sunderland & south tyneside campaign for real ale · shop premises next door to the pub. we...

SUNDERLAND & SOUTH TYNESIDE

CAMPAIGN FOR REAL ALE

CAMRA ANGLE

WINTER 2018

ISSUE 54

Free-

please take one

Inside:BOOKSDESERT ISLAND BREWERIESKENT HERITAGE INTERIORSMIDDLESBROUGH MICROPUBSMYSTERY TRIPPUB OF THE YEARAnd much more

CAMRA Angle 54 - Winter 2018 - 2

www.sst.camra.org.uk

THE STEAMBOATA Friendly Welcome Guaranteed!CAMRA’s Sunderland & South TynesidePub of the Year 2015, 2016, 2017 & 2018

Regional Pub of the year 2015 & 2016Nine ever-changing Cask Ales

70 Whiskies & 50 Rums Quiz night first Thursday of

every month

27 Mill Dam South ShieldsNE33 1EQ Tel: 0191 4540134



In this issue…FeaturesBeer & Cider Festival News 10Good Beer Guide Review 11Book Review - Sth Tyneside Pubs 12Desert Island Breweries 14Pub of the Year - How It Works 16Middlesbrough Micropubs Revisited 18Whatpub 19Book Review- Beer Bucket List 21Kent Micropubs 22Mystery Trip 25The Tale of the Beer Festival BeerMat

30

RegularsPub News 6Brewery News 7Regional News - The Coalhouse 9Beer From The Wood News 9Locale & CAMRA Discounts 27Pub Quiz 29Quiz Answers 30

EDITORKen Paul/ Sid Dobson

[email protected]

FANCY YOURSELF AS AWRITER

WE are always on the lookout for realale related stories to be used inCAMRA ANGLE. They can behistorical or current, locally-based orinvolving travel to exotic locationssuch as Middlesbrough, Montreal,Moscow or Morpeth!

The deadline for Issue 55 isFebruary 28th 2019

CONTACT USHAVE you got opinion on the pubsor beers available in our brancharea, or on any other matter? Getwriting now, and let our readersknow what you think. We alsowelcome comments about themagazine. Please email us [email protected]. ****CAMRA ANGLE is published by theSunderland & South TynesideBranch of CAMRA © 2018 . Views orcomments expressed in thispublication may not be necessarilythose of the Editor or of CAMRA.

Welcome to Issue 54 of CAMRA Angle.As well as the usual news and articlesin this issue, there are three very differentitems that I think make this Angleunusual. Intrigued? Well see the contentspanel below for more.

With regular news items in the media andin CAMRA about pub closures, thisbranch is not immune so refer to the pubnews page for an update, which alsoreveals 4 pubs that no longer sell realale. However its good to report that a pubin South Shields, The Criterion, whichclosed in 2012, has reopened.

This is the time of year when we vote forour Pub/Club of The Year. Thedeadline to do this is 26th January 2019.It is important that you take part in this

vote and if you haven't already, you areencouraged to do so. The centre spreadinside explains how the process works.

Finally, perhaps it time to start thinkingabout New Year Resolutions? I’ve gotone. I have decided to visit at least 2pubs a month in the 2019 Good BeerGuide that I have not drunk in before.I’ve cheated and started already with sixcompleted and its not even 2019 yet!

There is a review of the Guide in thisissue, along with 2 other book reviews.

Enjoy the read and all the best.

Ken Paul.



PUBLIC TRANSPORT INFORMATION

Some useful contact details for Tyne &Wear Metro and local bus services.

Arriva -0844 8004411

www.arrivabus.co.uk/north-east/

Go North East -0845 606 0260

www.gonortheast.co.uk

Nexus ( Metro & Buses) -0191 2020747

www.nexus.org.uk/

Stagecoach -0191 5675251

www.stagecoachbus.com/about/north-east

Traveline North East -0871 2002233

www.travelinenortheast.Info

TRADING STANDARDSIf you have any complaint about your beer orcider, such as poor quality, short measures orno price list displayed, you should mention it tothe pub management in the first instance. If youneed to pursue the compliant further, werecommend contacting the local TradingStandards Office. Contact details are givenbelow :-

SOUTH TYNESIDE 0191 4247887 forresidents or CitizensAdvice ConsumerService on 03454040506

SUNDERLAND Contact CitizensAdvice ConsumerService on 03454040506.

Branch Contact InformationChairman Michael Wynne [email protected] Lynn Dobson [email protected] Steve Drummond [email protected] Michael Wynne [email protected] Editor Ken Paul / Sid Dobson [email protected] & Social Media. Ian Monteith-Preston [email protected] & Clubs Ken Paul [email protected] Rep. Steve Clough [email protected] Secretary Robin Sanderson [email protected]/ Brewlab BLO Michael Wynne [email protected] BLO Ian Monteith-Preston [email protected] Preservation Dave Craggs [email protected]

DIARY DATES

DECEMBER 2018BRANCH CURRYNIGHT

There is no Branch meeting thismonth. Look out for email about aCURRY NIGHT in Sth Shields.

January 2019DURHAM CAMRABRANCH MEETING

Tuesday January 8th 1930 ; TheVictoria, Hallgarth St Durham

BRANCH MEETING Wednesday January 9th 2000, SirWilliam de Wessington, Concord,Washington

TYNESIDE &NORTHUMBERLANDBRANCH MEETING

Monday January 21st 1930; TownMouse Newcastle

FEBRUARYNE REGIONALMEETING

Saturday 9th February 2019 1pmBridge Hotel Newcastle

DURHAM CAMRABRANCH MEETING

Monday February 11th 1930 ; TheSmiths Arms Castle DeneChester le St

BRANCH MEETING Wednesday February 13th TBCGREAT BRITISH BEERFESTIVAL - WINTER

February 19th -23rd Norwich. Seeadvert on page 11

STOCKTON ALE &ARTY FESTIVAL

Thursday 28th-Saturday 2nd March: ARC, Dovecot St, StocktonTS18 1LL

FUTURE DATESCAMRA MEMBERSWEEKEND & AGM

Friday 5th - Sunday 7th April;Dundee

NEWCASTLE BEER &CIDER FESTIVAL

Wednesday 10th- Saturday 13th

AprilNE REGIONALMEETING

Saturday 25th May 1pm; TheMarine South Shields

NOSTALGIC VAUXNIGHT

Friday 5th July; ChestersSunderland

www.arrivabus.co.uk



ADVERTISING YOUR BUSINESSCAMRA Angle is published 4 times a year,in March, June,September & December. Nearly 3000 copies are distributedthroughout the North East (and beyond) and is a popular downloadfrom our website:-http://camraangle.sst.camra.org.uk/cangle.php.

