retiredmartin

July 2026. Newton Aycliffe. County Durham.

A fascinating extract from the CAMRA pubs website here;

The birth of the railways, the decline of the mines, the posh pubs either side of the Great North Road, and a star in the craft beer firmament that’s made the Good Beer Guide after a decade.

What took it so long ? Limited openings (Fri-Sat 3-10), or controversy over dispense ?

Steam Machine is a sprightly walk from town into the industrial estate, and you’ll be thinking “Oh no, another metal box with exposed ducts“.

Honestly, it’s gorgeous.

A destination pub for the good folk of Aycliffe, most of whom arrive with dogs and children and head for the homely rooms.

Quite why I head for the trestle tables next to metallic brewing vessels is a mystery. Perhaps it’s to be closer to the speakers pumping out the Red Hot Chilli Peppers at an ideal volume*.

More likely, it’s so I could see the beer board. Blimey, what a choice.

Makes a change from 10 variations on pale and DIPA.

“But which ones are cask ?” you ask. CAMRA says “”a choice of five live tank dispense beers, four craft keg and a range of bottles“, as if that means anything. You’ll certainly get no clue from the metal tubing behind the bar.

As always, when in doubt, consult BRAPA.

The nice lady makes sure I realise the Export Stout is seven pounds a pint; I’m used to £7 pints in Darlington by now.

Grief, it’s sensational. How I resisted the imperial stouts, I’ll never know.

But pubs aren’t just about beer, they’re about community, and by a quarter past three it was packed. And when the young lad gives the landlady a daisy he’s picked to wear in her hair, it’s a Magic Moment.

*_{No, not mute}