Starts thursday
Amber - Scary Dark 3.5
Bank Top - BoltonBrau 4.4
Big Lamp - Prince Bishop 4.8
Brew Dog -77 Lager 5,0 Old IPA 8.0, Divine Rebel 12.5
Bridestones - Penning Stout 4.1, Winter Pale 4.7
Bull Lane - Newcastle Bitter 3.8
Consett - Stout 4.3
Dark Star - American Pale Ale 4.7
Durham - Archangel 6.8
East Coast - Commodore 4.1, Alfred Moodie's 6.0
Facer - Winter Porter 5.3
Garthela - Barm Cake Bitter 3.8
Great Orme - Welsh Mountain IPA 3.8
H&B - Ouseburn Porter 5.2
Hambleton - Dark Knight 4.0, Sweet Chariot 4.0
Highland - Orkney Porter 9.0
High House - Nell's Best 4.2
Hornbeam - Blackcurrant Wheat 5.4
Jarrow – Westoe I.P.A. 4.6
Lymestone - Stoney Broke 3.2
Marble - Ginger 4.5, Lagonda 5.0
Marston Moor - Matilda 3.9, Tod Hunter 4.3
Peakstone Rock - Dark Mild 3.0
Pictish - Atlas 4.0
Thornbridge - Handel 6.6, St.Petersberg 7.7
Wild Walker - Old Big Ead 4.1, Great Escape 5.0
Wylam - Flannel Hammer 7.2
York Dales - Woodhall Greets 4.2, Great Wegbar 5.5
a good selection of tasty dark beers in there including the Ouseburn Porter
Newcastle Arms Beer Fest Feb 5th-8th, Gallowgate, The Toon.
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Parp
Re: Newcastle Arms Beer Fest Feb 5th-8th, Gallowgate, The Toon.
I'll be there sometime this afternoon (thurs) til early evening maybe.
I've got a dentist's appointment tomorrow, so I doubt I'll make it tomorrow - unless I want all the beers to tast of cloves and have half of it dribble down my chin!
(Unless the nerve has gone and I can get away with having no analgesia - 2nd visit for root canal)
Might make it on saturday afternoon for a couple too!
I've got a dentist's appointment tomorrow, so I doubt I'll make it tomorrow - unless I want all the beers to tast of cloves and have half of it dribble down my chin!
(Unless the nerve has gone and I can get away with having no analgesia - 2nd visit for root canal)
Might make it on saturday afternoon for a couple too!
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ritchie
Re: Newcastle Arms Beer Fest Feb 5th-8th, Gallowgate, The Toon.
I will be there at some point today possibly early on but who knows when, as there's the Bodega, Bridge Hotel, Bacchus, New Bridge, Crown Posada etc to check out too.
Look out for the gingery bloke with the terrible beard.
Look out for the gingery bloke with the terrible beard.
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Parp
Re: Newcastle Arms Beer Fest Feb 5th-8th, Gallowgate, The Toon.
That could be like finding a needle in a haystack at some real ale festivals! Heh!Look out for the gingery bloke with the terrible beard.
Are you not local to the Toon then?
I'm lucky, I can walk into the centre of town in 15 mins.
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Stringy Bob
Re: Newcastle Arms Beer Fest Feb 5th-8th, Gallowgate, The Toon.
I shall be there Friday night and hopefully Saturday (need to check to see if I have collected enough Brownie Points)
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ritchie
Re: Newcastle Arms Beer Fest Feb 5th-8th, Gallowgate, The Toon.
Got in before 12 had a few halves went to eat, then went round the Bodega, Tilleys, Bridge Hotel, Bacchus and then back to the Newcastle Arms where the place was pretty full by then. Finished off with a couple in the Wheatsheaf in Felling and some cider next door at the Old Fox.
Hadrian And Border Ouseburn Porter 5.2%
Hambleton's Dark Night 4%
Hambleton's Sweet Chariot 4%
Brewdog Divine Rebel 12.5%
Pictish Atlas 4%
Boggart Dark Rum Porter 3.9% tasted like the ice cream flavouring, unpleasant
Yorkshire Dales Woodhall Greets
Hornbeam Blackcurrant Wheat Beer another YECCCH!!
Wild Walker Great Escape 5% Manky
Dark Star Old Chestnut 4%
Ascot Ales Anasasia's Exile Stout 5%
Big Lamp Prince Bishop Ale
Hebridean Clansman Ale
Big Lamp Sunny Daze 3.6%
Hop Back Crop Circle
its a shame i'll miss the Thornbridge beers and the Lagonda IPA amongst others.
