A dream came true for beer-drinking members of the Rotary Club of Newton Aycliffe this week. When Tuesday’s meeting ended, they were supplied with free beer by a local company with a rapidly-growing reputation for producing craft beers of the highest quality. President Nora Scott (pictured front) couldn’t resist the chance to taste some of the beers being produced in Newton Aycliffe by the Steam Machine Brewing Company. Special guests at the meeting were husband and wife brewery owners Nick and Gulen Smith whose beers are earning praise from serious drinkers over a wide area and now feature in the top 50 list of specialist brews. Nick began to make beer as a hobby while at university but subsequently developed a taste for the exciting flavours of craft beers he discovered in Australia and New Zealand. With Gulen, they then decided to return to Aycliffe to set up their own brewery – “taking time and care to produce decent beer”. “It’s been an absolutely crazy journey but we have managed it,” Nick told Rotarians. Nick and Gulen were welcomed to the meeting by Rtn Tony Robinson and were thanked by Rtn Denese Cartwright. who commented:  “We had a delightful evening.”