NORTH EAST Raise a glass to pubs, people and news from your local FREE ISSUE 17 www.cheersnortheast.co.uk // February 2012 WASTE NOT cheersWANT HAPPY COWS AND WARM RHUBARB? ALSO SPIELBERG’S NEXT BLOCKBUSTER Let’s do the movie right here CRABS IN CRASTER A Jolly fine lunch THE VIEW FROM SAN FRANCISCO Seeds of a new beer culture FROM CELLAR TO TILL A PASSION FOR PUBS INN-SIDE PUBS !// NEWS // IDEAS // OPINION // NEW PUBS // OLD PUBS // BEER ORF LUNCH // BEER FOR TEA // BEER FOR DINNER // PUBS! CHE17.indb 1 04/02/2012 14:58 CheersMag_280x210_Sept11.inddCHE17.indb 2 1 27/09/201104/02/2012 09:2314:58 NORTH EAST Raise a glass to pubs, people and news from your local FREE ISSUE 17 www.cheersnortheast Editorial .co.uk // February 2012 WASTE NOT cheersWANT HAPPY 01661 844115 COWS AND WARM Alastair Gilmour RHUBARB? [email protected] ALSO SPIELBERG’S NEXT BLOCKBUSTER Hollywood world of Spielberg, I would. But there’s no need. This place exists.” exists.” no need. This place no need. This place But there’s But there’s I would. I would. of Spielberg, of Spielberg, world world Hollywood Hollywood the frame-perfect back from world, the real back into bring you to snap my fingers “If I could Let’s do the movie right here CRABS IN CRASTER A Jolly fi ne lunch Advertising THE VIEW FROM SAN FRANCISCO Seeds of a new 01661 844115 beer culture Gillian Corney e year is o and running with FROM CELLAR TO TILL [email protected] every one of us doing all we can to A PASSION FOR PUBS INN-SIDE PUBS ! // NEWS// IDEAS// OPINION // NEW PUBS// OLD PUBS // BEER FOR LUNCH// BEER FOR TEA keep our pubs alive and thriving. // BEER FOR DINNER// PUBS! Website: Initiatives abound with new people Cover: Edward trying di erent menus, regular haunts Theakston, passionate www.cheersnortheast.co.uk Alastair Gilmour, editor showing a bit of initiative, and class about pubs. See page 16 Designed & Published by: pubs showing why they’re… class. For instance, e Central in Gateshead celebrates this leap year by bringing us a selection of Champion Beers of Britain from years with a INSIDE Unit One, Bearl Farm February 29 in them – that’s what comes with donning a large thinking cap. Edward eakston, a man with one of the most recognisable NEWS Stocksfi eld surnames in British brewing is about to tell us not how to make beer – 4 Victoria Tunnel Northumberland it’s not his specialism – but how to run a pub more successfully, from commissions a NE43 7AL productive cellar layout to jingling till. beer We’ve been sitting down with microbrewers and farmers to nd out 6 Doggy dinners. Directors: where the waste from brewing our pint goes, and why. Recycling is the Cheers woke the Gary Ramsay name of the game and if it keeps our cows, sheep, rhubarb and compost world up [email protected] heaps happy, we’re all for it. 8 Flag day in Jane Pikett But it’s not all joy and happiness; we’ve already lost one ne pub to Mexico? Let’s [email protected] supermarket redevelopment in recent months – the Old Red Bull do tequila until in Morpeth – and we could be losing another if a decision to atten sunrise Website: Victoria & Albert in New Hartley, North Tyneside, and absorb it into a 11 New takes on old www.offstonepublishing.co.uk Tesco store goes the wrong way on February 14. Valentine’s Day of all cocktail favourites days. FEATURES Photography: And, apparently British pubs are still closing at a rate of 16 a week. 16 The name’s Peter Skelton ere’s never been a more pressing time to realise just what we’ve got – familiar but www.photo-psp.co.uk fantastic pubs – and to do something about preserving such vital assets. he’s in pubs not It’s that old phrase again: Use it or lose it. Race you to the bar. breweries Whilst every effort has been made Cheers - Alastair Gilmour, editor to ensure accuracy, the publisher 20 Where the waste cannot accept responsibility for goes and who omissions and errors. All material makes use of it in this publication is strictly copyright and all rights reserved. PASSION FOR PUBS 24 A day at the seaside restores a He may have a famous bit of faith 16 name in brewing terms but Edward PUB WATCH Theakston’s interests 26 The Grey Horse lie behind the doors of keeps galloping the pub rather than in a brewhouse. His FUN STUFF mission is to show 31 Quizzes, a cartoon people how to run and a date with a OUR them better. dog SPONSORS If Spielberg did pubs He’d do the movie Pub crawl Elvis gets hip Syrah or Shiraz? right here A-Z pub guide Replacement