T&R Theakston Ltd. was founded in 1827 by Robert Theakston and John Wood at the Black Bull pub and brewhouse in College Lane, Masham. By 1832, Theakston had sole ownership of the brewery and in 1875 he passed control over to his sons Thomas and Robert. Thomas and Robert Theakston formed the T&R Theakston partnership and constructed a new brewery on the Paradise Fields, a stone’s throw away from the original site.
Interestingly the on site bar is named “Black Bull in Paradise”. Named after the “Black Bull” – where they first started brewing and “Paradise” – the name of the area where they built the brewery – Paradise Fields.
This part of the brewery is the original build. It works on a top down principle, so the brewing starts at the top of the building and works its way down. Materials used to be moved up to the top level with a pulley system before modern ways were installed.
Malt is stored in a large tanker, then is milled into “Grist” before being used in the first part of the brewing process. The mill is located on the very top floor of the brewhouse.
The milled Malt “Grist” is added into the Mash Tun along with hot water. Mashing converts the starches released during the malting stage into sugars that can be fermented. Additional water may be sprayed over during this stage to extract more sugars. The “Wort” as its called is then moved into a Copper or Kettle.
In this stage “Hops” are added into the “Wort”. This stage is where many chemical reactions take place, and where important decisions about the flavour, colour, and aroma of the beer are made. This is then moved into a “Hopback”.
In this stage the boiling is run from the bottom over the top of itself to remove all particles from the boiling to create a clear liquid. From this it is moved through a “Heat Exchanger”, basically its run through a series of pipes or plates with cool water in them, eventually ending up in a fermentation tank.
In this stage, yeast is added to the wort and the fermenting process starts. This is where the sugars turn into Alcohol, Carbon Dioxide and other components. The beer is then moved into another tank in the “Racking Shed”.
In here barrels are cleaned and filled ready to be sent out to pubs. Old Peculiar is also put into Wooden Casks which are made and maintained by the “Cooperage” on site.
Following the tour the on site bar and shop is really worth a visit (and to spend the beer vouchers you get included with the tour).
Today was a choice of Six Cask Beers (Best Bitter, Old Peculiar, Lightfoot, XB, Grouse Beater and Summit), alongside Three Keg Beers (Barista Stout, Mild and IPA)
The Old Peculiar here is served from a Wooden Cask so is certainly worth going for. But all the beers here were really delicious, especially as they have come direct from the brewery.
Micropub Adventures 