AN Ulverston business owner is hoping to lead the pack when it comes to sourcing and serving some of the best craft beers in the county.

Tomorrow (26) will see the opening of Beerwolf. Located in Market Street the craft beer and ale bottle shop is the brainchild of local man Alan Munro.

After taking voluntary redundancy at nearby employer Siemens Mr Munro, 35, of Mount Barnard View, took the decision to invest in his dream and build his own business.

He said: "We would call ourselves a bottle shop. Our aim is to provide as many different styles of beer as we can. It's not a new idea as there are many of these in the cities. But, one of the things that struck me about this area is that we have Stringers, Hawkshead and Hardknott Brewery - all these well respected breweries - but we don't have many places that sell them."

That gap in the market is what prompted Mr Munro to take the leap into the world of craft ale and beers.

Since taking on the property at the end of July Mr Munro and a small team of friends have worked flat out to refurbish the former cafe.

He said: "It's been pretty major transforming a former letting agency into a bottle shop with space for 40 people. That space [upstairs] hadn't been touched since it was a cafe 15 years ago."

Extensive work has been carried out to make the bar fit for customers upstairs and downstairs. Also a purpose-built cold room has been built to keep his tap beer and ale at the perfect temperature.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en-gb"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Progress - cold room built. We can start ordering beer! <a href="https://t.co/Mmoco93bLF">pic.twitter.com/Mmoco93bLF</a></p>— Beerwolf (@WeAreBeerwolf) <a href="https://twitter.com/WeAreBeerwolf/status/915564239615614978?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">4 October 2017</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

This fruit of his labour will be a bar that on opening night will have 200 different bottled beers as well as eight beers on tap and two ales.

One final aspect Mr Munro wanted to highlight was the 'off licence' aspect of Beerwolf. He said customers are more than welcome to come and buy off the shelf then take it home to enjoy. "It's a different concept that people aren't used to," Mr Munro said.

The shop will be open to the public between 10am and 6pm tomorrow (26) with Mr Munro saying a "soft opening" will help him gauge just how popular the venue will be.

Ulverston: A brewing town

There is a proud local heritage in Ulverston when it comes to brewing beer and ales.

From historic brewing companies to modern day craft producers there has never been a shortage of drive or skill to keep the pint glass of the average Ulverstonian full.

For 250 years there was a brewery in Ulverston with production beginning back in 1755, run by the Hartley's Limited.

It was a sad day for the town when in 1991 the decision was made by parent company Robinson's Brewery to close down the site.

However, not to be defeated a passionate brewing community rose to take its place. Stringers Beer, a family-run-firm, have won many awards for their products. As have The Ulverston Brewing Company. Following the closure of Hartley's Paul Swann and Anita Garnett began to make beer in a garage for their friends. This blossomed over the years into a successful business that distributes beer across the country.

The local branch of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) have led the charge in supporting local brewers, hosting the massively popular Ulverston Beer Festival every year.

Beowulf or Beerwolf: What's in a name?

The name Beerwolf is more than a hop-tinged tribute to the mythical hero Beowulf.

It in fact is a reference to those who founded Ulverston more than 1,000 years ago.

Historians believe the name Ulverston is a combination of two words in the old Norse language or Old English.

When the town was first recorded in the Domesday Book the town was called Ulurestun.

It is believed that when when the Norse word Ulfarr which means wolf was combined with the Old English 'tun' which means village - the town's name was born. Translated it literally meant 'Wolf's Town'.