cheers WWW.CHEERSNORTHEAST.CO.UK // MARCH 2019 // ISSUE 88
I T ’ S
A B O U T
P U B S ,
P E O P L E ,
B E E R
–
A N D
NATIONAL IDENTITY BELGIUM HUNGARY ICELAND HOLLAND NORWAY AND BREXIT
SIGN LANGUAGE
PART OF OUR CULTURE THAT’S MORE THAN WORDS
Y O U !
FREE PLEA
SE TAKE A COPY
OUR
HERO
June 3rd, 1989 - Stanley, County Durham. Not a million miles away from our Brewery, local boxer Glenn McCrory enters the ring to fight for the World Cruiserweight Title. At 5-1 the odds were against him, but odds are there to be defied... The rest is a North East sporting legend. Brewed by our Head Brewer Rufus, Our Hero is a full bodied, English Pale Ale brewed to commemorate Glenn's famous victory....This is a beer for the underdog, the champion, for Glenn, for you! GLENN MCCRORY
FIND OUT MORE ON
Consett Ale Works, 115 Sherburn Terrace, Consett, Co. Durham, DH8 6NE. Telephone: 01207 591 540 www.consettaleworks.co.uk
WELCOME March is going to be a funny month this year. Sure, we’ve had record high temperatures that are likely to linger, St Patrick’s Day marks the middle of the month, Mothers’ Day is approaching, and the Cheltenham Festival will make the flutterers among us richer or poorer. Season-defining matches are hotting up for our football clubs – up, down, stick or twist – but at least the introduction of new beer styles will reflect the changing season. Last year’s Beast From The East is but a memory, but what’s this on the horizon? Something called Brexit, is it? Depending on your opinion (or the latest decision by the prime minister), March 29 will see us skipping merrily into the sunny glades of freedom from the EU or have us quoting endlessly from Private Frazer in Dads’ Army: “Wur Doomed. Doomed ah tell ye.” To that end, we’ve introduced a European flavour to this issue. Beer, wine and pubs from across “Le Continong” demonstrate what our neighbours do exceptionally well – and, of course, they’ll continue to be there come March 30, but somehow in a different way. At least we can still claim Bedlington (see page 24). And we’re welcoming some of the finest female brewing talent to the region for the Siris beer festival and symposium at Newcastle University (page10). Quite a coup. Cheers, Alastair Gilmour Editor, Cheers North East
EDITORIAL
Alastair Gilmour 07930 144 846 01661 844 115 alastair@cheersnortheast.co.uk @CheersPal www.cheersnortheast.co.uk Photography: Peter Skelton www.thepsp.net
CONTENTS 16
SIGN LANGUAGE
We see signs every day and everywhere in our coming-and-going lives – but do we stop to consider where they come from, what they really mean, and who actually produces them? Step forward Ashley Willerton, a hugely gifted young man with a vivid imagination, a commendable grasp of history, and a very steady hand. He left a secure job as a web designer to pursue a traditional craft that people said was dead. But he’s left his mark on teashops, pubs, gin palaces and hairdressers’. Wallow in his talent.
COVER: ASHLEY WILLERTON AT THE TOWN WALL, NEWCASTLE. PHOTO: PETER SKELTON
A LOT OF PEOPLE NEW TO BELGIUM UNDERESTIMATE THE STRENGTH OF THE BEERS… BUT THERE WERE A LOT OF REAL FINDS
04 15 WOMEN BEER 10 LIKE 22 TOO NORWAY+ 11 ANARCHY 24 BOXED UP =? BUDAPEST A 14 INGLASS 26 FINE FIVE LATEST NEWS
BREXIT AND BREWING BEER, BIKES AND MERCKX BEDLINGTON AMSTERDAM’S
HARRY PEARSON
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Paul Bramley 07976 471 245 01661 844 115 paul@offstonepublishing.co.uk
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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
HISTORY IN THE MAKING
This July will mark the 20th anniversary of the closure of Vaux, the iconic Sunderland brewer that had produced beer on the banks of the Wear for 213 years. Now its history is being told via a documentary film produced by County Durham-based Lonely Tower Film & Media along with Maxim Brewery (Houghton le Spring) which was created – in the most part – by former Vaux employees to keep the famous names alive. The documentary is to be shown across Sunderland, available on DVD, and via the streaming service Amazon Prime and will feature Vaux Breweries’ chairman Sir Paul Nicholson and his brother, managing director Frank Nicholson, along with brewery staff, publicans and others who were involved in the Vaux story. Marie Gardiner from Lonely Tower Film & Media
said: “No-one can forget its dominant presence in the centre of the city and the sound of dray horses on their rounds. We want to tell the story of Vaux via the people who were there, the people who lived it and worked through its sad end. This film will obviously tell the history of the brewery business, but more than that, we hope it will be a tribute to everyone who loved the place so much.” Former Vaux finance director Mark Anderson – now of Maxim Brewery – said: “We are incredibly proud to still be producing the famous Vaux beers, along with our own distinctive and innovative creations. The history of our brewery business is intimately aligned with that of Vaux and all that it stood for, so to be involved in telling and sharing this poignant Sunderland story on the 20th anniversary of its closure is perfect. We all know it will be a moving tribute.”
DROP IN CLOSURES BUT ACTION CONTINUES The latest figures from the Campaign For Real Ale (Camra) reveal that 14 pubs are closing their doors each week, prompting the real ale consumers’ champion to renew calls for fundamental action to bolster its Save Our Pubs initiative. The number of pub closures has dropped slightly from a rate of 18 a week last year, but the figure remains far too high and without swift action, it is unlikely that many of them will ever reopen. Jackie Parker, Camra’s national chairman, said: “Pubs are a very important part of our national culture and are valuable community assets which help to combat loneliness and social isolation. It’s great we have seen a drop in
4 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk
the number of them closing, showing that our hard-fought campaign to get planning protection for pubs was worth it. “Protecting pubs in the English planning system was a necessity and a welcome move from the Government. However, it’s taken nearly two years for the trickledown effects of the planning changes to show. Politicians should back the Save Our Pubs Campaign and show they are squarely behind pubs.” Camra is also calling for full reviews of the business rates system, and of legislation designed to enable pub tenants to get a fair deal from their big-business property owners – moves the Government has promised but is yet to carry out.
NEWS
Sam Fender Photo: Christian Bertrand /Shutterstock.com
BRITS WINNER TOASTS WITH OWN-BRAND LAGER A Brit Awards winner toasted his success with his own-label beer – brewed by Newcastle’s Tyne Bank Brewery. Sam Fender, North Shields-born singersongwriter, was last month named Brit Awards Critics’ Choice for 2019 and shared his Fender’s Wallop lager with other musicians and celebrities at the ceremony at the O2 Arena in London hosted by Hugh Jackman. Tyne Bank owner Julia Austin was obviously as excited as anybody could be. She said: “We’re really pleased with Fender’s Wallop. “It all started when Rich Southern joined us last November as events manager. He has been close friends with Sam for ages. Sam’s management approached us to brew a signature beer for him. He now plans to sell the cans at his merchandise stalls at future gigs and possibly online. “At the time we didn’t know about the Brits or Sam headlining the Mouth of the Tyne Festival in July, but we are so happy for him;
he has worked so hard and deserves all his success.” During discussions about what style the beer would be, Sam settled on a Czech-style lager with a clean finish and a bold malty taste. Julia Austin said: “Sam, his band and friends also celebrated their end-of-tour party in the Tyne Bank taproom in December so we made sure we had it on the bar for them. “And we are chuffed to bits that he took a few cans to pass around at the Brits. It was great to see Greg James from Radio 1 enjoying his so much he shared it on his Instagram page. He also shared it with Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch.” Last year, Sam Fender was named one of the BBC's Sound of 2018 alongside other emerging artists that included Sigrid, Lewis Capaldi and Khalid. His single Play God was featured in the FIFA 19 video game. In a Tweet, Sam said: “Proper humbled to win Brit Awards Critics’ Choice award, being nominated was wild enough! Latest single, Play God, out now – enjoy.”
