Cheers North East magazine #90 - May 2019

cheers WWW.CHEERSNORTHEAST.CO.UK // MAY 2019 // ISSUE 90

I T ’ S

A B O U T

P U B S ,

P E O P L E ,

B E E R

–

A N D

Y O U !

EVERY PITCHER TELLS A STORY INSPIRATION FROM ‘BELTER’ SESSIONS

GOLDIE ROCKS

VINTAGE VAN DELIVERS PIZZA TO SCREAM FOR

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 We say it every year: ““Ne’er cast a clout till May be out”.

But we’re never sure if that advice means it’s not until the end of May that we can safely discard our thermal underwear, or if it’s the may blossom on the hedgerows that marks a rise in temperature and the undignified wearing of shorts.

This time of year should be a great one for our pubs; it marks the beginning of what should hopefully be a great spring and summer like last year – with opportunities galore to fling doors and windows open and watch people smile as they drink, dine and socialise.

Having two bank holidays in the one month is also a bit of a bonus – and there are cup finals, beer jubilees and music festivals to cheer us up even further, although elections from decidedly Local to European Parliament (and possibly General) are lingering around to sober us up.

Also at the time of writing, Newcastle Falcons, Rafa Benitez, Berwick Rangers, Gateshead FC and Sunderland AFC share unsure futures, but hopefully we’ll eventually drink to their success.

Cheers exists to bring you the best in beer, breweries, pubs and people – with a dash of wine and spirits, a serving of food, and a belly-laugh or two thrown in..

Please enjoy this month’s issue; we try very hard to entertain and educate and value your support no end.

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

FIRED UP FOR PIZZA

North East pub-goers and festival devotees will be familiar with Goldie, the vintage Scream For Pizza street food van which dishes up the most amazing Neapolitan specialities.

Now she is being joined by a cafe/ restaurant in Sandyford, Newcastle, which will act as a permanent base for the times she is on the road along with her little sister, a trailer called Nugget.

It’s been a long road for their owners Vicky Featherby and Alex Walker but the hot, hard work is paying off.

COVER: GOLDIE THE SCREAM FOR PIZZA VAN WITH ALEX WALKER AND VICKY FEATHERBY. PHOTO: PETER SKELTON

BEER MILE PARTICIPANTS MUST START BY DOWNING A PINT OF BEER AND REPEAT THIS OVER THE NEXT THREE LAPS TO THE FINISH KEITH HUDSON, NEWCASTLE HASH HOUSE HARRIERS

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When you have finished with this magazine please recycle it

CHEERS NORTH EAST

brings out the best in pubs and brewing that exists in the region. The magazine, published ten times a year, is distributed to almost 300 pubs, bottle shops and specialist outlets from the Borders to North Yorkshire and across to the fringes of Cumbria. It is packed with stories from them with suggestions on where to go and what you’ll find there. But most of all, Cheers is about people – after all, it’s people who make beer and people who make pubs what they are. And to be able to bring you more information, our A-Z pub guide can now be found at www.cheersnortheast.co.uk Tell them who sent you.

NEWS

The Simpson's Malt stand at Brew Expo America

REGION’S VENUES ON TOP FORM Three North East pubs have been singled out as the best in their respective counties – with a national champion to be announced this month.

Pub & Bar magazine has selected St Mary’s Inn, Stannington, as Northumberland’s best pub, while The Box Social in Newcastle came top in the Tyne & Wear category and The Kingslodge Inn, Durham, also goes into the final rounds – 15 regional winners and overall national pub of the year – at a ceremony in London hosted by restaurant critic Jay Rayner.

The competition demonstrates how diverse and creative the hospitality sector is. The Box Social acts as the tap for Box Social Brewing, one of the North East’s most innovative beer producers and has been a huge success since it opened two-and-a-half years ago in the city’s Forth Street railway arches.

St Mary’s Inn countrystyle pub, restaurant and accommodation, has recently commissioned Hadrian Border to produce its in-house beer, a copper-hued, well balanced malt-infused ale with a top coating of hop and pleasant bitter finish. Nice head, too.

The Kingslodge Inn is part of the Inn Collection group which includes the Bamburgh Castle Inn, Seahouses, and the Lindisfarne Inn, at Beal, near Berwick.

4 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

THINGS TO DO IN DENVER WHEN YOU’RE DEAD GOOD

Berwick-based Simpson’s malt took part in the three-day Craft Brewers Conference and BrewExpo America in Denver, Colorado, recently – for the seventh successive year.

With more than 700 vendors all in one location, it is viewed as the premier trade show for craft brewers, providing an environment that allows exhibitors and buyers to develop business relationships, while it also helps brewing professionals encounter the latest and best products and services the industry has to offer.

Of course, brewery trips were also on the agenda for Richard Simpson, Andrew Holding and Martin Inglis with visits to no fewer than 11 breweries in Colorado, all of whom are Simpsons Malt customers. They were joined

at the conference later by malt sales director Jamie Ramshaw.

Richard Simpson reported that the trip had been a highly successful one. He said: “We wanted to visit as many Simpsons Malt customers as we could and it is still very humbling to hear so many positive comments about our products which we received during our brewery visits and throughout the week.

“The show seems to get bigger and better every year, which can only be good news for the industry. We’re already planning for and looking forward to next year’s.”

The 2020 Craft Brewers Conference and BrewExpo America will take place in San Antonio, Texas, from April 19-22.

POWERFUL STUFF THIS LAGER A Brit Awards winner from North Shields who toasted his success by commissioning his ownlabel beer has gone one step further – sharing a festival stage with the mightiest musicians in the business.

You know when you’ve arrived when fellow performers at the Hyde Park Festival in July are Bob Dylan and Neil Young.

Sam Fender’s Wallop Lager was brewed at Tyne Bank Brewery following a request from his management for a signature beer, a Czechstyle lager with a bold malty flavour and clean

finish. Newcastle-based Tyne Bank was chosen partly through the musician’s friendship with brewery events manager Rich Southern. In December, Sam Fender and his band celebrated an end-of-tour party in the Tyne Bank taproom.

Last year, he 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. He now headlines the Mouth of the Tyne Festival in July along with the Hyde Park gig.

NEWS

IS IT GOODBYE TO GADGIE?

vv

THE DRAW OF THE PUB

One of the region’s most recognisable beer brands could disappear after the founders of Mordue Brewery put the business up for sale. Garry and Matt New focus: Beeronomy in Newcastle Fawson have decided that, after the successful launch of a new National and international recognition first pub venture, brewing the likes of Workie came in 1997 when Workie Ticket was named Ticket, Radgie Gadgie, Five Bridges and Champion Beer of Britain by the Campaign For Northumbrian Blonde is no longer for them.

Real Ale (Camra).

They have fulfilled a long-term ambition However, rocky times arrived in March 2008 by opening Beeronomy on Newcastle’s Hood with the London Gazette reporting that Mordue Street, taking over the former Newcastle Brewery was the subject of a winding-up Building Society headquarters which is taking petition brought by HM Revenue & Customs. A up so much of their time and effort that there rescue package was put in place and Mordue was the danger they’d take their eye off the appeared invigorated, creating new beer styles Mordue ball.

The lavishly-appointed pub’s food menu pairs and embracing the craft keg culture while with the beers, and a beer sommelier is on hand keeping the region's cask ale flag flying.

The decision to leave brewing after such to give customers expert advice on the cask ale long-term success wouldn’t have been easy, and craft keg on offer. the 19 business and the marketplace are1in Mordue Brewery, founded in 1995, operates TBF-19 Cheers ad 1/2 19 awk.qxp_TBF Cheers 1/2but page awk 09/04/2019 11:57 Page constant flux, so one never knows what’s next. from the Tyne Tunnel Estate at North Shields.

Newcastle artist Jim Edwards posted this page from his sketchbook on Twitter, perhaps as a way of psyching himself up for the job in hand. He wrote: “Preliminary sketches for Pubs of the Ouseburn paintings, showing internal structures of their unique footprints.

About to start this painting of The Cluny. Best hurry up, as they’re meant to be finished for The Late Shows on Friday May 17. Chop chop Jimmy boy.”

