FOUR years since the taps were turned off at the historic Tolly Cobbold brewery, beer production is returning to Ipswich.A new brewery called St Judes is being installed in the town's Cardigan Street, with the first tanks arriving today .

FOUR years since the taps were turned off at the historic Tolly Cobbold brewery, beer production is returning to Ipswich.

A new brewery called St Judes is being installed in the town's Cardigan Street, with the first tanks arriving today .

The seven-vessel plant is the brainchild of Frank Walsh, a Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) member, science graduate Colleen Seymour and master brewer Andy Harvey.

The original idea, which has been in the pipeline since December, was for the trio to produce enough beer for their own consumption at the 19th Century redundant building, owned by Mr Walsh.

But with the closure of the Tolly Cobbold brewery after 279 years and with pubs crying out for locally-produced ales, they realised there was a gap in the market.

“We have had quite a lot of interest in it so far”, Miss Seymour said.

“We will brew our own recipe beers and the plan is to have a blueberry beer, which will be a fruitier beer. Because it will come out blue and will be the only blue beer in the town we are trying to get Ipswich Town Football Club interested.”

The plant will be able to produce up to 125 barrels a week as well as the sale of bottles.