FORGET best bitter - this is zest bitter.

An award-winning North Yorkshire brewery has launched its innovative Christmas beer - and it involved manually zesting 600 oranges.

Bad Seed Brewery, based in Malton, teamed up with staff from The House of The Trembling Madness in Stonegate in York to make the beer, Orange and Rosemary Belgian Pale.

York Press: The recipe was created jointly by brewer James Broad, from Bad Seed, and Michael Bates, who works at Trembling Madness, brews his own beer and also writes The Press's weekly bottled beer reviews.

York Press:

Chris Waplington, from Bad Seed, said: "We're looking to produce a beer that blows the socks all the other spiced nonsense that is produced around Christmas time. We're not looking for novelty and we're not looking for tradition - only interesting and flavoursome beer."

York Press:

He added: "The rosemary is a key component that brings heart, soul and perfume."

The beer was being launched at the House of The Trembling Madness on Monday night, with cask and keg versions. Deliveries are being distributed to bars in York, Leeds, Edinburgh and London.