MORE than 50 new breweries have opened in Yorkshire in the past four years alone - but few have made as big an impact as Bad Seed have.

When Chris Waplington and James Broad set up on the York Road Business Park in Malton in 2013, not even they envisaged what was about to happen.

But two years on, they have grown so rapidly that they have had to move to larger premises and treble their capacity, just to keep up with demand. They have become one of Yorkshire's most respected young breweries and their best are now among the most sought-after in the country.

They are enjoying rising demand from landlords and bar managers, and have also won lucrative contracts with the Tate Modern and Harvey Nichols.

"It has been a real rollercoaster for the past two years," says Chris. "I'm not sure what we did expect, but it has all been incredibly quick and has gone in many different directions since we first started out. We have spent a lot of time trying to catch up on ourselves.

"Various things have worked well for us. Without a doubt, our passion for beer means we are making beers we love to drink and it means we also know what is happing in the beer scene.

"Our beers are testament to that. People are coming back to us and we are getting into new places."

York Press:

Visitors will be able to sample a range of Bad Seed's beers

The move into the new premises - immediately opposite their old base, in Rye Close - has enabled a huge increase in output. They are now producing 48 casks twice a week - equivalent to nearly 7,000 pints.

Chris and James are also eyeing new markets. They have feelers out in Northern Ireland, have had a couple of queries from Italy and Spain, and are keen to get into Scandinavia. But for now, all such thoughts are being put aside - as they plan an altogether more local event.

On Saturday (Sep 12), they are throwing open the doors of their new premises for a huge "house warming party", complete with beer and cake galore.

They hope customers, beer enthusiasts and local residents will come along for the day for a chat, a look round, and some free samples.

"We want to open up the whole site and show people the brewery and let them try all our beers.

"Every time we have dropped off beer, people have said they want to come to see the brewery, so we are saying 'come along'. For us, it's really important to have that connection between people making the beer and the people drinking it."

There will be no charge on the day for the beer, but visitors will instead be asked to make a donation to Scarborough and Ryedale Mountain Rescue. There will also be nibbles available from the Haxby Bakehouse, and baker Victoria Harley will be supplying cakes made with or paired with some of the brewery's beers - including a chocolate cake using their Espresso Stout and a blueberry and hefeweizen sponge.

In other news....

BLACK Sheep Brewery in Masham has launched a new all-English beer to mark the Rugby World Cup.

Blind Side uses eight English hop varieties and will be available in pubs throughout September and October. It's a ruby ale with an ABV of 4.3 per cent.

Jo Theakston, the brewery's sales and marketing director, said: “As well as appealing to rugby fans and beer lovers alike, we are hoping the full flavour of Blind Side will also score some conversions among drinkers who are looking to enter into the rugby spirit and try an ale for the first time."