries. Fill a large glass with plenty of ice, pour in your liqueur, lemon juice and syrup and top up with soda. Garnish with lemon and cherries. www.durhamdistillery.co.uk

Grýla (4.5% abv) In Iceland, the hideous giantess comes down from the mountains on Christmas Eve to devour naughty children in a bubbling broth! A copper coloured ale with flavours of caramel and cinder toffee alongside notes of autumnal fruits and festive spices. A pleasant bitterness and smooth finish. A festive end to Hadrian Border’s Folklore series. www.hadrian-border-brewery.co.uk www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 47

BSB088 6 Sheet Poster 2.indd 1

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04/10/2018 12:33

HANGOVERS

OH MY HEAD Vincent Zeller searches for a hangover cure

What’s yours? This is not an invitation to have another drink at my expense, but an enquiry about hangover cures.

In all truth, the only way to avoid a hangover is to abstain from alcohol. Forget all this stuff about drinking small amounts of

THE COUNTY

olive oil before a hefty session, or downing pints of milk to line your stomach – if you’re going to drink too much, you’re going to suffer. Simple.

It’s funny how a hangover is always caused by a “bad pint” or a “bad pie” – never too much alcohol, is it? Hangovers are often painful reminders of sessions we’d rather forget.

Yes, it was great at the time – life and soul you were – never knew you could be so witty. Tell us again what you said to the managing director’s wife – and how could you remember all the words to I’ve Got A Brand New Combine Harvester? With the Dorset accent, too.

But, once you’ve got a hangover, how to you get rid of it?

There is nothing quite like the artery-clogging fried breakfast to banish the extra heartbeat in your head. Serious lard intake is the only tried-and-tested route to feeling fine after one too many.

7 0 H I G H S T R E E T, G O S F O R T H , N E 3 1 H B

Greasy egg, sausage, black pudding and fried bread poked around the plate by a large sweaty tomato will do nicely, though a Double Bacon and Egg McMuffin comes fairly close in the speed-of-action stakes.

An old Wild West story suggests quaffing hot water mixed with jackrabbit droppings for a hangover, while the Ancient Greeks swore by the restorative powers of eating cabbage.

Hangovers usually bring on bouts of heartburn or hiccups, which multiply the misery. In a research paper some years ago, the eminent doctor James Le Fanu related the eye-watering tale of a young man whose hiccupping had lasted for 72 hours despite several “cures”.

“Rectal massage was then attempted,” he wrote. “The frequency of the hiccups began to slow and terminated within 30 seconds.”

McMuffin and regular fries, please.

14 Cask Lines • 5 Keg/Craft Lines 50+ Bottled and Canned Beers 80+ Gins • 30+ Whiskys Beer Garden / Dog Friendly Snug available for Private Hire As featured in Camra’s Good Beer Guide 2019 Tel: 0191

285 6919

DARK NIGHTS BEER FESTIVAL Thursday 31st Jan - Sunday 3rd Feb

Cask, cans, kegs & bottles Stouts, Porters & Imperials Check our Facebook for more details!

www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 49

ARTY PEOPLE

DRAWN TO OUR ATTENTION It never ceases to amaze us what talent bubbles along in the pub world. We’ve got poets and playwrights and singers and panto performers to name but a tiny few.

The most recent highly creative character to come to our attention is Rachel Taylor (pictured right) marketing manager at the Sir John Fitzgerald group. When we enquired about

a poster she had designed for The Bodega pub’s regular quiz night – which she designed – she sent us a little bit of career background, then quite modestly offered to show us some of her illustrations. And as we say, what an amazing talent!

Rachel graduated from Northumbria University with a degree in graphic design and marketing.

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50 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

ARTY PEOPLE

She says: “I started with the Sir John Fitzgerald group in 2015, part-time at first doing bits and bobs of marketing and design work. The Bodega quiz poster was one of the first things I did – it was a labour of love and has received loads of comments since. Then I got the job full-time and have less time to do illustration work.

“I do all of the marketing for SJF these days, however I have to admit that nothing has been quite so labour-intensive as that one.

“I’ve always been the independent sort, I’ve illustrated T-shirts and drawn pubs, but when you’re doing it for yourself and don’t have a real deadline, they can take a long time.”

Well worth the wait, we’d say.

New Years Eve Party with The Baghdaddies 7pm - 2am

Tickets £25 per head & include a Free Glass of Bubbly & Buffet Tickets can be purchased over the phone or at the bar.

