A DRINKS giant has permanently closed a brewing site on an iconic beer mile.
BrewDog has called time on its Hawkes cidery and taproom in Bermondsey, London.
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Production of Hawkes’ ciders has been moved to BrewDog’s main brewery up in Ellon, Scotland.
In a statement to its “equity punk” investors, the craft brewer put the closure down to “rampant inflation, soaring utilities costs and relentless cost of living pressures”.
The outlet which served 16 ciders was based on Druid St in the capital, famed for being the location of the “Bermondsey beer mile”.
BrewDog added: “Unfortunately, the slowdown in trade on the Bermondsey beer mile, combined with exorbitant rent increases, has meant we have had to permanently close the much-loved Hawkes taproom.”
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The brewery though reassured fans that the brand was still “steadfastly part of the BrewDog family” and would continue to be available in its bars, across the on-trade and online.
It said: “We hope to relaunch a cider-focused venue at another location in the city in the future, but in the meantime, you can find it in all the usual places.”
Simon Wright founded Hawkes in 2013 and sold it to BrewDog in 2018 for an undisclosed sum.
Wright then left BrewDog in October 2020.
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The co-founder and CEO of BrewDog James Watt admitted a month later he “ripped the soul” out of the cider business by moving production to Scotland.
The production of cider was then moved back to Bermondsey, reports The Grocer.
Hawkes ciders were last available in Asda in April 2021 and on Ocado in October 2023, according to Assosia figures.
It comes after BrewDog, which runs over 70 boozers in the UK, called a nationwide amnesty on its “most stolen” Hazy Jane glasses.
Pub-goers who have ever taken one are now being invited to return them to a BrewDog pub near them and get a free refill.
BrewDog also created a beer-scented deodorant ahead of Father’s Day earlier this summer, as exclusively revealed in The Sun.
In September 2022, it was revealed Watt had been conned out of £100,000 by his plotting ex, a judge ruled.
