Almost 200 pubs - and breweries - across the North East have struck gold this week with news they have made it into what's known as 'the beer-drinker's bible'.
The Good Beer Guide for 2023 is published this Thursday and celebrates its milestone 50th edition. The guide - drawn up by CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale - is said to be the UK's best-selling beer and pub guide and is eagerly-awaited each year by both the pub trade and its many fans.
With its wide range of quality bars and boozers, the North East always enjoy its fair share of the annual spotlight and this year it has plenty to celebrate with CAMRA picking out 181 venues for inclusion in its golden anniversary guide. Compiled by thousands of independent volunteers, the 900-page guide is based upon top pub recommendations by local CAMRA members which are then rigorously reviewed.
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The first edition of the Good Beer Guide was published in 1972 and featured around 1,500 pubs plus a brewery section of just 105 companies. Now it showcases 1,864 breweries nationwide. With this year marking its 50-year anniversary, it boasts a new cover design. It also includes a foreword by The Prince of Wales and an introduction to each region.
A listing in the guide is seen, it says, as "a fantastic achievement for a pub". CAMRA’s national chairman Nik Antona said it is all down to merit, adding: "The last few years have been an incredibly difficult time for the industry and we need more support than ever before to keep our nation’s pubs open and thriving.
"I’d encourage everyone to use this year’s guide to visit the very best pubs across the UK and support them for generations to come.” To order a copy of the UK-wide guide, priced £15.99 and available from this Thursday, October 27, see here. It is also on sale in bookshops.
Here is a round-up of the North East pubs, and breweries, which have made it into the 2023 guide. They are spread across the region, covering Newcastle, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear and County Durham.
CAMRA's Good Beer Guide 2023 - North East
Northumberland
Alnmouth - Red Lion Inn
Alnwick - Ale Gate , the John Bull Inn, the Pig in Muck and Tanners Arms
Amble - Cock & Bull and Masons Arms
Anick - Rat Inn
Ashington - Hop 77
Bedlington - Box Wood Tap
Belford - Black Swan
Berwick upon Tweed - Atelier and Curfew and Pilot
Blyth - Lounge
Craster - Jolly Fisherman
Embleton - Greys Inn
Etal - Black Bull
Greenhaugh - Holly Bush Inn
Hexham - County Hotel and Platform Bar and Victorian Tap
Holy Island - Crown & Anchor Hotel and Ship Inn
Low Newton by the Sea - Ship Inn
Milfield - Red Lion Inn
Morpeth - Joiners Arms and Office and Pleased To Meet You and Tap & Spile
Old Hartley - Delaval Arms
Once Brewed - Twice Brewed Inn
Ponteland - Pont Tap
Prudhoe - Wor Local
Seaton Sluice - Melton Constable
Slainsfield - Cheviot Tap
Slaley - Rose & Crown
Warkworth - Masons Arms and Sun Hotel
West Thirston - Northumberland Arms
Breweries
Allendale, Alnwick, Backlash, Beacon Brauhaus, Bear Claw, Brewis, Chasing Everest, Cheviot, First & Last, Flying Gang, Grounding Angels, Hetton Law, Hexhamshire, King Aelle, Metalhead, Muckle, Rig & Furrow, Ship Inn, Twice Brewed and Wrytree.
