Never felt more like
singin' the brews
The owner of a vinyl record shop and homebrew lounge reckons that all music derives from The Blues. Alastair Gilmour shares beer, syncopation and a huge political shift with a proper Hoochie Coochie Man.
It’s the day of the General Election 2024 and the Honourable Member of Parliament for Richmond and Northallerton is deeply anguished.
He had confided in the closest of close friends his fear of losing the North Yorkshire constituency he has represented since 2019. The Honourable Member of Parliament for Richmond and Northallerton is also First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Minister for the Union. Rishi Sunak also happens to be Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, so the tightness he feels in his nether regions is in no way imaginary. The loss of his titles would be catastrophic for his self-esteem (which would be the least of his problems).
“He’s rattled,” says one source – having calculated that no incumbent prime minister has ever lost their seat in a General Election.
The mood is ever so slightly more relaxed, however, in an attractive courtyard in Richmond’s Frenchgate. Displayed prominently in an outhouse (formerly a slaughterhouse) called Blues Night is Tim Barnes’ core range of home-brewed beers with names that offer a clue as to their origins – Lightnin’ Hoppings, Wort Jansch and Lord Pitchginer – music with their roots planted deep in American Blues.
Tim is a former teacher (and a superb homebrewer) who can’t charge a penny for his amazing creations as he doesn’t have a commercial licence. Customers to Blues Night Records store and lounge bar (he insists on calling it ‘a shed’) are invited to select from boxes, boxes and more boxes of his vinyl record collection then celebrate their booty on a comfy settee with a glass or two or… of what’s available that session, which could include Isaac Hazy’s Tennessee Ruby Beer – in a boogie woogie with Mosaic, Simcoe, and Nelson Sauvin hops – or the full-fat chocolate and coffee porter King Trubby (6.5% abv).
The beer range is small but perfectly formed
Tim Barnes extends a warm welcome to beer
and music lovers – and those in between
Devotees of country music, reggae, rock, pop, jazz, soul, hip-hop, house and techno are also catered for with a wide variety of records on 78rpm shellac (“we even have some classical but we don’t know much about them, to be honest”).
Customers’ donations pay for the raw materials transformed into masterly works in the kitchen of the two-storey house he shares with wife Martine and two teenage sons.
And as all great stories just get better, the Barnes’ extend an invitation to book into their upstairs accommodation and enjoy this unique experience even further (below).
The dawn of the “he’s rattled” comment next day broke with the news that Rishi Sunak had retained his parliamentary seat but his Conservative Party suffered its biggest defeat in British political history. Tim Barnes is sanguine about current affairs, though. He says: “In terms of how politics butts up against Blues Night, I’d say that one of the country's safest Tory seats – or at least it was – has accidentally found itself a little socialist enclave on Frenchgate.
“How that has happened I’m not really sure as I don't like to talk about politics much myself and I try to discourage it among my guests if I can, but I’d say there's a pretty clear correlation between the sort of people who would come to a place like this and the way they are likely to vote.
“The one regular who considers himself a Conservative only really talks about it for the laughs. I had a fairly well-known Tory MP come in once, though. He was a very nice guy as far as I could tell and he bought a copy of Syd Barrett’s The Madcap Laughs for his son, which is pretty cool, really. I can’t imagine Rishi Sunak owns a copy. He hasn’t been in, obviously.
Tim Barnes’ beloved Blues Night ‘shed’ where he has been offering beer and music since 2018
Richmond’s doorway to heaven
Poster boys. Inspirational American Blues musicians
Relax, it’s Blues Night
“Blues Night Records goes from strength to strength. It was never really about making money, but in terms of selling off a private collection – as that's officially what I’m doing – it covers its costs and its ever-increasing popularity makes it all worthwhile.”
Tim set off on his homebrew path inspired by a book by James Morton which brought him to the conclusion that beer is all about flavour and colour. He reckons he hasn’t made one yet that he doesn’t like.
“The beer side of things has progressed a great deal,” he says. “I’ve made over three hundred, five-gallon batches in five-and-a-half years. Some of the most popular brews have been there since the beginning – Lightnin’ Hoppings, King Trubby and Lord Pitchinger – named in honour of the calypso singer Lord Kitchener who was one of the first West Indians to disembark from the Empire Windrush at Tilbury Docks in 1948.
“Lightnin’ Hoppings (6.5% abv) is a fruity and spicy American-style IPA with hints of ginger. I don’t know where that comes from but I dry hop for longer than I’m supposed to.
“James Morton says ‘brewing changed my life’ and I’d like to think I’ve brought an element of that into my small space here, but I don’t want to scale the operation up much – I like it how it is.
“I’ve just knocked out a 9.0% abv Super Trubby and for balance, a 2.8% abv brew I’ve called Pops Tables. I’ve had sours, lots of ciders, a mead and a red wine. Regulars really loved the recent collaboration brew with my 15-year-old son Howard – a Black IPA called Muddy Lauters.”
Both of Tim’s ambitions required the involvement of other people to make them work from the start. So, the records are for sale and the beer is produced in sufficient quantities so there are always three or four different styles to try, from light to dark, bottle conditioned, American hops; you know the kind of thing.
He says: “It’s just my hobby really, it would have never survived as a proper business – it runs on pure goodwill. People seem to like it though, and they come in on our opening hours between 2pm and 7pm on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, mostly in ones and twos. Sometimes I have six or seven people in here at a time, but I’m never rushed off my feet and I’m rarely on my own for very long, although I don’t particularly mind it when I am.
“People come in when they’ve finished work on a Friday or are just walking by, partly out of nosiness – and a lot of young people come to Richmond on holiday. They’ll have one or two beers then move on, but they use it in a very respectful way. People are very approachable in the north; it’s a culture, it’s warm and it’s genuine.”
AN INVITATION TO BLUES NIGHT
Tim Barnes: “I have been making beer in the kitchen of our home in Richmond, North Yorkshire, since August 2018 and I’m starting to get quite good at it. You can come and try some if you like, but you don't have to. Also, you don’t have to like The Blues to come here.“We want you to come and have a look at our Blues Night shed, listen to music with us, maybe have a drink and a chat. It’s a very nice shed. There is accommodation available upstairs, which people always seem to really enjoy. It’s great for a small group of close friends, a couple or a family.”
Richmond – all hills and cobblestones – is the perfect stop-off for a break in the middle of the Coast to Coast traverse from Whitehaven to Robin Hood’s Bay or on a long journey between Scotland and the South of England, but particularly as a base for a holiday in the Yorkshire Dales. Gathered around its landmark Norman castle are a host of independent shops, cafes, pubs, theatre, cinema, museums, bustling marketplace and myriad activities.
The stunning Yorkshire Dales National Park is minutes away, while further to the east is the North York Moors National Park.
They call this God’s Own Country. Wonder why.
In the 2024 General Election, the Labour Party triumphed with a huge overall majority of 174. Rishi Sunak retained his Richmond and Northallerton seat with 23,059 votes to the Labour candidate’s 10,874. Blues Night Records broke out the Muddy Lauters Black IPA.
BLUES NIGHT 85 Frenchgate, Richmond, North Yorkshire DL10 7AE
Booking and information: bluesnight.org@hotmail.com
Richmond is dominated by its castle. Photo: Marie Claire Smith