AT the end of this month, MPs won’t be the only thing representing County Durham down at the House of Commons after a brewery in the region got approval to have one of its beers featured in Parliament’s ‘Stranger’s Bar’.
‘Steeltown’, which has been brewed at Consett Ale Works since 2005, may have become a staple in bars all over the North, from Seahouses, Whitby, Alston and Hartlepool, but four kegs of the beer is currently making its way down to London, where it will be unveiled as a ‘guest ale’ at the House of Commons bar on February 21.
Consett Ale Works, which sits next to the Grey Horse pub in Consett, is co-run by husband-and-wife team, David and Sandra Wilkinson, who have owned the pub since 2016, and are surprised as anyone that their beer will soon be available to a very different clientele than they’re used to.
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The idea for getting national approval for the beer came from North West Durham MP, Richard Holden, who lobbied David to get the ale in London during a ‘Pints and Politics’ event, which saw candidates for the 2019 election speaks at the Grey Horse each evening.
After being elected two years ago, Mr Holden apparently made it his ‘mission’ and election pledge – one that he’s continued through the pandemic.
Despite losing hope that their beer might not be going to London after all, David and Sandra got approval earlier month to send ‘Steeltown’ down to the House of Commons, an exciting prospect for the husband-and-wife duo.
David said: “The pledge from Richard to take the beer down south started as an ‘off cuff’ remark that quickly spiralled into a genuine request. Of course, the pandemic meant that the pub had to move to do beer deliveries and was impacted, so we forgot about it for a while.
“The next thing we know, we’re getting confirmation that our beer will be used in ‘Stanger’s Bar’ and everything is starting to happen.
“I’m not sure if Richard was serious at the time but it sure turned out to become serious.”
As part of the unveiling of the beer in ‘Stranger’s Bar’ later this month, David and Sandra will be making the trip down south to do the owners and pour the first pint of ‘Steeltown’.
The pair have also revealed that Parliament paid full price for their beer and no discount was given, with David, who is also the assistant brewer at Consett Ale Work, joking that politicians in this country “might not deserve beer right now”.
He added: “We’ve kept it very quiet from our patrons and a lot of them will have forgotten about the election pledge from Richard, so I’m sure it will be a shock.
“We’ve found it a tough time, like many, over lockdown, but we’ve pulled through and this is some great news to come out of the pandemic.
“Whether or not they deserve it at the moment is up for debate but we’re proud of our achievements.”
When the first pint of ‘Steeltown’ is supped’ in the House of Commons on February 21, it won’t just be Richard Holden MP who has become the only politician to champion Consett Ale Works.
His predecessor as MP for North West Durham, Labour’s Laura Pidcock has pulled a pint in the Grey Horse, and, last year, the pub hosted business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng on an official visit where he sampled a few beers and posed for photos outside the pub.
Alongside this impressive feat for the Grey Horse and Consett Ale Works, the pub was confirmed as Durham CAMRA’s ‘Town pub of the year’ for the third year running yesterday (February 10).
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