INTERESTED IN ADVERTISING IN ISSUE 55 DUE MAR 2019 ?SEE RATES BELOW

ADVERTISING RATESFull page ( single issue)…..£90Full page (4 consecutive issues)…..£81 per issue.Half page ( single issue)…..£55Half page (4 consecutive issues)…..£50 per issue.Quarter page ( single issue)…..£35Quarter page ( 4 consecutive issues)…..£31.50 per issue.A free design service for adverts is available if required. For furtherdetails please email [email protected] this issue we have adverts for the Branch Pub of the Year,The Steamboat South Shields, Maxim Brewery, The StationHouse Durham, The Biddick Inn & The Steps, both Washington.The Dun Cow Seaton, The Ivy House Sunderland, The AvenueRoker and The Copt Hill, Houghton le Spring (NEW).

Please support our advertisers, for without them we would notbe able to present CAMRA Angle for your enjoyment andinformation.

Many thanks to The Steamboat, The Avenue and The Marine fortheir hospitality in hosting recent branch meetings, Fitzgeralds forhosting the NE Regional 2019 Good Beer Guide launch,The MidBoldon Club for our beer festival planning meetings and The Marinefor our beer festival shakedown meeting. For details of some futuremeetings, see our Notice Board on page 4.

Thanks for having us

Members MatterSunderland & South Tyneside branch membership is 660.Other branches in the region: - Cleveland - 379, Darlington 463,Durham, 831, Tyneside & Northumberland 2126. North East Region total 4459.NOTE - The NE Region is no longer the smallest (in terms of numbers) withinCAMRA, that honour now falls to Wales with 4248 members.Nationally membership stands at 191949 (192051 in June).See page 31 for details of how to join.

http://camraangle.sst.camra.org.uk/cangle.php

http://camraangle.sst.camra.org.uk/cangle.php

mailto:[email protected]



www.sst.camra.org.ukwww.sst.camra.org.uk

Hebburn

The White Lead hasclosed, hopefullytemporarily while newtenants are sought.

Ryhope

Keith Dewart of TheGuide Post is planning tostart up a micro brewerysometime next year inshop premises next doorto the pub. We wish himwell in this new venture.

South Shields

The Criterion, whichclosed in 2012 andbecame a bookmakers,has reopened. The floorabove the bookies has

been smartly refurbished.Two handpulls offer localreal ales. Entry is onOcean Road and up astaircase.

Tucked away on VictoriaRoad next to a Metrobridge The Queen Vic, aformer club has beenadded to Whatpub, andoffers 2 changing realales.

Sunderland

The Tipsy Cow hasclosed and is up for sale.

Washington

On the outskirts of thetown, The Mill House(right) suffered alarge fire at the rearof the premises inSeptember. Weawait a reopeningdate.

Pubs no longer sellingReal Ale

Florence’ s Bar & Bistro-Simonside.

Grey Horse-Whitburn.

Stackyard-WestHerrington.

Travelling Man-WestBoldon.

CAMRA Angle 53 - Autumn 2018 - 6

Pub News



Maxim seasonal/specialbeers available locallysince last CAMRA Angle

· Maverick 4.6%American Brown Ale

· Equinox 4.3% singlehopped Pale Ale

· (new) Smoke &Mirrors 5,2% SmokedPorter.

· (new) Medusa 5.6%American Pale Ale,Double dry hopped

· Raspberry Porter 5%· (new) Farmhouse

Saison 5.4%

Due soon:

· Santa’s Soot 5% DarkWinter Ale

· Great Escape 4%Pale Ale

· Santastic 4.5%Golden Ale

Santastic will be availablenationally aroundChristmas through JDWeatherspoon’s.

News of Medusa APAcoming 3rd and “Smoke &Mirrors” 4th at the recentSunderland Beer festivalwell received by thebrewery.

Maxim have been recentsponsors for both theannual Durham &Sunderland CAMRA beerfestivals. They againprovided logistical supportfor the Sunderlandfestival.

At the brewery:

Extremely busy brewingfor the Christmas rush.

Brewery “Open BarNights”.

Held on the first Friday ofthe month, now a familiarlocal event well receivedby local real ale drinkers &members of Sunderland &South Tyneside branch.All welcome.

The Brewery shop isusually open Tues-Friday,12:00-17:00. With aselection of bottles & otherbranded gifts, beer giftpacks etc.

It’s worth ringing inadvance to check what isavailable. The telephonenumber for enquiries is0191-584-8844.

Ian MonteithPreston

Maxim Brewery NewsCAMRA Angle 54 - Winter 2018 - 7



After starting out asTemptation Brewery in2011, brewing Americanstyle beers and thenmoving to a largerpremises in Newcastle in2015, as Arcane Bridge,Tony and Kay Killeenwere, along with otherlong establishedbusinesses in the KingEdward Arches,unceremoniously kickedout by Network Rail.

As a result they wereforced to sell all of theirbrewing equipment lastyear, but dreamed ofhaving their own breweryagain one day.

They donated their lastbrew, Worlds End, to the2017 Sunderland Beer &Cider Festival, a 5.9%whisky porter.

Meanwhile they continuedbrewing the house beersat the Hop and Cleaveron Newcastle Quaysideand their dream isnearing reality. Their newbrewery will be calledArcane Brewery (asopposed to ArcaneBridge) and is situatedwithin the City ofSunderland.

They have been licensedand have started trialbrewing. Their beers willbe Belgian styled and theyintend to launch in theNew Year.

Tony and Kay are stilltweaking the brewery andthe recipes and will onlyrelease the beers whenthey both feel the beersare ready.

In the meantime they stillbrew, and will continue tobrew, at their sisterbrewery the Hop andCleaver.

Alan Harrison

Arcane Brewery News





Michael Wynnereports from justover the boundary.

