Cheers North East magazine #89 - April 2019

cheers WWW.CHEERSNORTHEAST.CO.UK // APRIL 2019 // ISSUE 89

I T ’ S

A B O U T

P U B S ,

P E O P L E ,

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WELCOME Spring is springing and we’ve got a little jaunt in our step, so let’s get out and use those lovely North East pubs we have from The Borders to North Yorkshire – and the Coast to Cumbria. The clocks have done their forward shift and the days are lengthening nicely, the temperature is taking a slow rise but, at the time of writing, we don’t know where we are sitting in the Big Brother Europe House.

Is it in the dining room with our gourmet neighbours or the kitchen where all the gossip is heard and relationships get formed, or out in the hallway by ourselves on the naughty step?

Political rant over.

It’s amazing how springtime brings out beer festivals and al fresco events, even though we might have to wrap up in a throw like they have on offer at The Curfew in Berwick or the Cumberland Arms in Byker. It’s little touches like that that make all the difference – it shows they care.

Following on from the recent Siris Symposium on women’s role in the beer world and the challenges we all face, we’ve invited the brilliant finger-onthe-pulse that is Daisy Turnell to give her take on the future of our industry.

We take a trip out into Northumberland where we’re constantly amazed at the diverse nature of the beer and pub business and how enterprising people make the county tick.

Whichever pub room you’re in, we might see you there.

Cheers, Alastair Gilmour Editor, Cheers North East

EDITORIAL

Alastair Gilmour 07930 144 846 01661 844 115 alastair@cheersnortheast.co.uk @CheersPal www.cheersnortheast.co.uk Photography: Peter Skelton www.thepsp.net

CONTENTS 16

SHED LOADS OF SHEDS

Sheds can be either retreats, havens or hives of creativity – or all three, and more. Sheds are where people get together with friends, where they dream up ideas and where they play music. But the best sheds are the ones where people make beer – and get together with friends, dream up ideas, and play music. They can be simple structures or high-quality and virtually home-like, so we take a look at sheddy people doing sheddy things. Some of them contribute to the nation’s cultural wellbeing by writing and drawing cartoons. It takes all sorts.

COVER: DAISY TURNELL, ANARCHY BREW CO. PHOTO: PETER SKELTON

WE LOVE BRINGING IN NEW IDEAS. I DON’T LIKE THE TERM ‘COLLABORATION’; IT’S MORE BOARDROOM THAN BREWERY. I PREFER ‘IN CAHOOTS WITH’ SAM KELLIE, FIRST & LAST BREWERY

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When you have finished with this magazine please recycle it

14 COUNTY 15 ON SHOW NEW 29 FACES REVEALED FUN 30 STUFF WOMEN IN BEER

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

Red, white and brew: Andy Burrows left, and Gary Cresswell

AIRLINE READY FOR TAKE OFF AFTER HADRIAN’S CALL Collaboration brews are about sharing knowledge and expertise.

Relationships are fostered and friendships are begun on joint projects, while ideas are floated, working practices constructed and even deconstructed. But above all else they are fun and not easily forgotten.

Newcastle’s Hadrian Border Brewery has recently completed a collaboration brew with another North East brewery – Airline Brewing

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Company from Maine in the US, which sits in the top right-hand corner of the country. So, there was already some sort of symmetry there to capitalise on.

Gary and Sharon Cresswell own the Airline Brewing Company which specialises in old world beer from Britain and Europe and frequently uses the tagline “Old England in New England”.

Gary, originally from Yorkshire, has also built a small English-themed pub,

pen 10pm mo roo 12pm p a t t a s i+ y fr BE ER S AW AR D- WI NN ING E FR OM NE WC AS TL

recreating their favourite aspects of some of their locals from back home.

Airline concentrates on cask ale, a rare but developing commodity in the US, and has collaborated with Hadrian Border owner Andy Burrows and his team in the past to share the technicalities of brewing beer.

Andy says: “We were excited about the visit from Gary and Sharon and enjoyed swapping brewing expertise and introducing different flavours and textures to our own brews. We brewed their hazy, unfiltered New England IPA as well as collaborating on a joint brew, combining all of our brewing expertise and making it a fitting way to mark our special business anniversary – it’s 25 years since we first set up in Berwick.”

Gary Cresswell says: “We have a growing demand for our real ale in the US with a number of local bars and restaurants planning on installing handpulls. This visit is very important to us with Hadrian Border hosting our brewer for several days to help him refine our processes, especially focusing on carbonation levels and head retention.

“We thought it would be a great deal of fun to exchange styles of beer capturing the classic real ale texture and taste for us and bringing over something very new and different for the Hadrian Border brewery team.

“We’re delighted and honoured to mark Hadrian Border Brewery’s very special anniversary and look forward to helping them celebrate their 50th in the future.”

For sale: The New Plough, Dipton

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Sunderland-based leisure firm Tavistock Group has put two of its pubs up for sale after deciding to focus on its fast-growing gin distilling business and brewery operation.

Tavistock Group has decided to sell The New Plough in Dipton, and The Lambton Worm in Chester-le-Street, both County Durham. It comes as the company’s brewing business S43 (previously Sonnet 43) and gin distillery Poetic License have emerged as leading performers, prompting managing director Mark Hird to switch strategy away from the pubs.

NEWS

GRAND OLD DUKE SET TO MARCH OFF Like it or not, one of Newcastle’s oldest pubs is set for a major makeover. The leisure group behind the Stack shipping container collective in Newcastle city centre and Hadrian’s Tipi are planning to gut the Duke of Wellington in High Bridge and create a 14-bedroom boutique hotel with roof terrace – all under a new name.

Subject to planning permission, owners Danieli Holdings also want to open up the gable end of the historic building to create an outside heated terrace with views

of High Bridge, while extending the other end into neighbouring bar Yolo, which they also own.

Company bosses say they plan to build on the site’s cask ale heritage while creating a new use for the floors above the main pub with an increased capacity for larger functions such as live music.

The Duke of Wellington, pictured above, has long been renowned for its real ale – so much so, it was at one time owned by the Campaign For Real Ale (Camra).

Meanwhile, another development near High Bridge involves the restoration of the 19th Century Bigg Market toilets into a wine bar and cafe. Architects’ plans have been approved, but construction work needs to be carried out to turn it into a commercial property – including a new glass roof.

The Victorian-era conveniences have been closed since 2012 and become just another an eyesore

in the Bigg Market, but project partners NE1 Ltd and Newcastle City Council, with support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund have invested almost £1m in regenerating the area. Levelled terraces, improved lighting and street furniture have already been installed.

It is expected to be the end of the year when construction work and bar fitting will be complete, ready for opening.

40C FRONT STREET WEST, BEDLINGTON, NE22 5UB

Sidekick Brew Co.

COMING SOON! www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 5

NEWS

NEW BRANDING READY TO GO GO

County Durham-based Sonnet 43 Brew Co has been transforming into simply S43 as part of its evolvement and diversification, highlighted by the launch of two new American craft beers.

The brewery has always believed in experimentation in its recipes and head brewer Michael Harker, will continue to manage the English ales, while senior craft brewer Alex Rattray was appointed to add a burst of inventiveness through his experience in American craft brewing.

While S43 have made it very clear they are ratcheting up their image, they assure

consumers that the brand message and heritage remain. Two new beers, Get Snozzed and Go Go Juice, have eased their way into the S43 portfolio.

Managing director Mark Hird says: “S43 has a strong English heritage that will remain consistent in all of our business development plans. Our primary focus has been to create quality English ales, which will continue through Michael Harker. However, with Alex’s appointment we’re keen to keep up with current consumer trends and find our place in the UK American craft market.

“This new range has given us a renewed

vigour and real spark of creativity in our new hop-forward batches. Ultimately our brand message is ‘for the love of beer’, and whether this is through traditional English ales or American craft beers we simply want our consumers to appreciate them.

“We have also collaborated with a young creative team to ensure our brand message is communicated effectively to our existing market.”

With plans for S43 to collaborate with US brew house Fortnight Brewing Co in late 2019, it looks like a very exciting year for North-East beer lovers.

Fine ales, great atmosphere, honest food.

The heart of Birtley.

PROPER NORTH EASTERN PUB, GREAT WELCOME, REAL TRADITION, STUNNING BEER GARDEN.

