Acorn’s new general manager Liz Casserly (pictured) has ambitious plans for cask ale at the brewery, which is now under new ownership.

Her appointment follows the sale of the Barnsley brewery to investment company Sonas Capital, after the retirement of former owners Dave and Christy Hughes.

She said: "I have a passion for hospitality, brewing and beer. I have known and loved Acorn beers for years, so I am delighted to have this opportunity to take the brewery forward, building on the past 20 successful years."

"We have a top-class core cask range. That doesn’t need to change, but we will look at other opportunities for development.

"I would really like to brew a dark mild – Moorhouse’s Black Cat saw me through university. We will continue to develop the highly successful single-hop IPA series, perhaps with new processes.

"Exports are also another opportunity. We already send beer to Italy and will look at building on that within the European and Scandinavian markets."

Casserly wants to see cask ale championed by more brewers with more marketing initiatives – especially to reach younger people – and plans to work with pubs on meet-the-brewer evenings and education events.

"Lots of young people have never sampled cask ale. I would like to see them falling in love with cask as I did when I was 18, drinking to enjoy the flavour of beers rather than simply drinking," she said.

Sonas Capital director Brendan Fitzpatrick said: “In Liz, we now have a first-class general manager to lead the excellent Acorn team forward and grow the business in the face of an extremely challenging environment for both brewing and hospitality.

"Liz brings a wealth of management experience to the post, with the energy, enthusiasm and imagination to match these challenges."