The Club on the Tyne is All Fine

The first rowing club to feature in the Good Beer Guide is really, well, oar-some.

Tyne Amateur Rowing Club is a striking modern building, elevated with balcony views across the famous river. The club itself dates back to 1852 whilst the new club house was built in 2016. It has up to four beers on tap and opening times that are positively generous these days, from 11.00 seven days a week. The opposition is on the opposite side of the river.

The away end

The beers are cared for by a master craftsman, with an impressive CV at Big Lamp – the north east’s first new brewery in the modern era – and the well regarded Station East in Gateshead. And the all day breakfast is no ordinary fry-up.

On tap on my visit were Great North Eastern Styrian Blonde and Firebrick’s Six Nations, which is normally badged as Pagan Queen. Both served in perfect condition. A third beer was being changed.

Clubs still play a significant social role in the north east, indeed there are towns and villages in the north east of England that have clubs but no pubs. The Mid-Boldon club looked like it wasn’t open.

But inside were warm rooms and friendly people plus a good selection of cask beers from local breweries. My tasty Shuggy Boat Blonde from Cullercoats Brewery was £3.20 a pint.

What’s a Shuggy Boat? The Urban Dictionary explains.

I also called into a new Wetherspoon’s in the student union at Newcastle University. On the stroke of noon it was packed with students – don’t they have lectures to go to any more?

This seems to be a new Spoons strategy as they also have one at Hull University. The Newcastle one sells beer from the Univesity’s brewery, StuBrew, on this occasion a punchy 6.5% IPA called Extended Overdraught at £2.63 a pint. Ruddles was £1.79.

The north east beer scene has never been better and at good value prices too.