A BREWERY is going from strength to strength, doubling its number of customers in the first 12 months under new ownership.

Piddle Brewery, based at Piddlehinton Enterprise Park, has undertaken some major changes and an ambitious three-year plan is brewing.

Ian Siddall and Jon Lavers took over the brewery in October 2014. The pair are determined to make Piddle a more serious brewery, steering away from the comedic names, such as 'Jimmy Riddle', it has become known for in the past.

Jon said: "With a name like Piddle, you would think that we don’t take anything seriously, but, we do. 

"Our passion is blending hops, barley and malts to create ales that bring serious pleasure, from delicate thirst-quenches to thick, velvety stouts."

In the past year the brewery has launched a host of new beers including Dorset No.1 which has proved a popular hit.

Jon added: "Ian is quite well known in Dorset and is very experienced in business. There has been some sensationalised stories as to why the brewery changed hands. But Ian was brought in to rescue the brewery and that's exactly what he has done.

"Since we took over the brewery, the quality of the beer has improved and this is shown in the type of customers we have recruited such as The Pig chain like The Pig Hotel and The Pig on the Beach and we have doubled the amount of our customers in the first 12 months.

"We have looked at our brewing process and made some changes and we've also brought in some really strict quality control measures and test our beers every day. Beers last about eight weeks but if we sample them and they have only lasted six we will ring our customers and inform them.

"We reach out to twice as many customers but we still have a long way to go. We believe we only work with about 30 or 40 percent of the Dorset market and we want to increase that."

The brewery have an ambition three year plan that will aim to see the introduction of a bottle plant, more involvement in events such as the Weymouth Carnival and the Dorset Sea Food Festival, collaborating with other breweries and continuing raise money for Dorset charities.

There are currently four staff at the brewery, Jon, Ian, Ian Stansbie and Becca Shaw, but this extends in the summer.

Jon added: "As I am sure most of you are aware two of our clients have recently closed down – The Dolphin in Blandford and Ye Olde George Inn in Christchurch. Piddle Brewery has been a separate business from these two pubs since the brewery was taken over in October 2014. We would just like to confirm that we are still here making as much Piddle as you can possibly drink."

For more information visit piddlebrewery.co.uk/