THERE’S a little brewery making a big noise in East Lancashire.

The Northern Whisper Brewing Company has experienced a whirlwind 12 months, which has seen it open up a brewery, two small bars - including the new Chatterbox bar next to the brewery in Hill End Road, Cloughfold, to mark its first birthday - and supply bars as far afield as Exeter.

And with the first batch heading to the lucrative Chinese markets, Northern Whisper has come a long way in a short time.

The brewery is the brainchild of brothers Barney and Josh Vines and Carmelo Pillitteri.

Carmelo was brewing for local restaurant Nino’s when he hooked up with The Vines brothers.

Barney said: “It’s been an unbelievable 12 months. We’d brewed some beer for a festival on our family farm in Helmshore and we knew Carmelo had been doing something. So we had a chat about forming a brewery together and that’s what we did.”

Carmelo added: “There were a lot of rumours going around the town about me opening up a bar or Josh and Barney taking over a clothes shop to make a bar. We told that to the marketing agency and they came up with the ‘Northern Whisper’ brand.”

And the concept of the rumour-mill has inspired the brewers in naming their beers.

Josh said: “Our first brew, we called ‘Oppenchops’ an old Lancashire slang term for a gossip. We also have Yammer House, Chinwag, Small-Talk and Tittle-Tattle. It’s all based around people getting together and having a chat over a good beer.

“We’ve had great support from local bars and distributors locally and we have had some really great feedback. It’s very gratifying to hear people say good things about our products.”

The brewers now produce about 12,000 pints a week and employ 18 staff, and their latest project might push them onto a new level.

The Whisper boys have collaborated with Burnley-based Moorhouses on a couple of special ales.

Carmelo travelled over to Moorhouses to create the Oatmeal Pale Ale (3.5 per cent ABV).

And in response,Moorhouse’s head brewer, Dan Casaru, has created Blood Orange & Pineapple IPA (5.0 per cent ABV), which will be brewed by Northern.

Carmelo added: “I learned so much talking to the guys from Moorhouses. They have been brewing beers for decades so it’s been a good collaboration.

“Drinking habits are changing with the emphasis on quality and people are a lot choosier and selective about what they buy.”

And as for the future, the fledgling brewery plans to continue to roll with the punches.

Barney said: “We haven’t had time to really look back and reflect on what we’ve achieved. We’re planning a collaboration with a brewery in America and taking our first steps into the Chinese market. It is very exciting. We’re always looking to expand so we’ll see what happens but we’re delighted with how the first year has gone.”