BEER.

Byline: ALASTAIR GILMOUR

AS the most notable brown ale of all packs its bags to settle in North Yorkshire, there are plenty of other versions prepared to fill the gap.

Hadrian & Border Tyneside Brown Ale hasn't so much been brewed to replace Newcastle Brown Ale, but to remind consumers that while the king may be departing the shores of the Tyne, brash young princes are already eyeing the city's crown.

Of course, the North East is rich in this traditional beer style and it's something of a northern speciality - Big Lamp Keelman Brown Ale is strong and toffee-hinted and brewed at Newburn in Newcastle, while Double Maxim has been revived at the Maxim Brewery in Houghton-le-Spring, County Durham.

Jarrow Brewery Brown Ale is being bottled this week and will fill the shelves shortly, but the tongue-incheek prize surely goes to Geltsdale Brewery's Bewcastle Brown, brewed just over the Northumberland border at Brampton in Cumbria, and named after a neighbouring village. Aye, right.

The reasoning behind Tyneside Brown Ale was to delve back a few years to create something that some folks remember Newcastle Brown Ale as, reconstructing a beer that lost its way. "It was always well spoken about, but it seems to have gone through changes over the years," says Martin Hammill, head brewer at Byker-based Hadrian & Border Brewery.

"What we've produced is a traditional brown ale. I've developed two other brown ale recipes in the past that have been very successful and in our new one we've retained a lot of malt character, so it's not over-hopped and it's not too sharp.

"We brewed 15 barrels (540 gallons) in the initial batch and sent half for bottling then the rest has been sent into the trade in cask."

Martin was so pleased with the way the beer was progressing that he kept a running commentary.

"It looks a great colour already," he said on us meeting shortly after the first brew. A day or two later he reported: "It's got a ruby hue, it's very rounded and quite full-bodied with a nutty, biscuity flavour, which makes quite a challenging drink."

English brown ales range from the darkly sweet Mann's Original Brown Ale - now brewed by Ushers in Wiltshire - to the more northern nutty, malty and fruity examples, which include Samuel Smith's Nut Brown Ale from Tadcaster, where Newcastle Brown is due to fetch up in the middle of next year. They range from deep amber to brown in colour with caramel and chocolate flavours ebbing and flowing.