THE owners of a 17th century pub in Ebrington have caught the brewing bug after creating a third installment of their own beer.

Claire and Jim Alexander, who have owned the Ebrington Arms for the last eight years, fulfilled a lifelong dream last summer by selling their own beer called Yubby Bitter so called due to villagers’ affectionate name for the village of ‘Yubberton’ and the pub known as ‘The Yubby’.

Their second beer 4.3 per cent Yawnie soon followed and their latest beer, Yubby Pale Ale (YPA) is being officially launched on Saturday, March 1.

The refreshing four per cent pale ale is made from British hops using the couple's own recipe and is brewed at the North Cotswold Brewery, Stretton-on-Fosse, near Shipston.

Mrs Alexander said: "I think a unique beer is one of the things we can do to attract regulars and ale drinkers. I don't know any other pubs in the area that does that.

"There's a real boost in real ale in this country at the moment. We've had great feedback. Yubby Bitter is our most popular which is really encouraging. You can only buy it in our pubs.

"We're not going to sell it in the supermarket."

The launch party is taking place from 4pm to 5pm and the first half pint is free while stocks last.

North Cotswold Branch of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) is meeting at the pub at 10.30am for a special Gold 50th celebration walk and will be returning for lunch before the tasting.

Mrs Alexander said in the wake of 26 CAMRA pubs closing a week across the country, including The Wellington Inn, in Moreton, and more recently The Churchill Arms, in Paxford, and they were working hard to entice customers through the doors.

"It's a really bad time for pubs," she said. "We're lucky in the Cotswolds we've still got so many good ones.

"We've had our busiest ever January and Christmas. We take that as a really positive sign for the year ahead."