Hop Back Brewery

Regional Brewery in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿
Associated with 6 Venues

Established in 1991

Contact
Units 22 24, Batten Road Industrial Estate, Downton, Salisbury, SP5 3HU, England
Description
Hop Back Brewery Ltd was formed in October 1991 by John Gilbert and we moved to a small industrial unit in Downton, just south of Salisbury. After refurbishment and installation, brewing on the new 20 barrel plant started in June 1992.

In 2012 Hop Back celebrated its 25th birthday, having retained John’s original philosophy and passion for beers that he would want to drink.

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6.6/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 5 Overall 7
31/7/2026. Cask at the Ipswich Transport Museum’s First Beer Festival. Pours okay. Hoppy, zesty, grassy, touch tropical, coconut hint. Light citric tartness. Nice drying bitterness to finish. Likeable.
Tried from Cask on 31 Jul 2026 at 14:19

7/10
Tried from Cask on 31 Jul 2026 at 14:13

6.5/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 6
Tried from Cask on 31 Jul 2026 at 14:13

6.3/10 Appearance 7 Aroma 6 Flavor 6 Texture 7 Overall 6
Tried from Cask at The Doghouse Weymouth on 22 Jul 2026 at 15:06

7/10 Appearance 7 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 7 Overall 7
Cask (The Albion, Winchester) - Golden yellow. Subtle apricot plus some grassy notes in both the aroma and the taste. Dry finish.
Tried on 10 Jul 2026 at 13:36

6.5/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 7 Flavor 6.5 Texture 6 Overall 6.5
9/7/2026. Cask at the 35th Ealing Beer Festival.
Tried from Cask on 09 Jul 2026 at 15:51

6/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 6 Flavor 6.5 Texture 5 Overall 6
25/6/2026. Cask at a very hot Dove Street Inn Summer Beer Festival 2026. Pours okay. Basic golden event themed beer. It’s okay.
Tried from Cask at Dove Street Inn on 25 Jun 2026 at 14:38

6.4/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 6 Flavor 6.5 Texture 7 Overall 6.5
Cask at the Hop Leaf, Reading, whilst showing my daughter how to play bar billiards (a sadly vanishing game). Dull gold with a white head. Dry and wheaty with hedgerow notes and some sweet lemon coming through. A very traditional-tasting golden ale and none the worse for it - this grew on me as I drank more. Not bad.
Tried from Cask at Hop Leaf (Hop Back) on 11 Jun 2026 at 16:00

6.1/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 6.5 Flavor 6 Texture 6 Overall 6
Cask at Hop Leaf, Reading. Pours mildly hazy golden blonde, white foam. Aroma: floral, lemongrass. The taste follows, light to medium sweet & light bitter, citrus, somewhat yeasty, semi dry finish. Towards medium body with soft carbonation.
Tried from Cask at Hop Leaf (Hop Back) on 02 Jan 2026 at 07:58

6.5/10 Appearance 7 Aroma 6 Flavor 6.5 Texture 7 Overall 6.5
Cask at the Ale Rooms, Knowle. Poured a clear medium amber colour with a lasting frothy white head. The aroma is yeasty, light red berry fruits. The flavour is moderate to light bitter, with a yeasty, light red berry fruit, light hop bitter palate. Medium to light bodied with average to soft carbonation.
Tried from Cask at Ale Rooms on 23 Dec 2025 at 23:05