Theakston Alcohol-Free Beers

Theakston: nearly 200 years of Yorkshire ale

T&R Theakston is one of Britain's oldest family brewing companies, founded in 1827 in the Yorkshire Dales market town of Masham. Still run by direct descendants of founder Robert Theakston, it's famous for Old Peculier — a rich, dark old ale that has become a world-iconic beer — and for being one of the very last breweries in the UK to keep its own cooperage.

On Unhopped, Theakston is represented by Theakston Nowt Peculier, a 0.0% alcohol-free beer whose name is a Yorkshire pun — ‘nowt’ meaning ‘nothing’ — on its legendary Old Peculier.

From the Black Bull to a Victorian tower brewery

Robert Theakston began brewing at the Black Bull Inn in Masham in 1827. In 1875 his sons Thomas and Robert formed the T&R Theakston partnership and built a new brewery at Paradise Fields, where it still stands. Through nearly two centuries — and some turbulent 20th-century ownership changes — the brewery has returned to and remained in family hands.

Old Peculier and the cooperage

Old Peculier, brewed under that name since the 1890s, takes its title from Masham's historic status as a ‘Peculier’ — an ecclesiastical jurisdiction outside normal church control. Theakston is also one of the last UK breweries to employ its own cooper, hand-making the oak casks in which Old Peculier is still served — a tradition maintained since 1827.

The alcohol-free beer

Theakston Nowt Peculier is the brewery's alcohol-free offering at 0.0% ABV — a dark, characterful beer for those who want the depth of a traditional ale without the alcohol.

Why Theakston matters

A genuinely historic, independent Yorkshire family brewer turning its hand to alcohol-free beer brings real heritage to the category — and the Nowt Peculier name is a reminder that serious tradition needn't take itself too seriously.