A LOWESTOFT-based brewery has guaranteed that local beer will be on tap at another pub by adding it to its estate.

The Green Jack Brewing Company, run by Tim Dunford and his wife Lee, has bought the Stanford Arms, in Stanford Street.

The brewery already operates the Triangle Tavern in Lowestoft and the isolated Locks Inn at Geldeston, beside the River Waveney.

The Stanford is undergoing an extensive refit, and they hope it will reopen its doors in about a month.

'We find that more people want to drink a top-class, locally-produced beer,' Mr Dunford said.

'The Stanford Arms is a traditional pub that serves its local community and perfectly fits in with our other two establishments.'

Green Jack, which has its main brewery in Argyle Place, off Love Road, produces ales including Orange Wheat Beer, Trawlerboys best bitter, Canary pale ale, Summer Dream, Lurcher stout, and its barley wine, Ripper.

It has won numerous accolades at festivals locally and nationally, including a gold award at last year's Peterborough Beer Festival, where Summer Dream was voted the overall champion, and a bronze for Ripper in the strong ales category at last year's Norwich Beer Festival.

Although the licensed trade has had to endure a tough few years, with a tide of pub closures happening nationally, Mr Dunford said he remained confident that well-run pubs could thrive, helped by a resurgence in the popularity of real ale.

'There is a lot of uncertainty in the pub trade generally at the moment, but we find there is still a demand for a good, traditional pub,' he said.

The Triangle Tavern, in St Peter's Street, is proving popular with football fans, both home and away supporters, attending matches involving Lowestoft Town at Crown Meadow.

'We often get fans of the football clubs at the Triangle, and we have just received a report printed in a programme from one of the away clubs that says that the Triangle Tavern is a great traditional pub selling proper traditional beer.

'It is always nice when people from outside Lowestoft praise what we are doing here,' said Mrs Dunford.

The sale of the Stanford was handled by the Ipswich office of pub specialist agents Christie and Co. They were also involved in the sale of the Lord Nelson, in Bevan Street West, Lowestoft, to a local developer, along with two other pubs at Eye and Cambridge.

Bill Colquhoun, the director who handled all four sales, said: 'Pubs at the lower end of the market are continuing to attract healthy demand from both first-time buyers and experienced operators.

'This very positive start to 2011 clearly demonstrates that pubs are continuing to sell.'

Green Jack's latest beer, Excelsior, celebrates the sailing smack of that name built in Lowestoft in 1921. The beer is brewed to be 'thirst quenching with fruity hop character, balanced malt and superb aroma', says the firm. It also aims to help raise funds for, and awareness of, the Excelsior Trust to keep the vessel sailing.

More information at www.green-jack.com