Cheers North East magazine #92 - July 2019

cheers WWW.CHEERSNORTHEAST.CO.UK // JULY/AUGUST 2019 // ISSUE 92

I T ’ S

A B O U T

P U B S ,

P E O P L E ,

B E E R

–

SOARING SPIRITS THE TONIC THAT’S GIN

THE HEAT GOES ON A TASTE OF WIGA WAGAA

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GOLDEN PROMISE TO HELP OCEAN CLEAN-UP CAMPAIGN

A N D

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THE GREY HORSE

BEER FESTIVAL

THU

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20 CASK ALES ● 5 TRADITIONAL CIDERS LIVE MUSIC EACH EVENING ● PIE & PEAS LOCALLY SOURCED FREE ENTRY The Grey Horse, 115 Sherburn Terrace, Consett, Co. Durham, DH8 6NE. Telephone: 01207 502 585 www.consettaleworks.co.uk

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WELCOME Our summer issue straddles July and August and we hope your getaway intentions or stay-at-home plans are hugely successful. If you can’t make it to Bali this year you can have a trip or two out to the coast, to our attractive and lively towns and cities – not forgetting our fabulous countryside – and sample the joys of a North East pub as a little reward.

Particularly in summer, our pubs are a seasonal playground where entertainment extends into live music, charity events, beer festivals, the comedy circuit, and hog roasts to pig out on. It’s no longer enough for publicans to open the window another notch come a spell of sunshine; potential customers have myriad alternatives and a multitude of sweeteners dangling their wares at our spending power, so we have to try that bit harder to win support – and to keep it.

These are challenging times for the brewing and pub industry with business rates and ever-increasing rents eating away at bank balances and optimism – and who would have thought the highflying Mordue Brewery would come crashing down?

We’re in an almighty political and economic mess with all this Brexit stuff, too, which doesn’t help.

But enough confidence abounds and the message is as always – go to the pub, enjoy it, tell your friends, then go back again.

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 12

A BIT OF WIGA AND SOME WAGAA

A North East entrepreneur started cooking spicy sauces in his kitchen until the neighbours noticed. He then took over a kitchen in an office block – until the neighbours complained.

Now in a new unit that he’s actually growing out of, Victor Nwosu is a familiar face at food fairs throughout the region. He has even been given an award by a German chilli festival for the quality of his produce.

COVER: JAMIE ROBSON, GROUNDING ANGELS BREW CO. PHOTO: PETER SKELTON

BEER IS PART OF OUR LIVES, IT’S NOT JUST SOMETHING TO DRINK, IT’S A POWERFUL FORCE LIBOR SECKA, UK AMBASSADOR OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC

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22 THE ART OF 28 SMOKING ALNWICK’S 29 ALE GATE TOP MAN 36 INGAMEWINE CZECH IN ON BEER DAY

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

CALL THE AA FOR DIRECTIONS

Can you get 2,000 pubs into a space 30 millimetres thick, weighing 750 grams? You can if you’re the AA Pub Guide 2020, the book that lists pubs serving great beer and good food spanning the length and breadth of the country.

And of course, we all flick through to see if some of our favourites are in it – yes The Rat Inn, Anick, Hexham; the Bridge Tavern and Broad Chare in Newcastle; Number Twenty 2, Darlington; the Victoria in Durham, The Angel of Corbridge, and the Northumberland Arms, Felton, Northumberland – all tucked away among its 576 pages.

The AA Pub Guide 2020 (£15.99) is available online or wherever you buy your books from (give them a go first, eh?).

4 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

Collaboration: Luke Orwin at Enigma Tap

HOME AND AWAY FIXTURES LIST The folks at the Enigma Tap micropub in North Shields have never been short of ideas since they launched Bedford Street pub in January this year.

The latest promotion is to have a “home and away” tie involving like-minded pubs around the country.

Enigma Tap co-owner Luke Orwin says: “Our new event concept involves hosting tap takeovers in each other’s venues. So, we take a local brewery or breweries to another pub and they reciprocate. We even choose each other’s beer.

“The idea is to increase collaborative working outside of the local ‘bubble’ and showcase new breweries

and rare beers to new markets. The launch is with the Disappearing Chin in Harrogate which opened about two months ago. It is incredibly similar to ourselves with stylish decor, independent brands, and an environmentally-friendly approach. The owners even lived up here until a year ago.”

The home leg is on August 2 and will feature some three breweries which include some beers that have never previously ventured out of Harrogate. The away leg follows on August 16 with North Shields brewery Flash House supplying the goodies.

Luke says: “We are incredibly excited about this."

NEWS

NEW BREWERY’S CAUSEY AND EFFECT

This month should see the completion of the new brewhouse at South Causey Inn, near Stanley, County Durham, a venture that combines the skills and enthusiasm of brewer John Taylor with the drive, vision and investment of owners Phil and Susan Moiser.

Several brewing vessels have been refurbished with timber cladding added ready for test brews already begun. However, John has been keeping the pot boiling by brewing on a small, 100-litre kit producing beers that are going well over the counter of the stunning pub, hotel and wedding venue, which even has its own chapel for ceremonies.

“We’re getting great results from it,” says John. “I can do two brews in one day and it’s actually given me room to experiment before the rest arrives.

“What I like about being at South Causey is

John Taylor, South Causey Brewery

that everybody wants things done well and done right.”

A small gin distilling kit has been well-used of late while a much larger and more serious looking contraption sits waiting its turn to be fitted into in the new brewhouse.

John says: “Everybody who comes to a wedding gets a little bottle of gin to take away, so we’re going to be doing the same with beer.

We’re also offering brew days – produce any style of beer you want, then come back in a month and collect your bottles.”

The brewery, with high-pitched ceiling and solid stone walls, has by the look eked life out as a barn. Now, three sets of glazed double doors allow light to flood in on an impressive operation which when not producing best bitters, IPAs, brown ales and lager will host brewery trips and corporate gatherings, with tastings and samplings available at a compact bar.

THE COUNTY

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www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 5

NEWS

OUR FRIENDS ELECTRIC DRIVE INNER TUBE ARMY With much concern over vehicle emissions and proposed congestion charge for our cities being debated, one Newcastle delivery company has come up with what is just about the perfect solution for shifting small loads around our streets.

ZMOVE uses zero-emission electric bikes to load, deliver and unload goods of all types across Newcastle and Gateshead, limited only by weight – a maximum of 200kg – and load dimensions (up to 1.3 cubic metres). And, of course, this includes beer from breweries to pubs, hotels and restaurants.

“Our promise is to deliver smiling performance,” says ZMOVE director Nick Mason. “One in ten journeys in Newcastle could be done on a bike, though vans can handle a lot more at a time than we can, but people like Brinkburn St Brewery are shifting small amounts to bars and restaurants regularly, so it makes sense.

“Craft brewers are one of the key markets for us – think how many are within three miles of the city centre – and many of them share our values.

“Goods are insured during transit and all deliveries can be confirmed by email or text, with digital delivery notes and receipt signatures.”

6 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

Sit and deliver: Tom Maskell on a ZMOVE bike Along with Nick Mason, who has years of experience working in heritage and in fundraising locally, the ZMOVE team is Robert Campbell, and Tom Maskell.

“There’s quite a bit of skill involved shifting beer on a bike,” says Nick. Tyne Bank and Brinkburn St breweries were the first we talked to – we try and do anything as an alternative to a diesel van.

We’ve been going eight weeks and now have ten regular customers and are talking to a variety of sectors such as the NHS which transports goods thousands and thousands of miles a week, and local councils.

“There are companies doing this all over Europe, plus in London where DHL, Deliveroo and Uber have electric bikes, and also in Manchester

and Bristol. They’re providing an alternative and making a contribution, but their couriers have to buy their own bikes and kit which is not particularly ethical, so if we are employing staff they get ten per cent above the living wage.

We don’t want to add to the massive amount of people not getting a proper wage.

“What we’re finding is definite cost savings in comparison to a traditional courier. It’s early days but with emission charges for vans and HGVs coming in 2021 that’ll change the economics further. Air quality in parts of Newcastle is above the legal limit every day.

“It’s also a fantastic feeling delivering on a bike – you can chat to people about what you’re doing which is all part of the mix.” www.zmove.uk

NEWS

NEW CARD CARRIER KNOWS HER BEER

One of the youngest licensees in the North East doesn’t like beer, but she can’t half talk about it.

Ellen Renwick gained her personal license at age 18 years and 45 days, and perhaps there aren’t any younger than that in the country.

Ellen is the daughter of Bruce and Donna Renwick who run CentrAle bottle shop at Newcastle Central Station (platform 12, to be precise). They took her on as an apprentice last year and she has passed her personal licence exams and checks with flying colours.

“Basically it means she can now run a pub or a bottle shop on her own,” says Bruce. “She’s been working 30 hours a week and at the start knew nothing about beer but by listening to customers, watching what they were buying and talking to suppliers, she has gained a lot of knowledge.

“She loves doing Sundays by herself, so that suits me fine. She didn’t want to do any of it at first, but we

LISTEN TO THE BRAND Young gun: Ellen Renwick at CentrAle told her it’s a great qualification and something for life.

She’s now talking about running her own wine bar and kitchen.”

“Cocktail bar and kitchen, Dad,” says Ellen. “It’s something to aim at. I’ve got my own card now which I’m really happy about.”

Away from the popular “train beer” destination, Bruce and Donna recently took themselves off to Glasgow, principally to see Lynyrd Skynyrd. He reckons he has seen the band 29 times over the past 45 years in six different countries – and even got to chat with them after the gig when Donna spotted guitarist Gary Rossington in the foyer of the Radisson Blue Hotel from her vantage point across the road – Wetherspoons.

When he was joined shortly after by Ronnie Van Zant, it was cue selfie time for Bruce.

Budweiser has claimed the top spot as the world’s most valuable beer brand for the first time, overtaking long-standing leader Bud Light, according to the latest report by Brand Finance, an independent brand valuation consultancy. Budweiser’s brand value has increased 6% to £9.5bn.

