There’s a new brewery in Gateshead. We really loved the look around Black Storm brewery, earlier in the week.
The dog had a great time too.
A brewery
Category Archives: Beer
York
With a bunch of guys and the hound, I had a day in York yesterday.
There was beer and the dog seemed to have a good day.
We also got bumped into Gav from Lord’s Brewery and got to try their new imperial that we’d ordered for our place.
The Hold Steady
I’ve not had a lot of luck in catching the Hold Steady on tour. Mostly because they don’t often have dates beyond London.
I did once see them in Newcastle, at the Riverside, a few years ago; they were silly good. Last January, i had a ticket for a London gig, but there was a lot going on in the bar, so i ended up not going.
I actually made it yesterday, though. Sort of. I couldn’t stay over, since I needed to be home this morning for the dog. Train times didn’t work out (eight hours overnight), so that left the bus.
Unfortunately, with a late-ish start to the gig, I had to miss half of it. Next time, I’ll find someone to watch the hound.
Still, they were ridiculously good.
And, since we have a keg of their beer in the bar right now, I did squeeze in a visit to Hackney Church’s tap room. It’s well worth a visit.
Time off
It already feels like a long time ago, but we closed the bar for 10 days, so we could have a break and do some work in the bar.
Beginning in Peterborough, we visited familiar places.
A walk along the river was quickly abandoned due to an insane amount of flooding.
We did find a new (to us) micropub though.
After two nights in Peterborough, there was a day/night in York (which was also flooded).
Then, after a day at home, we were off to Edinburgh. We met up with a brewery rep for a couple of drinks; he introduced us to The Guildford Arms, a lovely old pub.
Another discovery was the Fierce bar, which had opened since our last time in Edinburgh. Fortunate, since we’re quite fond of their beer (we’ve had a few kegs in the bar). Weirdly, the bar person had been in our bar.
We spent the following day mostly in Leith.
It was good to fit in a couple of brewery taps, as well as some bars we’ve previously visited.
Of course, we took the customary picture of the cool T3 in Leith.
Norfolk
It’s already fading away into the past, although it was only a couple of weeks ago.
The van coped really well with the distance, and the travelling between towns. Only a couple of things broke.
Our first stop, at Banham, involved a most pleasant afternoon with old friends (from the northeast).
Our stay in Banham was something of an accident; we’d not realised that we’d stayed at the same place a decade or so earlier. After a couple of days, we moved on.
I’d never been to Great Yarmouth before; I found, as I’d been advised, that it resembles Blackpool.
Gorleston was much nicer, although the dog enjoyed the beach at both places. We did manage to find some pretty cool bars, particularly the Tombstone brewery and Thirsty Crow.
On the return trip, there was the compulsory stay in Peterborough.
Bakewell
I’d never been to Bakewell before, or (until a couple of years ago) know about the Peakender beer festival. I really wanted to go last year, but knew it wouldn’t be wise to leave the bar for four days in our first year (I’d already done that for Glastonbury).
So, this year, we made the decision to go as a team and close the bar. We didn’t regret it for a second.
The festival was more than a beer thing, there was music and a lovely vibe about the place. It was dog friendly and we even found a nearby stream for the hound.
The Thornbridge brewery tap room was a must at the close of the festival, as was some time in the town itself.
And we were so pleased that the van only smoked a little bit and just one bit fell off.
Whitby
I’ve been a CAMRA member for a few years now, since before I became involved in bars, but I’d never taken part in activities or excursions.
Working in the current bar has changed that; a lot of guys who’re members come into the bar and we know a lot of them by name.
When an email popped up, mentioning a trip to Whitby, we agreed a team Microbus outing. This happened on Saturday and we all had a great day. The trip was so well organised, but, after a visit to Whitby Brewery, there wasn’t an agenda. The opposite was the case, since some of the bars couldn’t accommodate everyone at the same time.
This was the first time all of us have have had a day out together since opening the bar – we’re all rarely in the same place at the same time.
We realised that we can do more to promote future events. We’ve some ideas. We’ll certainly take part in another.
The bar
You know, while I’m only in this for the short term, I do love this place. We made this.
Socialism
Remember the Charlie Brown Christmas song? It goes, ‘Oh Christmas tree, oh …’.
I much prefer, ‘Then raise the scarlet standard high’.
Yes, I know there’s the old Labour Party version. It’s more current, more correct; but the old version is so cool. And, in the weird place we’re in right now, so relevant.
Anyway, a Christmas tree.
A walk in the sunshine
So, me, my beloved and the hound had a pleasant evening on Thursday in Peterborough.
We weren’t there for the best of reasons, a funeral.
Roadworks meant we arrived later than we’d have liked, but we still managed most of the bits that mattered: the Bumble Inn, the Ostrich, the Draper’s Arms, the College Arms (ok, so the last one’s awful).
We met a lovely guy in the Ostrich, from Cramlington originally, but he’s lived in Peterborough for a couple of decades. He’s a Gateshead supporter though.
This morning (yesterday really, I guess), I had a big decision to make. While my beloved was at the funeral, I could either fill in the pub gap from the previous night (just two), or go for a walk with the dog.
Surprisingly, I decided on the latter.
So, the hound and I walked along the Nene, ending up on the Green Wheel route. I’d cycled that way a few years ago, but it’s so much slower on foot, even with a two year old dog.
Anyway, we had a lovely walk this morning/afternoon.
And then it rained. And snowed (the hailstones we’re a killer).
The dog doesn’t like rain. So she didn’t like (or understand) hailstones. We were caught out in the open.
My usual plan in such circumstances would be to seek a pub. Unfortunately, this wasn’t an option, since I was on a bike path. That left me with a choice; continue on the path back to Peterborough, or seek shelter.
I decided on the latter, ending up in Stanground. That probably wasn’t my best decision.
With no shelter in Stanground, other than a leaky bus shelter, we waited to be rescued by my beloved. We were a bit wet at that point.
Proper wet.