Cornish Crown Brewery has invested in new equipment and relaunched with a new look to keep pace with the rapidly-evolving craft beer market.
Josh Dunkley in the brewery. Photograph: Simon Stott
The microbrewery, which overlooks St Michael’s Mount in Cornwall, was created in 2012, initially to supply brewery tap The Crown, in Penzance. It has since grown and now supplies independent pubs, bottle shops, and food stores.
Founder Josh Dunkley has revealed the rebrand, as well as a revamped website for online sales, and an eco-friendly service for doorstep deliveries in West Cornwall. He has also had to hire two new employees to help him keep up with demand.
Josh said: “Pre-covid, we were still producing quite a lot of cask beer for pubs. It was a shrinking market, accelerated by the effects of the pandemic. Our response has been to completely overhaul our business, taking it in a new and exciting direction.”
Josh has invested in cutting-edge equipment for seamless production of small-batch, hop-forward beers, which he will mainly be selling in can. Premium Pilsner, Citra Boom Pale Ale, and Cornish IPA are amonge the core range, regularly supplemented by limited edition, seasonal releases.
He added: “We now have a filtration system to produce clear and crisp lagers, a hop gun to deliver optimum infusion for hop-forward IPAs, and a canning machine, which allows us to be seriously agile in creating an ever-evolving range of beers.”
While Cornish Crown are still producing cask and kegged beers for pubs across the South West, canned lagers and IPAs will be the new focus, with sales through the relaunched website delivered promptly across the UK.
Josh has also bought an electric van for local deliveries, enabling Cornish Crown to make eco-friendly doorstep drops around West Cornwall.
He said: “Local customers can also order online for ease, and delivery over a certain amount is free within the immediate area. Our customers are embracing the opportunity to drink a great range of beer made locally in small batches, with carbon-neutral delivery to their doors.”
Brewery tap The Crown remains a warm and welcoming home for local beer lovers. Josh and his wife, Michelle, have been able to retain the character and atmosphere of the pub while adhering strictly to covid-19 measures.
Josh added: “Like a lot of businesses, the pandemic brought forward and intensified changes we would’ve made over a period of several years. I have other exciting plans — like opening a visitors’ centre and hosting regular pop-up food events at the brewery — and hope to kick-start those projects later this year.”
