Cullercoats Shuggy Boat Blonde

Shuggy Boat Blonde is a bottle conditioned blonde ale from Tyneside and there isn't much sediment in the bottle so I filled my glass with this beautiful sunny golden yellow, slightly hazy ale with a frothy and clingy cream coloured head.

It smells deliciously fruity and hoppy.  There's nothing complex in the aroma but it's so juicy, sweet and tangy that I couldn't wait to dive in.  It tastes pretty much what I would expect for a blonde ale: fruity and sweet citrus combined with tangy and dry hops.  It's very well balanced and has a lovely dry/bitter finish.  A medium body and good carbonation give a nice tingly mouthfeel.

The bitterness in the finish seems to intensify as you drink it and it was a teeny bit too harsh for me at first, although I did get used to it and I enjoyed the beer.  I would definitely have a pint of this in a beer garden in the summer so Ale Be Seeing You again!

Brewed by Cullercoats Brewery, Wallsend, Tyne & Wear
3.8% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 3.75/5

Find out more at Cullercoats Brewery

Three Kings Silver Darling

I absolutely love the funky brown paper bag packaging of Silver Darling from local Tyneside brewery Three Kings; it's so fresh and unusual but, as with most things, it's what's inside that counts.

As I couldn't see inside the bottle, I poured this bottle conditioned pale ale slowly just in case there was any sediment and it came out surprisingly crystal clear.  It's a lovely deep golden yellow colour with a bright white frothy head that doesn't budge due to the lava lamp style bubbles constantly rushing to the surface.  The head is very robust and doesn't so much lace as clump because it's so thick; it lasts right to the very last drop and beyond, as evidenced by the clump of foam that was left in the bottom of my glass when I finished.

It's a pale ale so there's an unsurprising aroma of citrus but I could also smell sweet biscuit and some delicious malt.  I braced myself for a citrus explosion as I took my first sip but I was pleasantly surprised to find that there's just the right amount of hops to take the edge off the citrus flavour.  It has a strong bitter aftertaste of grapefruit mixed with sweet fruit and the abundance of harshly carbonated bubbles felt like they were doing the tango on my tongue.

Refreshing and strong, I really enjoyed Silver Darling; drinking it reminded me of sitting on the banks of the Tyne in the sunshine and I have no doubt that Ale Be Seeing You again.

Brewed by Three Kings Brewery, North Shields
5.6% ABV

My rating:

Find out more at Three Kings Brewery

Tyne Bank Down Drury Lane

I recently downloaded the Real Ale Finder app and spotted that one of my favourite local breweries had released a gingerbread stout.  I absolutely love ginger spices and it's not just for Christmas in my house!  The very next day I made my way down to The Steamboat in South Shields to try Tyne Bank's Down Drury Lane for myself.

It's a lovely dark chocolate brown colour but very opaque, more milky than cloudy due to the use of oat milk in the brewing process.  The light brown head is amazingly tight and it's one that Guinness would be proud of.  I was almost quivering with anticipation to get my first mouthwatering whiff of ginger, but sadly couldn't detect anything remotely ginger-like in the aroma.  The smell is hard to describe, it's perhaps most reminiscent of sweet raisins and bitter chocolate.

Ok, so no ginger in the smell...on to the taste.  The first thing I noticed is that there is NO GINGER!  Oh no, I could have cried.  My only concern before tasting it was whether it would be gingery enough; I didn't expect it to not be gingery at all.  The taste is very odd indeed, tangy, sour and bitter but no spiciness.  If I had to describe it, I'd say it was a chocolate milkshake that had been made with sour milk and had a dash of coffee added to it then mixed into a stout.  Rather thin-bodied but very smooth, as a funky stout experiment it's not bad by any means but it was just not what I expected.

Not one I'd recommend or Ale Be Seeing Again, unfortunately.  I desperately wanted to detect some ginger but I don't think even Sherlock Holmes could have detected it.

Brewed by Tyne Bank Brewery, Newcastle

5.4% ABV

My rating:

Find out more at Tyne Bank Brewery

Hadrian Border Brewery Tyneside Blonde

A pale golden ale with very energetic bubbles that rush to the surface to maintain the little white head right to the end.  It doesn't have a strong aroma but there's a definite whiff of hops and sweet malts with a hint of banana.

There is a subtle mix of flavours as the tangy hops mix with the sweet malt.  It doesn't have a strong taste as it's only a 3.9% ABV ale but it does have a nice bitter aftertaste.  The bitterness has a lovely dry finish with no hint of citrus as the tongue tingling bubbles burst on your tongue.  It is quite fizzy and relatively thin and would get a rating of 'canny' (not bad) here in the North East as opposed to 'belter' (top notch) for a five star ale.

Brewed by Hadrian Border Brewery, Newcastle upon Tyne

3.9% ABV

My rating:

Find out more at Hadrian Border Brewery

Three Kings Brewery Canadien Red

I popped into The Exchange in North Shields for a coffee but I was like a kid in a sweet shop when I saw all the local hand pulls on offer.  I went from tempted to sold in 0-60 seconds when I saw a red ale was among the brilliant selection.  Each pump had a little kilner jar of ale in front of it so you could see the colour of the ale, but obviously I wasn't going to go for anything other than the Canadien Red from Three Kings Brewery.

The first thing I noticed, after the mouthwatering ruby red colour was the thick tight creamy head.  It was as smooth as a milk pond and the whole appearance is like a ruby red Guinness.  It has a lovely light malty fruity aroma but I admit to not being able to resist diving in for a taste without lingering on the smell.

Oh it is just heavenly.  It is deliciously malty with a liquorice undertone but with a slightly citrus and metallic bitter aftertaste.  It is a full bodied ale that is SO smooth it slips down far too easily and I could have stayed for a few more.  I even let my Mam have a taste and usually she would comment with a 'bleurgh' but she liked it and said: 'I could drink that'.  Give it back!!!

Canadien Red, Ale Be Seeing You Again and I might even buy my parents one instead of a coffee next time we visit North Tyneside.

Brewed by Three Kings Brewery, North Shields

4.8% ABV

My rating:

Find out more at Three Kings Brewery

Hadrian Border Newcastle Commercials

A different Newcastle brown ale to the famous one brewed and mass produced by S&N, this ale from Hadrian Border brewery was brewed to commemorate the centenary of World War I and some of the proceeds are going towards events planned to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the end of the great war in 2018.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.

This is a deep chestnut brown ale with a small but thick frothy beige head.  It has an amazing malty, chocolate and treacle aroma that is replicated in the lovely taste.  It has a slightly bitter aftertaste once the maltiness wears off but that's easily dealt with by taking another sip, and this delicious addictive beer encourages you to do so.  

It's softly carbonated making it a very smooth drink with the thick head remaining until the end, leaving heavy lacing on the glass.  With malty sweetness, chocolate hints and a citrus burst at the end, it is indeed a fitting ale for heroes.

A very nice brown ale and, although it was a limited edition, it bears a striking similarity to Hadrian Border Brewery's Tyneside Brown so I do believe that Ale Be Seeing You Again.

Brewed by Hadrian Border Brewery, Newcastle upon Tyne
4.7% ABV

My rating:

Find out more at Hadrian Border Brewery