Hadrian And Border Ouseburn Porter 5.2%
Hambleton's Dark Night 4%
Hambleton's Sweet Chariot 4%
Brewdog Divine Rebel 12.5%
Pictish Atlas 4%
Boggart Dark Rum Porter 3.9% tasted like the ice cream flavouring, unpleasant
Yorkshire Dales Woodhall Greets
Hornbeam Blackcurrant Wheat Beer another YECCCH!!
Wild Walker Great Escape 5% Manky
Dark Star Old Chestnut 4%
Ascot Ales Anasasia's Exile Stout 5%
Big Lamp Prince Bishop Ale
Hebridean Clansman Ale
Big Lamp Sunny Daze 3.6%
Hop Back Crop Circle
its a shame i'll miss the Thornbridge beers and the Lagonda IPA amongst others.
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Parp
Re: Newcastle Arms Beer Fest Feb 5th-8th, Gallowgate, The Toon.
I didnt get there til around 2ish and left around 6-7ish.
Felt worse for wear after trying the Divine Rebel twice amongst others.
Got back and the beer devils made me order a kebab pizza, cheesy chips and garlic sauce.
Went to the dentist this morning and needed the analgesia because there was some nerve left. After 40 mins of burring and filing etc I was told the treatment couldnt be completed today as my canals were still bleeding too much.
Anyways... left there with a numb gob and a temporary filling that makes everything taste like cloves - so that was my lunchtime Arms visit down the Swanney!
Didn't catch sight of any gingery hair/terrible beard combos, but was getting worse for wear by the end!
I might make it back tomorrow lunchtime or saturday afternoon, we'll see
Felt worse for wear after trying the Divine Rebel twice amongst others.
Got back and the beer devils made me order a kebab pizza, cheesy chips and garlic sauce.
Went to the dentist this morning and needed the analgesia because there was some nerve left. After 40 mins of burring and filing etc I was told the treatment couldnt be completed today as my canals were still bleeding too much.
Anyways... left there with a numb gob and a temporary filling that makes everything taste like cloves - so that was my lunchtime Arms visit down the Swanney!
Didn't catch sight of any gingery hair/terrible beard combos, but was getting worse for wear by the end!
I might make it back tomorrow lunchtime or saturday afternoon, we'll see
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Parp
Re: Newcastle Arms Beer Fest Feb 5th-8th, Gallowgate, The Toon.
Agreed - that Great Escape was a bit crap!
It had a sort of "Bleachy" malt taste.
Yik!
It had a sort of "Bleachy" malt taste.
Yik!
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ritchie
Re: Newcastle Arms Beer Fest Feb 5th-8th, Gallowgate, The Toon.
The Hebridean Clansman in Tilleys had the same nasty taste as the less-than-Great Escape, so i decided against trying their Moo Coo Brew
Sorry Parp, missed your earlier post, nah i wish i was more local to the Arms but i'm a Sand-dancer.
Sorry Parp, missed your earlier post, nah i wish i was more local to the Arms but i'm a Sand-dancer.
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Parp
Re: Newcastle Arms Beer Fest Feb 5th-8th, Gallowgate, The Toon.
Just got back from t'Arms.
Nothing really stood out.
I missed some of the brews I'd wanted to sample as they'd gone on and off yesterday
Brewdog's Old IPA was ok at 8% - had a dark malt taste that didnt agree for me.
This'll be the last visit for me, so the beer of the festival in my view ;
Brewdog - Divine Rebel,
odd choice for me, being twelve'n'arf percent and all that, but there you go!
Nothing really stood out.
I missed some of the brews I'd wanted to sample as they'd gone on and off yesterday
Brewdog's Old IPA was ok at 8% - had a dark malt taste that didnt agree for me.
This'll be the last visit for me, so the beer of the festival in my view ;
Brewdog - Divine Rebel,
odd choice for me, being twelve'n'arf percent and all that, but there you go!
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bmactoon
Re: Newcastle Arms Beer Fest Feb 5th-8th, Gallowgate, The Toon.
After working my butt off for the last 96 hours in an attempt to facilitate the smooth running of our recent "Winter Beer Festival" and to ensure that every single cask of ale was conditioned and served to a perfect standard, i feel more than entitled to express my annoyance at some of the opinions expressed by members on this forum.
From Thu 5th till Sun 8th Feb we have served up 46 different real ales from every corner of the UK including approx 20 ales never before seen in Newcastle. (That is almost half the number of beers which appear at Newcastle's annual CAMRA Fest that caters for 10's of thousands of tickers). If you had been in our pub from opening time till close on the Fri, you would have been able to sample 27 different beers!! Not bad for a little back street boozer do you think??
