DEJA VU IN DURHAM

In December last year I tried to do some Xmas Shopping in Durham and ended up in a brewery beer festival .***

Time to do the same again. 

 

Saturday 19th March was St Cuthbert's Day in Durham City.
This was the feast day to commemorate the saint who is buried in Durham Cathedral. Various events took place , mostly at the Cathedral and the Market Place .  

To kick off the day there was an 8 mile walk from Chester Le Street St Cuthbert' s Church   to Durham ( so I got the bus). On  arrival the walkers would assemble in the Market Place then  march behind a banner of St Cuthbert up to the Cathedral.  And guess what, just like at Xmas, the city's Hill Island Brewery were having another  one day mini beer festival.

Arriving early, before the St Cuthbert's thing and the Beer Festival were due to happen at 2pm,   I headed up to the Cathedral to do some tourist stuff. In the cloisters was a farmers market, which included a Hadrian and Border Brewery stall. In the actual market place there was a stall with someone from Black Paw Brewery trying to sell bottles of beer and freezing his nuts off at the same time.  As all the beers being sold by both breweries were familiar, didnt bother buying any.  

By this time the walkers had arrived in the Market Place and I bumped into a pony tailed individual carrying a sign attached to a long pole.  At first I thought it was someone proclaiming "Jesus Saves" or "The End is Nigh" ; but no - it was Mike from Hill Island. He was marching round the square touting for business. Some of the walkers asked him where it was taking place. He explained it was just down the street, turn right after the Post Office.

One of the women declared  "Well we've walked  8 miles from Chester Le Street you know !" I still haven't figured out why she said it and what its cryptic meaning was.  It was obvious they didnt have a clue what a beer festival was. Their loss.

Soon the walkers , following the banner and two guys dressed in medieval costume, headed up to the cathedral. So I headed instead to the brewery. Now Mike only opens up for bank holidays and special days ( like this) and his bar is tiny. I was first in but it soon filled up and everyone was enjoying the beers and having a good chat. There were six beers on, see photo, so order all 6 as thirds

Now since my last visit here, a new micro pub has opened in Durham. Called the Station House , it claims  to be the first micro pub in the city, despite being 10 times the size of the brewery. Mike pointed out, his tiny bar has been going for a lot longer.

In between Hill Island and the Station House is a Wetherspoons. Their spring Beer Festival was on so I had a look in. It was heaving , 2 deep at the bar. Bugger that, off to the Station House.

This pub, having opened in December 2015 by 2 CAMRA members, serves 4 cask and 4 real ciders. There is no music, no TV, just a place for a chat ( like Hill Island). I had a cracking pint of Tyne Bank Farmhouse Saison, and enjoyed another good chat with a punter and the manageress.

Soon it was time to head off to the bus station and home. On the bus I reflected that Hill Island and the Station House were competing with the mighty Wetherspoons. So although I cant knock Spoons beers or prices,  for me that day , there was no contest. 

Good beer, simple surroundings and good crack.

***
XMAS VISIT TO HILL ISLAND BREWERY

FAIRYTALE FROM NEWCASTLE

Once upon a time Show White Beard and the Seven Drunks went on a pub crawl in Gosforth  ( North Newcastle).  It would prove to be a long day, with excitement and disappointment in equal measure. We do these pub crawls about five times a year and one of our number , Mr Interrogator, compiles a quiz for which we passionately compete for a trophy.

Meeting up at Haymarket Bus station in Newcastle,  we boarded a bus to take us on the 10 minute journey to Gosforth High Street. Our first encounter  was  an  11am breakfast in the Job Bulman, a Wetherspoons.  This one is named after a local doctor, who in the 18th century, had a hand in the development of this suburb. It was quite busy but we managed to get an 8 seater table.

On the bus Mr  Cockney made a startling observation -  that all Wetherspoons appear to be named after people ! What, like the Milecastle, The Union Rooms, The Lambton Worm you mean ?

