by Mark James from Eston Arts Centre
I like beer. A lot. I would go as far as calling it an obsession, with roots in well-kept cask ale in the early 90s from my first job in a Darlington pub, where I was lucky enough to win a ‘Cellarman of the Year’ award – I still have the tankard somewhere. I do like a clean and tidy cellar. Fast forward to 2010 and work took me to Brussels for four incredible years. My eyes were opened to the vast array of Belgian beers as we made the most of brown café life and brewery visits in the beautiful small cities. Our local village hall had Tripel Karmeliet on tap and the most amazing summer festivals which went on for days.
After a year in the wilderness, we moved to Brighton with the craft beer scene really taking off. Brewdog was still vaguely interesting but a new wave of breweries was crashing onto the scene. I fondly remember an intimate tap takeover by Beavertown, long before they were taken over themselves. Meanwhile, over 300 miles north, a husband-and-wife team with a science and teaching background were shaking things up in my hometown, Newton Aycliffe.
Steam Machine Brewing Co.
We didn’t manage to get to Nick and Gulen’s first premises for Steam Machine, but when we visited family, we would pop into the post office at Woodham and pick up a few bottles of their beer. A brewery in Newton Aycliffe? Surely not. It’s funny how that evokes a tremendous feeling of pride, someone from your hometown making a product you love. As The Steam Machine expanded to new premises with more staff, so did the eclectic mix of beers. I always loved the uniqueness of the label designs which really stood out, and have continued to, against an evolving craft beer marketplace where art can sell beer.
The next beer chapter
We moved back to Belgium again but kept in touch with Nick and always visited when we came home. Craft beer was booming, with new breweries popping up everywhere. It was at this point that I knew I wanted to work in the industry and a hastily arranged business start-up course was completed, a business plan readied and plans for a bottle shop in Redcar (where we decided to settle) were gathering pace.
Then lockdown. Bottle shop? No. I kept a close eye on beer industry opportunities in the North East, completed my personal licence training and a commercial brewing course. These, along with the wonderful Virtual Beer School with Natalya Watson, had me immersed in the world of craft beer.
So, in early 2021 I became an assistant brewer at a North Yorkshire microbrewery with a cask-leaning direction. It didn’t work out for many reasons but I retained an obsessive interest and ensured I supported local breweries over various lockdowns. Throughout both the bottle shop and brewery journeys, I turned to Nick for advice and he always willingly gave his time to help. He had inspired me to take this path and his knowledge and enthusiasm were infectious.
A new direction
I first met Kirsty Childs when we both worked for a mental health charity. Our first real conversation was about trying to arrange a beer festival. Then in December 2022, Kirsty asked me if I’d be interested in working with her at Eston Arts Centre, which she founded in 2019 in her hometown.
I never thought of myself as creative but I wanted to complete my beer journey by putting together an exhibition which blended brewing and art. We forged a plan and invited Nick and his label designer, Michael Sutton, of Altogether Creative in Newcastle. Along with Brewery Jewellery, we would put on an immersive exhibition which would be a multi-sensory experience for visitors.
The Art of Brewing
The Art of Brewing will showcase a range of Michael’s designs and serve Nick’s beer in our pop-up bar installation, The Vault (named in recognition of the fact that Eston Arts Centre was previously a bank).
We will be brewing two small batch beers on site:
California Steamin’ a California Common Beer with a nod to the ‘gold rush’ when iron ore was discovered in the Eston Hills
Notes of Eston, a beer made with locally foraged herbs and flowers.
Working with local foragers, we’re creating a group to forage, brew and taste the beer we make. We’ll be asking for help from a local microbiologist and splitting the beer into batches which will be spontaneously fermented with different flowers. We also approached art students at Teesside University and created a competition to design labels for the beers, with the winning designs taking pride of place in the gallery.
What’s on
Nick will be involved in some interactive digital sessions and beer tasting, drawing on his vast knowledge of the evolution of beer and brewing. I see parallels between Nick and Kirsty. They bring something different to their small, post-industrial communities, offering accessible craft beer and art with no limits. We are bringing something from my hometown to Kirsty’s. Iron ore mined from the Eston hills was transported on a steam machine on the Stockton & Darlington Railway past Aycliffe to the blast furnaces.
The tracks may no longer be in use, but Steam Machine are bringing their beer to Eston, and we can’t wait. That should be my three-decade journey in beer up to date.
Until the next chapter…
The Art of Brewing runs from 15th April – 13th May 2023 at Eston Arts Centre, 176-178 High Street, Eston, Middlesbrough, TS6 9JA. The exhibition will be open every Thursday – Saturday from 12pm – 7pm.
For more information, please click on the links for Eston Arts Centre below: