Special beers designed to go to your head

Mar 21 2008 by Alastair Gilmour, The Journal

NORTH Tyneside-based Mordue Brewery has come up with a novel presentation for its range of 12 monthly “specials”.

Each month, a different beer will feature footballers’ hairstyles – for example, illustrating March’s Afro (4.8% alcohol by volume) is Carlos Valderrama, the South American superstar with the curliest hair ever, who captained Colombia during the 1990, 1994, and 1998 World Cups. April promises The Comb-Over (3.9% ABV), with the pump clip portraying none other than Bobby Charlton. Other future top mops to look out for include The Mullett, The Pudding Bowl and The Dodgy Perm – and if we mentioned Chris Waddle, Peter Beardsley and Kevin Keegan, the picture starts becoming clearer.

The brilliant illustrations are by North Shields graphic artist Peter Dixon. “I just played around with the idea and came up with a couple of sketches,” he says, rather modestly.

Mordue director Matthew Fawson says: “It’s just us having a laugh, but we wanted to do something different from the zodiac signs that other breweries do. The Afro is a really hoppy beer, similar to our IPA. Next year we might do cricketers or rugby players.”

THE Courtyard Bar at Washington Arts Centre, Fatfield, hosts its fifth Easter beer festival featuring more than 50 cask ales, ciders and perries. It runs through to Monday evening or until they run out, whichever comes first. Details: (0191) 417-0445.

The Boathouse, Wylam’s Easter offer repeats last year’s overwhelmingly successful beer festival with 12 ales on tap from Wylam Brewery – an impressive display by any standards. Details: (01661) 853431.