A BOLTON brewery is vowing to “give locals their pub back” after buying its second establishment in three years.

The Brown Cow in Church Street, Horwich, will be renovated and redesigned ahead of a November reopening — when it will be unveiled as the Bank Top Ale House.

The new pub will follow in the footsteps of The Tap in Astley Bridge, which has won several CAMRA awards since opening in 2010, as the second real ale haven run by Bank Top Brewery.

Set to open just in time for the Christmas rush, the Bank Top Ale House has already been given the thumbs-up by locals, with owner Dave Sweeney targeting a third pub run by the blossoming brewery within the next year.

“We are very excited and hoping to be open well in time for Christmas,” said Mr Sweeney.

“We’ve had enthusiastic responses from passers-by and also had people from Horwich come to The Tap to see what vibe the pub will have.

Mr Sweeney, also joint-owner of Bank Top Estates with business partner Neil Turner, completed the Brown Cow purchase from Punch Taverns last month.

Bank Top currently produces 13 permanent ales, employs 20 staff and turns over £1 million per year, with pub business worth approximately half.

“The Ale House will be a small, traditional, community pub,” said Mr Sweeney. “We won’t have the big screens, games machines and the like that chain pubs have.

“It will be just be good drinks, background music and a friendly vibe.”

Flat Cap and Dark Mild, Bank Top’s signature ales, will be on tap permanently, while the Ale House will showcase local micro-breweries and the rest of Mr Sweeney’s extensive range in similar fashion to The Tap.

Mr Sweeney said: “More pubs could soon be on the horizon.

“By this time next year, I am fairly confident we will have bought our third pub.

“Our plan when we started was always to open four pubs, so we’re halfway there.”