JARROW BREWERY

The Jarrow Brewery began brewing in the Robin Hood pub, Jarrow South Tyneside in 2002. They outgrew these premises in 2008 so moved to a South Shields pub called The Maltings. The brewery used space on the ground floor, while the bar was upstairs on the first floor. Popular beers include Joblings Swinging Gibbet, Red Ellen and Rivet Catcher, the latter being their flagship ale.

October 2013 saw expansion into an empty industrial unit in South Tyneside, after a planned move into an old church in Hebburn was abandoned over planning issues. Brewing was retained in the Maltings although the new site saw the bulk of the brewing.

 Now it was in early 2014 when I was dragged kicking and screaming on a trip organised by a local pub for a tour of the new brewery,  followed by a drinking session in the Maltings. I remember they had a small bar set up in the brewery hall with three handpulls. I had a couple of free pints of the unfortunately named Isis. In the Maltings we were treated to pie  and peas, the inevitable Rivet Catcher and some guest beers. A fantastic time was had by all, with Jarrow being the perfect hosts.

Then in April this year came the shock announcement that the company had called in the liquidators. This was covered at the time in the local press and can be read here .http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/jarrow-brewery-calls-liquidators-after-9059806 

Exactly a week after this announcement I was again dragged kicking and screaming on a second brewery tour, this time organised by the local greyhound stadium ( Pelaw Grange , Chester Le Street, if your wondering).

We were assured that the tour was still on and that a new company had been formed.

Now having already had the tour, I quite sensibly sampled the beers. This time the handpulls had been replaced by bottles, but FREE. I seem to recall drinking Old Cornelius amongst others. 

Then it was back on the bus to the breweries newest acquisition, the McConnell's Gin and Ale House near Jarrow town centre.  It had only been open about a month and my first impression was sinking into the deep pile carpet as I headed for the bar.

Step forward Tobias Pumberger. This Austrian Brewer had just set up a collaboration with Jarrow Brewery to produce a new beer, a limited edition Pumberger Black IPA. Now don't get me started on the oxymoron term Black Indian Pale Ale  - I may have a rant about that in a later post. The beer was available and to be honest was the best of the night. Some other Jarrow beers were also being served.

Again , the brewery were perfect hosts, especially when a pizza delivery guy turned up. Free Pizza all round !

As I write this the brewery, as they are now a new company, are awaiting a certificate from HMRC to commence brewing again. This news item has just appeared in the local press http://www.shieldsgazette.com/news/crime/brewery-apologises-for-inconvenience-after-20-000-litres-of-beer-seized-by-customs-officers-1-7396382 

Lets hope they are up and running again soon.

 

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SAISON IN THE SUN*

I always like to drink beers Ive not tried before and inevitably  make a beeline for them in a pub or festival. Sometimes its a success, sometimes not.

So, I was looking at the beer shelves in  M&S recently - well its the only section worth going to ! I spotted that their beer of the month was a bottle of Adnams Sorachi Saison.  I was interested in the name and also the strength (6%) so into the basket it went. 

So what about the name ? Well Saison is a style of beer and Sorachi are the hops used in the brewing process. 

First a bit about Saison. Originally from French speaking Belgium, these seasonally fruity beers were traditionally brewed by farmers in the winter for their workers to drink in the summer. The classic brewer of the style is Dupont, in Belgium, with their Saison Dupont. Not had the pleasure of this one yet but will keep on the lookout for it. 

Now the hops, strictly  speaking called Sorachi Ace, were originally developed in Japan in 1984. They are known for the lemony flavour and apparently ideal for IPAs and wheat beers, as well as for saisons.

Now I'm not one of these that can describe the aroma and taste of beers in fine detail. The only beers I can smell are usually stouts , porters and some fruity beers. Not having been on a tasting course, I don't get  some of the descriptions writers use either. Phrases like "Raisin and sultana fruit" or "Cherries and plums dominate" are examples. I have even seen leather mentioned.I realise I'm possibly missing out on something here ; except perhaps the leather !

So, back to the beer. The idea was , as this is a summer drink, to savour it outside, hence the title of this piece*, but typically it was raining.

The beer pours like liquid lemon and has a citrusy kick, lingering on the roof of the mouth. Initially it was a bit sharp at first but after a few sips , it started going down well. I could taste the mild lemon flavour and the subsequent bitterness. 

Would I buy it again ? Probably not but don't let me put you off.

This is not the first saison Ive tried however. Rewind to Brugge in Belgium earlier this year. I came across a Saison de Silly beer ( pictured ) whilst visiting this wonderful city. To clarify,  Silly is the town in Belgium where this beer is brewed. At 5% , this was the weakest beer I tried whilst there. Copper coloured and darker than the Adnams but still fruity to taste.  

* Seasons In The Sun - a hit for Terry Jacks in 1974 

ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST

The title of this post should really read , "Another one Turns to Dust"

I reported earlier the good news that there was a new real ale outlet, The Cross Keys in Washington. Sadly , I now need to belatedly report the closure of another  real ale pub, in South Shields. 

Usually you hear of pubs closing due to the smoking ban, no food, a pubco selling off to a developer and so on. But this time its something different.

Recently South Tyneside Council announced a major redevelopment  of South Shields town centre. A casualty of this will be The Cross Arms Hotel. It was served a compulsory purchase order recently and is now boarded up, ready for demolition to make way for the new development .

Ive only been in twice but was not disappointed with the choice and quality of real ales served. So here are pictures, a before and after if you like.