A BEER favoured for more than a century by drinkers across the North-East is back in production in its home city, following an eight-year absence.

Double Maxim, plus other former Vaux favourite Samson, are now being brewed within the city boundaries, for the first time since the Sunderland brewery's closure in July 1999.

They are being faithfully produced to the original recipe, under the expert eye of Vaux's former head brewer, Jim Murray, at a new unit which recently opened on the Rainton Bridge Industrial Estate, Houghton-le-Spring.

Mr Murray has closely guarded the original recipes since the Vaux closure.

He and former Vaux directors Doug Trotman and Mark Anderson acquired the title rights to Double Maxim and Samson, but, until the recent transfer back to Wearside, they were produced at the Robinson's Brewery, in Stockport, near Manchester, in recent years.

The Double Maxim Beer Company, as it is now known, employs seven people at the new site, with a plan to brew about one million pints a year, although there is scope to treble production if required.

Bottling is initially still being carried out at Stockport, with a plan to also transfer to the new Rainton Bridge site in coming months.

The Mayor of Sunderland, Councillor Les Scott, wished the business well in formally opening the brewery yesterday.

"This is a real perk of the job. It's always been my ambition to open a brewery.

"A feature of my mayoral year is a desire to go out and help the small and middle business community."

Mr Trotman, in charge of sales and marketing, said: "This brewery is something all three of us hoped to achieve seven years ago when we set up the Double Maxim Beer Company.

"The past ten months has been traumatic, to say the least. It's been the biggest jigsaw puzzle you can imagine.

"Although the beer market as a whole has been in decline for some years, bottled ales, locally- brewed cask ales and English ales for export have all shown growth over recent years.

"We believe this new modern brewery will be well-placed to capitalise on those areas of growth.