Coming in at number 19 – and the UK’s top ranking brand – is Aberdeen-based BrewDog with 91 venues worldwide, which is valued at £1.18bn, “beating” global giant Carlsberg by one place in the top 20. If the top ones are anything go by, t's clear that brand value doesn't actually equate to quality.

www.bytheriverbrew.co www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 7

NEWS

BEER, FOOD AND ALL THAT JAZZ

The best of the region’s jazz comes together under one roof this summer at a newlyestablished Newcastle Jazz Festival hosted by Tyne Bank Brewery.

BBC Young Jazz Musician of the Year – and North Easterner – Alexander Bone will be headlining the festival with a set of original compositions and his own take on jazz standards on Saturday August 17. The saxophonist is being joined by the likes of Zoe Gilby and Andy Champion’s voice and bass duo, plus the Latin-infused Alan Law Trio, the Mark Williams Trio, Parliamentary Jazz Award winner Emma Fisk in her duo with James Birkett, Strictly Smokin’ Big Band with Alice Grace and also featuring a huge array of North East talent.

Food will be provided throughout the day by Newcastle vendors Cheese Sir and Il Fuoco Pizza.

Tickets are limited due to capacity, and are on sale now at www. newcastlejazzfestival.co.uk

POWER TO THE REAL PEOPLE

The North East was cut off from former chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne’s Northern Powerhouse which aimed to unite Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds into a significant force – or xxxx more honestly, a sop to people who don’t vote Conservative. But Osborne and his cronies were (and are) so out of touch that they think… sorry, off one.

Anyway, beer folks operate on a different plane, so a proper Northern Powerhouse of collaborations was instigated last year by Wylam Brewery and involving the likes of Northern Monk (Leeds), Cloudwater (Manchester), Track (Manchester) and North Brewing (Leeds) to stick two fingers up… sorry, off on another one.

Best of all, the 2019 incarnation involves Gateshead venue By The River Brew Co and celebrates the mighty Hartlepool in the shape of Donzoko Brewing with a Bavarian Pilsner that had the Cheers samplers undecided whether they were tasting over-ripe pineapple or muddy farmyard boots – in a good way, though. Superb beer.

The 2019 Northern Powerhouse limited-edition is: 001 Small IPA: Track x Northern Monk, 3.3% abv 002 Triple Fruit Gose: North Brew Co x Northern Monk, 4.0% abv

Beer Tyne: Donzoko and Northen Monk Bavarian Pilsner 003 Bavarian Pilsner: Donzoko x Northern Monk, 4.7% abv 004 Tropical Sour IPA: Wylam x Northern Monk, 6.0% abv 005 West Coast IPA: Buxton x Northern Monk, 7.4% abv 006 DDH DIPA: Cloudwater x Northern Monk, 8.2% abv 007 Imperial Maple Brown: By The River Brew Co x Northern Monk, 10.0% abv.

The limited edition packs are out in the trade now. The Cheers team bonded over 007. But that’s going off on another one…

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NEWS

CAT HAS THE CREAM OF MUSIC ARTWORK A silent auction is being held in aid of charity with the highest bidders walking off with one of a number of psychedelicstyle posters. The Mean Eyed Cat in Newcastle has been hosting a small show by worldrenowned artist Drew Millward who has created artworks for some of the biggest bands, festivals and exhibitions on Earth.

He has very kindly donated a set of screen prints and is delighted that all proceeds are heading to St Oswald’s Hospice which provides care to North East adults, young people, babies and children with life-limiting conditions.

To bid, simply call into the pub on St Thomas’ Street (near Haymarket bus station), fill in a card, pop it in the box, and wait for the call to see if you’ve bid enough to own it. And, you know the drill – treat yourself to a pint while you’re there.

REACHING THE BOTTOM OF THE GLASS

Hurry though, the silent auction is drawn on Sunday July 28.

While on the Mean Eyed Cat thread, owners Dave and Julie Campbell have sold The Schooner in Gateshead to Paul Smith, who already operates two pubs in the town renowned for good pub food and live music – The Stone Trough and the Three Tuns, The Schooner is the ideal venue to continue those traditions, so let’s wish Paul, his staff and his associates all the best for a great future.

The brewing vessels and ancillary kit from collapsed North East brewery Mordue have been put up for auction, after failing to find a buyer or attract investment. North Shields-based Mordue Brewery ceased trading at the beginning of June.

The award-winning company, known for the highly popular Workie Ticket, Five Bridges, Northumbrian Blonde and Radgie Gadgie amongst others, was formed 24 years ago by brothers Garry and Matt Fawson.

The brewery assets and brands will be offered separately at auction.

Grounding Angels Brew co is on a continuous journey of exploring new techniques, methods, ingredients and understanding to create quality beer. Grounded in the North East with soul from the golden fields of locally grown barley.

www.grounding-angels.com www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 9

NEWS

MAN-CAVE HOSTS MINT FESTIVAL

As we reported last month, Café Amsterdam, the pop-up Dutch beer and food outlet created by Andy Hickson, has been taking coals to Newcastle. By way of explanation, Andy, manager at the Sir John Fitzgerald pub The Green in Gateshead, has spent a working holiday in Haarlem in The Netherlands, volunteering at Uiltje FreshFest, a new event focusing on fresh hoppy beer where nothing longer than 72 hours old is allowed across the threshold.

He was accompanied by Bacchus, Newcastle, barman Kieran

Healy and his partner, travel writer and photographer Harriet Edgar.

“FreshFest was brilliant, exceeding all our expectations,” says Andy. “We’re talking about next year already. Robbert Uyleman, founder of Uiltje brewery, has got some great ideas, a true entrepreneur.

“The guy who owns the building where the festival was held apparently made a lot of money in batteries – all kinds of batteries – and has a passion for old VW vans. He does all the mechanics there and invites people to stay, so it was just like a great big man-cave. He also likes beer, so he phoned Robbert

PROUD TO SUPPORT ALL OUR LOCAL NORTH EAST BREWERIES WITH THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE SELECTION OF LOCAL BEERS AVAILABLE ANYWHERE.

up asking him if he wanted to put a brewpub inside. Then it was ‘why don’t you have a beer festival?’.

“There were lots of beers from all over Europe from 26 breweries – from 21% abv to a 2.0% abv blueberry smoothie – with quite a few UK ones that included Jakehead IPA and Hickey The Rake from Wylam. There was fresh beer at every session, none of it more than 72 hours old which was a big logistical exercise.

“It was a mint festival, a neat concept, a real family affair, and so relaxed.”

Upcoming Café Amsterdam events featuring new-wave Dutch craft beer, gin and snacks include: July 5-6: Flash House Brewery, North Shields; August 8-10: The Box Social, Newcastle; August Relaxed: Andy Hickson, left, and 30-September 1: Errant Brewery Kieran Healy at Uilte FreshFest taproom, Newcastle.

THE

CourtyarD ANNUAL BEER FESTIVAL AUGUST 22-26TH

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10 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

• Craft, Draft and Bottled Beers available

Arts Centre Washington, Fatfield, Washington NE38 8AB T: (0191) 417 0445 E: thecourtyardbar@aol.com www.facebook.com/thecourtyardwashington www.twitter.com/courtyardales

NEWS

HOW JAMAICA RAGGA STOUT?

According to Box Social Brewing’s Ross Holland, Ragga metallers Skindred are the sort of band you just have to go and see live. They raise the roof in any venue they play with their heady fusion of music styles and vibrant creativity, alongside their aim of bringing people of all backgrounds together.

It’s little wonder that the Newburn, Newcastle, company’s founder Ross expressed a desire to work with the iconic band – the 15-barrel brewery has always aimed to bring people together over a good beer, so Skindred’s seamless blend of Metal, Ska, Rock, Hip Hop – and more – resonated with him, and he got in touch with their charismatic, larger-than-life front man, Benji Webbe.

On his way to see the band play a recent Newcastle gig, Ross thought (as you do) about how amazing it would be to create a unique beer in collaboration with the band, whose seven albums he had listened to dozens of times each.

So, Ross talked with Skindred and 7PM Management, working out how to make a beer that could represent both disciplines. They

settled eventually on a complex, unique beer that unites rich roasted bitter flavours with the sweetness of vanilla and the spice of Jamaica in a harmonious blend of tastes and textures which is inviting, uncompromising and open to everyone – and a fitting tribute to the band.

But what to name it? The moniker they hit on was Union Black Jamaican Stout (6.0% abv) – “a heady brew that brings people together”, after

Skindred’s fourth album from 2011.

“This beer is the perfect representation of Box Social Brewing and Skindred,” says Ross. “It can be enjoyed by all people, together. But best enjoyed listening to their unique sound, so we hope you like it.” www.boxsocial.pub www.skindred.net

www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 11

FOOD

Hot business: Victor Nwosu in the Wiga Wagaa development kitchen.

Right: The trophy presented to him in Germany. Photo: PeterSkelton

THE HEAT OF THE MOMENT

Hand-made chilli products are proving a success for one North East producer, writes Alastair Gilmour It wasn’t the extractor fan that forced a County Durham chilli sauce manufacturer out of his new premises, it was the breeze outside. Victor Nwosu had been renting a space in an office block that had been fitted out as a research kitchen by neighbouring KP products. It seemed ideal for mixing and cooking the Wiga Wagaa chilli recipes he had been 12 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

producing at home – until the neighbours complained.

“When KP moved out, County Durham Council asked if anybody needed a kitchen for anything, so I thought I’ve got to try it,” says Victor.

“So I moved in in January 2017 and after two months was asked to move back out.

“Although the extractor was taking all the smells away it was drifting

back into the offices. However, I was welcome to buy what I needed from them, so I moved into a unit nearby on Tanfield North Industrial Estate which has worked out really well as I have a lot more space – although it’s now getting too small for what I want to do.”

Victor trained as a biochemist and has a PhD in molecular biology and biochemistry and worked in

research for some time, partly in Germany, which was ideal – as long as the grants lasted. When they inevitably dried up he went into pharmaceutical sales for a few years with a couple of large organisations.

