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The owner of family-run Rooster’s Brewing Co in Harrogate has been talking about the ‘perfect storm of challenges facing independents after North Yorkshire's famous Black Sheep Brewery announced it was going into administration.

Ian Fozard, former national chairman of the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) national chairman and owner of Rooster's Brewery, said the story of Masham-based Black Sheep highlighted the dire impact of ever-rising costs and the over-dominance of the major global players in the beer industry.

"There's a perfect storm of issues that impact on smaller breweries."They don't have the economy of scale of larger breweries and they don't have the access to markets the larger brewers have."

There was shock when Black Sheep, which was founded by Paul Theakston in 1992 and has since been run by his sons Jo and Rob Theakston, announced it was entering administration due to “the pandemic and the sudden rise in all costs”.

There was shock when Black Sheep in Masham, which was founded by Paul Theakston in 1992, announced it was entering administration due to “the pandemic and the sudden rise in all costs”. (Picture James Hardisty)

Charlene Lyons, chief executive and executive chair of Black Sheep Brewery, said: “Black Sheep Brewery has great products, a compelling brand and is supported by a dedicated team of people.

"But the business has been hit very hard by the pandemic and the sudden rise in all costs.

“Covid loans were useful but, in the end, could not sufficiently compensate for reduced cash flow in the long term.

"We have taken the decision to protect the business and its creditors, during this period, by filing a notice of intention to appoint administrators.”

Rooster Brewery, Harrogate. Pictured from left Oliver, Ian and Tom Fozard in the state of the art brewery (Picture Gerard Binks)

The pioneering and award-winning Rooster's, which this year celebrates its 30th anniversary, itself it is feeling the impact of inflation and the 'cost of doing business' crisis.

Mr Fozard said: "I saw an invoice yesterday that had an 80% fuel surcharge for CO2 we bought in April and it's very difficult to pass all your costs onto the marketplace,"

"On top of that, our malt costs are up by 41% because of the Ukraine war and its impact on world grain markets."

According to the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA), there are about 1,800 independent breweries in the UK and all are feeling the pinch.

Harrogate brewer opens up about 'perfect storm' of challenges as Black Sheep goes into administration