An expert beer brewer is opening a craft ale and specialist spirit shop.

Russ Barnes, who is the owner of Red Fox Brewery, has announced plans to open the off-licence next to the former premises of florist and chocolate shop Florum, in Church Street, Coggeshall.

The brewery’s new shop will sell real ales from across the county as well as a variety of its own creations - spiced rum, top quality vodka and even vino thanks to a partnership with Marks Tey’s Chateau Wines.

Mr Barnes, who set-up Red Fox Brewery in 2008, said he was “extremely excited” to get going with the new venture and business for the brewery was doing well.

He said: “The opportunity just came almost from nowhere.

“The butchers Buntings Food owns the building and the florist had just shut down. They said it was available and we just decided to give it a go.”

The business is already in the process of creating another small shop at the main brewery, located at Upp Hall Farm, Coggeshall, which is expected to open at around the same time as the Church Street premises.

“We are planning to open in mid March in time for Easter.

“The premises needs a refit as it is a little bit tired, we have got to install new shelving and build a counter.

“We are expecting the refurbishment to take between six and eight weeks.

“We need to get all the permissions in place from Braintree Council, but I cannot see that being a problem.

“People seem to be excited. We’ve had loads of interest our Facebook page. It seems people want another shop like this in the town.”

One of the first steps in taking on any new business is usually coming up with a memorable name to help it stand out, but after wasting many hours of the task themselves the team from the brewery has decided to call on the Coggeshall community for help.

Members of the public are being asked to send in suggestions for names via Facebook, ideally with both “Red Fox” and “Coggeshall” in them.

Mr Barnes said: “We were trying to think of a name in the office and it is not easy.

“We threw a lot of names into the mix but couldn’t decide on one so we decided to open it up to the community. “We want their input on this and the business in general.”

Earlier this year beer connoisseur Mr Barnes stepped in to help save the popular Grange Barn Beer Festival in Coggeshall after the National Trust said it could no longer organise the event.

If you have got an idea for a name, visit facebook.com/redfoxbrewery.coggeshall.

For more information about Red Fox Brewery, visit redfoxbrewery.co.uk.