THE NEW tenants of a country pub on a busy main road near Malvern are lapping up their life behind the bar in Worcestershire.

And their two canine friends, which were rescue dogs acquired when they worked in Greece, are drinking in their new environment with relish too.

The pets are now being given a permanent place on the bar thanks to a partnership with a local brewery.

Steve Moorman and Viki Kuhlke opened the Red Lion, at Stifford’s Bridge, Cradley, five weeks ago after it closed unexpectedly at the end of March.

They had recently moved back to the UK after running bars and hotels in Greece and bought their two lovable crossbreeds Beanie and Flo with them.

In a bid to discover more about the local community and embrace what it has to offer, Steve made contact with The Unity Brew House, at Stocks Farm, Suckley.

Steve said: “They are around the corner and I was very keen to work with and develop a relationship with all of the local brewers. Because they are literally just around the corner, we said we would love to have a dedicated beer for the pub.”

Steve asked the brewery to make a low gravity beer and his plan was to name it after one of their dogs – Beanie.

They came up with a 3.4 per cent copper coloured beer which was the nearest they could come to matching Beanie’s colouring.

“She was called Beanie because, when she was little she was the colour of a baked bean, and the closest we could get to her colour was a copper beer. We wanted a low gravity beer because we wanted something that would be responsible drinking,” said Steve.

“Beanie is about five and we rescued her as a puppy when we lived in Greece. She is very much part of the family and part of the pub. Everybody knows her now.”

Beanie’s Best Bitter will be launched at the pub today (Saturday July 29) and there will be live music from 5pm with a duo performing – accompanied by Steve who doubles up as a bass player in his spare time when he isn’t running the pub. They also plan to have a barbecue, weather permitting.

Steve and Viki are also planning to commission a winter beer named after their other rescue dog Flo. “Flo will be getting her own beer. We are thinking of naming a winter beer after her,” said Steve.

He added that both pooches enjoy the odd drink of beer, although it is not encouraged. He said they have settled at the Red Lion very well and love running around the beer garden.

He said they are all enjoying life in Worcestershire. “The first few weeks have been fantastic. The local community has really supported us. If we have needed anything, they have pointed us in the right direction. We are absolutely loving it.”