I have never experienced any product being ruined as badly as when Heineken took over production of Newcastle Brown Ale. Overnight, it went from a truly unique and enjoyable brown ale that I would rank among my all-time favorite beers to a borderline disgusting beer that I wouldn’t drink if I was dying of thirst in the desert. The original Newcastle Brown Ale was in a category of its own. It had the flavor profiles that you expect from a brown ale combined with the drinkability of a crisp lager. After Newcastle was ruined, I was left searching for another brown ale to replace it. I found a few good brown ales (Samuel smith’s nut brown ale, rogue hazelnut brown nectar, downtown brown), but they were heavier varieties that I would drink one at a time. With the original Newcastle, I could drink a six pack in a couple of hours without realizing it. I would probably use one of my three wishes from a genie to bring back the original Newcastle Brown Ale because it was that good. Newcastle was to brown ales as Guinness is to stouts. You can find other good stouts out there, but you would still pick Guinness to live with if you could only choose one.

Newcastle brown ale was a great “old skool” british brown Ale. It was produced to quench the thirst of the working men of the North East and way a really good malty, sweet brown ale. It started to go down hill when the brewing got moved from the Tyne brewery in Newcastle (opposite St James’ Park) to The Federation Brewery in 1999, This is when the taste altered significantly and it became less sweet and malty. The final nails in the coffin came in 2009 when brewing was moved to Tadcaster and it became a generic “spec” ale and Heineken/Carlsberg bought out Scottish & Newcastle Breweries. Now it’s just a very pale shadows of the beer it used to be and it’s a shame that such a well known UK Beer sold worldwide is nothing more than a brown lager. Don’t get me wrong Heineken have some good European breweries under their banner but what they done to Newcastle brown ale is criminal !! Joff

Great review. It's a complete mystery how they still manage to sell this rubbish. It used to be a very decent ale,hugely popular 30 odd years ago but the modern corporate version is dishwater.

I'm from Newcastle and yes it was a good beer, my mate worked at Scottish and Newcastle brewery in Newcastle and he would pull a few dozen bottles a day off the line before they were pasteurized it was like nectar mate. Since they started brewing it in the south the only people who drink it here are students and tourists, very sad. on I positive note have you tried Hobgoblin Ruby?

Back in the 70's Newcastle Brown was known as prime hangover material - legend said that there was a special ward in the hospital for people puddled on Newcastle Brown...

It's one of the few British beers I can find everywhere here in Arizona. I think it taste alright. I met a guy from Newcastle once, I'm sure he was speaking English but I couldn't understand a word he said . 🤣

The Tadcaster version is for the US market and brewed to drink ice cold. I yearn for just one more taste of the old Newcy. Back in the day, it was like nutty malt with a bit of toffee and some bitterness. We drank it warm. It tasted disgusting in an enjoyable satisfying, incomparable way. If you acquired the taste, you loved it. Had a medium body. Gassy. The head was lush, distinctive, fragile, you frequently topped up from the bottle to revive it. It was a tradition. Had to be a 1/2 pint glass. Typically a kind of stumpy goblet with the NBA logo. Foamy, soothing burps tip-toed out of your nose without making your eyes water. You woke up with thunderous flatulence and a spinning head.

Totally ruined IMHO. Took the geordie out of it...

First beer in a working mens club about 72 73, they took the cap off and put a glass over the bottle so you could carry it back to your table. It was considered strong beer at the time.

Used to drink this 27 years ago before the sell out, tasted amazing, same as Tetleys, what were once amazing beers now reduced to garbage.

In my 20s, New Castle was my favorite beer. Now I'm 32, but I remember randomly picking up a 6 pack a couple of years ago and being instantly disappointed. In addition to changing the iconic logo, the taste was terrible as well. I don't understand why they would take something so refreshing and turn it into garbage.

"Glucose Syrup" and "Hop extracts" is never a good sign when written on the bottle. It tastes like some weird hybrid of John Smiths and Heineken lager.

"For me this is an undrinkable beer"................. continues to drink it LMAO hahhahaha

Some people just have it in their head that if it’s not micro brewed it sucks. I bet you wouldn’t know if it was a blind taste test.

have you ever considered reviewing tennants or super tennants simon, cheers

Yep. I used to love this in the 1980’s - a bottle of ‘dog’ and a half pint glass. In 1988 I insisted my local pub got a case in (The Wheatsheaf in Chilton Foliat) they did, the price was 90p a bottle back then. This was because it was all I drank when I went up to Liverpool to visit my then girlfriend. It was massive in Liverpool back then too, it was all anyone drank in the pubs and clubs I used to go to up there at the weekends. I even believe it had protected status but that went along with the taste when it moved out of Tyneside. I bought some recently and was sad that the flavour of my old faithful bottle of dog was no more!