Once his painting of The Cluny is complete, it’s the turn of the Free Trade Inn, Cumberland Arms, Arch2… and on. Jim and many of his pub paintings featured in the April 2018 (no79) issue of Cheers.

COMING SOON! BEER • CIDER • CRAFT BEER • WINE • PIMMS • GIN • RUM STREET FOOD • LIVE MUSIC • SATURDAY FAMILY AFTERNOON

Tickets from £ 8 – buy online:

tynedalebeerfestival.org.uk at TYNEDALE RUGBY CLUB, CLOSE TO CORBRIDGE TRAIN STATION CAMPING • FREE CARPARKING

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@tynebeerfest tynedalebeerfestival

www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 5

NEWS

vv

PULL THE OTHER ONE. PROBABLY Carlsberg UK has launched its most ambitious consumer campaign ever in a bid to drive reappraisal of its flagship beer brand.

“Probably the best beer in the world” slogan has been replaced with “probably not” in a £20m advertising campaign that admits it became one of the cheapest beers around, not the best. The rebranded Carlsberg Pilsner has been rebrewed from head to toe for a crisper, fuller flavour, they say. A beer that lives up to its promise?

Probably. Not.

6 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

'A LITTLE TART' MAKES ITS DEBUT

The Cumberland Arms, Byker, Newcastle, was one of a handful of pubs selected by the Queer Brewing Project to launch its first beer (in collaboration with Affinity Brew Co, London).

The Queer Brewing Project aims to raise the visibility and awareness of queer people in the beer world. Queer Royale Blackcurrant Pale Ale is described as “crammed full of blackcurrants and

BRUCE IS WITH THE BAND

fermented on champagne yeast. It’s fun, spritzy and a little tart.”

CentrAle, the takeaway bottle shop in Newcastle Central Station, offers an amazing selection of what owner Bruce Renwick calls “train beers”, handily arranged into North East sub-regions plus national and international offerings.

Bruce, a real music lover, has also created a section for music-themed beers, the latest of which is

a selection from Musa Brewery in Portugal. He has taken delivery of Mick Lager, Frank APA, Born In The USA, Red Zeppelin, Psycho Pilsner, Baltic Sabbath and Saison O’Connor. (Sadly we have to report that one of the more senior members of the Cheers team couldn’t figure out how Saison related to Des O’Connor.)

NEWS

IT’S A RAP FOR ACTOR KEMA

A young Newcastle singer who attended an audition for an extra in the Ken Loach film I Daniel Blake and was offered the part of China, his next-door neighbour, makes his stage debut this month at Live Theatre, Newcastle.

Actor, rapper, singer and rising star Kema Sikazwe, (Kema Kay), stars in Shine, a show which he has both written and performs, mixing his own bittersweet coming-of-age story with an electrifying live soundtrack and heartfelt words.

Shine is about growing up in a world that doesn’t always accept you, but instead gaining self-belief, trusting your head and your heart and always chasing your dreams.

Kema, now 25, developed a passion for rap, singing and song writing at a local youth project, the Chat Trust, in Arthur’s Hill, Newcastle, where he spent most of his time as a teenager.

I Daniel Blake was filmed on location in Newcastle and won the Palme D’Or for Best Film at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016, a BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film in 2017, and many other awards.

Shine, named after Kema whose name means “one who shines” in one of the languages

vv

of Zambia, runs until Saturday May 11 before transferring to the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, from Thursday 16 to Saturday May 18.

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

It's a rap: Kema Sikazwe rehearses for Shine

THE GUNNER HAS CITY IN ITS SIGHTS The opening of Newcastle city centre’s latest pub is just around the corner. The Gunner is the new name for Gotham Town on Neville Street, opposite Central Station, but the owners say it will be “a million miles away” from the cheap trebles and sticky carpet that the bar was renowned for.

Bar operator Crafted Projects, which already owns and operates Lady Greys, Pleased to Meet You, Hop & Cleaver, Redhouse and Central in the city, as well as turning the Queen’s Head in Morpeth into a new Pleased To Meet You bar, restaurant, tearoom and boutique hotel, is gutting Gotham Town to create what it describes as a top quality craft beer pub to complement neighbours The Town Wall and The Forth.

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

285 6919

THE BEST PLACE IN TOWN FOR BEER AND SPORT.

www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 7

NEWS

BREWERY'S HOT SPOT SPOT ON

You can’t keep a good man down, they say, and it’s certainly true of North East brewer John Taylor. John left The Stables Brewery at Beamish Hall, County Durham at the back end of 2018 and has been working with Firebrick Brewery in Blaydon, Tyne & Wear, while deciding his next move.

With his reputation for brewing great beer, John was not short of an offer or two and along with the owners of the South Causey Inn,

8 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

near Stanley, County Durham, they are in the process of creating a brewery that will enhance no end the award-winning, familyorientated pub, hotel, restaurant and wedding venue (complete with chapel).

To begin with, the range of traditional English beers – a Blonde, a Brown Ale and a Bitter – will be exclusive to South Causey, with brewing sessions planned for

New brews: John Taylor, right, with Craig Burke, South Causey Inn

parties and individuals plus bespoke beers created for weddings and special occasions.

The first beer is Hot Spot Blonde, named in honour of the 1962 Bedford TK fire engine that sits in the impressive grounds.

The appliance was bought from a collector on the Isle of Wight and actually driven to South Causey.

“I’m really excited about this,” says John. “We’ve got big plans. It all feels right.”

Owners Susan and Phil Moiser are also looking forward to the investment and to working with John – a man never far from great ideas – to enhance the amazing facilities that already exist at the luxury venue.

NEWS

A BEER WITH A RING TO IT The beer created to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Glenn McCrory winning the World Cruiserweight Championship was officially launched by the man himself at The Grey Horse in Consett. Not only was McCrory born and brought up near the pub, but the incredible boxing match on June 3 1989 took place only a few miles away in Stanley, County Durham.

Furthermore, Our Hero, a traditional English Pale Ale, is being brewed by Consett Ale works in its brewery behind the Grey Horse pub, emphasising the local nature of the class and talent we have here in the North East.

Glenn McCrory brought along his prized Lonsdale belt (“I slept in it after the fight”) while a local enthusiast also displayed the bell used for the contest – poignant pieces of history.

He then gave a fascinating insight into the fight against the supposedlyunbeatable Patrick Lumumba, plus the build-up and its aftermath to an enthusiastic crowd of supporters, relating how his “training camps” were a Portakabin in a field and a room above a shop, of running the Consett Moors at six in morning under the watchful eye of trainer Alan Walker, and how Derwentside Council leader Alex Watson had ingeniously come up with the bid to host the match attended by 1,500 supporters and televised live to millions worldwide.

A one-man play, Carrying David, by the celebrated Ed Waugh, is touring regional venues during May and June. It traces the emotion, drama and physical exertion of those glory days and the role Glenn’s terminally ill brother David played in it.

Carrying David details: wisecrackproductions.co.uk

Glenn McCrory, centre, with Micky Cochrane who plays him in Carrying David, with the bell that was used in the World Cruiserweight Championship

THEATRE IS LIVE. #THEATREISLIVE The Guardian

The Chronicle

RISING STAR

Presented by the National Theatre of Scotland in association with Dundee Rep Theatre and Live Theatre

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND

SHINE

THE CHEVIOT, THE STAG AND THE BLACK, BLACK OIL

CLEAR WHITE LIGHT

Wed 12 – Sat 22 Jun Legendary Scottish political theatre with live music and a ceilidh.

Thu 19 Sep – Sat 12 Oct Hit play featuring the songs of played live on stage.

Thu 2 – Sat 11 May Actor, rapper and singer Kema Sikazwe’s (who performs as Kema Kay) powerful stage debut.

