LANDLORDS at Ye Olde George Inne in Christchurch have turned their hand to brewing as well as serving real ale with the launch of their own Yogi Beer and Dorset Piddle brands.

Rob Martin and Paul Goldsack, who have been hosts at the historic former coaching inn in Castle Street for nine years, have founded their own micro-brewery on the outskirts of Dorchester.

The Dorset Piddle Brewery, housed in an industrial unit on a converted former army camp at Piddlehinton, has begun production of Yogi Beer - already on tap at Ye Olde George - and the first 300 gallons of Piddle are expected to be produced shortly.

Rob and Paul now plan to carry out at least two brews a week at Piddlehinton, producing up to 2,304 pints each time, with the beers being sold from Ye Olde George and other pubs and outlets in Dorset and surrounding counties.

"We were looking for a new challenge but something that fitted in with running the pub and in a rural location. This is just perfect," said Rob.

"Our regulars have been very positive about the new beers and we're confident they're going to do really well."

Yogi beer, taking its name from the initial letters of Ye Olde George Inn has a 4.9 per cent alcohol strength while Piddle is 4.1 per cent.

The brewing process, including fermentation, takes around a week.

  • The headline on this story was from 2CR presenters Paul and Caroline who won the Headline Game challenge on their morning show. Can you top it below?