Drinkers remained in good heart despite supplies of bitter running out as they celebrated being able to enjoy a tipple or two in the island’s pubs.

Okell’s Bitter ran dry on Friday at The Woodbourne in Douglas and on Sunday at the Haven in Port Erin.

Andy Davies, manager at the latter, said he had rationed supplies of the cask Okell’s before the last drop was finally supped.

But Mr Davies said both he and and his customers fully understood the reasons for the shortage because brewers Heron and Brearley had only been given five days’ notice to get up and running before the doors were allowed to open again. He said: ’In the circumstances we understand why supplies of the bitter were in short supply. There was not enough notice for the brewery to complete the brewing process.

’We still had four fantastic days. There was a magical atmosphere in the pub, it was like old friends meeting up again after all this time. Some people had been feeling rather miserable and were able to let their hair down at last.’

At the Woodbourne in Alexander Drive, Douglas, temporary manager Antonello Lotta, aged 33, said customers were understanding after the bitter finally ran dry.

’It’s just the way it was and we got on with it,’ he said. ’It was a great weekend.’

Mr Lotta said he was able to serve bottled beers instead and this did not seem to affect the atmosphere as men and women celebrated being able to enjoy a drink and convivial company in one of the popular pub’s three bars.

Both Mr Lotta and Mr Davies told the Examiner they expected fresh supplies of bitter this week.

The weekend was also a busy time for freehouse The White House at Peel.

John Wheeler, who owns the hostelry with Charles Miller, said: ’Everything went well and there was a nice atmosphere. People had a good time generally.’

He said they had no Okell’s beers to sell but this was not really a problem as they had supplies of real ale from brewery contacts in the UK especially in the south of England.

He took the decision to introduce a 10.30pm closing time to avoid any issues.

Steph Tiesteel, landlady of The Trafalgar in Ramsey, said: ’It was like the whole of TT Practice Week rolled into one weekend.

She added: ’It was also quite emotional and there was a lot of hugging.

’I counted the days we had been closed and it was 89, so as you can imagine there was something of a celebratory mood.

’But there were also quite a few tears shed. Many of our regulars are older people who had not been out for ages. It was a chance at last for everyone to meet up again, share some stories and, generally, a sense of relief.’

The freehouse on West Quay in Ramsey was buzzing from opening time on Thursday and over the weekend.