ARRAN Brewery has reached a significant milestone in its bid to break into the US - a year after establishing its importing operation in Texas.

The craft beer maker revealed it has signed up its first group of distributors and taken its first orders across the Atlantic. The news came shortly after its US company, Arran Brew LLC, exhibited at the US Beer Wholesalers and Distributors Conference in Las Vegas.

Managing director Gerald Michaluk said: "It has taken us over a year to fully understand the US market and its three tier system and now our staff in the US know how to import beer brands efficiently and effectively all the learning pain having being absorbed by the Arran Brewery.

We are now actively looking for UK brands to import into the United States as part of a portfolio that will represent the best in British beer. With the beer market in the USA forecast to grow to a staggering

$108.52 billion by 2019 this is a market brewers can't afford to miss."

Arran's American operation is headed by Karen Miles, the former finance director of the US Rice Producers Association, who was hired to spearhead the brewer's assault on the US market.

Mr Michaluk said at the time that one of her first tasks would be to obtain import licences for the company in 50 states.