The history of the Hesket Newmarket brewery will be familiar to many readers.

It was started 15 years ago in April 1988 by Jim and Liz Fearnley owners of the Old Crown, in a barn at the back of the pub. In 1995 the Fearnleys sold the pub to Kim and Lyn Mathews, and in 1999 decided to retire from brewing as well.

Villagers and beer lovers from further afield came up with the idea of setting up a co-operative to buy the brewery and keep it going. It was not long before 58 shareholders put forward £1,500 each.

The success of the co-operative approach has been put forward as a model for similar enterprises across the country, not least in the Countryside Agency’s 'Pub is the Hub' document.

There have been a number of changes in the brewery in the past couple of years. Mike Parker took over as brewer just over a year ago. Mike’s brewing pedigree cannot be faulted: he previously worked in the Bass brewing empire; he was Quality Control manager for both the Hope and Anchor site and the Cannon brewery in Sheffield, before becoming head brewer at Stones until 1991. A former colleague was Peter Laws, now head brewer at Jennings. Amongst other things he was responsible for moving the production of the famous bottled conditioned beer Worthington White Shield to Sheffield. Mike recalls the early days in Sheffield when the brewing industry served the needs of steelworkers who spent 10 hours or so a day working at the furnaces. Some pubs would open at 6am to slake the thirst of men coming off the night shift. Other pubs got through 30 hogsheads a week, such was the demand.

Mike and his wife bought the Joiners Arms at Lazonby in 1991 and made it into the Good Beer Guide. They sold it in 1998 intending to retire, but later the chance of brewing at Hesket Newmarket was too good to miss.

Mike has used his expertise to bring a number of improvements to the brewing process: more accurate temperature control during fermentation has been achieved with better insulation, and installation of a paraflow has improved efficiency. Customers have obviously appreciated the difference as beer sales have doubled in the last year. Further major improvements are planned: the brewhouse will move upstairs, and the fermentation vessels will move to the ground floor. Mike hopes to upgrade from the current four barrel capacity to ten barrels, and to create a cask storage area.

Hops come from Charles Faram near Malvern and malt from Simpsons of Berwick on Tweed. Mike, with assistant brewer Arthur Walby, brews four times a week and Mike says every beer should see a Sunday in vessel.

In 2002, helped by progressive beer duty the brewery turned a £5000 profit, and was able to give its shareholders a dividend of 36 pints! Mike expects the profit to be even better for 2003.

Kim Mathews decided last year to put the Old Crown on the market and the pub is also now in the process of becoming a village co-operative. Shares were fully subscribed within three weeks, and the pub should change hands at the beginning of July. This is a relief for the brewery, as the pub accounts for around a third of its sales. Kim is taking a keen interest in the co-operative; he will be living next door to the pub so he is doing all he can to see that it succeeds.

The beer range includes a wide variety of styles and tastes, from Great Cockup Porter, a surprisingly tasty beer at 3.0% (great for drivers!) to the new summer brew called Boulder Dash (4.0%), a pale beer lightly hopped with Challenger and Cascade. Mike pays tribute to the quality of Jim Fearnley’s original recipes.

Apart from the Old Crown the brewery supplies around fifteen pubs on a regular basis, including in our area the Fish at Buttermere and the Square Orange café bar in Keswick. Another 20 or so pubs take Hesket beers on an occasional basis.

The BEER RANGE:

Great Cockup Porter 3.0% A chocolate malty dark beer
Blencathra Bitter 3.2% A ruby traditional bitter
Skiddaw Special Bitter 3.7% A refreshing session beer
Helvellyn Gold 4.0% Straw coloured with a hoppy aroma
Doris’ 90th Birthday ale 4.3% A full flavoured fruity premium beer
Catbells Pale Ale 5.0% Refreshing easy to drink pale ale
Old Carrock Strong ale 6.0% Dark red strong ale