Theakston’s is one of the most famous beer companies in Yorkshire and it has an incredibly storied history.
Simon Theakston, the chairman of the famous North Yorkshire brewery, has offered a rare behind-the-scenes look at the business and provided some secrets to creating their popular beverages.
As our colleagues at DerbyshireLive report, Theakston’s might be a couple of years away from its bicentenary, but, of course, the beermaker has had to adapt with the times.
Of their tipples, some would strongly argue their glorious dark old ale, Old Peculier, is a legendary drink. It’s a very special beer and one still delivered in wooden casks in the north – Theakston’s retain an apprenticed cooper, the son of the previous one.
Simon Theakston, 67, has worked for the company for more than 40 years and taken a slight step to one side from joint managing director to chairman in the last year. His son, William, has joined the business to maintain the continuity of a sixth generation of Theakstons being heavily involved.
“Every Monday we went to Derbyshire, via Swinton and Mexborough,” he says. “We dropped into the Old Bowling Green at Bradwell, the Ladybower Inn and then the Devonshire Arms at Beeley, the Plough at Hathersage. There’ll be others. I can’t remember them all.
“But we would do that every Monday and it was always a good day because it was good overtime, it took a long time to get back again. Our beer was always very popular in Derbyshire, so we have a very strong and much-loved relationship with the pubs of Derbyshire.”
While heritage is important, looking to the future will always be vital in a very temperamental industry.
“Well, we don’t have a crystal ball, so we don’t know for certain what’s going to happen,” Simon commented. “One can look in the past for trends to see if you can sort of see through them to what may happen in the future. We’re living in a time now, a bit like the 1960s and 70s, where keg beer is all the rage.
“But people rediscovered cask beer. And you might ask, what was it about cask? It was the benefit of secondary fermentation which produced extra flavours and characteristics and a degree of condition to a beer that was just unmatched by anything produced in keg. Keg beer was almost a default purchase. It was always okay, never fantastic.
“People bought it because it was available. And I think, in a way, you could argue that we’re going through a similar kind of patch now where the beers out there in the market place, particularly that the bigger brewers are producing, are very well marketed, probably better marketed now than ever.
“They’re all okay and consistent and they’re doing a job. But I do think that cask will be rediscovered again and there will be a resurgent interest in it as people recognise and come to see the fine qualities of properly conditioned ale. Trends come and go. And we’re not in the business of chasing after people. We’re in the business of letting people discover for themselves when they’re ready for it. And then we’re ready to welcome them. That has been how we have always done it.
The brewery tap and shop at Theakston’s, in Masham, North Yorkshire
(Image: Colston Crawford/DerbyshireLive)
“As you get older, you begin to appreciate it more. And that is the people that we’re after, who’ve gone through the cider and the lager bits of their lives and moved on to something a bit more discerning with a bit more quality. It’s in the interests of bigger brewers to promote highly marketed lager brands effectively and you can understand them not investing behind ale – but that’s fine, it gives us an opportunity.”
It is well documented that, in the 1980s, Theakston’s were bought out, first by Matthew Brown and then by the giant Scottish & Newcastle group. It caused a rift in the Theakston family which led to Simon’s second cousin, Paul Theakston, founding the nearby Black Sheep Brewery. But in 2003, Simon and his brothers were able to buy back the company. Now, he can look back and say that the years under the national chain had a bonus – Theakston’s gained access to a distribution network they could only have dreamed of.
“It would be unfair not to recognise the good fortune we had in, for a while, being owned by Scottish & Newcastle,” says Simon. “It was the S&N infrastructure that gave exposure to Theakston’s throughout the UK, a legacy which we today benefit from. Throughout the UK, people have heard of Theakston’s and that is half the battle. After that you can work on getting the beer to people.”
And yet Theakston’s already had a name that resonated: “Yes, I was told personally that the reason S&N bought Matthew Brown’s was to get hold of the Theakston name, so even in those days the name had value and resonance, certainly in the northern part of the UK,” he says.
“You know, all sorts of paradoxes happen in business. We fought very hard – and failed – to stop Matthew Brown taking us over in 1984. And yet if it wasn’t for that I wouldn’t be sitting here talking to you now. And then we had this extraordinary opportunity in 2003 to buy things back.
“S&N had also bought Courage and John Smith’s had become the lead cask beer. The investment and the focus that had hitherto been on Theakston’s was switched to John Smith’s, which meant there was a decline in volumes. As the focus and investment moved elsewhere, it provided my brothers and I with the opportunity to buy Theakston’s back and, having lost it 19 years earlier, the thrill of getting it back again was like winning the lottery two weeks running.”
Reflecting on the heart of the business, Simon added: “We’re not making any of this up, it’s authentic. We’re as you see us. And the beating heart of Theakston’s has never changed in 200 years. It’s had its wobbles but the passion that emanates from this brewery has never changed. To me, the great responsibility is to pass that on to the next generation and into the future, which is exactly what we intend to do.”
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