A TINY brewery which was started just three months ago is already winning awards and expanding.

The Briefing reported in July how Bournemouth Brewing Company had been set up by 25-year-old Chris Mathers, his brother Ben and dad Kevin.

Since then, its beer Pesky Pirate Porter has been voted Beer of the Festival by hundreds of CAMRA members at Weymouth’s Octoberfest – and the company’s brewing capacity is growing.

Chief brewer Chris said: “It is unbelievable and a dream come true to be recognised at such an early stage of our adventure. Holding our own against bigger and reputable breweries makes me feel so proud and thankful for all the hard work of all those who have helped get us where we are today.”

He added: “We will definitely be celebrating with a beer or two.”

The company is based on Poole’s Nuffield Industrial Estate after a search for premises in Poole fell through. Chris grew up in Poole and went to St Edward’s in Oakdale and Corfe Hills School at Broadstone before studying chemistry at the University of Surrey.

His family has been in brewing since 1928 and some of the business’s recipes date back until then.

Among its other ales are Bournemouth Battleaxe, Wessex Wobble, Golden Grains, Dolphin Draught and a scrumpy called Pipsqueak. The company says the brewery has been a “tsunami of activity” in recent weeks because of the level of interest in the beers and the expansion of its brewing capacity.

As well as its own webiste, bournemouthbrewery.co.uk, the company now has a Facebook page, facebook.com/BournemouthBrewery