Hi Simon I'm coming up to 51 I used to drink it back in the late 80s and I loved it, it had a unique taste, the most I ever drank was about 9 bottles and I was absolutely smashed. I think once it stopped being brewed in the Newcastle area and moved to Yorkshire it was never the same I'm guessing it's the water they use. Its a shame you never experienced the original it was fantastic, all the best Scott woolgar

used to be lovely years ago. moved production from gateshead to Tadcaster and any taste went along with it.

Being from Newcastle I know it was brewed by Scottish and Newcastle and as you mentioned it moved to Heineken. Since then its never tasted the same from people I know who drink it. Shame really, Newcastle Exhibition used to be my dad's beer, not sure if that's as widely available anymore.

I remember when I had to go to Cornwall to drink doombar and it was lovely brewed by sharps and now it's all over the country and while not bad it's unfortunately has that mass produced taste it's lost its subtle flavour that it would have brewed in smaller batches and not shipped all over the country

Your review has eased my mind. I drank " Newkie Brown ", about 40 years ago, and enjoyed it. Things moved on, and I have not had one for years. However, I came across it again in the Supermarket, and bought a couple for old times sake. I chilled it, as you do, but it didn't taste all that nice. Then I remembered, we used to drink it, off the shelf, ie at room temperature. So I tried again, and it was no better. There was me, thinking my tastebuds have changed, but it's the beer. I think I will leave them on the Supermarket shelf in future.

As far as I understand, smaller and higher quality brands are acquired by the big companies just for the purpose of getting rid of competition and expanding themselves. But I really can't explain, why they refuse to keep the good quality and turn great products into average or even below average stuff. It's just a shameful process, where strengthening of own market position at the expense of ruining old traditions is the only thing that matters.

I remember in 2010, it was my first time in the UK, I bought a bottle from a supermarket. I loved it, it was good. Two years ago (2018) I couldnt find it at the main supermarkets in England. Even at the pubs too

Love the story of the guy that drank Newcy Broon. Love these stories Si that’s why this channel is the best beer(and food) reviewing channel on the planet 🌎 real life stories we can all relate too. This channel has changed my outlook on life, life is there to be enjoyed! Anyway I’m away to have my first beer of the day!

I had Newcastle in the U.S. years ago when it was brewed in the UK and it was quite good, tried it a few months ago and it was absolute bilge. I checked the bottle and it is made in various locations in the U.S. for the U.S. market. Sadly many will never know that Newcastle was once a very good brown ale.

Only reason to drink the old stuff in the 70s was it was cheep and you could use the sticker on the bottle because it looked like a tax disc for your car as a poor student!

Used to drink this late 70's and it was ok. My tastes have changed since and I prefer lighter ales, but thought I'd try a bottle for old times sake. It was pants, I only had half the bottle.

I haven't had this in years. I don't know if they even export it to the USA anymore?

Nice story and interesting review. It's Carlsberg that bought the brewing side of Marston's. They still own their pubs.

Stella,Becks Holsten Pils ,Newcastle Brown.All great beers ruined over the years.Why cant they just leave them alone.

As a brown ale lover in the U.S., I noticed how weak Newcastle has been. Didn't know about Heineken basically ruining it. We had the same thing happen here when Anheuser Busch took over Rolling Rock beer. It sucks now.

Remember this being one of my Dad's beers, smelt of sweaty socks, and a flinty taste. When I started drinking, it was one of my go to beers if the draught in pubs wasn't to my taste, or in nightclubs where the beer was of dubious quality. And now it's absolute river discharge sewer water. What can be done? Unless someone in Newcastle opens a small brewery, and tries to replicate the original, I'll just have to try and track down bottles of Double Maxim. On a side note, one of local breweries, Hattie Brown's, makes a strong brown ale, Swanage Nut,(4.8% abv). More of a Southern Brown ale, but definitely worth looking out for. Maybe Simon should look them up, and see if they'll send him samples

8 bottles a night? What an absolute machine of a man. Sorry to hear he passed away

I still remember it tasting decent in the early 2000s. It was one of the few British ales imported to my country. It was a luxury and quite expensive back then.

Newcastle Brown was my favorite beer, bar none, before the takeover. It really is crap now. It's such a shame, because no one else makes anything that tastes like Newkie Brown used to...

