Hook Norton Old Hooky (Bottle)

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

Light brown body with amber at the edges. The thin head clung the edge of the glass and was light khaki. Light notes of black tea are played on with some subtle tangerine. There is also some definite caramel. The taste has some light earthy biscuit and watered down grapefruit. There is a little bit of bitter black tea in the finish. Decent, but the roasted finish throws off the package.

Thick butterscotch aroma is fairly sweet and fruity. Clear amber body topped by a low white head that recedes slowly. Thick malty flavour with only a hint of butterscotch. Light bitterness keeps it from cloying. Medium-light body with fair carbonation. Bottle (clear). Entered from notes.

Slightly hazy orange with a small fronthy head and good lace. The aroma hints of apple, butterscotch, biscuit, roasted caramel malts, cashews, floral hops, band-aid. The taste tarts very fruity (apple and grape) then leads to a balanced sweet malt and bitter hops character. The finish has a bitter, astringent, and metallic feel and taste. Overall, the fruitiness makes this beer quaffable, good dose of bitters but not too strong. I could drink a few of these.

light brown colour, with nice flowery hop, smooth sweet very fruity with lingering malt.

Sept, 2002: Bottle. I lived in Oxford for a while in the 80s, and this, fresh from the pump, was always enjoyable. This bottled version is not as strong, rich and complex as I remember - but is still one of the decent regular British beers such as Speckled Hen and London Pride. [3.4]
Feb, 2009500ml bottle from Shropshire. Vintage 1989. 4.3%. A lot of cardboard melded with the toffee. Very drinkable and attractive. Feels richer and stronger than 4.3% - the original gravity is shown as between 1047 and 1051, which accounts for the rich mouthfeel - this is a strong beer, but not fully fermented, leaving in a lot of residual sugars. Well, it works for me. [3.2]

Bottle. Medium high lasting off-white creamy head. Clear dark brown body. Weak fruity aroma with a bit of caramel and just a hint of berries. Mild round and relatively sweet fruity caramel honey flavor with a little bitterness. Low carbonation and a short aftertaste.

This bottled brew poured a medium sized head of foamy fine to large sized off-white colored mostly lasting bubbles that left behind a fair lacing. The body was a transparent softly carbonated brown color with some swirls of brown yeast in it. The aroma was mild with malty and musty notes. The mouth feel was smooth initially then melded into a tingly finish. The flavor contained notes of caramel malt and mildly bitter hops. Over-all, it was well-balanced and very drinkable. A good session brew.

Bottle @ Copenhagen Øl Festival. Average beige fizzy head that mostly lasted. Light cloudy amber colour. Aroma was floral, caramel, fruit and some burned notes as well. Medium bodied with a flat carbonation. Light bitter and sweet flavour. Somewhat dry and bitter finish.