Plans to transfer the brewing of famous Ruddles beer won't be finalised until the end of the year at the earliest- because the new brewers still can't get the taste right.
But Abingdon-based Morland insists it is now in the very last stages of completing the controversial move from the beer's traditional Rutland home in Langham, Rutland.
The Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) had warned Morland that it could take them many years to recreate the famous taste - if they ever do.
They have called for the brewery site in Langham to be kept open but Morland still insist it will be closed once the 'product matching' is completed.
Morland spokesman Silvana Payne said: "We are right at the end of the trials we are doing here."
She added that the company wanted to ensure the taste was 100 per cent right before the move was completed and was confident that would be the case by the end of the year.
However, the Campaign for Real Ale's Mike Clutten, Ruddles' Camra liaison officer, said he had plenty of misgivings about the move and wasn't convinced that Ruddles' yeast would perform the same in Abingdon.
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