So why not raise a glass to just 10 of the area’s beers and breweries – while also toasting any absent friends we have missed?
9. Castle Eden Ale
Toasted here by Hartlepool actor Philip Middlemiss in the 1990s, Castle Eden Ale dates back nearly two centuries with production transferring to Hartlepool's Camerons Brewery after Whitbread sold the Castle Eden Brewery. Photo: Sunderland Echo
10. Darwin Brewery
Sunderland micro brewery is the sister business of brewing expert Brewlab. Beers have included Bounce Back - an appropriate name given the way the city and its football team repeatedly recover from misfortune. Photo: KB