It has been months in the making, but today the wraps were finally coming off the Black Country’s newest tourist attraction.

Work on a new visitor centre and shop at the Banks’s Park Brewery in Wolverhampton was today finished, ahead of its opening to the public on Wednesday.

For the first time the Wolverhampton-based brewers will also be offering people guided tours to take them through the brewing process from grain to glass.

Sessions for visitors will be rounded off with tutored tasting sessions and people will also be able to learn more about the history of the site which dates back to 1875.

It is hoped the new centre and tours will prove a popular attraction and bring in visitors from across the region and beyond providing a tourist boost for the city.

It is also thought it will create in the region of five jobs for the area.

The visitor centre manager Sarah Deeming said the company was delighted that the facility was being opened at last and that she hoped many people would go and have a look at the attraction.

Bosses at the brewery have purposely used local companies to fit out the centre and provide the merchandising.

The opening of the visitor centre has coincided with Cask Ale Week, a celebration of the nation’s favourite national drink, which is starting today and running through the holiday until Easter Monday.

The brewery produces a total of 576,000 pints a day of Banks’s, Hanson’s and Mansfield beers.

It has 50 dray lorries, which carry beer, manned by 100 draymen who work round the clock to deliver beer to pubs around the country.

Planning permission for the visitor centre was given the go ahead in April last year by Wolverhampton City Council. For further information or to arrange a tour please call 01902 329671 or e-mail visitorcentre@bankssbrewery.co.uk