And yet when I read the feedback about our efforts, and see only negative comments such as "The Great Escape was crap" and "Brew Dog was the only one that stood out for me" I really do wonder why we bother. Perhaps next time we should focus on a range of mass produced super-chilled/extra-cold, carbonated & pasteurised keg "beers" and then people will know exactly what they are getting.
The whole point of a beer festival is about experimentation. We order a varied selection of untried beers from little-known breweries in the hope that many will be enjoyed, but also realize that the odd cask or two might well be not up to scratch. We did indeed take two firkins off the gantry to return to the brewers, unused, as we knew in advance that they were simply not ready to serve.
My point is that if you disagree with a certain beer, you should direct your criticism at the people that brewed it, and not at those who dared to seve it up. If it were not for pubs like ours you would all be drinking John Smiths and Worthingtons.
Sorry for the rant but if there are any of you out there who have anything positive to say about our winter festival then I would be more than happy to hear about it.
Regards, Barry (asst/manag) N/Arms.
From Thu 5th till Sun 8th Feb we have served up 46 different real ales from every corner of the UK including approx 20 ales never before seen in Newcastle. (That is almost half the number of beers which appear at Newcastle's annual CAMRA Fest that caters for 10's of thousands of tickers). If you had been in our pub from opening time till close on the Fri, you would have been able to sample 27 different beers!! Not bad for a little back street boozer do you think??
And yet when I read the feedback about our efforts, and see only negative comments such as "The Great Escape was crap" and "Brew Dog was the only one that stood out for me" I really do wonder why we bother. Perhaps next time we should focus on a range of mass produced super-chilled/extra-cold, carbonated & pasteurised keg "beers" and then people will know exactly what they are getting.
The whole point of a beer festival is about experimentation. We order a varied selection of untried beers from little-known breweries in the hope that many will be enjoyed, but also realize that the odd cask or two might well be not up to scratch. We did indeed take two firkins off the gantry to return to the brewers, unused, as we knew in advance that they were simply not ready to serve.
My point is that if you disagree with a certain beer, you should direct your criticism at the people that brewed it, and not at those who dared to seve it up. If it were not for pubs like ours you would all be drinking John Smiths and Worthingtons.
Sorry for the rant but if there are any of you out there who have anything positive to say about our winter festival then I would be more than happy to hear about it.
Regards, Barry (asst/manag) N/Arms.
Re: Newcastle Arms Beer Fest Feb 5th-8th, Gallowgate, The Toon.
Woah steady on their Barry!!!
These opinions on this forum are from individuals who are perfectly within their rights to give their opinion on a beer, how one person tastes a beer can be totally different from someone else, this is what a forum is all about. Anyway they ain't slagging the pub off, far from it, if it was the pub at fault all the beer would be badly kept and 'manky'. In my local we have in the past critisised a certain beer for being not good but it's never the pubs fault as our Manageress really cares about her beers. It's the breweries fault. Maybe better choices next year would reduce this happening, when you go for an adventurous untried firkin this is the risk you take, it's not going to stop it altogether as you're always going to get a 'wrong' one, I'm sure as Asst Manager know that.
I should point out, I have been in your pub several times, in fact I am one of four from Durham Branch who survey and rate the pub for Regional Pub of the Year, and I have to admit I have never had a bad pint from your bar, and the selection has always been very good esepcially with the dark ones, stout porter etc, a style overlooked far too much in real ale houses. I'm also Festival Director for Durham, last year and again this year so not only know the hard work goes into it, in my instance for free I get paid not a penny, and know how critisim can be taken. But honestly mate don't take it so personal, I know for a fact it's not directed at the pub or staff themselves.
These opinions on this forum are from individuals who are perfectly within their rights to give their opinion on a beer, how one person tastes a beer can be totally different from someone else, this is what a forum is all about. Anyway they ain't slagging the pub off, far from it, if it was the pub at fault all the beer would be badly kept and 'manky'. In my local we have in the past critisised a certain beer for being not good but it's never the pubs fault as our Manageress really cares about her beers. It's the breweries fault. Maybe better choices next year would reduce this happening, when you go for an adventurous untried firkin this is the risk you take, it's not going to stop it altogether as you're always going to get a 'wrong' one, I'm sure as Asst Manager know that.
I should point out, I have been in your pub several times, in fact I am one of four from Durham Branch who survey and rate the pub for Regional Pub of the Year, and I have to admit I have never had a bad pint from your bar, and the selection has always been very good esepcially with the dark ones, stout porter etc, a style overlooked far too much in real ale houses. I'm also Festival Director for Durham, last year and again this year so not only know the hard work goes into it, in my instance for free I get paid not a penny, and know how critisim can be taken. But honestly mate don't take it so personal, I know for a fact it's not directed at the pub or staff themselves.
