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A by-product from the Stilton cheese-making process has been used to make a new East Midlands beer.

Blue Brew is a "chestnut coloured ale", made by mixing whey with wort - water and barley liquid - before fermenting.

Colin Brown from Belvoir Brewery in Leicestershire said it tasted "creamy" rather than cheesy.

Stilton - produced only at dairies in Leicestershire, Derbyshire or Nottinghamshire - has previously been used to make a perfume and a milkshake.

Martin Taylor of Long Clawson Dairy said: "It sounds like it could be awful, but it doesn't taste of mouldy blue cheese. It has a smooth rounded flavour - quite delicate."

Nigel White, secretary of the Stilton Cheesemakers Association, said: "People often think of Stilton as a cheese just for Christmas and forget how versatile it is.

"Traditionally the whey from cheese making would have been fed to pigs. We wondered if it could be used for other purposes and Belvoir Brewery has now made a new beer."