Golden Smog, Stockton-On-Tees

A cosy little ale bar tucked down an alleyway. Six handpumps had a good range of Yorkshire/North East brews, with one exception of Seacider. I have to say the North Riding Coffee and Walnut Stout was particularly delicious. The sole room is liberally decorated with old photos and beer awards, with prolific pump clips on the ceiling and there are three tiny fold-down tables in the alleyway outside. Well worth a visit.

A small micro pub tucked away in an alley behind the High St, rather cramped on my visit and very busy so I couldn't take many notes but definately worth a return visit.

Hidden down one of the many narrow passageways off Stockton's High Street, this was the town's first micro pub when it opened back in the Summer of 2014. As with most micro pubs, this is a simple single room set up, but the layout varies slightly from the norm, in that the room runs from right to left upon entry, rather than the typical front to back layout of shop-converted micros. The room is bare boarded with the servery along the far left hand wall. The bar has a dark wood counter and an unusual street art-style mural of a gazelle on the bar back, next to a board listing the full range of beers available. Pew and low stools seating has been arranged along the front and rear walls and workmen were attaching a couple of drinking shelves to the external wall to allow for a bit of al-fresco drinking in the passageway. The right hand wall has been decorated with a huge map of the world and has a single drinking shelf of its own. Elsewhere there are lots of fantastic local photos on show, including many images of various Tees bridges. The ceiling has been decorated with the inevitable pump clip collection and I noticed a high shelf full of old beer tankards and various bits of Stockton Town FC memorabilia. The day's papers were available along with various bits of CAMRA literature and local listings papers. A great vinyl collection is kept behind the bar, best viewed through the window when outside, and some top tunes were playing on the turntable at a sensible volume throughout my stay. The landlord was an extremely friendly chap, happy to chat about other Stockton pubs and urging me to get stuck into the marvellous platter he'd laid out on the bar. The barmaid was also very nice, letting me down in a very polite manner when it transpired that I'd wandered into the pub a good twenty minutes before opening time. The bar supports six handpulls which were dispensing Abbeydale Why Not Give More of a Toss, Five Towns Beauty and the Beast, Three Kings Redwood Tree, Maxim John Bull Stout and two real ciders. The board next to the bar detailed a large bottle range and a decent keg selection, with a lot of Belgian beers available, each with the correct branded glassware. I decided to give the Five Towns a try and I really couldn't fault the quality of my pint at all. With this being my seventh micro pub of the weekend, I was in two minds as to whether skip this place and try somewhere else, but I'm glad I gave it a go, as it was arguably the pick of the bunch. I found this a very homely and cosy spot to relax over a pint and chat to the friendly staff and locals. There's enough choice at the bar to suit most tastes and I would say this place is a very good asset to the town's pub scene.

Situated down an alley in an unprepossessing building, Golden Smog is Stockton's micro pub and well worth seeking out. The owner is a real ale enthusiast who runs a transport business for half of the day and can be found here from 2pm each afternoon. Two rooms have been knocked together to form the pub, with the bar at one end and the toilets upstairs. There are six hand pumps, with two ciders and four ales from random micro breweries. I found a lively and friendly atmosphere, with landlord and locals happy to engage in conversation. If doing a tour of Stockton, this would definitely be first on the list, though the late opening time means it would not necessarily be the first to be visited. Date of visit: 25th November 2015