HAWKSTONE: FROM COTSWOLDS TO COAST

When our founder casually announced that he had popped to The Globe Inn at Wells-next-the-Sea, for a pint with Jeremy Clarkson there was obvious excitement from the team as it could only mean one thing: Hawkstone was coming to Chestnut.

Since making the journey from the Cotswolds to Norfolk coast, we've sold over 7,000 pints of Hawkstone Premium Lager at The Globe Inn, The Feathers and The Lifeboat Inn. Plus, Hawkstone have picked up some major accolades along the way including winning a Gold World Beer Award and the Country Winner for England.

DIGGING DEEPER

There's more to this Insta-famous brewery (with over 700,000 followers) though, and our Norfolk General Manager's travelled West to the Cotswolds to find out more.

A BRIEF HISTORY

After catapulting into popular culture following an investment by a certain Diddly Squat Farmer, the last few years for the Cotswold Brew Co. have been a whirlwind.

The brewery, still under the Cotswold Brew Co. trademark, has been established for the last 20 years, but three years ago Jeremy Clarkson began talking to friends about the wastage of barley on his farm, and how this could be used more sustainably. With advice, it was suggested that the brewery could start using his barley, and Hawkstone was born.

Back in 2005 there was a lack of quality lagers in the UK - most breweries make ale, but the industry was looking for a lager - so Emma and Rick Keene set about creating a German-style lager in their micro-brewery.

When Jeremy invested in 2021 everybody just wanted Hawkstone. It became the no.1 selling lager on Amazon and took them from doing circa 4000 litres to over 35,000!

THREE THINGS TO LOOK FOR IN A PREMIUM LAGER

1) When poured into a glass, it should have a half thumb amount of froth on the beer.

2) There's often more care taken in beers that are bottled in dark glass bottles. Beer in light bottles suggests that there are many more additives because the hops would otherwise react with light, causing a chemical reaction that changes the taste and smell.

3) The ingredients should be minimal with four main ingredients. Premium Lager consists of 90% water, malted barley, hops and yeast. Hawkstone use three hops - British, American and German, to create a balance in flavour.

MEET THE MAKER - DON, DIRECTOR OF BREWING

Did you do market research? 

"Drink quite a few different varieties of beer!"

Plus, rented a 500l brewery in the back of a pub in Portsmouth and had [his] own brand which was sold through the pub and two other suppliers.

What sustainability efforts do you make? 

The barley we use is repurposed as food for farm animals and dogs.

[The] ethanol goes into a bio-digester and turns into energy to be used in the brewery. We also use a diesel supplier with a lower carbon footprint that's offset.

How do you keep things consistent?

Every Friday we taste each batch in the journey through the shelf life. That includes analysing all data points on mash PH, clarity of beer, and the microbiologists confirm that cleaning practices are in order etcetera.

Ben, our Tech Director, analyses data points of variances.

Where are your hops from? 

Britain, Germany, America and New Zealand.

Simpsons malt and JC barley form the base of all the beers and then speciality ones come from Crisp Maltings [just down the road from our Norfolk pubs], such as Stout.

What would you be doing if you weren’t brewing? 

In advertising. Something like Mad Men!

Favourite drink? 

Pilsner Urquell, Czech lager. All pilsners have come from that.

What makes a good pub? 

Open fire!

And a good view of the landscape. 

WHAT'S NEXT?

Hawkstone Cider has officially landed on the East Anglian coastline! The Globe Inn, Wells-next-The-Sea, The Feathers in Holt, and The Ship at Dunwich are proud to have this available on tap now.