Jennings Brewery returns to Cumbria – and it’s already running out of beer
In 2022, the centuries-old brewing institution shut its doors. But now it’s back, breathing life into the quaint market town of Cockermouth, Cumbria. Jennings’ managing director Chris France toasts an “incredible” opening fortnight, and plots expansion plans.
When Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company closed the Jennings site in 2022, citing economic pressures, it left a “real hole” in the local community, according to its new managing director Chris France.
But earlier this month, the nearly 200-year-old institution reopened under new ownership, and has already announced plans to scale up amid soaring sales.
Speaking to the drinks business, France looked back at an “incredible” two weeks: “It’s gone really well to a point where we’re sitting here now, and I don’t have enough beer to meet the orders I’ve got on the book. We’re needing to expand capacity already.”
So far, the reopening has created 12 jobs, but by the end of the year, France hopes it will have risen to 20.
Cockermouth rejoices
The site was acquired in February by Kurt and Rebecca Canfield, who pledged to revive the brewery’s legacy in the Lake District.
“There were 50-year-old men in tears,” said France, who grew up in the county. “People were knocking the doors down, wanting to tell us how delighted they were that the brewery was coming back.”
Around 160 people attended the brewery’s official ‘Black Yam’ opening party on Thursday 3 July, including Jennings brewers from the ‘80s and managing directors from the ‘70s.
Established as a family business in 1828, the original Jennings brewery was in the village of Lorton.
But in 1874, it outgrew the site and relocated to Cockermouth, to the foot of a castle where the rivers Derwent and Cocker converge.
Honouring tradition
Now, just over 8,000 people live in the town. But after the brewery’s closure, locals kept the legacy of Jennings alive, hosting talks from previous staff and exhibitions at the art centre.
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So it might come as no surprise that, in 2023, food writer Jacob Smith, dubbed the brewery “the town’s most favoured institution”.
“It obviously meant so much for them [residents] to still be talking about Jennings 20 years later,” said France, adding, “we’re part of that 200 year history. It’s not just the beer, it’s what the site means to the town.”
The brews nod to Cumbria’s heritage, using pure, Lakeland water pulled straight from the castle well.
Currently, the brewery is offering six beers. Four are historic recipes, and two are new ones.
Major expansion plans
And France, who’s working his “dream job”, also hopes to run a series of events, including poetry readings, tying to the area’s literary heritage.
He eventually plans to instate a distillery, heritage centre, education centre and hotel accommodation at the venue.
“It needs to be family-friendly, it needs to have some high-end food offerings, it needs to have different places that people can socialise and interact in,” he explained.
Jennings’ reopening stands in stark contrast to the wave of brewery closures seen across the UK. In May, the Society of Independent Brewers and Associates (SIBA) warned that rising costs and intense competition from global brewing giants continue to put mounting pressure on independent breweries.
But France remains optimistic: “Hopefully a combination of community and visitors can help the pub trade, and then we’ve got the superpower that is the Jennings brand that will draw people in.”
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