North East Durham has itsfirst micropub in SeahamHarbour. The Coalhouseopened in August in aformer bookmakers at thetop of Church Street.

The decor and name area tribute to the local coalmining industry. The pubis a welcome addition tothe town which is a realale desert and the ownersChris and John say 60%of their sales are cask.Who says there is nodemand for real ale?

Four handpumpsdispense local beers; twowill be dark and two pale.On the official openingnight these were Yard ofAle Best by Yards,Cullercoats PollyCommon, CullercoatsJanus and Two by TwoSession IPA. All cask alesare £3 a pint.

There are 4 real cidersselling at £3.20 a pint.Finally, there are 4 keglines. This is the onlypermanent outlet in EastDurham for Hartlepoolbased Donzonko NorthernHelles.

Opening hours:-Monday toThursday 16:00 to22:00, Friday andSaturday 12:00 to22:00 and Sunday14:00 to 22:00.

Seaham is easilyaccessible by Go NorthEast services 60, 238 andX7 from Sunderland.Drifter service 60 runsevery ten minutes Mondayto Saturday daytime,every twenty minutesSunday daytime and halfhourly every evening.

As Seaham is outsideNexusland; the cheapestway to get there is to buya red zone 1 day Buzzfareticket for £5.20. This isvalid for all of Sunderlandand most of SouthTyneside.

Regional NewsTHE COAL HOUSE, SEAHAMHOLDS OFFICIAL OPENING NIGHT

SPBW NORTH EAST NEWSOur fourth annual generalmeeting took place inSeptember at theBorough of TynemouthUnionist Club where wehad Hadrian BorderGrainger Ale. The meetingwas followed by a visit toFlash House Brewery’sopen day in North Shields.

We were due to go toHartlepool for our Octobermeeting at Cameron’sVisitor Centre but theongoing Northern Railindustrial action thwartedour plans.

Our next meeting was onSaturday 17th November at

the new micropub Owathe Road in Swalwell. Thisnew venture is owned byDave Cook who also runsThe Sun Inn which is 'owathe road; hence the name.

There are 4 local cask aleson offer; usually includingbeer from the wood.

Our Summer Pub of theSeason is TynemouthClub on Front St. All arewelcome to use the cluband there are 2 handpullswhich usually have beerfrom the wood for under£3 a pint.

Michael Wynne



Our annual Beer &Cider Festival took placeagain in October. For thesecond time we held it inThe Point, in the centre ofSunderland.

This year there were 32beers and 10 ciders and aperry on offer for thethree days of the festival.

Our visitors were asked tocomplete a questionnairewhich included theopportunity to name thebeer / cider of the festival.

The top 3 voted beerswere:-

1. Hambleton CocoPop Stout (above)2. BrinkburnCinder ToffeeImperial RussianStout3. Maxim Smoke &MirrorsThe winner was infact a late

replacement from NorthYorkshire and was thefirst beer to sell out.

The runner up, theRussian Stout was apowerful 11% and servedfrom a wooden cask. Italso featured as part ofthe food offering as the“Brinkburn Banger.”

Maxim’s recentlylaunched Smoke & Mirrorswas a porter with asmooth smoked flavour.

Of the ciders, Bradford’sGrumpy John’s OriginalDry was selected as thebest of the festival.

So a big thank you to ourregular and new visitors

who came to enjoy thebeers and ciders. Youcontributed £125 to theRNLI. Thanks to our

generous sponsors andthe hardy band ofvolunteers who workedtirelessly to make thisfestival run so smoothly.

The provisional datesfor 2019 are October3rd to 5th. We hope tosee you there.


SUNDERLAND BEER & CIDER FESTIVAL 2018CAMRA Angle 54 - Winter 2018 - 12



CAMRA have recentlypublished their 46thedition of The Good BeerGuide, which containsentries for over 4500 pubsand clubs and nearly 300pages of breweries.

As well as being a handyreference work, there areseveral articles includingthe brewing process,CAMRA Beer Festivals,Pub of the Year and asection about beer styles.There is a feature articlecelebrating women inbrewing and a word fromthe sponsor of the guide,Cask Marque.

It is interesting to note thatwith announcementsabout pub closuresappearing on a regularbasis, there have been anumber of breweryclosures which don’t oftenget widely reported. TheGuide shows that morethan 130 breweries closedor went out of businesssince the last issue,whereas there are about40 startups. Do the maths.

There is the ever presentindex to real ales whichcovers 36 pages, and ahandy index to placesfeatured in the book.

In our Sunderland &South Tyneside branchthere are 22 pub entries,including 2 new to theGuide.

The Good BeerGuide is a useful toolwhen visiting otherlocations and inconjunction withWhatpub.com, isinvaluable forplanning pub crawlsor brewery visits.

If you have neverowned one before,now is the time todrop a few hints withXmas coming up.

Available fromCAMRA Books£15.99 or £13 forCAMRA members.

GOOD BEER GUIDE 2019 -A review of CAMRA’s flagship publication



For local readers of thisbook, the title may be amisnomer. It examinesthe history of pubs in partof the Borough of SouthTyneside and some inneighbouring Gateshead;effectively “South of theTyne Pubs.”

The reason for this canbe found in theintroduction, where theauthor explains that thebook is about pubs, innsand hotels in the oldparishes of Whitburn,Cleadon and Jarrow, thelatter of which includedparts of east Gateshead.

This is the second localpub book that EileenBurnett has written, thefirst being called “SouthShields Pubs” published in2014. There is no mentionmade of this however andits inclusion would havehelped to explain thetown’s absence in thisbook.

“South Tyneside Pubs” iseffectively in two parts;beginning with a usefulmap and key with thepubs numbered by parish,and then the main body ofthe work which runs to 85pages and 74 pubs.

Unfortunately the pubs arenot numbered in the maintext to match up with the

map, so unless you knowwhere a pub is, you haveto look for its name in thekey (there is no index).

Included with each pubentry is a photograph, witha lot in black and white,which mostly indicates thepub has closed. Nearlyhalf of the pubs mentionedhere met this fate; closed,demolished or convertedinto some other use.

The book provides someinteresting historical factsabout a pub’s origins, thepublicans, punters andtheir stories. It wasdisturbing to read thatsome pubs in the town ofHebburn suffered arsonattacks and in the worstcase, burnt down. Iparticularly liked the

comment about the factthe Rolling Mill pub inJarrow had toilets installedin 1938. So what did theydo before?

