The expansion means the brewery can grow its keg, can and bottle production alongside its cask offer.
Krones will install a turn-key 40 barrel (6,500l) rapid-batch brewhouse, which will produce multiple brews daily, on a site in Staveley, south Cumbria, near the existing brewery.
The existing brewery will continue to produce brews, concentrating on small batch, specialist and limited-edition beers. It currently products 7,000 barrels (11,500hl) a year.
The new site will mean the existing brewery can also focus on projects such as its barrel ageing programme, according to head brewer Matt Clarke.
Innovation and experimentation
He said: “Our current 20-barrel plant is the perfect size for innovation and experimentation.
“But we also need more volume. By adding the new Krones-Steinecker brewhouse, the best in the business, we will free up space for more small-batch projects, including out barrel ageing programme. For the first time we will have space to breathe and to grow.”
The new brewery will be built on a site owned by Hawkshead’s parent company Halewood International.
Halewood CEO Stewart Hainsworth said: “Hawskhead make great beers and cannot keep up with demand. We are investing both in a new brewery and in the existing one, to grow Hawkshead, but also to protect and develop its wide portfolio of innovative limited-edition beers.
“Hawkshead is the real thing – an authentic modern craft brewery. We want to keep it that way as it expands.”
Next level
Hawkshead’s founder and managing director Alex Brodie outlined how the investment means the brewery can grow its beer production.
He said: “The brewery is 15 years old and it has been straining at the leash for years. Halewood’s backing allows us to go to the next level.
“Hawkshead is known for its commitment to cask ale, which is 65% of current output. We will be expanding production of keg, can and bottle but we will also grow cask.
“Cask ale is Britain’s craft. We believe in it and more to the point, so do most beer lovers, especially here in the north.”
Krones UK sales director Mark Heath said: “This is an important and innovative project for us. It is our first 40-barrel microcube system in the UK.
“It will be a showcase for us, demonstrating how rapid-batch brewing can future-proof a modern small brewery, giving it volume without the need to install a huge brewhouse.”