FOLLOWING its latest renovation a Lake District brewery has announced exciting plans in acquiring two microbreweries as part of its expansion programme.

The award winning Bowness Bay Brewery has successfully managed to get its hands on the Cumbrian-based Appleby Brewery and the Standish-based Windmill Brewery.

Speaking about the thrilling acquisitions, founder Richard Husbands admitted that he had been “in talks” with the microbreweries for some time.

“Both breweries offered us a strategic fit and it made perfect sense,” he said.

“Windmill and Appleby have established customer bases with strong products, and we’ll continue to operate the brands, particularly where there is a strong geographical association with customers.

“With Windmill being based in Standish it gives us the ability to expand our reach into Lancashire and Cheshire.”

The Appleby Brewery also has existing contracts with a number of supermarkets including Booths, Co-op and Westmorland Ltd.

While the Windmill Brewery has existing ties with Co-Op.

“These relationships will dovetail nicely with our growth plans for these sectors,” continued Mr Richards.

“Our priority is to ensure that we continue to brew high quality beers that our customers like and want.”

Bowness Bay Brewing, based on Aynam Road in Kendal, has recently undergone a lucrative expansion programme, which includes the opening of a new bar called the Barrel House.

The new bar is part of the company’s wider plans to establish the brewery as a tourist destination and entertainment venue.

The establishment is made from a 209-year-old piece of oak felled in Bowness Bay, Windermere, and oak from eight whisky casks.

Earlier this year the brewery announced it had used £60,000 of Funding from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development to invest in six state-of-the-art 5000 litre fermenters to increase capacity.

It also acquired a new fully automatic keg machine which will help increase output to over 1000 kegs per month and new sterile filter equipment.

This exciting investment will help see the brewery increase productivity and meet consumer demand.