A BREWERY that has raised a pint to Christmas for the past eight years is considering whether 2007 will see its last batch of festive ale.

For the second year running Moorhouse's Brewery, Moorhouse Street, Burnley, has produced Santa's Piste, a 4.5per cent abv real ale to appeal to the festive drinker.

With branding that depicts a sozzled Santa, Moorhouse's expects to sell more than 180 barrels of the festive brew - the equivalent of 52,000 pints.

And while Moorhouse's managing director David Grant said their was always high demand for beers of this type at Christmas, he made no guarantees that it would be brewed in 2008.

He said: "This is the second year we have brewed Santa's Piste and we have been brewing similar Christmas beers for the last seven or eight years.

"At one time festive ales were an important part of our business and that's why we started doing them.

"We have brewed about the same amount as last year and have managed to sell it.

"Now though, every brewery in the land produces a seasonal ale which means the whole market has become very commercialised.

Mr Grant said Santa's Piste was a grist brew that matched the festive mood, both in its taste and branding, which poked fun at Christmas traditions.

It is brewed alongside Moorhouse's five core ales. December is the second busiest month for the Burnley brewery which sells most of its beer in October around Hallowe'en.

Mr Grant said this was because of its association with the Pendle area in form of Pendle Witches Brew; Blonde Witch; Pride of Pendle and Black Cat.

With the inclusion of Santa's Piste, the brewery expects to shift approximately 1,000 barrels in December - that's over quarter of a million pints.

And he added that any decision over another Christmas ale would ultimately be prompted by the interest from pubs in the run up to next Christmas.

He added: "If demand shows a need for it or our customers want it then we will supply it.

"It's 12 months away so will see. We brew for what people order and if that's there we will make it."

The award winning brewer got further into the Christmas spirit by launching a TV advertising campaign in both the Granada and Yorkshire TV regions to help promote the brand.