For some reason only twopubs merit having theiropening hours mentioned.

With pubs opening andclosing, it is perhapsinevitable that this bookwould be out of date assoon as it was printed.Three pubs have beenmissed altogether and oneis stated as selling JarrowBrewery beers. Thebrewery closed threeyears ago.

Despite misgivings aboutthe format and some ofthe content, this volumewill be of interest to localpub goers and historiansalike.

SOUTH TYNESIDEPUBS by Eileen BurnettISBN: 978-1-4456-7801-6Published by AmberleyBooks at £14.99

Review by Ken Paul

Further reading :- Reviewof “South Shields Pubs”,CAMRA Angle issue 38.http://camraangle.sst.camra.org.uk/documents/Issue38.pdf

BOOK REVIEW: “SOUTH TYNESIDE PUBS”



THE AVENUE.Zetland Street, Roker, Sunderland, SR6 0EQ

Tel :- 0191 5677412.Website : theavenue.pub. Facebook : theavenueroker

● 8 handpulls serving real ales & ciders.● 20p a pint discount for card carrying CAMRA members● We are in The 2018 Good Beer Guide.

MONDAY - Poker Night.TUESDAY - Bingo.

WEDNESDAY - Free Pool & Jukebox.THURSDAY - Quiz Night.

SUNDAY - Domino Handicap.Function Room , Beer Garden, Upstairs Games Room

SKY SPORTS and BT SPORTWE ARE HERE

For any forthcoming events pleasesee our Facebook page

. .

Bus Stops for Sunderland - South ShieldsService E1 are nearby on Roker Avenue.



Everyone knows theformat of the long runningRadio 4 programme.However rather thannaming individual beers, Ithink it is better to do it onthe basis of favouritebreweries.

Big Lamp:

The North East's oldestmicrobrewery currentlybased in Newburn in the

West End of Newcastle.Their flagship beer is theiconic Prince Bishop Aleat 4.8% ABV. Otherfavourites include SunnyDaze and their winterwarmer Embers.

Best place to drink them isat their first pub, theWheat Sheaf, close toFelling Metro. The beersappear regularly atFitzgerald’s in Sunderlandand the William Jameson.

Brinkburn Street:

Opened in the East End ofNewcastle in 2015 and

they moved into newbrewery and taproom inthe Ouseburn Valleyearlier this year.

Starting with session beerByker Blonde and risingthrough the strengthrange up to the recentCinder Toffee ImperialStout at 11%, anexcellent and innovativebeer range, not just incask.

Best place to drink them isat their taproom on JuneStreet, Byker (above).Beers can be seen atMarine, South Shields andMid Boldon Club in EastBoldon.

Elland:

Based in the WestYorkshire town of thesame name, they startedlife as West Riding, thenEastwood & Sanders.There is an extensiverange of beers includingsession beer WhitePrussian and the

outstanding 1872 Porter;a proper Victorian porterweighing in at 6.5% ABV.This beer has wonCAMRA's ChampionWinter Beer of Britainmore than once and isreally stunning whenaged in an oak cask.

The beers, unfortunately,are not regularly availablein the North East but canbe found at local beerfestivals. Best place todrink them is at theJunction in Castleford,

West Yorkshire when allbeers are served fromwooden casks.

Maxim:

After the closure of Vauxin 1999, DMBC startedbrewing Double Maxim atRobinson’s in Stockportbut returned to the City in2007 at Rainton Bridge.Initially brewing DoubleMaxim for cask and bottle

DESERT ISLAND BREWERIES by Michael Wynne



and Vaux favouriteSamson, the rangeexpanded to include otherVaux brands includingLambtons and WardsBest Bitter. The latterproved popular in itshometown of Sheffield.They further expanded toinclude the potent

Maximus and SwedishBlonde and an excellentrange of seasonal beersare now produced.

There is an open night atthe brewery usually on thefirst Friday of the monthwhere new beers can befound. The beers arewidely availablethroughout the region.

Rat:

Part of West Yorkshire’sOssett Brewery group andbased in the cellar ofHuddersfield Rat &Ratchet pub. A veryextensive beer list butaside from flagship WhiteRat only available inlimited quantities outside“God’s Chosen County.”Untappd list in excess of

200 different beers withsome really interestingflavours and quite uniquestyles. Don’t be put off bythe names.

Regularly seen at theMarine and Ship Isis inSunderland which had aRat Infestation in June. 8beers; most new to thearea, featured includingthe intriguingSchroedinger’s Rat; awhite stout.

Rooster’s:

Started 25 years ago bySean Franklin and was apioneer in the use of NewWorld hop varieties.The beers were verypopular in the Tap & Spilein Salem Street,Sunderland, especiallytheir flagship beerYankee, which is nowavailable in a dry hoppedversion.

The brewery is nowlocated in Knaresboroughand is owned by IanFozzard. There have beena number of beers to marktheir Silver Jubilee; two ofwhich were available at

the recent Sunderlandbeer festival. Thestandout beers in therange include LondiniumCoffee Porter and thepowerful 6.1% BabyFaced Assassin.

Beers regularly availableat the Ship Isis, Dun Cow,Fitzgerald’s, WilliamJameson in Sunderlandand Mid Boldon Club.

Stewart’s:

Based in Loanhead, to thesouth of Edinburgh, thebrewery started in 2004.The brewery produces amixture of traditionalScottish styles and hopforward American hoppedbeers. Their 80/- is anexcellent example of thestyle. Unfortunately,Edinburgh No 3 is nolonger produced.

The beers are frequentlyavailable in the Marine.

Three Kings:

Brewing started in 2012by Ewan McCann in NorthShields. Three Kings wasan early convert to theuse of wooden casks. Thecore range includes BillyMill Bitter, Dark Side ofthe Toon, Silver Darlingand Ring of Fire.

Beers are regularlyavailable in the Ship Isis,Fitzgerald’s and the DunCow.



This is the time of yearwhen CAMRA branchmembers are asked tovote for their Branch PubOf The Year (POTY) andClub Of The Year(COTY) for 2019.

