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7th April 2022

Newcastle plays host to popular CAMRA podcast

The Campaign for Real Ale’s popular podcast Pubs. Pints. People. has kicked off a new season by shining a spotlight on Newcastle ahead of the local Newcastle Beer & Cider Festival.

Episode 1 of the new season airs today (6 April) looking at “what’s in a bottle (or can)?”. The hosts sit down with award-winning beer writer Adrian Tierney-Jones to discuss his new title United Kingdom of Beer, which identifies 250 of the best beers available in bottles and cans across the British Isles, including local brews Jakehead from Wylam Brewery and Yellow from Almasty Brewing.

The hosts also sit down with local CAMRA volunteer Martin Ellis, a regular contributor to BEER Magazine and a beer, brewery and pubs writer. He leads regular walking tours visiting Ouseburn’s breweries and tells listeners how the Tyneside has become one of the premier beer destinations across the UK.

Ellis says: “I have seen Tyneside transformed from a real ale desert to a real ale mecca. The Ouseburn, just outside Newcastle city centre, has possibly the greatest concentration of micro-breweries in the country.”

Martin is also joined on the programme by Anthony McMullen, organiser of the Newcastle Beer & Cider Festival who talks through what it’s like to kick start the local festival after a two-year hiatus.

McMullen says: “It’s an exciting time to be running a beer festival, showcasing the talent of our local breweries and those further afield. It’s great to be able to once again get together, make new friends, watch amazing live entertainment and drink great ale, cider and perry.”

Admission to the Newcastle Beer & Cider Festival is free for CAMRA members and £3 for all other visitors. The festival boasts over 100 beers, 40 ciders, a gin bar, music and food and will be located on the first floor of Northumbria Student’s Union from 6 to 9 April.

The podcast, which covers a range of topics and issues relating to beer, cider, pubs, clubs and more, has essentially gone “on tour” this season, travelling around the country to shine a spotlight on local CAMRA branches and their activity. Listeners can expect a new episode to air on the first Wednesday of each month from April to September.

Podcast producer Katie Wiles says: “The CAMRA podcast has been a huge success since we launched during the first Covid-19 lockdown in April 2020. Now in its third year and operating in an incredibly different environment, we want to travel the country to highlight that our local festivals are back and shine a spotlight on the fantastic work of our local branches in furthering the cause of great beer and pubs across the UK.”

New episodes will air on the first Wednesday of every month and can be accessed through Apple Podcast, Spotify or Acast.

To find out more and tune in visit https://camra.org.uk/podcast or visit us on Twitter and Facebook.
Ends

The Newcastle Beer & Cider Festival takes place from 6-9 April at the Northumbria Student’s Union. To find out more or to purchase tickets, visit: https://nclbcf-tynland.camra.org.uk/wordpress/?page_id=4694

The forthcoming podcast schedule is as follows:

  • 4 May: “Ale & Steam” – we will head to the North Cotswolds ahead of the Ale & Steam Festival to look at the relationship between beer and railways, speaking with beer writer Des De Moor about some of the wonderful breweries and micropubs located under railway arches and the many CAMRA-run festivals taking place at or themed by railways.
  • 1 June: “Celebratory Brews” – ahead of the long bank holiday weekend and the Platinum Jubilee, we will be up in Glasgow looking at some big brews to celebrate with, some interesting facts about the royals and our favourite drinks and of course kick off a Summer of Pub.
  • 7 July: “Beer is for everyone” – in this episode we will be heading down to South Devon to talk through the outcomes of CAMRA’s Inclusivity, Diversity and Equality survey against the backdrop of a year plagued by diversity and equality issues across the beer industry.
  • 3 August: “Theatre of beer” – we will be recording live from the Great British Beer Festival in London looking at the theatre of beer, some of the greatest beer festivals across Britain and the biggest brewers in the beer game.
  • 7 September: “Pub games” – games have been an integral part of pub culture for centuries – in this episode we will be recording from Halifax exploring the relationship between pubs and their games and the impact of games and quizzes have on footfall and revenue.
About CAMRA:  

CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, is a not-for-profit consumer group with over 160,000 members that has been operating since 1971. Our vision is to have quality real ale and thriving pubs in every community.

Press release from CAMRA

Media Contact:  

CAMRA Press Office:
press@camra.org.uk
01727 337863