Real Ale and Bottled Beer from Hook Norton
The Hook Norton Brewery produces a fabulous range of award winning real ales and bottled beers. Everything about Hook Norton beers is a bit special and indeed different. To make our real ale requires the art, craft and skill of the brewer, the finest raw materials and water drawn from deep wells beneath our North Oxfordshire Brewery.
Where can you buy our beers?
A list of shops that stock Hook Norton bottled BeersHERE
To see our range of seasonal and core beers HERE
Real ale Variety Pack & gift pack
Try our Variety Pack & gift packs and experience the special taste of Hook Norton's range of beers.
Buy your Variety Pack & gift pack HERE
Natural ingredients
Hook Norton real ales are made with four natural ingredients, malted barley, hops, yeast and water. Although these ingredients are very simple, in the hands of a skilled brewer they will come together to produce a symphony of colours, aromas and tastes that make our quality real ale and beers among the most popular in the country that can be enjoyed in the pub or at home.
It is said when you are in a country you should drink the wine of the country. However, when in Britain, people should drink the beer of the country.
Beer is Britain’s national drink; it is our Beaujolais, Chardonnay, Chablis, Champagne and much more. And the very best of British beers are Hook Norton’s. Our draught beers are known as real ale or cask conditioned, which means they are living, breathing beers that undergo a natural secondary fermentation and mature in the container from which it is served from in a pub.
Hooky real ale can be enjoyed not just in our own pubs in and around Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, Northamptonshire and Gloucestershire but also in a large number of pubs owned by other people.
Core Beers/Ales
Hooky Dark 3.2% ABV
A dark chestnut coloured ale, full of roast malt flavours, and complemented with superb dry-hop aromas from East Kent Goldings.
Hooky Bitter 3.6% ABV
A subtly balanced, golden bitter, hoppy to the nose, malty on the palate - the classic session beer, eminently drinkable.
Hooky Gold 4.1% ABV
A very pale, crisp beer, confidently displaying it’s hop character. The first Hook Norton beer to feature American hops. A fruity aroma and a pleasant, light taste.
Old Hooky 4.6% ABV
A beautifully balanced beer, fruity by nature, with a well-rounded body and the suggestive echo of Crystal Malt.
Seasonal Beers/Ales
Double Stout 4.8% ABV
A blend of malts gives Double Stout a character all of its own. Black malt enriches the colour and teases the palate with an unmistakable ‘toast’ flavour. Brown malt gives it the dryness.
First Light 4.3% ABV
A very pale, light brew with a complex hop aroma. The continental type palate is from the high proportion of Malted Wheat, which is used in addition to Malted Barley. Styrian Goldings hops are added, which give a fruity nose, with hints of watermelon and lychees.
303AD 4.0% ABV
English Malt and English Hops combine to make a very English beer. Dry and crisp with a hint of citrus, 303AD being the year of St George’s death.
Cotswold Lion 4.2% ABV
A pale fruity ale, with a citrus lime aroma, and hopped only with Fuggles. After a successful launch in 2006, Lion is back for a seasonal slot. It is the first single hop varietal beer to be brewed by Hook Norton.
Inspired 4.5 % ABV
A premium pale beer with a slight orange hue. Aromas of soft dark fruit, a full and almost slightly spicy flavour, with a pleasant lingering aftertaste.
Haymaker 5.0% ABV
A strong pale ale of distinctive taste. Plenty of Goldings hops during the brewing give it a certain something extra - like sunshine dancing on the tongue.
Summer Haze 4.5% ABV
Light, Fruity and refreshing. The first Wheat beer from Hook Norton. Further details to follow.
Copper Ale 4.8% ABV
A premium dark red ale with a strong, dry and slightly spicy palate and aftertaste. Copper Ale was first brewed to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Hook Norton Brewery and is, we believe, the taste of beers of yesteryear.
Flagship 5.3% ABV
Originally brewed to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar, Flagship is an India Pale ale style of beer. Admiral hops contribute to a full fruity mouth feel, and a sweet fruity aroma.
Steaming On 4.4% ABV
A dark reddish – brown ale, with a very unusual slightly smokey flavour. This is derived from the use of a small amount of Peated Malt, which is normally reserved for Whisky production. Steaming On was first brewed in 1999 to celebrate the centenary of the Brewery’s steam engine, which remains in daily use.
Twelve Days 5.5% ABV
A strong dark brown beer, offering a dominantly malty palate with nutty overtones, giving way to a lyrical sweetness that speaks for its strength.
Real Ale and bottled beer with natural ingredients
Hooky beers have a wonderful complexity and are made with naturally grown ingredients.
They are much more than a thirst quenching drink, they are part of a healthy lifestyle, which have helped shape the best of our culture.
The perfect glass of Hooky beer should be much more than a swift swallow which is soon forgotten. People should drink Hooky real ale and bottled beers with their eyes and nose even before they take a sip so that they start to experience the whole spectrum of colours and bursts of aromas that is part of the Hooky experience.
We must forget the Johnny come lately views that wine is the only drink that goes with food, or wine is the only drink that is part of a healthy lifestyle or that women do not drink beer.
Hooky real ales are wonderfully vibrant, living products, full of quality natural ingredients, that can be enjoyed by all, with or without food.
If you are one of our many satisfied customers that enjoy our beers in pubs, it can also be enjoyed in the comfort of your own home by buying in bottles or polypins from our online shop or at our visitors’ centre.