Now for some this newscan be confusing, as theNational CAMRAPub/Club of The Year2018 hasn’t beenannounced yet! Thisarticle attempts to explainthe process.

Stage one.

Each of the 211 CAMRAbranches selects its ownPOTY and COTY. Thevoting for this branch hasopened and will close atmidnight on SaturdayJanuary 26th 2019. Thepubs and clubs in theballot are given on thewebsite

https://evp.sst.camra.org.uk/

Each first choice isawarded 5 points, secondchoice is awarded 2points and third choice 1point. The winning Pub &Club are the onesattaining the highestpoints total.

The deadline for Branchesto submit theirPOTY/COTY is 17th

March 2019.

Stage two.

CAMRA’s Branches aregrouped into 16 regions,each of which chooses itsown POTY. (The COTYfollows a similar processand will be the subject of afuture article).

CAMRA North EastRegion has four branches:

● Darlington● Durham● Sunderland & Sth

Tyneside● Tyneside &

Northumberland.

Note:- Cleveland are partof Yorkshire but a largepart of their branch (NorthTees) falls within theNorth East.

Due to branch size,

Tyneside andNorthumberland have 2entries (Northumberlandand Tyne & Wear) andDurham Branch also have2 (Town & Country).

The N.E. branches thenassess the winners ineach branch, other thantheir own.

So for example, betweenMarch 2019 and thedeadline of end of July2019, CAMRA membersin our branch will visit thewinners in the other NorthEast branches.

How this assessment isdone is shown in thepanel below. The winnersof this stage of theprocess will beannounced in August2019.

CAMRA Pub of the Year & Club of the Year2019 Vote

Pubs are judged against six criteria

● Quality of real ale/cider/perry.

● Style, décor, furnishing and cleanliness.

● Service, welcome and offering.

● Community focus and atmosphere.

● Alignment with CAMRA principles.

● Overall impression.

Each category is marked out of 10 apart fromthe first and fifth category, which have twotimes weighting factor. So the maximumscore possible is 80.



Stage three.

The winners from each ofthe 16 regions arearranged by the CAMRANational Organiser intofour groups of four - this isknown as the superregional round.

The make up of thesesuper regions will varyslightly from year to yeardepending on where thepubs concerned arelocated.

The contenders arejudged by arepresentative from theRegion and the four superregion winners areannounced in Novemberin What’s Brewing.

Stage four.

The four finalists are nowjudged. This stage of thecontest is run by theCAMRA Chair of PubCampaigns Committee,who selects five judgeswith the necessary skillsand experience.

There is a protocol forjudges to ensureconfidentiality andfairness. Scoring againuses the nationalprocedure with judgesalso expected to compilea written report expandingon their scores andproviding other relevantinformation.

The winner will beannounced in mid/lateFebruary 2020.

So where are we withthe 2018 Pub of theYear competition?

The 16 regional pubshave been judged aspart of Stage Three -the NE Representativebeing the Golden Smogin Stockton (right).However they haven’tprogressed to the final 4 (see panel below).

.

CAMRA Pubs of the Year 2018 - The Final 4.

East Anglia: Chequers, Little Gransden, Cambridgeshire.

Merseyside & Cheshire: The Crickters Arms, St Helens.

Scotland & NI: The Volunteer Arms, Musselburgh.

Wessex & CI: Wonston Arms, Wonston, Hampshire.

Regional Director David Brazierpresented the Golden Smog with theirNE Pub of the Year 2018 awardrecently.Photo - Bill Wilkinson.



A couple of years ago, Iwrote a piece on theMicropubs phenomenonthat had taken hold onTeesside (see Issue 40).Since our last visit, therehave been several newopenings not only inMiddlesbrough but also inBillingham, Stockton andHartlepool alongside athriving microbreweryscene; so we thought itwas time for a return visit.

Middlesbrough is linkedby an hourly Northern Railservice from Newcastleand a day return fromSunderland costs £10.On the last Saturday inJune; after breakfast inthe William Jameson, wejoined the train for thehour long journey toMiddlesbrough.

A ten minute walk fromthe station, just beyondthe Cleveland Centre isBaker Street and our firststop - Sherlock’s whichwe visited last time.

The pub is a small singleroom with a bar offering 3cask beers: Beer MonkeyUncle Monks IPA, Taylor’sGolden Best and TitanicPlum Porter along with aselection of craft kegs,bottles,cans and cider.Very good and reasonableprices at £3.30 a pint.

We hadn’t been awarethat the streets in this partof town would be closed

for a street food festival soit was very busy. Wecould not get into theadjacent Twisted Lip butdirectly opposite, wefound newby Slater’sPick.

Again a single room butwith a large outsidedrinking area. The interiorwas very quirky andalthough there were 3handpumps, only 2 hadbeer on. The selectionwas Thornbridge BrotherRabbit and Stocktonbased Three BrothersMango and Ginger. ThreeBrothers beers are oftenavailable in the MuseumVaults and I have enjoyedall of them. The Mangoand Ginger was best ofthe day for me.

Leaving Slater’s Pick, turnright, then left ontoBorough Road, where wefind our next new stop;Bottled Note.

Slightly larger than theothers being a conversionfrom two shops, it stillfollows the micropubformula. Four handpumpshad Three BrothersWatermelon Pale andRuby Revolution alongwith Beer Monkey ValHaller and Consett Stout.We settled for theWatermelon Pale whichwas excellent.

Regular readers may beaware of our enthusiasmfor the pork pies fromTaylor’s of Darlingtonwhich prompted arecommendation fromMiddlesbrough lad andCAMRA member JohnMagson for Petch's piesfrom Great Ayton. Well,The Bottled Note hadPetch’s and being piemonsters, we couldn’tpass them by. Are theybetter than Taylor’s?Different style but still verynice.

Turn right onto LinthorpeRoad then right to GrangeRoad takes us to our laststop; Infant Hercules.

History bit; this was thename given to theindustrial giant by PrimeMinister WilliamGladstone.

This is another shopconversion single room,simply decorated and byfar the busiest of the day.

MIDDLESBROUGH MICROPUBS REVISITEDby Michael Wynne


There were fourhandpumps offeringRooster’s Yorkshire PaleAle, Daleside Blonde,Captain Cook BlackPorter and PenpontCornish Red. This hasbeen Cleveland CAMRApub of the year for the lasttwo years.

