Nestled in the beautiful Barncliffe Valley, Small World Beers is brewing up a storm.

The first brewery Shelley and Shepley have seen for 68 years, the three-man company began producing its range of traditional ales 'with a twist' in May 2014.

Using fresh spring water from the brewery's own bore hole, Small World's range of bitters, pale ales, stout and summer ales is sold in a 30-mile radius around its Shelley base — and brewing partners Dave Hill and Pete Forder are thrilled with their progress.

Dave said: "We've been going 13, 14 months now and it's been fantastic. It's a great time to be in beer, for both beer drinkers and for brewers.

"Beer has become exciting, and younger people now are getting into it."

Small World Brewery, Barncliffe Business Park, Shelley. Dave Hill in the chilled cellar.

Small World Beers are served in The Flying Ferret and the Three Acres in Shelley, as well as the Woodman Inn in Kirkburton, and town centre pubs including the King's Head and the Head of Steam.

Brewing two days a week, Dave and Pete, aided by brewer Ashley Walton, produce more than 100 casks each week.

"We brew traditional ales with a modern twist," Dave said. "We like to do ales that are drinkable, session beers. In this area there's a lot of pubs and free houses and that's where we can profit because they do want local beers."

Call it fate — or just sheer coincidence — but when it came to setting up Small World Beers, it seemed like everything fell into place.

Dave said: "I moved here from Cheshire — and met the landlord that owns the estate in my local. That's also where I met Pete 51 so that's where the Small World name came from!

"There hasn't been a brewery here for a long, long time, so we were really excited to open up."

Small World Brewery, Barncliffe Business Park, Shelley. Pete Forder measures the temperature in one of the mixing tanks.

Now Small World is following in the footsteps of Seth Senior and Sons, the last Shepley Brewery, which first opened in what is now the Sovereign Inn in 1829. The business was taken over by Hammonds Brewery in 1946.

Using hops from around the world and fresh spring water from the Shelley ground, Small World has made it's mark on both Shelley and the Huddersfield brewing scene, endeavouring to keep up with the demands of local ale fans.

"It's been a fantastic journey," Dave said. "We've made it a nice place for us to come and work. Everyone who has a site on Barncliffe Business Park is local, which is really good. Everyone is investing and it comes back to local produce, with customers wanting to shop locally too."