Three female staff, including its first woman brewer, have been appointed by award-winning Ilkley Brewery The appointment of Harriet Marks as brewster, Alexa Jennings as office manager and Claire Dunne as credit controller takes the number of staff to 12 as the company gears up for further growth.

Ilkley Brewery is currently receiving guidance from Dragon’s den star Deborah Meeden after beating 3,000 other small business to win the national Local Business Accelerators prize. The company also won six more brewing industry awards in 2012 and boosted its export business.

Before joining Ilkley Brewery Harriet Marks worked on Australian vineyards until returning home to Yorkshire last year. She said: “Here, craft beer is undergoing an exciting revolution and I love being involved in the entire brewing process.”

Alexa Jennings previously worked at Tax Assist Accountants as an account technician. Claire Dunne has an extensive background in the pub trade having owned a pub and worked for a number of years with Market Town Taverns.