Old Hooky
Hook Norton Brewery in Hook Norton, Oxfordshire, England 🏴
Bitter - ESB / Strong Bitter Regular|
Score
6.44
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A beautifully balanced beer, fruity by nature, with a well-rounded body and the suggestive echo of Crystal Malt.
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6.5/10
Tried
from Cask
on 01 Feb 2026
at 08:55
6.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6.5
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
Cask. Pours a mahogany color with moderate head. Aromas of caramel, mild red berries and bready malts. Flavors of caramel malts, a bit of grass and a little fruit. Pretty basic bitter.
Tried
from Cask
on 28 Oct 2025
at 21:20
6.3/10
—
Appearance 7
Aroma 6.5
Flavor 5.5
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Gyllen brun med lys beige skum. Lukter karamell, urter og malt. Smaker malt, urter, smør og karamell. Lett og kort.
Tried
on 05 Sep 2025
at 19:24
6.5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 6.5
Texture 8
Overall 5.5
Misted copper colour, decent head. Caramel, toast, biscuit, esters, herbal hop. Medium dry. Light to medium bitterness. Not bad.
Tried
from Bottle
on 04 May 2025
at 16:35
7/10
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Appearance 7
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 7
Overall 7
Old rating from 2014 - 500ml bottle, pours brown with a white foamy head. Aromas & tastes of dark fruits, bread, caramel, biscuit & toasted malt. Medium body. Smooth & long mildly bitter finish
Tried
from Bottle
on 18 Apr 2025
at 14:20
7/10
—
Appearance 7
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 7
Overall 7
Cask NERAX. Orange amber some head malty nose. Tastes of caramel,earth, malt, pleather. Fluffy palate
Tried
on 03 Apr 2025
at 00:23
6.9/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 6.5
Texture 7
Overall 6.5
Pours a very nice looking deep amber to light red. Medium sized, relatively dense per style head, the slightest off-white. Good retention and nice lacing. Average to slightly sub-par intensity in the aroma. Less malty for the style than usual with more focus on fruitiness: moderate caramelly, slightly biscuity notes, with the slightest soft (perhaps slightly buttery) feel to them, fruity notes are orangeish with a half jam-like, half candy-like character to them, maybe a hint of apple, maybe an earthy hint. Again, average to slightly sub-par intensity in taste, notes more or less as per aroma, with earthiness showing up a bit more in finish/aftertaste and perhaps a floral hops hint. Medium sweetness, quite low bitterness, a bit too sweet for my ideal liking in both taste and aftertaste. I also think it could use at least a bit more malty depth, but still fine overall. Relatively light in body with average carbonation. Light sized but dense bubbles, resulting in a mouthfeel that feels quite softer and fuller than usual for the style; not at all unpleasant though. Overall a slightly unusual bitter; fine and enjoyable but i'm not 100% sure about the idea behind it.
Tried
from Bottle
on 18 Feb 2025
at 19:25
6.4/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 7
Overall 7
Half pint from the cask at the Lamplighter, St Helier, Jersey. Pours red / brown with a small white head. Aromas & tastes of red fruits, caramel & malt. Medium body. Light bitter finish. Enjoyable
Tried
from Cask
on 20 Jan 2025
at 20:35
5.9/10
—
Appearance 7
Aroma 5
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
Tried
from Bottle
on 10 Jan 2025
at 21:42
6/10
—
Appearance 4
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
500ml bottle from Asda, Chelmsley Wood, Birmingham. Still shocked they had a new beer stocked, even if it is an old classic! Fairly clear reddish brown pour with brief fizzy head, no lasting head which is disappointing. Aroma is malty, sweet with a lovely plum fruitiness coming through. Taste is malts, toast, caramel, plum, long bitter finish. A little on the light side so for me the flavours don't carry as well as they could. Its decent but for some reason I was expecting better.
Tried
from Bottle
on 31 Dec 2024
at 02:24