A North East MP and a former Prime Minister have donated to a dad's Newcastle Brown Ale collection.
Michael Hewitt began collecting Brown Ale bottles and cans, as well as memorabilia, as a hobby during the Covid-19 pandemic. Over the past three years, he has collected around 190 bottles and keeps them on display in his home office.
The 42-year-old dad-of-three is now trying to find the 15 more which he needs to complete the huge collection.
Two of the bottles which Michael had been searching for were special edition ones made for former Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Newcastle East MP Nick Brown. They contain a picture of them as well as their full name.
Earlier this week, they both offered to help Michael build his collection. The Newcastle MP sent him one of each of their labels in the post and he received them on Thursday.
Michael, who is a finance director of a food manufacturing company, said: "I'm extremely grateful that both Nick and Gordon Brown have been able to help me with my quest of obtaining every bottle of Newcastle Brown Ale produced since 1927.
"Their labelled bottles will sit proudly amongst the other lucky chosen few that have had their picture displayed on a bottle of brown ale."
Michael is from Whickham, Gateshead, but moved to Motherwell in Scotland 17 years ago after meeting his Scottish wife Lisa, 43, on a night out in Newcastle. The couple now have three children together - Jamie, 13, and six-year-old twins Rachel and Ollie.
Michael, who has always collected Newcastle United memorabilia, said he began searching for football related Newcastle Brown Ale bottles out of boredom during the coronavirus lockdown.
The Toon fan said: "I had a Shearer's testimonial bottle and because of that I ended up getting other Newcastle related ones and it spiralled a bit from there. I started collecting them and I didn’t really know at the time that there are as many as there are.
"Once I realised how many there were I kept finding more and more bottles. The most I have spent on a bottle is about £150. It was for a 25 Squadron F3 bottle. I had to pay quite a hefty price to secure it.
"Some bottles have been donated for the collection and some I have made charitable donations for. Most bottles probably go for about £25 to £20.
"In total, I have hit about 190 different bottles. They are in my work office. I converted the garage to an office during lockdown. My kids like them being on display. They like it when I find a bottle and it goes on the shelf.
"The oldest full one I’ve got is a golden jubilee one from 1977. I do have a few sets of empty bottles from the 1930s and 1940s. I don’t know anyone else who has got that set."
Michael said the majority of the Newcastle Brown Ale bottles are located in the North East so he often has to save up and travel back to the region to pick them up.
He said: "I want to hang on to my roots a little bit. My wife is quite understanding. She’s probably not too happy about them being there but she gets what I'm trying to do."
The 15 bottles which Michael has left to find include a Season Ticket bottle produced for the promotion of the novel "The Season Ticket" by Jonathan Tulloch and the Blaydon Races half bottle 1983.
He added: "There are two bottles that I have not even seen pictures of.
"One of them is the "Build A Break" bottle where you had to collect the labels to send off for a Newcastle Brown Ale snooker cue. I have two cues but no bottles! It's top of my list of bottles to find.
"The other is the Year of the Dog bottle. I think the fewer I have to find the harder they are to find!"
In the future, Michael plans to write a book about Newcastle Brown Ale and give acknowledgements to everyone who has contributed to the collection.
Earlier this week, Nick Brown told Chronicle Live: "I have offered Michael some labels from the run of my personalised Brown Ale bottles. I am currently trying to locate the labels and will be sending them to him shortly."
For decades, Newcastle Brown Ale was brewed on the plant in Newcastle city centre. Production moved to the Federation Brewery in Gateshead in 2005 and then, controversially, to Tadcaster in North Yorkshire in 2010.
Brown Ale is now made by Heineken in the Netherlands - however it will always be identified as a Geordie beer. It is also a brand that is popular worldwide, especially in the United States.
If you have any Newcastle Brown Ale bottles or memorabilia that you think might interest Michael, you can email him at michaeljameshewitt@hotmail.com
Chronicle Live has contacted Gordon Brown's office for a comment.
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