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

Durham Road, Birtley • Tel: 0191 4102582 Mon to Thurs 11-11 • Fri & Sat 11 – Midnight • Sun 11.30 -11

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NEWS

SPORTING SUCCESS EARNS A REGIONAL TOUR The launch of Consett Ale Works’ celebratory beer Our Hero has been confirmed for Monday April 8. The traditional English pale ale is unveiled at The Grey Horse, Sherburn Terrace, Consett, DH8 6NE, with a talk by Our Hero himself, boxer Glenn McCrory.

It’s almost 30 years since Glenn landed the World Cruiserweight Championship at the Louisa Centre in Stanley, County Durham, in front of 1,500 spectators and a vast international television audience.

To also mark the event, award-winning North East playwright Ed Waugh has

written Carrying David, a one-man comedy-drama tracing Glenn’s dramatic rise, fall and rise again and the role his terminally ill brother David played in the historical feat which will tour the region in May and June.

Glenn McCrory says: “I joined Consett Sports Centre boxing club aged 12 and my amateur boxing debut took place on October 6, 1979, in Witton Gilbert Working Men’s Club – a fortnight after my 15th birthday. I trained in Consett for the world title fight every day with my wonderful trainer Alan Walker who still lives in Castleside. I even ran a pub there. I’m delighted Consett Ale Works have brewed a beer to commemorate the world title. It’s a canny pint, as well!”

A limited number of tickets, costing £5, are available for the official launch of Our Hero (tel 01207 502585). For information on the touring play visit Wisecrackproductions.co.uk

vv

TOP MARKS FOR MISS SCARLET AND POLLY DONKIN

The Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) held its flagship national BeerX event in Liverpool last month. Overall champion in the cask category was Gloucester Brewery Imperial Stout (9.0% abv), while keg champion was Orkney-based Swannay Brewery Muckle IPA (6.6% abv). In the can and bottle competition Wibblers Brewery Port Infused Imperial Stoat (9.0% abv) took the top award. There were gold, silver and bronze medals for our northern breweries, too: S43 Miss Scarlet’s Revolver Toasted Coconut Mocha Porter (6.8%) took bronze in the overall champion bottle and can category (6.5% and over) after being awarded gold in the preliminary round. Cullercoats Polly Donkin Oatmeal Stout (4.3% abv) was awarded a bronze in the packaged dark beer category (up to 4.4% abv). Allendale Wilderness IPA (6.5% abv) came home with gold in the Imperial IPA 6.5% and over section; Hawkshead Lager (5.0% abv) took a bronze, while its Tiramasu Imperial Stout (10% abv) went one better with a silver, only to be topped by the gold-winning Solar Sour (3.3% abv). Rooster’s Yankee (4.3% abv) won gold in the keg British bitter category and silver with Baby-Faced Assassin (6.1% abv) in the keg IPA section.

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NEWS

STARS IN THEIR OWN RIGHT

Two Newcastle venues have comes top in their categories in a nationwide awards scheme run by Heinekenowned Star Pubs & Bars.

Tomahawk steakhouse and bar on the city’s Quayside – the one with the big cow out the front – opened just 12 months ago and claimed the Best Food award with high scores achieved across the board for food quality, customer service, comfortable surroundings, and the pub’s marketing all scoring 10 out of 10.

The judges were impressed by the warm welcome, excellent dishes and the outstanding speed of service, especially at a time when the pub restaurant was really busy.

Meanwhile in South Gosforth, the Brandling Villa’s tongue-in-cheek humour and terrific personality marked it out as

the best pub in the country for marketing.

Star Pubs & Bars judges were looking for pubs that know what they do well, have made it part of their personality, and communicated it effectively. The Brandling Villa, with its dog-friendly theme and Geordie humour, marked it out from rivals in the 2,700-strong competition. A fantastic selection of beers and a focus on whisky also didn’t go unnoticed.

Judges described the Brandling Villa website as “Brilliant – not only engaging and good content but so tongue in cheek that it’s hard not to feel immediately enamoured with the pub.” And that was before they even got there. A major feature is a tour of the pub seen from the perspective of the late Frank, the beagle who ran around the pub with a videocam attached to his collar.

Innovative marketing: Dave Carr, Brandling Villa

theblindpigtynemouth theblindpig1 theblindpigtynemouth

www.blindpigtynemouth.co.uk The Blind Pig, Land of Green Ginger, Front Street, Tynemouth, NE30 4BP 8 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

NEWS

vv The dog theme is carried through everything from Polaroids of dogs visiting the pubs on tables and Facebook posts to the ‘Doggos 4 Lyf’ section of the menu that features dishes for dogs such as Billy & Margot Doggo Popcorn and Fillet of Frank For My Pooch and a selection of drinks that includes Woof & Brew herbal teas for dogs for anxiety and breath and Bottom Sniffer beer.

In the pub, the judges loved the use of cheeky patter to describe menu items, from Daft Shit On Chips and celebrity-inspired burgers with outrageous names like Pato Banton Ruined My Interview At The Department of Work and Pensions, The Beef Chegwin Plus and The Dirty Thoughts of Cheryl Cole, right through to the kids’ menu – Somefin Nice For Dem Little Shites (although they omitted to mention the more controversial menu offer of Something For Them Vegan Arseholes).

The judges noted how the Brandling Villa team’s exceptional and diverse approach to marketing and clever and effective brand-building using

humour, such as the pub’s Byker Teas – featuring turkey dinosaurs – has created a clear personality and loyal following.

The pub has more than 6,000 likes on Facebook, 7,500 followers on Twitter and 2,100 on Instagram.

Dave Carr, whose company of Frank & Bird runs the Brandling Villa said: “I’m very grateful that Star Pubs & Bars has recognised what has become second nature in our pub. Marketing becomes a lot easier when colleagues, suppliers and punters all see the same picture.”

Awards evening host, comedian Ed Byrne, agreed with the official sentiment: “Congratulations to Dave and his team who are at the top of their game when it comes to marketing.

They’ve turned a community local into an iconic and much-loved venue. The love of dogs and Geordie humour have been used to great effect and they capture the fun nature of The Brandling Villa and create great and effective social media content.”

Dave Carr’s latest venture – The Punchbowl in Jesmond, Newcastle – is set for an unveiling on June 26.

PUBS ARE REAL CREATIVE HUBS

The makers of one of televisions biggest-hit cartoon series say that when they came up with the characters in the pub, nobody was remotely impressed.

Neville Astley who created Peppa Pig with Mark Baker says: “People in the pub would ask us ‘What are you drawing?’ and we’d say, ‘A pig called Peppa, it’s going to be big,’ they’d lose interest and wander off.”

In an interview with Radio Times on the show’s 15th anniversary, Astley and Baker attributed Peppa’s appeal to maintaining quality.

“We put a lot of effort into making everything look as effortless as possible,” says Baker.

The show is now broadcast worldwide, has its own theme park in the New Forest, and the Peppa Pig brand makes in excess of £200m in UK merchandise sales. Astley and Baker sold a 70% stake in their company to Entertainment One for £47m each. Each.

S C H O O N E R T U N E Ss Brought to you by Mean-Eyed Cat

APRIL

Fri 05 Tyne Jumpers 6pm Sat 06 Nutopians 8:30pm Sun 07 Teresa Watson Band 4:30pm Thurs 11 Country Night with The Ranch Hands 7:30pm Sun 14 The Speed Limits 4:30pm

Sun 21 Slack Babbath, Wiggy Pop & ZZ Plop 3:30pm Sat 27 The Understudies 8:30pm Sun 28 The Skywalkers 4:30pm

May

Fri 03 Tyne Jumpers 6pm Sun 05 The Tennessee Hotshots 4:30pm

every Wednesday night we quiz from 8pm

South Shore Road, Gateshead, NE8 3AF 0191 477 7404 | www.theschooner.co.uk

www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 9

NEWS

Gigs ’N’ Festivals 43RD NEWCASTLE BEER & CIDER FESTIVAL

Northumbria University Students’ Union, Newcastle.

Wednesday April 10 (18.00-22.15), Thursday April 11 (12noon-22.15), Friday April 12 (12noon-22.15), Saturday April 13 (12noon-16.15) Featuring 120 beers, including 30 from the annual Battle of the Beers which this year features Dark IPA and Flavoured Porter and Stout. Fifty ciders and perries. Music by Tyne Signature Barbershop Quartet, Byker Hillbillies, The Bear Wire Band, UK Chilli Peppers and Marty Craggs’ Little Jam Band.

