The Story so far
The story of Black Sheep Brewery began when Paul Theakston’s family brewery, T&R Theakston, was sold to a national brewer. It was troubling times for the brewing industry, with swathes of smaller, regional breweries being forced to close or being sold to the ‘Big Six’.
A Daring leap
Paul, refusing to see five generations of brewing leave Masham, took a daring leap into the unknown, resolving to build his own brewery.
Cobbling together salvaged equipment from closed breweries and locating a site in Masham’s former Maltings, he created our original brewhouse, which is still in use today.
The Original Brewery
The brewery, with its iconic branded frontage, can be seen upon entering Masham, standing proud as a bastion of brewing in the Yorkshire Dales.
Leaving the Theakston family business and setting up his own made Paul somewhat of a black sheep, but also provided the perfect name for his new brewery. Paul struck out to champion high quality, independent brewing with the first brew of Best Bitter on 14th September 1992.
Where we are now
In the following 32 years, Black Sheep have bridged the void between traditional cask ales and innovative craft beers. Continuous innovation has led to a range of iconic and award-winning stouts, pale and blonde ales and modern, hoppy IPAs.
The Black Sheep Brewery now boasts…
a busy ‘baa…r’ and kitchen
Our classics are always available on cask in addition to regular seasonal beers, not to mention our keg wall featuring a variety of beers, ciders and craft beers. Our ever changing menu features many Yorkshire classics, all prepared with the best local ingredients by our talented chefs.
a new outdoor ‘baa…r’
What was once a shipping container is now a beer container, and throughout the warmer months, we serve a multitude of crafty cask and keg beers. Plenty of seating in the sun or shade, this is going to be the new go-to chill out spot!
The Sheepy Shop
You can’t leave the brewery without taking something home! All our award-winning beers are available on our shelves and fridges, alongside a wide array of Black Sheep glassware, clothing, gifts and more.
World-famous brewery tours
Our brewery tours will take you on a journey from the beginning of Black Sheep’s history, right through to the present day. You’ll also get a full insight into how our beers are made, and the unique techniques we use to create the perfect pint.
About Our Beer
We have a huge variety of beers, with some recipes remaining unchanged since their creation 30 years ago. Others have been brewed with the changing times, to create a varied offering from iconic cask and bottled ales to fresh, modern kegged and canned beers.
About Our Beer
Every pint is uniquely Black Sheep, and obviously best tasted at the source.
About Our Beer
Our beers are exclusively brewed with fresh Yorkshire Dales water extracted directly from limestone aquifers.
About Our Beer
Each beer is expertly brewed in Masham using the finest malted barley and hops, fermented with our house yeast in now-rare Yorkshire Square fermenters.
