Treasures of the North East

There's a lot of very good beer produced between Berwick upon Tweed and Middlesbrough, writes Alastair Gilmour.

The stripes of one of its perpetually-underperforming football clubs are black and white; the geography is hilly and flat; the weather can be hot and cold in the same day – the North East of England is a region of contrasts and extremes.

Its 3,317 square miles nurture world leaders in stem-cell research, yet Northumberland – England’s largest county – possesses not one yard of motorway. The Daily Telegraph described Newcastle as “one of the hippest, most cultured, most gastronomically diverse cities in Europe,” yet Middlesbrough – according to a Channel 4 survey – is the United Kingdom’s worst place to live.

Perhaps it’s this diversity that also breeds innovation, enterprise and enthusiasm – positive attributes which its brewers have in malt shovel-loads.

The North Yorkshire Brewery in Guisborough, for example, is a pioneer in organic beer; Mordue Workie Ticket was the 1997 Campaign For Real Ale (CAMRA) Supreme Champion Beer of Britain and an inbuilt resourceful spirit motivates all beer-related activity, from the miniscule Four Alls microbrewery near Barnard Castle to the Newcastle Brown Ale bottling hall where 600 units thunder through every minute.

WYLAM BREWERY
At Wylam Brewery in Northumberland, beer production is prompted by steam travelling at 40 metres a second, at a temperature of 170ºC and a pressure of 100psi.

Wylam’s much-expanded brewhouse is powered by an oil-fired steam generator that heats the water pumped around the brewing vessels much quicker and more.....

To read the rest of this article you can buy this issue or subscribe to Beers of the World to have every issue delivered direct to your door.

By Alastair Gilmour

Section : Regional Focus

Page number : 47