KNOCKOUT BEER RAISES THE BAR The labelling for a new beer celebrating North East sporting success has been revealed. On Saturday June 3, 1989, Glenn McCrory won the World Cruiserweight title and became the first-ever boxing world champion from the region and Consett Ale Works has agreed to produce Our Hero (3.8% abv) Pale Ale to coincide with a touring theatre production that marks a significant period in that rise to the top. Carrying David, written by prolific dramatist Ed Waugh, celebrates Glenn’s terminally ill adopted brother who had a musclewasting condition and was often piggy-backed around by Glenn and the McCrory family. Jeff Hind from Consett Ale Works said: “We’re really keen to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Glenn’s achievement. He’s a real hero, not just to the people of County Durham, but to the whole of the region.” Carrying David – supported by Arts Council England – will tour the North East in May and June this year in theatres and venues in Newcastle, Stanley, South Shields, Whitley Bay, Hartlepool, and Richmond in North Yorkshire. Details: www. wisecrackproductions.co.uk www.consettaleworks.co.uk www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 5
NEWS
NEW BUILD HAS A LOT TO CROW ABOUT
Construction work on a North Yorkshire brewery’s new home is progressing nicely, according to its owners. Rooster’s Brewing Co is relocating from Knaresborough back to Harrogate, where the brewery was first established by Sean Franklin in 1993. Based at Hornbeam Park, a couple of miles south of the towns centre and a short walk from the train station of the same name, the building – previously occupied by ICI – offers Rooster’s muchneeded, additional storage and operational space. Having outgrown their current building, which has been home to the brewery since 2001, there’s also enough space at the new
WHEN ‘OFF’ IS ‘ON’ And, while we’re explaining ourselves, we had a call from retired railwayman Len Abrahams who explained what the Sign Of The Times photo from February’s Cheers was all about. Apparently, at a railway station (such as Berwick in our photo), the “off” signal is for the train driver and isn’t intended for passengers. It means the signal is off so it’s set at green so the line ahead is clear for the train to proceed. Thank you Len, problem solved.
brand new, customdesigned 30-barrel brew plant. And, as if this isn’t progressive enough, a 10-barrel pilot plant has also been commissioned that will allow for a wider range of beers to be brewed, as well as bespoke brews with trade customers and Moving out: Oliver, left, and the development of a Tom Fozard, at the original barrel-ageing project. Rooster's brewery Work began on Rooster’s new site at the beginning of this year, with the Hornbeam Park site for Rooster’s aim of having the taproom room to develop an onsite taproom, open and pouring beers in late complete with a space for private April to early May. The new floor is functions and, for the first time, the close to completion, as is the new offer of regular brewery tours. cold store. Owned and operated by Ian The brewery itself will be Fozard and his twin sons, Tom and installed in June, at which point Oliver, who bought the brewery in production will transition from the December 2011, the move is also old site in Knaresborough. an opportunity for investment in a
Fine ales, great atmosphere, honest food. The heart of Birtley.
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NEWS
Staffing up: Arch 2 Brewpub & Kitchen, Newcastle
ROOM FOR EXPANSION
Arch 2 Brewpub & Kitchen, based in the Ouseburn, Newcastle, is on a mission to build the business. Co-owner Leo Bell (with father Mike) says: “We’re looking for a dynamic individual with previous supervisory/ managerial experience, preferably in a fast-paced bar/restaurant environment. Knowledge of craft beer is ideal but not essential.”
Applicants must have a range of abilities with a focus on customer service and quality with a minimum of two years supervisory experience in a bar and restaurant environment. Flexible working will cover 42 hours over five days. Salary (£17K-£22K) plus bonus is dependent on experience and progression. CVs to leo.newcastlebrewing@gmail. com
vv
HANDS UP, WE GOT IT WRONG We all have off-days; those times where nothing goes right – and that’s what happened in last month’s article on the naming of a South Shields pub. Its signage calls it variously The Kirkpatrick, Kirkpatrick’s, Kirkpatricks and The Kirkpatricks; named in honour of local First World War hero John Simpson Kirkpatrick. Hands up to our mistakes: We reported that he’d been awarded the Victoria Cross for his bravery in rescuing injured compatriots on the back of a donkey – but it was “merely” a mention in dispatches. We misnamed the pub as a JD Wetherspoon house when it’s from the Stonegate portfolio – and the word “selfishness” is quite the opposite of “selflessness”. Yes, a bad day all round. Apologies to all.
S C H O O N E R T U N E Ss Brought to you by Mean-Eyed Cat Fri 1st March Archie Brown & The Acoustic Bucks 6pm Sun 3rd March El Camino 4:30pm Sun 10th March The Dust Town Dogs 4:30pm Sun 17th March Kingsize Voodoo Traveller 4:30pm Sat 23rd March ‘1977’ 8pm Sun 24th March Get Carter 4:30pm Sun 31st March TBC
every Wednesday night we quiz from 8pm
South Shore Road, Gateshead, NE8 3AF 0191 477 7404 | www.theschooner.co.uk
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NEWS
IT’S MORE THAN A PUB
Following a year-long campaign reported on regularly in these pages, the community in Ryton, Gateshead, has received the keys to village pub Ye Olde Cross, and are now raising funds to renovate and reopen the pub. More than £150,000 was raised by current and former residents – from Australia to Hungary – who bought community shares in a cooperative, Ryton Cross Community Society, set up by local residents in order to buy the pub. A further £100,000 grant and loan from the Plunkett Foundation and Power to Change’s More Than A Pub scheme meant the group was able to purchase the pub from Enterprise Inns.
The campaign has been supported by Rytonians who include North East folk singer Rachel Unthank, and members of the Royal Northern Sinfonia who performed alongside lead violinist Bradley Creswick in a fundraising concert in the village. North East brewery Firebrick have also supported fundraising efforts, and MP for Blaydon, Liz Twist – herself a shareholder – mentioned the campaign in a recent representation in the House of Commons. A further £40,000 is needed to refurbish Ye Olde Cross. Once it is open, alongside traditional pub services, the group will look at ways of using the space to support the community, from tackling
social isolation to providing work experience. Anyone who is interested can become a shareholder in Ye Olde Cross, or can support the campaign by donating towards the
refurbishment. Community shares cost £20 and are available for a minimum purchase of ten shares. The community share offer is open until June 2019. Full details are available at yeoldecross.co.uk
PAUL AND SARAH WOULD LIKE TO WELCOME YOU TO THE ALE GATE
WE ONLY SUPPLY LOCAL ALE
SIX
HANDPULLS AND OVER
THIRTY
GINS
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DOG FRIENDLY
25 BONDGATE WITHOUT ALNWICK NE66 1PR
NEWS
Three four: Live music is a majorfeature of the Gateshead Beer Festival
GATESHEAD CHOSEN FOR BEER AWARDS The Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) has chosen the Gateshead Beer and Music Festival as its host for the annual North East Independent Beer Awards. The festival – May 3-5 at Gateshead Rugby Club in Low Fell – is celebrating its 10th birthday this year and will provide the venue for the judges to decide on the best beers and ales from the region. The North East champions in each category will join seven other regional champions from the UK in moving forward to the national awards, held at BeerX, the UK’s largest independent craft brewing trade show. The awards represent the best beer from
the UK’s independent brewers and are judged by fellow brewers and industry experts, making these awards the “brewers’ choice” awards in the UK. Tom Tate, who chairs the Gateshead Beer and Music Festival organising committee, said: “Hosting the awards is a fantastic way to mark our fantastic ten-year achievement and it means we’re guaranteed to have the best beers in the region on offer. We also think our music line-up is the best we’ve ever had, and with everything else our customers have come to expect, and we’re confident we’re putting on the best festival we’ve ever had.”
THE COUNTY
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
REFUGE FROM THE ELEMENTS We can’t predict the weather, so we’re not going to make a forecast here, but all we can say is that at the end of February and the beginning of March 2018, we were subsumed by The Beast From The East, nearly a fortnight of snow and ice. The final few days of February this year have been marked by uncannily sunny and mild conditions – in contrast to the first few days of the month when a blanket of snow did its best to disrupt normal service. Here’s a reminder of that from Ben Reay, manager of The Bodega in Newcastle – a lovely photo with a painterly quality that would grace any seasonal greetings card.