We returned to the stationand took the train andalighted at Hartlepool.Leave the station, turnright on to Church Square,turn left onto TowerStreet; just past theSpoons Ward Jackson

and we reach Hops &Cheese.

This bar and deli is a littlebigger than the otherstops but still follows themicropub ethos. Therewere 3 cask ales on offer

and we settled for onefrom Darlington basedSaints Row; a new one forme.

It was time to eat so wesettled for a cheese andcharcuterie platter. Thisplace is always worth avisit.

Before joining the trainback to Sunderland, a visitto the north's firstmicropub, the Rat Raceon the concourse is theperfect end to the day.The day ended as itbegan with last drinks inthe William Jameson.

As well as a useful tool for seekingout real ale outlets, CAMRA’S onlinepub guide WHATPUB.COM is alsoan important mechanism wherebyCAMRA members can contribute tothe gathering and sharing ofinformation about real ale and cider.This can be useful in two ways:-

1. Submitting beer scores. Thisinformation is vital to assess andevaluate pubs that will qualify for theCAMRA Good Beer Guide. Did youknow less than 5% of branchmembers enter beer quality scores?So if you can score your beer pleasedo so.

2. Submitting feedback. Wewelcome the help of all members tosubmit updates for consideration.These could be to correct details,reporting if a pub has increased (ordecreased) the number of handpulls,changed opening hours, or worstcase, closed. You will be contactedwith 48 hours with an update.Thank you.

.



This is the fifth book thataward winning beer writerMark Dredge has writtenabout the subject andexamines his search forthe 150 best beerexperiences in the world.

The book is divided intofive chapters; NorthAmerica, UK & Ireland,Europe, Australia & NewZealand and the Rest ofthe World. Apart from theodd historical photograph,this work uses full colourillustrations on nearlyevery page.

The authors bucket listincludes breweries, beers,pubs & bars, pub crawlsand beer festivalsexperienced all over theworld.

Throughout the text thereare informative panelslisting, for example TheWorld’s Best Beer Cities,Essential Beer Festivalsand Notable UK Pubs tovisit. This latter pageincludes The MarsdenGrotto, (the only NorthEast entry) due to itsunusual location..In the USA he visitsBrooklyn Brewery, SierraNevada Brewery and evenhas time for Budweiser!In the UK he looks at hisfavourite cask ales,suggests pub crawls inLondon, Bristol, Thanet’s

Micropubs amongst othersbut nothing in our region.

It was inevitable thatBelgium would be on hislist, including theobligatory trip to Bruges.Australia and NewZealand get goodcoverage along with aselection of entries in theFar East. Some are stillfor the author to tick offhowever. At the end of thebook he mentions theremotest brewery in theworld, on Easter Islandthat “you and I might getto one day!”

It is possible that readingthis you may think thatmost of these, you willnever manage to visit.Probably true, but onclose examination I havedone 15; so 10% is nottoo bad! There are manyin here that could beaspired to.

It is obvious this 224 pagebook is a labour of love. It

is impossible to coverevery pub, beer orbrewery in the world,although I was surprisedby the omission of theBoston Beer Co and theirSamuel Adams- arguablyresponsible for theexplosion of breweries inthe USA since the 1990’s.If I have one othercriticism it is that some ofthe spelling andterminology is“Americanised” e.g. color,flavor, elevator. I suspect,as Mark Dredge was bornand lives in London, thatthe publisher wasresponsible for this, toappeal to a US market.

Having said that, this anexcellent guide book,although a bit heavy tocarry around, andprovides usefulsuggestions if you areever planning to visit anyof the beer experiencesdiscussed here.

THE BEER BUCKETLIST by Mark DredgeISBN: 978-1-911026-27-3Published by Dog ‘n’Bone Books at £16.99( Hardback) andavailable from CAMRAbooks(CAMRA Members£11.99 )Prices exclude postage.

Review by Ken Paul

BOOK REVIEW: “THE BEER BUCKET LIST”



Ring Them Bells!

During the annualsummer pilgrimage to theOutlaws in Kent I wasdetermined to get in a fewHeritage pubs. First offwas The Bell Inn at StNicholas-at-Wadeoriginally a 17 centurytimber framed pub refittedin the 1930's and classedas a CAMRA RegionallyImportant Historic Interior.

It is owned by PatronCapital ex Punch Taverns.Mr Patron must have lefthis cars outside as therewas an extremelyexpensive vintage RollsRoyce and an E-TypeJaguar in the car park!

The main entrance leadsonto a lovely woodenpanelled corridor withunusual wooden cartwheels at the sides.

The pub caters for a lot oflot of dining customers butthere were still a lot oflocals in just for the beer.

In one of the side roomsthere was an unusualancient Duck's Nestfireplace.

The beer on tap wasGreene King IPA,Courage Directors andHobgoblin; I had theDirectors but unfortunatelyI think it was the first onepulled that day.

Next was The Prince ofWales in Herne Bay, atraditional boozer ratherthan a real ale pub butthis is a lovely example ofa Victorian pub and it isowned by ShepherdNeame.

There are quite a fewtraditional etched glassdoors and windows insideadvertising the "BilliardsRoom" and the "LadiesGin Room."

In the pub area was atable skittles game.

The pub served ShepherdNeame's Spitfire andMaster Brew Bitter whichwas excellent but mostpeople just seemed to bedrinking lager.

Kent Heritage Interiors by Terry Ford



Last but not least, I havespent over 20 years tryingto find some pretext tovisit this special pub ;The Red Lion in Snargate

near Romney Marsh alsoknown as “Doris's”. Asmuggler's pub datingfrom around 1540 and,like my house, it hasn'tbeen decorated since1890!

The pub has been in thesame family for over 100years; landlords /landladies include: Alf,Doris and now KatieJemison.

It is a Nationally ImportantHistoric Interior (not 'arf!)and features in CAMRA’sBritain’s Best RealHeritage Pubs book.

The handpulls on thelovely ancient marblecounter are for show asthe beer is gravity fed

from casks behind thebar. The beer is locallysourced Goacher's. Theyhad Real Mild, Silver Star,

Old 1066, Welton'sHorsham and thedelightfully named, DoubleVision Cider! I had Silver

Star and it was excellent.

