Keeping it in the family (Simon Theakston)

A day out in Masham is always a pleasant occasion made even more so by the company you’re in. Barrie Pepper recently spent a day with Simon Theakston to talk about the renaissance of the family firm

I always enjoy meetings with Simon as I did with his late father Michael. For me they epitomise the real spirit of Yorkshire and in particular the Dales.

Such meetings usually start with a smile, a firm handshake and the question: “What are you having?” But on my recent meeting the answer was “a cup of tea please.” We talked family, enjoyed the tea and got down to business. It was coming up to three years since Simon took the remarkable step of taking a small independent brewing company out of the paternal grip of the nation’s largest brewer and returning it to the comforting lap of its real family.

T&R Theakston was 157 years old when it lost its way; first acquired by Blackburn brewer Matthew Brown which in turn went under the Scottish and Newcastle wing. Now it is back home again in the delightful market town of Masham with all but one of its directors called Theakston.

Simon’s three brothers have joined the firm as non-executive directors and he and Collin Wood are the executive directors – the men at the helm. Collin was a former managing director of the company when it was part of S&N.

This takeover was a complete reversal of what has been happening in the brewing business for the last half century or so. Small independent and regional brewers went under not for their beers but for their pubs.

Fortunately it was not so with Theakston mainly because of one brand – Old Peculier.

This rich dark powerful ale held its own against most others in its class and had S&N at.....

To read the rest of this article you can buy this issue or subscribe to Beers of the World to have every issue delivered direct to your door.

By Barrie Pepper

Section : Beer Legends

Page number : 48