A BEER has been brewed to honour Huddersfield Town in its centenary year – and its historic championship treble.

The Monkey Club, a licensed members’ club in Armitage Bridge, will launch the new brew when it hosts the MonkeyFest beer festival this weekend.

Twenty of the club’s members who are Town season ticket holders, were behind the decision to create Chapman’s Three Star Beer – a reference to Town’s legendary manager Herbert Chapman, who steered the club to a hat-trick of league championships in the 1920s.

Town’s current kit features three gold stars to represent the three title triumphs.

The beer, described as a golden bitter weighing in at a reasonably strong 4.3% ABV, has been brewed by Empire Brewing in Slaithwaite, a micro-brewery set up in 2004 in a garage, which has since moved to larger premises at Upper Mills, Canal Side.

Empire brews a distinctive range of beers, including one-off specials as well as regular beers such as The Empire Strikes Back.

Chapman’s Three Star Beer will be sold at the second MonkeyFest, which takes place from noon to 7pm on Saturday and from noon to 9pm on Sunday. More than 40 other beers will be available to sample at the event, which will also include live bands and a barbecue on both days.

The club will also be raising money for charity through a raffle and auction for Cancer Research in memory of lifelong Town fan Keith Stringer, a member of the Monkey Club, who died of the disease earlier this year.

Club president and Town season ticket holder Gareth Shaw said: “We contacted Russ Beverley at Empire Brewing.

“Being a huge football fan, Russ is very excited about being involved in the brewing of this beer to celebrate the Town’s centenary.

“There are 20 members who are Town season ticket holders, so there is a strong link with the football club.

“This was the major reason why we wanted to create a beer to celebrate Town’s centenary and sell it at the MonkeyFest.”

The Monkey Club was formed more than a century ago and is thought to have got its name from an old sailor, who used to bring in a pet Monkey and put it on the fireplace.

The club has a fully stocked bar as well as three hand pumps featuring Timothy Taylor’s Bitter and two guest beers at all times.

It has won two awards from the Campaign for Real Ale and has been nominated for inclusion in the 2009 Good Pub Guide.