Newcastle – Bacchus

Continuing on my tour of Good Beer Guide pubs in Newcastle, this is Bacchus Bar, which is designed to look like an ocean-liner. Something a little different I suppose….

There was a friendly welcome at the door from the staff member, although I thought that the music was a little loud for my own personal preferences (which are, quite boringly, no music at all). I thought that the atmosphere was a bit muted, but it was a clean and comfortable environment. The beer selection was reasonable, a few different real ales and an effort has been made not to be bland. The staff were personable and pro-active, so everything seemed well managed and efficient.

I went for the Stout 2021 from Nomadic Beers who are a small brewery from the Leeds area. Smooth, dark and chocolately, although perhaps lacking a rich aftertaste, but still very drinkable. The surroundings are a bit decadent, but that’s perhaps a little inevitable when you’re trying to recreate the theme of an ocean liner. There are normally around eight or so real ales on, but they’re down a little at the moment due to current circumstances, but there was still no shortage of options and most beer styles were available.

This is an interesting and long-standing addition to the Good Beer Guide, although I suspect that on Saturday evenings it can all get a bit raucous for my liking. It does though seem to have been serving decent beer for some time, their web-site notes that it was a CAMRA pub of the year runner-up in 1995, so it appears to be something of a survivor. It’s run by a small chain, Sir John Fitzgerald, which I haven’t heard of, but they have numerous pubs in this area. This isn’t a pub I’d have thought to have gone in without the Good Beer Guide recommendation, but I’m pleased that I did.