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 All Sky & BT Sports coverage live Tel: 0191
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Easter Weekend Thu. 18th - Mon. 22nd March
Tap Takeover See Faceboook event for more details.
www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 9
BREWSTERS’ SYMPOSIUM
BREWSTER ROCKET, IGNITE
If you want to organise a special beer festival and a forum for the exchange of ideas you have to dig deep – in your head as well as your pocket. Let’s say the desire and will are in place for such an event in Newcastle this month, but where does the finance come from? Crowdfunding? Too slow. Sponsorship? Too corporate. Single backer? Too, too… So Kay Masson and Anna Worthy delved into their own finances to organise the Siris
SIRIS SYMPOSIUM SPEAKERS Jenn Merrick, who studied at Brewlab in Sunderland, is an industry consultant to new and expanding craft breweries around the UK. She is also a brewer and business manager with over 20 years’ experience running and growing innovative SMEs. Jenn, who has previously worked at Meantime, Dark Star and as director of operations at Beavertown, is also the founder of the Earth Station Brewery in East London’s Royal Docks. Annabel Smith is a former publican turned Cask Marque Trust training manager where she was the organisation’s first female beer inspector. She is a Beer Academy sommelier and founder member of Dea Latis, a group set up to advocate the appeal of beer to women. Mellisa Cole is an author, journalist, broadcaster, beer festival judge and sommelier who admits she is “living the beer dream”. Her first book, Let Me Tell You About Beer was a best-seller and she will be signing copies of her latest publication, The Beer Kitchen Book, at the Siris symposium which takes the mystery out of beer and food pairing. Siris Brewsters’ Symposium: Newcastle University, March 7. Siris Beer Festival: Town Mouse, Newcastle, March 7-10. Details: Facebook.com/sirisbeerfest/
10 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk
Beer Festival and Brewsters’ Symposium in Newcastle, not only to mark International Women’s Day (March 8) but to show the rest of us how dependent we are on women in brewing (brewsters). Kay and Anna work at the Newcastle Tap, one of a family of pubs situated on or close by railway stations – also in Sheffield, London Euston and York. They have saved a set amount from their wages every month for the past year to bring some of the best female brewing industry operators in the country to a Brewsters’ Symposium at Newcastle University to begin discussing beer – but where it finishes is the whole point. Alongside that is a beer festival at the Town Mouse pub in the city where female-influenced beers will also celebrate the second anniversary of the award-winning micropub. Siris is the Mesopotamian goddess of beer, a reference devised by Anna, who studied Greek mythology at university. She is said to be the daughter of Ninkasi (Siris, not Anna), the goddess of fermentation. “The idea came when Anna and I talked about a beer festival in Newcastle to celebrate International Women’s Day,” says Kay, who also operates Arcane Brewery with husband Tony plus the in-house brewplant at the Hop & Cleaver in Newcastle. “A Harrogate organisation called Women On Tap did one last year and we got a bit of knowledge from that. It’s basically a celebration and a showcase for what women can achieve – after all, women were always the brewers in society – and we felt Newcastle has been a little bit quiet regarding International Women’s Day. “As well as a beer festival celebrating women,
Savers: Kay Masson, left, and Anna Worthy at Hop & Cleaver's brewhouse in Newcastle we thought we’d get some speakers to discuss our roles in the industry. People like Annabel Smith, Melissa Cole and Jenn Merrick have agreed to come.” Other female brewers invited to supply beer and to be involved with the symposium and festival are Julia Austin from Tyne Bank Brewery; Red Kellie (First & Last), plus Nomadic Beers, Marble, North Brewing Co, McColl’s and Wild Card. The project has been a year in the planning with Kay first approaching Jon Sibley at The Town Mouse to gauge his interest in hosting it (which he did with great enthusiasm). She says: “We didn’t want a massive venue to start off with and the pub is perfect, really.” Newcastle University’s own microbrewery Stu Brew has organised the venue and have prepared two beers specially, a Vanilla Milk Stout and a Tropical IPA. Anna Worthy says: “Loads of people in the beer world have been very supportive. They see it as a great initiative. We’ve put our own money into it, saving a bit each week from our wages at Newcastle Tap and tucking it away – no crowdfunding or sponsorship – it’s how we wanted to do it.” Siris is also believed to be the mother Zu, a large bird that can breathe fire and water. It's what you need to get things moving.
BREWERY NEWS
NORWAY PLUS ANARCHY – A MEANINGFUL VOTE A North Sea collaboration is working well, writes Alastair Gilmour
Until not so long ago, a beer that fell short of expectation would have been described as “home brew”. It might still be the same in some quarters from people who fail to understand that the craft beer revolution has been led in the United States by home brewers. Home brewers in this country can also claim excellent credentials, and many of them have gone on to start their own, highly successful commercial operations. Our neighbours across the North Sea are no exception.
Serial Norwegian home-brewing champion Gahr Smith-Gahrsen is in constant demand from the country’s burgeoning craft beer industry to help develop recipes, design breweries and generally advise. Gahr Smith-Gahrsen is described as Norway’s “grand old man of brewing” and one of his projects was to produce classic, yet innovative beer aimed to place the city of Bergen on the international beer map. A commission to design beers for 7 Fjell Bryggeri (Seven Mountains Brewery) is making big inroads into the Norwegian craft beer sector
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and nipping at the heels of brewing giants Hansa and Ringnes. “We are a small craft brewery combining a fundamental passion for great beer with decades of experience from the industry through Gahr, ???” says Jens Eikeset, owner of 7 Fjell which started its brewing journey in 2013. Last month, 7 Fjell Bryggeri and Newcastle-based Anarchy Brew Co spent a weekend working on collaboration brew, a Double IPA (DIPA) weighing in at 7.0% abv. Emails between 7 Fjell head brewer Torvaald Storass and his Anarchy
BREWERY NEWS
Skol: Simon Miles and Jens Eikeset toast their collaboration at Anarchy Brew Co counterpart Les Stoker had gone back and forward until rough ideas became firmly constructed recipes. “We haven’t done a beer like this before but it’s a style that’s very popular in the US at the moment,” says Jens. “It makes great use of oats for mouthfeel, with a pale yeast, lactose, and the hopping regime is pretty ridiculous.” Anarchy Brew Co’s owners
Simon and Dawn Miles first met the Norwegian crew – Jens Eikeset, Torvald Storaas and Helge Algerøy – a couple of years ago at the Barcelona Beer Festival. “Then we met them again last year at the Bergen Craft Beer Festival where there were 30,000 visitors,” says Dawn. “This is the first time they’ve been in the UK doing a collaboration beer.”
Jens Eikeset hasn’t come from a brewing background but is a self-confessed beer geek and is yet another former home-brewer (as were Simon Miles and Les Stoker). He says: “I have a degree in finance and the intention when I graduated was to get a job in a bank. Then I thought ‘I can’t do this for the rest of my life’, so I opened a bar and restaurant then got the
chance in 2012 to open a brewpub with a friend. However, we decided that was going to be too small-scale, so we went for a full-blown brewery and tap. “Our brewery is about ten minutes outside Bergen city centre. We’ve expanded from 500 square metres in 2013 to more than 2,000 square metres with the capacity to produce 13,000 hectoliters a year. We were absolutely clear right from the start that we would have a professional approach to brewing, so that’s why we got Norway’s most famous homebrewer to devise some recipes. He’s so well known that every brewery in the country calls on him to troubleshoot. “Most of our production is the core range, Blonde, IPA, Pale Ale and Red Ale – those are most in demand, but there’s room for experimentation into the weird and beautiful which the staff love to get involved in, plus we also do a seasonal, annual barley wine. It’s a pretty interesting position to be in.” The Anarchy team is off to Brazil later this year for a national beer festival, ac conference and another collaboration brew. No Brazilian call at the moment for Jens Eikeset, however. He’s far too busy in Norway – and working with the likes of Anarchy Brew Co. “I’m not originally from Bergen but I can’t leave now,” he says. “I met a woman there and I’ve got a brewery there. Now we’ve got an exchange programme there.” 7FjellBryggeri.com
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BUDAPEST
HUNGARY FOR A NEW BEER ENCOUNTER? Budapest’s beers, bars and breweries were a revelation for John Atkinson – so much so, he’s bringing a flavour here
It’s been nine months since I visited the Hungarian capital for the first-ever Budapest Beer Week, and returning last month I was immediately reminded of why I had such fond memories of the city. There’s a simply fantastic and efficient public transport system involving trains, buses, trams, trolley buses and a metro system which appeals to the geek in me. Then step out into the road and cars immediately stop for pedestrians, even when there’s no crossing: a far cry from most cities. It brings a smile to your face, and I’m back to strengthen friendships, discover new beers and arrange to bring some fantastic Hungarian beers back to the Hemelvaart Bier Café in Ayton, Berwickshire. 14 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk
Where to start? Obviously the first craft beer shop and bar in Budapest – Csak A Jó Sör, which translates as Only Good Beer. It’s a great little bottle shop with a few beers on tap too – a relaxing place with some quirky seating and a must-visit place. Then just over the road is the Kandalló Artisanal Pub, which has a good range of mainly Hungarian craft beers on draught, but it’s also a place renowned for its food, particularly a range of imaginative burgers. Both these bars are in District VII, the old Jewish Quarter, which has been revitalised and is a big tourist draw. In fact, it’s home not only to a number of craft beer bars, but to cool coffee shops and eateries, and there’s plenty of cheap but good accommodation. If you’re thinking that means
budget hostels, it doesn’t have to be. Clean, modern apartments (sleeping as many as four) can be had for less than £20 per day. The founder of Csak A Jó Sör also runs a more conventional bar, Hopaholic – In Hop We Trust – round the corner, which has 10 taps and an excellent range of bottled beers. Also in the same area and worth a visit is the Hops Beer Bar. It’s a friendly if rough and ready bar, where the provision of quality beers is the primary consideration. There’s been quite a bit of investment in the craft beer scene too, and special mention must be made of Neked Csak Dezsö! (Only Deszán for you – a reference to a slaughtered pig in the film Tanú). Formerly a small pub, the present incarnation is not only a swanky new bar with 32
BUDAPEST
Budapest's craft beer scene is evolving quickly. Inset: John Atkinson (montage Phil Walker)
beers on draught and a extensive menu, but a brewpub too. Such is the growth of the craft beer market in Hungary, new bars and breweries are springing up all the time, and KEG Sormuvhaz is perhaps more of a restaurant than a bar, yet still has 40 taps for draught beer. BrewDog Budapest has also opened since my last visit. Prices at the latter seem to reflect BrewDog’s increasing presence worldwide, as they mirror what you’d pay in a BrewDog here. Beer is usually served in 20cl, 33cl and 40cl measures and in a craft beer bar can set you back anything between £3.50 and £6.00 generally for the equivalent a pint. Budapest is famous for its “ruin” pubs, and indeed they are indeed a tourist draw, not least the original one, Szimpla Kert. The idea was to take an inner city disused and often dilapidated building and convert it into a temporary bar, or as Szimpla Kert describe itself, “a cultural reception space”. The ruin pubs are uniquely decorated with a mishmash of artefacts and furniture, which can be a work of art in itself. They are well worth a look – but not for the beer, as they are mostly supplied by the multinationals. As with the growth of craft beer in any country, there is a vast