“Eventually the company I was working for was downsizing with only two of us required out of five in similar roles and we had to reapply for our jobs,” he says. “I thought,

FOOD ‘oh-oh.’

“By then – this was 2014 – I had been playing around making sauces at home. I love travelling, eating and making up recipes and people who came round to the house used to ask me to make them some sauces.

That was it, I thought about doing it professionally.

“I started off with a couple pots and pans, mixing and cooking everything at home. My wife was OK with that, it was the neighbours I was worried about. I never had any formal complaints, but when they started to tell me they always knew when I was cooking, I realised it was time to do it elsewhere.”

Then came the KP kitchen and those pesky neighbours again.

The current Wiga Wagaa unit is for all the world a large kitchen with long benches, four ovens, fridges, freezers and a host of utensils. This is where he cooks up African Curry Paste, Coconut Cooking Sauce, Chilli Jam, Chilli Mayonnaise, Chilli Oils, Naga Peanuts, and much more.

His principal outlets are food fairs and a regular spot at Newcastle Quayside Sunday Market, although he supplies a variety of shops such as Knitsley Farm Shop, Consett; Brocksbushes, Corbridge; The Grocery in Heaton, The Coop in Newcastle; Blagdon Farm Shop, Northumberland; Cross Lane Organics, Barnard Castle and Lindisfarne on Holy Island.

“The name Wiga Wagaa doesn’t actually mean anything,” he says.

“It came about when I was having groups around tasting different sauces and one guy probably put too much hot chilli in his mouth and came out with ‘wiga wagaa’. I googled it to check that it wasn’t anything rude, but didn’t come up with anything, so I used it.

“Some people just make sauces, some just pickles, and I was making only chilli sauce to begin with, but realised people will probably only buy one bottle a month – if that

– and I can’t make a business out of that amount. Then the chilli oils came along, the chilli paste, chilli jam, and the mayonnaise.

I asked people what they wanted to see and it was the mayonnaise and jams.

“We now have about 20 different products in the range – ten of which have got Great Taste awards. And everything goes well with beer, especially at barbecues.

“It’s difficult finding the food fairs that will give you the return on investment that you need. I’m doing one in Shrewsbury at the weekend while my wife is on the stall at Newcastle Quayside, which works out quite well when you add it all up at the end of the year.”

Victor took Wiga Wagaa to a chilli fair in Hanover in Germany for two years in succession and last year was awarded third prize in one of the categories. Then he’s off to the Eindhoven Chilli Festival in November, trying to get an international foothold. But, as he stresses, you never know how successful these things are going to be, but you’ve got to try them.

He says: “We’ve just about outgrown our unit now and have to have somewhere else to store things like the gazebo which takes up a lot of room. We also need more freezers, but there’s no space for them. You have to plan ahead, what you’ll need for next year, the quantities of chillies you’ll need which go in the freezer.

“I’m a researcher, I don’t make my sauces by sticking to the recipes you find in cook books. Sometimes I’ll taste and know there’s something missing, something that isn’t blending properly with the chilli, nutmeg and cinnamon. I might use some basil or ginger to get it how I want it.”

With Scotch Bonnet and Jalapeno varieties in the chilli mix, it’s not difficult to understand what Victor Nwosu’s friend meant when he reacted: “Wiga Wagaa”. www.wigawagaa.com www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 13

TOAST TO ALE

Baker day: Left to right, Geoff Forrester, Ryan Maughn, Dave Lally, Richard Coates and Eugene Grant at Tyne Bank Brewery

USING YOUR LOAF

Making bread and turning it into beer is just one collaborative idea from a brewer and a baker, writes Alastair Gilmour Anyone can make a loaf of bread; it’s not that difficult. However, there’s a mystique about the magic of yeast and fermentation and the wonder that you can end up with something so tasty and personally satisfying.

And there’s hardly a more therapeutic occupation than mixing flour, water, salt and yeast together to make a dough that you’ll kneed and turn and fold and pound and spin and kneed again and again for 15 minutes until it’s ready to rest (as well as doing so yourself) before it eventually goes into a steaming hot oven to emerge covered in glorious aromas and self-satisfaction that will help keep your head straight and your brain active.

Artisan Baking Community and Tyne Bank Brewery have been collaborating on Brew & Bake days where individuals and groups take part in the bread making process then see how something like toasted sourdough can be crushed and mashed into boiling water to make Toast Ale. It’s fascinating, muscle-aching and satisfying.

The Artisan Baking Community is a social enterprise which has 14 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

been operating for six years in the region but now needs a larger, long-term base to flourish. The company, headed by entrepreneur Andy Haddon, has take a ten-year lease on premises in Shieldfield, Newcastle, which will enable it to expand its trading and enhance its social impact. A crowdfunding initiative (now closed, but direct donations and in-kind support are still possible) has been running to fund refurbishment and to buy equipment.

Andy Haddon says: “We have demonstrated demand by running baking courses and training sessions in schools, community centres and similar locations throughout the North East with hundreds of individuals – including many with physical and mental disabilities – across a wide age range.

“Around the Shieldfield area we have consulted with residents at a series of events, collecting unanimously positive responses about the benefits of establishing the Shieldfield Community Bakery

which will increase employability and mental health outcomes and will improve access for local people to high quality, affordable food.”

Corporate days like Brew & Bake

workshops are key elements to the community bakery’s support, helping subsidise what it does with local companies. Artisan Community Bakery is all about the circular economy, sustainability and doing something not too complicated.

Bread and beer are compatible, so making beer from toasted bread or bread from spent brewers’ grains makes a lot of sense.

“We want to demonstrate that artisanal products are not just for the affluent, they should be affordable for everyone,” says Andy.

“You have to make it real for people, make it relevant.

“It sounds romantic but the North East can show the world a finer way to fund environmentally-sound practices. But you don’t start things like this from the top down. We started in Felling, Gateshead, in a local school where we made artisanal bread available in one of the most deprived wards in Britain. The kids made the bread and sold it to their parents.”

Making loaves with cider and beer also among the ingredients is great fun; crushing sharp-edged sourdough toast into a bucket is less so, but at least teams on the Brew & Bake day get to understand the word community. www.artisanbakingcommunity. co.uk www.tynebankbrewery.co.uk

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

S43BREWERY GET YOURS AT sonnet43.com OR CALL 0191 377 3039

THAT’S THE SPIRIT: GIN

Cocktail success: Joseph Miller pours Ping’s Obsession at Blackfriars

IS THERE NO STOPPING THE GIN BOOM? A special report on the nation’s best-loved spirit Whether you have fallen in love with the latest craft gin or prefer to stick with the well-trusted big brands, there’s no denying that here in the North East we have some of the most excitingly curated ranges available anywhere.

Look on the shelves, there’s Durham Gin, Alnwick Gin, Lakes Gin, Hepple Gin, Poetic License Gin, Quaker Gin, Noveltea Gin, Jack’s Gin, Geordie Gin… the list goes on.

There were 51 million bottles of the spirit sold in the UK last year, enough to make 1.43 billion gin and tonics. Billion! According to the Gin Guild (who knew?) there are 191 distilleries producing gin in the UK – and more than likely192 or 193 by the time this magazine is printed, so you don’t have to have a maths degree to get the picture.

DISTILLED IN DARLINGTON Ralph Wilkinson, owner of multi award-winning pub Number Twenty 2 in Darlington, County Durham, does nothing by half-measure. If it’s going to be done, it’s going to be done properly, has always been his mantra. So, when considering joining the gin revolution he decided 16 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

that if they were to be distillers they would be distillers, full-stop.

Taking up a corner of the pub’s nanobrewery is a small copper still which uses the mash for making beer to convert into alcohol – and gins with the ability to take the breath away.

Ralph says: “After a great deal of form-filling and fantastic help and understanding from HMRC we were eventually granted our licence in December 2014. A compounder’s or rectifier’s licence would have allowed us to buy our spirit from Scotland but we opted to ‘travel’ the full journey. We create the genuine article – but it’s a very expensive way of doing it.

“To begin with, we brew a full mash beer Maris Otter Pale Malt which takes up to seven days to reach 14%abv. This, after three distillations, along with carefully-chosen botanicals and special blending, becomes our Wilkinson English Gin. “The same plant and equipment is used for our Spiced Rum and Single Malt Spirit which is not whisky as it’s only in an oak barrel for three months. We currently have Rhubarb Gin made with locally grown Darlington Rhubarb (from

Middleton Tyas last year) and our Pink Gin made with Pink Grapefruit Bitters. We want to keep it small, to make what we do and sell what we do.”

Number Twenty 2’s original distiller, Vicki Ramsay Hammond, is still creating the recipes and doing the paperwork and admin, while Graham Vasey does all the hard work mashing in and so on.

“I just stand and look confused,” says Ralph.

“Graham actually helps out at Brewlab in Sunderland on their distilling course, giving the students the benefit of his practical experience.”

Vicki, who has a degree in chemistry, says: “Many distilleries buy vodka in then add flavours, but we make everything from scratch, so it’s very difficult to produce large amounts at a time.

But it’s good making gin in such small batches because we can play around with it.”

Wilkinson’s English is selling very well over the pub counter and in Majestic in Darlington and Northallerton, plus a couple of wine merchants.

Other products include Paradise Spiced Rum, Citrus Burst and Small Batch Seasonal, plus Wilkinson’s English Vodka.

Award Winning Distillery creating unique and bold spirits including Graceful Vodka

Don’t miss out on our Saturday Gin Masterclasses in our bar, from just £14.95 per person Booking Essential!

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Email chinchin@poeticlicensedistillery.co.uk or call 0191 510 3564

THAT’S THE SPIRIT: GIN INFUSED IN SUNDERLAND A North-East gin distillery expanded its team to assist in its expand market growth. Poetic License, an independent distillery based in Roker, Sunderland, has plans to boost annual production capacity from 100,000 bottles a year to 1.5 million to capitalise on the burgeoning home market and also to help satisfy the growing demand for British gin oversees.

