The tour was fantastic! Our guide, James, was extremely knowledgeable, and gave the tour at an excellent pace. There was lots of information, and we were never bored during the tour. This is the third country I've toured breweries in, and this was by far the most interesting and unique brewery I've been to. Simply excellent.
we went to Hook Norton brewery because living in New Zealand means that you don't get the real article easily as "lager" would be the most common drink there. You can find bitter but you have to hunt for it. Billed as the oldest functioning Brewery in the UK it appeared to offer an opportunity to taste and learn something. The tour starts with a safety briefing and you can understand once you enter the old buildings, climb the wooden stairs and avoid bumping your head by ducking appropriately why they give it a priority.Its fascinating and you do expect someone to appear wearing a witches hat and hook nose muttering spells and recipes. The discussion in the rooms where the hops and barley are stored would be worth the cost of the tour alone. You are given different varieties of hops to rub between your fingers and smell the fragrance. in the barley room you get different roasted barley's to suck and bite on. A great experience and with the running commentary from a member of staff who is skilled in beer making everything makes sense.Once the tour had finished the best part comes with a tasting of the different ales. Once you get through them all, you know you have had a "sampler" that's for sure. Real fun and memorable. After the tasting, there is a host of souvenirs to choose from their shop. I took 2 cases of "Hooky" with me and spent a few weeks savouring the tour. There is also a pub down the road that does a great lunch and serves Hook Norton beers of course.As you wander and climb up and down between the old wooden floors, you really get a feel for why English Bitter and beer is so very English. Its a real art and is alive and well at Hook Norton
This place was fantastic! Your of the brewery shows you how they used todo things and how they have upgraded over the years. They still deliver by horse drawn carriage! Had fun and the beer tasting was good as well.
So it wouldnt be everyones idea of a company christmas party, but as a starter to the evening it was very pleasant.The atmosphere in the brewery was very jolly and though we were on a tour learning about how Hooky is made, a lot of the staff interacted and were very welcoming.We finished with a tasting session, which was well lead and gave everyone a favorite hooky drink to order in the bar later (not at the brewery, as they closed 5 minutes after we left)
The brewery tour is a great experience. The groups are small enough so that you all see & hear the whole process. Our guide was excellent & very informative. Roger, the Drayman, is quite a character & it is great to "meet" the Shires.The tasting afterwards was very generous & not at all rushed. Plenty of time to test all the types available - not tiny measures either!I am still intrigued that such a small place produces such an amount of beer - fascinating!A great way to spend a couple of hours!
You think you've gone in a timewarp ! Not much changed from later Victorian times. Excellent guide, interesting tour, and good tasting session at the end.
There is so much history to this working brewery so anyone would find it fascinating. .They really took care of my 82 year old father who struggled just a little on the flights of stairs. The suprise is the machinery which is often more than a century old
Area manager thought it would be a good idea to visit this brewery as we work for greene King. The staff were very passionate about the beer and the history of the brewery it was interesting and informative and after the tour you can taste the beer and buy the products to take home at good prices
Tour lasted about 2 hours, and very informative and entertaining even for a non-drinker! Plenty of samples to taste - thank you Monty. Would not be suitable for less able - lots of stairs
Our recent group visit here was excellent - I couldn't recommend it highly enough. The tour guides were very knowledgeable and delivered a presentation which was perfectly pitched for my group of students. The beer tasting was also really good. I can't recommend this highly enough - but make sure you book in advance.