opening its own brewery.

A group of businessmen are planning to open Bermuda Triangle Brewing Limited at the Island's first ever "microbrewery'' in Southampton.

And the brewery will be environmentally-friendly countering protests which shattered plans for an Island brewery a decade ago.

Microbreweries have sprouted up all over North America over the past decade following the example of Britain and Europe, where smaller breweries mean more choice for drinkers.

Mr. Paul Mason applied to incorporate Bermuda Triangle Brewing Limited as a local company over the weekend.

Triangle Brewing spokesman Mr. Mark Pettingill said: "A selection of both ales and lagers will be produced on a small scale in individual batches.

"Only natural ingredients, free from preservatives, will be used to produce hand-crafted batches of the freshest beers carrying the product label `Made in Bermuda.' "The brewhouse will consist of state-of-the-art equipment designed for Bermuda's particular environment.

"This will allow Triangle Brewing to produce a range of flavours with consistent quality not currently available in Bermuda. The scale of our microbrewery allows the company to tailor its products according to market demand.'' Triangle Brewing has secured a location at SAL in Southampton which is zoned for industrial use.

Mr. Pettingill said: "We are keenly aware of our responsibility to the community and to the environment and are working closely with regulatory authorities to address their concerns.'' Department of Health officials have suggested a "prepackaged effluent treatment plant'' be installed to bring levels of organic waste in line with possible future environmental guidelines. Mr. Pettingill said Triangle Brewing was actively investigating this process.

In 1978 the Bermuda Brewery faced tough opposition from a pressure group set up specifically to stop it. They managed to get the plan stopped in a battle that lasted for three years.

Complaints mainly rested on pollution concerns but others complained that alcohol problems could increase as a result on the Island.

Triangle Brewing has addressed all of these problems already. Mr. Pettingill said: "The majority of the beer-making process occurs within a sealed system, with any odours generated only during the initial boiling of the natural grains as steam is vented to the air.

"Actual brewing will take place two or three days each week with the remainder of the time spent fermenting, bottling, packaging, cleaning and sanitising.'' All of Triangle Brewing's packaging will be reusable or recyclable. Packaging will not include cans.

He said: "The spent grains will be made available to Bermuda's farmers as feed for livestock or as composting material. The plant has been designed to incorporate the latest in water conservation and energy recovery technologies.'' The success of the business depends on the beer market, which is following the trend of other markets that are moving towards quality and uniqueness. This is seen in speciality coffee, wine and ice creams.