BACK in 2012 The Argus reported on the rise of the £4 pint in the city. And last year the arrival of imported high-end craft beers saw some city centre pubs selling premium drinks for as much as £7 a pint.

The newly refurbished Craft Beer Co. is aiming to buck this trend – offering its house pale ale at just £2.75 a pint, and keeping the majority of its hand-pulled beers under £5.

“We are focusing on quality but our prices can't be beaten,” says owner Martin Hayes in the newly opened upstairs seating area, part of a £150,000 refurbishment at the Upper North Street pub.

In the pub's opening weekend all 18 beers in the pub's opening line-up were British, in styles ranging from wheat beers to porters.

“The UK brewing scene has changed so much," says Hayes, who was one of the first to bring the US craft beers to Brighton in former Middle Street pub Cask Pub And Kitchen back in April 2012.

“People are creating such amazing things so we thought we should bring the focus onto what's going on in Britain.”

Craft Beer Co. is still going to bring a range and diversity of beers that can't be found elsewhere in Brighton, with Hayes carefully training his staff to ensure they can share in their passion for the ale with customers.

The new team is built around the trio of managers, Will Sperling, and assistant managers Kate Confrey and Kjartan Baldursson, who are being given a freehand to come up with regular events in the pub.

“It’s about giving the best experience,” he says. “We have got a big wine and spirits list so we can offer the whole pub spectrum.”

Craft Beer Co. is also offering a takeaway service for bottled beers, offering a 33% discount off the price of beers from the UK, US and Scandinavia - making them cheaper to buy in person than over the internet.

The pub as a meeting place and centre for great beer is reflected in the newly refurbished space. Craft Beer Co. closed for five weeks to allow Hove contractors Yelland & Price to open the upstairs space in the pub. A glassed in staircase now allows access to a snug which can seat between ten to 15 people on a round table - ideal for meetings - and a bigger upstairs room with views over the street below and capacity for up to 40 drinkers.

The rooms feature vintage beer adverts and promotional material collected by Hayes, ranging from classic Bass and Burtons metal adverts to a rare pre-First World War promotion for Anglo-Bavarian Beer and a Whitbread fireguard.

As well as refurbishing the rooms Hayes took the opportunity to completely revamp the kitchen, leading to a new partnership with Forty Burgers.

“Burgers are pretty fashionable at the moment, but when you're sitting in a pub with a beer or wine there is nothing better,” he says.

“Forty Burgers are amazing - what is unique about them is they only use 40-day-aged beef to make their burgers. They use Aberdeen beef sourced from the royal warrant holders to the Queen. It's a pretty special burger.”

There are five choices with the beef burger – the option of adding cheese, or cheese and bacon, dipping the patty in hot buffalo sauce for the Heat burger, or the Elvis burger which features smooth peanut butter, extra crispy bacon and fried banana.

There is also a free-range chicken burger and two vegetarian options of either portobello mushroom and halloumi or lentil and goat's cheese. Prices range from £5.95 to £7.95, with side orders of chips, sweet potato fries and mixed salad available. Each table features a selection of Stokes sauces ranging from steak or barbecue to English mustard and mayonnaise.

“We love Brighton,” says Hayes, adding Craft Beer Co. is designed to be a haunt for the locals able to find it in the streets behind Churchill Square rather than tourists and day-trippers.

“People live here because of the quality of life and atmosphere down here.

“We wanted to make the bar the best it could be for Brighton.”

Craft beer co, Upper North Street, Brighton, 01273 723736. Open Mon to Thurs 4pm to 12.30am, Fri 4pm to 1.30pm, Sat noon to 1.30am, Sun noon to 11pm. Visit thecraftbeerco.com/pubs/brighton/