I remember this being on draft in the Talbot in Wrexham, supposedly the only other place outside of Newcastle in the UK that had it on draft. I had a bottle recenly and couldn't finish it.

When I was in Northeast in the 70s Newky Brown was served in the bottle with a straight sided tulip glass and known colloquially as 'journey into space'. Normal bitter was at 3.2 to 3.6% so a 4+% beer was considered rocket fuel. They stopped passing bottles over the counter for years, after the Light Ale Cavalry realised they were useful coshes and grenades.

I’ve gotten to the point where I don’t buy any British beer any more. They’re as bad as the swill put out by the big American breweries. I buy American craft beer and a few German beers that haven’t been ruined yet.

I’m originally from Newcastle and when they moved the brewing of brown ale from the city centre to Gatesheads Exhibition brewery in the early 2000s the taste changed and that was only a few miles, and I attributed it to different vats, different processes and most importantly different water - in the same way Heineken brewed in Holland or SAN Miguel brewed in Spain tastes better / different to the version brewed in the UK. I stopped drinking it then. It was never a fantastic beer back in the late 90s, but it was reliable and being sold in bottles was widely available and usually kept ok. I don’t understand how Heineken would be able to recreate the original taste, 20 years later in a different part of the country!

Can attest to this. Used to love my Newcy Brown back in the late 90s. I think most drinkers back then had their Newcy Brown stage. Recently revisited for the memories and itw as so shit I thought I'd bought a dodgy batch of bottles. Actually took it back saying it was off. Got dosh back, went and bought from different vendor and.... Same thing!

I remember drinking them a few times around 2004 and I enjoyed them. I was pretty young then, so it must have been fairly drinkable in the past!

I love this beer, can't find it any more, what's a good brown ale to try?

We used to be handed a pastie and a bottle of ‘dog’ when we entered the Moon Club in the 70s and all for 50p! This was the way they got around the supper licence!!! Brilliant..and the Newcastle brown was as wonderful then as it is now.But there again I am a true Welshman from the North 😎

I really like newcastle brown, im only 27 so no idea what the old version was like - can anyone reccomend a different beer that may be like the old newcastle brown?

Same in Belgium, too. AB Inbev ruined Stella Artois, Hoegaarden, and Tripel Karmeliet. I remember having a Newcastle in 2000 and it was fine. Had one in 2009 and it was watery piss. When the macros take over a brand, they see Euro/dollar signs and start cutting corners for profits.

Hi Simon, when this was brewed in newcastle it was a fantastic beer then it moved to Yorkshire when the brewery closed and the recipe changed, its definitely not as good as it was.

Just been to Morrisons and picked up the following; Northern Monk - Norse Star & Transient - £4.00 each. Northern Monk - Guava Have Faith & Brew York - Juice Forsyth - £3.00 each. Happy Days.

For me it's a fine classic. Very tasty and very drinkable. Cheese on Toast with a glass of Nukie Broon. FANTASTIC👍👍

I used to drink this in the early 70s. I still don't know why. It was sweet, sickly, falling-down juice. Constipated? Not had a poop in weeks? Guzzle about 3 bottles of Newkie last thing at night. But don't go to bed, just strap yourself to the toilet seat...

Have you tried double maxim, similar taste to the original ncl brown ale back in the day.

when I was in my teens it was a trendy drink. drank cold and poured into undersized glasses needing at least two pours and as I remember it was pleasant, but that was over 40 years ago, it's a shame to see it become at best a 2/10 beer

Back in the day I got many a hangover drinking Newkie Brown while dancing on the Tables in The Frog And Frigate pub in Southampton while The Landlord belted our classic rock songs on his guitar

It used to be good when I would drink it occasionally in the 90's. It was thick, rich, heady and refreshing. A very luscious texture....Although I think there was caramel colouring added even then. It was one of the strongest beers around at the time....but the strong continental lagers like Stella and Kronenburg had started to emerge into the UK market. I seem to remember you didn't want to drink too many because it was hangover juice.

Newcastle Brown is not what it used to be, you're spot on with that. Workers back in the day of the steelworks and miners used to drink this stuff during their lunch (and often for breakfast), but the taste was a lot better back then. Was a lot cheaper back then too, but it's nothing like it used to be.

