Microbreweries are flying the flag for Bolton's pub trade with more and more independent bars and breweries appearing in the town.

Many independent pubs and bars have been opening across Bolton over the last couple of years, including the likes of Northern Monkey in Nelson Square and The Nook & Cranny in Bromley Cross.

It goes further than pubs and bars selling a mixture of guest ales and their own brews ­— with independent brews, such as Escape Brewery Ltd, making their beers at home before going commercial.

Microbreweries and small independent bars benefit the most from low business rates and frozen beer duties, related to the policies announced in yesterday's budget.

The small breweries relief gives small breweries a tax cut if they produce under a certain amount of beer per year, which is a great help to small bars.

Ryan Bailey, co-owner of Northern Monkey, Nelson Square, said: "We get a good rate relief because we are a small brewery.

"These rates are vital to make sure that we exist.

"What was announced in the budget was very good news."

Mr Bailey believed that the microbrewery business in Bolton was growing as a result of people looking for something different when they go out for a drink now.

He said: "Microbreweries offer a diverse range of pubs.

"I think people like it because its new and different, not just another chain pub."

The statistics from the Office for National Statistic's economies of ale findings included independent bars and microbreweries, which may be a reason for the positive trend of the statistics.

Craig Egan, co-owner of the Nook and Cranny in Bromley Cross furthers a lot of Northern Monkey's sentiments.

Speaking of his business, he said: "We've grown and become increasingly popular, we've doubled in size just over one year.

"It's about what we do. We're very independent, we get beer from all over the country and the world, people are really interested in that and want to learn more about it.

"We go to great lengths to source our beers. Everything we do is done with a personal touch and we put a lot of passion behind it.

"Companies that own pubs don't let their landlords do anything with their pubs except maybe choosing the occasional guest ale.

"For us we can be always evolving. It's all about the passion we put into it."

Northern Monkey recently won both Winter's pub of the season for 2019 to 2020 and just won the 2020 pub of the year, both awarded by CAMRA.

Both pubs can be found on Facebook and Twitter.