Peak Ales

Peak Ales began with Robert and Debra Evans' plan to leave their existing careers and establish a microbrewery in the Peak District. In 2003 they began searching for suitable premises, eventually finding Cunnery Barn on the Chatsworth Estate. The former farm building required extensive renovation, but in 2005 the first Peak Ales beer was brewed there.

As demand increased, the original brewery eventually reached its production limits. At the end of 2014 Peak Ales installed a new 20-barrel brewing plant from Germany and moved its main production operation to purpose-built premises in Ashford in the Water.

Rather than immediately leaving Cunnery Barn, Peak Ales developed its original home into a visitor and experimental brewing site. A brewery shop and venue-hire facilities opened there in 2017, followed by a 2.5-barrel pilot brewery in 2018. The smaller system allowed the team to experiment with new recipes and beer styles alongside production at the larger Ashford brewery.

The business also expanded into distilling, installing a gin still at Cunnery Barn in 2019 and beginning production that August before launching Chatsworth Gin. Following the disruption of the Covid period and subsequent increases in operating costs, Peak Ales decided to leave Cunnery Barn. In 2024 the business consolidated its operations under one roof at its Ashford in the Water brewery, bringing to an end almost two decades at its original Chatsworth Estate home.