DRINKERS in Hampshire will be able to raise an authentic glass of ale when remembering the anniversary of D-Day after a commemorative beer was produced by a Southampton brewery.

Bosses at White Star Brewery thought they would mark the 60th anniversary of D-Day by brewing a special beer called Operation Overlord.

Head brewer Andy Ingram went back to the books to come up with an authentic recipe for the brew and took two weeks to perfect the finished article.

Thanks to his hard work, drinkers in Hampshire can now enjoy a pint of the 4.9 per cent strength bitter beer, described as having a hoppy flavour and rich aroma, in time for the D-Day commemorations.

Chris Ingram, who runs the Radcliffe Road brewery with his brother Andy, said the new beer has been a real success.

"It was a joint idea really. We always try to do a seasonal beer every two months or so and the D-Day anniversary seemed an ideal thing to have a commemorative beer for," he said.

"Andy researched the recipe and we tried to stick to the original ingredients as best we could. We are really pleased with the outcome and the finished pint is an excellent one."

So popular has been the take-up that all the 300 gallons that were originally brewed have already been snapped up by pubs across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

Although the bitter doesn't officially go on sale until tomorrow, staff at the brewery are already hard at work producing another batch to keep up with demand.

Chris said: "We were really pleased how well it has gone."

The brothers, who run the family business with their nephew, are also planning to mark the Olympics with another special ale.