On the wall of the bar aremore CAMRA awardsthan you can shake astick at! Doris Jemison,the previous landladyserved behind the bar forover 60 years and was aLand Girl during WorldWar II and the pub isrammed with memorabiliafrom this period.

There is a piano in a sideroom and a model train

set. The Games Roomhad table skittles, dartsand a game I had neverseen before "Toad in theHole," where you throwbrass counters onto alead covered chair with ahole in the centre. If youland your counter in the

hole a bell rings, that wasthe first time I had madebells ring for quite a while!A sliding hatch led off intoanother little room which Iguess originally was for"off sales."

There were manyamusing posters on the

wall I particularly liked thisone above. Like all goodpubs the toilets are on theoutside!

I could have spent hoursjust looking at thememorabilia never minddrinking the lovely beers.Of the dozens of CAMRAHeritage Interior pubs Ihave visited this is thetops.

Unfortunately there wasonly one other customerpresent and given theisolated nature of the pubI am not sure if there aremany customers, so go onmake Doris's Day and visitbefore it is too late!



The Biddick Inn WashingtonREAL ALE AVAILABLE

QUIZ NIGHT : Monday KARAOKE NIGHTS: Friday & Saturday

Functions catered for.

Beer Garden with BBQ and children's playground

THE STEPS5 CHANGING REAL ALES -WE ARE IN THE 2018 GOODBEER GUIDE.

QUIZ NIGHTS : TUESDAY& THURSDAY (MUSIC) AT9 PM WITH FREE HOTSUPPER.SKY SPORTS. LIVEENTERTAINMENT LASTSATURDAY OF THE MONTHFunctions catered for.

Real Ale, Real Pub, Real People.

Open : Mon-Fri 3.30pm-11pm, Sat Noon-11pm, Sun [email protected] 0191 4150733.47 Spout Lane, 2 minutes walk from WashingtonWashington,NE38 7HP. Village Green

Open daily 11am - midnight. Food served noon - 8pm ( Sun 4pm)

Bonemill Lane Near the banks of the River Wear andWashington,NE38 8AJ. Fatfield Bridge - bus stops outside.Tel - 0191 4195101




About 3 times a year agroup of us go on a pubcrawl which usuallyinvolves travel by train orbus. Places visited inrecent years have beenLeeds, Huddersfield andEdinburgh, plus localtowns and cities. I pickthe pubs using the GoodBeer Guide andWhatpub, and one of ourgroup compiles a pubquiz.

So I got to thinking –rather than agreeamongst us adestination, why not do amystery trip? So, after alot of research I came upwith a destination andwe agreed a suitableSaturday in October withonly myself knowing thetown(s) and pub(s) weintended to descend on.

This article is sprinkledwith clues as to wherewe visited, with theadded bonus of asurprise encounter whichcertainly made the day.Have a go with thequestions, the answersare revealed at the end.

There were 8 of us whomet up for thecustomary breakfast in alarge City Centre pub(next to a very small citycentre pub) that has amyriad of rooms and alengthy walk to the

toilets. The pub is namedafter several birds of thegenus Cygnus.

Q1. Name this first pub.

After breakfast wewalked to a large busstation, then soonboarded a bus with thedestination Newbroughon the front. The buswas packed for the fiftyminute journey west, tillwe arrived at a markettown that has an Abbeyand a Railway Station,

although today there wasindustrial action – hencethe busy bus.

Q2 - Name this town.

This wasn’t our finaldestination however; ournext bus was not for anhour so directly oppositethe relatively new busstation (opened 2016) isThe County Hotel.

It has a plush public barwith three handpulls inuse, one of which,Wainwright's, wouldfeature in most of thepubs that day.

After a quick pint and around of quiz questions itwas back over the roadto catch the 688 bus,into the hills to the southwest towards a secondmarket town.

First we passed abrewery which openedin 2006 and shares itsname with ourdestination. Some of uswere the first group ofvisitors they ever had fora brewery tour.

Q3 - Name the brewery(clue left).

The bus soon pulled upin the second town’smarket place, althoughthere hasn’t been amarket held since 1868.

Q4 - Name the secondtown.

There were three pubs,with two of them literallynext door to one another.The Golden Lion, a GBGentry, was too full for all8 of us to sit down ( wellwe are getting on inyears !) so we decidedon The Kings Head nextdoor, a Marstons pub.

But before we could goin however, turn over forsomething unexpected!

A MYSTERY TRIP TO WHERE ?



Marching across themarket place came someStar Wars Stormtroopers(see photo if you don’tbelieve me !)

Apparently on this veryday, a new sci-fi museumhad opened in the towncentre. Of courseeveryone thought I hadplanned the trip aroundthis event but no, a happycoincidence, honest!

The Kings Head had onlytwo beers, JenningsCumberland and EPA ;the latter was anothercommon beer of the day.It was also deserted, soafter a pint and anotherquick round of quizquestions we left to sussout this sc-fi museum.

We found it across theMarket Place and nextdoor to the third pub,which was an Inncontaining this town’ sname. Outside a crowd ofsci-fi characters, weregathered, includingChewbacca, a Dalek and

a Cyberman. Inside was acrowd of people, a longtable with some Dr Whomemorabilia and onespare table which wequickly grabbed.

Apparently, to coincidewith the museum opening,an actor called JohnLevene from the Dr Whoseries in the 70’s wassigning autographs. On atable next to him was alarge robotic dog. Therewas a steady queue offans waiting to pay £5 fora signed photograph ofthis actor.

One of the 4 beers onoffer was called Wolf, fromthe local brewery.

Q5 - Name the dog.

With buses only every 2hours it was soon time tohead back to civilisationand the major town.

Another GBG entry isThe Heart ofNorthumberland, ( right)which was filling up andgetting noisy as it wasnow early Saturdayevening. So, after anotherWolf, we were gettinghungry and decided to

walk down thehill to a formerGBG entry,under newownership, withexcellent food.

After feeding ourfaces we madeour way up to

the bus station to returnthe city. Some of usdecided to finish theevening off very close towhere we started, in a pubwhich included the nameof a small rodent.

Q6 - Name the last 2pubs.

Going to remote places bybus highlighted theproblem of a limitednumber of pubs to drinkin, and the availability ofpublic transport.