The company has set sights on increasing production volume by 1,400% after signing a new distribution partner in South Africa.

Ben Murphy has been appointed head distiller and Michelle McLean is the new sales manager, while Lewis Hendry has joined the team from Masons Gin in Yorkshire, appointed as senior distiller to help implement new techniques and strategies, which will lead to a more structured production line.

Michelle McLean has more than 20 years experience in the alcohol industry, working for Heineken and even creating her own gin emporium in Durham. Lewis Hendry’s role will also include researching and developing innovative recipes for the distillery to ensure a high customer retention line.

He said: “I’ve been watching Poetic License’s success for a while and when the opportunity presented itself I knew it would be crazy not to get involved.”

Poetic License’s Rarity range was launched

in 2017 with the likes of Raspberry & Buddha’s Hand, Sweet Bell Pepper & Nanga Chilli, Tutti Frutti and Strawberries & Cream (stocked by Asda) following on. Lewis Hendry’s first creation is Pink Grapefruit and Tonka Bean.

A thousand bottles of each expression is produced and once they’re gone, they’re gone.

Mark Hird, managing director of Poetic License Distillery, said: “We have expansion plans for the distillery, not only into new product offerings but to also drive our product into new markets. We realised South Africa is a diverse, cultural country with access to unique botanicals which would enable us to create more interesting gins, and also set our sights on expanding our markets into the southern hemisphere.”

INSPIRED BY CHARITY SHOPS Brockmans Gin attracted a record number of entries for its annual #Brocktail contest this year – 273 from 18 countries. The three finalists came from Russia, the UK and Italy. And best of all, the bartender representing the UK comes from Newcastle – and was inspired by the city’s charity shops.

In first place in the online voting was Maksim Evseev, chief bartender at the Brothers Bar and Grill in Vladivostok, Russia. In second place was Joseph Miller, bartender at Blackfriars Restaurant & Banquet Hall in Friars Street, Newcastle, and third was Andrea Forni from La

PAUL AND SARAH WOULD LIKE TO WELCOME YOU TO THE ALE GATE

WE ONLY SUPPLY LOCAL ALE

SIX

HANDPULLS AND OVER

THIRTY

GINS

18 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

DOG FRIENDLY

25 BONDGATE WITHOUT ALNWICK NE66 1PR

THAT’S THE SPIRIT: GIN

Copper kettle: Poetic License gin distillery in Sunderland

Gintoneria di Davide in Milan, Italy. All three won an expenses-paid trip of a lifetime as guests of Brockmans Gin to Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans, an annual magnet for the bartending profession.

Voting was entirely by members of the public with the competition attracting more than 30,000 votes in the run-up to World Gin Day on June 8 2019.

“There was no particular theme to the competition which was quite hard for me as I like to have a theme,” says Joseph Miller. “I got inspiration from walking around charity shops in Newcastle looking at various drinking vessels. I found a set of two ducks which seemed ideal.”

The idea was forming in Joseph’s head of a far-eastern slant to his cocktail competition entry and he also referenced a 1933 children’s book, Ping, about a little duck that gets lost in the Yangtse River.

He says: “I began to piece Asian-style elements together for the cocktail. Brockmans is an unusual gin so my idea had to be unusual.

“I kept checking the leader board online every day and I was in the final four the day before deadline,” says Joseph. “The top three got to go to New Orleans, so I was delighted to come second. Tales of the Cocktail is a huge festival with seminars and tastings – and all pretty cool.”

The recipe for Ping’s Obsession is at www.blackfriarsrestaurant.co.uk

Serving the largest range of beers and wines since 1994 - we pride ourselves on service, quality and variety.

In 2014 we opened our in-house BREWERY AND DISTILLERY Paradise Row, Darlington’s only licensed distillery.

From it we produce ALE, GIN, RUM & SINGLE MALT all of which boast the signature quality of Wilkinson English.

OUR OPENING HOURS Monday to Tuesday 4 - 10 Wednesday to Friday 12 - 11 Saturday 12 - 10 Sunday 2 - 7 Now Open Sundays & Bank Holidays.

Food served 12 - 2 Wednesday to Saturday

22 Coniscliffe Road, Darlington, DL3 7RG

01325 354590 www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 19

BREWERY PROFILE

GROUNDING CONTROL TO MAJOR ON

“THE MORE PEOPLE YOU MEET THE MORE COLLABORATIONS YOU PICK UP”

A young Northumberland brewer makes astonishing beer and has heart and soul in the right place.

Alastair Gilmour meets him You’ve started a small brewery, your ambitions are through the roof, your trial brews are just as you want them and your principles are unshakeable. But life is tough; you want to make your beer from the best ingredients possible but they come at a price and that price has to be passed on.

Other brewers seem to manage, but where is the difference?

There is no question that Jamie Robson from Hexham-based Grounding Angels Brew Co makes fantastic beer. But he has reached the point where he needs to scale up his operation and invest in a new brewhouse and kit, rather than flog his guts out a 125-litre experimental pilot brewery which equates to just under one brewer’s barrel (36 gallons).

You’d have to work every hour of every week to make a living out of that, but at present he brews his own recipes “gypsy-style” on much bigger kit elsewhere which is helping the awareness profile but imbalancing the books at the same time.

Jamie has big plans, however, keeping a look out for premises around Newcastle which would feasibly feature a brewery, taproom and grassroots music venue which he believes would be the perfect way of establishing the Grounding Angels brand.

But his uncompromising nature won’t let him settle for second-best. Grounding Angels Brew Co is on a continuous journey of exploring new 20 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

techniques, It’s Jamie-good or nothing. Take his method of working and his preferred ingredients, for instance.

“I took a one-day Start-up Brewing course at Brewlab in Sunderland and loved it so much I signed up for the threemonth one,” he says.

“Arthur Bryant, one of the tutors, always used to say the soul of the beer is the malt and the soul of North East malting barley is Golden Promise. I really understand that now, but at that time I didn’t have a clue what he was on about.

“We’re grounded in the North East with our soul in the fields of locally-grown barley.

We now use Golden Promise as a base of all our beers. The two-row barley is one of the best in the world and native to the North East coast.”

Golden Promise is often called the RollsRoyce of barley. Grounding Angels also makes full use of Golden Naked Oats wherever possible, but both are prime products and both are therefore expensive – plus when you’re pushing kilos and kilos of top-level hops into a brew as well, the end result can work out on the

hefty side, pounds and pence-wise.

“There’s so much money goes into our beers, for example there’s 50 kilos of hops in a brew of Lazy Rider which works out at a lot of money. So getting to a competitive pricing point is very difficult for a start-up brewery like us.”

The answer to that would be simpler and less flavourful styles but that’s not the Grounding Angels way.

Jamie says: “That would be driving us towards the real ale sector when everybody seems to be going in the Double IPA direction. It’s a real balancing act to find the right place in the market.”

The three core beers Jamie and right-hand man Jamie Hawkes have produced are Little

Research time: Jamie Robson, left, and Jamie Hawkes at The Heart of Northumberland pub in Hexham. Photo: Peter Skelton

Wing (3.8% abv), Chasing The Horizon (5.3% abv) and Lazy Rider (4.3% abv). All nod towards the US and are unfined, unfiltered and veganfriendly. Others include Snazzberry Juice (5.8% abv), The Sequence of Ninkasi (6.2% abv), Public Hanging DIPA (8.0% abv) and Mr Stouty Pants (5.8% abv) which uses eight different malts – but regardless, you’d ask for it just to hear yourself say Mr Stouty Pants.

Grounding Angels beers – the name refers to being rooted in the local landscape with the “angel” representing the crucial action of yeast – are regular attenders at the Heart of Northumberland in Hexham, along with The Tannery in the town, with guest appearances at the Free Trade Inn in Newcastle, and Jamie is heading for Edinburgh for a tap-takeover at BrewDog with a Double IPA, “thick with Golden Promise, oats and wheat”.

He’s a great believer in getting his face in front of the people who matter, particularly in

a customer-facing business like the pub trade.

Ignore that you’re another salesperson selling Doritos.

“The more people you meet the more collaborations you pick up,” he says, encouragingly.

Furthermore, it’s safe to say Jamie Robson isn’t a big fan of plastic. As a North Sea surfer, he has first-hand knowledge of its effect on marine life – so much so that five pence from every Grounding Angels pint sold is donated to the charity Ocean Clean-Up. His commitment to Ocean Clean-Up is wholly admirable. It aims to clear our beaches, rivers, seas and oceans from plastic waste.

He says: “The sea at Tynemouth where I surf isn’t too bad because people do a lot of beach clean-ups and so there’s considerably less waste blowing into the water than in other places. But basically everything that’s thrown away ends up in the sea.

“I’ve seen plenty of carrier bags in the water and there are stupid amounts of plastic around and in our water supply. We’re drinking it; cancer rates are going up. I’ve always been concerned since I was a kid about chlorine levels in water. Water quality is a serious issue and enough for a lot of people to have home filtering systems.

“The first thing I’ll buy when we set up something bigger will be a reverse osmosis system so none of this gets through. But first we need to find somewhere that would help us grow over the next five years.

“I don’t want to do it piecemeal as we’ve reached a point like a lot of people get to between seeking investment and capital outlay.

It’s about balancing the books.”

Balancing on a surfboard might be easier, but is it as much fun as making fantastic beer?

Discuss with Mr Stouty Pants. www.grounding-angels.com www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 21

CZECH BEER DAY

Service with a smile: Zuzana Kalabusova, export manager at Holba Brewery, takes her turn behind the bar

PLAYING THE BEER INSTRUMENT Beer is more than a refreshing drink, it gets into your very being.

Alastair Gilmour reports on Czech Beer Day

Regardless of how many visits you make to the great brewing nations, the reverence bestowed on beer never ceases to amaze.

In parts of Europe, beer is on a par with religion, it flows deep into culture, influencing economies and turns the wheels of society.

