THE owner of a new Wirral beer store in admits he took a "leap into the unknown" to launch a business that has become a hit with locals.
Prost Bottle Shop, in Bebington, caters for "beer aficionados, beer novices and everything in between."
The independent bottle shop, on Church Road, was opened by Ian Reynolds and wife Megan on December 7 last year.
Ian told the Globe: "I had the idea about opening a beer shop for a while. My thinking at the time was 'well, if I don't do it now I never will' and then talked myself out of it, went ahead with it and now I'm still here."
He set up the store because of his "passion for good beer", explaining: "I've always been into good beer; really good beer, and have always thought we have some excellent pubs around here - for example, The Rose & Crown down the road, but have always felt we are missing somewhere that you can get something a bit different, especially craft ales and international stuff.
"I saw there was a gap in the market and went for it."
The shop stocks beers from local firms - Peerless Brewing in Birkenhead and Glen Affric brewery in Birkenhead, as well as from Liverpool and up and down the country on the craft beer side.
Its range of drinks includes German and Austrian lagers, Polish imperial stouts, Belgian beers, hand crafted ciders, local, national and international pale ales, IPAs, DIPAs, TIPAs, sours, stouts, daisons and many more.
Ian, originally from Bromborough, but now living in Port Sunlight, continued: "It's hard to say how many brands we've got in at any one time, because we have such a high turnover of stuff coming in and going out.
"The local response has been phenomenal, more than we ever imagined. I knew there'd be a market for it, but didn't realise how quickly Bebington would respond to it, which is great."
Ian, 35, used to work for the University of Liverpool producing reports for its maintenance departments before deciding to open a beer shop.
He said: "It was a bit of a change, but I decided to go for it. I thought 'if I didn't do it, I'll never do it'. It was a bit of a leap into the unknown, but is going well.
"Most of the stuff we sell, you won't find in supermarkets, so our offer is a little bit different.
"You don't have to be a beer officianado to come in. We'll give you a friendly service, do our best to advise you if unsure what to buy."
The store plans to continue to add new beers to their range and continue to make craft and world beers as “accessible as they possibly can.”
Ian has already seen certain beers become a hit among visitors, including the Augistiner Helles and their range of Austrian Stiegl beers.
On future plans for the business, he added: "We've got some ideas, so watch this space."
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