Still it was a great day, adifferent kind of pub crawl.So where to next ? Wellthat’s another mystery!

. Ken Paul

Answers :-

1. The Five Swans.2. Hexham.3. Allendale Brewery.4. Allendale Town.5. K9.6. The Tannery & TownMouse.



The following take 50p discount vouchers for real ale and cider.Cooper Rose, Sunderland.Sir William De Wessington, Washington. Wild Boar, Houghton le Spring.William Jameson, Sunderland.Wouldhave, South Shields.

Real ale loyalty card for members and non members :-Chaplins, Chesters, Fitzgeralds, Guide Post, New Derby- All Sunderland.Marine - South Shields, Grey Horse - East Boldon.

Below is a list of pubs that offer a discount off real ale for card carrying CAMRA members.Again, if you have any updates please email [email protected]

CAMRA LocAle is an initiative that promotes pubs & clubs stocking locally brewed real ale. Belowis a list of those in the Sunderland & South Tyneside branch that sell beer brewed inNorthumberland, Tyne & Wear and County Durham. If you have any updates please email thebranch Pubs Officer, [email protected].

The Avenue, Sunderland - 20p off a pint Grey Horse, East Boldon - 10p off a pint

Bamburgh, South Shields - 25p off a pint Guide Post, Ryhope - 20p off a pint

Cask Ale Lounge, South Shields - 15% disc. Harbour View, Roker - 10% discount Mondayto Friday up to 7pm.

Chaplins, Sunderland - 10% discount on realale & food.

Ivy House, Sunderland - 10% discount

Chesters, Sunderland - 10% discount Longship, Hebburn - 10% discount

Dun Cow, Sunderland - 10% discount Maltings, South Shields - 15% discount

Engine Room, Sunderland - 10% discount. Peacock, Sunderland - 10% discount

Fountain, South Shields - 10% discount Ship Isis, Sunderland - 20p off a pint

Washington Arms, Washington - 10% disc.

East Boldon South Shields (contd) Sunderland (contd)Boldon Cricket Club Steamboat Kings ArmsMid Boldon Club Springwell Village Museum VaultsEast Rainton Guide Post Oak Tree FarmHighfield Hotel Sunderland Poetic LicenseHoughton le Spring The Avenue Port of CallCopt Hill Chesters PromenadeRyhope Clarendon Ship IsisGuide Post Dun Cow WashingtonSouth Shields Fitzgeralds CourtyardMarine Grannie Annies Sir William de Wessyngton

Ivy House



Dun Cow ad

Dun Cow,Seaton Village, Seaham, Co.Durham SR7 0NATel: 0191 5131133

Facebook: Duncow Seaton-Village

OPENING TIMESMonday - Thursday open from 4-00

Friday open from 3-00Saturday & Sunday open from 12-00

Live Music

Four real ale pumpsever changing!

Always a choice of twolight and two dark ales,including locally brewedas well as established

favourites.Family and Dog Friendly

How to find usWe’re in Seaton Village, just west off the A19.Take the Seaham exit and head west into theVillage. Turn left into Hillside Crescent, andthen take the second left. We are at the endof the cul de sac.

THE DUN COW

Friday in the lounge BUSKERS from 9-00

PLUS



CB C

F

1 Which member of the Monty Python team was born in Harton Hospital , SouthShields in 1943?

2 In Australia, what creature is known as a chuck?3 Which is the smallest capital city in the EU?4 Complete this - Bruce Springsteen and the ________________________5 In which city would you find Port Vale Football Club?6 The beer of the Sunderland Beer & Cider Festival this year was brewed in which

county?7 In 1984 72 year old Jane Snowball of Gateshead was supposedly the first

person in the world to do what with her TV?8 What word becomes shorter when you add 2 letters to it?9 Who uses the title of Duke of Rothesay when he officially visits Scotland?10 Lewis Hamilton won his first F1 World Title in which year- 2008, 2009, 2010?11 Espionage Writer David Cornwall is better known by which pen name?12 And author Robert Galbraith is the pen name of who?13 Also known as the Robin Hood Tree, what type of tree stands in a dramatic dip in

Hadrian’s Wall?14 Which beer won Gold in the Champion Beer of Britain Best Bitter category?15 Burt Reynolds smuggled a truckload of beer from Texas to Georgia in which

film?16 This magazine is sent to the printers as a PDF file. What does PDF stand for?17 Leofric, The Earl of Mercia must have been mortified when his wife did

something on a horse, according to legend, in the 13th Century. What?18 What colour shoes did Dorothy wear in the film The Wizard of Oz?19 Name a fish that begins with a K and ends with a K?20 Where is this pub (below)?

A

PUB QUIZ



There was a post recentlyon the Sunderland &South Tyneside Facebookpage from Nick Higney,formerly of South Shields.He runs a pub called ThePerseverance inWraysbury, Berkshirenear Heathrow Airport.

Every November anelderly gentleman whoserved in the SecondWorld War visits the pubafter doing theRemembrance Day marchpassed the Cenotaph inLondon. This chap lives inLincolnshire and hetravels to Malta regularly.

On his last trip he spotted

one of our festival beermats in a pub there,brought it home andgifted it to Nick.

Now two other regularvisitors to Malta are Sid &Lynn Dobson, of thisbranch. They took somebeer mats to publicisethe recent Beer & Ciderfestival, and it has foundits way back to the UKagain.

So that’s South Tyneside- Malta- Lincolnshire-Whitehall & Berkshire.

Thanks to Nick for thisstory.

1 Eric Idle 11 John le Carré2 Chicken 12 JK Rowling3 Valetta, Malta 13 Sycamore4 E Street Band 14 Mordue Workie Ticket5 Stoke on Trent 15 Smokey & the Bandit6 North Yorkshire ( Melmerby) 16 Portable Document Format7 Place an order “online” using

her TV remote and Videotext17 Rode naked on horseback

through the streets of Coventry8 Short 18 Ruby red9 Prince Charles 19 Kilmarnock-its a plaice in

Scotland ! ( Sorry)10 2008 20 Beamish Museum

Quiz Answers

The Tale of the GlobetrottingFestival Beer Mat

sunderland & south tyneside campaign for real ale · shop premises next door to the pub. we...

Documents