range of styles to Hungarian beer. From the strange and challenging, but cheekily named, Sourbucks, a coffee-infused sour, through a range of delicious IPAs, DIPAs, porters and imperial porters to the rich and comforting barrel-aged barley wines there is a beer to suit all tastes. The Hungarian brewing scene is well worth exploring with Budapest breweries alone too numerous to mention. Budapest Beer Week (BPBW) is the work of three inspired individuals who sought to combine their love of beer with a love of music. But not content with a beer festival with some live music, they arranged a whole week of tap takeovers and meet the brewer events all culminating in fabulous beer tasting events with outrageous gigs. The individuals responsible are Peter Pazinczar, an IT specialist and founder of gipsy brewery Tuffbuzz; Tibor Rebak, an experienced professional brewer currently with Poppels in Sweden, and Marton Sefcsik, an online marketing and sales guru, who is now using that expertise with Mad Scientist brewery in Budapest. I met Marton and Peter to discuss bringing a showcase of Hungarian breweries to these shores, and they were not only enthusiastic but confident it can be arranged for the weekend of March23-24 at the Hemelvaart Bier Café in the Scottish Borders. We’ll be welcoming several breweries and brewers, including Horizont, Mad Scientist, Tuffbuzz amongst others. They will also be promoting BPBW 2019, which will run from May 20 to 26 in Budapest. Both events are worth making the effort to attend. See you there. John Atkinson and Phil Walker run Hemelvaart Bier Café, Ayton, Berwickshire TD14 5QL (Tel: 07377 364 266) which specialises in Blegian and other world craft beers. The Hungarian beer weekend is scheduled for March 23-24. Ayton is five miles north of Berwick upon Tweed (just off the A1) and is served by the number 34 bus from Berwick station (via Eyemouth). www.hemelvaart.co.uk
THE CRITERION IS BACK!
THE CRITERION, 2 OCEAN RD, SOUTH SHIELDS NE33 2HZ
www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 15
COVER STORY
SIGN LANGUAGE They said signwriting was dead – but one young man refused to listen, as Alastair Gilmour discovers He works with sheets of gold every day, then when he’s finished, he collects all the spare bits and bins them. Ashley Willerton is a signwriter, a multidisciplined designer who turned his back on web design to immerse himself in the centuries-old craft. And, much of his work is using gold leaf. In fact, when he first started out as a signwriter, he prepared a small mirror using gold leaf on its swooping, swirling lettering to take around prospective clients as a sample of his skills. It reads: “Purveyors of the finest ales and beers” and could be mistaken for a Victorian-era creation. But Ashley has never actually had to take it out from under his
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arm – his reputation has invariably arrived at the doorstep well before it can be flourished. “Gold leaf produces an effect you just can’t get from vinyl,” says Ashley. “People are entranced; you stop in your tracks and it makes you a bit more inquisitive. Some people will go through their lives not knowing such a thing exists. “I use 24-carat gold leaf, the best quality I can get. It costs £30 for a book of 25 sheets, so when you’re doing something big you go through a lot. Then you rub off the excess with distilled water and gelatin. They’re tiny and not worth saving, though some people do. Life’s too short.” Ashley’s bespoke hand lettering and
COVER STORY
Ashley Willerton at the Town Wall in Newcastle. Photo: Peter Skelton. Left: at work on Colonel Porter’s, also Newcastle. Photo:Tom Bing
signwriting work can be found across the UK with clients ranging from small Newcastle bistros to Fortnum & Mason and The Independent in London. He has also left his creative mark on businesses in and around Newcastle in diverse situations such as The Little Fishy, Colonel Porter’s Emporium, Quilliam Brothers Teahouse, The Kiln, the Tyne Bar, and the newly-refurbished Town Wall pub. One of his first commissions was for Quilliam Brothers Teahouse at the Haymarket in Newcastle. He turned it down at first. He says: “I’ve been full-time now for just over four years. I quit my job at the end of 2014 not really wanting to be a signwriter, but initially to get me more into commercial lettering. I needed two months to build up a portfolio. “I had previously done a blackboard for Quilliam Brothers. A year later, Tom Quilliam got back to me asking would I consider doing the full sig on the buildingn. I thought, fuck that, that building is amazing and there’s no way my first job can be put there, it would be a disaster. I said thanks but it’s too scary a project but he asked me to reconsider. Then I said I’d give it a go as they were taking a punt on me. “I did it while the whole place was being refurbished. I thought, ‘Wow, three weeks ago I was at a computer all day working for clients now someone’s taken a chance on me. Right there and then I thought this is what I want to do. It was the last client I’ve had to approach, now they come to me. “I really do just love those boards, and I love the building that they’re on. It’s one of the proudest things I’ve ever done. The fact that it could be there for years, the permanence of it, is very different from web design. It means a lot more when I’m working for people who care about the craft as well.” The largest project Ashley has worked on was The Distillery in London, a fourstorey hotel dedicated to all things gin. It’s a working distillery with two bars, private dining and three guest lodgings. “It’s the world’s first gin hotel,” he says. “The commission measured eight metres by two, working on five levels of scaffolding. It was a fun one to do, but terrifying as well. www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 17
COVER STORY Unreal: The Distillery in London. Ashley Willerton painted the full sign
“People put a great importance on large-scale stuff, but they don’t appreciate the journey it has taken to get to that point. There’s no magic, everything is methodical. I started by doing small-scale drawings using
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traditional methods, tracing down all the lettering.” People passing regularly on the bus would check Ashley’s progress. “They liked to see something being done by a human; it resonates more than
something that’s just stuck up. “I was always interested in typography and saw an article in a graphics magazine about a lettering artist where everything was freehand. I’d never seen that job description before. A typographer will design a whole alphabet, but I thought I could be more creative as a lettering artist. When you specialise in something, people have a trust in you.” Cynics often say signwriting is dead, nobody wants it any more and you can’t make a living out of it. But Ashley had passion and self-belief and never even thought of it as how much money he could make, viewing it as complementary to the commercial lettering he was already involved in. He says: “Most of my work comes from commercial lettering but when people want me to paint a sign, like Quilliam Brothers or The Kiln in Ouseburn, it’s amazing the knock-on effect from the location plus the popularity of the place, especially in a small place like Newcastle with all its quirky independents. Your
name quickly gets circulated. I was doing a job at Backyard Bikes beside By The River Brew Co in Gateshead when Rob Cameron saw my work. (Rob is a director with Dave Stone in the development there and also Wylam Brewery and the Bridge Tavern and Town Wall pubs.) We got chatting about the refurbishment that was going on at the Town Wall and he asked me if there was anything I wanted to do for them. “I said I’d wanted to do a pub mirror for ages and he said ‘OK’. I showed them my proposed design and they didn’t see the need to change anything. I did it in burnished gold which was a great opportunity to try out the technique. “I’ve got commissions right up to June. Everyday time scales are not a priority, but what I do is very much weather dependent. The beauty is in trying a new technique, a style, experimenting; there’s not a piece of software able to do that. Each job presents a totally new challenge and each job throws up something you didn’t even consider – the space you’re in, level of intricacy, different types of brushes and the materials you’ll need. But as soon as you take the drawings onto site it’s totally different, it’s awesome, it’s a humbling job.” Ashley Willerton knows his pure sable-hair brushes intimately and as they all have their own quirks it’s tempting to believe he regards them as having human characteristics. “Looked after, cleaned properly, brushes will last a lifetime,” he says. “Long after I’m gone.” And, is there anything he’s yearning to get his teeth into, something that he can look back on with even greater pride? He hmms and aahs a little: “I’d love to do a whisky bottle.” www.ashleywillerton.com
COMMENT
In the dark: Jo Theakston at Black Sheep’s visitor centre in Masham, North Yorkshire
BREXIT, BEER AND SIDEBOARDS
At the time of writing, nobody seems to know what the outcome of ‘meaningful votes’ and late-night discussions will mean to the country. It’s a real worry. The future of Brexit Britain isn’t looking too rosy for the UK’s brewers, pubs and beer drinkers. The British Retail Consortium says increased tariffs and new regulatory checks in the event of a no-deal Brexit increases the cost of sourcing everyday food items by up to 45%. Imported hops will become more expensive, as will barley from abroad (although in fairness we don’t use an awful lot of that) which will attract a tariff of 60%, much the same as bananas will. New import taxes, or tariffs, will apply to a full range of imported foodstuffs – estimated at 5,200 products – ranging from cheese to beef and clothing – should the UK crash out without a deal. The situation is difficult to predict because of other factors such as currency movements and commodity market shifts. And it’s not just foodstuffs. Furniture designer Nick James of James Design, Newcastle, is stocking up on French oak before it’s too late and the UK crashes out of the EU. He said in a Tweet: “This sorry state of affairs means I’m stockpiling my favourite wood to ensure I have enough to keep us going through the coming months – plus I can still make lovely sideboards.” Our brewers are also utterly confused and are
waiting from day to day to hopefully discover some clarity – like the rest of us. North Yorkshire-based Black Sheep Brewery’s sales and marketing director Jo Theakston says: “From our point of view we are still very much in the dark. I think the wider reaching issue for the brewing and pub world is the very real dent that this uncertainty is putting into consumer confidence. “In my view it all trickles down from the lack of direction and decision-making from the Government and we’re starting to see that coming home to roost in the actions of some of the major global companies not investing in the UK or moving production away from the UK – Nissan, Honda, etc. “This leads to job losses particularly in our region and therefore less consumer spend on things like beer. Because of this uncertainty this trickle-down of lack of confidence hits SMEs as well who are being cautious about investment in their businesses. “In terms of direct impact to businesses like ours, a lot of what we buy is from the UK (but a lot of our hops come from North America), although we are starting to see rises in pricing on things that are sourced from Europe, such as paper for labels and cardboard for trays, though it’s difficult at this stage to tell if it is directly linked to Brexit.