Beer and Cider School tutored tastings, Beer and Cider Review School, and Café Amsterdam with five craft beer styles plus cold snacks.

Admission £3 (Camra members free), souvenir glass £2 (refundable).

Details: nclbcf-tynland.camra.org.uk

YARD OF ALE BEER FESTIVAL

Surtees Arms, Chilton Lane, Ferryhill, County Durham DL17 0DH Wednesday April 24-Saturday April 28 Annual event in aid of the Ferryhill Banner Group to raise funds for its annual trip to the Durham Miners’ Gala where the town’s magnificent banners are carried and displayed.

Also The Very Big Quiz on Saturday April 6, 8:00pm. Details: 01740 655933.

PONTELAND BEER FESTIVAL

Ponteland Leisure Centre, Callerton Lane, Ponteland, Northumberland NE20 9EG Friday April 26-Sunday April 28 A selection of more than 150 beers, lagers and ciders, plus Gin Bar, Wine and Prosecco Bar. Great range of food, rugby entertainment, and live music from bands that include the wonderful, the fantastic, The Baghdaddies.

Details: pontelandbeerfestival.co.uk

food area. More than 24 bands playing two stages over the weekend. All funds go to the development of rugby while also supporting local businesses and charities.

Details: gatesheadbeerfestival.co.uk

TYNEDALE BEER & CIDER FESTIVAL

Tynedale Park, Corbridge, Northumberland (home of Tynedale Rugby Club) Thursday June 13-Saturday June 15 One of the North East’s biggest beer and cider festivals taking place over three days in June with the best beers and ciders that the region and the UK have to offer, along with great wine, street food and live music. The festival is a joint venture between Tynedale Lions and Tynedale Rugby Club with its main purpose to raise money for good causes – and to spread joy and happiness, of course! Tickets now on sale, visit tynedalebeerfestival.org.uk

GATESHEAD BEER & MUSIC FESTIVAL

Gateshead Rugby Club, Eastwood Gardens, Low Fell, Gateshead NE9 5UB Friday May 10 (12noon-23.00), Saturday May 4 (12noon-23.00), Sunday May 5 (12noon-22.30) Celebrating its 10th year, the festival is hosting the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) annual North East independent beer awards.

Ales and ciders sourced countrywide plus the best from local brewers, with Craft Can Bar, Cider Bar, Gin-filled Jam Jar Bar, Whisky Bar, Prosecco cocktails, premium lagers and a new

GOSFORTH PARISH CHURCH HALL (Opposite South Gosforth Metro)

FRIDAY 27TH SEPTEMBER 3PM TIL 11PM SATURDAY 28TH SEPTEMBER 12PM TIL 11PM • Free entry • Over 40 beers and ciders • Complimentary tea, coffee, soft drinks and snacks • BBQ food available • Live music • All profits to charity For more information and to keep up date visit www.facebook.com/ gosforthparishchurchbeerfestival/ 10 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

NEWS

LOCAL LAD DONE GOOD

Beer giant Greene King has appointed Ross O’Hara as head brewer at its 220-yearold Suffolk brewery. Ross, originally from Rowlands Gill, Tyne & Wear, becomes its 17th head brewer, following in the footsteps of founder Benjamin Greene.

Ross joined Greene King as a shift brewer in 2016 with a first-class honours degree in brewing from Heriot-Watt University and a perfect brewing grounding with Caledonian and Heineken breweries. Last summer Ross, aged 28, became the world’s youngest Master Brewer when he completed the four-year course from the Institute of Brewing and Distilling. In virtually all of his career, he has been responsible for the development of new brands and styles – great training for Greene King’s Heritage range, Yardbird Pale Ale, Gluten Free Old Speckled Hen, and the brewery’s seasonal beer range. He has also been instrumental in the development

Geordie star: Ross O'Hara, Greene King

of the new industry-wide brewing apprenticeship scheme.

Matt Starbuck, managing director, Greene King Brewing & Brands, said: “Ross is a highly knowledgeable brewer, passionate about brewing with an exceptional technical ability and flair for innovation. He is a great advocate for brewing as a career opportunity, encouraging the development of others. We are delighted to make this appointment as we look ahead to an

exciting next chapter for Greene King brewing.”

Greene King was founded in 1799 and is headquartered in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, and also brews at Belhaven Brewery in Dunbar, East Lothian.

It currently employs around 39,000 people across its main trading businesses; Pub Company, Pub Partners and Brewing & Brands, operating some 2,900 pubs, restaurants and hotels across England, Wales and Scotland.

MICRO PUB AND BOTTLE SHOP WITH AN EVER CHANGING SELECTION OF CRAFT BEERS AND REAL ALES AND OVER 150 BOTTLES AND CANS OPEN FROM 2PM WEEK DAYS AND 12NOON FRI TO SUN 41A WARTON TERRACE, NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE NE6 5LS @THEHEATONTAP @TAPHEATON www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 11

ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS: COMMERCIAL FEATURE

THE BUILDING HEATED WITH WINE

The region is world leader in the sustainable energy business Work has started on a major development in County Durham which aims to be the first of its kind to be powered entirely by renewable wind and solar energy – and heated with wine.

The Lanchester Group – which includes wine merchant Lanchester Wines and contract bottler Greencroft Bottling – has brought plans forward by 12 months to develop a purpose-built, £20m, 220,000 ft2 (20,439m2) wine bottling facility at its site near Stanley. With work set to be completed in 2020, this will be the 12 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

most modern and environmentally sustainable wine bottling facility in the world, housing new filling lines and increasing capability to 400 million litres per year, from 105 million litres at present.

However, this isn’t your average build project. When complete, the facility will be powered using energy generated by Lanchester Group’s three on-site wind turbines and will be built with 1,000,000 Watts of solar panels which alone will generate 850,000 kWh per year.

It will also be the first business

in the world to take heat from the cooling of wine to provide heat for its building, using technology developed by Lanchester Group.

And, the first to work with battery manufactures to install an electricity storage capability for times when renewable energy generation does not cover factory energy requirements (when there is no wind or sunlight).

Even the structure itself has been created with sustainability in mind and will incorporate the latest design of modular steel frame building.

SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVES AT GREENCROFT TWO Lanchester Group is working to incorporate a number of leading-edge technologies designed to minimise its impact on the environment and to start conversations about how businesses can pioneer changes within their organisations.

SUSTAINABLE HEAT GENERATION Greencroft Two will incorporate a sparkling wine capability. During this process the wine needs to be

ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS: COMMERCIAL FEATURE

chilled – using a heat pump process it’s intended to take heat from the cooling of this wine to provide heat for the building. This has never been attempted before and the Lanchester Group will be the first business to pioneer this approach.

POWERED BY RENEWABLE ENERGY The facility will be powered by wind turbines which feed directly into the on-site substations, with excess sold back to the National Grid – normally, wind turbines feed into the grid and businesses “buy back” power.

Install approximately 1,000,000 MW of solar panels on the southfacing roof which will generate 850,000 kWh per year Together, these are sufficient to power the facility, the first of this size not beholden to the National Grid.

ENERGY STORAGE The Lanchester Group is working with battery manufactures to install an energy storage capability for

times when renewable energy generation does not cover factory energy requirements (ie, days with no wind). It will be the first business to pioneer this approach

Julian Critchlow, director general of Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), left, and Lanchester Group’s Adam Black

THE BUILD The company will be incorporating the latest design of modular steel frame building which varies the sections of the steel frame, putting strength only where it is needed.

This highly efficient method of construction minimises steel requirements and is therefore more environmentally friendly.

VISITOR CENTRE The new facility will allow visitors to see the energy management systems and the factory operation while not impacting it in any way.

This is hoped to be achieved with glass viewing platforms, glass corridors and glass plant room walls where appropriate.

To find out more, please visit www.greencroftbottling.com

One of the UK’s leading suppliers of wine and spirits to the trade. www.lanchesterwines.co.uk +44(0)1207 52 1234 Stanley, County Durham www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 13

WOMEN IN BEER

SHATTERING THE GLASS CEILING It might be well into the 21st Century, but some maledominated industries such as brewing can have difficulty in recognising that women can do any job equally as well – and better – than men.

Daisy Turnell offers a personal insight The beer world really is a fascinating place, with a mixture of self-taught and academically trained brewers, writers, and bloggers. Add to that all of the opportunities within pubs, bars, and bottle shops, and you have an industry with a multitude of job roles helping to create something which, to me, is about far more than a pint.

