THE new head brewer at iconic Merseyside brewery Cains says he wants to introduce new brews and new names to encourage drinkers to try its beers.

Jim Kerr came out of “semi-retirement” to take the top brewing job at Cains.

Mr Kerr, who has worked in brewing for most of his career, will now work with the brewery’s owners, Ajmail and Sudarghara Dusanj, to introduce new beers and tweak its existing range.

Mr Kerr said: “Brewing is about attention to detail and having a feel for what you’re doing.

“It is a science, but I believe there’s a bit of art and craft in it as well.

“I’ve done this all my life. I’ve got a feel for how beer should be brewed.”

That knowledge is even more powerful in an age where interest in real ale keeps on growing. Earlier this month, a survey from the Campaign for Real Ale showed 52% of all UK drinkers had tried real ale – up from just 37% five years ago.

“In my whole brewing career, which spans over 30 years, I’ve never known so much interest in cask ale,” said Mr Kerr. “There’s a fantastic opportunity with a real brewery to produce beers that people will enjoy.

“I know beer very well. I’ve got some ideas that we’re thinking about here.

“We’re about to discuss our seasonal beers. But I definitely like the idea of brewing a blonde beer – I’ve seen a lot of blonde beers, and they’re doing extremely well.”

Success in beer isn’t just about what’s in the glass – it’s about the branding. Many drinkers will happily order beer based on the name – perhaps helping the success of rival beers such as Bishop’s Finger and Piddle in the Hole.

“Perhaps we could be more imaginative in naming some of the seasonal beers we produce here,” said Mr Kerr.

“Some of the microbrewers have done really well by being a bit off the wall and a bit imaginative in how they name the beers. Even if their beer isn’t good, the names are good. We want good names for exceptionally good beer.”

Sudarghara Dusanj added: “That’s the thing – we want exceptionally good beers, consistently very good beers.

“We’re looking forward to some good ideas from Jim.”

After a Master’s degree in food science, Mr Kerr started his career in Liverpool as a graduate trainee with Whitbread.

“I did my year’s brewing pupillage, from the bottom right the way through the business,” he said.

“I spent time in the brewery in Truman Street, I worked the drays, I worked at the Arrowe Park Hotel in Birkenhead as a barman, and got opportunities on the sales side.”

Jim spent 22 years with Whitbread, working across the UK from Blackburn to Devon. Finally, in 1991 Whitbread asked him to move to Castle Eden Brewery in Durham.

“I built that up from ‘any other brewery’ to quite a well-known brewery,” he said. “It was almost divorced from Whitbread. People would boo Whitbread but cheer Castle Eden.”

And there was a Merseyside connection to his work at Castle Eden – among the beers he brewed there was famous Liverpool name Higsons.

Mr Kerr was head brewer at Castle Eden until 2000, staying on after a buyout that saw it become a standalone business. In 1998, he was named brewer of the year by the British Guild of Beer Writers.

As the new Millennium dawned, Jim left Castle Eden to head to Brains brewery, in Cardiff, as operations director. “We re-established Brains as the leading brewery in Wales,” he said, “and I got involved in putting the brewery name on the Welsh rugby shirts.”

In 2005, he moved into the wine trade, working at a Bristol wine warehouse, but soon realised his heart lay with the hop rather than the grape.

“Wine wasn’t really my cup of tea,” he smiled.

So he returned with pleasure to the beer world, joining Heineken in Manchester before moving to its Tadcaster operation in Yorkshire.

“I gravitated to the North East,” he said. “I bought a new house there, and semi-retired.”

But then he got the call from Cains. Sudarghara Dusanj said: “We’ve known Jim for a few years now.

“Because we knew how good he was at Brains, we wanted to use that sort of expertise and experience to brew great cask beers and proper lager.”

Mr Kerr added: “I quickly jumped at the opportunity. I wasn’t ready for retirement. I still love what I do.”

Mr Kerr, who still lives in Hartlepool, has been a lifeboatman for the past 11 years. Today, he is part of the management team at the RNLI’s Hartlepool station.