A WINCHESTER micro-brewery has ceased trading, hit by the uncertainty over rising costs.

Ralph McFadyen launched Growling Gibbon Brew Co in early 2022 at the Incuhive base at Hursley Park in Hursley.

It closed at Christmas after holding a sale of remaining beer.

Mr McFadyen said that the business had been going well, with about 1,200 litres produced a month, but a crunch decision had to be made about expanding the operation.

"I got the business to the point where  I was selling everything I could make and had to make a decision on whether to move onto phase two and do a significant scale up which would involve investing a lot of money.

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"The plan was that the business would have proven itself during phase one but given how much the cost of everything has gone up since the business started e.g grain, energy etc, unfortunately it didn’t really prove itself. On that basis I made the decision to get out rather than invest."

The expansion would have entailed a £150,000 investment, said Mr McFadyen. He was the only employee.

In a message on social media, he said: "It's been a fun ride and a massive thanks to all of you who've supported us".

Growling Gibbon is not the only brewery to be hit by the cost of living crisis, with Red Cat in Winnall also closing in 2023.

Real ale lovers have been expressing their regret at its closure. John Buckley, a member of North Hampshire Campaign for Real Ale, wrote: "I expect most will know of the sad closure of Growling Gibbon, the wonderful nano-brewery just down the road at Incuhive within the IBM complex at Hursley. They were probably Hampshire's smallest brewery. It's another sad loss."

'Wreiman' posted on Instagram: "Great beers and a great loss. Best of luck with whatever you go onto next. I hope we can make things better for small brewers in the future."

The brewery had an environmental philosophy with five per cent of profits going to the World Land Trust, an international conservation charity.