The Past, Present & Future of Hesket Newmarket Brewery
The
brewery was first set up in 1988 by Jim and Liz Fearnley, who at
that time ran the Old Crown in Hesket Newmarket, in a converted
barn at the back of the pub. The beers were brewed exclusively for
the Old Crown, which soon became a Mecca for real ale enthusiasts.
As the brewery's reputation spread across Cumbria, a number of
other pubs expressed interest in the beers, and a small network
of loyal outlets was gradually established. In 1995 Jim and Liz
decided to sell the Old Crown and concentrate on the brewery. Together
with Mark Graham and Arthur Walby, they continued to expand their
range of beers into one of the widest in the country.
When
the Fearnley's announced their intention to retire in 1999, a group
of local enthusiasts came together to work out how best they could
ensure the survival of the brewery in the village. So was born the
Hesket Newmarket Brewery Cocperative, a community enterprise run
on democratic and voluntary principles, through which around 70
real ale enthusiasts (who either live locally or have local connections)
own equal shares in the brewery. After a successful first year,
most shareholders opted to receive their dividend in liquid form!
The cooperative also intends to channel a share of future profits
into community projects.
Mark ran the brewery on behalf of the cooperative, winning a special
award from Solway CAMRA for 'high quality brewing', until he chose
to leave in 2002. He will be best remembered by many for his formulation
of the superb Helvellyn Gold bitter. The brewery was lucky to find
an ideal replacement in Mike Parker, previously Head Brewer with
the (slightly) larger Bass brewery. With the continued support of
Arthur, Mike has already done some great work on improving how the
brewery works, and has even found ways of improving what many considered
the unimprovable taste of the beers.
In 2003, a number of essential improvements were identified to
create a more controllled brewing environment, leading to even
greater consistency of the beers, and which would also increase
both brewing capacity and racked beer storage capacity. In parallel
with these developments, a small visitor centre and a craft bottling
facility would be incorporated into the brewery. The cooperative
was awarded grant funding to support the project from the Cumbria
Fells and Dales LEADER+ programme. Work commenced at the end of
2003, and a brand new cask processing store has now been completed
and fully equipped.
The new building was opened by HRH Prince of
Wales in February 2004. Larger brewing vessels are being installed
during 2004, these will be followed by the introduction of the
new visitor centre and bottling plant for 2005.
The
brewery was first set up in 1988 by Jim and Liz Fearnley, who at
that time ran the Old Crown in Hesket Newmarket, in a converted
barn at the back of the pub. The beers were brewed exclusively for
the Old Crown, which soon became a Mecca for real ale enthusiasts.
When
the Fearnley's announced their intention to retire in 1999, a group
of local enthusiasts came together to work out how best they could
ensure the survival of the brewery in the village. So was born the
Hesket Newmarket Brewery Cocperative, a community enterprise run
on democratic and voluntary principles, through which around 70
real ale enthusiasts (who either live locally or have local connections)
own equal shares in the brewery. After a successful first year,
most shareholders opted to receive their dividend in liquid form!
The cooperative also intends to channel a share of future profits
into community projects.
The cooperative
was awarded grant funding to support the project from the Cumbria
Fells and Dales LEADER+ programme. Work commenced at the end of
2003, and a brand new cask processing store has now been completed
and fully equipped. 