A NEW micro brewery with an American influence has opened in Southampton.

Tap It Brewery Company started this month and hopes to offer reasonably priced unique ales.

It was created by Robert Colmer after he visited the United States and had his taste buds changed after trying craft beers there.

Inspired, Robert, accompanied by Youtube, forums and Google, decided to try his hand at creating his own recipes from his garage in Sarisbury Green.

“The hardest thing has been upscaling from 50 litres in my garage to more than a thousand litres in the brewery.

“But now that I have began brewing, I am a lot more confident.”

The 36-year-old then spent more than four years mastering the craft, when he wasn’t working in his daytime job at a telecoms company.

Currently the former Totton student is working alongside James Barber to create and keg the craft beers.

Tap It Brewery is located in Muira Industrial Estate, William Street, Northam.

“The best thing about brewing my own beers is being able to drink them myself, I also get a lot of joy from watching people enjoy the products and flavours,” he said.

Since creating his own craft beers, he said that his taste palate has matured.

The beer connoisseur intends to sell the craft beers as a wholesaler to restaurants and bars across the city.

Mr Colmer also plans to offer visitors tours at the brewery, where they can learn how the beverages are made.

In the future, Tap It Brewery hopes to be able to offer a take-away service as well as opening a shop where customers can sample the brews.

Currently Robert has created 15 recipes of beers, but he believes his success will be by frequently expanding and exploring the beers on offer, in order to keep the market interested.

The head brewer said that he has also received support from nearby brewers at the Dancing Man.

“I hope that we are liked from a wholesale business point of view, hopefully we will be able to later open multiple retail units in Southampton - we really want to grow as organically as possible.

“The craft beer is a community, but we all offer something different,” said Robert.