“Our exports have been growing well in the last couple of years, and Brexit has left it uncertain, certainly in the Eurozone. We are starting to see a number of different countries placing ‘Brexit’ orders to try and get decent deliveries in before March 29 so as to avoid any problems or additional costs through tariffs etc which are as yet unspecified. “For our part, all we can do at this stage is make sure we have the right registrations setup with HMRC that if the Eurozone is overnight suddenly treated like the rest of the world we are in a position to continue trading – albeit with more paperwork. “The other potential problem I envisage is how beer labelling would be treated once outside of the EU which could potentially create a big cost and production issue in having to produce specific labels for specific countries with different mandatories and marks on them. Given that a lot of brewers’ export volumes are relatively low it may make doing it unviable. “I think at this stage most people are focusing on the negatives because nobody knows what is going to happen, which breeds nervousness and a lack of confidence. As soon as we know what is happening, that there will be a deal and what that is, or there is more time granted to get to a deal, and clarity emerges, then I am sure there will also be opportunities created as well.” www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 19
WINE: COMMERCIAL FEATURE
A NEW WAVE OF ROSÉ
The February heatwave started us thinking about sitting in beer gardens with a refreshing drink. So a great excuse to talk about rosé wine – as if we needed one! While sales of pink gin have soared in recent years, rosé wines seems to have slipped off the popularity ladder. Perhaps we think of rosé wine only as a sweet drink – White Zinfandel has a place firmly planted in the summer beer garden as a delicious drink (especially when chilled), but if you don’t have a sweet tooth then you’ll probably not reach for the second glass. Step in the new wave of rosé wines – drier, crisper and perhaps more citrus, and superbly refreshing (on any day to be honest, not just in the sun). So, where to stop first on our journey of rosé discovery? THE THREE THIEVES This wine hails from the spiritual second home of rosé wine – California. These “Thieves” are in fact three rock stars in the world of winemaking: Charles Bieler, Joel Gott and Roger Scommegna. All three have illustrious winemaking careers spanning decades and crossing the globe, and each has branched out into other highly successful ventures – anyone who’s been lucky enough to travel to California is likely to have eaten at a Gott’s Roadside. They’ve joined forces as The Three Thieves with a belief that “great wine is not a pleasure reserved for kings, but rather a privilege of life – something for everyone to enjoy”. 20 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk
Which is true. So they scour the globe to find the very best wines the world has to offer, then bring them back to share at a fair and honest price. These “liberators of fine wines” have created a fresh, juicy rosé which is a blend of 95% Syrah and 5% Merlot. They describe it as: Our delicate rosé shows a pale pink hue in the glass, while the nose brims with aromas of white peach and apricot. The fresh, vibrant palate offers flavours of strawberry and tart cranberry, framed by crisp acidity – perfect for kicking back with friends on a sunny afternoon. NIKA TIKI MARLBOROUGH SAUVIGNON BLANC ROSÉ Launching this summer, this unusual Sauvignon Blanc Rosé is bursting with refreshing floral aromas with berry and spices. If you’re a fan of Sauvignon Blanc you’ll love this! The traditional Sauvignon Blanc you’d expect build to a flavour explosion with hints of berries from the addition of red fruit. As with all the best Sauvignon Blancs, this wine comes from the famed Marlborough region where a combination of a cool yet high sunshine climate, low rainfall and free-draining, moderately fertile soil produces uniquely vivid wines. While Sauvignon Blanc is one of the best-selling wines in the world, Sauvignon Blanc Rosé is a relatively new concept – but one we’re confident will boom this summer. Perfect for rosé and Sauvignon lovers alike, what’s not to love?
BIELER PÈRE ET FILS As the name suggests, this is a French wine made in traditional Provence style – but by an American! This is the second appearance for Charles Bieler (see Three Thieves) who lives in New York but travels across the US and France making wine with various other winemakers, including The Three Thieves and also Charles Smith as “Charles and Charles”. However, this particular brand is rather close to his heart: In 1992, my father, Philippe Bieler, founded Chateau Routas in Coteaux Varois – a small appellation in the middle of Provence. The winery focused on Grenache based red blends and Rosé. My sister Mira and I developed, through unorthodox winemaking and creative marketing and selling, one of the more dynamic rosé brands in America at the time. In 2005 we sold Routas and founded Bieler Père et Fils with a single-minded focus on making rosé. So what about the wine itself? The classic, light coloured, dry Provence rosé profile is famed, and for good reason. Bieler’s goal is find the delicate balance between floral, herbal, wild red fruit (not overly ripe), stone fruit and acid. The wine is in no way heavy or fat on the palate, but rather it has tremendous length in addition to the raspberry, cherry, peach, herbal, citrus and mineral core. Light, fruity and fabulous. www.lanchesterwines.co.uk
NEW BEERS
Innovative: Kaldi beers from Iceland are on their way
LAND OF FIRE AND ICE.. AND GREAT BEER Iceland is the sixth most developed country in the world; it ranks number one on the global peace index; it runs almost completely on renewable energy, and since 2018 it is illegal for women to be paid less than men. So it stands to reason that when Icelanders take to brewing, they end up making brilliant beer. New breweries emerging with an acceleration of the craft brewing sector and its subsequent wide variety of styles. Brewing inspiration emerges from innumerable sources – a fisherman’s injured knee being one of them. Ólafur Ólafsson had been a fisherman for 26 years but in 2003 he damaged his leg which ended his career. He and his wife Agnes were staring into difficult times as there was simply no other work in their little town Árskógssandur – population 100 – sitting on the fringes of the Arctic Circle. Everything was fish. But two years later, Agnes was watching a documentary on television about microbreweries and their increasing popularity around the world. The programme featured a microbrewery in Denmark. At that time there were none in Iceland, only two large mass-production breweries, Vífilfell and Ölgerðin, so perhaps her reaction “let’s start a microbrewery” might have sounded a touch crazy. However, she acknowledged that they had a good start with the pristine water that comes out of a mountain spring above Árskógssandur. Ólafur took no convincing and a week later
they set off for Denmark to visit the brewery that had sparked her enthusiasm. They founded Bruggsmiðjan Kaldi in 2006 and engaged the services of fourth-generation Czech brewmaster David Masa, a specialist in setting up microbreweries. The eventual result was Kaldi Icelandic beer with Czech influences, such as Saas and Sladek hops and Moravian barley, unpasteurised and without preservatives or added sugar. Demand has grown steadily with brewhouse expansion taking place virtually every year – new fermenters, kegging, bottling, and an increase in the workforce to 15. Hops now also come from Australia, New Zealand and the US. Now there are five core beers in the range with another five seasonals and special limitededitions. Kaldi Blonde Lager (5.0% abv) was the first beer that Bruggsmiðjan Kaldi brought to market, and is now Iceland’s best-selling bottled beer. Deep golden in colour with a crisp and fresh aroma and soft filling of grainy roasted malt leading to a bitter but gently lingering finish.