joy One grape different name ROGER STERLING View From Waste Lunch 14 California 20 measurement 24 date A brewery that The leftovers from It always had a started out in an making beer just reputation for its Wylam Brewery ordinary kitchen don’t disappear crab soup and has developed at – they are useful sandwiches but The an incredible rate to someone, Jolly Fisherman into one of the somewhere. And at Craster has most inventive in they keep rhubarb reinvented itself the US. warm in winter. under new owners. CHE17.indb 3 04/02/2012 14:59 NEWS Major Miner move Cheers has been reporting from time to time on a bid by pub lovers in Acomb, Northumberland, to buy the local Miners Arms and run it as a co-operative for the bene t of the community. Basically, the pub – although trading very well – is up or sale due to EXPANDING: Bob Fountain at the Black Horse owners’ personal reasons. An initial public meeting was held in March last year to gauge local interest in forming Listen to the eco e Miners Arms Inn Community from pub lovers who don’t want to The owner of an 18th Century County Durham pub has dreamed up a host Project that would consider its see a traditional alehouse su er. of developments for the year head. purchase and it stirred much local Units of £500 will secure a share. Bob Fountain, who owns the Black Horse at Red Row, near Beamish pride. Similar schemes have operated Martin Booth, of the Hudswell Museum, has several expansion plans for the extensive rural site, very successfully elsewhere in the Community Pub Group o ers the including the building of a new eco centre, which is due to open in late country, notably the Old Crown at Miners Arms much encouragement. 2012. This will be a conference and wedding venue along with featuring a Hesket Newmarket, Cumbria, and “Something like this is a real microbrewery, wine cellar, farm shop and tea rooms. the George & Dragon at Hudswell, community e ort, everyone has Bob, who also owns the internationally renowned Aston Workshop, based near Richmond in North Yorkshire. a say and has one vote,” he says. close to the Black Horse, opened a luxury cottage on the site last autumn Miners Arms organisers have “If we can do it, so can you.” and intends to develop the idea further. extended their “pledge” deadline into For further information on The The Black Horse kitchen, under the eye of head chef Sean McCabe, February and it’s more than half-way Miners Arms Inn Community sources ingredients from its 10 acres of on-site vegetable gardens and to success. Pledges are invited from Project, contact orchards. The award-winning pub boasts scenic views across rolling anywhere in the world, basically [email protected] countryside, as well as Wi-Fi, plenty of parking and function spaces for special occasions – some of which will involve cheese and wine tastings. Visit www.blackhorsebeamish.co.uk Tunnel of lurve Ouseburn Valley Brewery owner Nigel Mothersole has recently started offering brewing days at the brewhouse based in the cellar of the Brandling Villa in South Gosforth. “Our fi rst three people came along for the ride,” says Nigel. “We are doing an Imperial Russian Stout – all on pre order – and have no idea of the strength yet, but it’ll hopefully be around 8% abv. “The Ouseburn Trust Victoria Tunnels has also asked us to do a beer, so that will happen soon. I’ve also just got an allotment, so I’m going to have a crack at growing hops – which will take a few years but I’ve planted some Fuggles, First Gold and Cascade varieties and I hope they enjoy the balmy North East climate. Meet and drink The County on Gosforth High Street has been enthusiastically supporting local breweries for some time now and has a series of Meet The Brewer events scheduled. In February’s it’s Wylam Brewery’s turn with an opportunity to meet some of the brewing team on Wednesday February 8 (8pm). It’s expected that Matt Boyle, Ben Wilkinson and Lee Howourth will be there. In March, the feature brewery is Tyne Bank. 4 cheers february 2012 CHE17.indb 4 04/02/2012 14:59 visit www.cheersnortheast.co.uk to have your say BUSY: Martin Hamill, left, and Andy Burrows, Hadrian Border Filling up Hadrian Border Brewery, based at Newburn in The former council offices at Whickham NEW LEASE OF LIFE?: Newcastle for the past 12 months, has taken delivery of 120 new stainless steel fi rkins with 120 more arriving in this month. “January was busier than expected, so they Whatever the Wether..