ONLY ENGLISH DATES

LIVE THEATRE

Supported by:

Broad Chare, Quayside, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 3DQ LIV622_Live_Shine_HalfPageAd_190x128mm_V2.indd 1

(0191) 232 1232 www.live.org.uk

Live Theatre is operated by North East Theatre Trust limited, a registered charity number 513771, company registration number 1697756

www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 9 29/04/2019 14:33

OPEN SPACES

Secluded: The Rat Inn, Anick, Hexham, Northumberland

SHARING THE JOYS FROM OUTSIDE INN There’s hardly a better example We’re celebrating the beer of this than The Rat Inn at garden, the roof terrace, Anick, near Hexham the patio and the The Free with its gorgeous back yard, Trade Inn, Newcastle terraced garden places where and individual pubs can areas where capitalise from this on the month, outdoor hanging offer – baskets, while the window cannier boxes and operators climbing will spend a plants will burst bit of thought into colour, adding on how to another dimension to make there’s look the pub experience. great and inviting on The Rat, regularly highlighted Instagram. among the nation’s top twenty Many pubs have moved away gastropubs, is owned by Karen from the standard, advertisingErrington and Phil Mason. Regulars led umbrellas and gimmicks like and visitors alike post photographs mini-golf, offering instead a high on social media showing the views standard of comfort, drinks choice across the Tyne Valley, the garden and al fresco dining to attract and, say, a serving of pan-fried custom to begin with and to keep blade of local beef, wild garlic and them there a bit longer.

10 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

Of course, the North East has pearl barley. some brilliant beer gardens – from Karen says: “We live in a society Northumberland’s Bamburgh now which is hugely focused on Castle Inn at Seahouses and the image so any means we have to Jolly Fisherman at Craster with showcase our business in a positive their sea views, while By The River light which we can get customers Brew Co on the banks of the Tyne to share is basically free advertising.

People love to share images of what at Gateshead is an astonishing space with architectural and they are doing so a colourful engineering marvels to beer garden is a huge gawp at over your draw. beer.

“Garden The outdoor culture is area at the huge and Railway along with Hotel, the English Birtley, Tyne country & Wear, has pub there’s that special nothing ingredient quite like a that sets good beer The Cumberland Arms, individual beer garden. When Newcastle gardens apart the sun shines – an element of people love to sit surprise. Secluded, walled outside and once there and fenced off, it’s a sheltered oasis will stay longer if the environment is of calm, a suntrap behind the quite attractive.”

OPEN SPACES magnificent pub, surrounded by greenery and ringing with birdsong.

Like the pub itself, the beer garden is immaculately maintained with its well-trimmed lawns and rows of tables, while a sturdy shelter that wouldn’t look out of place at a railway station is ideal for sitting in the shade when the sun gets a little too much.

Through a gate is another surprise, a quoits pitch eagerly waiting to be used – yet another Instagrammable opportunity. Any budding quoits enthusiasts in Birtley?

An outdoor “concept” might be totally out of the question – is to use such as an Alice the space In Wonderland appropriately trail or sculpture

By The River Brew Co, and keep it park – but publicans Gateshead simple. can take inspiration for The obvious these ideas and adapt them Instagram backdrop is a floral to suit, while colour and surface display, either in baskets, planters materials (wood, stone, metal) can or troughs, or colourful shrubbery create intrigue and hype. The key

The Railway Hotel, Birtley, Gateshead something of that ilk featuring on the terrace of a sunny weekend. It’s another suntrap and the regularly passing Metro trains beyond Byker Bridge offer no intrusion and merely emphasise what a busy city Newcastle is. It’s a place for conversation and contemplation – is there any better pub occupation?

and a herb garden, while unusual outdoor furniture – particularly made from recycled materials – will always be a talking point and a camera angle.

The simple approach also appeals. The Cumberland Arms Byker, Newcastle, is famed for its music and there’s invariably

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

www.railwayhotelbirtley.co.uk www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 11

OPEN SPACES Tyne Bank Brewery, Newcastle

Not a million miles away and sharing Newcastle’s Ouseburn Valley, the Free Trade Inn and the Tyne Bar each has its own attractions. The Tyne Bar is famed for its outdoor music on weekends and bank holidays and the elegant benches sitting

The Free Trade enjoys that magnificent view upriver to the Tyne’s fabled bridges The Tyne Bar, Newcastle and the outdoor areas – two of them – close to the Ouse Burn barrage invite long gazing sessions. The soon get filled up, as does the aspect is surely one of the nation’s “overspill” area to the side of best pub panoramas. the pub which are perfect for And, Tyne Bank Brewery’s car sipping, lunching and lounging. park in Walker, Newcaste, is proof Hanging baskets give the that you don’t need a traditionally impression that the pub cares perfect view or an element of about its custom.

seclusion as long as you have great beer and good company to go with it. Recent sunny periods have attracted v groups of revellers ready to take it all in and share on social media – and long may the trend continue.

Attracting al fresco custom and keeping it doesn’t happen by itself; it’s constant hard work as Karen Errington says: “It also goes without saying that keeping pavements swept and tidying tables – such as regularly emptying ashtrays and making sure planters and baskets are refreshed – all help to keep people with you longer.

“It’s a bit like the open fire in winter – once you’re sat in front of it you don’t want to move.

And that’s a win for us attracting customers and keeping them here.”

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12 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

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BEER NEWS

HOW THE DEVIL GOT ITS NAME

Knowing a little about the beer you are ready to pour into your glass certainly helps its enjoyment – and a touch of theatre is no bad thing either if you know the ins and outs of flavour and aroma and how to get the best out of them.

Iconic Belgian beer brand Duvel has introduced six new Mastery labels for its classic bottled beer to help this process, with each label providing the beer drinker with details of the Duvel brand and its ethos – as is presented on a daily basis during the immersive tours of its historic brewery at Breendonk, north of Brussels where Jan Leonard Moortgat brewed his first beer in 1871.

Duvel Moortgat UK general manager, John Wood, says: “For many beers, brewed at normal carbonation levels, the pour of a beer from the bottle is not so vital. But Duvel is a living, unpasteurised beer; its carbonation is a thing of legend, and its world-renowned 90-day brewing process – plus an extra six weeks of cold storage – delivers a more than exuberant head. This makes the knowledge of the beer,

and of its pouring ritual, really critical.

“So, we have decided to use the spare canvas – the bottle’s back label – to add extra interest for Duvel drinkers with six different treatments.”

First brewed in the 1920s to commemorate the end of the First World War, Duvel was initially named Victory Ale. The war had brought Belgium into contact with Britain – and English ales, in particular.

Inspired by their success, Albert Moortgat, the founder’s son, decided to create a special beer based on the English model. After five years of experimentation – and an odyssey to Scotland to find a specific yeast strain – Victory Ale was born.

Remarkably, Duvel is still brewed to this day with yeast cultured from the very same strain.

At a tasting session of Albert Moortgat’s new beer held for local Flemish burghers, the shoemaker Mr Van De Wouwer, was so amazed by its potent aromas that he exclaimed: “This is a real Devil.” (Duvel in Flemish.)

The name was changed from Victory Ale and the beer has since been known as Duvel.

THE CRITERION IS BACK!

THE CRITERION, 2 OCEAN RD, SOUTH SHIELDS NE33 2HZ www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 13

NEWS

CAVALIER ATTITUDE

The things you see at the Newcastle Beer & Cider Festival (2). Visitors had to do a double take when the spotted this pumpclip on one of the bars. Brewed by the Dog & Rabbit Brewery at the Tyneside Pub of the Year – The Dog & Rabbit in Whitley Bay – it borrows its visual identity from McEwans Best Scotch, but happily not its flavour.

THE CANNIEST BEVVIES The things you see at the Newcastle Beer & Cider Festival (3). Winners of the 2019 Battle of the Beers competition hosted

by Tyneside & Northumberland Camra branch: Flavoured Porter or Stout: 1 Firebrick Brewery Sugar Spun Stout 2 Stu Brew Exam Room Tears 3 Twice Brewed Nox Dark IPA: 1 Great North Eastern Brewing Co Graphite Black IPA 2 Redhouse Edge of Darkness People’s Choice Canniest Bevvies: Ale: Stu Brew Exam Room Tears.