Norðan Kaldi (5.4% abv) is the first ale produced by Bruggsmiðjan Kaldi; English in style, amber coloured with a mouth-filling maltiness. Kaldi IPA (6.0% abv) is American in influence, using Mosaic, Citra and Simcoe hops fermented with an American yeast strain. It’s beautifully deep gold in colour with sensational head retention, quite a bit of fruit and soft grain on the palate then a pleasing bitterness emerging. Bruggsmiðjan Kaldi beers are being brought to the UK by Gerard Connolly of Northumberlandbased Icelandic Drinks (the company that also handles Icelandic Mountain Vodka and Eagle Gin from the distillery owned by Game of Thrones star Hafthor “The Mountain” Björnsson). enquiries@icelandicdrinks.com 07930 270 561.
ORB MICROPUB
– ALE & WHISKY HOUSE DARLINGTON CAMRA PUB OF THE YEAR 2019
17TH - 22ND APRIL BELGIAN BEER FESTIVAL ORB MICROPUB, ALE & WHISKY HOUSE 28 CONISCLIFFE ROAD, DARLINGTON DL3 7RG TEL: 07395 832370 @ORBMICROPUB www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 21
BEER, BIKES, BELGIUM
TOUR OF DUTY
Racing certainty: Harry Pearson at the Heart of Northumberland, Hexham
One of the country’s most articulate and entertaining writers talks to Alastair Gilmour about beer, bikes and Belgium Harry Pearson makes a salient point over a couple of pints in The Heart of Northumberland pub in Hexham. He has just published his latest book – The Beast, The Emperor and The Milkman – about bike racing in Flanders, the northern half of Belgium, and says he’s covered the subject so often that most people assume he’s been a professional cyclist himself. “Not so,” he says, just perceptively recalling the last painful time he was in the saddle. “If you read reports on football or golf you wouldn’t expect the writer to be playing as well.” Harry, originally from Middlesbrough but settled for years in Hexham, has written 800 columns for The Guardian and ten best-selling books; a couple on cricket, one on dog walking, North country fairs, Belgium and the Belgians, and The Far Corner (“a mazy dribble through North East football”) which has been named by The Times and The Observer as one of the 50 greatest sports books of all time. His hobby is clockwork toys. “Cycling is wildly popular in Flanders,” he says. “It’s part of the psyche, producing five times as many professional riders as Italy or Spain. “The Tour de France lasts for 25 days, but Flanders is big enough only for a major one-day race. The Tour of Flanders is just over six hours long.” He reels of the rugged, hard men of Belgian racing – Eddy Merckx, Roger De Vlaeminck (The Beast in the book’s title), Johan Museeuw, Frans Verbeeck (the Flying Milkman), Tom Boonen and Rik Van Looy (The Emperor) – along with favourite Belgian beers such as Chimay, Affligem Tripel and De Koninck. Harry Pearson’s books are meticulously 22 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk
researched and admirably leg-worked. You can feel the rain dribbling under his collar, taste the frites from a chip van, and hear dogs barking. “The smell of a freshly opened bottle of beer is the smell of my country”, wrote Belgian author and Maigret creator Georges Simenon. But, Harry adds, “the defining sound of the nation is bicycle tyres on wet roads”. “My interest in cycling started with my friend Steve Marshall who was big into it. His dad was actually a brewer at Scottish & Newcastle. He always said he started off as a brewer and ended up as a chemist because the beers became all mass-produced. “Steve said, ‘Why don’t we go out to Belgium for a few days and watch some of the one-day races?’. But we had find something to do in between, so we would go into all these bars and cafes. I had been in a bookshop a couple of days before and got a couple of Camra guides to Belgium by Tim Webb – he’s a really, really, great writer who you can read without having an interest in beer. “We found a really cheap hotel and discovered that Tim had written about a bar just round the corner. A lot of people new to Belgium underestimated the strength of the beers, but
the barman gave us a lot of advice, saying, ‘No, you don’t start with that one, start with his one’ and so on. We hired bikes and went to breweries, beering and biking our way around Flanders. “There were a lot of real finds. For example, Ninove is a suburb of Brussels whose only significance is the finish of the Tour of Flanders and the home of Slag lager, the worst-named beer in the world were it not for Leroy brewery’s Pomperschitter. “Flemings are northeners. They like ale and chips and complaining… like all northerners they nurse a sense of grievance against the south. “I think people get confused with the strength of Belgian beers because they expect blonde beers to be lighter in strength than brown beers, but it’s invariably the other way round.
REVIEW
(You’ve only got to ask any Newcastle United supporter who followed their team to Bruges in 2012 in the Europa League.) In one of his previous books, A Tall Man In A Low Land, Harry writes that he found out about a brewery near Liege but when he got there discovered it was just a suburban house. He says: “I knocked on the door to ask if I could look around the brewery and the guy said his son would be back from school in half-an-hour. He was a teenager brewing in his dad’s garage. The beer was brilliant and he had it in all these supermarkets like Mamouet with labels stuck on at all angles. “Belgians have been home-brewing like that for centuries. It’s a very parochial country where supermarkets stock loads of local beers – you wouldn’t get that in Waitrose. “We were once asked ‘why are you here’ and we said we were on holiday. Then we were asked ‘why, because Belgium is so boring’. Just at that moment, two nuns went past on a tandem. He saw us looking astonished and said, ‘oh, that’s normal’.” In The Heart of Northumberland, we switch from First & Last Equinox to Almasty Session IPA, for no reason other than a counter-full of handpulls required attention. We reminisce about Harp Lager and when Greene King IPA was a superb beer. And I never got round to asking about clockwork toys. The Beast, The Emperor And The Milkman, A boneshaking tour through cycling’s Flemish heartlands, by Harry Pearson is published by Bloomsbury (h/b £18.99). The Good Beer Guide to Belgium by Tim Webb and Joe Stange (Camra Books, £14.99).
REAL LIVE LINDISFARNE
Singer, songwriter, performer and poet Simma reviews the new live album from one of the region’s greatest bands I recently bumped into John Cooper Clarke in a hotel bar. Having been on the same bill as him years before, I was delighted he remembered me. “Are you still doing it?” he asked. I assured him I was, and he smiled. “That’s what I always say – don’t tell me how good you are, tell me how long you’ve lasted.” Now, what happens when you’re good – and you last? Lindisfarne are a prime example. By my reckoning this is their 50th year and, by expanding, contracting, tweaking and rotating the line-up, they’re still delighting their fans, festival audiences and music lovers to this day. Their latest album Real Live Lindisfarne is a collection of recordings from recent tours. They’ve always been a band best appreciated live, and they certainly have plenty of material to draw on, so with such a long history, writing a set list must be a nightmare. While everything you’d expect is here (Run For Home, Meet Me On The Corner, Lady Eleanor and that one about the river), there are some pleasant surprises. Song For A Windmill from Alan Hull’s solo period appears very early on, making it clear that, while you’re going to get the hits, it’s all about the songs. A particular highlight is Numbers
(Travelling Band) from the same period. An autobiographical tale of a band on the road, you get the sense that they’ve lived it; the performances, parties and dreary tour buses alike. As far as the performances go, the enthusiasm shines through, and as an ensemble, you get the impression that the arrangements have been put together to accentuate the strengths of the players. Rod Clements steps from bluesey slide to folky mandolin and fiddle with apparent ease, and the band sound pleasingly loose and laid back, exuding the effortless confidence of veteran artists. The crowning glory of the set has to be Clear White Light, in which ex-Roxy Music’s Paul Thompson leads a rhythm section clearly having the time of their lives. This album also sees the last contribution of the recently-retired Charlie Harcourt, who seems incapable of playing a bad note on anything. I’ve heard people say they’re not keen on live albums, but I’m a bit of an enthusiast, and this is a belter. A band with such a long history inevitably has ups and downs, but catch them on this particular up. A fine addition to Lindisfarne’s ongoing story. simmasinger.com www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 23
PUB PROFILE
Meeting a need: Ryan Haigh at the Box Wood Tap, Bedlington
TERRIER TOTAL MICROPUB A small pub is fulfilling all expectations, writes Alastair Gilmour
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The large monochrome photograph on the back wall of the Box Wood Tap sets the tone of the Bedlington, Northumberland, pub. A Bedlington terrier wearing a cloth cap and sitting in front of a pit wheel is irreverent and amusing; it has a local focus, and while it doesn’t appear to take itself too seriously, it gives the impression of knowing what’s what. The Box Wood Tap – a former beauty salon which moved to larger premises around the corner – has been open for 15 months and has settled into the vicinity as if it’s always been there. “Things are really good and I’m really enjoying it,” says owner Ryan Haigh. “In fact the time has flown by, absolutely flown by. “I hadn’t worked in a pub before – I was a manager at Nandos in Cramlington but started with them in Carlisle – but I did about six months for my mam at The Office in Morpeth.” (Ryan’s mother, Andrea Johnson, runs two
PUB PROFILE
micropubs, the regular awardwinning The Office and the Fox’s Den in Felton, Northumberland.) It was the shifts at The Office that convinced Ryan that this was the sort of thing he wanted to do. He says: “It was exciting and just sort of rolled from there. Customer service is the same as at Nandos but the mechanics of the cellar and the beer are different, but I soon got to learn all that. “There’s quite a big demand from craft beer around here – I started off with six cask and six keg but wanted to change the cask more frequently so have gone down to four. It’s maybe less of a choice but it’s more turnover and customers seem to respond to that.” The Box Wood Tap is, it’s fair to say, on the small side but good use is made of the space available. “This is it, there’s no room to expand,” says Ryan, “but we’re going to adapt a few things, like putting a shipping container in the back yard to give us a second toilet and a bigger cellar.
