Keighley's Old Bear Brewery, formerly run by Ian Cowling, has ceased to exist and has become a trading style of Bridgehouse Brewery.

Ian, who ran the Old Bear, is now the brewery manager for Bridgehouse Brewery where he will make both Bridgehouse and Old Bear beers at Bridgehouse’s Oxenhope premises and Old Bear’s Aireworth Road base.

Fans of these products will be relieved to know that there has not been a break in production.

The range of beers and their recipes remain the same, and there will still be some seasonal specials.

Bridgehouse Brewery owns the Airedale Heifer at Sandbeds, where a range of their beers can usually be found on the bar.

Mark Kelly from Bridgehouse Brewery says that the pub is to undergo a major refurbishment, and when this is complete they intend to relocate the brewery to purpose built premises in the Airedale Heifer’s grounds and to expand production.

In other local bar-related news, there was a rare treat in Keighley last month, when a new bar selling real ale opened in the town. Café Choux Choux is a café bar on Keighley Railway Station's forecourt, located where the Musicians’ Centre used to be.

Adjacent to the café bar is Nana Nellies, a deli and takeaway, which is part of the same family-run business, and this is where Café Choux Choux’s food is also prepared.

Refurbished by local craftsmen in the historic station building, they serve four real ales, two of which come from Yates brewery, along with a good range of bottled foreign beers.

You need to arrive early to sample their fare because Café Choux Choux closes to the public at 7pm.

The Cricketers Arms on Coney Lane, which is part of the same Worth Inns group, has been in CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide for years – will Café Choux Choux join it?

Planning is now well under way for CAMRA’s Keighley Beer Festival in Central Hall, in Alice Street, running from Thursday September 25 to Saturday September 27. To find out more, visit the festival’s website at keighleybeerfestival.org.uk