My career in the industry began 18 years ago in the way the majority often do – by accident. I’d never considered a brewery to be somewhere I’d end up; working with beer in a pub setting was just something everyone did as a student.

Thinking back to every meeting with a careers adviser, I guarantee that this profession never came up.

Medicine, law, the usual suspects, – hospitality or brewing, no chance.

I was heading down an academic path when I veered off on a different course altogether because no one seems to tell you should choose something you love doing (more that you should do something that fits with your grades or earns you

WHILE A LOT OF MEN ARE UNEASY ABOUT WOMEN-ONLY BEER GROUPS, THE FACT THEY EXIST AT ALL SHOULD TELL YOU SOMETHING 14 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

a load of money). Whilst the beer community is somewhere that should be accessible to all (pubs are the perfect setting for everyone to feel at ease, putting the world to rights over a few pints), the further up the chain you get in this industry, the fewer women are visible. There are still far too many companies with all-male boards, and beneath them an allmale management team. So who are we meant to look to as inspiration in our career? It’s time for the people able to bring about change to see how blinded they are to the inequalities they allow to continue, and take notice of how the make-up of their team is excluding potential employees from ever wanting to work there, and from customers feeling a connection to them*.

With the increasing popularity of craft beer (argue amongst yourselves for the definition of that one), comes an increasing expectation from people. The craft beer sector promotes an ethos of progression and inclusivity, and it’s this foundation which has caused such a divide at times, upsetting the straight, white, male status quo. Making beer desirable to everyone is a major step towards making everyone feel comfortable to be associated with, and enjoy what’s in their glass, bottle, or can. And for the most part, the craft beer industry seems to now try to be at the forefront of a modern, empathetic society.

Does it get it right all of the time? Definitely not. But it’s great to see people make a stand and say that things need to be better for everyone, and that they’re not going to put up with excuses and those who turn a blind eye anymore.

One thing I’ve both witnessed and experienced is women having

to justify their right to talk about beer (far more than men within the sector). A lot of customers still seek the advice of a male member of bar staff instead of asking any females behind a bar. Taking a look at the Twitter bio for people who work within the industry, a majority of men seem to put what they do (writer, blogger, etc); women tend to add their qualifications or awards as they continue to have to justify their position and right to a voice.

My spare time is spent running Craft Beer Newcastle as a hobby – a website and social media set up to share what’s happening in the North East pub and brewery scene.

I didn’t want it to be about me – it was far more important for it to be all about the pubs, breweries, and beer community in the North East, so my name isn’t mentioned on it, which has led to the automatic assumption by those who don’t know me that it must be run by a man.

Putting the negative aspects aside, you might wonder what is it I love about the beer community. I’d have to say it’s all of the passionate people who share their love of beer and pubs, and spark an interest in a whole load of other subjects, too. I’ve been lucky enough to travel across the UK and beyond meeting so many people whose enthusiasm for everything from hops, to pubs, to the people in them, washes over you like a tidal wave of inspiration.

Whilst a lot of people are uneasy about women-only beer groups, the fact they’ve had to exist at all should tell you something about the lack of opportunities and inclusion felt by many. Meeting like-minded people who share the same passion and enthusiasm, and who go out of their way to raise each other up to

Making a stand: Daisy Turnell at Anarchy Brew Co. Photo: Peter Skelton celebrate their achievements instead of being made to feel that they’re in competition has definitely been a highlight of mine.

At times of feeling isolated, the pub becomes a haven, and the beer community gives you a seat at their table (which is filled with the most delicious selection of impy stouts, sours, and beer styles you’ve never heard of before).

I’m also now into my first month in a new job – after nearly two decades in the pub side of the industry I’m now working in marketing at Anarchy Brew Co. It’s been a whirlwind – I’ve never known time to fly quite so quickly), but it’s great to be part of a team who all help each other out, and everyone working in the brewery takes so much pride in what they do,

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it really makes you want to get up in the morning and see everyone.

If I can help influence anything here, I’d hope it’s to help us communicate better with the world as to who we all are, why we do what we do, and how we can get to know our community better. As for the future, I’m looking to complete the final part of my Beer Sommelier qualification later this year, and understand more about what happens in the best bit of my new workplace – the brewery.

I’ll also be looking for us to bring more like-minded breweries to the North East, which we’re starting with as a partner venue for Craft Beer Hour. #CBH789 features breweries less well-known in our region, starting with Blackened Sun from

Milton Keynes, then Top Rope from Liverpool. And if any women are interested in getting to know more about beer, brewing, or even just fancy a chat about the industry, you’ll find me at @craftbeerncl on Twitter (I’m there a lot!). *To those of you reading this who think equality doesn’t exist any more – maybe start with the gender pay gap figures, and wonder why the companies on there seem to be doing very little to bridge that gap. Look at industry panels, and question why there are so many more men asked to speak about their experiences, instead of choosing someone equally as experienced, whose voice might actually help to reach out to a different group of people.

THE CRITERION IS BACK!

THE CRITERION, 2 OCEAN RD, SOUTH SHIELDS NE33 2HZ www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 15

AND SO TO SHED Brewing beer, playing records and making people laugh; they all happen in sheds, writes Alastair Gilmour It’s stick your neck out time. We’re about to present a section devoted to men. Men like sheds and men like beer. Women like shoes and handbags – and beer, when they’re not drinking prosecco.

This is complete nonsense, obviously, designed to raise awareness – and the only thing that rings true is that men really, really like sheds. Really really.

These and the following six pages are devoted to the social phenomenon that is the relationship between the male and the man-cave, the chap and the retreat, the guy and his den.

We kick off with Andy Robson and 16 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

Michael Collins; friends, work colleagues and neighbours in South Shields. Andy and Michael brew beer for their and their friends’ consumption in a garage in Andy’s garden.

Technically, it’s not a shed. Technically it’s not a garage either and although it has an upand-over door, there is no way that a sensible vehicle could ever have fitted into it.

(The house isn’t that old, but what were builders thinking about when they attached such narrow buildings onto homes and expected owners to tuck their pride and joy away every night?)

Even for home-brewers, Andy and Michael have a USP, a unique selling proposition

(though they can’t sell their beer, only give it away). Their brewing kit includes a former hospital lung function cabinet and a stainless steel table from a mortuary.

“We work in the estates department at South Shields hospital, in building and engineering,” says Andy. “When any equipment becomes surplus to requirements you can make an offer for it. We got the lung function chamber and stripped the chair out, boxed it off, and use it for fermentation.”

These are two very resourceful young men who have adapted equipment originally designed for a completely different function, but which – with an enterprising eye cast on them – are extremely valuable for brewing beer following a few tweaks here and a plughole inserted there. For example, their mash tun is a large commercial cool box, and the impressive, lengthly stainless steel table once had a life and death (of sorts) of its own.

Various glass containers and dishes have clearly come to their useful hospital life but have plenty of time left in them for an enthusiast.

Andy and Michael are long-term craft beer lovers and home-brewers of four or five years’ vintage, making regular trips to the likes of Rehills in Jesmond, Newcastle, for bottles

SHEDTIME STORIES

Hospital appointment: Michael Collins, left, and Andy Robson.

Photo: Peter Skelton

and cans of interesting beers to take home and enjoy – and attempt to replicate in the garage.

Small-batch IPAs, saisons and stouts have all been tried with varying degrees of success. “If we try a beer somewhere and like it we’ll give it a go back here,” says Andy.

A professional attitude borne out of their day-jobs informs their once- or twice-aweek brews. They fully realise that you can buy home-brew kits with all the ingredients to make an off-the-shelf Beavertown beer or BrewDog Punk IPA, but their way is starting from scratch with selected ingredients.

Michael says: “We decided to take the plunge using all-grain rather than kits. The first one we did was actually one of our better ones. It’s a canny hobby, a bit like cooking which you improve on all the time through feedback. Though experience and developing equipment, we now have better control over every part of the process – which makes all the difference.”

A stainless steel sink and draining board lie ready to plumb in while plans are in place to extract the chill from a redundant fridge to regulate the cooling process,

particularly in the summer.

“It’s all about make do and mend,” he says.

“We started off brewing one batch in a day – nineteen litres at a time – but now often brew twice on the one day, usually at weekends, because everybody who knows about brewing will tell you there’s a lot of waiting around, cleaning and preparing, so a long day is actually a more efficient use of your time.