Take a couple of comments

by Libor Secka – whose official title is Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the Court of St James’s – at last month’s Czech Beer Day, held in the garden of the Czech Embassy in London.

In his welcome speech he said: “Beer is part of our lives; it’s not just something to drink, it’s a powerful force. When two Englishmen meet, the first one will quote Shakespeare, ‘To be or not to be’, while when two Czechs meet, they’ll say, ‘Two beers or not two beers’.

“You are not just going to the pub, you are going to meet your friends and there you will find a 22 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

variety of people such as doctors, ministers and plumbers. Beer is an instrument, it’s part of our lives.”

Czech Beer Day was part of a week-long celebration of the

country’s brewing heritage that involved workshops, meet-thebrewer sessions, beer pairings and tastings held all over London.

Specialist drinks importer

Euroboozer teamed up with Czech Trade and Czech Tourism to feature the best of the country’s beer in 2019.

Euroboozer managing director Martyn Railton says: “The Czech Republic is steeped in beer-making history and heritage and its beers are a symbol of quality around the world.

“I believe most UK consumers have only just scratched the surface when it comes to the country and its beer.

Local breweries are now being brought back to life after years of being closed or run down by the government and international plcs and are now thriving.”

Martin Macourek, director of Czech Trade UK & Ireland, compares Czech lager favourably with British real ale – both using traditional methods of production and attention to detail at every stage.

He says: “It takes between 100 and 200 days to brew Czech

lager compared to ten days for mainstream lager brands in Europe, mostly taking place in open vessels.

The job is finalised via a very long maturation typically taking place in historical cellars.

“A characteristic feature of Czech-style pilsner beers is that they retain the pleasant full taste of the original malt extract. This grants the beer a full body, a bready taste, a pleasant earthy and grassy smell, and much darker colour than the ones associated with common European lagers.”

At Czech Beer Day we sampled Albrecht IPA (6.2% abv), Bohemia Regent Pale Lager (5.0% abv), Jarosovsky Lezak (5.1% abv), Pivovar Matuska Desitka (4.2% abv) and Holba Premium (5.2% abv) in an amazing session of cultural exchange.

Other brewers represented were Jihmestsky Pivovar, Pivovar Koruny, Budweiser Budvar, Pivovar Cvikov and Kutna Hora Brewery. There’s only so much you can do in an afternoon – but there’s always a next time.

FOOD: BARBECUE

BEER CAN CHICKEN PREP TIME

.5hr

COOK TIME

1.5hr

SKILL

SERVES

4

If you told teenagers you were going to insert a half-drunk beer can into the backside of a chicken and grill it, chances are they would actually get interested in cooking.

Not only is this a fun way to barbecue a chicken, it tastes great too.

While the chicken is dry roasting on the outside, the inside is being bathed in steamy beer, keeping the meat wonderfully moist.

INGREDIENTS • 1 whole chicken, 4-5 pounds • 2 tsp vegetable oil • 1 can of lager or other beer FOR THE RUB: • 1 tsp dry mustard • 1 tsp granulated onion • 1 tsp paprika • 1 tsp salt • 1/2 tsp granulated garlic • 1/2 tsp ground coriander • 1/2 tsp ground cumin • 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 2 3 4

TAP EXCHANGE

To make the rub: In a small bowl combine the rub ingredients. Discard the neck, giblets, and any excess fat from the chicken. Rinse the chicken inside and out under cold water and pat dry. Lightly cover with the vegetable oil and season, inside and out, with the rub Open the beer can and pour off half – better still, drink it. Set the half-full can on a flat surface and slide the chicken over the top so the can fits inside the cavity. Transfer the bird to the grill, keeping the can upright.

Carefully balance the bird on its two legs and the can

Fri 2nd - Sun 4th August Taking over our taps with beers from Harrogate including some breweries & beers never seen before in North East.

Fri 16th August Enigma Tap takeover at The Disappearing Chin showcasing Flash House

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Grill over indirect medium heat until the juices run clear and the internal temperature reaches 170ºF (75ºC) in the breast and 180ºF (80ºC) in the thickest part of the thigh (1.25 to 1.5 hours)

Wearing barbecue mitts, carefully remove the chicken and the can from the grill – it will be hot. Let it rest for 10 minutes before lifting it from the can. Discard the beer.

Cut the chicken into serving pieces. Serve warm with your favourite barbecue food, dips and salad

Scan this QR code with the Apps QR coupon feature to receive a bonus loyalty coupon for one point.

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www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 23

SUSTAINABILITY

Flower power: Battlesteads Hotel & Restaurant

EXPERT HAND ON THE SMOKER A Northumberland hotel never ceases in its drive for quality, as Alastair Gilmour discovers food. Local produce comes from no further When Richard and Dee Slade took over away than 25 miles – and a lot of it from barely Battlesteads Hotel in Wark, Northumberland, 50 metres away, nurtured in the two-acre it was in Richard’s words, a dump. But gardens and polytunnels where no space is their notion of building an eco-friendly, wasted. Everywhere you look are leeks, sprouts, sustainable business had to start lemongrass, broccoli, dill, coriander, somewhere so they thought they parsley, garlic, several varieties of might as well begin at the lettuce, and the same variety bottom. of courgette that top chef “We’ve been here since Raymond Blanc grows 2005,” says Richard, who for their edible flowers. built up the Magnesia Everything has to earn Bank pub in North its keep – such as 14 Shields from a similarly wormeries that pee low base into a national out liquor from waste treasure renowned for food that is perfect for beer quality and choice adding to seed compost. plus top-drawer food and Engaging as worms are, live music. we’re at Battlesteads to take “Sustainability used to be Orange oyster mushroom a look at developments over the about putting up bat boxes, last couple of years – a time that now it’s environmental issues has seen the business reap a rich haul of like carbon footprints. Were aiming to awards in hotel tourism sectors, to sustainability, eventually become carbon neutral – which is right up to winning the Sustainable Business almost impossible – by the end of the year.” award at The Cateys 2019 – otherwise known Sustainability also means everything at as the Oscars of the catering industry.

Battlesteads has green credentials, from energy Reconfiguring the kitchens has freed up production to waste disposal and sourcing 24 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

space for head chef Eddie Shilton and his team to operate more efficiently, an external smoker has been installed, as has a mushroom farm – both of which add value to the Battlesteads offer.

“We use the best local artisanal producers possible,” says Richard. “We’ve had hams hanging up to cure, we smoke wild trout and salmon, and make our own charcuterie.

“Things need to develop organically. We use outdoor-reared pork and eventually plan to use rare-breed to develop for the charcuterie, plus we make our own corned beef, grow our own mushrooms – shitakes and three different colours of oyster.”

As if a head chef’s routine isn’t busy enough (Battlesteads also supplies dinners to the local school), Eddie Shilton has learned the art of successful smoking the hard way, using sustainably-sourced, local woodchippings, as well as keeping an eye on suppliers – and the weather.

He says: “I’ve had to learn for myself, although I’ve got a lot of tips from people. Is it too hot a temperature, is it too salty, that sort of thing. I did a lot of research as well.

“Even the outside temperature can affect smoking time and it’s a constant battle to keep

SUSTAINABILITY the smoker at 30º. You can’t leave it for more than ten or fifteen minutes so you have to find time in between doing other things. Sometimes the atmosphere doesn’t allow the smoke to rise very high from the chimney and that can affect timings and temperature.

“You’ve just got to keep your eye on it, touching it, feeling it.” (Eddie gently prods a huge side of trout with his fingers and expresses satisfaction. He then does the same with the smoker door, relying on instinct and touch even though there’s a perfectly good thermometer beside him. It’s an artist at work.)

“Visitors are able to see something like herring being smoked, so they’ll ask for kippers for breakfast – it’s added value again. You have to make calculations about how much weight loss that hanging meat will have over18 months, but you

don’t know until you’ve got the netting off if it’s perfect or not.

Again, a lot depends on the outside temperature.

“We’re constantly developing networks of suppliers – all small, local producers making the likes of organic cheese and yogurts. We suggested smoking the cheese we get from Birdoswald Cheese but at first the owner didn’t like the idea, so I did it on the quiet and showed it to her. Now we smoke 40-50 kilos which she sells to the market – so she’s found a new outlet for a new product.

“Markets are changing, people want something different.”

Eddie Shilton could talk all day about hand-reared pork, baby herring, cheese, delicious corned beef , home-made sausages and duck, all from sustainable sources.

“We’ve even started smoking hake,” he says. “People are coming back round to the old-fashioned stuff.”

BATTLESTEADS BEER FESTIVAL THURSDAY JULY 25 – SUNDAY JULY 28 More than 20 beers, ciders and foreign lagers, gin bar and prosecco bar.

Live music includes Jason Arnup, Big Red And The Grinners, Mudskipper, and Alive & Kicking. Thursday 6pm-11pm, free. Friday 6pm-11pm, £4.

Saturday 12noon-11pm, £4. Sunday 12noon until the beer runs out, free.

A transport service is available at allocated times from Hexham. Please ring for details. Battlesteads Hotel & Restaurant, Wark NE48 3LS. Tel: 01434 230209 www.battlesteads.com

Norman Cornish: The Portraits Gala Gallery, Durham Sunday 30 June to Sunday 1 September normancornish.com/centenary

TRIBUTE TO A BAND OF HEROES A town’s history is about to be celebrated in beer. Little Belgium Traditional Witbier (4.7% abv) has been produced by Firebrick Brewery in to the Birtley Belgians – skilled munitions workers who migrated to Birtley (now part of Gateshead, but then in County Durham) at the start of the First World War at the invitation of the Government to work in the area’s armaments factories.

Alistair Lawrence, owner of the Blaydon-based brewery, and John Brearley, who owns the Railway Hotel in Birtley have both been long fascinated by the story and have collaborated in special celebrations to take place in the week commencing September 16 (Monday to Thursday). The beer will be on tap and a timetable of

events is being prepared. More details and a special feature in the September issue of Cheers, but put the date in your diary. www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 25

PUB PROFILE

THE GATE IS WELL AND TRULY AJAR

A labradoodle-type dog is hoovering up a few spilt crisps, although it’s not meant to be in The Ale Gate, Alnwick’s newest pub. Dogs are very welcome here and this is obviously a regular visitor, but its owner had only been passing by when it decided to pull her in.