Cider: Copy And Paste 14 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

Running gear: (Left to right) Richard Codling, Jack Pellew, Nicola Hopper and Kirsten Johnson

MEET THE BAR RUNNERS

The things you see at the Newcastle Beer & Cider Festival (1): A group of real ale drinkers in running gear isn’t what you expect to encounter at a beer festival. But here are four members of Newcastle Hash House Harriers (NHHH), “a drinking group with a running problem” who meet regularly to run between pubs – and also pop into them.

The hardy quartet were having a stiffener or two at the recent Newcastle Beer & Cider Festival at Northumbria University before setting off to set a trail in “hare and hounds” style with markings laid out on pavements to guide the main group to the next destination (see the bottle of flour, not milk, in our photo). They admitted they were going back to the festival to meet the other harriers.

Newcastle Hash House Harriers founder member Keith Hudson says: “Because it was the beer festival, the trail was shorter than usual – 2.3 miles rather than the normal 4.5 miles – around Sandyford and Shieldfield but did include a 400m sprint session around the City Stadium on Warwick Street.

“This is also the venue for our annual Beer Mile event later in the year, where participants must start by downing a pint of beer and repeating this over the next three laps to the finish. It’s definitely an endurance event.”

We’re informed the group later split between those attending the beer festival and those retiring to the more sedate and relaxing location of the Mean Eyed Cat, near Haymarket bus station and Metro.

Newcastle Hash House

Harriers – there are similar organisations all over the world – celebrates its 25th anniversary on August 28 and will host its regular “beer stop” at the Great North Run on Sunday September 8.

“We’ll be celebrating the anniversary with a run around Newcastle city centre on Sunday September 3,” says Keith. “The final venue, the Strawberry in Gallowgate, depends on whether Newcastle United are at home that day and we’re opening it up to runners from other clubs.”

As if that weren’t enough, over the August Bank Holiday, NHHH are also laying a trail in Jedburgh as part of the bi-annual Nash Hash gathering in Kelso – an international event with runners not only from Britain but from all over the world.

This is a phenomenon that will run and run.

NEWS

AWASH WITH FLAIR

Writers are used to promoting their books in unusual places, so why not a launderette? The Old Cinema Launderette that Harry Pearson chose as one of the venues to launch The Beast, The Emperor And The Milkman (a bone-shaking tour through cycling’s Flemish heartlands) is no ordinary washeteria, however, it’s a place to take your washing, tumble-drying, ironing and drycleaning by day and a pub by night, serving several top-notch craft keg beers, a fine selection of Belgian ales, and an array of gins that would please the fussiest of ginsters.

It’s run by Richard and Kathy Turner on Marshall Terrace, Gilesgate, Durham – and featured in Cheers in September 2017. “The original idea is much the same, but we’re now only open as a bar at weekends,” says Richard. “The funeral parlour and

fish-and-chip shop next door seem to do more business than us during the week, but we always operate as a pub when we have gigs on – and that could be several times a month.”

He then meanders off into a riff about a launderette and coffee shop, an undertaker and a fish shop all sharing a theme to theme among the impressive run of independent businesses on Marshall Terrace itself and Gilesgate in general. The burgeoning Hop Knocker bottle shop and tap is also only a few doors away.

Harry Pearson’s latest book traces the story of cycle racing in Flanders and its virtually superhuman characters – and with competitions held on cobbled roads with kneedeep potholes and rutted tracks more often in the most dire of weather and nithering temperatures,

Serving suds: Richard Turner, left, and Harry Pearson at the Old Cinema Launderette. Photo: Peter Skelton it’s the toughest, roughest sport that could be undertaken on two wheels.

Having written previously about Northern grassroots football and country fairs, it’s fair to say Harry’s is the nitty-gritty approach (often experiencing those pothole moments for himself).

An enthusiastic audience was treated not only to tales of complex characters like Roger de Vlaeminck (The Beast), Frans Verbeek (The

Flying Milkman) and Rik Van Looy (The Emperor), but an insight into the culture, politics and the national psyche of Belgium, “a country invented by the English to annoy the French”.

The Beast, The Emperor And The Milkman (published by Bloomsbury) is fascinating; the retro-style Old Cinema Launderette is a real soap star. Take a look into both. theoldcinemalaunderette.co.uk

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COVER STORY

GOLDIE ROCKS An innovative street food business has come of age through its synergy with craft beer, writes Alastair Gilmour

Goldie is being joined by a new family member. The vintage mobile pizza van already has Nugget the trailer as a little sister, but her Scream For Pizza relatives are developing a new, permanent base in Newcastle to take their offer to a new audience. Fear not though, Scream For Pizza will continue its pub, brewery and beer festival business – a highlight of street food operations wherever it turns up.

Scream For Pizza, the brainchild of Vicky Featherby and Alex Walker, is opening a pizzeria on Starbeck Avenue in Sandyford, Newcastle, on the site of the former Sapori Italian Café, which has been a long-term ambition for the pair.

Alex and Vicky previously worked on cruise ships – Vicky as a production manager while Alex was a singer.

“We always knew we wanted to do something different and the pizza idea came on a beach in the Caribbean,” says Alex. “Probably after too much rum punch.”

Before they started, however, they decided they wanted to learn more about pizza – which they both absolutely love, along with beer – and starting with a mobile business seemed less of a risk than creating a restaurant.

So, in the finest method actor tradition of totally immersing oneself in a character before learning a line of script, they took themselves off to Naples – the spiritual home of pizza – to work for two months in La Notizia pizzeria.

(Even its location on Via Michelangelo da Caravaggio reels with Italian provenance.) They absorbed everything, particularly the ethos of owner Enzo Coccia where every employee and customer is regarded as part of one big happy family.

The Michelin Guide 2019 describes La Notizia approach as “fresh ingredients capably prepared, simply a good meal” which is exactly what Scream For Pizza is all about. And there’s 16 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

nothing like making pizza and serving it at tables in Naples to learn about food – and yourself – and to be taken seriously.

“We came back and bought the van in Colchester, a 1978 Peugeot, which had been an ambulance in Brittany then converted into a campervan,” says Alex. They soon discovered the vehicle that was going to be christened Goldie was not quite as fit as they had hoped.

“My dad drove it all the way back in second gear; it took him 14 hours.”

Vicky says: “At first we parked in the Bigg Market in Newcastle on Tuesdays and Thursdays hoping people would buy a pizza.

But they continued to walk on by and go to Greggs.”

Inevitably, after seven weeks, Goldie broke down and had to be resuscitated with a new engine.

“One of the first things we realised was that pizza has quite a synergy with beer, so we approached Mick Potts at the Free Trade for a regular spot outside. On the back of that we did similar things with breweries like Wylam, Almasty, Roosters, Anarchy, Hawkshead, Steam Machine, plus the Tyne Bar and Caps Off bottle shop in Bishop Auckland.”

A world of beer had opened up, though four days of making dough till two in the morning at the Leeds International Beer Festival did test their resolve and stamina a touch. A regular spot at the Hawker Market (HWKRMRKT) at the independent container community By The River Brew Co in Gateshead has also helped move the business along sweetly.

“Most people love pizza and we’re involved with beer so we’re living the dream,” says Vicky. “We’re doing four or five events a week – weddings and private parties too.”

Now in the Sandyford base, staff numbers have reached double figures, full- and part-time.

The direction in which Vicky and Alex operates meets in the middle from a creative

Pizza cake: Alex Walker, left, and Vicky Featherby with the ultimate Scream For Pizza Photos: Peter Skelton

COVER STORY angle (Alex) and a practical side (Vicky) and it obviously works extremely well. The decision to open a permanent venue came as a natural progression from being one of a small group of mobile street food vendors several years ago – along with Papa Ganoush and Riley’s Fish Shack – to the fairly crowded market it has become.

Vicky says: “However we improve (the mobile business) we can’t do any better than we’re doing – and anyway you can’t control someone else’s event or the weather.”

A little bit of financial security would have come into the pizzeria equation, although on a sunny evening they can serve between 150 and 200 pizzas at the Free Trade, so business there is brisk and constant and has been invaluable preparation for the future.

