Hawkshead cheers US export success
A NORTH West brewer is toasting the departure of the first consignment of organic stout to the US.
Cumbria’s Hawkshead Brewery believes its product will be the first organic British stout to be sold Stateside.
The product launch has been in pipeline for around two years as Hawkshead and its bottle supplier, Hambleton Ales, have had to meet a series of stringent criteria including organic certification from the UK Soil Association and meet guidelines set out by the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Program.
The first shipment of 4,500 bottles of its organic stout to Massachusetts-based distributor St Killians, has now been made.
Sales manager, Anne Jones said: “We think this will be the only British Organic Stout in the USA, the only “Pure Brewed” one and certainly the only one brewed by a small local brewery.
“It has been a long and difficult job getting all the organic grain and hops NOP certified – a job that would normally require the resources of a much bigger brewery.”
The export success story began in 2009 at a beer trade fair in Las Vegas, where an executive from St Killians, Roman Dombrowski, sampled the brew, almost by accident.
Anne Jones added: “We weren’t even showcasing the Organic Stout, because of the problems getting US accreditation, but I took a couple of bottles in my luggage anyway, and that’s the one which got Roman interested.”
Hawkshead received business support from international trade agencyUK Trade and Investment (UKTI). UKTI staff advised Hawkshead Brewery on how to gain National US Organic Status and International Commercial Teams (INCO), as achieving organic status in the USA is a tough process.
Peter Gawne-Cain, international trade adviser for UKTI North West added: “Hawkshead Brewery is a local success story and it is great to see its real, traditionally brewed Cumbrian ales being snapped up in America.”
Hawkshead Brewery has recently undergone an expansion after a £250,000 investment into expanding its brewery and the creation of its Beer Hall. The expansion will enable Hawkshead Brewery to produce 180 barrels, or over 50,000 pints per week.
