I went to Newcastle for my birthday last week. Instead of boring you with a long post about my trip, let me just say I drank a lot of great beer, went to a lot of great venues (The Hop Factory and The Grain Store are on top) and didn’t get hungover at all.

Now here are some pretty pictures.

The first beer of the trip at the James Squire restaurant down the road from the hotel.

The blackboard outside the Commercial Hotel at Morpeth, which formed part of my birthday celebrations

The retro video game at the Commercial.

A beer boat from the Commercial. The Big Hitter English bitter was my fave.

second stop on my birthday was the Pour House at Maitland.

The Pour House taps. I still feel like a dick when I take photos of beer taps.

A selection of decals at the bottle shop at Warners at the Bay – the last stop on my birthday celebrations.

The Warners at the Bay haul.

At the Hop Factory for my birthday dinner. Such a great, great restaurant.

Outside Murray’s Brewery at Port Stephens.

Inside Murray’s Brewery at Port Stephens.

A squealer of Holgate’s Little Heifer getting some sun on our hotel balcony,

The Grain Store beer cafe

More of the Grain Store

The old-time train station indicator that serves as the Grain Store’s tap list.