A NORTH-East brewery hopes to roar to even more success - with its own Lions Den.

The den, a purpose-built mini-brewery at Hartlepool's Camerons Brewery, is designed to let the company experiment with new brews and cask ales on a smaller scale.

Officially opened yesterday by Camerons' managing director Dav-id Soley, the £500,000 extension means the brewery can produce beer in a minimum of just ten barrels.

Mr Soley said: "We had a commitment to real ale at Castle Eden and had the capacity to brew relatively small batches of just 80 barrels. Now at Camerons we believe in customer choice, and this facility will allow us to experiment with new lines on a relatively small scale. It will provide us with excellent marketing opportunities, and I am looking forward to launching and promoting an exciting range of quality cask conditioned ales."