YORK Brewery has launched a new image as it plans to grow the business.

During the business’s 15th year, the rebrand aims to project a professional and a quality image, raise the brewery’s profile, and create a consistent look across its different beers.

Andrew Barker, managing director, said they would keep the existing tagline of Brewed Within The City Walls to highlight the importance of its location to the brand.

He said: “The liquid is fantastic and very well-renowned and we feel this keeps tradition and us that modern feel.”

He said they wanted to reposition the brand as the brewery looked at expanding, having already taken on a new distribution warehouse in The Crescent to give it more space.

Mr Barker said: “We will distribute all our product from there, which frees us up to further develop the offering we have in our brewery site.” He said they intended to invest in the visitor centre, shop and members’ bar within the brewery, and in future hoped to increase capacity to create and sell more beer.

Mr Barker said: “Our strategy is working well and that will eventually mean we will have to invest more money in capacity. We have created some space to do that.”

York Brewery was bought by family pub company Mitchells in December 2008, which is this year celebrating its 140th birthday.

Mr Barker said the business had recruited about four more people to increase sales, creating a staff of about 14, not including bar staff who work in the brewery’s four pubs across York and Leeds.

The brewery had also reached an agreement with Carlsberg, one of Mitchells’ partners, to sell York Brewery’s Yorkshire Terrier real ale to pubs it supplies with lager, which Mr Barker expected to further increase sales, as well as raise its profile.

He said: “We’re looking to increase our customer base for our beers through whatever means that may be, through our own efforts and free trade accounts.

“And we’re going to create more jobs as part of that and what we’re doing in general. There’s a good future for the business.”

Peter Wadsworth, free trade sales manager for York Brewery, said: “We already have a large following outside of York and the new branding and new image will enhance trade.”