All tickets purchased will be automatically entered into a draw with the chance to win a Bottle of Prosecco and £30 Bar Tab for the night through our Facebook page

Tel: 0191 2616611

Grand Central Station, Neville St, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 5DG www.centurion-newcastle.com www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 51

CHEERS ON TOUR

CLASSIFIED ADVERTS

Alan Ross (green jacket) and Jim Lambert at Lobuje East with Mount Everest in the background

For more information on how to advertise your services, vacancies and events contact Emma Howe on

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TAKE OUT BEER HOPPERS These unique 2 pint containers are designed to take-out draught beer.

Just £32.00 + VAT & delivery per box of 100 Buy on-line at www.gnltd.co.uk Email: sales@gnltd.co.uk Call: 01233-770780

GN Packaging Specialists in Beer Books, Postcards, Posters & Signs Our product range covers material from England, Belgium, France, The Netherlands, Germany and the U.S.A. They will be of interest to beer drinkers, memorabilia lovers, brewers, publicans, bar designers plus many more beer enthusiasts.

We deliver by mail order and can also ship abroad.

Beer-Inn Print (Est 1997) Long High Top, Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, HX& 7PF Tel: 01422 844437 Email: beerinnprint@gmail.com order online at: www.beerinnprint.co.uk

WHAT IN THE WORLD?

You readers are amazing! There are 101 things to think about while preparing for a trip, but you manage to pack a copy of Cheers, keep it in pristine condition, and flourish it for a photo-shoot at your destination. Thank you, we love it SUMMIT SPECIAL “Because it’s there” is the mountaineers’ response to the question of why they do what they do. It’s what drives Alan Ross from Blaydon, Tyne & Wear – for example, on a month-long trip to the Himalayas during October, resulting in successful summits on Pokalde, Island Peak and Lobuje East. “But months of training,

52 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

preparation and planning would mean nothing without the wonderful support of a great team of sherpas and porters,” says Alan, who’s secondary mission was to tell readers about the beer scene in Nepal. “As part of my training before and during the climbs, beer was off the radar, but once finished it would have been rude not to try and seek out a few drinks.

CHEERS ON TOUR

The Crown Posada's Kiwi visitors with manager Andrew Nicholson, centre

Nigel Williams in Argentina

A grocery store in Nepal “Roads in the Khumbu area are non-existent, so everything has to come in by helicopter or more likely be carried by foot. It is not uncommon to see porters carrying loads of over 100 kilos to villages in the mountains. On the trail there are many Tea Lodges were trekkers and climbers can spend the night, eat well and replenish dwindling stocks of beer and the staple diet, Snickers bars and Pringles.

“Beer for sale is mostly San Miguel and Everest – a European pale lager style beer brewed

by Mount Everest Brewery in Kathmandu – which is certainly tasty enough when served nicely chilled.

“Over the last few years a new player has emerged which should encourage all those who appreciate a great tasting beer.

Sherpa Brewery started brewing in 2013 in Kathmandu and their first beer is a wonderful Khumbu Kölsch produced in small quantities but widely available now throughout the Himalayas.

“More recently, the company has just started brewing Himalayan Red – a red ale brewed in the

Brian Burgess' copy of Cheers on the drumkit in Florida tradition of a British Extra Special Bitter. At the end of our trip we certainly sampled a few of these new beers and all agreed it was one to savour.

“Nepal is a wonderful country and a beer such as those from Sherpa Brewery that has been carried for nearly a week to get to a lodge in the mountains surely deserves to be tasted.” *Alan Ross went to Nepal through Sheffield-based Jagged Globe tour company.

ST AUGUSTINE PREVIEW In November 2014, Brian Burgess from Sherburn Village, Durham, sent us photos from The Alamo in Texas then from the A1A Alehouse in St Augustine, Florida, pictured alongside head brewer Doug Murr.

Fast-forward four years and Doug has opened Dog Rose Brewing Company in the Lincolnville area of St Augustine.

Brian writes: “Dog Rose has just celebrated its first anniversary. The new brewery and bar is in an old Americana Museum. On October 10 this year was the Lincolnville

Julie and Dave Campbell with impressed barman in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico

Porchfest, a free event where eight porches are used as stages throughout the day for around 46 bands and performers.

“My picture shows local band Chemtrails – good friends of mine – playing on the brewery loading dock. You’ll see Cheers on the bass drum. Chemtrails are: Gary West, John Gray, Cleet Albertson and drummer Greg Milosz.

