Hawkshead BREWERY
It is hard to believe that Hawkshead Brewery is only in its second year of operation, so quickly has it established itself. The brewery was set up by former BBC foreign correspondent Alex Brodie. He had bought a home in the Lake District and would regularly visit between assignments. When the Times commissioned him to write a piece on brewing he did his research at the home of his favourite beer, Yates Bitter, by spending a couple of days working alongside Graeme Baxter. From there the idea of setting up his own brewery began to take root.

The brewery is housed in a spacious listed 17th century barn at Town End on the edge of Hawkshead village. It had been derelict for 12 years and has been restored and re-roofed with the help of a government grant. The brewing equipment came from Border brewery in Berwick on Tweed, after it merged with Hadrian in Newcastle in 2001. Part of the barn floor has been taken out to create the height for the mash room and copper. In the upper part of the barn is the grain and hopstore, and there are plans for a bar and sampling room.

Although Alex got his practical training from Graeme Baxter, he received invaluable help and advice from David Smith, a brewing consultant based in York, who has helped dozens of microbreweries get started. David worked closely with Hawkshead in the first year and helps Alex to work out recipes for the beer tastes he wants to achieve. He now visits every couple of months to check that all the brewing processes and the products are up to scratch. Two other Davids work in the brewery: David Newman who with Alex does much of the brewing, and Dave Buxton. Alex still works for the BBC, dividing his time between Hawkshead and London and presenting the main World Service news programme five times a fortnight.

The first two beers to be brewed were Bitter (3.7%) brewed with First Gold, one of the hedgerow hops cultivated by Wye College and which gives bitterness, and Styrian Goldings for aroma; and Best Bitter (4.2%) which uses Fuggles for aroma. Both use Maris Otter malt; crystal malt is added for colour and body, and Best Bitter has a deep red colour imparted by the use of dark crystal.

Hawkshead Gold (4.4%) was first brewed for bottling in March 2003, but Alex has now decided to brew it as an occasional draught beer. The use of Cascade hops gives it a powerful fruity aroma and flavour. Hawkshead Red (4.6%) has an even deeper red colour than Best Bitter but is only brewed for bottling.

Alex has succeeded in establishing a reliable customer base of real ale pubs in the South Lakeland area. Permanent customers now include the Kings Arms and Red Lion in Hawkshead; the Sawrey Hotel; the Masonšs Arms at Strawberry Bank; the Farmers Arms in Ulverston; the Kirkstone Pass Inn and the Watermill at Ings. He is now expanding the geographical spread of regular outlets into West Cumbria and Hawkshead beers can be found in the Burnmoor and Brook House Inn in Boot; the Bower House in Eskdale; the Shepherds Arms in Ennerdale Bridge; the Kirkstile; the Bitter End and most recently the Black Bull in Cockermouth. Bottled Hawkshead Gold and Red will also be supplied to Booths, the Beer Supermarket of the Year.

The brewery has already won a remarkable number of awards: at Furness CAMRA Beer Festival in September 2002, Bitter won first prize and Best Bitter came second. Best Bitter won Beer of the Festival at Westmorland Beer Festival last year and Hawkshead Bitter was voted best beer below 4% at Bradford Beer Festival earlier this year. Having seen the care that goes into brewing these beers we can be sure that they will continue to win awards for years to come.