Hawkshead Brewery

Hawkshead brewery was the brain child of ex-BBC man Alex Brodie. Initially the brewery was set up in an old 17th century barn on the edge of Hawkshead in 2002, hence the name. Good beer and good marketing was quickly rewarded with expansion and new larger premises were needed. These were found in 2006 in Mill Yard, Staveley. At first Alex established a 20 barrel plant with the ability to carry out 5 brews. An adjacent Beer Hall was also opened to provide brewery viewing & tours & to showcase his full range of beers. It also had a link through to the well known Wilf's cafe. The Brewery continued to expand to the point that it became the largest independent brewery in Cumbria. More capacity was needed and Alex was able to move into to vacant premises next door. Two new 60 barrel holding vessels were installed and they can now brew twice a day if required giving a total capacity of some 180 barrels. This has given much more flexibility to brew for an expanding bottling operation.

The Range of beers has expanded over the years and regularly picks up awards from many sources, including from the Society of Independent Brewers Association (SIBA) of whom the Brewery is a very active member. Hawkshead Bitter is the north west Champion Bitter; Brodie's Prime north west Champion Porter; Windermere Pale won silver at the Brewing Industry International Awards 2011. So if you want to sample some good beers from a great range plus the chance to have a look around the Brewery then why not pay a visit to the Beer Hall brewery tap.

In March 2017 Hawkshead Brewery announced an investment deal with Halewood Wines & Spirits that saw Halewood take a controlling interest in the brewery, with Alex Brodie remaining as the Brewery's managing director, although Alex then left in November 2017. A new brewery was built in Flookburgh which opened in 2018, and there is even a video of it on youtube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RbuSu-dqMM). The site at Flookburgh is used for the higher volume beers, while the Staveley site still brews the small batch offerings.

Hawkshead Cumbrian 5 Hop and Red both reached the final of their categories at the 2018 CAMRA Champion Beer of Britain awards.

The Brewery Beer Hall also hosts two annual beer festivals, one in March and the other in July.

Details

website : www.hawksheadbrewery.co.uk

twitter : http://twitter.com/#!/hawksheadbrewer

email : info@hawksheadbrewery.co.uk

address : Mill Yard, Staveley, Cumbria, LA8 9LR

telephone : 01539 822644

tap : Beer Hall, Staveley

Main beers: For full tasting notes click here