BEER lovers flocked to Hawkshead Brewery in their hundreds to raise a pint and celebrate its £250,000 expansion.

Owner Alex Brodie launched changes to the Staveley site, which will see its output increase by 80 per cent to more than 50,000 pints per week.

Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Tim Farron offically opened the expanded manufacturing base and a new beer hall with Keith Bott, chairman of the Society of Independent Brewers.

Before cutting the ribbon, Mr Farron spoke about the importance of South Lakeland’s beer industry.

He said: “Around the country people know about real ale because of Hawks-head Brewery.

“Wordsworth and Beatrix Potter left their mark on the Lake District – now we have to think about what memories we are leaving behind.

“An industry like this would be a great legacy to leave future generations.”

With a pint in one hand, Mr Brodie said his brewery was one example of ‘a revolution taking place in British brewing’.

He added: “It has been met with a perfect storm of localism and public support.”

The expansion marks the latest stage in Hawkshead’s continuing story of success ever since it opened in 2002.

The new beer hall, situated in the brewery tap, includes two bars with 54 real ale lines and has windows to enable visitors to look into the brew house, the cellar and new fermentation room.

Staff hope it will act as ‘a place of pilgrimage’ for beer lovers.

SIBA chairman Mr Bott said the firm’s ongoing expansion, since it was founded in a barn on the edge of Hawkshead village, belied ‘a genuine invest-ment during challenging times for beer-makers’.

“Brewing is one of the few bright lights in British manufacturing,” he added.