Five and a half pints of beer a minute (or a pint every ten seconds) were sold during the four days of our summer beer festival last weekend.

Crowds of beer lovers from all over the North West flocked to Staveley Mill Yard by coach and train and drank our three bars dry.

During forty-one hours of opening, from noon on Thursday to 8pm on Sunday, 185 casks and kegs, of 66 different beers from 18 breweries were sold.

Managing Director, Alex Brodie said: “This was our sixth summer festival and it broke all records. All the businesses in Staveley, camp sites, taxi firms, B&B’s also did well out of it. And there was no trouble – that’s a tribute to proper beer drinkers. It was a happy relaxed family affair.”

“It also shows how much public interest there is in the booming craft brewing industry. The beers we featured were from some of the most innovative breweries in the land, many of which have only been going a few years.”

To view more photos of the event visit our Facebook page here.

The Prince of Wales enjoyed a morning tipple as he helped mark our 10th anniversary.

His visit was the start of a day-long tour of Cumbria. He pulled a pint of Windermere Pale from behind the bar and gave the royal seal of approval to the aromatic beer as he remarked it was "very hoppy" and "tasty".

Staveley Mill Yard where we are based was a former centre for the woollen industry and has used the nearby River Kent for water and power since the 1600s. Bobbins were later made for the Lancashire cotton industry and then wooden tool handles - becoming the largest producer in Europe - before the site lay redundant.

Today it has been transformed into a thriving business community of workshops and offices which cater for the local community as well as wholesale trade.

Owners Alex and Anne Brodie set up the business in 2002 and now employ 19 full-time staff.

Alex said: "We are one of the new wave of independent brewers who have led the way in getting the public interested in proper beer. Our head brewer is only 32 years old. It's no longer an old man's game."

Charles unveiled a plaque to commemorate our tenth anniversary and was presented with a selection of bottled ales to further pursue his interest. He chatted with other business owners and also toured More? The Artisan Bakery next door.

Crowds braved the rain to give Charles a warm welcome at the Mill Yard. Among the well-wishers were children from Staveley Primary School who handed him a gift of a history book which marked 250 years of the school.

Windermere Pale took Silver at the SIBA (Society of Independent Brewers) National Competition in the Bitters category announced at SIBA’s annual conference in Stratford-upon-Avon yesterday (8^th March).

Windermere Pale is now on sale all over the country in JD Wetherspoon Real Ale Festival which runs from 14^th March – 1^st April.

"Windermere Pale continues to wow” says Anne Jones (Hawkshead’s Sales Manager) “… big hop flavours in low strength (3.5%) beer.”

We have made an unprecedented deal with Regional brewers, Frederic Robinson Ltd, to sell our beer in their pubs.

This is the first such deal by the Cheshire family brewers with any small brewer.

Lakeland Lager will be sold, initially, in some of Robinsons 55 Cumbrian outlets, and by Robinsons into the free trade, from April. Outside our own direct delivery, Robinsons will be the exclusive supplier of Lakeland Lager.

Oliver Robinson, Commercial Director of Robinsons, said he was delighted with the deal: “Following our great success with 8 new keg lagers at the end of 2011 and more recently with a dozen new crafted bottled beers this was too good an opportunity to miss. Some of our Cumbrian pubs, like those in Ambleside and Bowness, in the heart of the Lake District, are among our best. Hawkshead Brewery is a very successful Lake District brewery and its Lakeland Lager is the perfect partner in these pubs to our Hartleys beers.”

Alex Brodie, our Managing Director said: “People told me I was mad to try to get a guest beer into Robinsons, but the beer and the time were clearly right. Robinsons know the lager, they keg it for us, and their feedback about it has always been good.”

“We’re primarily a cask ale brewery” said Alex. “Lakeland Lager is our first keg beer; we brewed it so that lager drinkers as well as ale drinkers could have a local alternative. This deal will help get it more widely sold.”

Robinsons plan to offer “Lakeland Lager” to selected outlets, as a premium niche product. “In tough trading times the public are looking for authentic local products,” said David Bremner, Robinsons Director of Marketing. “This beer is certainly that – brewed in The Lake District with Lakeland water and distributed locally. We are having success with premium products at the moment and – in the right pubs – partnerships like this can only be good for everyone.”

Picture:Robinsons Director Oliver Robinson and Hawkshead Director Alex Brodie

We are happy to announce that we will be exhibiting under the ‘Taste Cumbria’ umbrella at this year’s Northern Restaurant and Bar show at Manchester Central on 12^th & 13^th March 2012.

The two day show will welcome trade-only exhibitors and visitors including brewers, hoteliers, publicans, catering suppliers, chefs, restaurateurs and bartenders from across the north of England.

Taste Cumbria has cherry-picked 11 producers from the county to feature at the show. Alongside us (the only Cumbrian brewery), producers include Hawkshead Relish, More? Artisan Bakery and Cartmel Sticky Toffee Pudding Company (full exhibitor list can be found here).

As well as being a great opportunity for hospitality networking, Northern Restaurant & Bar will stage chef demonstrations, cocktail shows and fine food displays. Visitors will also be able to participate in tutored tastings of wine, beer and coffee at the Grape, Grain & Bean theatre. Our session (held on Tuesday at 1pm) will demonstrate how modern, flavour-packed beers can be paired with food. We will be hosting a similar session on Monday at 1.30pm in the Taste Cumbria theatre.

You can find us at stand F15 where we will be happy to talk to you about our range of cask ale and provide you samples of our bottled beers and keg Lakeland Lager.

Registration for free tickets to Northern Restaurant & Bar is available at http://www.northernrestaurantandbar.co.uk/now.