I've been to a number of brewery tours but the Hook Norton Brewery Tour is definitely the best one I've been to so far. This 175 year old brewery located in the heart of Hook Norton, Banbury is a gem. The tour guide Leon was brilliant. He really knew his stuff, from the entire brewing process to the intimate details of the history of the site and the buildings.
One of only 3 remaining breweries still delivering some of their ales by horde drawn dray, they currently look after 4 shire horses, three of which are actively working.
Working Shire Horse Stables
We were lucky with the weather on the day as well, with some early spring sunshine allowing us to enjoy the entire grounds unencumbered by rain! Not something you can say often on these shores.
The old office still has the original chairs and secret recipes
Through the window
It was a wonderful day out with friends. Sometimes you forget to do the small things, day trips and small adventures because everyone leads such busy lives, but I think it's so important to grab these wonderful memories when you get the chance.
This is what it looked like before colour was invented
The tour ended, as they do, in one of the brewery's tap rooms for a tasting session. Let's be honest, most people favourite part of any brewery tour. This brewery had 5 separate tap room on the site but this one was a lovely little spot down below ground.
One of 5 tap rooms ons site
Firkin, Quarter Cask and a Barrel
An Aussie walked into a bar...
Leon did have a little surprise up his sleeve right at the end. While tasting the different Hooky beers, he suddenly pulled out something called a 'sparkler'. This little magic device is just genius. I'd never heard of it. Apparently it's quite common up north but not heard of much down south. The sparkler, that is screwed onto the end of the beer tap, adds body and a creamy head to the beer. I just found something that makes me love beer even more...
Comments