BEER is back on tap at a pub devastated by fire.

The Sair Inn at Linthwaite is brewing again after a fire destroyed its brewhouse roof in June.

It meant an end to brewing at the Sair as the fire damage made working in it impossible.

But three weeks ago they brewed their first beers which are now on sale and landlord Ron Crabtree, who has supped them all, says they’re better than ever.

He said: “There’s been a lot of work done, there had to be after the fire.

“In any case we were going to re-equip the brewhouse and I’d already ordered the equipment but it hadn’t been delivered when the fire happened.

“It was the roof which was ruined but we couldn’t fit the vessels and do work around it so we had to wait.”

Back in June Mr Crabtree, who has been at the Sair Inn for 29 years, pledged to carry on after the fire.

He was awoken by his cleaner knocking on the door of the pub and telling him the brewhouse, which is attached to the rear of the pub, was on fire.

It was filled with open fermenting vessels used in the brewing of beer – the ones due to be replaced.

Mr Crabtree added: “The building itself was fine, it was just the roof, but the fire damage took a long time to clear.

“The smoke even got through to the cellar of the pub. There was so much work which needed to be done before we could brew.

“But we started brewing again three weeks ago. It’s takes time but it’s ready now.”

He said the new equipment was already making a difference to the beer’s taste.

“I am proud to show people around now,” he added.

“I’ve been here for 29 years and I knew the failings of the old system.

“The first beers are already on tap – there’s six at the moment and we might do eight.

“They’re much better than before – I’ve tasted them all.”

The Sair Inn is one of the country’s top brewhouses, and marked 15 years in the Campaign for Real Ale’s Good Beer Guide in 2008.