“Most of the beer we drink ourselves or we give away or take to parties,” (Their chocolate milk stout is amazing).

Andy and Michael source recipes and ideas from an American craft brewing magazine which regularly takes readers through varying ranges and different styles which they adapt to suit their own needs and tastes. The pair also make a point of attending beer festival and gatherings of like-minded people such as Indy Man Beer Con in Manchester and more recently the Beavertown Extravaganza in London as well as enjoying – and closely examining – what’s on offer around Newcastle at The Cluny, Free Trade and Town Mouse pubs.

It’s one thing brewing the beer you like to drink, but on their “down time” what do these two accomplished home-brewers like to relax with in a glass?

Andy Robson says: “We were originally struck on Cloudwater beers, but these days Wylam is a country mile better.”

Something special to aim at, then.

SHEDS COME IN ALL GUISES

The Blaydon Shed, part of a nationwide scheme, is a fun, relaxed space for all men over 18 to visit and hang out, meet new friends, enjoy a cup of tea and a chat, learn new skills, share their experiences with others and do as much or as little as they please.

Men are encouraged to get involved in projects from woodworking to growing plants, renovating furniture and recycling.

There’s a workshop with various tools and materials and a garden to enjoy. The important thing is there is no stress, no pressure and no expectations, apart from being yourself.

Contact Fiona Teasdale (infoblaydonshed@gmail.com) The Blaydon Shed, St Cuthbert’s Community Hall, Shibdon Road, Blaydon, Tyne & Wear NE21 5PT www.facebook.com/blaydonshed/

www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 17

SHEDTIME STORIES

BREWS AND BLUES

Sleeve notes: Tim Barnes in Blues Night Records

Tim Barnes had twin ambitions – to make his own beer and sit in his shed listening to music. Both boxes have been well and truly ticked but it has been a long journey – quite literally – for the primary school teacher from South London.

Tim, his wife Martine and two sons now live in Richmond, North Yorkshire, in a two-storey house which was previously – on ground level at least – a butcher’s shop. An archway with huge double doors leads to an attractive courtyard and outbuildings previously used as a slaughterhouse. This is Tim’s “shed”, his home-brew and music bolthole which, named Blues Night, is the end result of a search for suitable premises to open a record shop.

He admits teaching wasn’t a passion but it paid the bills. But what made him think more about the future was the death of a friend who travelled the world playing records in clubs.

“He wasn’t very good at it but managed to make it work,” says Tim. “He was always broke too, so I thought I could do something similar and my wife said ‘you could brew beer as well’.

I had never done it before. I thought I’d brew in the summer doing some sort of hospitality work.

“We sold the house in Peckham, bought a motorhome, took the boys out of school, and travelled all round looking for a place that 18 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

SHEDTIME STORIES

would suit a record shop.”

Eventually heading for Scotland, they hit horrendous weather and were almost washed into the river at Rothbury in Northumberland – an area Tim knew well from his youth as a mountain biker.

Retreating south, they fetched up in Richmond where he persuaded Martine into buying the house (which he had already had his eye on).

Their sons’ education came partly from Tim and Martine on their travels but mostly by learning about places they had visited and interesting things they had seen.

“They’re really settled now in school,” he says. “I then did what I had to do – I read a brilliant book on brewing by James Morton – and realised beer is all about flavour and colour. I haven’t made one yet that I don’t like.

“Both of my ambitions required the involvement of other people to make them work. So the records are for sale and the beer is produced in sufficient quantities that there’s always three or four different styles to try.

“It’s just my hobby, really.

People seem to like it though, and they come in between 2pm and 7pm on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, mostly in ones and twos.

Sometimes I have six or seven people in there at a time and I’m rarely on my own for very long.

“I really hope to keep at it for a good long time, but I don’t want to scale the operation up much. I like it how it is.”

Tim is far too modest about his beers – brewed in the kitchen – but they are certainly of commercial quality with myriad flavours all taking their rightful place. He can’t charge for them but customers donate money which goes towards ingredients – but Tim insists they don’t have to.

And of course, the beers have music-themed names that reflect the wide nature of his taste, experience and stock of vinyl – Lightnin’ Hoppings, Wort Jansch, Isaac Hazy, King Trubby and Lord Pitchinger, named after the calypso singer Lord Kitchener who was one of the first West Indians to disembark from the Empire Windrush in 1948.

Lightnin’ Hoppings (6.5% abv) is a fruity and spicy Americanstyle IPA with hits of ginger (“I don’t know where that comes from but I dry hop for longer than I’m supposed to.”)

Blues Night Records is small and square in shape with stools and settees providing somewhere to leaf through a magazine from the pile of old NMEs, admire the montage of record sleeves on one wall, or ready themselves to flip through boxes, boxes and boxes of vinyl. Ultimately, pubs are Tim’s passion, alongside everything that goes with them.

He says: “I’m very, very fond of pubs. I was involved in a community pub in Peckham called The Ivy House which was the first community buy-out in London.

I used to call it my beer space.

When I looked at my monthly bank statements I would call it my Ivy House Tax. “I’d like to think I’ve taken an element of that into my small space here. People come in when they’ve finished work on a Friday and a lot of people come to Richmond on holiday. They’ll have one or two beers then move on, but they use it in a very respectful way. People are very approachable in the north, warm and genuine.

“It’s Lightnin’ Hopkins’ birthday today so I’ve got a projector and I’ll show a film of him tonight. I’ll probably be the only one here when it’s finished…”

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SHEDTIME STORIES

THE JOY OF SHED

Tom and Nicola Smith are taking advantage of building an extension to the brewery in their Northumberland garden – they’re having the house completely renovated at the same time. Either that or they’re making the most of the domestic building work to add more production space to Muckle Brewery.

In any case, they are about to spend the next few months in a caravan parked on the drive at Park Village, near Haltwhistle.

Making beer should not be affected too much – Tom is a fencing contractor and built the impressive brewery himself (with the help of a few friends) and working around problems is his stock in trade.

“When I thought about brewing

20 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

I knew it couldn’t just be a shed you can buy from anywhere,” he says. “The new extension is going to be curved, like the bow of a ship. We’re brewing three days a week then packaging – bottles have taken over massively from cask – and selling at markets, food fairs and online.”

Nicola is a radiographer at Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary working four days a week, then, bottler, label-sticker, sales person, fetcher, carrier and oft-times brewing assistant on the other three.

She says: “It’s been three years now; it’s something you wouldn’t do if you didn’t like it. We get a community buzz from the likes of Hexham food market and it’s great meeting customers and building relationships with them.”

The Muckle shed (although the word ‘shed’ doesn’t do this magnificent structure justice) measures 26 feet by 12 and build from Siberian Larch, a particularly hardy timber with an aesthetic beauty, and long lifespan.

The walls are laser varnished and the floor sealed for hygiene and ease of cleaning.

The brewing vessels (named Tom and Jerry and Eric and Ernie) are fitted with wheels which means they can be easily shifted

Log cabin: Nicola and Tom Smith admire the view from their Muckle Brewery shed

around and cornered off and clad separately depending on their function – boiling or chilling – at any one given stage.

“Some breweries have separate

SHEDTIME STORIES

fermenting rooms but we have to make best use of the space we have,” says Tom. “It took us a while to get used to it and we have our own way of working.”

Nicola agrees. “We had to learn it all,” she says. “But you always find a way round everything.”

The Muckle Brewery shed, perched on top of an 80-foot cliff, overlooks mature woodland with the Park Burn running through it way below. On the horizon is Hadrian’s Wall country.

Sitting sipping your own beer on a brewery verandah on a balmy

THE COUNTY

evening while pheasants cackle and other birds swoop below you must surely be one of life’s great joys. Without sounding hippy, something of that landscape has simply got to be absorbed in beers such as Muckle Chuckle, Muckle Tickle, Whin Sill Blonde and King’s Crag.

“We do cask to order, but have made a rod for our own backs by having a range of nine beers,” says Tom. “It’s funny, what sells well in one place doesn’t in another. We supply all around Northumberland and The Samson in Gilsland all the time. Our low-strength beers are the bestsellers.

“The shed was originally going to be a summer house, well, half brewery and half summer house.

It’s great to be able to walk out into the back garden to work. It’s normally a constant 20º in there so it’s a pleasant temperature to work in.

“It took us a while to work out what makes us unique – having a

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

brewery in the garden in Hadrian’s Wall country. There aren’t many places like this. We’re not about taking over the world – the local market is what we’re after.”

