Hook Norton Old Hooky (Bottle)

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

Serve in English pint

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50cL bottle. Pours an orange-gold with a hint of amber with a minimal and short-lived foamy head. Smells of biscuit, malt, and hops, though aroma is a bit weak. Tastes of toffee, biscuit, and caramel with a light background of hop bitterness from which a slight fruity character emerges. Softly carbonated with a moderately dry finish. Overall, pretty good and very drinkable. Where it’s most lacking is its aroma -- could be more potent.

50cl bottle. Poured clear amber color with a white head. Aroma is biscuit and caramel, flavor being slightly roasted, toffee and malty. Finish is malty, quite long finish, slightly bitter also.

Tänään testaan Hook Nortonin Old Hookyn. Se kaatuu lasiini kuparinvärisenä. Tuoksultaan olut on karamellimaltainen, leipäinen, hedelmäinen ja jopa marjainen. Maku on hedelmäinen, katkerahko ja sitruksinen. Hiilihappoja oluessa on maltillisesti.

500 ml bottle. Finland.
Clear deep golden colour with small off-white head. Aroma: Sweet caramel malt and mild fruity hops. Flavour: Dark malt and mild bitter hops. Rather dark for an ESB.

a ruby/orange colour, a minimal "traditional bitter" type head minding it’s own business. the liquid is very clear and looks reasonably intact. not entirely convinced.. doesn’t have a strong presence. the aromas are disappointingly weak, and while I get what they mean by the fruitiness, it is just way too weak and doesn’t have enough character. other aromas like wood, ash, liquorice and malt are making a statement. tasting this beer changes the way i think about the aromas, maybe they were not supposed to be that strong; salt, slight sweetness and bitterness. Although I don’t like beers that lack character, I can definitely see the crystal malt content and how it works with they fruitiness. a surprisingly malty, full taste. definitely changes the way i treat the aromas. the palate is what i would call "lame", with very little impact. the body is weak but manages to bring out the maltiness. texture is very thin and empty, though the carbonation is well balanced. only the maltiness comes out nicely and settles in the mouth. I believe this would have been a better beer if they would have put a bit more into the aromas to give character, so that the overall balance and surprise ratio between aroma and taste would have been massively bigger. still, way better than hooky gold.

bottle, nice smotthy aroma, amber, clear, white foam, medium bitterness, medium sweetness, nice taste,medium body, slick feel, soft carbonation, bitter, long finish, i like this beer, tasty good

500 ml bottle, from Selfridge’s food store, London. ABV is 4.6%. Brown to copper colour, large off-white head. Aroma of malts, toffee and caramel. The flavour is medium sweet and malty with toffee, caramel and a little fruit. A sharpish hoppy bite in the finish.

Bottle from K-supermarket Joutsensilta, Oulu
Typical coppery colour as bitters usually have, small vanishing white head. Some fruits in the aroma. Malty taste with some licorice, moderately bitter. Very soft mouthfeel. Decent premium bitter with low ABV.

Small offwhite head. Slightly hazy amber body. Rich fruity strawy aroma with candy, wood, and caramel notes. Wow. Incredibly vivid and clear. Dry-sweet prunes, port, and paper taste with caramel and earth notes. Mid-bodied. Mild, soft, rounded mouthfeel. Dryish fruity resiny earthy aftertaste with caramelly wooden notes. Interesting, unusual, and highly drinkable. An outstanding session beer. Tastes lightly oxidized. Has it been aged, or is this an old bottle? (0.5l bottle, Amundsen, Oslo.)

Frothy head over amber brownish body. Fruit, cereal, spices. Not too apparent. Balanced sweetness and drinkability focused at first. Moves to a metallic bitterness. Decent and easy to drink. Could have more flavour.