Hook Norton Old Hooky (Bottle)

Brewed by Hook Norton
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
Hook Norton, Oxfordshire, England

Oh dear,a total pants pint,nothing to shout about,and nothing to repeat here.I await a better example.

A beer it seems I’ve waited my entire life to taste and to be quite honest there’s been plenty of others along the way that top it. Into an English pint, cool but not cold. Looks good, with a big, bubbly, oily-looking pad of white that raised a good ½" from the brim and lasts there to snow over the entire glass. The beer itself a finely carbed, bright golden copper. Lowly toffee and caramel nose with just a touch of orange marmalade. Similar in the mouth with just a little more character that managed ’balance’ with varying degrees of success. Toffee and sweet, ripe oranges upfront, with a flat mid-palate that shows traces of ground-nuts and fades into a region of grassy, spicy and herbal hops that single themself out and manage to single-handedly mar the swallow. Slightly oily in mouthfeel, medium bodied and a little cloying flavour-wise, with the aftertaste showing more grass, herbs and nutty malts that linger long between swallows. Its quite heavy for a filtered, pasteurised beer and I don’t think it pulls off what others have succeeded in, come the bottled bitter market. Not altogether integrated, I hope this one taste better on lees as I plan to visit the brewhouse in a week or two on my visit to the Cotswalds. Average, yet oddly unique tasting bitter. (50cL, 28/10/06, Jandakot Liquor)

Another winner from Hook Norton. Floral aroma. Opache amber color with quickly dissipating head. Initially sweet, more "hoppy" in the finish. Nice beer.

bottle thanks to bu11zeye. poured a dark gold/light amber with a white head. aroma of caramel, orange citrus, and spice. flavor was citrus, slight spice, and some hops. light body. not bad

Clear maroon brown with a thin white. Unspectacle. Fruity, lifted nose, very clean malts and estery notes. Slips a gear to taste. Some ok bitterness comes through but the fruit and malts evident on the nose don’t deliver in any way. A fraction metallic and frankly quite boring.

Sweet hop malt aroma. Clear red amber colour with great head and lacing. Bitter malt hop flavour. Smooth palate.

From bottle. Sweet sticky honey aroma. Great clear copper appearance with a thin head. Slight tang, orange taste, but a little sickly. Metallic after taste, but just a hint. Good beer but not for me.

Bottle from Waitrose. No major complaints here, despite being pasteurised. Bright copper/amber colour with a thin white head. Surprisingly hoppy aroma - slightly resinous and flowery - with caramel and plummy fruit. Flavour falls away a bit, concetrating on fruity malt, decoming dry and reasonably bitter on the finish. Solid but unexciting. The cask is better.