AN INVENTIVE landlord toasted his favourite homebrewed tipple this week and claimed it had helped keep his beloved Bury boozer afloat for the last decade.
Since licensee Brendan Leyden developed a passion for brewing in 1999, visitors to the Lord Raglan Hotel in Mount Pleasant, Nangreaves, have been supping beer produced just yards away in a microbrewery in the pub cellar.
It takes about a week for Brendan to work his magic and transform malt and water into beer and, over the years, he has produced such gems as the Leyden Egg, the Knickerdropper Glory and the Nanny Flyer.
Brendan and his brother Terry, who manages the pub, this week toasted the venture’s success and hoped for another 10 years of prosperity.
“It has been a big success and the regulars love it,” said Brendan.
“It started out as a hobby and has turned into a little enterprise. We sell half of what we make to other pubs and wholesalers too.
“I have gone as far as Hereford to get ingredients for the beer and we do whatever we can to give the customers what they want.
“I am pleased it has lasted 10 years and hope it continues to be popular.”
Terry said: “It started as a hobby for Brendan. He experimented with a home brewing kit, which didn’t exactly go according to plan.
“But he has had a lot more luck with the microbrewery and it has been really popular with customers.
“We’re a pub off the beaten track and, before we had it, business was going a bit flat.
“You have to do something a little bit different to get people coming back and this has really kept us in profit.”
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