Black Sheep Brewery Black Sheep Brewery The Black Sheep Brewery is a brewery in Masham in the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. The Black Sheep Brewery was established by Paul Theakston in 1991. Following a successful launch as a Business Expansion Scheme, it became a public limited company (plc) in 1992. Theakston had been managing director of Theakston Brewery, also in Masham, since 1968. He began at the age of 23, taking over from his father, Frank. Matthew Brown bought Theakston Brewery following disagreements between members of the family and other shareholders. In 1987 Scottish & Newcastle succeeded Brown as owner.
Black sheep Black sheep In the English language, black sheep is an idiom used to describe an odd or disreputable member of a group, especially within a family. The term stems from the genetic effect in sheep whereby a recessive gene occasionally manifests in the birth of a sheep with black rather than white coloring; these sheep stand out in the flock and their wool was traditionally considered less valuable. The term has typically been given negative implications, implying waywardness. In psychology, the "black sheep effect" refers to the tendency of group members to judge likeable ingroup members more positively and deviant