The Black Sheep Brewery, Ripon

No longer Black Sheep’s only “pub” since they bought York Brewery and gained their Leeds and York pubs, still however a mix of shop, bistro, brewery tour and bar. Ten Pulls serving the current Black Sheep range plus 10 keg taps on the back wall with a mix of Black Sheep, a lager and two varieties of cider. Little in the way of pub ambiance even in the bar area or the mezzanine above it but high quality beers as expected in the brewery tap. The service is more bistro than bar of course, and internally not a lot has changed since the last reviews.

Most beer enthusiast will be aware of how Paul Theakston broke away from the former family Brewery business and set up a rival brewery in the same town much to the family’s anguish (hence the Black Sheep brand name). A large proportion of people arriving at the Brewery will naturally be here for the “Shepherded” Brewery Tour (“ewe” need to have a schoolboy approach to their quirky sheep themed sense of humour here) which of course ends at the Visitor Centre “baa” for a tasting or two. As you would expect, they have the full range of Black Sheep ales available and, being the Brewery flagsheep (sic), the quality is as good as you will find anywhere. The barman (on my visit) was as helpful and informative as they come offering tasters and describing the beers in detail. Apart from the Black Sheep Ales, there were also Peroni and Carlsberg lagers available as well as Thatchers Gold and Aspalls ciders. Despite being part of the tourist trail, the prices are very reasonable and if you do take the excellent Brewery Tour, you get a beer thrown in for the price. Unfirtunately, the beer’s quality cannot disguise the fact that the bar itself is hardly comparable to a pub experience. Housed in an open section of a large modern Visitor Centre with a cavernous vaulted roof, the bar has a bistro and sizeable souvenir shop as its neighbours and with everything uner the one roof and barely separated from each other, it all has a bit of a shopping mall ambience. If you are just after Black Sheep beers and don’t mind the soulless barn like surroundings then this is certainly the place to head for. Personally, I would rather sample the beers in somewhere with a bit more character, like a pub!