“Oh well, we might as well have a drink while we’re here,” she says.

The Ale Gate, sitting on the town’s quaintlynamed Bondgate Without has become something of a fixture since in opened five months ago and an attraction for a whole spectrum of beer lovers from all over Northumberland – and not dragged in by a lead, either.

“It’s all going very well,” says Paul Johnson, who owns The Ale Gate with his wife Sarah (plus The Narrow Nick pub in Rothbury). It’s getting busier all the time with a great mix of clientele – a lot of them are now regulars who have come from elsewhere in Alnwick.”

The Ale Gate is across the road from the town’s Playhouse theatre and arts centre (which is currently being refurbished and will reopen in October), and close to Barter Books situated on the former Alnwick station, plus it’s not far from the castle, so you could argue that it’s a bit of a cultural quarter.

The Johnson philosophy is to support local businesses whenever he can, so the six handpulls in The Ale Gate serve exclusively regional beers, rotating from the likes of Big Lamp, Great North Eastern, Wylam, First & Last, Cheviot and Alnwick breweries. Then there are 47 gins – a lot of them locally-produced.

Besides, with Alnwick being such a tourist destination – as is Rothbury – people from other parts of the country don’t want what they can get at home. They seek out something indigenous to the area, something they can enjoy as part of their holiday and talk about when they get home.

“You’re never going to be able to drink all

Paul and Sarah Johnson watch while Pauline Ainslie pulls a pint at The Ale Gate in Alnwick

TRADITIONAL PUB WITH REAL ALES, A REAL FIRE AND A WARM WELCOME (12 real ales and 12 real ciders on tap) Pie & Peas all day every day £4.95

BUSKERS NIGHTS Buskers every fortnight (Tuesday)

THE NEW BOATHOUSE B&B NOW OPEN CONTACT US FOR BOOKINGS FREE Function room !! Catering available on request

Station Road, Wylam, NE41 8HR Tel: 01661 853431 Follow us @Boathouse Wylam & Like us on

26 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

PUB PROFILE the beers that are produced in the region now, so why go further afield?” says Paul. “Anyway, it’s great to be able to meet all the suppliers and pick up beer yourself from time to time. That way you can have a bit crack.”

The premises the pub now occupies was formerly an NFU Insurance company office, which had its card marked

by Paul and Sarah on one of their “scouting” trips. Gut feeling told them it would make a great pub.

Sarah says: “It simply lends itself to being a pub. We get people coming in, saying ‘my desk was over there’.”

The hefty counter and back bar came from the Ryton Hotel in Ryton, Tyne & Wear, which is being converted into shops and flats. It

fits with Paul Johnson’s “upcycling” ethos; nothing wasted, everything can be put to a new use.

“It’s solid oak,” he says. “Twothirds of the counter is in here and the other third is at home. You can’t beat solid oak, especially when you get it for MDF prices.”

The pub cellar is actually up a small flight of stairs where a glasspanelled door allows customers to observe what goes on in the “back office”. It’s reassuringly spick and span and though it’s the normal line-up of aluminium casks, plastic pipework, connectors and electrical wiring, it looks the business.

The Ale Gate doesn’t offer food but the adjacent Café Tirreno, Italian restaurant will advise prospective customers to pop in and have an aperitif. They’ll also come and collect you when there’s a table free.

It’s not all perfect, however. Paul has just one niggle with their 24/7 life. He says: “I can’t get nee golf in.”

The Ale Gate, 25 Bondgate Without, Alnwick NE66 1PR. Tel: 07979 101 332.

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NEWS

NEW RELEASES GETTING THE KNACK

County Durham brewer S43, which began life in 2012 as Sonnet 43, is on to its third canned release and its sixth different beer in the new range created by Texan brewer Alex Rattray. And boy, are they setting a standard – and off in a different direction.

“The first four beers I did I used a lot of hops like Mosaic and Citra,” says Alex. “But with our new beers The Knack and Juice Bomb I wanted to use some hops you don’t see as much but that offer some really unique flavours and aromas.

“We love New Zealand hops at S43 and the unique floral and tropical fruit goodness they bring. With The Knack in particular we used

28 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

Texas arranger: Alex Rattray at S43 Brew Co. Photo: Peter Skelton

a huge amount of Wai-iti and Rakau hops, especially in the multiple dry hopping stages. We brewed the beer with a light malt base so it’s very pale in colour as we wanted to really let the hops shine through. The beer has a lovely soft texture with flavours ranging through

lime zest to sweet tropical fruits and citrus.

“With Juice Bomb we wanted to brew another New England IPA (NEIPA) but with a totally different hop profile than GoGo Juice which was our first NEIPA. “The beer is incredibly juicy, but more like fleshy fruit juice; it’s got a really soft and thick texture with a tonne of juicy sweetness up front but also some nice bitterness in the finish.”

NEWS

TAP INTO ONE-OFFS AND TRIALS Camerons Brewery has seen its recently-developed tap and bottle shop continue to thrive. The former visitor centre on Stockton Street in Hartlepool reopened as The Anchor in February this year and offers an extensive range of beers produced at the brewery as well as a selection from local, UK and world brewers – alongside the brewer’s latest range from its on-site nano-brewery Tooth & Claw which will include exclusive one-off and trial brews.

The beers on tap are also available on a take-home basis

thanks to The Anchor’s innovative, purpose-built takeaway can machine which allows customers to choose their favourite draught beer and have it canned within a matter of seconds.

The brewer has also invested in a new outside drinking area at the rear of the pub featuring a small Scorpion 1394 dinghy as its centre-piece.

The Anchor has become so popular, particularly at weekends, that opening times have had to be extended and two new members of staff taken on. Live music, beer festivals and meet-the-brewers are also part of the plans.

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HOLLY BUSH INN Ready poured: Jannick Genouw from Alnwick Brewery, left, with Will Armstrong, Bamburgh Castle

ICONIC CASTLE ALES CELEBRATE 125

One of Britain’s most iconic castles – and a jewel in the North East heritage crown – is toasting a special birthday in style with the launch of two anniversary beers dedicated to the remarkable Victorian philanthropist who helped save it from ruin.

The special brews honour North East hero Lord Armstrong, who 125 years ago, put both his fortune and foresight to good use when he bought Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland, transforming it from a rundown shell into the breathtaking and beautifully

restored stronghold it is today.

Lord Armstrong Amber (3.8% abv) and Bebbanburg Gold (4.2% abv) are a collaboration between Alnwick Brewery and the descendants of the 19th century Tyneside-born industrialist, scientist, inventor and benefactor, who bought the crumbling fortification in 1894 for the princely sum of £60,000 (£7.6m in today’s money).

It is hoped more Bamburgh Castle-inspired beers could be in the pipeline if Lord Armstrong Amber and Bebbanburg Gold are a success. Bebbanburg was the Saxon name for Bamburgh.

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www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 29

WHAT’S ON

THE OPPORTUNITY TO BELONG

A community beer festival with a conscience?

Now, that sounds like something worth supporting. Gosforth Beer Festival, taking place at Gosforth Civic Theatre, promises live music, street food, family friendly activities and entertainment, as well as – of course – loads of great craft beer from the best local and national breweries across 30 taps.

Every penny spent at the bar goes back in to Liberdade Community Development Trust, the charity that runs Gosforth Civic Theatre.

More than 2,000 people are expected to pass through the doors of the venue run by Liberdade Community Development Trust across the first weekend of August (2-4). Liberdade Community Development Trust gives people with learning disabilities and autism the opportunity to belong, work and get involved in the arts and their community – and group members will be volunteering all weekend

Equal opportunities: Volunteer bar work at the Gosforh Beer Festival involves everybody

Joseph Harrop, Gosforth Civic Theatre building manager, says: “Following the success of last year’s event, once again the heart of the festival is not only great beer, music and food but creating an atmosphere where anyone can have a good time.

“We aim to create a real artistic asset for Newcastle and the North East.”

Old fave beers and new releases are coming from Almasty, Cloudwater, Northern Alchemy, Magic Rock, Summer Wine, Box Social, Kernel, North, Out There, Wild Beer and many more – with many of them brewed specially for the festival (run in partnership with Regents Plaza Apartments).

Live bands will be headlined by The Cornshed Sisters, while Scream For Pizza Good Times Tacos, Cubanos and Shanty Town will cover the eats.

Gosforth Beer Festival, August 2-4, Gosforth Civic Theatre, Regent Farm Road, Gosforth NE3 3HD. www.gosforthcivictheatre.co.uk www.liberdade.co.uk

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WHAT’S ON

OPENING JULY PUNCH BOWL, JESMOND, NEWCASTLE An extensive – and expensive – refurbishment of the Punch Bowl is the latest adventure by Dave Carr, he of the Branding Villa in South Gosforth.

Look out for not only the trumps in cask ale but a Vermouth Bar, charcuterie, cheese selection, and Bobik’s a 60-seater venue offering a veritable feast of new and old live music, cinema, art exhibitions, stand-up comedy and theatre.

Bobik is one of the Punch Bowl’s two dogs, named after a particularly naughty Soviet space dog, who managed to escape minutes before his rocket launch. Open from July 12.

The Punch Bowl, Jesmond Road, Jesmond, Newcastle NE2 1JY. www.bobiks.com THE TWO PENNIES, NORTH SHIELDS North Shields has got itself a new café bar with a heavy influence on music. One of those who inspired The Two Pennies is Scott Wall, who – among other things – makes cigar-box guitars and plays a mean blues set with them. Guitar workshops will feature in the café bar, too. The name comes from Scott’s great-grandad’s old coins that he used in the shipyards every day for pitch and toss.

