We were asked to write a piece for the festival programme for the newest beer festival in the North East, @ADBF2018. The festival was a celebration of County Durham beer, food and music, organised by Ali from Caps Off Bottle Shop, and Christopher, owner of For a Day Ltd., and set out to help raise money for four local charities – Heel & Toe, Durham Action on Single Housing, Great North Air Ambulance and Durham Foodbank.

Remember when local beer meant a bottle of Newcastle Brown Ale?
North East beer, you’ve come a long way, baby.

The rise of the beer scene (and what’s generally referred to as ‘craft beer’) means that the UK’s now home to over 2,000 breweries, which is the most we’ve had since the 1930s. Back in 2002, the government introduced Progressive Beer Duty, giving tax breaks to brewers below a certain size. This has been fantastic for our local beer scene, with breweries such as Allendale, Anarchy, Tyne Bank and Cullercoats all launching and becoming established names seen in pubs and bars across the North East, and the new wave of breweries in the past couple of years, including McColl’s, Rigg & Furrow, Donzoko, and By The River Brew Co.

Our region has so much to be proud of; from established breweries reinventing themselves or adding a new string to their beery bow (Wylam, Mordue, Hadrian & Border), newer breweries featuring at some of the most respected festivals across the country (Almasty, Box Social, Northern Alchemy), to our oldest brewery in the North East refreshing their range and introducing something new (Camerons, which has been going since way back in 1865), it’s great to see everyone pushing boundaries in brewing, and delivering a multitude of beery options for people to enjoy.

County Durham in particular has some fantastic breweries to discover (if you haven’t already!); take in a tour of Durham Brewery, head across to Steam Machine in Newton Aycliffe, McColl’s in Bishop Auckland, Sonnet 43 in Coxhoe, or look out for some beers from Hartlepool’s Donzoko Brewing Co. and Tooth & Claw in your local bottle shop (need one in Durham? Try The Hop Knocker in Gilesgate).

And to those of you who’ve been dragged to countless beer festivals by family or friends against your will and still say ‘I don’t like beer’, we’re taking up that challenge – it’s up to us (and the pubs, breweries and bottles shops across the UK) to help you discover the right pint to make you fall in love with beer as much as we have. Because there really is a perfect beer for everyone!

Tryanuary is a great time to discover something new (or new to you) – so many small businesses struggle during the first few weeks of the year, so if you’re not a fan of crowds, spare a couple of nights out that you don’t really want to go on and battle crowds at the bar this December, and spend your money in January instead, when you’ve got more breathing space and usually a better chance to chat to the team behind the bar (which, in a brewery tap, is usually the team who’ve made the beers you’re drinking and can tell you all about it!).

Thanks to you all for taking the time to read this, and to support fantastic new beer events like All Durham Beer Festival. And as we edge nearer towards Christmas, please try to continue that support for your local breweries, pubs and bars by buying from independent businesses and supporting #drinklocal.

Over and out,
Craft Beer Newcastle