A visit to Jennings Brewery

A spring visit to the historic Jennings Brewery in Cockermouth, Cumbria. The brewery is set beneath the walls of Cockermouth Castle, at the confluence of the Rivers Derwent and Cocker, which proved to be dangerous in the floods of 2009. The brewery almost closed, had it not been for the parent company Marston's, who brewed the beers temporarily elsewhere whilst Jennings brewery was repaired and cleaned out. Jennings started out brewing in nearby High Loughton in 1828. Surprisingly, the brewery cottages and the malthouse still survive, the latter converted into the village hall, now known as Yew Tree Hall, in 1910. The company had moved to its present site by 1874 and the distinctive Grade II Listed maltings were built in 1889. The reason for the move to this site was the abundance of well water which was used for the castle and is still used to brew the beers today. In 2005 the brewery was taken over by Marston's Brewery.

Above: Cockermouth Castle, the brewery is to the right of fortress

Above: Looking upstream of the Derwent, the Cocker is on the right

Above: the buildings on the left are the Grade II Listed former maltings, now unused, the other buildings house the brewery.

The former maltings are the most picturesque part of the brewery buildings, it's s shame they lie empty. There would be problems converting to alternative use due to lack of parking and the danger of flooding.

Below: the Jennings Brewery logo, on glass inside the brewery

Above: the gateway to Jennings Brewery, with the maltings in the centre

Above: the former maltings

Above: the shop and beginning of the brewery tour

Above and below: the tap room

Below: the brewery itself, the grist mill

Below: the hop store

Above and below: the mash tun

Below: the copper

Below: the fermenting room

Above and below: fermenters

All quite modern brewery kit, there were some older mash tuns at the brewery but we went past them too quickly on the tour to be able to photograph them

Below: the sample cellar for the tap room

 Prices for the brewery tour and tasting are (2019 prices) £9.50 for an adult, which isn't too bad for a couple of hours tour and tastings. Full details of the tours are on the Jennings Brewery website.

Cockermouth is easily reached by bus from either Workington or Keswick/Penrith and the Stagecoach bus X4/X5 runs every half an hour throughout the day.
There are a number of pubs in Cockermouth, the Bush offers the best range of Jennings beers outside of the brewery tap and marston's continue to use the Jennings brand for this pub rather than their own.

 The Castle Bar offers the best non-Jennings beers in the town and the building is a lot older than the facade makes out, dating back to the sixteenth century. The pub sign features the lion of the Matthew Brown & Co Brewery of Blackburn, who acquired the Workington Brewery (buildings still standing in 2019) in 1975, Theakstons in 1984 and were themselves taken over by Scottish & Newcastle Breweries in 1987 with the Blackburn Brewery closing in 1981.

New pub for Newport

Last month a new pub opened in Newport, on the old town dock, the Blaina Wharf is on the corner of Usk Way and the Southern Distributor Road. Owned by Marston's Brewery the Blaina Wharf is not there first pub in the City as the brewers have sat on the empty and derelict Westgate Hotel for years, however, this new build is a welcome development in an area of the town where a lot of the old pubs have closed.
This modern pub features three real ales from the extensive Marston's stable, a beer from Jennings Brewery of Cumbria was one of the ones on tap on my visit as well as a carvery and full pub menu. Situated in what is becoming a new residential area, this pub is sure to be a goldmine for Marston's, the junction on two main roads and a large car park are also helpful!

In the right-hand side of the photograph above the burnt-out remains of the former maltings of the Phillips Brewery can be seen. The pub was quite busy when visited and it's good to see a Newport pub thriving when so many others in the City are not.

The Google Map supplied on the Marston's website is slightly inaccurate and the Streetview just shows an undeveloped plot of land.
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Local History Society object to name change

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Brewers Marstons have managed to invoke the wrath of a local history society by renaming one of its pubs 'The Dormouse' instead of its original name of 'The Crown' after it has undergone a refurbishment. BBC have the full story here.
Marstons do have a bit of an animal theme running through their new builds/refurbishments as in South Wales we have a Bumble Bee (Pontlanfraith), an Otter (Newbridge) and a Sand Martin (Cardiff) whilst in North Wales they have a Running Hare (Ewloe) and a Little Owl (Chester). However what is the point of renaming a well-established pub on a crossroads that everyone knowns the name of?

