by Robin Cowlyn

Who knew Gateshead is a place to enjoy good beer in inclusive environments?!

Ok, a little explainer may be in order…

The Past

When I first moved up here full-time back in 1987, Tyneside was a beer wasteland and Gateshead, especially so. As my mother is from Chopwell and there were family here we used to come up to visit in the holidays so I knew the area quite well (and marrying a Gateshead girl meant I got to know it even better).

You had to travel to find a decent pint; The Wooden Doll, The Magnesia Bank, The Murrenger and The Crown Posada were best, with the occasional find at the unexpected, too. The Station Hotel as it was back then once supplied a memorable night out in Gateshead with a friend. As we entered the pub we witnessed a woman berating someone, using a particular expletive as a noun, an adjective, a verb and an adverb.

This led to us having a pint of Batemans, which we thought was XXB, it slipped down so well and tipped us over into ‘why not have another, there’s still time to get the metro for him and the bus for me’. The ‘another’ was Victory, which at 6% was a seriously strong beer for the time. Oh boy, was it messy later and I couldn’t drink their beers for years…decades.

The Present

Fast forward to 2022 and I knew that Microbus had opened in the arches at the approach to the High Level Bridge, so I thought with Station East reopening (that is the aforementioned Station Hotel of swearing fame), it would be remiss of me not to walk in and take a look. I’d followed Microbus’s progress on Twitter – the orange walls, the campervan bar front and stylings.

So I walked into Gateshead and went to Station East first. I had been in when it first opened but then along came the storm and removed their roof.

Station East

The change to the original spit and sawdust’s original incarnation is startling. Come on, how many pubs have you been in that have a mezzanine?! The whole place is now so bright and airy and I received a lovely friendly greeting on stepping up to the bar. 

The beers are seemingly local, with Hadrian Border and Consett Ale Works being featured when I visited. The beer itself was good – really well kept, with lovely lacing down the glass, worthy of our appreciation and custom.

AXIS

Next, a gentle wander to the new kid on the block, AXIS (or a-x-i-s, according to the windows), which is a really sympathetic upgrade of a railway arch to a bar. A clean bright space with a well-worked bar area, eight taps on for now but with the capacity for more, it appears. A good wine offering too if you are more interested in grape rather than grain. Oh, and a decent no/low alcohol offering with two Mash Gang cans available.

The owners are lovely, friendly and engaged, providing a warm welcome, so as stated before, what’s going on in Gateshead?

Microbus

And on to Microbus. Boy, what a surprise! I expected the cool stylings, the VW Camper bar front and places to sit, but what wasn’t expected was the quality and depth of the serving.

On offer was a remarkable variety of beer styles from small breweries both local and from across the country, served on point. The beer’s condition is so good that those who don’t prefer sparklers will not be disappointed.

The space itself is light and airy for what is a simple railway arch, with the occasional rumble of trains to be heard.

No matter how good the environment is, it’s the beer that ensures you will return, and it was excellent. Bright, sparkling, full of flavour.

There is a real feeling of being welcomed into this bright sunlight space and there is also Harriet the pub dog (always a good sign, in my opinion).

The Central Bar

This is a temple to Ninkasi. I suppose the majority may not get this but this is a PUB as the Edwardians felt it should be, ceilings almost high enough to have clouds and the barback is just…wow.

You walk in and immediately feel at ease. Every facet of life is here – groups of friends, couples of all sexual preferences enjoying themselves whether chatting, sitting in companionable silence, or sharing a TikTok.

A true pub is not just the beer or the building. It is a welcome, a community that welcomes all, no matter who you are or how you present, where you are just a part of the congregation. And I’m proud to say Gateshead has some true pubs well worth exploring.

If you’ve enjoyed reading Robin’s thoughts on the Gateshead beer scene, check out his previous post about the bottle share at The Free Trade Inn earlier this year.

We hear there are plans to take the bottle share on tour, so make sure you follow @BombGirl on Twitter to keep up with plans.