One of the beers on offer was from Hambletons and was called Hooker. " Can I have a hooker please ?" The barman didnt flinch. Last week I asked for a Smoked Rat in Fitzgeralds in Sunderland. ( that's a beer from the Rat brewery, not a local delicacy)

Anyhow, back to the story. All of the pubs we planned to visit after breakfast were about 2 minutes walk from each other; the pubs being

The County

Brandling Arms

Queen Victoria

Gosforth.

Its worth mentioning at this point that several footy matches would be taking place during our visit, including Newcastle Utd playing at home about 3 miles away. 

But first, The County just down the High Street, where the Spurs Arsenal game was about to start live on TV. This pub makes regular appearances in the Good Beer Guide, with 8 ales available.

We started the quiz and enjoyed a couple of pints. Mr Cockney was disappointed with Arsenal getting a draw, so we left for the Brandling Arms. On the way out I turned round and saw a sign i had missed on the way in, indicating CAMRA members get 10% discount. I had just bought 14 pints of real ales out of the kitty ! Why no sign inside behind the bar ? Humph.

The Brandling Arms was the only pub on the day I hadn't been into before. It looked posh on the outside and this was the case on the inside with 3 handpulls on the bar. There weren't many punters in and we soon found out why - the round came to over £30.  

" How much" we all chorused.

Only stayed for one....too upmarket for us lot.

By now the 3pm footy matches had kicked  off so along the High Street to the Queen Victoria. There were a few customers in but we still managed to squeeze the 8 of us round a table for 6.

This time I asked the right question of the barmaid , "Do you do CAMRA discount ?". 

"Yes" came the reply "and a loyalty card - buy 7 pints and get a free pint in the next round" - sorted *. 

By now some gloom descended over 2 of our party, Mr Black and Mr White were seeing Newcastle Uniteds score on the TV vidiprinter go from 0-0 to 1-3 by the end of the game ( they were at home to Bournemouth). By contrast , the Sunderland supporters among us were briefly euphoric, taking the lead away at Southampton, only to succumb to an injury time  equaliser. Then to top it all, the menu was removed from the table, as there were mutterings about needing more food.

"But Ive got this loyalty card for another round "  I cried to deaf ears. It was wasted - a pub with food was needed. 

So over the road to our last bar of the day , the Gosforth Hotel.  The pub was busy with 6 handpulls in use. Prices on each handpull indicated this was nearly a £1 cheaper per pint than the Brandling. There was a quieter back room and bar. So we made a beeline for that. It was empty, no customers or staff.

Now when you have had a few beers sometimes its best to concentrate. On entering the room, straight ahead is the actual back of the bar, so if you're not careful , and the bar flap is open, you end up walking behind the bar instead of in front.  Mr Naughty did this and was about to pose for me to take a picture of him impersonating Del Boy falling thru the open bar, when in stormed the landlord.

" You not supposed to be behind the bar" he barked. Given we had just ordered 8 pints and 8 meals, I thought that was a bit harsh. Poor Mr Naughty !

The mathematicians reading this may have noticed only 5 of the 7 with me have had a mention. Well when we were reaching the quiz climax, the tension was so great that Mr Sleepy dozed off. Nearly missed me winning the trophy. Well we had been on the go for nearly 8 hours !

Coming into town, Mr Dizzy felt a bit queasy on the bus, but heading home on the bus and under the influence of a few beers , was OK.  Work that one out.

What a day. ! And they all lived happily ever after.

   * Ive lost the bloody loyalty card, its around somewhere I hope. 

KEN' S BEER BLOG - FEBRUARY BEER OF THE MONTH

We had a CAMRA branch meeting the other week in a pub called The Grey Horse, East Boldon. The usual suspects were on offer, including Hobgoblin, Old Speckled Hen and Landlord. But tucked in the middle was Jennings Sneck Lifter.  As I had not had this strong ale for a while it was an easy choice for me to have a pint. Soon the second pint was going down. Unfortunately I think half the guys at the meeting were doing the same, as it ran out half through the evening, so no third pint !

Still, this has been my favourite beer of the month, despite having competition from Harviestoun Old Engine Oil, Brains Reverend  James and Marstons Pedigree. ( to name but a few)

You may recall Jennings Brewery made the news in recent times, for all the wrong reasons. I'm talking about the devastating floods in Cumbria. Thankfully they are still brewing. I love strong beers and Sneck Lifter ticks all the right boxes. Reddish brown in colour , and at 5.1% is very easy to drink. Its Jennings strongest beer and I just wish it were more readily available in my area.

So where did the name come from. Well a sneck lifter is someone who lifts a catch ( the sneck) on the door of a pub. Some say its the name of a person who does a runner when its his round.**

Drinking it stirred a memory about one of my mates, who lives in Warwickshire. Here is his story :-

" About 12 years ago, when my son was about 9 years old he had been playing junior level football for a local team. They were in the final of the Police Cup and the event was to be held on a sunny Sunday afternoon. It was the junior football event of the year ( around May time) and there was a capacity crowd of several hundred. I can't remember who they were playing but I do remember they went to penalties, which they lost.

We headed back to our local, runners up medals in hand. The guest ale was Sneck Lifter and not being too familiar with it tried some. And very nice it was too . I said to the wife I didnt want to be too long as I had a day of meetings the next day".

Before we read on there are two sayings in a pub that spring to mind here  :-

1. Someone says :" Its my round, same again ?"

2. You say " Go on then , just one more"

Sorry, back to the story.

" After food, the blokes seemed to be huddling together, talking football, telling jokes etc and the inevitable happened. A round started. However I am more of a quality rather than quantity sort of drinker, and trying to keep up with the flow of Mitchells and Butlers session beer was too much. The Lifter was getting the better of me. and three hours later I found myself hanging onto the wash basin in the gents ( in the style of being in a ship in a storm).

The walk home was equally perilous. Two steps forward, one step back, three to the side and one step forward. The beer compass came in very handy and guided me to the front door. Unfortunately after several failed attempts I let a bemused and embarrassed son put the key in the lock.

I'm pretty certain we must have had a power cut because the blackout seemed to last until it was time for work the next day. The meetings didnt go well, I don't think I had enough spit to get out a full sentence.

In the intervening years, I think Ive only tried the beer a couple more times, in vastly reduced quantities"

When we meet up I sometimes bring up Sneck Lifter ( actually bring up in this context is perhaps the wrong term) ; I sometimes mention Sneck Lifter and I detect a look of panic possibly even fear.

But don't let this story put you off this fantastic ale, just don't drink it for three hours that's all !!

** Final thought - if my friend had been a sneck lifter on the day, all this could have been avoided.

 

I CAN DRINK A RAINBOW - A LOOK AT THE COLOUR OF BEER

The appearance of beer is all important. This post looks at beer colour. Most range from pale through amber to dark.  However In recent times Ive come across other colours as well.

One St Patrick's Day a couple of years ago  I was in a pub called The County in Gosforth, Newcastle.  I spied on handpull a beer from Stonehenge Brewery called Luck of the Irish. Always on the look out for something new , I ordered a half. Imagine my surprise when it came out green, with no advance warning from the barmaid. I recall that there was nothing exceptional about this one. Just a standard bitter,  only a different colour.

Time now to report on something with a bit of  a kick to it. So my next choice is from a pub crawl we had around Edinburgh last summer. In a pub called the Guildford Arms I found this one . ( see photos)

It was a Scottish beer called Windswept Maroon - an unfined  blackcurrant wheat beer. The colour was unusual, as was the taste.  I remember the first sip forced my cheeks to suck in till they met in the middle- that would be my face cheeks by the way ! It was 5.2% and I managed to get through it unscathed.