That's very sad to hear. I remember back in the early 70's around London when I was a lad drinking pints and pints of the stuff. In the early 80's I lived in the North East for a while and it still tasted good. One thing I did notice was that few Geordies actually drank NBA they preferred or drank Scotch or Heavy Ales but I always stuck with Newki Broon. Back in those days as far as I am aware this "brown nectar" was brewed by Scotish & Newcastle Breweries somewhere actually in Newcastle, until watching this I had no idea Heineken was involved. Another one from that " neck of the woods" was Vaux Double Maxim. Thanks for the video - RIP Newki Brown - thanks for some good times and a few headaches.

Great review, thanks Simon. Was it always in a clear bottle? I'd guess not. A pub here in Melbourne way back in the 90s used to have Bass ale - is it a bitter? - on tap and it was fantastic. Is Bass still around, and if so, is it still any good?

First of all I learned to love the old Newcastle 20 years ago. At that time I was well and truly hooked on this. Now that they sold out to Heineken, which I understand, changed it to a "beginners" brew so the poor "newbies" wouldn't get drunk on it, what about the rest of us???

Your a 100% correct totally ruined by corporate greed, I remember how malty it used to be and the smell on brew day in the Toon was like Maltesers

The worse the beer the longer the review.!!!!!

It used to be a lovely beer back in the late 80s early 90s , it was one of the go to brown ales that we all drank in our teens , unfortunately yes it's now completely ruined , I tried some many years later obviously after the take over and couldn't finish the bottle , saddens me , and it's one that I will avoid and tell others not to drink , keep up the good work 😊

Only time you would ask for a half glass at the bar was when ordering a 'bottle of dog' as it was known as. Fill up half glass and top up often to keep the head.

Did you research the correct glass and the correct way to drink it? Makes a huge difference

Heineken owns Lagunitas too. I've noticed less and less people drinking Lagunitas in the states now

Was gifted a bottle of this the other day, tasted like piss, Stella & Hobgoblin in a dirty glass.

The US version is now brewed by lagunitas and it’s trash compared to when it came from the UK.

I bought a Bentley. Drove it home and knew something was wrong. I pulled over, opened the hood and found out that someone had put a Bentley body over a Ford Focus. This beer is a lie. I will never buy it again. Lagunitas is now the brewer. In LA and Chicago. Obvioulsy, they have no shame.

I’m outraged, also I’m an alky and haven’t had any booze for 20 years.

I'm a lager man but I actually don't mind this Newcastle brown. Also I'm 26 so regarding your comment about youngsters not liking it? We're all different aren't we no good if we all liked the same thing

If i remember correctly Newkie Brown used to be brewed as two separate beers, and then blended. That was back when it tasted good, dont think they do that now.

I so fondly remember Newcastle Brown from the late '90s in this antipodean land during both Rugby and Soccer World Cups of the time and it aches me that this has become so rudimentary. This was absolutely my GB based brew, if not absolute brew of choice for a long time.... Such a shame. I'll be looking for a home brewed solution to try and recreate my memories.......

In the 1970s a half pint of Tetley dark mild and a small bottle of Newcastle Brown in a pint glass -- mother's milk, mate. Nectar of the gods.

This reminds me of people i know who guzzle Guinness and refuse to acknowledge its made by diageo, Obviously Guinness isn't as bad as Newcastle but if you compare it to the casks from the 60s its unrecognisable.

It has to be drunk from the bottle these days, preferably after 1 hour in the freezer. Only then, does it resemble what it used to be like.

use to drink it years ago when amber ale and light ale and Newcastle brown ale were on the go in a bottle, you could smell the aroma from the next table' yer it was class, shit now, I was told from a friend who once worked at the brewery in Newcastle that there was a natural spring water well under the brewery which was used to make brown ale and couldn't be brewed any where else the same, everything is profit before quality every where you go now, the duke of Northumberland 1973 every Friday night

Brand: Newcastle Brown Ale Type: Brown Ale Info: 0,5 L Alcohol-%: 4,7 Shipping Weight: 0,6 kg Ingredients: Water, BARLEY MALT, glucose syrup, roasted WHEAT, dye (E150c), HOPS It's crap now.

I hate dating myself, but yes, NewCastle was great many years ago.

From leeds, I can tell you tetley has been ruined as well. Used to be a great brewery and great pubs through Yorkshire. Now no pubs, brand changed and taste is awful and places change upto £3,50 a pint when there are dozens of independent brewer's for cheaper at every pub.

Used to drink Newcastle back in the early '90s and it was my go to. So sad to see how far its fallen from its origins. Glad I caught this vid, I was thinking of picking one up for old times sake, but that's a big NOPE! Thanks Simon!