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ritchie
Re: Newcastle Arms Beer Fest Feb 5th-8th, Gallowgate, The Toon.
Barry, not once have i said anything negative about your pub or your staff, i always enjoy drinking there and have never had a poor pint. I HAVE had beers that arent to my tastes and thats part of the fun and indeed the reason i keep trying new beers over beers i know i like, not for the purposes of scooping/ticking. If i had had any doubts about the quality of your pub i wouldnt have posted about the festival. I dont think there's anything i can say except i will be back again and again if i'm still welcome.
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Parp
Re: Newcastle Arms Beer Fest Feb 5th-8th, Gallowgate, The Toon.
Barry man!
My Apologies.
The beers were perfectly served and all the staff did an amazing job against an army of regulars, one pint tickers and beer monsters alike.
My comments were directed at the breweries.
With the Great Escape, something had gone terribly wrong in their brewing process or recipe formulation or summat.
I can only think of one other beer that has given me that "bleachy" malt taste, and that was a perfectly conditioned and served Northumberland Castles, from the tap and spile in North Shields a few years back, by a landlord who also certainly knew his onions.
I think I only managed to sample about 14 beers of that 46, so my comments were bound to be limited. And my saturday session was very rushed, I even had to make a trip back home because Caroline had forgotten her keys.
And the highlight of my show was the Divine rebel - as with every other beer served in the arms it goes without saying that it couldn't have been conditioned, served and presented better in a better place.
The reason why this was my favourite beer of the selection I had tried, is that the brewer had kept, nay excelled (In my opinion) at their end of the bargain.
I'd say 90% of the beers I managed to try were excellent beers that I'd drink day in day out. A couple weren't to my palate. One I thought the brewer had f**ked up.
I've commented on extraordinary points, as I believe has Ritchie.
What I haven't commented on are the facts that don't change; the fact that the crew are all diamonds, I've never had crap beer there *, it's a lovely boozer, even the Landlord's a canny bloke!
I do that by voting with my feet, and going to the Arms whenever I've got a spare minute/few quid, and not going to one of the 6 pubs on my doorstep that serve real ale.
Keith
My Apologies.
The beers were perfectly served and all the staff did an amazing job against an army of regulars, one pint tickers and beer monsters alike.
My comments were directed at the breweries.
With the Great Escape, something had gone terribly wrong in their brewing process or recipe formulation or summat.
I can only think of one other beer that has given me that "bleachy" malt taste, and that was a perfectly conditioned and served Northumberland Castles, from the tap and spile in North Shields a few years back, by a landlord who also certainly knew his onions.
I think I only managed to sample about 14 beers of that 46, so my comments were bound to be limited. And my saturday session was very rushed, I even had to make a trip back home because Caroline had forgotten her keys.
And the highlight of my show was the Divine rebel - as with every other beer served in the arms it goes without saying that it couldn't have been conditioned, served and presented better in a better place.
The reason why this was my favourite beer of the selection I had tried, is that the brewer had kept, nay excelled (In my opinion) at their end of the bargain.
I'd say 90% of the beers I managed to try were excellent beers that I'd drink day in day out. A couple weren't to my palate. One I thought the brewer had f**ked up.
I've commented on extraordinary points, as I believe has Ritchie.
What I haven't commented on are the facts that don't change; the fact that the crew are all diamonds, I've never had crap beer there *, it's a lovely boozer, even the Landlord's a canny bloke!
I do that by voting with my feet, and going to the Arms whenever I've got a spare minute/few quid, and not going to one of the 6 pubs on my doorstep that serve real ale.
Keith
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bmactoon
Re: Newcastle Arms Beer Fest Feb 5th-8th, Gallowgate, The Toon.
All replies and feedback from the forum very much welcomed. Sorry for appearing to be a wee bit tetchy but felt i had to get that one off my chest & I am pleased that you lot enjoyed the majority of the available beers. There are certainly a few breweries (naming no names) that we will simply not touch on account of the guaranteed dross they turn out and to be honest, even the most reliable brewers can send you a duff cask from time to time.
I believe that any new brewery/beer should be featured straight away instead of waiting for feedback from other pubs before we decide to sell it, and if they turn out to be not so good then those beers will not be requested in the future. Therefore it is correct that people should point out the "bad apples" yet what I was trying to say was that it would also be nice for folk to comment on what they enjoyed as the process works both ways.
Regards, barry
I believe that any new brewery/beer should be featured straight away instead of waiting for feedback from other pubs before we decide to sell it, and if they turn out to be not so good then those beers will not be requested in the future. Therefore it is correct that people should point out the "bad apples" yet what I was trying to say was that it would also be nice for folk to comment on what they enjoyed as the process works both ways.
Regards, barry