An acute sense for inventiveness has lead Tom to use whinstone (normally found as railway track ballast) in the kettle when brewing Whin Sill Bitter.

He was a bit wary at first and asked a geologist friend about the likelihood of it exploding in the heat. He assured him that as it had originally come out of the Earth as molten lava, a bit of a boil would make no difference.

Beers in cask and bottle are often delivered in the Smith’s VW campervan to a collection of highly-regarded Northumberland pubs, plus The Sill (Northumberland National Park’s visitor centre) and specialist beer shops around the region. Drops often double as nights away, so it’ll come in handy when the house and shed building work gets under way.

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SHEDTIME STORIES

Working title: Simon Thorp, left, and Graham Dury in their Viz writing space.

Photo: Peter Skelton

THE CREATIVE CORNER There are four sheds in Graham Dury’s garden in Whitley Bay. Four sheds, one greenhouse and a brick garage

“I’m a man who likes sheds,” says the Viz writer and cartoonist.

Graham and fellow Viz-er Simon Thorp work together in one of them, throwing ideas at each other, writing scripts – often for other comics – and being rather sensible about the whole process. In fact, for a team that’s on a deadline, they appear remarkably relaxed.

The shed is heavily insulated and is for all the world like a domestic sitting room rather than a workplace for men who like sheds. A woodburning stove warms the place from one corner, a low-level table in the centre separates a luxurious armchair and matching settee where the pair face each other and decide what the nation is going to laugh or groan at in the upcoming publication or the compilation annual they’re putting together.

Graham says: “Thorpy tips up about 10.30 and we talk bollocks and what’s going on in the world before we have our lunch at 12.30.”

“We come in every day and say ‘What’s going to happen?’”, says Simon, who says he always had

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SHEDTIME STORIES

The Perfect Accompaniment to Any Pint!

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have never had a proper argument, more like mild disagreements.

“Mind, I wouldn’t lend you any of my garden tools – that’s when I’d get really upset,” says Graham.

“Remember the flame-thrower for getting rid of weeds?”

(Simon was apparently too scared of the scorching blast to use it, before handing it back.)

“If one of us doesn’t like an idea we’ll just go ‘hmmmm’ then move on.

Around one in five makes it into the comic. Simon once suggested an idea about a gigolo…”

“He wasn’t a gigolo,” says Simon. “It was a story I saw in the paper about a professional escort who wanted to retire but couldn’t because his friends would realise he hadn’t got a job.”

What follows is a lengthy riff on the man being found out living above a launderette, working in a fish finger factory, and taking time off work to fly over the Grand Canyon in a helicopter to have fifty shades of sex in a luxury hotel.

The response, it transpires, was “hmmmm”.

The ideas flow across the table: Winston Churchill’s cook, real people with odd names (Minty Clinch, anyone?), 1970s Leeds United footballers, and Viz recollections – the disastrous Issue 16 that had a crispy batter cover, and the Wembley ballboy called Perkin Parmit. “He still makes me laugh,” says Graham.

Simon admits he and his wife went to a garden centre near Edinburgh at the weekend to buy a shed.

“It was more of a workshop. She does silversmithing and makes jewellery out of ashes enclosed in glass. They’re actually very nice.”

ISSUE 43

the yen to work in a shed. Graham originally bought the shed to use in his passion for woodworking and reckons when he retires he’ll fill it up again with tools.

He says: “It’s not one of those things that you go into the shed to get away from the wife. I love her company, it’s not that. It’s just I don’t like Thorpy coming into my house – he steals things. And I don’t like him using my toilet.

“It’s leaving the house to go to work, a psychological thing, even though it’s just ten yards down the path, you’re in your office. We only write in the shed then draw in the house. Both of us do – in fact I write here and draw in his house and he writes here and draws in mine…

“It’s a hotbed of comedy in here, your sides will split.”

A pinboard on one wall is covered in coloured sheets of paper of all sizes with scribbles, ideas, names and doodles all over them – things to do, and subjects to explore or return to, and stuff that’s amused them at some time which they often can’t remember why.

Although he wouldn’t admit it, Simon has an encyclopedic knowledge of comedians and regularly unearths obscure digital channel programmes with the likes of Arthur Askey (“a very funny man”), Jimmy Jewell (“a very funny man”), Acker Bilk (“a very funny man”) and Dick Hills, who with partner Sid Green wrote scripts for Morecambe & Wise. It’s the sort of thing that has informed cartoon strips such as the Fat Slags, Gilbert Ratchet and Black Bag: The Faithful Border Binliner, Despite their constant ribaldry, it’s obvious Simon and Graham have a great working relationship; in all their time working closely together, they

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AREA FOCUS: NORTHUMBERLAND

Cheers saddles up and takes a tour of Northumberland to discover an area of great surprises

THE HILLS ARE ALIVE

A building once used as a slaughterhouse, for kennelling trail hounds, fixing cars and building rabbit hutches has a new lease of life.

Cheviot Brewery has been operating from an attractively whitewashed building on the Ford & Etal estate in Northumberland for the past nine months.

It’s a gestation period that has seen it leap from brewhouse installation to highly visible bar counter significance through attention to detail and quality products.

The Cheviot team is Pete Nash and Jonny Hodgson – respectively director of sales and director of ales – plus Neil Baker, an extremely talented artist and designer (the day-job) who created Cheviot’s distinctive branding and imagery. The brewing plant came from Goose Eye Brewery in Keighley, West Yorkshire. Pete and Jonny – originally from Bradford – had been to a beer festival there

and discovered by chance that the business was expanding and that the seven-barrel kit was for sale.

They bought it.

“We’d been planning for nearly three years before taking the plunge,” says Pete. “We had been to the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona in 2015 and were sitting in a brewery tap talking about our passion for beer. So you might say beer festivals and brewery taps are dangerous places.”

The plant is a rather handsome beast, particularly as it’s been fitted to retain most of Goose Eye’s Victorian-style gravity drop process (top to bottom with little in the way of horizontal pumping), making the best use of the space available.

Jonny says: “Goose Eye have been brilliant, giving us great advice from their 30 years in brewing and telling us how they themselves would do it if they were starting again. We made a 3D model of the brewhouse so as we knew where everything was going to be.”

With an emphasis on local

Local focus: From the left, Jonny Hodgson, Pete Nash and John Hodgson at Cheviot Brewery produce and supply, Cheviot uses only Simpson’s malt, wheat milled at Heatherslaw Mill, and almost exclusively English hops, save for a small amount from the US and Slovenia.

“Simpson’s is only just up the road at Berwick,” says Pete. “The barley and wheat is grown all around here and it was always part of the plan to be as local as possible. The Curfew in Berwick really likes our Holy Bounty Oyster Stout; it got great reviews at one of their beer festivals – and as we’re all about collaborating with the local community we got talking to Lindisfarne Oysters about using their oysters.”

Barmoor Castle Country Park and Bear Claw Brewery have also

been tremendous with their support and advice. The locally-fitted brewery pipework is, according to Pete, ”a thing of beauty”. In the other direction, spent grain goes off to the neighbouring Hay Farm Heavy Horse Centre.

Pete says: “We now brew up to twice a week, depending on demand. Some weeks we’ve done three brews but it’s settled down nicely.”

Prominent in the brewery is a monster of a heat exchanger, four fermenters and a cold store stacked with full casks and a spare fermenting vessel which will undoubtedly come in handy.

“At first we thought, we’ll never fill all this,” says Pete. “Famous last words.”

BEST IN SHOW

Late night line-up: The Inn Collection team with awards host Alan Carr 24 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

North East pub company The Inn Collection Group is officially the best pub employer in the country.

The pub-with-rooms group won the Best Pub Employer of up to 500 employees at the recent Publican Awards in London.

The Inn Collection portfolio of pubs includes The Bamburgh Castle Inn at Seahouses, The King’s Head Inn at Newton under Roseberry and the new Amble Inn at Amble.

The group is currently recruiting for head chefs and front of house opportunities so now’s your chance to be part of this award-winning team. For more information visit www.inncollectiongroup.com/recruitment or email join@ inncollectiongroup.com

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REAL ALES HOMEMADE FOOD ACCOMMODATION

Rotation: The Red Lion, Milfield, Northumberland

Traditional village pub ideally situated to explore the beautiful Northumberland countryside, walking, fishing etc.

