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The Black Sheep Brewery, Ripon

Pub added by elizabeth mcgraw

Wellgarth Crosshills
Masham
Postal town: Ripon
HG4 4EN

Correct details

Served areas

Masham

Reviews of The Black Sheep Brewery (Average Rating: 6 of 10) Add Review see review guidelines

Graham Coombs left this review about The Black Sheep Brewery

Also known as the "Baa'r", this is accessed round the back of the brewery and benefits from its own car park, if you can find it, or has pedestrian access from the side. Despite apparently being in an old building, it has been reroofed and generally rebuilt inside with new timbering and industrial pipework, so feels relatively modern. 6 out of 8 handpumps were on with their own brews, while a wall of keg taps included a few ciders and "guests", including a couple from Purity (which is also in the Keystone Brewing Group) and one from Big Drop (which might or might not be). The shop alongside offers sundry bottles, tins, clothing and other merch. Good if you want to go through the Black Sheep range but, as others have mentioned, not a great 'pub' experience.

On 5^th May 2025 - rating: 6
[User has posted 3680 recommendations about 3615 pubs]

Please Note: This review is over a year old.

Old Boots left this review about The Black Sheep Brewery

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.

On 5^th November 2022 - no rating submitted
[User has posted 3648 recommendations about 3327 pubs]

Please Note: This review is over a year old.

Roger Button left this review about The Black Sheep Brewery

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!

On 7^th September 2010 - rating: 6
[User has posted 1239 recommendations about 1233 pubs]

View more reviews of The Black Sheep Brewery (4)

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