Black Sheep Brewery has started its first deliveries of cask beer since December, ahead of the planned re-opening of pubs next month.
Black Sheep head brewer Dan Scott-Paul with some of the first casks ready for pub deliveries. Photograph: Black Sheep Brewery
To ensure the beer is in optimum condition, ready for publicans to serve from 12th April, Black Sheep restarted brewing two weeks ago and has been taking orders from its pub and wholesale customers in anticipation of re-opening.
Ahead of 12th April, the Masham-based brewery has introduced a re-opening range, which includes Black Sheep Best Bitter and Black Sheep Pale Ale, both available in cask for the first time in 2021.
Black Sheep Best Bitter is also available to pubs in keg format, along with Black Sheep IPA and its Yorkshire-inspired 54 Lager.
Black Sheep’s distribution team, who have been providing local home deliveries during the lockdowns, are now reloading its fleet of vans with casks and kegs for delivery to pubs in its Yorkshire heartland and across the UK.
‘The start of a new chapter for Black Sheep and our customers’
Charlene Lyons, chief executive of Black Sheep Brewery, said: “We have been planning our return to cask brewing from the moment Boris Johnson announced the plan for pubs to re-open, and we’re really excited to start deliveries again.
“This is massive for us and signifies, hopefully, the start of a new chapter for Black Sheep and also our pub customers, who are at the heart of our business and we’re doing everything we can to support them.
“We have been brewing for the past couple of weeks and will continue to do so in an effort to support pubs that can open their outside spaces in April and then welcome customers back inside in May.
“Around a third of our pub customers will reopen on 12th April and hopefully another third from 17th May, followed by the remainder, which is very exciting, and will help them again take their place in the centre of their communities.
“Cask beer is the core of Black Sheep, so in terms of morale within the business from seeing our brewing team at work, through to the beer being racked in cask and then delivered to pubs, this is a thrilling moment.”
