Northumberland breweries land spot in Good Beer Guide

Two north Northumberland breweries are among the 15 in the North East to feature in this year's Good Beer Guide for the first time.
Andrea Johnson, of The Office in Morpeth. Picture by Jane ColtmanAndrea Johnson, of The Office in Morpeth. Picture by Jane Coltman
Andrea Johnson, of The Office in Morpeth. Picture by Jane Coltman

The 45th edition of the Good Beer Guide, the 2018 edition, published by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) last week, features 15 new breweries across the North East and 29 new pub entries.

Among them are Rigg and Furrow, a farmhouse brewery established this year and based at Acklington Hall Farm, near Guyzance, and Beacon Brauhaus, the first brewery on Holy Island in about 500 years.

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The book’s editor, Roger Protz, said: “It’s fantastic to see a continued growth in local brewing.

“The first edition of the Good Beer Guide published 45 years ago was a call to arms for beer lovers at a time when the brewing industry was in dire trouble and the market flooded with tasteless, fizzy beer.

“How the beer world has changed. Today, in spite of closures, a growing number of pubs clamber to offer the best-possible range of real ales and we are still seeing remarkable growth in the brewing sector.”

As well as listing new and existing breweries in the area, the UK’s top pubs are also listed in the Guide.

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The Office, which operates from the grade II-listed Toll House in Morpeth, was named as one of 16 finalists in CAMRA’s National Pub of the Year competition.

This micropub is a traditional brewery tap, with five handpulls, all of local origins, and three real ciders served on gravity from the glass-fronted fridge opposite the bar.

Landlady Andrea Johnson also operates the Fox’s Den in Felton and is soon to open a new pub in Bedlington.

In the North East, there are 185 pubs in the 2018 guide, of which 40 are in Northumberland. There are 29 new entries from the region, including nine from Northumberland.

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Sixty-eight breweries feature in this year’s guide, including 13 from Northumberland. There are 15 new entries, three of which are from the county.

To buy a copy of the guide, visit tinyurl.com/yd7u9ecq