“Custom is mainly from in and around Bedlington – around 80% – but when we get a new batch of Wylam products you get them from all over the place. “We often get people saying they couldn’t get in the door. We can do 40 comfortably but have had 50 in. At that time it was easier for me to come out from behind the bar, out the front door and around to the back yard and into the cellar to change a cask. Monthly food nights are always at capacity – which could be pizza, Cuban food, Spud Gun, Acropolis Street Food or Good Times Tacos which are very, very popular. “It’s mainly North East beers here – Rigg & Furrow are popular, as are Anarchy, Almasty, Great North Eastern Brewing Co and Box Social – and Double Maxim simply flies out. Customers just can’t get enough of that really traditional thing. The fastest seller we’ve had though is Two By Two IPA which sold out in four hours. But there’s a big keg demand for Tiny Rebel, Cloudwater and
Wander Beyond.” At one point, Ryan thought of using his shipping container idea to house a brewery – but he’d still be left with the problem of a small cellar and one toilet. The idea is still live, however, as his mate Dave Brown is apparently a brilliant home-brewer, so the pair have set up Sidekick Brewery and are looking locally for a unit. The Box Wood tap is as dogfriendly as you’ll get anywhere – in fact, Ryan has two Bedlington terriers himself (“Geordie lams, they’re called”) and a photo on his phone of every dog that has come into the pub. “I’m going to make some sort of montage out of them,” he says. “We’re filling a demand for people from the area – some people who have lived in Bedlington all their lives didn’t bother coming out until now.” The Box Wood Tap, 40c Front Street West, Bedlington, Northumberland NE22 5UB. Facebook.com/ TheBoxWoodTap/
BOG STANDARD It’s our intention in this section to highlight the quality of some of the pub toilets we come across in our travels. And on our travels we certainly were with this photo of the cubicle in a Londonbound LNER train. It’s a work of art and a credit to the company.
www.bytheriverbrew.co www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 25
GOING DUTCH
FIVE GET EXCEPTIONAL IN AMSTERDAM
When it comes to Dutch beer, Andy Hickson knows his stuff. He was so keen to share his knowledge and experience he founded Café Amsterdam, a pop-up event that has already brought some of his favourite brews and snacks from the Netherlands to Newcastle, North Shields and Whitley Bay – with McCall’s Brewery in County Durham to come this month. Here’s a rundown of Andy’s favourite beer bars in Amsterdam – authentic “brown bars”, renowned for their dark wood interiors and tobacco-stained surfaces: In De Wildeman This place is the most like a traditional brown bar that I have found in Amsterdam, but still has the kind of amazing beer I like to drink. Centrally-situated, but hidden away down a side street, you need to know that the unassuming In De Wildeman is there, otherwise you could easily walk past and not notice it. The staff are lovely and there’s always something interesting on tap, as well as the likes of Fuller’s London Pride, which excites the locals. Don’t overlook the extensive bottle list, as it features a steady supply of Cantillon. It’s like having a beer in someone’s living room, but in a good way. Oh and, a few years ago now, Flying Dog made it its own house beer, which is a ringing endorsement. Proeflokaal Arendsnest In a seriously pretty setting, on one of the concentric canals in the Nine Streets district is Proeflokaal Arendsnest (Eagle’s Nest). It’s the eyrie of Peter Van Der Arend, a real hero of the local beer scene and an absolute institution of Dutch craft beer, serving only ales brewed in the Netherlands. And the tap list is 52 beers-strong, so you won’t run out 26 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk
Superb: In De Wildeman, Amsterdam?
of things to try. This is where we first drank and instantly fell in love with beer by Tommie Sjef, shared with an American guy while checking the Premier League football results. Get a stool at the bar, watch
the waiters as they work, eat cheese, and try to work out what the hell to drink next. Brewery ’t IJ A craft brewery tap in the bottom of a windmill that you need to catch a boat to get to. What’s not to love? Of course, all of those wonderfully atmospheric elements would be no good if the beer wasn’t excellent too, which thankfully it is. It’s all organic and seasonal, giving you the perfect excuse to return each time you visit Amsterdam, so you can try something new. This approach obviously works well for Brewery ’t IJ, as it’s been going strong since 1985. Foeders A very recent addition to the Amsterdam beer scene (Foeders celebrated its second birthday last month), but an instant hit with anyone who loves beer and appreciates hospitality. It’s a proper neighbourhood bar, a little way out of the city centre, but oh to
have this place as your local! Owned and operated by Belgian Yuri, it offers the best of both cultures, with easily the best selection of lambic and the friendliest welcome you could ask for in Amsterdam. There are peanut shells all over the floor too. Uiltje Bar So, we are allowed a short train ride to Haarlem, right? Holland’s best and most innovative craft brewery right now is Uiltje. Conveniently, it also runs an amazing beer bar, complete with the best toasties in town. Obviously it stocks loads of its own beers – including the freshest, world-class IPAs – but they sit alongside tons of other offerings from around Europe. With Jopenkerk brewery, café and restaurant nearby too, a beery visit to Amsterdam really needs to include the short trip to Haarlem. To find out more about Café Amsterdam’s pop-up events (such as McColl’s Brewery, Evenwood, County Durham, on March 29-30, head to: facebook.com/ CafeAmsterdamWB Andy Hickson is manager of The Green in Wardley, Gateshead, one of the Sir John Fitzgerald group of pubs. Article prepared in collaboration with travel writer Emma Dodd (barefoot-em.com).
NEW BEERS
HOP ON THE CREATIVE TRIP
A County Durham brewer is making his mark on the contents of a new range of canned beers – which has a knock-on effect on what it says on the tin. Sonnet 43 senior craft brewer Alex Rattray – recruited late last year from Texas – has brought some fresh ideas to the company, as was the intention. He says: “With our first two beers in this new series we wanted to go really hop forward and do something different that Sonnet 43 hasn’t done before. Everything from the yeast, to the hops, to the malt, to the brewing techniques are all things we haven’t done before which is really exciting and a bit daunting. “I love the flavour profile of Azacca hops which features prominently in Get Snozzed so I was very excited to get to feature it in a Double PA format that uses a huge amount of hops. I find when
I’m buying take-home cans at the moment I’m drinking lots of heavily dry hopped beers so that’s definitely inspired me to create some of my own. “The newer varieties of hops are so exciting, and getting to use ones like Azacca and
Ekuanot – which is in Go-Go Juice – was something I wanted to do. “I think the design of the cans reflects what we want to do with these beers and that’s to have fun, try new things, and do it the best way we can. We want to take our beer seriously, but not take ourselves too seriously and I think the cans reflect that. Hopefully the can itself makes you smile as well as the liquid inside. “I think as we brew more beers in this range they’ll continue to take on a personality of their own and the art design as well. I’m excited to continue to refine our ideas and recipes and believe that the more we brew and experiment, the better the beers will be. “As for the next two beers, we’re still narrowing down what they’ll be but expect more hop forward styles to go around some hops that Sonnet 43 hasn’t featured in a beer in the past.”