Craft beer and street food are symbiotic and they both offer scope for creativity, something that isn’t lost on Free Trade Inn manager Mick Potts, who sets up regular tap takeovers and brewery invitations with great enthusiasm.

He says: “What Scream For Pizza do is absolutely brilliant for us. Wednesdays now

MOST PEOPLE LOVE PIZZA AND WE’RE INVOLVED WITH BEER SO WE’RE LIVING THE DREAM have become as popular as most Fridays. We couldn’t come anywhere near that level if we had our own kitchen.

“It’s now expensive for street food traders to book a pitch at a festival or fair so they’ve got to sell a lot before they even start to make money. Our only stipulation is that the staff get fed – and I’ve got a queue wanting to work Wednesdays.”

Pizza has much in common with beer as it’s 95% preparation and cleaning with only a short “cooking” time. With pizza, it’s mixing dough, leave for 24 hours, roll into balls, leave for 24 hours, so it’s in effect going through a double fermentation. “And where you get the bubbles,” says Vicky.

Brooklyn Bee has become the most popular item on the menu – mozarrella, tomato sauce, pecorino, mushrooms, pepperoni, basil and a mizzle of chill honey.

“At first people thought it was a bit strange to have chilli honey on a pizza,” says Alex, “and I wish I could say we invented it, but it was an idea we got in New York.”

In the meantime, Goldie sits patiently with her oven firing nicely, dreaming of Naples. *Scream For Pizza pizzeria is due to open on May 17 at Starbeck Avenue, Sandyford, Newcastle. www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 17

GRAPHICS

BEER: EVERY PITCHER TELLS A STORY

Beer has led the way in bringing a fresh aesthetic to drinks packaging. We know that first impressions count, especially when choosing from a selection we’ve never seen before. But where does the inspiration come from? How and why does it matter? How can breweries turn a rebrand to their advantage? And how important is sustainability when it comes to packaging?

Does the beer style dictate the surface design? Who comes up 18 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

with the names? Is it a fashion thing? Is it a collaborative decision or left solely up to the brewer?

We hear from some of the most creative minds in the business.

HEXHAMSHIRE BREWERY With a new beer brand launching seemingly every five minutes, it’s never been more important for brewers to put brand and marketing at the forefront of their business planning. However, as in most small businesses, they are founded and run by passionate

experts, dedicated to producing the best product – but they aren’t always experienced business people and their understanding and confidence with brand can be quite low.

Sarah Raad, business development director at Tent, says: As a company who specialise in working with small businesses, we are used to clients who come to us without a brief and we see it as part of the expertise that we bring to their project to help them reach their goal. We work with them to

take a step back from immediately launching into design ideas and to really nail down key aspects such as their values and message, how they are different from their competitors, who their ideal customer is, what their growth plans are, where their products will ideally be placed.

“All of this gives us a firm grounding for looking at the visual brand and important factors such as logo, pumpclip design, labelling, packaging, and key elements such as websites and promotional items.

“Unfortunately, there are many breweries and beer brands where getting the brief right is missing and this is apparent in the end product. Of course, there are also some stunning and innovative branding around brewing which really captures the spirit of the company and appeals directly to the sort of customer they are hoping for – exactly the point of a good brand; telling the right story to the right people.

“In the case of Hexhamshire Brewery, we took their old logo as a starting point to create a brand which still maintained a real heritage feel but had a more modern outlook. Hexhamshire is the oldest brewery in Northumberland, and the company was keen to build on its heritage values and to appeal to serious, mature beer drinkers.

“Hexhamshire wanted their brand to quietly but firmly stand out and away from the more ‘trendy’ and youthful brands and, particularly important at the bar, for the pump clip to maintain a clarity which sets it apart and helps it to attract the eye.

“We deliberately steered away

GRAPHICS

from loud or bold use of colour and worked in grey scale to give a monochrome, vintage feel which stood out from busier, more modern clips.

“Little details like a bolder pullout of the abv on the pump clip and bottle graphics are the ways in which design can be used to attract attention and push sales.

These took and upturn when the new brand and pumpclip designs were launched so the company

ever

could see the effect of appropriate branding.

Of course, a brewery will very much succeed or fail largely on the quality of its product – but excellent beers can lurk under the radar for want of a good brand behind them and lesser beers can triumph with an appealing and compelling one.

ANARCHY BREW CO Daisy Turnell, marketing manager

at Anarchy Brew Co emphasizes the value of working with smaller design studios and the individuality the can bring to a brief. She says: “Since launching in 2012, Anarchy Brew Co has commissioned a series of artwork updates to reflect the brand and direction of the brewery and its beer range.

“We’re currently working with Josh Tinsley at Studio Tinsley and the new designs have been really well received with customers,

standing out in both the keg and cask badges, as well as the new 440ml format can.

“It was important to Anarchy Brew Co owners Dawn and Simon Miles that the artwork not only represented them and the brewery, but was created by someone only working with one brewing company to avoid any brand confusion. We wouldn’t say we’ve ever ‘rebranded’ per se; it’s been more of an organic progression of our beer range alongside our design.

“Studio Tinsley is the multidisciplinary creative practice of Josh Tinsley, focusing on graphic design for print and web.

Josh works across a number of fields from brand identity and art direction to editorial, retouching and artwork.

‘He has worked with brands such as Adidas, as well as a host of successful start-up brands and describes himself as having an artist’s imagination with a commercially astute mindset.

“So, how do we choose what ends up on our cans and keg badges? It’s a bit of a group effort

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GRAPHICS – throwing name ideas around, then it’s over to Josh to work on a design that represents the name as well as the Anarchy brand.

“After a few tweaks back and forth, and a decision on which elements to use, such as the foil highlights on the cans, the artwork is complete.

WYLAM BREWERY Wylam Brewery director Dave Stone takes the long view when it comes to graphics, highlighting some interesting angles.

Dave says: ‘Design inspiration comes from the life journeys of our team here on the brew floor, from music, from laughter and from drunken nights out. We actually rate how good a night has been by the number of beer names we come up with on the night. Five names means we’ve had a belter.

“We work with one designer exclusively. She lives in Bali and is completely detached from the UK beer scene. This works to her and our advantage as she is not clouded or influenced by other brands or breweries.

“We very much try to engage the can label with the name of the beer although we have two very distinctive style directions.

One is more graphic the other more interpretive of the name. It’s a global village these days and we think about our beers in that scenario.

“Back in the late 90s/early 2000s it was different landscape.

20 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

Cask was king and local was the only way to sell it due to cask not travelling well. With the advent of great beer in keg and then the ‘can revolution’ it is possible to sell our beer all around the globe – and we do. Our fans in Beijing and Copenhagen, for example, are not interested in our local landscape, they are interested in the liquid.

They think globally and as such we do the same.

“Turning a rebrand into an advantage is an interesting exercise. We feel we have managed over the course of time to move the brand forward without alienating our original drinkers. We have seen other breweries attempt to do it but fail. I guess it’s about belief in where you want to take the brand and understanding where you want to go and how to get there.

“And naturally, sustainability is very important to us. We use 100% recycled boxes when shipping cans; we don’t use yokes and the labels are recyclable too.

MUCKLE BREWING Muckle Brewing, operated by Tom and Nicola Smith, in Hadrian’s Wall country in Northumberland where

Collectors’ item: Wylam Brewery celebratory collaboration cans it takes much of its inspiration.

Nicola Smith says: “Tom and I had a clear image from the beginning of how we wished the design on our labels and pump clips to represent Hadrian’s Wall country where we live. The brewery is actually based in our garden.

“The ‘label’ pictured is the initial hand-drawn image we did and sent to designer Daniel Teague to work on. Hopefully you can see our original hand drawing in the final

product. It represents the view east along Hadrian’s Wall of it winding into the foreground around Crag Lough and the great whin sill.

“Whin Sill Blonde is one of our beers and is now brewed with hot whin sill rocks in the boil. So not only is it named after the local landscape, it is also brewed with it.

