A BREWERY is toasting sweet success after its latest ale went down a storm - in Finland.

Daleside Brewery, based in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, produced 10,000 bottles of Chocolate Stout, a beer designed to appeal to the Scandinavian market.

All 10,000 bottles sold out in just five weeks.

Eric Lucas, Daleside managing director, said the stout was brewed with a special ingredient - Belgian dark chocolate.

"Scandinavian beer lovers tend to prefer sweeter, darker beers," he said.

"We knew we'd produced something that would appeal particularly to our Scandinavian customers, but even we were surprised at the speed at which it flew from the shelves.

"In one month, we sold more beer in Helsinki than we did in York, Leeds and Bradford combined. If that's not an export success, I don't know what is."

Another, substantially larger order is now being anticipated for next Christmas.

Daleside began trading in the early 1990s and now employs nine staff producing about 57,000 pints a week.

Its beers include Daleside Bitter, Daleside Blonde, Old Lubrication, Monkey Wrench, Crack Shot, Old Legover and Ripon Jewel.

Mr Lucas said the company's export success was in part down to UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), a Government organisation which supports UK exporters.

He said: "In my opinion, the team there are a huge asset to any business thinking about exporting. I don't think any company, whatever market they're in, could achieve the sort of export success we have achieved, without their help."

Peter Tweddle, UKTI's international trade advisor, said: "It's great to watch a business like this, which started on a very small scale and is now going from strength to strength.

"We wish Daleside Brewery every success in the future."