The Pride of Newcastle

• Just as we associate a cool pint of Guinness with Dublin, Brown Ale is synonymous with Newcastle.
  
  ‘Newkie' brown ale has been brewed in the city since 1927 by Newcastle Breweries. Even when the company closed their Tyne brewery in 2005, they still ensured that production stayed local by moving it to Dunston, Gateshead.
  
  Colonel J. Porter created the distinctive ale in 1925, but he continued to revise and fine-tune the top-secret recipe for another three years. His experiments paid off; by 1928, his beer boasted the distinctive flavour that we know and love. Later that year, Newkie Brown successfully swept the board at the International Brewery Awards. At the prestigious event, Newcastle Brown Ale picked up some of the festival's prestigious gold medals, which still adorn the ale's distinctive label today.
  
  In the 1980s, the slogan ‘The One and Only' was added to the label in an affectionate nod to a vintage advert for the ale. The famous label has also seen a number of other changes throughout the years, including, in 2000, a name change from Newcastle Brown Ale to the shorter Newcastle Brown. This was done in a bid to attract younger drinkers, as it was thought that ‘Ale' put them off. However, when it was discovered that Newkie Brown's new name was not having a positive impact on sales, the word ‘Ale' was rightfully reinstated on its famous label. There has also been a number of special edition Newcastle Brown Ale labels produced, including a special edition one in the city's football stripes to commemorate the 2006 retirement of Newcastle United's Alan Shearer.
  
  Newcastle Brown Ale is now one of the most famous bottled beers in the UK. It is also available in bottles and on draught throughout the USA and it's also available to buy in some British pubs in Australia and New Zealand.