Two Pennies Café Bar, Northumberland Place, North Shields NE30 1QP

AUGUST 3 DURHAM BREWERY BEER FESTIVAL Durham Brewery, Bowburn North Industrial Estate, Durham DH6 5PF Marking its 25 anniversary, there’s great beer, great food and great music celebrating all that’s good about the North East Two bars with new and rare cask and keg plus bottles and artisan gin (marquee, too!).

12noon-7pm (£10). Tickets from the brewery shop or online at durhambrewery.com Tel: 0191 377 1991.

SEPTEMBER 27-28 GOSFORTH PARISH CHURCH BEER FESTIVAL More than 40 local beers and ciders, BBQ food, live music from The Hop Pickers at this unusual venue – opposite South Gosforth Metro station, Newcastle.

Hopefully some new beers/specials from Northern Alchemy, Tyne Bank, Brinkburn St, Allendale and Almasty but also from elsewhere such as Cloudwater and Tiny Rebel.

Prices are kept relatively low, but the aim is to make a small profit. This year, the festival’s third, money raised will go to Archbishop Runcie First School in Gosforth.

Friday 3pm-11pm; Saturday 12noon-11pm.

www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 31

NEWS

STORM BREWING AHEAD Fast-developing Black Storm has made its third acquisition in its first 16 months of trading with the purchase of Black Hill Brewery in Chester-le-Street which adds another brand to its growing portfolio.

The brewery deal comes at a crucial time for the company as it reports substantial growth in its on- and off-trade business. Black Storm has been contracting its beers out to Hadrian Border Brewery in Newcastle, so the Black Hill deal opens the production base it has been seeking.

The company gained its first supermarket listing with the Co-op earlier in the year, following the acquisition of gluten-free brand Autumn Brewing Co in September 2018.

Founder Paul Hughes says: “Since we launched Black Storm in December 2017 we have been working with the excellent Hadrian Border Brewery to develop the quality and consistency of our beer, perfecting our core range and experimenting with new flavours for our seasonals.

“We are now in the perfect position to scaleup both our output and ambition, which our own

Paul Hughes - founder of Blackstorm. brewery will allow us to do. With experienced brewer Chris Graham in charge of his own kit, we are looking forward to continuing to deliver our beers to our customers in the consistent way they have come to expect and to start mixing things up with some innovative and exciting additions. It’s an exciting time at Black Storm, and we’re looking forward to what the next few years will bring.”

Black Storm opened its first venture, Storm

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Cellar, in Whitley Bay, in late 2017 which has been followed by Drop Everything And Drink (DEAD) on High Bridge in Newcastle; specialist craft beer store Beer Box, at the Stack development in Newcastle; the previouslymentioned Autumn Brewing Co and Black Hill Brewery, plus Beer Box 2 in Manchester and the former Rios Bar in Stockton on Tees which is now another Storm Cellar – with more planned.

There’s certainly a storm brewing in the region.

NEWS

PROGRESSING BY THE YARD

The cask and keg conundrum has caught up with one County Durham pub and microbrewery.

While the Surtees Arms in Ferryhill has its regular cask beer drinkers – particularly enjoying those from the adjoining Yard of Ale Brewery, owners Alan and Susan Hogg have noticed a growing number of customers interested in keg beer only.

Alan says: “We decided we didn’t want to lose business where other breweries could supply both cask and keg versions to our current customers and we’d also like to win business with those outlets that have never dealt with Yard of Ale.

“And so, with some investment and good timing, we installed a new – to us – kegging tank. It’s perfectly suited to our smaller capacity and allows us to control chilling and carbonation in our beers ready for racking into Sankeycoupling 30-litre kegs.

“Our first kegged beer, Arcadia (4.6% abv) is a double-dryhopped Munich pale with extra additions of West Coast hops really which make for a very tasty beer with loads of tropical citrus notes and a dry finish.”

Future plans from Yard of Ale brewery include special one-offs for outlets that would like their own exclusive beers.

S C H O O N E R T U N E Ss

CHEERS ON THE ROAD Colin Cook, pictured right, originally from Swalwell, Gateshead, sent us this from The Black Bull, his local in Lititz, Pennsylvania, which has been voted Best Beer Bar in the US state for three years running. On the left is owner Paul Pendyke, expat Scouser.

Colin’s brother Dave runs the Sun Inn at Swalwell with his wife Sarah, plus Owa The Road micropub which is literally owa the road. Colin had been on one of his annual trips home when he picked up the May 2019 copy of the magazine – and took some back to

the Keystone State (one of the 13 original colonies) to show off a bit.

Cheers Colin – and congratulations Paul.

And it wouldn’t be Cheers without dropping a boo-boo somewhere – but when it comes to getting one of your mates’ names wrong it’s unforgiveable (writes Alastair Gilmour). Last month we ran a photo of Phil Thompson who had taken a copy of Cheers with him to Northern Ireland then sent some images back from Bushmills Distillery. Sorry for getting your surname wrong Phil – total brain fade. We owe you a pint.

Under new ownership Great Food Live Music South Shore Road, Gateshead, NE8 3AF 0191 477 7404 www.theschooner.co.uk www.cheersnortheast.co.uk / CHEERS / 33

GUEST COLUMNIST

LONG DISTANCE INSPIRATION Poet/singer/songwriter Simma meets a hero The first time I met Charlie Harcourt was… years ago. I was supporting The Junco Partners, the band he’d been in, on and off, since the Sixties. “I’m Charlie,” he said. “I know who you are,” I replied, approximating the tone of a fifteen-year-old who had just bumped into the latest pop sensation.

Anyone with even a passing interest in North East music knows of Charlie.

The Juncos played together for so long that they’ve entertained and influenced generations. Charlie radiates enthusiasm for music in a way I’ve rarely seen, and I’ve never heard him play anything that didn’t sound cool. You could practically dance to him tuning up.

When I went round for a chat for this article, a phrase came up a few times about being a musician – “You can’t not”. He talks with the passion of someone who’s just joined a band. He says he sometimes forgets to practice because he gets so engrossed watching other guitarists on YouTube. He’s the perfect antidote to some of the (much younger) jaded musicians I’ve met.

The story has a familiar ring if you’ve ever seen a documentary about bands inspired by new music from across the Atlantic springing up through the Sixties.

Shortly after leaving John Marley School in Newcastle, Charlie formed his first band, The Berries. He has happy memories of playing St Philips Youth Club in the West End of the city.

Although Charlie’s first love was the guitar he always wanted to play boogie piano, inspired by Fats Domino and Little Richard “thumpin the hell out of” the instrument. In those days the lines between skiffle, jazz and rock ‘n’ roll we’re starting to blur, and hearing Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated sent him searching song titles for what he calls “The Real McCoy” – delta blues tunes that would become staples of The Junco Partners’ set.

In any history of North East music, the legendary Club A’GoGo in Newcastle looms large. When their resident band The Animals shot off to London, the Juncos stepped into the breach and ran with it.

The list of acts who played and hung out there is staggering, Charlie mentions John Lee Hooker and Sonny Boy Williamson in 34 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

conversation like he’s talking about the bloke next door.

In those days, the Juncos often played three sets on a Saturday night; The Old Vic In Whitley Bay, then off to the A’GoGo, and to the Downbeat, then gigging again on the Sunday. One night playing with Jimmie and Vella Cameron – Charlie, keen as ever – stayed on stage to jam with the next act, Cat Mother And The All Night Newsboys.

This led to him being asked to join them in California, and the adventure took him around the States, working in Jimi Hendrix’s Electric Ladyland studios.

After the death of controversial band manager Mike Jeffries, Cat Mother were stuck in limbo and Charlie received a call from the UK asking him to join Lindisfarne MkII, heading straight to Australia on tour.

On their return he wrote some songs for the band with Ray Jackson.

On the subject of royalties, the phrase comes up again, “It’s what you’re in it for – you’re not in it for the money, or you’re a mug if you are. You’re in it because you have to be, because you can’t not.”

Charlie had his own band, Harcourt’s Heroes, which he describes as “bloody good players” and an impromptu jam at The Cooperage on Newcastle’s Quayside ended with Charlie back in The Juncos, who he continued to play with until their recent retirement.

The final band Charlie joined – in 2013 – was the newly-reformed Lindisfarne, then recorded a live set last year. He talks about this venture with great enthusiasm.

“It was all about the songs,” he says, “and trading licks with Rod (Clements) was great.”

Talking about this gets Charlie thinking right back to the beginning to his first “horrible old guitar”, made out of balsa wood.

He learned two chords and never looked back, going from American folk songs to Buddy Holly to “the supreme Chuck Berry’s intros, still shit-hot to this day”.

Charlie Harcourt has recently had to retire from life on the road due to his health, but hearing him talk about music, especially the early stuff, is exhilarating.

“You had to go with it, you had to dance to it,” he says. “You couldn’t not.” www.simma.co.uk www. tynesidemusicians.com www.newcastlepoet.com

FOLLOW THE LEADER FOR A PINT ON THE RUN

The self-styled drinking club with a running problem is 25 years old on August 26 and will celebrated with… a run and a few drinks, of course.

Newcastle Hash House Harriers (NHHH) are to take a route from the Head of Steam on Newcastle Quayside – the area was the location of their first outing in 1994. The idea of their regular runs is basically “hare and hounds” where a couple of “hares” set off from a designated pub and leave clues, either in chalk or flour on the pavement, where the pack of all ages and abilities will run, jog or walk to for the next pint. This can take in several pubs with the emphasis being non competitive and focusing on the social benefits of group activity – plus the runs are organised so that everyone should complete the course in about the same time.

They meet weekly on a Wednesday evening (run commences at 7pm sharp) plus the first Sunday of the month at 11.30am at a different location in and around the North-East. Starting and finishing points could be anywhere from Whitley Bay to Wylam and Stanley in County Durham.

“On the Sunday following our anniversary run – September 1 – we’ll have a celebratory run from The Strawberry in Newcastle,” says Newcastle HHH founder member Keith Hudson. “It’s our regular base and will start at 11.30am. We’ll be inviting hashers from other clubs to join us (Hash House Harriers are worldwide).”