“The beer’s names take inspiration from the Hadrian’s Wall landscape and on each beer’s label is a description to explain

GRAPHICS the concept. For example, Muckle Buster Red Ale describes the views from the highest point on Hadrian’s Wall (Whin Shield’s Crag). We also have Pride of Park (celebrating Northumberland National Park) and Muckle Magic Star Light Ale, insired by the Northumberland Dark Sky Park.

“We had to have a detailed contract with the National Trust to be allowed to use the wall for product advertising. Our fullyrecyclable packaging includes gift packs with a wrap-around image of Hadrian’s Wall, Whin Sill and Crag Lough. We reuse our 12-bottle boxes and request bottle shops to return them to us for this purpose.

Our bottles are made from 55% recycled glass.

“The imagery used at Muckle Brewing, in the graphics, photos and descriptions tie us into the local area. This is really important to us and to many of our customers and our branding is greatly admired. We feel passionate about Northumberland and are proud to do our little bit to represent it.”

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GRAPHICS CHASING EVEREST Music plays a big part in the creation of Blyth-based Chasing Everest Brewery’s beers and presentation, as Zack Nolan tells us.

The name is linked to music – one of Zack’s favourite albums is called My Everest by Michiganbased punk rock band The Swellers and he was also in a band called Chasing Everest.

Zack says: “We are huge fans of the outdoors and also punk music.

Our beer names are most often taken from songs we like, or were listening to at the time the beer was being brewed. For the actual artwork there will almost always be an image from the outdoors that we layer and manipulate.

“All artwork is done in-house, and final artwork is agreed by the full team before we use it.

Aaron who brews with us, is a photographer and works well with

Adobe Illustrator.

“The colours we use have to link to the beer style for us, more than the name itself. We wouldn’t go for an aggressive, dark scene for a light beer or a pale ale – that said, we want to push the boundaries on the artwork relative to the style.

“There is so much stand-out artwork around at the moment and as a consumer myself I can often be pulled towards the look of a can or a beer clip before I even

read what they are.

“As for rebranding, if it’s not broken don’t fix it.

For core range beers, the artwork needs to be a symbol of that, something that people instantly recognise. If the beer is of a high enough standard still I wouldn’t really play with it. With breweries producing so many oneoff beers, you then have the opportunity to change things up and move forward without it being seen as a full rebrand of the brewery. If those beers are good, people will try the core range ones too.

Sustainability is huge for us as a small brewery and also a really big headache. We want to keep single-use plastic down to an absolute minimum. KeyKegs and EcoKegs are recylable, but we would much rather use the same containers over and over instead of buying more and more plastic and there is no guarantee that a pub or bar will recycle them.

When cans become part of the programme, we would again be looking at ensuring they are fully recyclable.”

S43 BREWHOUSE When Joanne Durham was taken on board as marketing manager at Sonnet 43 Brewhouse, it was goiung through a brand evolution into S43, driven by managing director Mark Hird.

“We were moving into more hop forward or flavoursome beers, bringing over an American craft brewer to enable us to produce different beers,” says Joanne.

“This new product direction, which was going to be bold and different, needed to have a logo that could bridge the divide from where and what we were known for – a brewery producing traditional award-winning cask ales into a new bold beer direction – into something clearer, crisper and more defined.

“Our brand is still evolving with the advent of new beer releases, however, the logo needed to stand out to show we are changing and

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THE

to have a strong iconography within a crowded craft beer environment. This inspired the designers in the graphics and copy on the cans we now produce.

“This does not happen in isolation and bringing in a good creative team who know and understand your brand is pivotal.

“We wanted to find a team who are as passionate about design and the tone of the brand as we are about producing and crafting new beers. Jordan Brown and Pauly Barton from Stop Being Nasty, the creative team chosen, loved drinking craft beers, are local, and are as passionate as we are about our beer and brand and where they can see the brewery going – quite an easy fit.

Beer names and styles have to work together; it has to be a seamless fit, a marriage of design and copywriting that speaks to our consumers.

“The S43 strength lies within

the North East, but we are also engaging across the UK craft movement and our designs and copy need to reflect a sense of humour as if we are talking to you like an old friend regardless of where you are in the country.

“Rebranding isn’t something you take on lightly, you have to ensure you are offering something different from what you have been producing and the USP has to reflect that with the tone and authenticity while you have to ensure you continue to live and breath that daily.

“But all those elements have to come together to ensure you’re delivering the end consumer one cohesive message.

“In our opinion, packaging has to be sustainable and operate on the same level as the beer provenance. All of our elements are fully recyclable and we try to minimize our carbon footprint in terms of canning and delivery.”

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GRAPHICS CHEVIOT BREWERY Neil Baker, one-third of Cheviot Brewery (with Pete Nash and Jonny Hodgson), is the mastermind behind the company’s stunning graphics. A gifted artist and film-maker, he readily brought his talents into the beer sphere.

Neil says: “When developing Cheviot Brewery, long before we had sourced premises and even put our name down on the brew kit we bought from Goose Eye Brewery, we were planning beer names and what the artwork and branding would look like.

“This probably has much to do with the fact that I wrote the initial business plan and my day job is as a filmmaker and artist.

Designing beer art was on the bucket list.

“Jonny, Pete and myself wished Cheviot Brewery to be rooted in our local community, and our corner of the region, both with regards our ethos but also with the image we project. We are not North Northumbrian natives but were drawn to the area by the landscape, history and people and so for us, this was the place to start.

“Our beer names and art reflect North Northumberland in that they evoke the landscape and the history of the place. Walking the Cheviot Hills and exploring the rich history of castles, battles, stone circles and the abbeys is what brings tourists to this area, so reflecting this not only roots

us in the community and the vitally important local drinkers, but evokes the spirit and image of the place that tourists are looking for.

“Before we opened, we had a cache of artwork for hypothetical beers ready to go. Sometimes it works like that; artwork exists well before the recipe is finalised and a brew made – such as with our new Trig Point IPA. The artwork preceded the brew and the final decisions on recipe.

“Designs for others is only decided upon post fermentation and tastings, with artwork being drawn that day or the day after, responding to the beer. So in terms of a brief, really I set the briefs and respond to them.

Jonny and Pete pretty much give me free reign but I always get approval from them before they are finalised. The collaboration between the three of us works well. When it comes to the beer, Jonny is ‘product’, Pete is ‘sales’ and I am ‘image’ – each supports and informs the other.

“I started working in a more graphic style – very ‘now’ – but felt it didn’t root us and it didn’t feel like it came from the Cheviots. So I went the other way and less in the direction that many other new breweries have decided to head, but more where we wanted to be.

“The label artworks are all created digitally at high resolution so they can stand up as pieces of art in their own right. I also create

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subtly animated versions for social media promos, which works really well for drawing attention to our brand.

“Importantly for me as the illustrator and designer, the style is one I love working in from a desire to create a beer that I think will taste amazing with an illustration I want to make. We get lots of positive feedback from consumers and other brewers, including some big names with

some pretty amazing artwork themselves, which for me is a great buzz.

“We have certainly found that in the ten months we have been producing beer, our artwork has helped us sell it, especially in bottle shops. I love that our art can be what draws people to buy a pint of Cheviot Brewery Ale, but I love it even more when the beer means they go straight back and buy another one.”

WINE: COMMERCIAL FEATURE

HOW TO DESIGN A WINE LABEL THE ULTIMATE GUIDE There’s a pattern evolving from the traditional to the bright and funky, writes Mark Roberts of Lanchester Wines

Thirty seven per cent of us admit to buying the same bottle of wine and never trying anything new. And, that is largely due to combination of (1) Always shopping in the same place, and (2) Recognising a familiar label.

Choosing this favourite label in the first place wasn’t an accident; months of research and thousands of pounds go into creating the perfect wine label, designed to entice you and keep you coming back for more. Every single thing is thought about, including the colour, the name, the design, the paper, the finish, the texture, the cap – even which bottle shape is used (yes, there are many different options).

The old saying really is true – we buy with our eyes.

While both taste and extrinsic attributes influence a consumer’s liking for a particular bottle of wine, packaging and brand are the biggest influences. Some studies we cite go as far as to say that for wine – and especially sparkling wine – 70% of liking can be attributed to the expectation created by packaging and labelling information*.

