Plans are brewing for another new micropub in Preston's University Quarter

Beer buff Ryan Hayes has asked the council for permission to open a tap room off Friargate, where customers can also see their favourite ale being brewed.

Ryan, the founder of Chain House Brewery, currently works out of his garage at home.

"We've outgrown that now," he said. "Sales are going really well and so opening in the city centre with our own tap room is the next step."

Ryan still holds down a full-time job as well as running Chain House with his partner Emily Livesey at home in New Longton.

He started brewing as a hobby in the garage of his parents home in Chain House Lane, Whitestake in 2014 - hence the company name - and his beers have been earning rave reviews from discerning drinkers ever since he registered his business in 2017.

He has won awards for the quality of his ales and his products are now in big demand around the Lancashire area.

But financing the move into the city centre has needed public support through crowdfunding.

"I can't thank people enough for donating," he said. "Things are starting to get going now and the planning application is first.

"It's fingers crossed we can get permission and then we can move on from there - that's when the work really begins."

The premises Ryan has earmarked for the brewery and tap room are on Clayton's Gate, a narrow cobbled street off Friargate, near to the University Quarter.

"It's quaint and the building is quite small," he said. "It's going to be a tight squeeze. But to find a building that is suitable for what we want isn't easy in the city centre, they are few and far between.

"It's more of a foot in the door really for us to see where it goes from there.

"I like the location and it's quite quirky. To be fair it's not that much bigger than we've got already at home, but we'll see how we go.

"The worst case scenario is it might not be big enough to combine the brewing and the tap room. If that's the case then there's another building round the corner which we could look at as well.

"The ideal would be to have the brewery and the bar together so customers could see how it's done. But if not it's only a few yards to the other building."

Ryan is hoping to have the Chain House micro-brewery and tap room open by the summer.