Box Social - Newcastle upon Tyne

My son and I booked a tutored beer tasting through the Groupon website, at Box Social in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. Being local, we had called into the premises on previous occasions, so we're really looking forward to our visit. We arrived early and enjoyed a couple of drinks from the bar, before our excellent host, Joe, began his very interesting talk on the history of beer, and the advancements in brewing technology through the ages, whilst we enjoyed sampling some of the unbelievable variety of brews, which were included in the tasting. I would heartily recommend this activity, mainly for the enthusiasm, and obvious love, that Joe has for the brewing craft. His recollections and memories of working in the brewing industry were extremely interesting and informative, and at times, eye opening! Please book this, and enjoy the experience, you will not be disappointed! I would attend this tasting again, without a second thought, it was so interesting! Suffice to say, after the tasting, we did purchase some of the beers we had sampled from the bar! The only downside we experienced, was that a minority of the guests on the tasting thought that it would be nice to chat amongst themselves, instead of listening to Joe's commentary, which we thought, was very annoying behaviour!

Called in for a drink during a tour of the real ale bars in Newcastle and Gateshead. The ambience is very good The furnishings are refreshing minimal and if you're a railway fan you will love the sound of the trains passing overhead on their way to the station.

Almost walked past this bar as it looks so small and unassuming from the street. And the ground floor is pretty tiny with just enough room for the bar and two or thee tables. Thankfully there is a larger upstairs seating area so there's plenty of room. This bar has a wide range of craft type beers and I think it may brew some of them itself. The bar server was friendly and efficient. The only downside was the number of people standing at the bar. There were 3 people standing at the bar and with it being so small it was difficult to get served, I think there was just enough room for one person at a time to get to the bar. This may be ok in quiet times but we arrived at the same time as a group of 5 other people and we were all trying to see what drinks were on offer and it was quite a squeeze. Other than the small size I'll be sure to come back here.

Only 1 thing makes Box Social well worth the visit... BEER... especially the Campfire porter! Oh.. and the friendly conversation from guys behind the bar and the fellow punters! Well worth a visit

Nice venue and lovely beer but staff are mute and can’t be bothered. Lots of potential but feels cold and unwelcoming.