Newcastle
Byker - Brinkburn Street Brewery Bar & Kitchen and Cumberland Arms and Free Trade Inn and Tyne Bar
City centre - Bridge Hotel and Crow's Nest and Fitzgeralds and Lady Grey's and Mean-Eyed Cat and Mile Castle and Newcastle Tap and Split Chimp and Town Mouse Ale House and Wobbly Duck
Gosforth - Gosforth Hotel
Heaton - Chillingham and Heaton Tap
Quayside - Crown Posada and Quayside
South Gosforth - Milestone and Victory
Tyne and Wear
Gateshead - Central and O ld Fox and Schooner and Wheat Sheaf
Jarrow - Jarrow's Gin & Ale House
Newburn - Keelman
North Shields - Enigma Tap and Low Lights Tavern and Seven Stars
Old Ryton Village - Olde Cross
Ryhope - Guide Post
South Shields - Cask Lounge and Marine and Steamboat
Sunderland - Chaplins and Dun Cow and Fitzgeralds and Ivy House and Museum Vaults and Ship Isis and William Jameson
Sunderland North - Avenue and Harbour View and Lighthouse
Swalwell - Owa the Road and Sun Inn
Tynemouth - Tynemouth Lodge Hotel and Tynemouth Social Club
Washington - Courtyard and Sir William De Wessyngton and Steps and Washington Arms
West Boldon - Black Horse
Whickham - One Eyed Stag
Whitburn - Blues Micro Pub
Whitley Bay - Dog & Rabbit
Breweries
Split Chimp, Almasty, Alpha Delta , Anarchy, Big Lamp, Black Storm, Blue, Brinkburn Street, Cullercoats, Darwin, Dog & Rabbit, Errant, Firebrick, Flash House, Full Circle, Great North Eastern, Hadrian Border, Maxim, Newcastle, Northern Alchemy, One More Than Two, Out There, Stu Brew, Tavernale, Three Kings, TOPS (The Olde Potting Shed), Two by Two, Tyne Bank, Vaux, Whitley Bay and Wylam.
County Durham
Durham - Bridge Hotel and Colpitts Hotel and Dun Cow and Half Moon Inn and Head of Steam and Holy Grale and Old Elm Tree and Station House and Victoria Inn and Waiting Room
Barnard Castle - Old Well Inn
Billingham - Billingham Catholic Club and Crafty Cock
BIshop Auckland - Bay Horse and Green Tree and Pollards and Welcome
Blackhill - Scotch Arms
Chester-le-Street - Butchers Arms and Masonic Centre and Wicket Gate
Consett - Company Row and Grey Horse
Cotherstone - Red Lion
Crook - Horse Shoe
Darlington - Bondgate Tavern and Britannia and Crafty Merlin's Micropub Shop and Darlington Snooker Club and Half Moon and House of Hop and Number Twenty 2 and Old Yard Tapas Bar and ORB Micropub and Quakerhouse
Eaglescliffe - Cleveland Bay
Eastgate - Cross Keys
Ferryhill Station - Surtees Arms
Framwellgate Moor - Fram Ferment
Hartlepool - Anchor Tap Room & Bottle Shop and Hops & Cheese and Rat Race Ale House
Hartelpool Headland - Fisherman's Arms
Hawthorn - Stapylton Arms
Heighington - Bay Horse Inn
Hunwick - Joiners Arms
Ingleton - Black Horse
Lanchester - Crinnions of Lanchester
Leamside - Three Horseshoes
Medomsley - Royal Oak
Metal Bridge - Old Mill
Middlestone - Ship Inn
Middleton-in-Teesdale - Teesdale Hotel
Newton Aycliffe - Turbinia
No Place - Beamish Mary Inn
Norton - Highland Laddie
Old Shotton - Royal George
Ovington - Four Alls
Piercebridge - Fox Hole
Running Waters - Three Horse Shoe
St John’s Chapel - Blue Bell Inn
Seaham - Coalhouse and Hat & Feathers
Seaton- Dun Cow
Sedgefield - Dun Cow and Hardwick Arms Hotel
Shildon - Canteen Bar & Kitchen
Spennymoor - Frog & Ferret and Grand Electric Hall and Little Tap
Stanhope - Grey Bull
Stockton-on-Tees - Golden Smog and Hope & Union and Kopper Keg and Lucifers and Thomas Sheraton and Tipsy Turtle and Wasps Nest
Tanfield Lea - Tanfield Lea Working Men’s Club
Tanfield Village - Peacock
Waterhouses - Black Horse
West Cornforth - Square & Compass
Westgate - Hare & Hounds
Witton-le-Wear - Dun Cow and Victoria
Breweries
Autumn, Barnard Castle, Camerons, Caps Off, Castle Eden, Consett, Crafty Monkey, Crafty Pint, Dionysiac, Donzoko, .Durham, George Samuel, Hill Island, Hopper House Brew Farm, Hops & Dots, McColl’s, Mad Scientist, North Pie, S43, South Cause, Steam Machine, Three Brothers, Village Brewer, Weard’ALE and Yard of Ale.
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