Marc West raises a glass or two at a family-run brewery that’s using its heritage to create ales for today’s drinkers to enjoy

Britain was once the greatest brewing nation on the planet – and little ol’ Oxford has long been a city built on beer. During 16th century, there was a brewery on almost every corner and many of the University’s colleges produced their own golden amber.

In more recent times, local industry has suffered greatly with the closure of countless public houses and subsequently the collapse of their associated breweries.

However, the last decade or so has seen our city’s passion for the perfect pint rekindled once more - and one local producer is leading the charge across the county…and beyond.

Sitting in the mellow Cotswold landscape, Hook Norton Brewery is a proudly independent and passionate business - that’s been in the same family since 1849.

Taking the very best of their handcrafted brewing heritage and combining it with a modern approach has allowed James Clarke’s fifth generation company to create a range of beers for today’s modern drinkers to enjoy.

Since jumping the pond and sweeping the country over the past two decades, the craft ale phenomenon has established it’s roots in localism, natural ingredients, bolder flavours and artisanal methods.

Small-scale brewing ticks every one of these boxes and thus an explosion in independently run microbreweries producing lovingly created flavour-rich beers has transformed the reputation of the product.

So, not wanting to rest on their award-winning laurels, Hooky has recently opened an in-house facility within their imposing Victorian brew house.

The sights, sounds and smells that embrace you upon arrival evoke a time gone by. This magical corner of Oxfordshire is living history, but one that’s writing the next chapter now.

Upstairs, the building feels alive – it creaks and groans whilst literally breathing steam from every nook and cranny. However, the little brother in the basement is an all-new scaled-down version - a veritable playpen for those who love the mixology of malt, hops, yeast and water (from the nearby well).

Under the masterful eye of brewer Rob Thompson, this is an opportunity in which to research and develop new brews – and they’re inviting real ale fanatics to join them on this free-flowing journey.

Annette Hegerty and Ian Payne from Witney’s Eagle Tavern are marking a quarter century of pulling pints on Corn Street this month and to celebrate they’re making a one-off batch of a unique bespoke brew – with me rolling-up my sleeves at the ungodly hour of 5am to give them a helping hand. Ingredients are stirred manually over time and constantly checked for temperature, consistency and colour – just as it has been for over 150 years.

It’s a relatively straight-forward process (once you know how), but the variables are practically endless – making it more of a subtle art than a science.

In around ten days, Cherry Christmas will be on the dray ready for delivery and Annette and Ian’s customers will be able to enjoy the fruits of their labour.

So far, Crafty Ales have produced the likes of Hop To It, Waterloo 200, Sneaky Fox… and now (to my utter surprise and delight) Snap Shot - a five per cent hoppy ale dedicated to my Oxford Mail photography colleagues and I, which I’m sure we’ll all (responsibly) enjoy a glass or two of over the festive period. But, only I’ll know the effort that has gone into producing every drop, cheers!

Oxford Mail:

Oxford Mail:

A visit to Crafty Ales has got to be the ultimate Christmas present for the man (or woman) who has almost everything. You’ll get to experience the full end-to-end process and take home two firkins (that’s 144 pints in total). For all details visit hooky.co.uk