AND we’re off. Happy New Year and welcome to the first full weekend of 2017.

So, what’s new?...

It’s always nice to start the new year with some new beers and new events, and our local landlords and brewers have not let us down.

First up, this coming Thursday, Revolutions Brewing Co will launch its 2017 beer range with a tap takeover event at The Woolpack in Fawcett Street (7.30pm to 11pm).

If you haven’t been here since it reopened, then this is the perfect chance to put that right.

Chris and Sharon Sherratt, who won national renown at The Craven Arms in Birmingham, took over here a month ago and are already showing a clear commitment to excellent beer.

The Revolutions event will showcase six beers on cask and two on keg. The cask options are Clash (porter), Manifesto (stout) and four brand new beers: Rudy (an English IPA), Treasure (a ruby ale), Switch #1 (a three-hop pale ale) and Grip (a Yorkshire-style beer). On keg are a rebranded version of Sanctuary and the brand new black lager, Dominion.

York Press:

The Woolpack has two further dates for your diary as well... On January 27 and 28, it's hosting a vegan beer festival, including beers from Weird Beard, Almasty, Brodie's and Moor (If you were wondering, most beer isn't vegan due to the finings used in the casks, but a growing number of breweries are using vegan-friendly methods).

Then on February 6, there's a 'meet the brewer' evening with Robert Hamilton from Manchester's Black Jack Brewery.

Elsewhere, there are plenty of other new beers to enjoy.

York Brewery has produced a new amber ale, Here's Hoping (with the tagline '2017 is better than 2016'). The brewery promises a caramel, malty and spicy taste.

Up at Shipton-by-Beningbrough, Treboom Brewery's first new beer of the year is Trommel, a cask-conditioned lager with an ABV of 4.2 per cent, using Tettnang hops from Germany, which brewer John Lewis says gives it a "floral grassy aroma and a hint of spice".

At Ellerton, meanwhile, the first newbie out of the fermenters at Half Moon Brewery is an American-style pale ale called, wait for it... American Pale.

It's brewed with Centennial, Cascade, Target and Pekko hops, and brewer Tony Rogers says it will have an ABV of 5.8 per cent.

At Brass Castle in Malton, the most exciting new launch is Lemming, a ramped-up version of its popular Cliffhanger pale ale, weighing in at a hefty 7.4 per cent.

Then finally, up at North Riding in Scarborough, Stu Neilson has produced Sticklebract, a pale ale brewed with New Zealand hops, and a milk chocolate stout at five per cent.