Following on from the crawl around Durham the previous
night we arrived in Newcastle around late afternoon, after travelling via South
Shields in to walk along the beach. I had always wanted to drink round the
northern city to see how the real ale scene compared to the legendary night out
that it has become well known for. We had booked a cheap hotel that was only a
short walk from the city centre, mixed
reviews online but it was just fine for our needs if not the lap of luxury.
So after a 15 minute walk we reached our first stop of
the night. Which was, as I’m sure you’re beginning to spot, something of a
tradition in that it was a Wetherspoons. Again, the virtue of cheap, quick food
and CAMRA vouchers is hard to supplant in an unknown city. Everyone knows
Newcastle is a popular destination for a night out and indeed, between the
hotel and the bar of the Mile Castle we
saw one stag do and two hen parties. Once at the bar it was obvious that there
had been a conscious effort to not lose focus on real ale, in the midst of
Wetherspoons cider festival, which some outlets have been guilty of before.
Perhaps it was less a decision and more a distribution of resources as it has
three floors and at least two bars, I did not venture onto the top level. There
was plenty of staff around, most with radios on their hip, perhaps suggesting
they expect to be very busy. The night did not start well beer wise as I really
did not enjoy Swift (4.5%) from
Allend Brewery, but at least Pip fared better with Summer Tyne (3.6%) by Mordue. Another notable building as is the
Wetherspoons way although, as we were to discover, notable buildings are not
uncommon in Newcastle. 
Next we made our way to the much anticipated Centurion, a former Victorian first
class passenger lounge at the central station. The Sheffield Tap has been
lovingly and sympathetically restored to its former glory, but it cannot hold a
candle to this railway bar. As such we had been looking forward to visiting this
Good Beer Guide entry ever since viewing the pictures on their website. It is
certainly an impressive place in which to drink however it does come with a
heavy price tag as the sumptuously tiled interior is worth £3.8 million. And
you do feel it as a customer with the two pints of low ABV beer we ordered
totalling £6.60. Which, for a Sheffielder, is a bit steep even if the beer in
question (Rivet Catcher by Jarrow Brewery,
4.0%) is a CAMRA GBBF silver and bronze winner and was also Champion North East
Beer of the Year. To be honest, for all the accolades it has collected we found
it to be a bit bitter for our tastes, although it is packed with flavour and
complimented with a hint of fruitiness. Still, the whole experience was a very
stylish way to begin the night, and we were not alone there for it was quite
busy. We managed to grab a table in the quieter back room which you have to get
to via the drinking area on the platform, at least when it is busy.
The next stop on our crawl was a John Fitzgerald outlet,
a name that we were see time and time again. Being bang next to Stephenson’s
bridge and with view of the swing bridge and the Tyne Bridge it was never going
to be called anything other than The
Bridge Inn. Larger than it looks from the outside the interior is
intrinsically Victorian with stained glass windows everywhere, depicting local
industries and monuments. We instantly took a shine to this venue, especially
as a kind young man let us have his table as his friends hadn’t arrived yet. We
thanked him profusely for there was barely a corner to squeeze into and with
good reason as it had 10 hand pumps with only two regular beers. For that
reason we felt we had to stay for two drinks as almost all the ales were local
and that is what were there for after all. For my first pint I had Newburn No. 1 (4.1%) from Hadrian
Border, followed by Double IPA (7.0%)
from Tyne Bank Brewery. Pip started with a half of Golden Sheep (3.9%) as it is one of her favourites, finishing with
a half of Centennial (4.1%) by Wylam
Brewery. There was a good mix of clientele who were all enjoying this excellent
old fashioned boozer. The enclosed wooden bar runs down the left hand side and
although there are separate rooms they all open up into the central area
through grand wooden arches. We wondered how the others pubs left to visit were
going to shape up after that, as the bar had been set quite high. 
However as it turned out our worries were unfounded. We
dropped down the hill from The Bridge to the riverside, taking in the Tyne Bridge
which was decorated with the Olympic Rings as St James’ Park was hosting some
of the football. We walked towards the Quayside area which is a popular
drinking area of the city, making our way to The Crown Posada. This
popular real ale venue is a daisy in the dense urban forest in which you can’t
see the wood for all the bars. It occupies a wedge shaped lot on the Side; a
half pedestrianised street bookended by the railway bridge and the Tyne Bridge.
As such there is not much space inside with only a dozen or so tables but there
is some standing room opposite the bar. Yet again you are greeted by a stunning
Victorian interior that has a worthy placed on CAMRA’s national inventory of
historic pub interiors. But I had to persuade the Mrs to stay as she was put
off by the sardine tin space that we had to jostle our way into. However we
managed to get a seat in the small room at the room, under the impressive
stained glass windows, after hovering at the end of the bar for a brief moment.
We had a pint and a half of Tyneside
Blonde (4.1%) by Hadrian & Border which was very agreeable. There was
same temptation to stay for another pint but after succumbing to that
persuasive urge at The Bridge, and with another 4 venues to get to, we
grudgingly moved on.
We tracked down The
Bodega after walking up from the Quayside along elegant Victorian and
Georgian streets. At this point I was wondering how much it is to rent in
Newcastle and had found out on mobile internet that World War II bombing of the
city was lighter than expected, explaining the abundance of fine Victorian and
Edwardian buildings. Another John Fitzgerald outlet and we were greeted by
another impressive interior that contained two stained glass internal sky
lights. We were further encouraged by the presence of a Brew Company beer, and
were informed that the brewery director is often up. Peter, if you’re reading
this James says hi! The bar was generally well stocked with 9 hand pumps; 8
beers and one cider, and TVs adorned the walls, with a dart board in the back
room. We drank a pint and a half of Silver
Darling (5.6%) from Three Kings Brewery. It was not that busy at 10:15 when
we were there, but then it is slightly away from the popular drinking area.
We had tried the Duke
of Wellington before the Bodega but it only 1 of 5 hand pumps in operation,
and that was a national beer, so we didn’t bother. Unsurprisingly it is no
longer in the Good Beer Guide, in a city as rich as this for ale it truly is
case of ‘you snooze you lose’.
Our next establishment was the Newcastle Arms which is close to St James’s Park and was winding
down by the time we got there. An L shaped room wraps around the modestly sized
bar but there is a spacious feel overall, aided by the big bay window at the
front. More of a local pub then a city boozer it still had 6 hand pumps with a house
beer by Big Lamp Brewery, and had the feel of a traditional pub that had kept
with the times, which accounted for the mixed clientele. A mainly wooden floor
and a couple of booths and tall tables with plenty of standing room; I imagine
it gets very busy on a match day. We encountered Kipling by Thornbridge here but opted for Golden Star (4.0%) from Big Lamp as we like to try new beers
whenever possible.
By this point we had covered all the pubs in the city
centre that were in the 2012 Good Beer Guide so we decided to head back to the Bodega for one last pint (Magus, 3.8% from Durham Brewery) and a
rum from their fine collection! We were mightily impressed with Newcastle; I do
not expect to find another set of public houses that can rival the northern
city for architectural and historical spectacle. There are plenty of local ales
to choose from and don’t be surprised to see a Sheffield name or two. Finally,
it is worth mentioning that we found everyone we met in Durham and Newcastle to
be really friendly!
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