15th August 2007

Old Hooky a beer to drink with passion

Old Hooky hits the spot with Adrian Tierney-Jones one of Britain’s best beer writers. On his blog he wrote: “As a journalist who spends a lot of time thinking and writing about beer, and drinking it as well of course, it’s easy to take it for granted, easy to forget what made me passionate in the first place.

“I have always liked beer, but I also drink artisanal cider (no ice cubes thank you) and the occasional vigorous glass of red wine from the southwest of France, but beer is best (as an old Brewers' Society poster on my office wall says). “That said, it’s always wonderful when an extraordinary moment of beer catches you out and turns your day around.

“This happened to me on Saturday in the New Inn in Gloucester, when I greedily devoured a pint of a stunningly fresh Old Hooky from Hook Norton. “The beer left a delicate trace of lacework down the glass as I emptied it; the maltiness was silky and mocha coffee, bossed about by a rich and bold citrus fruitiness and ended with a biscuity, cracker-like dryness. “It was sunny outside but I sat within the bar and concentrated on the beer as it held my attention. “If there is ever a moment when I feel like throwing in the towel as a beer writer (and there are plenty), then it’s moments like this I should remember, beers like this that remind me of why beer has such a hold on me, such a source of great passion.

Thanks Hook Norton.” Go to www.beeralewhatever.com for more on Adrian Tierney Jones.