Hook Norton Inspired (Bottle)

Brewed by Hook Norton
Style: Golden Ale/Blond Ale
Banbury, England

Serve in English pint, Shaker

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Bottle, picked up from SH Jones, Bicester 22-09-07 Poured light amber in colour with white head. Aroma a little sweet. Initially taste was reminiscent of an orange rowntrees jelly cube diluted in hot water, there was also quite a lot of barley sugar there as well. Whilst I’m pleased that Hooky have sourced local hops and and malt for this beer, the beer itself whilst ok was somewhat underwhelming. Overall a bit sweet, initially interesting with the orangeyness but quickly fading to become just a sweetish beer with hop character lacking.

First the positive - it looks great on pouring. Good deep golden colour, firm head, persistant lacing. After this, well the sweetness follows into the flavour from the sweet nose, with little in the way of pleasant carbonation to help carry this. The cloying quality detracts from the well-chosen ingredients, and unfortunately, for all it’s noble intentions in the dedication, it’s not a great beer to drink.

Bottled, pasteurised, 500ml, from Enstone Garage (Worths), Enstone, Oxon. Yellow gold with white head. Here’s a good tip for all you travellers on the A44 between Oxford & Moreton in Marsh, this garage stocks all the current Hook Norton range of bottled beers for a reasonable price. On to the beer, it loses a great deal of its freshness through pasteurisation, leaving a light, thinnish sweet malt beer without much character. Ok, it’s not bad, in the way of American sweet malt beers, but you know it could be so much better by not killing of the hoppy flavours. Disappointing.