Regular beers at the brewery include: Lincolnville Lager (5.0% abv), Ramble On Red (5.2% abv), Roadside IPA (6.2% abv), Palace Pale Ale (4.8% abv) and Speedball Stout (6.0% abv).

“There are now four breweries in St Augustine – Dog Rose, Old Coast, Ancient City and Bog Brewing, with a fifth coming next year. Most of the beers sell for $5 for a 16oz pour.”

WAY DOWN SOUTH Nigel Williams took his magazine to a far-flung outpost.

He writes: “I’m on a visit to Christopher’s Bar in Ushuaia in southern Argentina, the most southerly city in the world.I’m drinking Beagle Ale and Beagle Red – served cool!”

SOUTH OF THE BORDER Dave and Julie Campbell, owners of the Mean Eyed Cat pub in Newcastle, sent us this from Playa Del Carmen in Mexico.

The barman/patron of Club de la Cervesa pictured in the middle is apparently keen to study brewing in the US or the UK. We just hope he saw the advert for Brewlab on page 33 of that issue. Julie says: “A few times that we intended to take Cheers out with us it poured down and I didn’t want to get it wet. This time we managed it.”

AND BACK HOME… ... the other way round.

This group of New Zealand rugby fans popped into the Crown Posada in Newcastle one November afternoon en route for Dublin to watch the All Blacks play Ireland.

They had been to Twickenham a few days earlier and decided to take a little UK tour while here with the Crown Posada on their bucket list where they enjoyed Allendale Pennine Pale and the house special Black Gate Bitter while being entertained by manager Andrew Nicholson’s pub anecdotes. www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 53

FUN STUFF

THE DIRTY DOZEN

SIGN OF THE TIMES Here’s a seasonal image to celebrate the festive season.

On the back of a Tesco homedelivery van is the line: “No mince pies are left in this vehicle overnight”.

It makes us want to go out and buy some to see how good they taste.

Or is that the whole idea?

HEAD HURTERS TO FIRE ACROSS THE PUB FLOOR

1 The world’s smallest football league operates on the Isles of Scilly. How many teams does it have?

2 On December 15 1853, Carlisle became the first town in mainland Britain to have what?

3 In terms of attendance, the English Premier League is Europe’s most popular. Second is Germany’s Bundesliga – what is third?

4 Name the actors who played the title roles in the 1960 movie The Magnificent Seven.

A MAN WALKS UP TO A 24-HOUR BAR… …AND FINDS THE BARMAN LOCKING THE DOOR. “HEY,” HE SAYS, “WHAT’S GOING ON, THE SIGN SAYS ‘OPEN 24 HOURS’.

THE BARMAN SAYS, “YES, WE’RE OPEN 24 HOURS, BUT NOT CONSECUTIVELY.”

EEH! NUMBERS

5 How many characters are there in the Russian alphabet?

6 In what year was the old-age pension introduced?

7 What is acetyl salicyclic acid better known as?

8 Which English footballer joined Hamburg FC in 1977?

9 In 1867, the United States paid Russia $7.2m for what?

10 Where did the banana originate?

11 How long was the mission the Starship Enterprise engaged on?

12 What is the Devil’s Tattoo?

4000

4000 BC: Roughly the year that the first European pies have been traced back to 4000: The amount in pounds of the world’s most expensive gin that went on sale in Harvey Nichols, London, in November 2018 4000: An electronic/dance album released by La Fuente in 2016 The X-Seed 4000 was a concept building featuring 800 floors designed for Tokyo in 1995 which would stand four kilometres high. It was never built.

QUOTE “FAME? IT’S LIKE... WHEN YOU LOOK THROUGH A WINDOW, SAY YOU PASS A LITTLE PUB, OR AN INN. YOU LOOK THROUGH THE WINDOW AND YOU SEE PEOPLE TALKING AND CARRYING ON. YOU CAN WATCH OUTSIDE THE WINDOW AND SEE THEM ALL BEING VERY REAL WITH EACH OTHER. BUT WHEN YOU WALK IN IT’S OVER.” BOB DYLAN

QUIZ ANSWERS: 1 Two (Woolpack Wanderers and Garrison Gunners, playing each other 17 times a season, plus two cup competitions). 2 A Roadside post box. 3 The English Championship. 4 Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Robert Vaugn, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Horst Buchholz and the one that nobody remembers… Brad Dexter. 5 Thirty-one. 6 1909. 7 Aspirin. 8 Kevin Keegan. 9 Alaska.10 South East Asia. 11 Five years. 12 Drumming with your fingers as a sign of impatience.

54 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk