Black Sheep Brewery
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| Black Sheep Brewery | |
|---|---|
| Location | Masham, Yorkshire, England |
| Owner(s) | Paul Theakston (independent) |
| Year opened | 1992 |
| Annual production | 50,000 barrels |
| Bottled beers | |
| Black Sheep Ale | Ale |
| Holy Grail | Ale |
| Emmerdale | Ale |
| Riggwelter | Ale |
| Golden Sheep | Ale |
| Yorkshire Square Ale | Ale |
| Cask beers | |
| Best Bitter | Ale |
| Special Ale | Ale |
| Emmerdale | Ale |
| Riggwelter | Ale |
The Black Sheep Brewery is a brewery in Masham, Yorkshire. Masham is also the home of the Theakston brewery.
Contents |
[edit] History
The Black Sheep brewery was established by Paul Theakston in 1992. Theakston brewery itself had first been taken over by Matthew Brown following disagreements between members of the family and other shareholders. Matthew Brown was in turn taken over by Scottish and Newcastle in 1987. At this point Paul Theakston left and purchased the former Lightfoot's brewery site from an animal feed company.
Paul wanted to use the Lightfoot name to bring back an old brewing tradition; however it was discovered that this name had been trademarked by Scottish and Newcastle. The associations of Masham with sheep led Paul to come up with the name "Sheep Brewery" which later became "Black Sheep" at his wife's suggestion.
The brewery produces a range of well-hopped bitters, to distinguish itself from Theakston's range of fruity and yeasty beers. The brewery quickly became successful after formation, and now produces over 50,000 barrels a year.
The brewery has capitalised on its popularity with a shop, brewery tours and the "Black Sheep Bistro and Baa...r".
Many pubs in Yorkshire Dales display the Black Sheep logo, even if they do not sell the beer; the brewery manufactures pub signage free of charge including their own logo on each sign.
The brewery re-launched their Emmerdale Ale as a lower-alcohol beer (formerly 5%) on 27th January 2006 at The Crown in Manfield for the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA). The launch party saw Chris Chittell (Eric Pollard from the Emmerdale TV series) pull the first pint of the new brew. The night also marked the rebranding of Black Sheep's Special Ale (in cask form) as Black Sheep Ale, the name that it has been sold as in bottles since 1992, bringing both into line. [1]
[edit] Cask Beers
- Black Sheep Ale (formerly Special Ale), 4.4%
- Best Bitter, 3.8%
- Emmerdale, 4.2%
- Riggwelter, 5.7%
According to the website, "...Riggwelter takes its name from the local Yorkshire Dales dialect – when a sheep is on its back and can’t get up without help, local dialect says it is riggwelted[2]. This dialect word comes from the old Viking words: ‘rigg’ meaning back and ‘velte’ to overturn."[3]. Riggwelter is also popular in Sweden, being in the top 20 of bottled ales sold in that country[4].
[edit] Bottled Beers
- Black Sheep Ale (formerly Special Ale in cask form), 4.4%
- Monty Python's Holy
Grail Ale, 4.7% The official Ale of the Monty Python franchise - Emmerdale, 4.2%
- Riggwelter, 5.9%
- Golden Sheep, 4.7% (produced specially for Tesco as part of their "Finest" range)
- Yorkshire Square Ale, 5.0%, named after a particular fermentation system originated over 200 years ago using double decked vessels called "squares" made of slate or stone. The brewery still brews some beers in 100 year old slate squares. This beer is available in Morrisons stores.
[edit] References
- ^ Re-launch story Morning Advertiser - Retrieved on 2007-07-23
- ^ Riggwelter Eurobrews.com - Retrieved on 2007-07-23
- ^ Riggwelter Black Sheep Breweries - Retrieved on 2007-07-23
- ^ Riggwelter exports to Sweden The Northern Echo, 2004-12-08. Retrieved on 2007-07-23.
[edit] External links
- Official website of Black Sheep Brewery
- The Crown in Manfield
