It's tasty and full of flavour . Not as heavy as some stouts .
Disadvantages:
I can only buy it as a guest beer .
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
A few Wednesday nights ago we met our friends for a few beers in the Portland Hotel in Chesterfield (one of our local Wetherspoons). We started off with a pint of Old Tosser and then we noticed that they had a stout available. Never ones to pass up a pint of the black stuff, we decided to make this our next beer to sample ~ not only was it a stout, it was also from the excellent Hook Norton Brewery. The beer we were eying up was Hook Norton Double Stout.
~~~WHAT IS A STOUT?
Just in case you didn't know, a stout according to the Beer Styles page of the History of Beer web-site (http://www.history-of beer.co.uk/html/styles_of_beer.html) a stout is "Very dark and heavy, with roasted unmalted barley and, often, caramel malt or sugar. Invented by Guinness as a variation on traditional porter". Double Stouts are brewed to a higher gravity than a single stout and were traditionally stronger and heavier as a result.
This isn't necessarily the case these days ~ porters, single stouts and double stouts seemed to have merged somewhat and the titles have often become just names. The style of Hook Norton Double Stout is a bit of a mix between an Oatmeal and an Imperial stout (I won't go into lengthy explanations on this)~ it was brewed by Hook Norton up until 1917 and production ceased until 1996, when it was reintroduced.
The Hook Norton Brewery is based at Hook Norton, Banbury in Oxfordshire. It is an old brewery that dates back to 1872 and still retains much of its old equipment ~ it even still uses a steam engine as its source of power. It was founded by John Harris, a maltster and farmer, and was extended in 1896 to a 6 storey tower brewery that is still used toady. The brewery has 42 pubs of its own and also supplies beer to over 300 other outlets nationwide.
Other Hook Norton brews you may encounter include Old Hooky (4.6% ABV), Generation (4% ABV) and Best Mild (3%). All of their beers tend to be brewed using Maris Otter malt, English Challenger, Goldings and Fuggles hops. All brewing takes place using water from a well found beneath the brewery.
Double Stout weighs in at 4.8% ABV and is brewed using Pale Ale, Brown and Black Malts, as well as the customary mix of other ingredients. It doesn't bear much resemblance to Guinness or Murphys because it isn't as black, thick or creamy, but it is certainly a stout! Looks wise, it is a very dark brown colour with a hint of redness. The head is a light cream hue and is pretty long lasting ~ although not as thick as the head on a Guinness; it clings well to the side of the glass throughout the pint.
The texture, of both the head and main body of the beer, is slightly on the fizzy side, but is still full-bodied and rich enough to retain the style of a stout. We all actually agreed that if we hadn't smelt or tasted it reminded us of a pint of cola!
The aroma of Double Stout is predominantly that of the roasted malt with hints of hoppiness. It isn't particularly complex brew in terms of taste or flavour, but it is pleasant and has enough smell and taste to make it interesting to drink.
Taste wise, it is quite dry on the palate and also is dominated by the roast malt. This gives it rather a nice nutty flavour that combines nicely with elements of wheat, hops and dark chocolate. I could taste a little bit of what I can only describe as black treacle (probably from the roasting of the black malt), but it was the chocolate and nuts that I found particularly yummy.
The aftertaste is quite hoppy and the finish contains hints of malt and chocolate; despite the slight dryness it is actually surprisingly refreshing and extremely easy to drink ~ at 4.8% you must bear this in mind and don't go too mad!
The whole drinking experience is a thoroughly pleasant one. Double Stout does have an intense flavour and does have some of the characteristic "burnt" taste that you get from Guinness or Murphys, but not to the same degree. It is lighter and as such it is probably a good stout to try if you haven't tried one before ~ sort of a "starter stout" (LOL)!
The flavours, although not as complex as some other beers, are pretty strong and full of character. I don't think it would be a good choice to drink with a meal, unless you go for an equally robust food, like a rich steak pie or some game. It would probably overpower any lighter foods and probably wouldn't taste as nice either.
We drank two pints each of Double Stout and paid the bargain price of £1.39 for each one ~ the wonderful current price for a Guest Beer in a Wetherspoons (not sure how long it will stay THAT cheap ~ it will soon be back up to £1.60ish)! It's also currently one of their "Try Before You Buy" beers; so you can have a taste and if you don't like it you've lost nothing ~ BARGAIN! It's also available in 500ml bottles, but I haven't tried that option yet.
All in all it's an unusual but extremely drinkable stout that could make a good mid-strength session ale. It may not the complexity of some beers, but it is tasty and another good offering from the Hook Norton Brewery!
~~~Brewery Details.
Hook Norton Brewery Co Ltd Brewery Lane Hook Norton Banbury Oxfordshire OX15 5XY Tel : 01608 737210 Web site : www.hook-norton-brewery.co.uk
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