A NORTH Yorkshire brewery has relaunched its experimental arm with a new brew.

Outlaw Brewing Co was established in 1996 by the then owner of Rooster’s Brewing Co, based in Knaresborough, as a brand to produce experimental and innovative beers on an ad hoc basis.

Over the years a number of different beers were brewed using new and rare hops, adjunct flavours and experiments with barrel-ageing, amongst other things.

The business was eventually abandoned when the brewery rebranded and focused on its core brewing operation, but new owners Ian, Tom and Oliver Fozard, who bought Roosters last year, decided to bring the brand back.

The company approached local tea and coffee merchant Taylors of Harrogate after deciding their first Outlaw brew would be infused with tea.

Under the guidance of Ian Brabbin, Taylors’ head of tea, the relaunched brewery has created Mad Hatter, a 6.2 per cent ABV limited edition Jasmine Green Tea India Pale Ale, which has also been brewed in collaboration with beer writer Melissa Cole.

Tom Fozard, Rooster’s, commercial manager, said: “Over the past year, plenty of customers and brewers alike have been asking us about the return of Outlaw.

‘‘It’s a brand that is synonymous with experimenting with all kinds of beer styles and flavours and it’s good to have it back.”

Ian Brabbin said: “We tasted different teas together in our tasting room in Harrogate and selected a high-quality Chinese Jasmine Leaf tea for Mad Hatter.

‘‘All of our tea tasters visited the brewery to see first-hand the fascinating art of the brewing process.

‘‘Our companies have many things in common, as we are local family businesses who pride ourselves in producing the very best tasting brews for our customers, using the finest ingredients and taking into account different waters, too.’’

Tom said that the brewery intended to use different artists to design the branding for each brew and the first pump clip had been produced by local designer Tom Cutting.

Only 75 casks of the brew will be available to pubs, including the York Tap and The Maltings in York, from the beginning of December.