After nearly two centuries of crafting traditional ales, Jennings Brewery has produced its first-ever lager.
The natural, unfiltered Helles is named after the German pale lager beer, which translates as bright.
The gluten-free, vegan-friendly brew will be available in the brewery’s Cockermouth taproom and at selected venues from this weekend as Taste Cumbria hits the town.
While the brewery continues to produce its much-loved traditional ales Jennings said the new lager marked a fresh chapter in its history that recognised the global beer community and the tastes of visitors from near and far.
Jennings has never brewed a lager before, but the style would have been popular among German immigrants of the 15th and 16th centuries who came to the Lake District and worked in the copper and zinc mines.
Chris France, Jennings managing directorm said: “Those miners had a far bigger impact on the development of the Cumberland sausage than they did on our beer culture, but it’s a new team at Jennings now and we’re keen to show that while we continue to make amazing traditional ales, we can do new things too.
“Jennings Helles and Cumberland sausage is a great combo!”
Wider distribution will follow.
The development is the latest move to develop the brewery which reopened earlier this year.
