A prominent Tyneside craft brewery has gone into administration, citing tax bills and turbulence within the hospitality industry as the causes.
Paul Hughes, the entrepreneur behind North Shields-based Black Storm Brewery, which was named Independent Brewery of the Year 2021/22, said the move marked a sad day in the business' five years since launching. Before Covid the brewery had made a flurry of acquisitions and employed as many as 27 people through a bottle shop in Manchester and bars in Newcastle, Whitley Bay and Stockton, before it was scaled back in 2019.
Black Storm was re-established at the Royal Quays shopping centre within an empty retail unit that housed its brewing operation and a taproom. The venue was seen as a key part of the shopping centre's revitalisation but is now closed and the firm's five staff have been made redundant.
