A NEW beer will pay tribute to Brighton’s brewing history with a pint that spans two centuries and two continents of tradition.

Craft beer The Long Hop, by Laines Brewery, has been created in homage to one of Brighton’s major brewing figures, Henry Botting Longhurst and his Amber Ales brewery.

This grand brewery stood on Preston Circus until the end of the nineteenth century and still survives in part, within the structure of Britain’s oldest cinema, The Duke of York’s.

Some of Longhurst’s descendants now reside in Auckland and with this in mind Laine’s Long Hop combines English malts with a variety of New Zealand hops, such as NZ Wakatu and NZ Pacifica.

The result is an ABV 4.2% amber ale that shines a light on the huge geographical variety of hops available on the modern-day brew scene.

The Long Hop delivers a nice malt character laced with soft bittering from the New Zealand hops, and some zesty, limey citrus notes on the palate.

History buffs and real ale aficionados alike will delight in Laine’s honouring of their Brighton brewing forebears.

Acquired by Henry Botting Longhurst in 1852, the original brewery was already in operation in London Road for several decades, known for a time as the Viaduct Brewery, when the famous London Road viaduct was completed in 1846.

Renamed Longhurst’s Family And Pale Ale Brewery, a Brewery Tap public house was part of the original structure. Longhurst had a larger brewery built on the site in the 1870s, changing the name to the Longhurst Amber Ale Brewery.

Partially demolished in 1901, it is the walls of the Amber Ale Brewery that now form the rear of the Duke Of York’s auditorium. Henry Botting Longhurst died in 1888, passing the Amber Ale Brewery to his son, Henry Braddock Longhurst.

Linking in with Brighton’s great artistic tradition, Braddock Longhurst’s son Joseph was a noted landscape painter and a founder member of Brighton Arts Club.