A campaign to save the future of the pub has been given a boost by a new beer.

Bosses at Ilkley Brewery joined forces with the All Party Parliamentary Save the Pub group, to produce their ‘Save the Pub’ beer.

To celebrate the link, North West Leeds MP, Greg Mulholland, who is chairman of the parliamentary group, went to the company’s brewery to sample some of the brew.

Mr Mulholland has been backing the cause of the pub in recent years and the Save the Pub group has been lobbying Government to come up with changes to help keep local drinking holes going.

Among their proposals are rules to try to stop developers closing down profitable pubs.

The MP says the backing of successful independent brewers like Ilkley Brewery proves people want their community pubs to stay open to enjoy.

Mr Mulholland said he hopes the ‘Save the Pub’ beer will be a success, and will try to get it featured in the famous Stranger’s Bar at Westminster.

Stewart Ross, one of the directors and co-owners of Ilkley Brewery said it was important groups like Mr Mulholland’s are trying to do something to keep more pubs open and doing well.

“It’s a tough time for pubs out there and plenty of issues are completely beyond landlords control,” he said. “It’s great to see the Greg and the Coalition Government starting to try to address these issues,” he said.