Black Sheep Brewery, Masham
Now in its seventeenth year, The Black Sheep Brewery in Masham continues to go from strength to strength. Formed following Paul Theakston's decision to leave T & R Theakston after it became part of Scottish and Newcastle, Black Sheep beer quickly gained recognition and a good following around the Yorkshire Dales pubs and it was not long before the brewery was able to open a Visitors Centre and move the company and the brewing business forward.
Today, visitors are given a explanation of how their beer is brewed, with an opportunity to touch and even taste the hops, barley and malt, followed by a short video the a tour of the brewery with its traditional brewing methods. Black Sheep brews a wide variety of beers with the strongest being Riggwelter named after Yorkshire dialogue meaning 'a sheep which is lying on its back and cannot get up', which is what a Riggwelter drinker is likely to experience if they have too many!
At the Black Sheep Visitors Centre, there is a stylish café serving lunches or just below the brewery lies the White Bear which is attached to the other Masham brewery, Theakstons. The White Bear has been a popular stop off for many years, and locals were very pleased to see it and the brewery re-open several years ago when Simon, Edward, Nick and Tim Theakston bought the business back off Scottish and Newcastle and is also a great venue for lunch and for sampling the other Masham Ales.
This entry was posted on Tuesday May 26th, 2009 at 6:05 PM and is filed under Places to Visit. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response.
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