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’. 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 the original brewhouse, which is still in use today. The brewery, with its iconic branded frontage, can be seen upon entering Masham, standing proud as a bastion of brewing in the Yorkshire Dales.