BLACK SHEEP

Paul Theakston knew brewing. He'd spent years running the family firm, T&R Theakston in Masham, before it was sold off in the 1980s. Rather than walk away from the industry, he stayed in the same North Yorkshire market town and started again from scratch. Black Sheep Brewery opened in 1992, built inside a former malting house on the edge of the Dales, using salvaged equipment from defunct breweries around the country. The name was his wife's idea: Masham is sheep country, and Theakston was, in his own way, the odd one out.

The brewery quickly established a reputation for well-crafted Yorkshire ales. Black Sheep Best Bitter, brewed using traditional Yorkshire square fermenters and local Dales water, became its calling card. Riggwelter, a dark ale named after a local term for a sheep stuck on its back, picked up a loyal following. For most of its life, Black Sheep was a proudly independent regional brewery doing things the traditional way.

Post-pandemic, the finances caught up with it. In 2023 the brewery entered administration and was acquired by Keystone Brewing Group (formerly Breal Group), which also owns Big Drop. That connection is more than corporate: Black Sheep now contract-brews Big Drop's alcohol-free beers at the Masham site, making it a production hub for the AF category as well as its own range.

Black Sheep's own alcohol-free output is modest. Their No & Low collection currently centres on Rattlehead IPA Zero, a sub-0.5% IPA. It's a small footprint in the AF space for a brewery of this scale, though the Big Drop contract work suggests the infrastructure is there for more. Products are available direct from the brewery and through selected retailers.

The Collection

Spirits

0% Whisky Alternative

Beer

Rattlehead IPA Zero