ENGLAND'S last master cooper has launched an appeal for an apprentice in a bid to keep the traditional trade alive.

Alastair Simms, who supplies North-East and North Yorkshire ale producers such as The Village Brewer, Maxim, Bad Seed and York Brewery and as the country’s only independent commercial cooper, said his initial attempts to attract an apprentice had proved fruitless.

Mr Simms, of Ripon, said he believed a fear of hard graft had deterred applicants, as the task of creating oak barrels had hardly changed since Roman times and involved physically demanding tasks such bending wood and trussing, where casks are knocked into shape.

He said: "Sometimes you get to the end of the day and don’t look as though you’ve achieved anything, but your body says different.

“The younger generation don’t think they should be doing hard work, they think they should be sat behind a desk working on a computer.”

The 52-year-old said 36 years after starting his career as an apprentice at Theakstons Brewery, in Masham - when there were about 100 coopers in the UK - the job remained as satisfying.

"When you put your initials on the cask, you do that with pride", he said. "There's even more pride when you stand in the pub and listen to drinkers say how much better beer from a wooden barrel is."

He said the emergence of metal casks in the 1960s had hit the trade, but recently demand had risen for wooden casks for beer due to surging numbers of microbreweries and the return of real ale, and with a bulging order book, the future of the trade looked rosey.

He said: “I want to keep the trade alive, that's why I'm looking for an apprentice.”

Candidates of any age can apply for the four-year apprenticeship, which starts in October, but need to display a dedicated work ethic, an ability to lift heavy loads and communicate well, while working both indoors and outside should hold no fears.

The apprentice at White Rose Cooperage will learn tasks such as repairing casks, making huge vats, working to fine measurements and different timbers, and creating 36-gallon oak barrels, which are sold for more than £500 due to the materials and labour involved.

Mr Simms said: “People think it is a much easier skill to learn than it actually is.

"There is incredible precision involved and on the other hand you're swinging a 5lb hammer around all day.

"The skill of making the barrel is something that has to be cultivated and refined.”

For details, email whiterosecooperage@gmail.com