When I arrived at the Big Lamp Brewery many people were sitting outside, enjoying the unaccustomed sunshine. The brewery is in a lovely setting, with no shortage of outdoor space and they even have a separate building where they offer Bed & Breakfast.The brewery occupies part of the site of the Civil War Battle of Newburn, where the Scots forded the Tyne to ravage the North (a bit like Celtic supporters in the modern day).
When I entered the bar, the barmaid offered me a very generous "taster" (it was about a third of a pint!) of Keelman Brown and I was immediately hooked.
Heavy, creamy, tasty....heaven! How do I describe this beer? It was one of the best I have tasted in my life, but with a strength of 5.1%, it is no session beer. Unfortunately, I couldn't stop drinking the stuff, so I never even got around to trying any of the other ales on offer, even though there was a poster in the bar advertising a "tasting tray" (see pic).
"Next time" I kept thinking, whilst sunning myself and wallowing in the dark brown nectar. Some blokes near me were wallowing in sorrow for Newcastle United, and seemed to be discussing the murder of some people called Wise and Ashley. They drove the sun behind the clouds, so I went inside.By the time I left, I was too befuddled to continue with my planned walk.
But there'll always be another day....
.JPG)
2 comments:
My CAMRA Branch stayed there a few years ago. It is all splendid as you report and glad to see it it still doing well.
One amusing anecdote for you is that our planned brewery tour was about to be cancelled when the brewer called in sick. Among our number was Tony Allen of Phoenix Brewery who took over and gave us an excellent talk about the brewing plant though he was seeing it for the first time!
We missed out on the history though!
This place looks amazing.
One of the great things about ale brewing is that it's booming all over the country - indeed if anything London's lagging behind.
Post a Comment