TRAIN enthusiasts and rail ale fans will be chuffed – the return of Flying Scotsman to York is being commemorated with a beer of the same name.

Caledonian Brewery in Edinburgh launched the new ale at a special event at The Golden Fleece pub in Pavement in York, complete with a bagpiper, tartan decor and haggis pie.

Peter Squires, Caledonian’s regional manager for the north east of England, said the brewery originally produced the beer as a seasonal special but said it was so popular that it decided to make it part of its permanent range.

It had hoped the launch would coincide with the return of the Flying Scotsman to the National Railway Museum in York, but delays to the locomotive’s repairs mean it will not now be back in York until next year.

Stephanie Macklewain-Cross, landlady at the Golden Fleece, said the beer had gone down well at Monday’s launch night. She was joined by representatives from Enterprise Inns, which owns the pub, and York-based piper Steve Roughley.

The beer, described by the brewery as having a “raisin-like spiciness and superb toasty dryness”, join several other real ales on the Golden Fleece bar.