Hook Norton 303AD / Generation (Cask)

Brewed by Hook Norton
Style: Bitter
Hook Norton, Oxfordshire, England

Handpulled cask at JDW Hatch End Harrow during their recent international beer fest. Orange with a white head. Rather bland in a british regional sort of way. No predominant flavours. Dry bitter finish.

Cask, JDW, 4th April 2008. Orangey amber body with a line of head. Lovely biscuity, cerealy malt flavour but a rather more bland aroma. Solid palate and a good aftertaste. Well-balanced and the hops assert themselves late in the pint.

Cask, The HIghcross, Leicester. Hazy gold with a dense white head. Aromas are hoppy and peppery with citrus. Flavours are resinous green hops with grapefruit bitterness. Some sweet apricot. Dry and bitter on the finish. Quite viscous on the palate. A golden ale with depth.

Sometimes context is all. At the end of a disappointing beer hunt through Spain and Britain blighted by illness and poor pub selection, I finally found the session ale I’d been looking for all along. In Heathrow Airport, of all places, while we waited to board a plane back to Australia. I doubt there’s anything truly exceptional about this Oxfordshire bitter, but it put a smile on my coupon at the end of an exhausting trip. So God bless Weatherspoons, for all their sins. 303AD looked grand: burnished bronze with a stout, lasting head. I see from the commercial description that it contains the First Gold hop, but the earthy aroma had me thinking of Fuggles. The soft carbonation complements a mix of summer fruits succeeded by a solid, phlegmy slug of bitterness. This was easily the best pint of a poor haul during the April 08 trip. (Cask at Heathrow Airport Weatherspoons, April 2008)

At the Hinckley Utd. Moron Lounge. Distant hopleaf and apple yeastiness in aroma. Mouth is citrus/apple fruitiness with clinging sweet oaty/biscuity afters. Not in the freshest condition, but the quality shone through. Decent citrussy bitter, even here.

Cask at the Three Guineas, Reading. Amber with a thin white head; citrus aroma and flavour; grapefruit bitterness and sweetness to finish. An excellent bitter.

Cask (handpump) at the Sir John Oldcastle, Farringdon. The first words I wrote down were "a pale dry bitter" and the first words in the commercial description are exactly the same. So I guess we’re agreed that it’s a pale dry bitter. But I didn’t really find too much else to say. The dry malt and earthy hops are in decent balance. Dry, clean mouthfeel. A satisfying but unspectacular bitter. Maybe a bit short of depth in the flavour but nicely drinkable.

On gravity at the Bristol Beer Festival 14/3/08. Amber coloured with a small, off-white head. Aroma of earthy malt and citrus hops with a touch of spice. Flavour was slightly sweet, with some biscuit malt and hops in the finish. A very good bitter.