Ah, Craft Beer Calling. The one time of year you might persuade beer fans across the country to venture this far north. From the catch-ups with every bar manager in town at the Thursday trade session, to spending your Saturday afternoon drinking imperial stouts, plus negotiating the busier Friday and Saturday night sessions, there’s a whole host of beery stuff to check out.
Every year the event spreads to more fringe events in the city centre and beyond, offering even more great beer choices for people outside of the CBC sessions, and extending the celebrations across the city.
We’re putting together a list of what’s happening elsewhere in a separate post, but first, here’s what’s happening at the main event.
Craft Beer Calling
Thursday 24th – Saturday 26th October
Three days, four sessions, loads of tasty beer and food. Pouring at Craft Beer Calling this year are:
Anarchy Brew Co. (Newcastle), Black Isle Brewery (Ross and Cromarty, Scotland), Brewery of St. Mars of the Desert (Sheffield), Burning Sky (East Sussex), Burnt Mill (Suffolk), Buxton Brewery (Buxton), By The River Brew Co. (Gateshead), Cloudwater Brew Co. (Manchester), Deya (Cheltenham), Donzoko (Hartlepool), Five Points (London), The Kernel (London), Kirkstall (Leeds), Left Handed Giant (Bristol), Lervig (Norway), North Brewing Co. (Leeds), Northern Monk (Leeds), Odyssey Brew Co. (Worcester), Pilot (Edinburgh), Stigbergets (Sweden), Track Brewing Co. (Manchester), Verdant Brewing Co. (Falmouth), Wander Beyond Brewing (Manchester), Wylam Brewery (Newcastle).
The James Clay Alpine Lodge returns after becoming a great addition to CBC last year (beers around the fire, anyone?). Go pay the lodge a visit and check out the Ayinger, Bräustüberl, Flensburger, and Schneider Weisse. Cider fans can also find Hogan’s Cider pouring throughout the festival, and if you’re in need of a cuppa, Pink Lane Coffee is on hand to help give you your caffeine fix.
Craft Beer Calling doesn’t publish a beer list, so you can either check social media for each brewery to see if they’ve announced what they’re bringing (although not all beers may be available at all sessions), or do things the Geordie way, and go chat to the breweries and see what they’ve got. We guarantee the best beers are the ones you discover for yourself – following the crowd is so 2018, y’know.
On to the food – our favourites, Scream for Pizza return, and are joined by Parm Star (parmos), Shanty Town (seafood + steak), Medhead (Mediterranean food), and Fat Hippo (burgers). Yum.
Need more info on all things Craft Beer Calling? Give them a follow on Facebook here. We’ll see you at the wonderful Palace of Arts!
Wylam Brewery, Palace of Arts, Exhibition Park, Claremont Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4PZ