please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
A short cab ride from Windermere station and we arrive at this 2014 and 2015 GBG entry on a trading estimate just a stones throw from the village.
As the name suggests and as per previous comments this is the Beer Hall at Hawkshead Brewery.
Light airey and a really nice place to sample their beers and there are certainly enough to try!
Cumbrian 5 hop @ 5.0% was 1st choice from the 15 various ales on the taps. My 2nd was New Zealand Pale Ale @ 6.0%. Only 1 offering wasn't Hawkshead and that was the Belgian beer Friuli.
I wandered upstairs to view the brewing process just to be nosey.
The hall downstairs was fairly busy with brewery workers, locals and walkers.
Knowledgeable bar staff give this modern hall must visit status, the only shame is that it closes at 5pm on a Monday.
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I have been here twice, both for their Summer beer festivals. Based in the idyllic area of Staveley, it consists of two main indoor bars - one downstairs and one upstairs.
The rain and humidity ruined what should have been a great visit, but I didn't get too downbeat as I enjoyed the wheatbeer, while watching a live band in the gazebo outside.
Hawkshead brew some fantastic beer, and so it was a worthwhile trip even with a nightmare delayed train journey.
Check it out!
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Having just read the comments from AqualungCumbria I would suggest he reads my review of the Oddfellows in Keswick and tries my tasting, how come somebody with such a name has only done 2 reviews in Cumbria and 14 in the North East, could there be some connection to Hawkeshead Brewery. Try the Oddfellows in North Shields and the new Vari-Head sparkler, perhaps you are not Cumbrian, what about a Maccem ?
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Very welcoming bar with full choice of Hawkshead ales. Modern building designed well presenting a comfortable environment. Bar snacks compliment the Hawkshead ales on offer. Well worth a minor de tour from the main route to the Lakes, set in the lovely village of Staveley.
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Full choice of Hawkshead ales, as you'd expect. For a modern building, done in a tasteful way. Worth a visit if you're in the area.
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Very nice beers and our family were made welcome in comfortable surroundings. The 'beer tapas' to accompany our beers were very nice indeed. On the beer front, try the Brodies Prime- great stuff.
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Very good beer. Try the bakery next door for food...
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Visited several times over the couple of days we were in the area.
Wonderful beer, top condition, absolutely fabulous food. Contemporay modern bar with beer shop, open gallery where you can see the brewery.
Asked a lot of questions about the beer, always an honest answer and they even got one of the brewers to come down to have a chat.
I would also like to stress this: most friendly bar staff ever, bar none!
Top marks for this!
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In my world beers should be served how the BREWER requests it , which is exactly what you will get here.I dont understand why anyone would want the great beers Hawkshead make served flat.
This place is a good example of how a modern building can be a pleasing place to sit and enjoy a beer, and the recent festival was without doubt the best i have ever been to and Camra should take note it is possible to serve 60+ ales all as you would get them in the brewers tap house from all over the country.
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Interesting contemporary drinking hall with all the excellent Hawkshead beers, however my two visits - one in the old bar, and recently in the new were both spoiled by the arrogant attitude of A. the owner and B. a woman of a certain age who refused to serve the beer as requested - without the sparkler.
My view of this dreadful device has been aired elsewhere, yet again a lesson in hydrophysics - the sparkler flattens the beer, not the other way round, would this woman insist someone had their coffee black if they wanted white. In my world the customer is always right. A good afternoon spoiled by a single member of staff, my previous three ales were served by friendly staff as I wanted them and were in perfect condition. I went to a pub in the village and the barman said it was'nt the first time he had heard similar tales. Never again.
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Really enjoyable - pleasantly surprised by the informality (Shap FC popped in to drink their lager), the keen pricing and clever food menu. If honest I thought their beers were good rather than outstanding, but I'd give them another go tomorrow.
NB The bakery next door does fantastic bread and brownies.
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The brewery has now moved about 50 yards into a different building. The bar area is downstairs in the new building and has thus lost the fine view of the river of the previous set up although the view of the brewing equipment is now better. It also means that it no longer has the symbiotic relationship to Wilf�s cafe. But, instead, the brewery now sells its own food: an initially surprising tapas menu with small items (such as a slice of cold pork pie, some hot sausages, hummus, fish goujons, chips with cheese and onion gravy) for �2 or �3 and a few larger meals (such as macaroni cheese with truffle). Despite my misgivings, this worked quite well and the quality seemed high. Beer quality, as ever, was excellent.
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as stated by other reviewers, a slightly odd setup of a beerhall/pub attached to a brewery in an industrial estate!
However, the cafe downstairs does some nice enough caf grub (and was humming with customers) and will bring food into the bar. The beers were delicious, the sofas comfy, and the staff knowledgeable and helpful. Friendly locals too. Very enjoyable way to spend an hour or two. Would love to head there when they've got a festival/band playing, seems like it manages to balance the divide between providing for locals and tourists nicely.
would recomend without reservation.
Ps. loved the pervading smell of the hops/brew from the brewery as well. mmmmm!
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Large airy German-style drinking den at the bottom of an industrial estate, but with great views overlooking the River Kent. It features the whole range of the excellent Hawkshead Brewery beers (as you would expect) plus various merchandise.. One side of the room also has windows overlooking the brewery itself. A food operation is also in place.
