There was plenty to celebrate at BareArts 5th anniversary, but the icing on the cake was their appearance on Radio 4's PM programme, reporting on the publication of the 2011 Good Beer Guide. The five minute slot featured Trevor and Kathy talking about the brewery with the important focus on the way women are increasingly drawn to real ale. BareArts were able to point out the different character of their bar, plus the fact that their serving of beer from the bottles into jug s allows for convivial sharing and sampling.

By coincidence a film crew also descended on the brewery, which is set to feature in an entry for the BBC Short Film Competition. The theme? Real Ale and women!! So the brewery, renowned for its strong ales is gaining a wider audience. And following on from this attention Kathy has also been contacted by Women's Hour, potentially to talk about her paintings - but no doubt beer will get a mention.

BareArts has been maintain its local connections with a relabelled Barley Wine Veteran's Ale donated to the Todmorden British Legion and the brewery are also providing prizes for the Todmorden Harriers Hot Toddy road race (Monday 27th December if you fancy winning a bottle).

Away from the media spotlight Andrew has continued brewing a range of 4 - 6% beers for the Xmas trade: Light Blonde 3.8% (Lager barley malt, Cascade hops); East Kent Goldings 3.9% (Marris Otter Malt); Amber 4.7% (marris Otter, Lager and dark Crystal Malt hopped with East Kent Goldings. They, along with a Light Cascade 4.6% and the ever popular Beer Beer 4.8%, are now available in 5ltr kegs for take-home drinking.

BareArts continues to brew in back to back batches, with significant energy saving on heat exchange and with the recycling of their bottles they are now up to 52,000 refilled bottles in the past 18 months. The one thing that does not get reused is yeast. They have always used new, fresh Nottingham yeast for each batch (rather than reuse from previous brews) to help attain the high abvs, but have found this approach has significantly speeded up fermentation in the less strong brews and they are conditioning quicker.

The gallery and bar on Rochdale Road has seen a few changes in the past few months. New in is a fine selection of delicatessen foods are available to eat in or take away - ranging from 'nibbles' to quails eggs to extra strong mints (presumably for those have told their partner they are popping out for a pint of milk and then have had a pint of milk stout). The building as had some acoustic sound proofing allowing the popular music events to continue. A list of these events, new beers and extended opening hours in the run-up to Christmas are all available on the frequently updated website www.barearts.com

The bar continues to stock between 20 and 30 beers, all available to drink in or take away. After a summer concentrating on lighter abv bitters owner Trevor and brewer Andrew are busy producing the stronger beers on which they have made BareArts reputation. Recent new brews include 5.1% East Kent Goldings, 6.8% IPA, 8.6% Oatmeal Stout and a dark Barley Wine that will come in at just under 10%. Another 6 brews are planned for Christmas. The IPA and Stout are made to the same recipe though at differing strengths to those in the Good Bottled Beer Guide, both use East Kent Goldings and Maris Otter malt, the Stout also having chocolate malt and malted oats.

Another batch of Cider has been made at 5.7% - off dry and nicely fruity and lively with a little sparkle. Thought not designated a 'Real Cider' under CAMRA criteria as it is made from apple concentrate, it is treated in exactly the same way as BareArts make their beers ie triple dropped and primed with yeast to bottle condition. As Trevor points out it is as natural and even uses less chemicals than some 'Real' Ciders.

For those keen to monitor environmental concerns, BareArts is proud to boast that it has reused 17,000 bottles between April and November thanks to customers returning their off sales and those in the bar being washed and their tied on labels reused. In the brewery production is carried out back-to-back, whereby energy is saved thanks to the heat exchangers. In fact the one thing that could be reused and is not is yeast - specialist Nottingham ale yeast is new and fresh for every brew.

For the festive period extra beer is being put into 5ltr party kegs - starting with above mentioned 5.1% East Kent Goldings and 6.8% IPA. There are 3 and 6 bottle gift boxes available if your preferred Christmas shopping is of a liquid nature; and for those of you foregoing supermarkets special deals on trays of lager BareArts will give a 10% discount on a dozen bottles. Trevor and Kathy plan extended opening in the run up to Christmas with plenty of musical entertainment. Please check their website www.barearts.com or sign up to their email newsletter for further details.

The brewery itself had no trouble coping with the (short lived) hot spell thanks to the electronically controlled cooling jackets and has produced a couple of Summer Specials for seasonal drinking with abvs below Bare Arts usual strengths. There is a 4% Light Ale made with Fuggles and a 4.5% with East Kent Goldings. Goldings are also used for a third batch at the more accustomed 6%. All have Maris Otter malt. Owner Trevor and brewer Andrew have been experimenting with fining and priming the brews and the bottle conditioned beers now have less yeast sediment whilst still retaining their sparkle.

The bottle conditioned beers can be served in pint glasses or into jugs for sharing / sampling between a group. If you wish, the yeast dregs can be poured into a shot glass to be used as a chaser - Trevor's preferred way of drinking his beers; an unusual concept but one used by the bar opposite the De Koninck brewery in Antwerp, where regulars have a bucket of yeast bought over from the brewery to add to or accompany their draft beer.

One other new beer needs a mention - well, not exactly new. A limited quantity (about 30 dozen) of 6% Best Bitter has been discovered. Made in September 2008 and overlooked when Trevor had his accident it was found when tidying up after the building work. The beer has developed a lovely amber colour and complex flavours; well worth sampling to show how a good strong ale can mature.