I’m from the NE, and used to enjoy this in the Tap room, on the Brewery tours in Newcastle. Wouldn’t drink it anywhere else. Double Maxim, was always the better drink. Vaux. RIP.

Have you had Double Maxim? It was always my preferred brown ale from the north east.

Unfortunately alot more beer is going to go the same way. The big boys buy up the majority of the craft breweries as they can't beat them for taste but need to get rid of the competition.

totally agree, Newcastle Brown Ale used to be excellent but now awful...also agree with your Beavertown comment, what the hell has happened to (what was my favourite tipple) Gamma Ray?? doesnt look or taste the same anymore.

in your opinion, which brown ales are worth a mention?

i am having one at this very moment and i dont really understand the complaints. despite being made by the heineken group its a really decent and enjoyable beer if you ask me. according to your description the "original" stuff must have tasted like the very nectar straight from the gods of the olymp

I used to drink this as a nipper in the 90's. I can't tell you if it was a better beer back then, but I can tell you that you hit the nail on the head with the 'headache in a glass' analogy.

I first drank it in the early 90s and went through a stage of only drinking it for a while. When I last had it it was a few year's ago i quickly thought this has changed and I don't remember it being this bad. Wether it was my pallet or not it was actually awful. Holsten pils was another one I used to like, but that would give you a different kind of headache 🤪😂

In America the king of the beers here was Pabst Blue Ribbon. That happened to Pabst too. Went from everyone you knew was drinking it to no one. I honestly don’t see anyone.

Whatever Newcastle I used to have before Lagunitas started brewing it in the US was amazing and I want it back again.

You should try Sunderland's version of Newcastle Brown which is called Double Maxim. That too is not as good as it used to be and in fact if I recall correctly, it was only brought back like a decade or so ago. That's the mackem version which is also nice.

I think with a lot of these well received old beers that are not not worth drinking it has been a series of changes. As for Newcastle Brown in my life time it has always been a bit tinny and I have tried to avoid it (but it was the only non-lager at some music venues in the 90s)

About 20 years ago I would drink it when it was either a good price or the options where limited, I liked but never loved it. A few years ago I was at a bar where this once again was it was the best option and let me tell you I really couldn't finish it. I know my tastes have changed with all the great craft beer out there but the flavor has changed over the years. I feel anytime a large brewery like Heineken acquires other brands they feel the need to streamline production by cutting coasts and simplifying production causing the downfall of the original product... I also feel like at least here in the U.S. many young people are spoiled with all the good craft beer breweries that brew different things all the time. Drinking the same mass-produced beer everyday is something our parents did because there wasn't a lot of options out there, each brewery made a hand full of beers and that's it. Those large scale breweries have become dinosaurs and refuse to change there way of doing business. If it wasn't for the global giant Anheuser that sells beer around the world a lot of older breweries would be out of business....

I'd like to echo the comments I've seen. Newcastle Brown was the drink of choice in the rock/metal club I frequented in my youth. Such a loss.

There was a feller in the pub by me exactly like that he was the only one to drink it every night think he is dead now too. Madness !

I live in the US and I first tried Newcastle back in the mid-80's. It was fantastic and so much different than the industrial lagers I was used to. I only drink craft beer now and my favorite brown is Bell's Best Brown Ale. It is only available in the winter though. But it is very rich and puts modern Newcastle to shame.

I used to drink Newkie broon 35 years ago and it was really nice. Just had a couple at start of the night. Can’t drink it now. Absolutely different! Less and less people drink it now . Not nice at all sadly.

Way too many adverts mate! I can watch on my pc without them if you prefer!

100% cultural vandalism. What they have done to the famous blue star makes me weep.

Sounds like your mate had a fanatical fondness the brand and what the product represents more than the actual beer inside.

Hi Simon, my Mum's nearly in her 70s and remember people raving about Newkie Brown in the 1960s. The thing is, has it changed, or was it one of the few strong brown ales back then? My Mum had a friend who enjoyed the 5.6% Stella in the 90s. She did a taste test between her Carlsberg and the Stella and neither could tell the difference. A strong beer hits the spot to an extent even if it's a bit average. I was partial to a bit of ice cold Newky brown about 10 years ago, it's like Spitfire Ale, they put a bit of a super sugar called dextrose in it. Even the likes of badco have been naughty using some dextrose in their IPAs. Never knew you were in the forces mate

R.I.P. nukie brown. As soon as they changed brew location it was f'ed. A favorite of my youth, now I shun it like the plaque. I still see young fools who think this is a good beer.