I came across another green beer at the Great British Beer Festival last year. It was called Pot Belly Venom. In the festival program every beer had tasting notes, except this one. All it said was it was green. Great marketing but nothing special about it, like the first one.

 

Ive yet to try a blue beer and  I'm not sure I want to. Ive seen pictures on Tinternet of some sold in  Japan.  Looks like mouthwash.

 
As I'm typing this I've opened a bottle of truly black beer ; Old Engine Oil from Harviestoun. Impossible to see through, just how I like it

This is a 6% porter which I first came across at a local beer festival 5 years ago. For those that are into food/ drink pairings, I had a pint with fish and chips. Probably not what the experts would suggest. I had had a few so the tastes of each probably cancelled each other out.


A previous post looked at the colour of beer bottles. 

Click here if you've not read it :- 

THE COLOUR OF BOTTLES

This subject is not often covered and never discussed in a pub, to my knowledge anyway 


I was enjoying a bottle of Marstons Pedigree ( birthday present from last year ) the other day and I spotted this on the label :-

Marstons Mark of Quality :- All Marstons beers are bottled in amber glass to avoid unnecessary deterioration sometimes experienced with clear bottles, ensuring the highest possible quality at all times 

Now I was aware of this "phenomenon" , if that's the right word but Ive not seen it printed on any bottles by a brewer before. This got me thinking. 

I received for Xmas just gone a fascinating book called "So You Want To Be A Beer Expert?" by Jeff Evans. This book covers all aspects of beer, including how its brewed, how to taste it and the many styles available. 

One section looks at bottles and the issue of clear glass used. Mention is made of the fact that the taste of a beer   in clear glass bottles can be affected by sunlight. Also  that beer stacked on a supermarket shelf, under bright lights, can be affected in the same way. A quick survey of my nearest supermarket revealed about a quarter of bottles were made from clear glass, some of which were on the top shelf nearest the lights. Hmm..

Now I have to say I have not experienced this so called problem and I don't know anyone who has. I have 37 bottles at home ( how many ? ed). Yes 37 - mostly birthday and Xmas pressies - I'm easy to buy for.  Now, only 3 of them are made from clear glass. Besides they are all stored in a cupboard, so no problems there. Well apart from  the fact Mrs Ken keeps going on about the weight may pull the cupboard off the wall. 

Writing this, I've been trying to recall how I knew about the clear bottle issue, then I remembered. It was a book I was given a couple of years ago called CAMRAs Good Bottled Beer Guide. ( I told you I was easy to buy for ). Anyhow, the author of this guide is non other than.............Jeff Evans. Basically he has recycled some information from this earlier work. 

Having said that, both books are worth a read by the way ; recommended.  

End of part 1, the next one will look at the colour of the stuff that goes in the bottles.

Oh no,  what was that loud crash in the kitchen ? 

REMEMBER VAUX BREWERY ?

Before Xmas 2015 a planning application was submitted for the development of the Gill Bridge Avenue area of Sunderland. This was a derelict piece of land between St Marys Way and the River Wear. So what ? Well this is the site of the former Vaux Brewery, which closed in 1999. 

Now before I proceed,  for non locals Vaux rhymes with forks, and not gateaux. This is relevant for later. 

Also before Xmas I got a book out of the library called " Brewer At Bay", the memoirs of Sir Paul Nicholson. He was the former chairman of Vaux  who fought unsuccessfully against the closure of the brewery. Worth a read if you are into that sort of thing.

After closure of the brewery demolition followed soon after and has been a city eyesore until only recently. I don't intend to dwell any more on this as it has already been documented in the above book, and also Vaux History Vaux Brewery Images  which are worth a look.

What I also found last year brought back me memories for me. Every weekend, there is a market held in Tynemouth Station, with stalls selling antiques, CDs, books and magazines. One such stall was selling old Sunderland and Newcastle football match programs from bygone years. A Sunderland program from the 70s was advertising Lorimers Best Scotch ( see left )

I then had one of my, "whatever happened to moments". 

