ONE of the Tyne Valley’s most popular breweries is set to record its busiest ever year despite the challenges presented by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Twice Brewed Brew House has been open throughout lockdown and is now brewing more beer than ever.

Its Pub in a Box promotion proved incredibly popular with those missing their favourite pint during the period where pubs were closed.

Head brewer Matthew Brown sent out five litre kegs complete with beer mats, glasses, crisps, nuts, and a pub quiz to punters all over the UK.

Matthew said: “I never stopped working and certainly saw some of my busiest weeks during lockdown.

“I’d actually had the Pub In A Box idea just before lockdown, but it obviously became a lot more popular when there were no pubs to go to.

“Obviously there was a massive dip in demand from our trade customers who had to cancel their orders with us pretty much overnight, but by offering a range of options for customers via our online shop, we were able to sell the stock we had - and then get brewing again.”

In addition, the brewery was recently given a Bronze at the digitally-held North East SIBA Awards for its Bohemian Pilsner, Juno.

Since lockdown restrictions were eased, Matthew and his team have been brewing day and night.

Their most recent beer is a bottled incarnation of old favourite Ceres, and a new bottled orange zest IPA called Coventina.

Matthew added: ““We are shifting a lot of beer. The fact that we were open and at maximum capacity during lockdown undoubtedly raised the profile of the Brew House, with more and more people enjoying the quality of our beers.

“And because we were brewing more than ever, it meant that when pubs started reopening, we were in a position to supply them straight away with freshly brewed beers.”