AN EXCLUSIVE brew is taking a taste of a York beer garden behind the bar.

Monkgate's Tap and Spile is using its own harvest from a hop vine growing in its garden to produce a unique beer. And the tipple, expected to be called Monkgate Hops, is expected to be on sale in the pub this autumn.

Landlord Andy MacKay said: "I've had the plant four years and each year it gets a better crop.

"This year, for the first time, it looks like we're going to get enough to make the beer."

The hops will be sent off to Harrogate brewer Rooster, whose beer is already a regular behind the pub's bar, to be transformed into Monkgate Hops.

It is expected to produce about 18 gallons of beer, at a strength of about 4.3 per cent.

And a local artist is already planning a pump design - suspected to feature Andy as a monk, hopping over a gate.

"Because it is our own hops, the beer should have a very distinctive taste," said Andy.

"I have never heard of any pubs doing this before, but I wouldn't have thought it's going to last long."

The hops are expected to be harvested in September, with the brew due to be ready in October.

Hops act as a preservative in beer and give it its bitter taste.

Updated: 11:03 Friday, August 31, 2001