Whatever happened to Lorimers Best Scotch ?     ( for southerners, this is a  beer, not a whisky). 

Unlike some of Vaux's others brews ; Double Maxim,  Samson and Lambtons have all been resurrected by Maxim Brewery in nearby Houghton Le Spring , while Waggledance is brewed by Charles Wells in Bedford. Lorimers Scotch has disappeared. It was brewed at the Caledonian Brewery in Edinburgh, part of the Vaux Empire from 1947 till 1986. 

I have found a website, which looks grand, but none of the links in it work http://www.lorimersbestscotch.co.uk/.

End of the trail then. 

Now I may be wrong here but I think my first ever brewery tour was at Vaux. They had a pub called The Brewery Tap where we ended our tour with the obligatorily samples ( this would be the mid seventies) . One of my mates reminded me of the time he came into the "Tap" after work one day for a pint. Two student types with southern accents walked in.

One of them said " A pint of Voh please" ** 

Much laughter in the bar after this little gem.

** Remember the gateaux reference near the beginning of this ? 

 

KEN'S BEER BLOG ; BEER OF THE MONTH

Every month I will try and feature a beer of the month, something that has stood out and hopefully has a story to go with it. 

So here goes with January. Despite all the bollocks about dry January and people telling us how much we have to drink, Ive had some interesting beers.

Black Sheep Riggwelter, Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA,Hop Back Entire Stout along with others have been enjoyed. Even a week in the sun in Lanzarote came up with some interesting German beers , Franzishaner Dunkel Weissbeer among them@@.  But the winner this month goes to (drum roll)  Robinson s Old Tom.

I had it on handpull for what i thought was for the first time at the Station House micropub in Durham at the beginning of the year. At 8.5% this one packs a hell of a punch. I have it every so often in bottle form, with the label "Best Beer in the World 2009" .I was struggling when I started writing this to recall when I first tried it then,  suddenly it came to me ; it was at the CAMRA Great British Beer Festival 10 years ago.

In those days Theakstons Brewery ( of Masham N Yorks)  had their own bar, always selling Old Peculier. To wind the bar staff up I remember wearing a Black Sheep Brewery   T shirt (also of Masham N Yorks). Jokingly the barman said " sorry mate can't serve you wearing that !!". Anyhow he did and we enjoyed the beer whilst browsing through the Festival Programme.

One eagle eye spotted the entry  Robinson's Old Tom 8.5%. I believe at the time it was the strongest beer available on the day . Some of us said,  a bit like a builder giving you a quote with a sharp intake of breath, " Not touching that, too strong !". However three of us decided to try it as our last drink of the day, so as not to tip us over the edge into insensibility for the rest of the afternoon. There was a collective " ooh that's good " soon followed by a collective glazed look. This one had the desired effect as we weaved our way to the exit.

Fast forward to this month. The cask version was still as good as I remember , and have just savoured the bottled version.

As you can see from the picture, it looks black, but viewed from above is a deep red colour. Now unless a beer has chocolate in it I'm usually crap at smelling beer. I'm told Molasses and Fruit and Chocolate feature in the aroma. I got a hint of an unfamiliar smell so it must have been the molasses.

So now the taste. This is classed as on Old Ale, but really tastes like a Madiera wine, preferably served in a wine glass. Its best sipped and savoured, and not thrown down your neck. The beer comes over as fruity and warming, perfect for a winter month.  Its been brewed since 1899 and has won several awards, including Champion Winter Beer of Britain in 2005. In my opinion a worthy winner. 

I usually ration myself with this one; familiarity breeds contempt so would I reckon about 6 times a year will keep me loving this beer. 

Thanks to the Station House for giving me the chance to try it from a cask, after all these years. 

  

@@ see previous post. Click here for more on Dunkel ale