A great example of this is our Otra Tierra range (‘Another World’ in Spanish), originally launched in 2013 as a collection of Chilean wines. The label worked really well for the first few years then sales started to drop.

Wine labels generally have a life of three to four years before they need an update, so we redesigned the package in 2018 and have since seen sales quadruple. The wine inside the bottle has stayed the same throughout, so we know this increase in sales is 100% because of the redesign.

A CRAFT EVOLUTION Over recent years you’ll have seen wine labels evolve – more bright colours, funky names and a general moving away from traditional white paper. Some of this change can be attributed to the rise of craft beer, where bottles, cans and pumpclips are bright, vibrant and a break from the norm.

“Craft” is as much about marketing and storytelling as the actual product, and wine does not always do justice to its many great stories. But this is changing. Wine producers can communicate craft cues more strongly and in a more compelling way with interesting and authentic “back stories” – these could be about the winery, the winemaker, or the wine itself. Wine always has an interesting story to tell.

And, like beer, wine labels can be bold, weird and wacky! Australian winemakers are arguably leading the way in funky designs bringing

big, bold and bright colours into their labelling creating brands that jump off the shelf and pop on the bar.

A great example is McPherson Wines, based in Australia. Their wine evolution started around eight years ago with the design of Moonstruck (Shiraz Tempranillo). This was created especially for the Nordic market and features a gothic gargoyle (we’ll admit, when it was first presented to Lanchester Wines we said “no thanks”). Then, three years ago when UK wine label design started to evolve we called them back and Moonstruck has become a consistent best seller.

There are always subtle hints about the wine shown within the label. For instance, eight or nine years ago, colours would represent the varietal – so light green for, say, a Sauvignon Blanc or Riesling, pale blue for Pinot Grigio, yellow for Chardonnay.

You may still find these hints on Old World wines, the ‘original” European wine-producing countries such as France, Germany and Italy which often have more traditional labels.

Now the use of colour tends to be more psychological, influencing both the perceived value of the wine and also its taste. For example, if we see a dark label with gold metallic we’ll instantly think “this is an expensive bottle of wine”.

In a recent study published in the Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, French scientists found that the background colour of packaging persuades drinkers to pick one red wine over another. It seems that we believe that different colours suggest different flavours – those who wanted a wine with a full-bodied flavour picked red labels, while drinkers seeking a more floral taste went for orange.

Black was associated with dry, earthy or woody flavours; red with tangy; and orange with flowery flavours. White was linked to milky tastes, while blue was neutral.

LEGALS However much fun we make the labels, alcohol packaging is governed by strict regulations. We must legally present the country and region of origin, volume, alcoholic strength, allergens, type of wine, etc.

Importantly, every bottle must say who imported the wine and who bottled it, so next time check the back of your wine bottle and look for Lanchester Wines and Greencroft Bottling, both will be marked by our County Durham postcode DH9 7XP. You’ll know this wine has been proudly imported and bottled in the North East of England. * University of South Australia’s EhrenbergBass Institute for Marketing Science.

www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 25

VIEW FROM ABROAD

STU BREW VIEW OF EU HQ With Brussels the focus of much attention these days it seems appropriate that a group of students visited the city to experience its beer culture. Carey Boyle reports

The team from Newcastle University’s Stu Brew facility embarked on our first ever tour. And our time in Brussels was amazing.

Our first day, a Saturday, started at 10am sharp with a fantastic guided tour of Cantillon Brewery.

I learnt a lot about the brewing process and it was fascinating to see the different techniques used to create Lambic beer. The brewery was founded in 1900 and is renowned for its Gueuze which is aged in oak casks. The tour lasted half-an-hour and we

were greeted at the bar with two samples. I opted for the classic Gueuze and the Kriek, a sour cherry lambic.

Later that afternoon we went to 3 Fonteinen which is another renowned brewery located in Beersel in a beautiful location with a superb beer garden. We spent the day basking in the Belgian sun (I didn’t know this was a thing either…!) tasting some fine Lambics.

Later we gathered at the Brussels Beer Project for a tasting session. This was one of

the highlights of my trip – the experience included the biggest cheeseboard I had ever seen.

My favourite beer from BBP was probably the Smoked Blonde Stout – an interesting concept, to say the least.

The team split into groups the next day. A few of the more cultured members decided to take a trip to the European Parliament to try and sort Brexit once and for all, but unfortunately things didn’t work out. Harry Conn, one half of our stocks and sales team, tried to get in for a toilet break

but was unfortunately turned away. Meanwhile, the rest of the team tried out a great bar called Moeder Lambic. We also tried out BrewDog in Brussels later that evening which I would seriously recommend to anyone visiting the city. The rooftop terrace was the perfect place to make the most of the sunny weather.

The next day I went with Chris, Sandy, Tom, Brett, Dom and Arthur for another visit to Cantillon. This was a lovely afternoon where we had the chance to taste a wider range

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VIEW FROM ABROAD

of Cantillon’s beers exclusive to the taproom. I’m not normally a huge fan of sour-style beers but it seems that my tastes changed after becoming acquainted with

Amadeus is currently held by Ali Middlemiss who managed to devour three full racks of ribs (just thinking about how much food I ate that night makes me want to pop).

Our final day saw us taking in some more sights before our flight.

Some of us visited The Atomium, a true Brussels icon. We learnt that it was built for the city’s World Fair in 1958, the first post-war World Fair so it pretty much had to blow the planet’s socks off. Its nine spheres Study time: Stu Brew students (from are supposed to be a the left) Sandy, Tom, Carey, Lydia, replica of an iron crystal Liam, Arthur, Dom, Dan, Lewis, Ali and magnified 165 billion Will with lecturer Chris O'Malley times. Not too shabby!

Following that experience, we popped along to new styles on this trip. Later that Brasserie De La Senne which evening the whole team paid a lies off the beaten tourist path visit to Amadeus Rib House, a but worth the visit. I particularly great experience. The Stu Brew enjoyed Brussels Calling which is record for rib consumption at

a Belgian-style Pale Ale. I had been craving cheese and meat for the majority of the holiday – so I was so happy when Tom discovered La Mort Subite which is a stone’s throw from the Grand Place, the main square of Brussels. Their mixed meat and cheese board was divine and for me, the perfect end to the trip.

I would argue that this was the perfect way to end my year of being involved with Stu Brew alongside the majority of my amazing committee. I’d also like to thank our superstar trip coordinator, Rachel, for planning the trip.

Brussels is definitely the kind of place you need to visit if you’re a fan of beer and the culture surrounding it.

Stu Brew, based at Newcastle University, is Europe’s first student-run microbrewery. It is a sustainable facility, managed by students through Newcastle University Students’ Union. stubrew.com

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NEWS

CLASSIFIED ADVERTS

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BACK TO SKILL

Two chaps spend much of their free time visiting North East breweries. Dean Marriner and Rich Rogerson bring us up to date with their meanderings Over the last two years, we’ve been out and about across the North East meeting the people and the stories behind the best beer around. We’ve met brewers and breweries of all shapes and sizes and although each has their own individual approach, one thing that connects them all is their passion for creating great beer.

We’ve never professed to be brewing experts; we just like drinking the product, but when you peel back the layers and meet the people behind your favourite tipple it’s difficult not to be impressed by the degree of skill and dedication brewers have to their craft.

A fine blend of creativity, science and hard work, brewing is a competitive business and order to be successful breweries must have the ability to consistently brew beer that drinkers want to drink and retailers want to stock.

So, if you’re thinking about a career in brewing where is the best place to acquire the skills you need? Some brewers are of course self-taught while others choose the formal training route. The North East is home to Brewlab, the UK’s – and the world’s – leading provider of brewing training. We were recently asked to spend a day with them to find out more about their Brewing Skills Development course.

The course is specifically aimed at professional brewers and is designed to help them hone their skills and understanding of daily operations. On one of several courses, over three days students formulate a recipe and are taken through the entire brewing process in detail.

