Description
Hawkshead Brewery is not in Hawkshead any longer, though it is still one of the best places to get our beer - in 3 of the 4 pubs in the village and in Near Sawrey at the other end of Esthwaite Water.
The brewery grew so fast that in 2006 we had to move across the lake (Windermere, that is) to Staveley, at the foot of the Kentmere Valley.
Hawkshead Brewery is now in Mill Yard, Staveley, beside the River Kent, where we installed a new brewery, tailor made by Moeschle (UK) Ltd.
The Beer Hall
The Beer Hall is a showcase for real ale. It has a Cask Marque award for serving "the perfect pint," and features in the 2011 Good Beer Guide.
The Beer Hall is the Hawkshead Brewery tap, but within it are many things -- visitors' centre, specialist international beer shop, sampling room, function room, conference room, and The Beer Kitchen providing the perfect food to complement the beer -- our "beer tapas."
Windows, throughout, look into the brew house, the cellar, the temperature controlled specialist beer shop and the new fermentation room, which is in the main bar.
The main bar is built around two new stainless steel fermenting vessels,which rise through the first floor, so visitors can drink the beers while watching them being made.
The bar in The Beer Hall is fully licensed. We sell not only all the Hawkshead beers, but also a range of what we consider the best soft drinks, spirits and wines.
We import our own wine from small independent growers, we know personally, in Bergerac and The Loire. We sell superior wine at sensible prices.
Our House Whisky, comes from our nearest independent distillery, Bladnoch.
Opening Hours
The Beer Hall is open from 12 noon, 7 days a week. Opening hours can be found by clicking here.
Evening Functions
The Beer Hall's River Bar can be booked for private functions, in the evening. There's a 7 metre long bar and 120 square metres of oak dance floor. DJ's/Discos and bands can be organised.
Food for your real ale weddings, birthday parties, office parties can be provided by The Beer Kitchen.
The Beers
Hawkshead Bitter (abv 3.7% )
A pale, hoppy and bitter ale: a slight elderflower aroma from Slovenian "Celeia" hops, followed by long bitterness. The hikers' favourite -- the perfect thirst quencher after a day on the Fells. A great session bitter.
Red (abv 4.2%) Originally called Best Bitter.
A Red Ale. Bitter-sweet. First comes the sweetness of the Dark Crystal malt, which gives it the red colour, and then the long dry finish. A beer for those who like their ale to have some colour and taste of malt.
Also in bottles at 4.4% abv.
Lakeland Gold (abv 4.4%) Known to fans as just: "Gold."
Golden Ale. Hoppy and uncompromisingly bitter with complex fruit flavours from the blending of a modern English hop, First Gold, with the outrageously fruity American hop, Cascade.
A hopheads' beer... with balance. A real beer drinkers beer.
Brodie's Prime (abv 4.9%)
A dark premium beer, which takes you by surprise. It is not what it looks like.
It is rich and malty with a roasted edge, but then comes the spiciness and fruit: from a medley of English and American hops -- Fuggles, Bramling Cross, Cascade. Beware it drinks a lot lighter than it is.
also in bottle.
Organic Oatmeal Stout (abv 4.5%)
Stout which is dry like stout should be. We made it to taste like the bottled Guinness of old which used to be on every bar, but sadly no longer is.
It is an unusual beer because it is pure brewed, organic and, in the bottle, bottle conditioned. Pure brewed because it is made in the spirit of the Rheinhetsgabot - the German purity laws -- without any treatments or brewing aids, using only malted barley, wheat, oats, hops, water and yeast. Organic because all the grain and hops are organically grown and certified. Bottle conditioned because it is unfiltered with yeast left in to ensure maximum flavour. It is suitable for vegans.
In the cask, it is the same beer, except we do use finings, as is usual with cask beer, to ensure that it can be served clear.
It is also unusual because it is a soft water stout -- as we use no water treatment, the soft Lakeland water has not been hardened or "Burtonised."
Lakeland Lager (abv 5%)
It's lager, but its tasty. Lager/ pilsner is a great beer style, given a bad name by multi-national fizz. This is, as you would expect, pale, with restrained but fresh hop character from European lager hops. Lager malt has been used, but the rules broken by using ale not lager yeast.
Rarely in cask, but when it is it flies out. Brewed largely for bottle.
Windermere Pale (abv 3.5%)
Summer ale, low gravity, very pale, just slips down.
Maris Otter Pale Ale malt with a bit of wheat. Loads of fruity hop flavours from a medley of traditional and modern hops. In 2010 with a new and rare American hop - Citra. Not as bitter as our other pale beers.
Jingle Fells (abv 4.5%)
Our Christmas brew.
Deep dark red, malty and bitter. Liquid Christmas pud from the Lakeland Fells. Limited supplies. Book early for Christmas.
All English IPA (abv 6.0%)
At 6.0% it is Windermere Pale's big brother. All English is brewed with, as you can probably guess, All English ingredients. The hops are rare and under used - English Cascade, Pioneer and Pilgrim to name three of the six used.
Food Served
We are now serving food all day from The Beer Kitchen in The Beer Hall.
The Beer Kitchen specialises in Beer Tapas; food made from fresh local produce, in small portions to complement your pint.
Proper food to snack on with a pint, or have for lunch.
Beer Festivals
We have two Beer Festivals a year. A Spring and Summer Festival, with over 50 beers, all served on hand pulls from our cellars. The beers we serve at these events are generally SIBA champions. This Spring we will be serving from the cellars of both the new Beer Hall and the original one. In the summer we run anoutside bar in a marquee withlive music. For information on upcoming festivals please check the diary and the Beer Festivals page.
Brewery Tours
Tours of the brewery take place on Saturday's at 2pm.
Tours last between 30 and 40 minutes and cost £4 per head. We can pre book groups of 10 or more for tours, by prior arrangement. Please ring 01539 825260 for more details.
Conference Room
We have conference room in the brewery that can be booked for private use.
BUY OUR BEERS ONLINE HERE
Being partial to a drop of real ale we can confirm that Hawkshead Brwery ales are some of the finest in Britain let alone the Lake District and the Staveley Beer Hall is a good place to try them and learn a bit more about brewing while you are there.
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