Recently in Newport we have seen the renaming of the historic 'Six Bells', on Stow Hill, opposite the Cathedral. Although not owned by Marstons - it was owned Punch last time I checked but could be anyone given the state of their business at the moment - it was renamed 'The Church House', for no apparent reason than the Cathedral (not church!) is opposite. To add to the confusion there are also 2 other pubs called the Church House in the Newport area already - one in Pill and the other just outside the City in St Brides Wentlooge but with the same area code (01633). So a great way to cause confusion to all there!

Scores on the doors

A while ago the Food Standards Agency launched their 'Scores on the Doors' programme with scores from 0 to 5 being award with 0 being 'Urgent improvement necessary' to 5 being 'Very good'. Now these scores are produced by local councils and I'm a bit disappointed to see that environmental health officers from Newport have not got around to all the Newport pubs - also the listing system is a bit confusing - 'The' appears in the alphabetical list in some places and not others so if you search for a pub name the search will not show up the pub name unless you use 'The'! A bit of a data entering error there on behalf of my useless council.

Cardiff Council does seem to have covered their pubs well, take for instance Cathedral Road and the scores available for those pubs:
The Cayo Arms is owned by Marston's and scores 3, 'Generally Satisfactory' - FSA link here

Further up the street the Evans-Evans flagship pub, the Cricketers fairs less well:

Scoring a 1, ' Major Improvement Necessary' - FSA link here
The pub also had a disapointing review of its food here.
Now to take this in context a quick look at the search for Caroline Street, Cardiff's 'Chip Alley' reveals these scores:

All scoring better than the Cricketers.
Finally the Halfway, owned by SA Brain, FSA link here

I often eat in this pub when in Pontcanna and have always found the pub to be clean and welcoming.

Check out the cleanliness of your favourite pubs via the Food Standards Agency website here

NB: The above screen shots were taken from the Food Standards Agency website on the 11.07.11. and are subject to change and alteration dependent on future surveys by Cardiff Council.

Cayo Arms, Cardiff

Cayo Arms, 36 Cathedral Road, Riverside, Cardiff, CF11 9LL

Open all day.

Set in the Victorian tree-lined splendour of Cathedral Road, the Cayo Arms was originally built as a private residence before being converted to the Apollo Hotel and then renamed the Cayo Arms in 2001. The pub was renamed in honour of Julian Cayo-Evans, leader of the Free Wales Army and his picture adorns the pub sign outside. At the time of the name change the pub was owned by Tomos Watkin Brewery, then Celtic Inns and is now owned by Burton-upon-Trent brewers Marston's, who have recently refurbished the pub. The Cayo Arms has previously won the Cardiff CAMRA Pub of the Year Award.

 The Cayo is entered via a central doorway, with greetings in both Welsh and English and the bar servery is on the left hand side of the pub. Dark wooden floors and matching bar with an ornate back bar gantry fit in well with the original Victorian plaster mouldings on the ceilings. Some original stained glass windows are also still in place. Despite the original partition walls being removed, the Cayo offers a choice of seating and dining areas as well as a function room available to hire out. Raised seating to the right hand side and towards the rear provide separate areas of the pub to enjoy. Outside drinking areas to the rear and front provide a rare opportunity this close to the City Centre to enjoy an alfresco drink and meal. The Cayo Arms also does accommodation, with five bedrooms available.

Five real ales are always available via the gleaming brass handpumps. Beers from Marston's various  breweries such as Brakspear and Ringwood do dominate on the bar, although independent Welsh brewery Tomos Watkin has a presence with their golden, hoppy beer Cwrw Haf and occasionally their stronger bitter, OSB, making appearances on the bar. Bottled beers from Innis & Gunn and even the Czech lager Budvar and a Belgium bottled beer are also available as well as Franziskaner from Bavaria and Peroni from Italy available on draught. Beers are served in branded glassware with the real ales being served in an unique glass with etched beer quotations on it. An extensive wine list is also available and is chalked up on a large board in the seating/dining area. A good innovation is that Marston's Brewery supply a newsletter in the pub giving details of their guest beers and even suggesting which foods go well with what beers. Food is available all day from an extensive menu with beers occasionally being used in the food such as Peroni-battered cod.

The Cayo features regular live music on Sunday nights with a strong focus on traditional Welsh music.