A taste of Yorkshire is taking to the skies after the multi-award-winning Black Sheep Brewery secured a major deal with leading leisure airline Jet2.com.
The Masham-based brewery has entered into an exclusive partnership with Jet2.com, which will see its iconic Black Sheep Ale available on all the award-winning airline’s flights from across its ten UK bases from May 1.
Jet2.com, which has its headquarters in Leeds, is the UK’s third largest airline and has 58 sun and city destinations on sale across the Mediterranean, Canary Islands and Europe from the UK for Summer 22 from across its ten UK bases – Belfast International, Birmingham, Bristol, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds Bradford, Manchester, Newcastle and London Stansted.
The two Yorkshire businesses have combined to give passengers a particularly unique experience in the sky, with Black Sheep Ale available for the first time onboard Jet2.com flights in a 330ml can.
Produced at Black Sheep’s North Yorkshire brewery, the cans will feature as part of Jet2.com’s new In-Flight Summer menu, offering a wide selection of tasty snacks, healthy food options, sweet treats and plenty of refreshing drinks for customers to enjoy whilst in the sky.
A cornerstone of the Black Sheep range, Black Sheep Ale is one of the brewery’s best loved beers. It is packed with British hops and a complex malt blend, brewed using fresh dales water and Yorkshire square fermenters and featuring notes of dried fruits and a touch of caramel to give Black Sheep Ale a rich, bitter-sweet flavour profile.
The brand, which was the first beer to be bottled at Black Sheep, is nationally available in 500ml bottle and the brewery is confident that new 330ml canned version will make for a great addition to Jet2.com’s In-flight menu.
Charlene Lyons, chief executive of Black Sheep Brewery, said: “We’re incredibly proud of this agreement with Jet2.com to feature Black Sheep Ale on flights to and from the UK, which will introduce one of Yorkshire’s best exports to new audiences.
“This is a great collaboration between two Yorkshire companies that will also offer international visitors to Britain a taste of our wonderful county before they touch down in the UK.”
Kirsty Calvert, In-Flight Retail Commercial and Operations Manager of Jet2.com, said: “We are always looking for new ways to excite our customers with our onboard range, and we are delighted to partner with Black Sheep Brewery to bring their famous Black Sheep Ale to the skies for the first time.”
ENDS
Editors’ Notes:
The Black Sheep Brewery is one of British brewing’s most famous stories and has grown from humble beginnings to become a multi-award-winning company, with its beers enjoyed around the world.
Black Sheep has grown to become one of Yorkshire’s most recognised brands, with its beer distributed both nationally and internationally. Black Sheep continues to champion the county of Yorkshire and is the official brewer of the annual Tour de Yorkshire.
Black Sheep is a multi-award-winning brewer, having enjoyed numerous accolades in recent years including:
- The British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) Beer Champion 2017
- International Brewing Awards – Milk Stout – Overall Champion (International Dark Beer)
- World Beer Awards 2019 – Milk Stout – UK Winner
- World Beer Awards 2019 – Pathmaker – Gold Award
- World Beer Awards 2019 – Black Sheep Ale – Silver Award
- World Beer Awards 2019 – Guzzler– Bronze Award
- World Beer Awards 2019 – Pineapple Milkshake IPA- Bronze Award
Based in Masham, in the heart of North Yorkshire, Black Sheep brewed its first beer in 1992 after being built up by Paul Theakston, whose family had brewed in the area for six generations.
In a world of ever-increasing bland, mass-produced beer, Paul saw an opportunity to return to what his family had done best since 1827, making real beer in the time-honoured fashion.
An old maltings building, once part of Lightfoot’s Brewery, became the Brewery’s home. This landmark building, which stands high over the banks of the Ure, had fallen into disrepair as years of neglect as a semi-redundant grainstore had taken its toll. Paul assembled a small team around him to fight the rats and build a traditional country brewery.
The Visitor Centre, at the site of the iconic brewery, has grown to become an award-winning attraction for visitors to Yorkshire, with tens of thousands of people flocking to Masham each year. In 2018, the Visitor Centre had a thorough refurbishment and offers the general public a menu of locally sourced Yorkshire food, its range of award-winning beers and tours of their iconic brewery.
In 2018, Black Sheep announced the purchase of York Brewery, which included the acquisition of four pubs in the business and key cask brands, including Guzzler and Yorkshire Terrier.
The outlets bought by Black Sheep, as part of the deal, are as follows:
- Last Drop Inn, York
- Mr Foley’s Tap House, Leeds
- The Three Legged Mare, York
- Tap and Kitchen, Leeds
The addition of York Brewery complements the strong, iconic Black Sheep brand and its existing award-winning beers and brands.
In 2018, Black Sheep also purchased the Chapel Allerton based bar, ‘Kith and Kin’ which they have since refurbished and renamed the ‘Black Sheep Tap & Kitchen’, which was officially launched on 28th February 2019.
The Black Sheep name derived from Masham’s association with sheep, but ‘Sheep Brewery’ didn’t quite sound right, so with a little creativity from Paul’s wife, the Black Sheep Brewery was born – a name that sat well with the area, spoke volumes about the business’ maverick attitude to the multi-nationals seeking to dominate the brewing industry and captured the essence of the family struggle that led to its birth.
Black Sheep’s beers are full of character derived from the best possible brewing materials, plenty of time and patience in the brewing and its very special Yorkshire Square fermenters.
Black Sheep Best Bitter is now one of the best-selling cask session beers in the UK and many of its creative brews, over the course of its 25-year history, have collected numerous awards – ranging from Black Sheep’s traditional ales to its up and coming craft beers.
2017 marked the launch of Black Sheep Brewery’s first lager, 54 Degrees North, created in homage to its hometown of Masham, which sits on 54’ 13’ 24” N; 1’ 39’ 20” W longitude and latitude lines, as the company embarks on an adventurous new chapter in its distinguished history.
In 2019, the brewery diversified their offering and entered the world of spirits by producing their own Black Sheep Yorkshire Dry Gin. The gin is distilled in Masham and within the production it features classic brewing ingredients including malted barley and Lemondrop hops.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/BlackSheepBrewery
Instagram: @blacksheepbrewery
Twitter: @BlackSheepBeer
Press release from Black Sheep Brewery
For further information contact Jamie Collis, Jamie.Collis@recognitionpr.co.uk