The Lake District beer

Coniston is a small village in the region of Furness, in the country of Cumbria in northwest England. It is also in the Lake District, often referred to as the Poets’ District because its uncontaminated landscape inspired the verses of Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth, the latter a frequent visitor to Coniston. As small as it is famous, Coniston is a latticework of a handful of roads that begin or end, whichever you prefer, at Yewdale Road, the village’s main street where there is a post office, a small supermarket operated by a local cooperative, a few cafés and not much else, except for the white building near the entrance to the village that is home to the Black Bull Inn and Hotel.

The second reason why Coniston is famous the world over is the craft Coniston Brewing Company. It dates back to 1995 when Ian Bradley, the son of the proprietors of the Black Bull, decided to produce his own beer. In only a few years, Ian’s lagers and ales became so famous they could be found not only in town but also in the rest of England and even Europe, Italy included. Three years after be built his brewery, in an old porcelain factory using machinery from Marston Moor of York, Ian won his first important recognition with his Bluebird Bitter being named ‘Supreme Champion Beer’ at CAMRA’S (Campaign for Real Ale) Great British Beer Festival, the most important prize at the beer trade fair. This was followed by a slew of triumphs and production is today over 1,600 liters a week, divided between eight varieties, including a Barley Wine, which are distributed in over 100 locations around the world. Coniston Brewing’s products have a distinct, clean and, in some ways, tradition style. The purity of the water brings out the nuances of the malts and hops Ian uses for his creations and that distinguish the characteristics which make each brew different from the other, even if they share an essential and almost crystalline style.

But if Coniston Brewing is the second reason why the Lake District village is famous, what is the first? Aside from the breathtaking and unique landscape, it is John Ruskin (1819-1900), a poet, author and the greatest art critic of the Victorian Age. He loved to travel and he loved Italy and before he died he refused to be buried in Westminster’s Poets’ Corner, preferring to be laid to rest in his beloved Coniston, the small English village that, in 1900, had no idea it would later become famous for its beer.

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