Keighley brewery Timothy Taylor's is bucking the trend when it comes to cask-conditioned 'real' ale. Demand for its award winning traditional beers is up around 50 per cent over the last two years, while competitors are reporting a decline of 10 or 12 per cent a year.

The thriving company is investing heavily at its Knowle Spring site to meet the rising demand, and this week officially opened its new brewhouse fermenting room.

Managing director Charles Dent says: "We are definitely bucking the trend. Our latest expansion at the brewery has almost doubled our capacity, which we needed to do bec-ause our customers are dem-anding more and more. The increase in demand has been more than we ever expected, and shows our beers have a very strong following.

"Traditionally our 'exports' have been to Lancashire, but now we are supplying all over the country, from London to the North East. I think we have been successful because we have stuck to our principles," he says: "We try to make our beer the best by using the best ingredients and the old fashioned methods."

Head brewer Peter Eells says: "We believe the great flavour of our beers is due to using our own well water and our own yeast, as well as the very best barley and hops.

"There is no doubt that the success of Landlord in winning a number of top awards in the last year has helped to spur on an already growing demand. These awards have also assisted sales of the bottled version, which is now stocked by major supermarkets."

Taylor's, which can trace its history back to 1858, has spent over £750,000 in the last two years to enhance the brewing process. Production has been boosted from 600 barrels a week to more than 1,000.

Landlord won the coveted cask ale championship trophy at the International Brewing Industry awards in the spring. The competition is recognised as the industry's 'Oscars' and is unique in being judged only by current practising commercial brewers. The beer also won Camera's Supreme Champion Beer of Britain to become the first ever to hold both titles in the same year.

At the opening ceremony on Tuesday, Taylor's was presented with a special award from the Guild of British Beer Writers. Former guild chairman Barrie Pepper presented the British Beer and Brewing award to head brewer Peter Eells and second brewer Andrew Lemon. He said the award was presented annually to the person, organisation or company which guild members felt had done the most to raise the profile of British beer in the previous year.

"Taylor's was a unanimous choice of the panel," he says.