It was only a matter of time before I would write a small tribute to the brewer of my favourite beer, Theakston's Old Peculier. A traditionally brewed yorkshire ale, with a deep dark colour and rich yet oh so smooth malty flavour.

The name Old Peculier appears to have been borrowed from the very history of the town of Masham in northern Yorkshire, where it has been brewed for five generations by the Theakston family. Centuries ago, the "independant" nature of the locals led them to be deemed a "peculier" parish by the church and placed outside the local bishop's jurisdiction.

The town of Masham itself, has been known as a brewing town for as long as local history records and in in1827 the Theakston's began to brew in Masham. Generation after generation continued the tradition of running the family brewing business until it was sold in the late 1970's.

About that time a large and growing "Real Ale" movement in England, brought a bewildering problem to a small brewer like Theakston's. The small brewery could not keep up with demand.

After heated family arguments and a court battle the firm was sold to the larger Mathew Brown Company who were in turn purchased by Scottish-Newcastle (makers of John Smith's, McEwan's, Courage, Newcastle and Youngers).

Most of Theakston's production was shifted to the large Tyne brewery in Newcastle-upon-Tyne and the small Masham brewery is primarily used for testing and small specialty ales.

The good news is that without Theakston's being connected to a large firm like S-N, we would almost certainly never see a drop of the stuff here in the U.S.A. and in my humble opinion and of those that hand out brewing awards, Theakston's taste is still phenomenal.

Members of the Theakston family continue their involvement with brewing at S-N. While Paul Theakston started a new brewery in the town of Masham called appropriately "The Black Sheep".

May 15, 2000 profile #4