CHRISTMAS is coming and once again East Lancashire’s breweries have been hard at work creating some tasty tipples for the festive season.

The region is blessed with brewing talent, with the rise in real ale in recent years seeing microbreweries springing up in various shapes and sizes.

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The region’s largest brewer, Thwaites in Blackburn, has released some familiar favourites as well as an original brew for the season.

Drinkers of the Penny Street firm’s brews will be familiar with ‘Yule Love It’, an amber ale with a biscuit malt flavour and the 4.9 per cent Good Elf, which features festive fruity flavours, and both have returned for another year.

And for the ‘Scrooges’ out there, brewers have come up with ‘Old Miserable Git! (OMG!)’, a play on the much-loved acronym, a 4.1 per cent brown ale with plum flavours and ‘Merry Berry’ is a blackberry infused stout at 4.2 per cent.

Burnley’s Moorhouse’s is well known for its seasonal specials, especially at Hallowe’en but also at Christmas.

The much-loved ‘Lap Prancer’ will be back on the bars this festive season, as will the popular golden ale ‘Ice Witch’, returning for a second year, with flavours of tropical fruits such as mango, passion fruit and pineapple thanks to the American citra hop.

And to meet the ever-increasing demand for festive ales, the firm has rebranded a sleigh-full of its blended ales for December with three golden tipples, Santa’s Special (four per cent), Snow Globe (4.4 per cent) and Ebenezer Ale (4.8per cent), together with amber ale Christmas Cauldron (4.2 per cent).

Managing director David Grant said: “Ice Witches been brewed for the festivities to offer a slightly tropical tasty alternative to the heavy, dark specials typical of the winter months. It’s good for social drinking and yet ideal to enjoy with richer foods.

“Also, to meet the ever growing thirst for Christmas brews, we are rebranding some of our Hallowe’en blended specials to help publicans make the best of the December trade with beers they know will be popular.”

Microbreweries have also got in on the act, including the Worsthorne Brewery which has unveiled ‘Santa’s Special’, a four per cent session beer with citrus flavours.

Darwen’s Hopstar Brewery has re-released ‘Smokey Joe’s Winter Warmer’, a festive take on the Grimshaw Street brewer’s staple tipple, which uses rum to help take off the winter chill.

Reedley Hallows in Burnley has produced ‘Clausing Time’ at 4.2 per cent, and the Ribble Valley beer maker Bowland has brought out the 3.8 per cent ‘Fairy Ale of New York’.

Meanwhile the owners of the East Lancashire Pub of the Year Three B’s have come up with ‘Santa’s Skinful’, a four per cent ruby-coloured seasonal special.