BREWDOG, Scotland's largest independent brewery, has continued its rapid build-up of an international chain of bars with an opening in the Italian city of Bologna.

The bar in Bologna, launched yesterday, is Aberdeenshire-based BrewDog's second in Italy and the 11th opened by the company so far this year. BrewDog launched a bar in Florence during the summer.

BrewDog is planning to open bars in the Spanish city of Barcelona and the Finnish capital of Helsinki before Christmas.

The bar in Bologna will be able to accommodate up to 100 people. It will feature 16 beers on tap from breweries around the world.

BrewDog staff will provide brew sessions and beer schools. These will be aimed at customers who want to learn more about craft beer, its ingredients and the brewing process.

As well as the launches in Bologna and Florence, BrewDog has opened bars this year in Sao Paulo in Brazil, in the Japanese capital of Tokyo, and in Gothenburg in Sweden. It has also opened a raft of bars in the UK this year, in Liverpool, Sheffield, Dundee, Cardiff, and at Clapham Junction in London, as well as at its headquarters in Ellon.

James Watt, co-founder of BrewDog, said: "The new site in Bologna is a symbol of the changing tide of the drinks industry in Italy, which is mirrored around the world.

"We want everyone to be as passionate about craft beer as we are, and our bars act as the frontline of the craft beer revolution."

He added: "The craft beer scene in Italy may still be relatively new, but there is a growing and unquenchable thirst for great beer."