Kendal-based Bowness Bay Brewing is raising a glass to expansion after securing European funding to support investment into new brewing equipment.
The Brewery, which was launched in 2012 by former traffic policeman, Richard Husbands produces 12 beers which are handcrafted at its Castle Mills brewery in Kendal. Among its core beer range is the popular Swan Blonde, Lakeland Blonde and Steamer IPA, which won two Gold Awards at the Society Independent Brewery Association, (SIBA) prestigious industry event in 2018.
Funding from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development of £60,000 will enable the Brewery to buy six state-of-the-art 5000 litre fermenters, which will increase capacity by four-fold. In addition, the funding will see Bowness Bay Brewing acquiring a new fully automatic keg machine which will help increase output to over 1000 kegs per month and new sterile filter equipment.
Richard Husbands, owner of the brewery spoke about the investment. He said, “When we set out, we wanted to ensure that anything we produced was of high quality and had a consistent taste – it’s not ground breaking but it’s common sense. It’s a mantra that has paid dividends because we’ve developed an enviable reputation for brewing great quality beer.
“What this has resulted in is a significant increase in demand for our core range, and to ensure this level of quality is maintained we needed new equipment. Our new fermenters will enhance production, but the high specification keg machine will create so many new opportunities for us as a business. It’ll increase productivity and enhance quality control as it will filter and carbonate beer.
“It also means we can now keg anything from steel to plastic and therefore our beers will be available in more formats to meet consumer demands. Historically we’ve outsourced kegging which added time and costs, so these will now be reduced to a minimum.
“It also means we don’t need undertake frequent and lengthy journeys to deliver and then collect kegged beer from the contract kegging company, which again will help reduce costs but has important environmental benefits too.”
Richard concluded: “We’re extremely grateful for the funding as it will also enable us to look at the Brewery’s estate and how we can best use that. We’re now putting finishing touches to our new Tap House but safe to say we have some very exciting plans for the Brewery not just as a place which produces great beer but as a tourist destination and festival venue.”
For further information about the Bowness Bay Brewing company, visit http://www.bownessbaybrewing.co.uk/
