The newest Norwich brewery has sold its first pint at a popular city pub – and it could even be available at next week's Norwich Beer Festival.

Jenny, 34, and Adam Nicholls, 32, set up the five-barrel Northcote brewery based at the city's Sweetbriar industrial estate as a dream project earlier this year.

And all their hard work has finally paid off with their first pint, known as 'Cow Tower', going on sale at the King's Head pub in Magdalen Street, Norwich last night<22>.

It means that the couple have just about met the deadline to allow their brew - a light and hoppy ale with an alcohol content of 3.7pc - to go on sale at the Camra (Campaign for Real Ale) Norwich beer festival starting on Monday<25>.

Mrs Nicholls said she and her husband had been dreaming about a brewery for some time, before they took the plunge.

She said: 'It started as a conversation; you know one of those pipe dreams that snow-balled. It turned from a 'wouldn't it be fab to do something like that one day' to a 'why shouldn't we'?

'We both have always had a real interest in food and drink, and recently became more interested in real ales, so it's a dream come true to run our own brewery.'

The brewery can produce 1,600 litres of beer per week, which equates to about 3,200 pints, and Mrs Nicholls said work had already started on their second brew.

Mrs Nicholls is also a consultant geophysicist, but she said the brewery would now become her full-time job. Her husband is project manager for Gardline in Great Yarmouth.

The Evening News has been urging punters to return to pubs and support local breweries during our Love your Local campaign.

As we have reported, Norfolk as a county has more than 30 breweries, which is the second highest number in the country, after Yorkshire.

And while pubs may have been struggling to beat the effects of the recession, breweries have posted record results.

Many Norwich pubs have also held their own real ale festivals to take advantage of the upsurge in the popularity of real ale, especially among younger people.

To see more stories from the campaign visit www.eveningnews24.co.uk/loveyourlocal.

What's new at your pub? Call reporter David Bale on 01603 772427 or email david.bale2@archant.co.uk.