Hook Norton Brewery facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Hook Norton Brewery

Industry	Alcoholic drink
Founded	1849
Headquarters	Hook Norton, Oxfordshire , United Kingdom
Production output	Beer
Owner	Family-owned
Number of employees	c. 50 (as of 2014)

Hook Norton Brewery is a special place in Hook Norton, Oxfordshire, England, where they make beer. It started way back in 1849. This brewery is a unique 'tower' brewery. This means all the steps of making beer happen from top to bottom. Mixing happens at the top, boiling in the middle, and then the beer ferments at the bottom. Until 2006, amazing steam power ran the whole brewing process! Even today, they still deliver beer around the village using a horse-drawn cart. This is a really cool tradition.

History of the Brewery

The brewery began its journey in 1849 in the village of Hook Norton. For many years, until 2006, steam engines provided the power for making the beer. A fun fact is that beer is still delivered in the village by a cart pulled by horses.

Types of Beer

Hook Norton Brewery makes several different kinds of beer. Here are some of them:

• Brewery Museum

  Visitors can take a tour to see how beer is made. You can even try brewing your own beer in a small brewery there! There is also a museum. It has old tools and items from the brewery's past. It also shows local history displays.

  The Amazing Steam Engine

  

  The steam engine in 2007

  Hook Norton Brewery uses a special steam engine from Buxton & Thornley. This engine has powered most of the machines in the brewery since 1899! It is the last working open-crank stationary steam engine in the whole UK. It is a simple engine with a cylinder, a big wheel called a flywheel, and connecting rods.

  This engine powers a system of shafts and belts. These connect to most of the brewery's machines. Workers can turn different machines on or off using levers. These levers slide drive belts onto or off their wheels.

  Where there are gears in the system, each pair has one iron wheel and one wooden wheel. This is clever! If a machine gets stuck, only a few wooden teeth will break. The brewery's mechanics can then easily replace these wooden teeth. This is much simpler than needing a complicated iron part.

  The steam engine used to power many things, including:

  • Pumps: These moved water and a liquid called "wort" (which is part of the beer-making process). These pumps are next to the engine and are original.
  • The grist mill: This machine crushes malt grains by a very exact amount. This machine is also original from 1899.
  • The mashing and raking equipment: These are used in a large tub called a mash tun.
  • A lift for filled barrels: This lift dates from 1900.
  • The sack hoist: This lifted bags of malt.

  Today, the steam engine only powers the mashing equipment, the mill, and the sack hoist on certain days. The mashing rakes and the barrel lift have been removed.

  Brewery Pubs

  You can find Hook Norton beers in many places. These include supermarkets and shops that sell alcohol. They are also sold in pubs that are not owned by the brewery.

  The brewery also owns 47 pubs, which are called "tied houses." These pubs are spread across a wide area. They reach from Thame in the east to Worcester in the west. They also go from Grove in the south to Napton-on-the-Hill in the north. There are 23 Hook Norton pubs in Oxfordshire. There are nine each in Northamptonshire and Warwickshire. And there are three each in Gloucestershire and Worcestershire.

  

  Hook Norton Brewery's horse-drawn dray at the Harvester in Long Itchington, Warwickshire, during their 2011 beer festival

  Hooky Mild	2.8% ABV Mild ale
  Hooky	3.5% ABV Session bitter
  Lion	4.0% ABV Golden bitter
  Old Hooky	4.6% ABV Best bitter
  Double Stout	4.8% ABV Stout