It's roomy in the extreme, spartan almost with a few spartan tables and couches in the vast hall, and little in the way of pubby artefacts- My Sunday afternoon visit was quiet, adding to the empty feeling, but I expect this changes depending on the day
The prices are refreshingly cheap for the Lakes, at circa 2.40 a pint, and the beer is excellent as you would expect.
Not a pub as such, but I emjoyed it- the quality and price of the beer means that this is well worth a visit alongside the Eagle and Child. Note the early closing time.
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Excellent brewery/pub complex. A real must-visit venue if your are in the area.
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What an excellent idea to have a fully functioning pub right next to the brewery. Part of a retail complex with cafes and shops. I did like the Hawkshead beers, especially the stout.
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Stumbled upon this setup, in a little Trading Estate, more by luck than effort. Typical Brewery Tap arrangment rather than a pub, but with 6-8 Ales on tap who's complaining! Bought several bottled Ales to savour later! Nice to view parts of the Hawkshead Brewery through large windows, though no activity during our stay. Try the local Bakery afterwards, (almost next door) for lovely fresh bread and cakes - yummy!!
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The Beer Hall is the Hawkshead Brewery Tap, overlooking the scenic river Kent. Obviously, all the Hawkshead Beers are available � I especially enjoyed the Red on my last visit. The Beer Hall is a nice airy modern open plan area, and you can view the Brewery as well. The only slight drawback is the opening times of midday to six pm. Also, try Wilf�s Caf� - which can be accessed directly from the Beer Hall - for some great grub. Overall, totally superb!
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Fab Beer, brilliant staff, best party venue locally, ideal for weddings without the price tag! Great live music and Beer Festivals... what more could a place boast? Food? yep - by Wilfs adjoining through the corridor - even room for your bikes...
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Thought I'd died & gone to heaven - 6 or 7 ales on including 2 stouts. Lots of bottled beer including some Belgians. Brewery can be viewed through the windows. Worth sitting outside by the weir where the scenic bit is. There is a very good cycle shop yards away if you're so inclined.
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Paid my second visit here yesterday having last visited over a year ago - excellent beer and friendly service make it well worth a visit. The bloke behind the bar was happy to talk to us about forthcoming beer festivals and other such events. Will hopefully be back again soon!
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Called in to try the Hawkshead beers following my visit to Ings, and was not disappointed. We enjoyed the beers available.
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soft drinks expensive yes but as mildplease says they are good I like this pub 9 out of 10
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Paid a visit here last year as part of a friend's 40th birthday celebrations and was quite impressed. The range of Hawkshead ales were on very good form, and I also liked the fact that you can go and have a peek at what's going on in the brewery from a window across the room from the bar. If I remember rightly they didn't do their own food, but the place adjoins a Cafe and they were happy for you to order food and take it into the bar area to eat. Definitely worth further investigation at some point!
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Some excellent beers ("Brodie's Prime" was a favourite of mine) and very helpful & friendly barman/brewer who gave excellent advice on the best of the local (Cumbrian) pubs and breweries. Restrictive opening times 12-5pm is a downside.
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Slightly unfair comment by George, not a J20 in sight thankfully, organic British juices and fair trade orange juices along with very local apple juice, I imagine these products are a little more expensive to buy than all the usual suspects behind the bar! Well done Hawkshead for keeping food miles down and supporting British.
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This place is ok but the soft drinks are outrageously expensive
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It's worth knowing that the opening hours of the Beer Hall are limited at present (according to their own site) to: "12-7pm Wed-Fri and 12-5pm Sat and Sun. For now, it is closed Mon and Tues." Also, as the photo on the Hawkshead brewery website listed above suggests, it is a hall, like a modern American micro-brewery, stylish but aesthetically cool so it's an idea to go with a few people. But the beer quality is excellent and there are, I understand, plans to grow the relationship between businesses on this successful site. One aspect of that is that one can drink beer on a balcony overlooking the fast flowing river Kent by popping through Wilf's famous cafe. I really like it because it complements rather than directly competing with Staveley's other triumph: the Eagle and Child.
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The 2nd largest brewery in Cumbria has created a fantastic tap for the real ales they brew, huge non smoking room, chilled music, intresting knowledgable barman, fantastic real ales and good selection of continental beers all topped off by a hearty cafe attached serving excellent blotter food! Well done Hawkshead Brewery
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The new (ie. 2nd) Hawkshead Brewery in Staveley has an attached Beer Hall. It is on the first floor of a fine old mill building in the Staveley Mill yard (home also to a number of small businesses including Wheelbase, the cycle shop, and Wilf's Cafe, a Lake District institution). The Beer Hall is joined to Wilf's and food or beer can be carried between them. It is akin to a U.S. brew pub with wood floor, wooden furniture and a light, spacious and slightly industrial feel. When I visited in heavy rain, the view of the rising river Kent provided a typical Lakes� entertainment. (In better weather it may be possible to walk through Wilf�s and stand out on the deck over looking the river.) There were five (Hawkshead, obviously) beers: Bitter, Red, Gold, UPA and Five Hop and some bottled cider / lager for any benighted souls not up to real ale. Sadly opening hours are limited: 12noon - 7pm Wed/Thurs/Fri and 12noon - 5pm Sat & Sun. But well worth a visit.
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