An iconic Nottingham beer which made a comeback just four years ago is set to be brewed closer to home after a crowdfunding campaign was launched to expand.
Watneys beer company took over the license for the brand, which was synonymous with the famous Home Brewery in Daybrook, from brewing giant Heineken in 2015.
In addition to returning to its roots, the company now wants the Robin Hood producer to be exported across the globe and also move into retail, .
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Famed for its grand building and image of Robin Hood firing an arrow, the one-time sponsor of Nottingham Forest, Notts County and Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club, had 450 pubs in its heyday before dying a slow death.
But following a 20-year gap, the beer has been enjoying a renaissance as a craft ale thanks to a man who grew up in the shadow of the brewery in Mansfield Road.
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Nick Whitehurst co-founded Watneys Beer Company with business partner Shaun Goode.
As a result of the company taking on the Home Ales brand, Robin Hood Pale Ale has become a a permanent fixture in 60 pubs around the county, including Das Kino, Shooters in the Bierkeller, Ned Ludd, Cock and Hoop and 31K, and a further 140 on rotation.
Currently the pale ale, Maid Marian Blonde, Little John Proper Ale and Five Star IPA, are brewed just outside the county at Oldershaw near Grantham but with the right investment brewing could return to its rightful home in Nottingham in partnership with one of the area's local brewers in the next 12 months.
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The crowdfunding campaign on Seedrs has reached just over £359,000 - with more than a month to go. The aim is to raise £400,000.
Mr Whitehurst said: "It will enable us to target the grocery market and to target export where we think Robin Hood could work particularly well."
New jobs would also be created, in sales and marketing at the West Bridgford-based office.
Mr Whitehurst, who has 20 years experience in the drinks industry, said: "My dad used to work at the brewery in the school holidays in the bottling plant.
"Home Ales had a really good reputation and when I was growing up there was a great deal of affection for the brand and we try and harness that.
"We are a craft beer business with a difference. Our brands are iconic. We have reinvented them for today’s consumers with the single minded mission to make them great again.
"We have grown quicker than our traditional craft beer peers and have built a business turning over in excess of £400,000 a year.
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Watneys Beer Company was named after another iconic beer brand from the 1960s and 70s. The once-infamous Watneys Red Barrel was reputed to be so poor that it is rumoured to have led to the creation of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA).
The new and improved reincarnation - named Sarcasm, Irony and Slapstick - has the nostalgia but is "nothing like the taste."