A NEW microbrewery and bar is all set to open its doors on the quayside this spring.

Isaacs on the Quay will open the new brewery – Briarbank Brewing Company – on the site of a former bank.

The brewery site, 70 Fore Street, was used as a branch of Lloyds Bank but became redundant and was empty for many years before being transformed.

Briarbank has brought in an experienced head brewer, Andrew Harvey, and the first firkins will make their way into Isaacs, The Gardener’s Arms and Venue 77.

Although the brewery site is a more modern building, the Isaac Lord group of buildings date back to the 15th Century and were previously owned by Isaac Lord.

The site was previously a maltings and has long been associated with the business of brewing ales and beers in Ipswich.

Tanya Hart, spokeswoman for Isaacs, said: “Included in the existing tours of Isaacs is a restored malting machinery room with its equipment in full working order. There are now plans to add brewery tours to the offering.”

The site will include the microbrewery and a tasting area, but, while the inside of the building is being transformed, the exterior will not be altered.

The brewery will mainly source malted barley and hops from East Anglia, but will occasionally source from growers further afield.

To begin with, it will offer a variety of ales, as well as mild, stout and continental-style lager with names including Tipple Tattle, Dark Knight, Briar Bitter, Briar Lager, Suffolk Pride, Old Spiteful and Perpendicular.

They will mostly be produced in firkins, but there will also be some bottled beers and flagons.