TRADITION AND MODERNITY Milfield is a blink-andyou’ll-miss-it village and therefore doesn’t score highly on a destination map of Northumberland. But travellers on the A697 are advised to take stock and pull in to the Red Lion, a classic stone building that has history dating back to the mid1700s. Originally frequented by sheep drovers and passengers on the Mail Stage Coach between Edinburgh and London, it is now undoubtedly one of the county’s most impressive food and drink stop-overs.

These days, fishermen, golfers, shooting parties and tourists benefit from Claire and Iain Burn’s simple innkeeping principles – wellkept ale, wholesome food, efficient service and a bed for the night with a generous breakfast that sends folks happily on their way.

“We have a great local following for lunch and beer from pensioners to the young farmers on a weekend,” says Iain. “The four chalets at the rear have been going really well in the four years we’ve had them, as are the two upstairs rooms.”

The Red Lion offers a range of sandwiches to pub classics – steak and ale pie – and firm favourites such as pan-fried salmon fillet with garlic king prawns, followed by decadent homemade desserts.

It’s wholesome home-cooked food, freshly prepared using locally sourced seasonal ingredients.

The core menu features up to six

dishes which changes every four to six weeks.

Black Sheep Bitter is a permanent cask ale with two local beers always available on rotation, which could be from Allendale, First & Last, Credence or Cheviot breweries as well as Tempest craft lager.

Iain says: “I’ve always said Black Sheep Bitter is the fish and chips of beer. No matter what you’ve got on the menu there’s always someone who wants fish and chips.”

The Red Lion also caters for visitors to the area who tend to go out exploring during the day and come back in the evening.

“What we want is a nice sunny day with an easterly wind when it’s too cold to be on the beach,” says Iain. “There’s no pattern to days.

We’re not particularly a destination area like Bamburgh. Custom comes from five to ten miles away, so one day you’ll do one table and the next it’ll be thirty people.

“Visitors come for the fishing on the rivers Till and Tweed. We do a really popular bingo lunch once a month which attracts about thirty people and a Wednesday quiz.

We host the Borders Gliding Club and have a horse-racing syndicate which is great fun – and quite successful. And the leek club has been going since 1966.

“There’s a domino school on a Sunday night after the diners have left. I’ve never seen so much cheating for ten pence.”

Food and drink available all day, every day 6 en-suite shower bedrooms A warm welcome awaits from Iain, Claire and the staff

THE RED LION Milfield, Wooler, NE71 6JD Telephone 01668 216224 email: iain@redlionmilfield.co.uk www.redlionmilfield.co.uk

www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 25

AREA FOCUS: NORTHUMBERLAND

Rhythm section: Sam Kellie at First & Last Brewery

IN CAHOOTS WITH…

First & Last Brewery, based behind the Bird In Bush pub in Elsdon, near Otterburn in Northumberland capitalises on not one but two avenues of brand awareness. It’s the first brewery you come to in England and also the last, depending on your direction of travel.

First & Last (F&L) is owned

by Red and Sam Kellie. Red was instrumental in setting up StuBrew at Newcastle University, Europe’s first student-run microbrewery.

She has also been heavily involved with Twice Brewed Brewery near Bardon Mill in Hadrian’s Wall country but is gradually

cutting back her involvement to concentrate on F&L. First & Last is deeply entrenched in everything Northumberland; it’s part of their DNA, their USP and their raison d’être.

Sam Kellie says: “As a family-run business, we believe in living life to the full and contributing to the community that we live in. We also like having as much fun as we can along the way.

“Northumberland inspires us.

We’re always looking for ways to reduce our impact on this wild landscape and the wider environment. It’s no good just going through the motions, you’ve got to brew with love, passion and care and that’s what comes across.

“We don’t want to get pigeonholed in the traditional market, but we brew to our market which is Northumberland. There’s no point in me doing a heavilyhopped cloudy DIPA which I love drinking anyway. Northumberland isn’t like that.

“I like working with the customer – the pub and the consumer – else we don’t have a sustainable relationship.

“We like to work with other brewers in Northumberland, although I don’t like the term ‘collaboration’; it’s more boardroom than brewery. I prefer ‘in cahoots with’. We love bringing in new ideas and it always interests me how other brewers work.

“We’ve got Jonny from Cheviot Brewery coming to see us as well as Theo from Rigg & Furrow, while Luke from the Enigma Tap in North Shields is hosting a tap takeover for us on May 3. We’ve also been chatting to Heppell Gin about using juniper in beer.”

Working closely with First & Last (alongside the Bird In Bush) is foraging business Northern Wilds, based in nearby Tarset.

They collected gorse flowers for an “in cahoots with” pale ale for International Women’s Day and sloe berries for a similar project with StuBrew which resulted in a German-style sour beer called Gose’berry Jam and also featured coriander seeds, salt and raspberries.

“Rowan, damsons, gorse flowers – it’s all about what’s around at the time,” says Sam. “Ingredients are exciting to us and everything like bog myrtle is seasonal and traditional. Hedgerow beers are unique and that’s what makes us part of Northumberland; why we are here.”

Sam believes beer shares a great analogy with music – he loves listening to music while he’s out delivering.

He says: “Hops are my guitar solos, but you have to have a great rhythm section and bass line to get the best out of it.”

But that’s going off on a different riff altogether.

First & Last Brewery Finely crafted ales from the heart of Northumberland

equinox

solstice

reiver

drove road

stell

, mad jack ha

red rowan

pale ale 4.1% ABV

summer pale 3.8% ABV

best bitter 4.2% ABV

pale ale 3.7% ABV

stout 4.3% ABV

session ipa 3.8% ABV

irish red ale 4.0% ABV

first & last brewery northumberland

first & last brewery northumberland

first & last brewery northumberland

first & last brewery northumberland

first & last brewery northumberland

first & last brewery northumberland

first & last brewery northumberland

T 07757 286 357 E info@firstandlastbrewery.co.uk Facebook firstandlastbrewery Twitter fl_brewery www.firstandlastbrewery.co.uk 26 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

AREA FOCUS: NORTHUMBERLAND

NO TIME LIMIT

The Curfew has just about it all. Cosy and intimate interior, a suntrap of an outside terrace and a small area next door that’s ideal for hosting beer festivals and events.

It’s also child and dog-friendly and considerately, there are rolled-up blankets in the awardwinning Berwick micropub for chilly evenings. Entering the pub through the passageway from the town’s Bridge Street, the counter (four handpulls) looks like it has served as a cupboard in a former life, but if it fits it works. Seating is sawn-off dining chairs creating practical stools – very welcome in small spaces. Elsewhere, the slim-bottomed pew seating tends to make the relaxed sitter gradually slip off – but it’s probably time for another pint by then anyway.

Brewing paraphernalia in the shape of metal signs is gradually filling up the walls in a range from Alaskan Amber through to Rochefort and Trappistenbieren.

This sets the tone for a quiet pint over a newspaper crossword or animated banter among a bunch of cronies.

The Curfew, owned by Gemma and David Cook, has been a regular Campaign For Real Ale (Camra) award winner since it opened in June 2014. It’s currently

the Tyneside & Northumberland branch’s North Northumberland pub of the year and also overall cider pub of the year. This is testament to four handpulls serving well-kept real ale from across the UK and a craft beer fridge with world specialities and a particular emphasis on Belgium, plus a choice of three ciders and a handful of wines.

Meeting the visitor could be Oakham Black Hole or Abbeydale Daily Bread, Bear Claw Winding Spring, Tempest Long White Cloud from Kelso, as-local-as-it gets Bear Claw Saison, and Arbor I Speak For The Trees. Keg-wise it’s likely enough to be De Koninck Antwerp Pale, a classic in its own right.

“Paddles” are available – three glasses on a tray which is a great way to understand beer that might be unfamiliar. Food is limited to pork pies and sausage rolls (before they run out) but Berwick is renowned for its broad range of eating places anyway.

The Curfew name is steeped in Berwick’s history. Only a royal messenger or doctor was allowed pass through the town gates after 8pm.

Today? Best get there early.

The Curfew’s spring beer festival takes place from Friday May 3 to Sunday May 5.

Award winner: The Curfew, Berwick www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 27

NEW FACES

CLASSIFIED ADVERTS

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TAP INTO THE FUTURE AND THE PAST

A new micropub in Heaton, Newcastle, has set out to straddle the traditional with the contemporary. The Heaton Tap offers modern craft keg beers, bottles and cans alongside ales drawn from wooden casks as was the norm for centuries.