Keith mentions he’ll also be approaching North East breweries this month for contributions to their Great North Run beer stop, their regular refreshment station on the renowned half-marathon which is so popular they often run out of beer. www.nhhh.co.uk

RUNNERS AND RIDERS

HORSE IS FOR COURSES – FIVE KILOMETRES If you’re trying to attract elite athletes to your sporting event you’d think twice about calling it The Beer Belly Run. But this running event at the Grey Horse in Consett, County Durham, is a fun run for all comers – but principally for charity.

Now in its fifth year, it involves a five kilometre circuit with intervals of beer drinking every kilometre lap of the pub and will take place on August Bank Holiday Monday (August 26).

The event started as a fundraiser for popular pub regular and former teacher Nigel Nattrass who was diagnosed with motor neuron disease and had to have a special wheelchair and extensive alterations to his house. Sadly, Nigel passed away after the first event so it was decided to continue the run in his memory.

Local charities with connections to Grey Horse regulars have benefited from the proceeds of the fun run each year with this time proceeds going to CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably).

It’s part of a fun-filled day with some serious competitive runners but mainly people in fancy dress with a common love for good beer (who know where

Realy Good: Runners at The Grey Horse Beer Belly Run

They’re certainly a fit lot at The Bodega on Westgate Road, Newcastle. In the space of a couple of weeks, bar staffer Maria Stott (above) finished the Edinburgh Marathon in 3 hours 57 minutes, while manager Ben Rea completed The Wall Ultra-Marathon – 69 miles from Carlisle to Newcastle following the route of Emperor Hadrian’s landmark. Ben took 15 hours 31 minutes and says it was the hardest thing he’s ever done – or likely to ever do again.

Now, how is Maria going to top Ben’s achievement?

to get it). Entries are available for individuals or relay teams. Terrific entertainment from local band State Express 5 and a buffet are included in the entry fee of £15 (individual) or £40 for a relay team. All entry fees go to the charity.

For more information and entry forms, contact Ian 07484 224 022, or pop into the pub on Sherburn Terrace, Consett, and have a practice pint while you’re there.

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INTERVIEW: TONY CLEARY

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FROM FRONT ROOM TO FRONT LINE One of the country’s most efficient drinks businesses is based in the region. Alastair Gilmour takes a look A business that started out in a County Durham front room is now posting a turnover of nearly £82m. Tony and Veronica Cleary sat down at home in 1980 and founded Lanchester Wines. It grew into an office in Lanchester, then a bigger one, then a bonded warehouse then a bigger bonded warehouse.

The Lanchester group of companies – still privately-owned – now comprises wine businesses, gifts and hampers, luxury confectionary, green energy, bottling and property management, with headquarters in Annfield Plain.

Where there once was a unit with a corrugated iron roof that leaked like a sieve, an array of solar panels produces enough clean electricity to cover day-to-day use.

Tony Cleary points to four massive wind turbines on the 440,000sq ft industrial site near Stanley producing an annual 5.5 million kilowatt hours of clean, renewable energy to run a massive bottling plant (soon to be overtaken by an even more ambitious one). Heat pump technology uses water from disused mines that could change the way energy is captured worldwide, plus a cutting-edge project that will use wine to heat the new £20m bottling facility equates to a mind-blowing achievement and indicates a real drive for positive change.

It looks like a breeze on paper but when Tony Cleary talks through the story of his working life, it all seems to fall into place. He is such a character that you’re scooped up with his enthusiasm and made to realise there are people around who can do things you never thought possible. He brings out positivity in others.

Tony’s early career has obviously had a tremendous influence on him, stirring a curiosity about how people operate and how business works. It’s a lesson in tenacity and the ability to be inspired by contemporaries which, in doing so, inspires others.

And another thing, employ people who are smarter than you and give them enough scope to

get on with the job you hired them for in the first place.

“You’ve got to bring people along with you,” says Tony “I started my career at Whitbreads Brewery in Castle Eden in 1971 which produced Nimmos (Pale Ale). I went for an interview for a rep’s job that involved dealing with working men’s clubs. Harry Moffat, who was interviewing me, must have seen something and said, ‘with the greatest respect, you seem a nice young chap but you’ll get eaten alive’.

“I said ‘I can stand up for myself you know’. He said, ‘I’m going to ring you up in a month’s time and bring you back’. He wouldn’t tell me why.

“As good as his word, he came on the phone and said ‘we’ve got a job for you’. It shows you how long ago it was – they were just about to bring out Heineken in cans.

The job involved selling to supermarkets and the off-trade. At that time you could approach individual stores like the Co-op; the managers all had autonomy in those days, you could negotiate a price. I was there for three years and went through the ranks.”

Then came a spell with Domecq Sherry, following that, United Rum – who hadn’t advertised a position but advised him to apply – said “we want somebody we like”. “It was the most peculiar interview,” says Tony. “I think I said yes about six times and that was it. They said, ‘you’ve got the job’. Domecq was one of the top spirits companies back in the day and I was there for seven years. I enjoyed it, it was a great job. I even had to have special insurance for the company car as I was only 21.”

Then a new boss came in and it quickly became clear he didn’t know anything about the business, and not a nice character, by all accounts.

Tony says: “Ten of us left within a matter of six months. That was at the time where you could just walk into another job, but it pushed me into starting up my own business. I always wanted to have a go on my own anyway. We started up

INTERVIEW: TONY CLEARY

Solar singer: Tony Cleary, Lanchester Group Lanchester Wines in 1980 literally in the front room of our house.”

It wasn’t plain sailing; he had brought two people into the business which over a period proved to be a drain on resources and not what you want in a fledgling company.

But if the Clearys of them hadn’t gone through that experience, would he now be talking about 100,000 solar panels on a 300-metre by 60-metre roof and collaborating with global companies to develop more efficient batteries for storing electricity?

Would the most modern wine bottling facility in Europe – if not the world – with an unsurpassed reputation for quality, have been developed in County Durham?

Could they have been able to invest £4.5m in three new wind turbines and on-site substations, which now provide the vast majority of electrical power for the site, with any surplus fed into the National Grid?

Would they have been able to lure Julian Critchlow, the director general for energy transformation and clean growth at the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), out of London at the first time of asking to observe the advances made at Stanley?

“These things normally take a few months to organise,” says Tony, “but he came straight away. I think it was from the sustainability point. He was really keen on supporting us. His way of seeing it was that what you guys are doing, everybody

should be doing. County Durham Council are really good too, they’ll anything to do to help in growing businesses and making things stronger.

“Our investments have been substantial, using the best materials and taking our time to do it right. We’re a family business looking to the future so it’s imperative we do things once and do them well.

“We believe that being carbon neutral is just the beginning. The group will continue to produce more clean renewable energy than we use, which we believe makes us carbon minus.

“As a business, we continue to make choices about our long-term sustainability which go above and beyond both legislation and common practice.

“As a privately-owned, family business, employing 400 people we are in a largely unique position which enables us to experiment and take risks in order to find new solutions, and we want others to emulate our successes. We believe what is good for the environment is good for us all.”

Tony Cleary might have been taken aback when told all these years ago that working men’s club committees would eat him alive, but the attitude that says, “I can look after myself, you know” has stood him and his family in good stead.

He describes the director general for energy transformation and clean growth at BEIS as “a very, very smart lad”. It takes one to know one.

THE LANCHESTER GROUP The Lanchester Group comprises Lanchester Wine Cellars (including Lanchester Gifts), Greencroft Bottling Company, Lanchester Energy, Lanchester Properties, Spicers of Hythe, The Wine Fusion, and Bon Bons luxury confectionary business.

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FUN STUFF

SIGN OF THE TIMES

THE DIRTY DOZEN TWELVE OF A KIND – HOW MANY CAN YOU GET?

1 Born in 1973, he was called Ryan Wilson until the age of 16. Who is he now better known as?

2 What was Noah’s Ark made out of?

3 What does an osteologist study?

4 Who was the first wristwatch made for?

Due consideration given to the boss of the King’s Arms, Salford, Greater Manchester.

AN ELECTRICIAN WALKS INTO A BAR… … AND SAYS OVER HIS PINT, “WOMEN, EH?” THE BARMAN ASKS HIM TO EXPLAIN, SO HE SAYS: “I’VE JUST COME FROM THE HOUSE NEXT DOOR AND BEEN YELLED AT FOR COMING TODAY TO FIX THE DOORBELL INSTEAD OF YESTERDAY. I SAID I CAME IN THE MORNING, RANG THREE TIMES AND GOT NO ANSWER, SO I THOUGHT YOU MUST HAVE BEEN OUT.”

5 Who were the Blue Meanies?

6 When did Radio 1 start?

7 Dr Johnson considered claret to be the drink for boys, port for men, and what for heroes?

8 Which singer was born Marie McDonald McLaughlin Lawrie?

9 In the US what were maverick cattle?

10 How many soldiers did a Roman centurion command?

11 How many pints of milk are required to make one pound of Cheddar cheese?

12 The German naval fleet was scuttled 100 years go in 1919 – where?

EEH! NUMBERS 21

The minimum legal age for the purchase of alcohol in the US, although most states allow its consumption at 18 21: A 2008 American heist movie starring Kevin Spacey and Jim Sturgess 21: The smallest number of differently sized squares need to square the square* 21: The number of solar rays in the Kurdistan flag 21: The weight in grams of the soul, according to research by Duncan MacDougall, generally regarded as meaningless. *we don’t either

QUOTE

“WHENEVER SOMEONE ASKS IF I WANT WATER WITH MY SCOTCH I SAY I’M THIRSTY, NOT DIRTY”

JOE E LEWIS

QUIZ ANSWERS: 1 Ryan Giggs. 2 Gopher wood. 3 Bones. 4 Queen Elizabeth I. 5 The music-hating beings in The Beatles’ Yellow Submarine film. 6 1967.

7 Brandy. 8 Lulu. 9 Those found without an owner’s brand. 10 One hundred. 11 Eight. 12 Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands.

38 / CHEERS / www.cheersnortheast.co.uk

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