Mine hosts, Jackie and Mark Cockbain of the Bitter End pub on Kirkgate, Cocketmouth are seen here on the night of Friday 22st November 2025 when they launched their first beers brewed on site in their brand new micro brewery. They bought the pub in 2020 and have built up a great reputation for good pub food and beers from independent brewers.

Under a previous owner, there was a brewery in the pub but this was removed when it was relocated off the premises to a new site.

The new Bitter End Brewery is located behind glass at the rear of the premises.

Mark has attended a brewing course at Sunderland University and brewing at the Bitter End started in recent weeks.

The first two ales on offer from the new brewery are Cocker Gold at 4.4% and Yan Tan Tethera, which weighs in at 4.7%

Also on offer on the day of their beer launch were two real ales from the recently launched Swig Brewery in Frizington. Namely : The Golden Flarch 4.3% and The Shady Lush 4.8%.

The Bitter End brewing capacity is 110 gallon per brew and Mark plans to have some new brews on sale by mid December. This volume equates to 12 x 9 gallon barrels, this size being known as a ‘firkin’ in the pub trade.

(Article and photos supplied by branch member Len Wainwright)

Our meeting of the West Cumbria branch of CAMRA on Saturday 1st November at The Globe Inn on Main Street, Hensingham was productive.

Before long we will be voting for a shortlist for entries for the 2027 Good Beer Guide.

Also we will be voting soon for the next Pub of the Season.

The branch now has good stocks of CAMRA drip mats, for distribution to the many pubs we visit and survey.

It was made known at the meeting that owing to increased demand, Jennings Brewery have purchased a second batch of brewing plant. That will double their current brewing capacity.

Our December branch meeting will be in Cocketmouth. Details will be made known on this website and on the branch Facebook page.

Over the past year a small Cumbrian craft brewery located near to Frizington in West Cumbria has been taking shape and brewing commenced recently.

The project for 2025 is described on the Swig Brewery website as : 'Three lads on an adventure building a small craft brewery and turning all this water into beer'.

The owners are hoping to see their beers on the bar in some West Cumbria pubs before long, including in The Bitter End in Cockermouth.

Each brew produces about 72 gallons of beer, which is a '2 barrel' brew (a brewery barrel of beer = 36 gallons).

Each brew will fill eight 9 gallon 'firkins' of beer a size commonly used in pubs these days.

The initial two ales being produced are The Golden Flarch and The Shady Lush.

The Golden Flarch is a 4.3% IPA style beer

The Shady Lush, weighing in at 4.8% is a full flavoured robust dark bitter beer, pictured below

Sales enquiries : phone 07444 166835 or 07803 248733

Booked in for a meal at this historic coaching inn with family members on Saturday 6th September.

Everything was absolutely tip top.

The 4 house beers were : Esthwaite Bitter, Loweswater Gold, Langdale, Grasmoor Dark Ale.

And although Loweswater Gold is fairly ubiquitous in the area, we agreed that it was outstandingly good in the Kirkstile.

All beers were £4.60 a pint.

A word of warning, unless you have a huge appetite go for the small portion of the house pie. I opted for this large portion of steak pie and had a job getting in the passenger seat of the car afterwards, as it is served with generous portions of homemade chips plus fresh veggies.

The 53rd edition of the CAMRA Good Beer Guide is released on September 25th 2025.

It can be pre-ordered direct from CAMRA.

This is an essential companion for lovers of traditional beer and good pubs.

The listings are based on evaluations from volunteer CAMRA members.

The foreword in the 2026 edition is by comedian and beer lover, Ed Byrne.

The guide also contains a list of all UK breweries and lists all of the real ales they produce

Some CAMRA West Cumbria branch members pictured here enjoying Jennings ale on the riverside balcony at the brewery on the afternoon of Monday 30th June 2025 - this being the inaugural day when beer was pulled at their brewery tap bar. And the beers were in fine fettle. The lady stood next to our branch Chairman, Phil Wooly on the extreme right, is Sue Jefferson, owner of Keswick Brewing Company.

Jennings Head Brewer, Buster Grant conducted a superb, informative brewery tour. Buster is an excellent choice of brewer as he brings a wealth of experience, having held several head brewer positions. He was also a past Chairman of SIBA - the Society of Independent Brewers Association.

Buster is also a long term active CAMRA member and worked as a volunteer at several Great British Beer Festivals in London.

Earlier this year it was announced that Kurt Canfield and Rebecca Canfield had acquired Jennings Brewery. Kurt is the CEO of engineering and technology company Delkia and Rebecca is the owner of wine and spirits company Wine and the Wood.

Kurt confirmed that they are in this project for the long haul and that it is definitely not a short term project. In 2024, Delkia recorded a turnover of over £11m

In attendance at this event at Jennings were two former Jennings Head Brewers.

Paul Theakson was also there, the man who founded Black Sheep Brewery in Masham.

A good time was had by one and all.