The other benefit of the renovation is it has allowed the expansion of other activities in the bar. A greater range of food is now offered, snacks will be readily available (the brandy and barley wine fruit cake is lovely) and Trevor and Kathy have already started hosting special dining occasions - 4 or 5 course menus - matching food a wine. Tickets for these events, along with the ongoing monthly beer tastings, must be booked in advance.

Despite its ever changing range of beers Bare Arts is featured in the new 7th edition of Jeff Evan's Good Bottled Beer Guide, due to be published this August. Here's hoping that their specialist strong ales gets a national following that they deserve.

The barley wines - a Golden at 9.8% and Dark at 9.6% - are made from Maris Otter malted barley and East Kent Golding hops with some dark crystal added to one brew for colour. A long three week fermentation brought the OG down from 1090 to 1017 for the Dark and 1013 for the Golden. Both already show great complexity without the sweetness being too cloying and will keep well into the future. As will the superb 9% Vintage Ale (brewed Spring 2007, released Summer 2008). A few bottles are still available; full of butterscotch character at the moment but will repay more with long term cellaring.

BareArts now have five stouts on the shelf for winter drinking: Dark 6.8%, Milk Stout 6.8% (the former with lactose added), Imperial 8.1%, Oatmeal 8.2% and Blackcurrant 8.2%. There will also be three new lighter ales for Christmas including a 'Traditional Beer' at 4.6% late hopped with Goldings plus two very aromatic Cascade offerings one at 5.3% the other at 7.3%.

The opening titles of the autumn River Cottage TV series featured Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall sampling BareArts beer when he visited the 'Incredible Edible' campaign in Todmorden to highlight local food sourcing (which obviously encompasses finding incredibly drinkable ales).

All BareArts beers are available in 50cl bottles, and a selection of the range in 5ltr mini casks and 8.5ltr 'Party Pigs'. They can be bought from their shop on Rochdale Road, opposite Morrisons - the pink facade of the art gallery is hard to miss. All bottles are available as off sales or can be drunk in the bar area along with four beers on draught. Opening hours have been extended to include Wednesday and Thursday evenings as well as the weekend. The first Thursday of the month is put aside for a tutored tasting - highly recommended; but places are limited so please contact the shop to book tickets. Details can be checked on www.barearts.com.

Currently all brewing is being carried out by Trevor's assistant Andrew while Trev recovers from a road traffic accident. We wish him a speedy recovery and he hopes to be back, hands on, in the New Year.

Bare Arts Brewery continues to thrive as an off trade enterprise with its range of beers, cider and perry available bottle conditioned or in the unique 'Party Pigs'. The Bare Arts shop on Rochdale Road, Todmorden now stocks, virtually exclusively, their own beers. This outlet - part off sales, part "drinking in", part art gallery - over seen by owners Trevor and Kathy provides a lovely atmosphere to sample some of the range of beers, dispensed from the Party Pigs. Good quality wine (Chablis and Chateauneuf du Pape were recently on offer) and soft drinks are also available to cater for all drinkers. Highly recommended for a visit on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays (please check their website for opening hours).

With help at hand in the brewery, new recruit Andrew completed his first brew in March, Trevor is now on with his mission to create recipies for what he refers to as "extreme beer". The key is the use of a 'super yeast' tolerant of high alcohols and used only once, discarded in favour of a fresh batch after each brew. His latest plans are to experiment with fruit beers - coming soon will hopefully be a Blackcurrant Stout and a Sour Cherry beer based on a traditional ale and brewed out to 9%.

Bear Arts is also gaining an increasing reputation for promoting local events through its beers. They have been commissioned to produce a special brew to commemorate Todmorden Harriers 30th Anniversary - a slightly lighter than usual ale at 4.2% made from Marris Otter and lager malt with Cascade hops - which will be presented to race winners. The brewery is also labelling one of its beers for Todmorden library to promote 'National Year of Reading' and a perry to raise funds for 'Todmorden in Bloom'.

New brews have included a 7.1% IPA and a Brown Beer to accompany the Brown Ale. The promised Blackcurrant Stout is now, after a long period of conditioning, available. At 8.5% it is a lambic style with plenty of tartness despite the large amount of fruit concentrate used and the addition of lactose during brewing. Coming up for the autumn, Trevor plans more different styles of stout - milk, strong and imperial. All beers are available for on or off sales from the shop on Rochdale Road, opposite Morrisons.

The strength and easy drinking qualities of Bare Art beers is down to attentive brewing practices. It is rare to get a clean, dry taste from such strong ales - and the range of Bare Art beers is highly recommended for curious beer lovers to try. Production starts with new batch of Nottingham Yeast used for each brew and an aim to get to a finishing gravity of 1004-5. Inspired by Marstons Double Drop Trevor employs the 'Todmorden Triple Drop': after fermentation the beer spends 1-2 days in the first conditioning tank with finings to clear the proteins, before being racked for a second spell with isinglass added to clear the yeast. After 2-3 days the beer is then bottled, making it a longer and more time and labour consuming operation - but this is a craft brewery after all.

Off-sales of bottled beer, cider and perry remain the core of the business, but on-sales in the quirky shop come art exhibition are gaining popularity. Trevor and Kathy are now staging a number of informal music events ranging from classical to blues. Local farm produce is usually available for customers to buy - and even eat in!

Of particular note is the planned series of beer tastings at the shop. This is a great chance to listen to Trevor's comments and sample half a dozen beers with some food. The tastings are scheduled for the first Thursday of the month. These are ticket only events - and limited places - so please phone, e-mail or check the web site www.barearts.com for further details of this and any of the above.