BEER-LOVERS have dipped into their pockets to launch a new community brewery in the county town of North Yorkshire.

The Northallerton Brewery has been established in the promises of the town’s former Walls Brewery, which closed last year.

The new enterprise is completely community-owned with 21 local beer enthusiasts backing the project with their investment.

Local Tory MP Rishi Sunak has now performed the official opening honours at the brewery on the Standard Way industrial estate.

Brewing in the premises began at the turn of the year and three months on the brewery is now supplying more than 60 pubs direct across the Northallerton area, Teesside and Darlington, the East Coast and into West Yorkshire and Lancashire.

Working with other breweries across the Midlands and North of England the beers are now widely available and will be available nationally by the summer of this year.

Addressing a launch gathering of shareholders, supporters and staff, Mr Sunak said: “This is a heartening project. It is great that we have community pubs and now we have a community brewery too.

“I wish the staff and the shareholders the best of luck with their new enterprise.”

Brewery manager Grace Aird, who works with two trainee brewers, two part-time sales and delivery staff and an apprentice administrator, said sales had exceeded £40,000 for the first three months.

It is hoped sales will reach £300,000 in the first full year with 290,000 pints of beer being sold.

Initially, a small number of core beers were brewed – Gun Dog, a bitter very popular among local pubs, three pale/golden beers, Northallerton Dark and, in January, the brewery’s first stout called Lizzie D.

The inspiration for the re-birth of the county town’s longstanding brewing tradition was Steve Knight, landlord of the White Swan pub at nearby Danby Wiske.

He was instrumental in purchasing equipment the old brewery’s equipment and attracting the community investment needed to get production started again.

He said: “I felt something should be done to keep brewing alive in Northallerton. The beers were popular – I knew that from the way they sold in my pub – so I was very happy to help make this happen.”