BLACKBURN micro brewer Jim Botur is back in business, resurrecting a beer name which vanished more than 60 years ago.

Mr Botur is presiding over the rebirth of Blackburn Beer Company, originally founded in 1882.

The new brewery is located at the Hornby Hotel in Blackburn town centre, supplying free trade outlets and guest beer accounts.

Mr Botur is a former Matthew Brown brewer who lost his job when Scottish and Newcastle closed the Blackburn Lion Brewery several years ago.

He founded the Griffin Brewery in Burnley with his Lions Original Ales bringing him into conflict with his old bosses.

But pressure on margins and competition for free trade business saw the demise of the enterprise after only three years.

The Blackburn Beer Company will now have a useful tied supply at its base for its 15-barrel plant.

The original Blackburn Brewing Company was bought by Duttons of Blackburn in 1928.

Duttons was taken over by Whitbread in the 1960s.

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