Robin Shacklock, national chairman of the Society for the Preservation of Beers from the Wood (SPBW) and Mick Cantwell, have taken over the former Champion Bottle Shop, transforming a double garage at the rear into a lounge and cellar, while retaining the front “showroom” and serving area.

“We’re getting busier as word is getting around,” says Robin.

“We’ve got six keg lines and three cask.”

The Heaton Tap is nicely tucked away in Warton Terrace, off bustling Chillingham Road, an area of shops and services of every description and an unmistakable sense of community – virtually a village in itself.

Careful thinking has made the best use of space and shape available, which is quite an art.

Church pew seating runs along one wall – at this rate there will soon be more pews in micropubs than in churches. But an advantage they have is you can store cases of beer and soft drinks under them before they hit the fridge, saving precious space in a tightly-run, super-functional

HUNGARY FOR MORE 28 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

cellar (aka “Robin’s pride and joy”). The slight L-shape of the lounge is ideal for a poseur table to take up the slack. More of a traditional bar counter is to be installed at the front, rather than the simple serving area there is at present.

And no doubt the walls will fill up smartish with breweriana. Small steps, it’s all about small steps.

A front “terrace” is ideal for late afternoons when even in early spring, the sun soon warms the area up. Chillingham Road is well served by public transport with stops every 100 metres or so. Parking is a bit of a bind, but who wants to take the car anyway?

Regular beers are Three Kings (North Shields) Bacchus and The People’s Pilsner and draught Kriek (cherry beer). Guests include Durham Etienne, Basqueland Imparable IPA and Campervan Dark Blast.

The SPBW, Britain’s oldest beer campaigning group – was founded in December 1963 to encourage the drinking of traditional draught beer drawn directly from the cask by gravity or handpump. Wooden casks impart different flavours and mouthfeels to different beers and it’s always something of an adventure to sample them.

The Heaton Tap, 41 Warton Terrace, Newcastle NE6 5LS.

The Hungarian beer festival due to take place in March at Hemelvaart Bier Café in Ayton, Berwickshire, had to be postponed at short notice due to delays in the beer’s “passports”. Pub co-owner John Atkinson tells us the weekend event should be rescheduled for May or June, so we’ll let you know the exact details when we get them (and also post them on Twitter @Cheers_ne and @CheersPal). Best of all, check www.hemelvaart.co.uk

NEW FACES

PEEP THROUGH THE BLINDFOLD

Without delving too much into the whys and wherefores, the Blind Pig was another name for a US Prohibition-era illicit drinking den. Often also referred to as a speakeasy, it would sell moonshine – high-proof, illegally-distilled spirits. Put all this together and you have Tynemouth’s newest pub, the Blind Pig. “We wanted to call it either the Blind Pig or Blind Tiger,” says Stephen Bones who, with his wife Victoria, owns the tiny and perfectly formed speakeasy inside the Land of Green Ginger shopping complex in Tynemouth.

“Both names mean similar things, but Blind Pig sounded better for what we wanted it to be. It’s going really well; we’ve only been open a few weeks and weren’t sure which way it would go.”

It’s actually going so well that Victoria has had to compile a job vacancy advert. Inadvertently, she touches on one of the meanings of “speakeasy”.

She says: “When you have a small place like this, people are almost forced to talk to each other (speak

easy?). In fact, last weekend two groups started talking and ended up going off to the other bars together and exchanging numbers. They had a great time and are coming back again to meet up.”

Stephen enjoys real ale but feels the pub is too small to give it the constant attention it deserves, so he has concentrated on what is quite simply a terrific range of locally-sourced and American-style craft keg, bottles and cans. A mixologist has created bespoke moonshine cocktails.

“People in the business have been a great help,” he says. “Firebrick Brewery, Anarchy and Mordue have looked after us loads.

It’s all about building relationships.

“From the start, we wanted it to look like a proper pub, not a pop-up.

Being a joiner, I had to do it to a high standard, else I’d get grief.”

The Blind Pig certainly feels like it has always been there – handsome, solid counter with lovely shelving behind, high-backed upholstered pew-style seating, and high poseur tables by the window. The communal area on Green Ginger’s ground floor is used as an extended lounge for

Speakeasy: The Blind Pig, Tynemouth the pub and next-door Alfie & Fin’s Gin Bar. Land of Green Ginger services include a pet shop, surfing-inspired and vintage clothing, jewellery, gifts, shoes, sweets, accessories, hairdressing and barbering. Stephen and Victoria are about to open a pie shop there as well, to complement the Pie & Bottle Shop they run in North Shields (for which they won a national street food award last year). The emphasis will be slightly

different, but there’s no doubt it’ll be a huge success.

Victoria says: “We’re all working together in here. The shoe shop sold loads of pairs of last Saturday afternoon – customers were trying on shoes while they were having a drink.”

The Blind Pig has started a real tiger economy.

The Blind Pig, Land of Green Ginger, Front Street, Tynemouth NE30 4BP.

TONKA TOYS WITH THE PALATE A new beer from Hawkshead Brewery is a real complex beast of a supersized imperial stout.

Along with cocoa nibs, vanilla, lactose and bitter cherry, Tonka Shake (10% abv) Imperial Milkshake Stout contains tonka beans. They have an intense flavour, but there’s just one problem – they contain coumarin, a chemical that could, in massive doses, kill you. (We stress massive doses.)

Used in correct quantities, they’re much appreciated by chefs and food manufacturers and dubbed the most delicious ingredient you’ve never heard of. Hawkshead’s Tonka Shake is a star act. Get your shake on. www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 29

FUN STUFF

THE DIRTY DOZEN

SIGN OF THE TIMES Henri Willig – a little bit of whiffy heaven in Amsterdam for the lovers of Edam and Gouda among us.

A GROUP OF STUBREW STUDENTS CLAIM THEY ONLY GET ABOUT TWO CORRECT IN THE QUIZ, SO THE CHALLENGE IS, CAN YOU BEAT THE NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY BRAINBOXES?

A 90-YEAR-OLD MAN WALKS INTO A BAR… …AND STARTS CRYING. THE BARMAN GETS HIM A WHISKY THEN ASKS WHY. THE MAN SAYS: “I’M IN LOVE WITH A 20-YEAR-OLD WOMAN, SHE’S GORGEOUS, KIND, A GREAT COOK, AND WE HAVE A WONDERFUL SEX LIFE.” THE BARMAN SAYS: “SO, WHY ARE YOU CRYING?’ THE OLD MAN SAYS: “I’VE FORGOTTEN WHERE I LIVE.”

EEH! NUMBERS The number of the building in Coniscliffe Road, Darlington, which is home to the award-winning pub, brewhouse and distillery, Number Twenty 2

22

22: A song recorded by Taylor Swift on her fourth album Red (2012), also written by her with Max Martin and Shellback 22: A Romanian weekly magazine

1 Who was the German psychiatrist who studied and identified tangles in brain tissue (neurodegeneration) in the 1900s?

2 A million seconds is less than two weeks. How long is a billion seconds?

3 What did William Addis invent while in Newgate Prison, London, in 1780?

4 What is the chief component in the manufacture of glass?

5 How many teaspoon measures make a tablespoon?

6 Which member of the royal family uses the name Mr Perkins while travelling abroad?

7 The television detective Columbo was played by Peter Falk – but who was offered the role first?

8 What was The Beatles’ first hit single?

9 Which bird turns its head upside down to eat?

10 In which James Bond book and film does Pussy Galore appear?

11 Which part of its body does a snake hear through?

12 Which girls’ name contains the letter y three times consecutively?

22: The atomic number of titanium

QUOTE

“DONALD TRUMP DOES NOT TOUCH ALCOHOL, WHICH IS REALLY RESPECTABLE. BUT THINK ABOUT IT. THAT MEANS EVERY STATEMENT, EVERY INTERVIEW, EVERY TWEET – COMPLETELY SOBER.” HASAN MINHAJ

22: The number of stars in the Paramount Pictures logo.

QUIZ ANSWERS: 1 Alois Alzheimer. 2 Thirty-one years. 3 The toothbrush. 4 Sand. 5 Three. 6 Prince Charles. 7 Bing Crosby. 8 Love Me Do. 9 The flamingo.

10 Goldfinger. 11 Its tongue. 12 Delilah.

30 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

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