CONGLETON'S own brewery is due to open a pub in the town in time for the new millennium to cater for its growing band of real ale fans.

The Beartown Brewery is hoping to open its flagship inn by Christmas with the planned conversion of a former bistro in Willow Street.

The brewery was created in 1991, and Beartown brews are on offer as guest beers at about 130 pubs all across Cheshire county.

However brewery bosses have been looking for premises of their own in Congleton for the last 12 months, and are in the process of buying the former Grapevine bistro.

The cost of buying the building and refurbishing it is estimated at £100,000, and the pub could be the first of a series of Beartown inns in Congleton and the surrounding area.

"The pub will be good for our prestige, as well as our image, and will be a traditional drinkers' pub," said Beartown director Steve Watts.

"It will help to establish Congleton's name on the real ale map, and hopefully will also be good for the town.

"We will be aiming the pub at middle-aged people who can come along to enjoy a quiet drink, and there will be traditional pub games. I think it will go down very well."

The brewery won a first prize at this year's Macclesfield Beer Festival with its wheat beer.

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.