THE
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0191 257 6547
www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 27
NEW FACES
CLASSIFIED ADVERTS
There hardly a month goes by and a new pub appears on the horizon – sometimes two or three. Alastair Gilmour drops in on a couple of them Progressing: James Benson at Front Street Tap, Monkseaton
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28 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk
A WORK IN PROGRESS
FRONT STREET TAP HOUSE, MONKSEATON
Location is everything, they say, and a placing a microbub in the midst of a parade of shops isn’t a bad place to be. The mix of businesses means footfall is guaranteed for a start. Next door to Front Street Tap House in Monkseaton, Tyne & Wear, is a betting shop; a fish-and-chip shop is a few doors down, a Chinese takeaway is round the corner, the local Metro station is barely 100 metres away and you can call into a newsagent on the way to the pub (which is opposite the Monkseaton Arms). What more would anybody want? James Benson opened Front Street Tap House on December 22, 2018, admittedly in a rush to catch some Christmas trade. There were still things to do to the former florist’s shop and several weeks later, it remains a work in progress. James’ restlessly progressive nature suggests that situation won’t change – there will always be something changing. “I’ve just been rearranging the seating and put a new ‘breakfast bar’ in at the window,” he says. “I need to put down some skateboards where the skirting should be and along the bottom of the bar. “It’s all going well with lots of support from locals and returning customers. I have to say that Jon Sibley at The Town Mouse in Newcastle has been a wonderful help with his advice and telling people in his pub all about us. “Sean Hardy, the assistant brewer at Cullercoats Brewery has also been a great help, looking out for premises on his delivery rounds – in fact Cullercoats helped out right from the start giving us branded glasses and lending handpulls until we got organised and bought our own. “I thought of my own business because I got
fed up with being made redundant (he and his wife Rachael lost their jobs six times in ten years). “I looked at a lot of micropubs and wanted to be different with things like lighting. I’m also massively into my music so the background music had to be right.” The Tap House specialises in rum and offers a good range of gins, while beers on the bar are mainly from the North East and Yorkshire (James is original from Leeds), which include ever-changing styles from Almasty, Two By Two, McColl’s, Turning Point, Totally Brewed and Donzoko. “Shuggy Boat Blonde is our reference point beer, our staple on cask or keg,” says James. “We’re already talking about collaborating on a house beer. “I’ve been doing 70-hour weeks even though we’re closed on a Monday. I’m doing it all by myself at the moment, cleaning toilets, emails, ordering, doing the accounts and costings as I’m still trying to find my feet. But my family have also been a great help. It might sound funny but the busier we get the more time I’ll be able to take off – it’ll mean I’ve had to take on staff.” Slightly controversially, the bar is “card-only” which the vast majority of customers are OK with but causes one or two grumblings. James reckons it’s the way society is moving, like in Australia and Sweden which is a virtually cash-free economy. There’s still a lot to do – with full disabled access a priority on the ‘phase two’ list (and the flooring could do with a lick of paint) – but it’s working and it’s progressing. It would appear 70hour weeks will soon decrease. Front Street Tap House, Cauldwell Lane (Front Street), Monkseaton, Tyne & Wear NE25 8AQ.
NEW FACES
BEERONOMY
COMPARE AND CONTRAST
The latest significant addition to Newcastle’s burgeoning bar and restaurant scene is overwhelming. Beeronomy, on the city’s Hood Street – the former headquarters of the Newcastle Building Society – is big, it’s ambitious, it’s innovative, and partly because of that, it’s a touch confusing. The Beeronomy concept is the brainchild of Matt and Garry Fawson whose Mordue Brewery needs no introduction as it’s one of the region’s longest-serving microbreweries with far too many awards in its 22 years to easily tot up (including Workie Ticket being name Campaign For Real Ale Champion Beer of Britain in 1997). Their thrust is beer and food pairing with a menu designed by Rhian Cradock, chef/patron at The Feathers Inn, Hedley on the Hill, Northumberland – another multiaward winner. At Beeronomy’s heart is the sharing of knowledge, whether cocktail making, wine tasting or whisky appreciation. Regular monthly events will pair food and beer. Review comments posted since the bar opened late last year are overwhelmingly positive. Beerwise, there’s as extensive a range of cask and keg as you’d expect from such an investment with a choice that should suit every palate.
House-special Beeronomy Blonde is clearly Mordue Northumbrian Blonde, a wellconstructed, easy-going golden ale with a playful hop and malt balance. Tiny Rebel Cwtch is another former Champion Beer of Britain and Titanic Plum Porter is a firm favourite around the North East. Ten keg lines feature the likes of unfiltered Carlsberg lager, San Miguel, Brooklyn Scorcher IPA and Beavertown’s Neck Oil and Gamma Ray. Ask any of the staff and you’ll be advised on what food pairs with what beer. There is a selection of small plates, sharing plates (charcuterie a speciality), oysters and cheeses with main dishes featuring seafood, shortrib burgers, pork T-bone, with vegetarian and vegan options. The manager’s special of crispy lamb, artichoke, yogurt and seafood chowder is a very reasonable £7.95. The space Beeronomy occupies is huge; the bar counter is long and busy with an open kitchen at the far end. Exposed brickwork and highly visible ducting, air conditioning and services are de rigeur these days, as are areas of distressed timber contrasting with painted wood. The focal point, however, is an enormous mural which brings to mind early20th Century Austrian symbolist artist Gustav Klimt. This blend of fine art and industrialism – lots of utilitarian metal mesh, too – with
vivid drapes, chandelier-style lighting and additional coach lamps is debatably a curious mix. But debate is what pubs thrive on. Beeronomy is the high point of two decades of Mordue's hard
work, beer industry acievement, and relentless research. Crispy pig head croquettes, white miso and apple served with pale ale; now that’s not confusing at all. beeronomy.com
www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 29
FUN STUFF
THE DIRTY DOZEN
SIGN OF THE TIMES
TWELVE WAYS TO STUMP YOUR FRIENDS IN THE PUB 1 In Star Trek what is Spock’s home planet? 2 In a rainbow what colour is in the inside of the curve?
Next to hairdressers, garage services surely have the punning-most business names. They revel in titles like Curl Up And Dye or this one spotted in Bedlington.
A TOURIST WALKS INTO A BAR IN RURAL IRELAND… …AND SAYS TO THE BARMAN: “MY, YOU’VE GOT AN AWFUL LOT OF ELDERLY PEOPLE IN THIS VILLAGE. EVERYBODY MUST BE OVER A HUNDRED. TELL ME, WHO’S THE OLDEST INHABITANT? THE BARMAN SAYS: “ACTUALLY, WE DON’T REALLY HAVE AN OLDEST INHABITANT. THINKING ABOUT IT, WE DID HAVE ONE BUT HE DIED THREE WEEKS AGO.”
Goal 14: A United Nations Life Below Water programme aimed at protecting our oceans
4 How many surfaces does a dodecagon have? 5 What would you measure with an oometer? 6 On London Underground maps, which line is marked in red? 7 What is a Chinese gooseberry better known as? 8 The Derby is restricted to what age of horse? 9 At what age does lamb become mutton? 10 What does the Blue Peter flag signify? 11 What is the affliction coryza better known as? 12 What was the first James Bond film?
14
EEH! NUMBERS The number of pubs the Campaign For Real Ale (Camra) calculate we’re losing every week in this country (according to latest figures)
3 What was Edwin H Land’s snappy invention in 1947?
14: A David Garrett album from 2013 (no, us neither)
14: The minimum age for driving a 50cc motorbike in Italy 14: The number of legs on a woodlouse.
QUOTE
“IT’S TOO BAD THAT ALL THE PEOPLE WHO KNOW HOW TO RUN THE COUNTRY ARE BUSY DRIVING TAXIS AND CUTTING HAIR” GEORGE BURNS
QUIZ ANSWERS: 1 Vulcan. 2 Violet. 3 The polaroid camera. 4 Twelve. 5 Birds’ eggs. 6 The Circle Line. 7 Kiwi fruit. 8 Three. 9 After 12 months. 10 All aboard. I’m putting out to sea. 11 Common cold. 12 Dr No (1962). 30 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk
It’s fun doing things differently that’s why we’re proud to be Hobos. Just like the other great breweries we admire like Northern Monk and Tool, who started as hobos and are still hobos. Hey we understand that doing something different can be odd, and we know some judge us for it, which is fine. Everyone has an opinion. Ours is to create our own path and our own way of doing things. Why be stuck with only one place to work and one way of working? (yawn). Without being hobos we wouldn’t have been able to open our first bar and then our beer shop, which supports those bricks and mortar brewers and those other crazy hobos like us. We know we may not be seen in some peoples’ eyes as a proper brewery, but when you listen to The Beatles, it’s not the guitar making the music. At the end of the day, we just want to make great beer and have fun doing it. The amazing thing about being a hobo is you get to travel and share experiences. If you want to see what a hobo brewery can do, why not come down to our new bar in town D.E.A.D. where you will find fellow hobos, rule breakers and adventurers. A brewery doesn’t need bricks. Home is where your heart is and not the location. DROP EVERYTHING AND DRINK.