Peter Kaneen says it is never too late to consider changing your career and starting your own business.

After working on cars for four decades Mr Kaneen decided to pursue making a business out of brewing beer.

It was a case of following a dream by turning a hobby into a business venture.

He told Business News: ’I’ve swapped my spanners for a beer stirring paddle.’

The latest island lockdown scuppered his hopes of launching his first brew called Lhune Airh, which is Manx for golden beer.

But he’s philosophical and says: ’This has been a labour of love which has been several years in the planning so I can wait a short while longer.

’This is all part of the learning process.’

Mr Kaneen says he has received some good positive feedback from pubs and other licensed premises in the island looking forward to placing orders with his wholesale business and serving his beer when they are allowed.

Mr Kaneen explained that after years working on cars in his workshop he finally decided that he wanted to pursue another career.

His micro-brewery is called Kaneen’s Brewery and is in the workshop on the site of the family-owned filling station at Union Mills.

The 59-year old said: ’It is a big step changing career.

’It is one thing growing up in a family business for 40 years but I have never actually had to start a business.

’So starting your own business is different to running a business that is already established.

’It involves a million other things that you need to do.’

Mr Kaneen said he had started to feel ready for a change after years of ’fixing cars’.

He had been dabbling with some home brewing as a hobby and then his daughter Ciara suggested he provide a keg of home-made beer at her wedding about three years ago.

He said: ’We cracked on with that and I could not believe the feedback from everybody at the wedding.

’It was amazing and I had really enjoyed making the beer.

’I then made the decision to close the workshop down and fixing cars.’

Big changes were needed in the workshop and along the way his planning application for a change of use from a workshop to a brewery was finally approved.

Mr Kaneen set his heart on testing a ’German-style’ continental beer. He spent three years ’developing a recipe that would work in the Isle of Man’.

He said: ’We’re quite lucky in the island because our water quality is nice soft water, which again is ideal for the German-style beer I wanted to make.’

He found out about a micro brewery in Scotland that was closing down. He made arrangements to buy the equipment ’lock, stock and barrel’ from the Edinburgh area and arrangements were made to bring it over to the island.

He said it was now three years almost to the day since he signed himself up for the island’s business start-up scheme run by the Department for Enterprise.

’They were absolutely amazing and backed me all the way through.’

His mentor was well-known island businessman Bransom Beam.

’He has been very good in keeping me motivated and keeping me going and I think I have actually surprised him that I am still pursuing the dream in view of everything that has happened with the Covid-19 crisis.’

Mr Kaneen, who is married to Bridget, called upon the services of his three daughters before finally giving the thumbs-up for his beer.

He said that Ciara, 31, Bronwen, 29, and Sinead, 25, had tasted the new beer.

He said his enterprise has been backed by his family and he has been encouraged by the amount of support he has been receiving in the island.