We caught up with Dan Vecsey, senior

manager at Brewlab, and asked him why he thinks brewers should invest in professional development.

He says: “For a brewery to be commercially successful, it must achieve consistently great results. That means understanding what is going on at every stage of the process and knowing when and how you to intervene when things go wrong.

“Brewlab has delivered brewing training courses and analysis services since 1986 and in that time we’ve taught more than 2,000 students from over 60 countries, many of whom have gone onto help develop successful breweries across the world. Yet before enrolling on a course, students still ask themselves, ‘Do I really need professional training?’

“It’s a valid question, especially as professional training represents a considerable investment in terms of time and money. And if you’re starting or growing a brewery, the funds could be employed elsewhere – like on a new piece of kit, for example.

“On the face of it, brewing is a simple process. You take some grain, add it to water and boil it. Then add some hops and yeast, let it ferment and then bottle (can, keg or cask) the results.

“The truth is, brewing is a fine blend of skill and science. At Brewlab we believe professional training is the best way to acquire the skills, avoid the mistakes, and fast-track your career.”

It’s difficult to argue with that. But now we know one thing for sure, we'll leave brewing beer to the professionals and we'll stick to drinking it.

NEWS

Free tuna: The giant fish that Martin Hammill caught then released

BLUEFIN LIVES ANOTHER DAY In good voice: Sing United take centre stage

SINGING FOR SOCIETY

Poet/singer/songwriter Simma delves into the question: when is a choir not a choir?

Mark Deeks decided after 20 years of leading and arranging that he wanted to do his own thing in music, and started from the principle that singers and audiences get the most from performing when the songs mean something to them as a group, or as individuals.

Given that the word “choir” had connotations of dull school halls and dusty churches, his project, Sing United, would be called a community singing group, and rather than the standard West End hits and pop classics, would sing pieces and play venues that connected them to a cause, a theme, or their home.

“The meaning of and the story behind the songs is the first and most important part of any Sing United show,” says Mark. “Finding songs with the right lyrics and meaning that people will identify with is the first step.”

The first sign that it was the beginning of something special came when almost 100 singers applied to join Sing United in the first two days.

The idea that music can either do good or be good is a widely accepted myth, if the history of terrible charity records we’ve put up with over the years is anything to go by, but Sing United are a glorious exception, being a genuinely top-class choir and contributing to society in tangible ways. Their first major project was based around the River Tyne and raised funds for the RNLI. Songs were chosen for their connection to the river and its surrounding communities.

Some of the relationships between choir members and the theme ran generations deep.

The original idea soon took on a life of its own and expanded far beyond what Mark Deeks had initially expected. Fundraising also soon transcended the usual buckets and stickers, as members started making things to raffle and sell. The community aspect of the project blossomed, raising thousands for the charity and performing at Tynemouth Priory and The Discovery Museum in Newcastle. Their Power To The People show resulted in a huge donation of funds and food to The People’s Kitchen, while This Land Is Mine saw them not only raise funds but find time to visit elderly people at Manor House care home in Whickham, Gateshead.

Make no mistake, this is no “aww didn’t they do well” setup. This choir is seriously good, musically engaging and interesting, and its unique outlook sets it apart from other groups.

The latest Sing United project focuses on mental health and, as usual, it’s a matter close to the group. Mark says: “Musicians have long been able to use their songs as an outlet for their feelings and their struggles, and in turn, these songs have often become something of a support network for fans across the world. I thought it was important for Sing United to make a musical contribution to the mental health of our region.”

I for one can’t wait to see where they go next.

Always On My Mind is performed at The People’s Theatre, Newcastle, on June 16. Tickets now on sale. www.singunited.co.uk www.simma.co.uk

Martin Hammill, brewery manager at Hadrian Border Brewery, has been on a fishing trip to La Gomera in the Canary Islands. The highlight was when he caught a giant Bluefin tuna weighing a whopping 400 kilos (880lb).

“It took 65 minutes of very hard work to bring it to the boat where it was safely released to fight another day,” says Martin. “We use special hooks that can capture fish without damaging them – they’re easily released from the fish’s mouth.

They’re an endangered species and anyway you couldn’t kill such a magnificent creature as that.

We were using mackerel as bait as it’s what they feed on in the wild.”

The Atlantic Bluefin tuna is one of the largest and most beautifully coloured of the world’s fishes. Their torpedo-shaped, streamlined bodies are built for speed and endurance.

ALL THAT GLITTERS IS NOT DUNG Now that you can be served beer in every shade and hue and every flavour from smoked sheep dung to tomato, celery and horseradish, it came as no surprise to learn that the American Brewers’ Association has created a new category for its Beer Style Guidelines used by brewers, beer judges and competition organisers – Glitter Beer.

Brewers’ Association spokesperson Lisa Frank said: “When dozens of breweries started brewing glitter beers, and consumers couldn’t get enough, it was apparent to us that it was time to add some sparkle to our beer style guidelines.”

It was only on being shown a photograph of a typical glitter beer – and noting the April 1 date on the announcement – that we realised it was a bit of a leg-pull. But when you also can get a beer made from banknotes and frozen pizza, you never can tell… www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 29

FUN STUFF

SIGN OF THE TIMES These tins of fish were spotted by Vincent Zeller in a spcialist Eastern Europe food store in Gateshead (an excellent one with a huge stock, we’re informed).

We think they mean Carp.

A MAN WALKS INTO A BAR… …AND SAYS TO THE BARTENDER: “IT WOULD HAVE BEEN MY GRANDFATHER’S 100TH BIRTHDAY TODAY, SO I’M DRINKING TO HIM. DID YOU KNOW HE KNEW THE EXACT YEAR, MONTH, DAY AND HOUR HE WAS GOING TO DIE?”. THE BARMAN SAYS: “THAT’S UNCANNY. HOW DID HE KNOW THAT?” THE MAN SAYS: “THE JUDGE TOLD HIM.”

THE DIRTY DOZEN COME AND HAVE A GO IF YOU THINK YOU’RE BRAINY ENOUGH

1 The words SWIMS and dollop are ambigrams. What is their peculiarity?

2 Weston-super-Mare AFC (National Football League South), formed in 1887, share a distinction with Celtic, Internazionale, Barcelona and Ajax.

What is it?

3 Where on the human body would you find the thinnest layer of skin?

4 Red Red Wine was UB40s first UK hit. Who wrote it?

5 Which drink translates into English as ‘Auntie Mary’?

6 Phillips, Ratchet and London are types of what?

7 Light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation is better known as what?

8 If you suffer from gymnophobia, what are you most afraid of?

9 In Scrabble, what is the points value of a C? 10 ‘Love apple’ is an old name for which fruit?

11 Which politician’s full title contains the names Alexander de Pfeffel?

12 Which politician’s children’s names are Cassia Peaches, Lara Lettice, Theodore Apollo and the comparatively ordinary Milo Arthur?

SAID IT WAS A DISGRACE EEH! NUMBERS 1387 “ MTHATY WIFEI CAME HOME LAST NIGHT QUOTE

The year that Geoffrey Chaucer started writing the Canterbury Tales, beginning in The Tabard Inn, Southwark, London. It is widely regarded to be the birth of English literature.

1387: EU Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2017/1387 of July 24 2017 authorising the placing on the market of an enzyme preparation of prolyl oligopeptidase produced with a genetically modified strain of Aspergillus niger as a novel food ingredient.

1387: Techsil 1387 is a low corrosive silicone sealant available in black or clear. It is self-levelling and utilises an oxime based cure system.

HALF DRUNK. I KNOW, I SAID, BUT I RAN OUT OF MONEY”

BOB MONKHOUSE

QUIZ ANSWERS: 1 They read the same upside down. 2 They have never been relegated (the only one in England). 3 The eyelids. 4 Neil Diamond. 5 Tia Maria.

6 Screwdriver. 7 Radar. 8 Nakedness. 9 Four. 10 Tomato. 11 Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson. 12 Boris Johnson.

30 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

GOLD

INDEPENDENT BEER AWARDS 2019

NATIONAL BOTTLE/CAN

WINNER STRONG BEERS (6.5% AND OVER)

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