I was brought up on the idea that northern beer was best. Anything from down south was guaranteed to be effete and tasteless, if not fizzy and impure. It would certainly be undrinkable.
If honest, I'd admit to having been more of a wine man for many years now.
But my first drinking experiences, beyond dad's Babycham in the drinks cabinet - just about OK at 16 - and the bottles of much less OK liqueurs alongside it, involved beer.
I no longer remember the name of the pub in the little street - Bondgate? - that runs to the left from the Market Place in Bishop Auckland at the end of Newgate Street (Bill Taylor's first photo below is of another pub, the King's Head, in Newgate St itself). But it was, shall we say, tolerant about age. Long hair and mod clothing would not have made me look old enough to march in and order a pint of Cameron's.
But I did. And it was duly served.
I hated every drop, but persevered. Cameron's continued to seem like flowing rubbish for months to come until the night I went to Hartlepool brewery on one of those organised trips that required you to pay attention for the tour before supping yourself senseless in the free bar. That evening, it tasted good.
There was Federation best, served in the workingmen's clubs, Vaux ales from Sunderland, something less memorable - Whitbread's? -from Castle Eden and a few others I have long forgotten.
Where are they now? I will still order Black Sheep or Timothy Taylor's when in the Yorkshire Dales, but all the real ales I am aware of seem these days to be produced down south. I have happy memories of introduction to Young's Bitter, Wadworth's 6X and others when I made the Big Move South. I have unhappy memories of standing at the bar of a pub selling Young's on Parsons Green prior to a Sunderland match at Chelsea or Fulham and hearing a lad down from Wearside exclaim: "They've got nee Smoothflow!" Or was it Creamflow. Both or either as hideous as they sound, I'd guess.
Let beer drinkers among the Salut! jury make their voices heard. What is now the best ale to be had in England, or the broader UK? When did the north stop being the home of the best ale? Or was it always as bad as I now believe Newcastle Broon (far too sweet) to be and Fed Best (bland and sickly) to have been?
Louise, once of these parts (recalled from the days when we actually had comments from other than Bill, two Colins, Sheona, Tim, Dumdad, and Ian plus a few honorable others, but not many of them), now runs a pub in Wiltshire.
I mentioned at Facebook that I imagined she probably had some decent beers on tap.
Louise's reply:
Well, Northerners say we don't know how to serve beer down South ... it's too flat apparently. At the moment we have three fine beers on tap - Doombar from Sharps in Cornwall, Gem from Bath Ales and Swordfish from Wadworth's.
I thought of Steve Colwell, a token southern friend at the Salut! Sunderland site and a bit of a beer buff - check out his site at http://thebeer-meister.blogspot.co.uk/?zx=3d0d527a1de5be6c - but turned to my pal Pete Sixsmith (pictured above, in a London pub) for proper judgment:
A bit of a hairy old myth nowadays. All three of those she has on are excellent. Doombar is now a national cask ale and is maybe not as good as it was, Bath Ales are very hoppy and dry and are always outstanding while anything from Wadsworth's is great. I have had some fine sessions on 6X.
So the debate is launched. I expect, at the very least, to hear from Bill, two Colins, Sheona, Tim, Dumdad, and Ian plus a few honorable others.
And finally, here are two photos - again by Bill Taylor* - from the Sun Inn, which stands on the recreated street at the magnificent Beamish museum near Stanley, County Durham.
... and inside:
* Visit Bill Taylor's site at www.billtaylor.ca
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