Beer Guide to the 1970s (part seventeen)

It's back to the 1970s again. With another three breweries. At least one of this set is still open. And a cracking example of a traditional English brewery it is.

I was very sad when Home Ales sold up and then closed. Personally, I would have put money on it being a survivor, They seemed o have everything well under control. Until they didn't.



Home
Daybrook,
Nottingham.
Founded:    1890
Closed:    1996
Tied houses:    400

The largest of the three Nottingham brewers, Home Ales was a very well-run business. With cheap, reliable beer sold in unpretentious surroundings. Not the most thrilling of beers, but always in good condition. Their downfall was the installation of a new brewhouse. This caused infection problems that they were never able to solve. Their beer went from always being sound to almost always being infected. After a year or two, they sold up to Scottish & Newcastle in 1986.

beer	style	format	OG	description
Bitter	Pale Ale	draught	1038.7	well hopped
Mild	Mild	draught	1036.1	Dark Mild
Five Star	Pale Ale	keg	1047.5	high gravity keg beer
Robin Hood IPA	IPA	bottled	1045	strong Pale Ale
Bendigo	Strong Ale	bottled		strong Ale
Home Brewed	Brown Ale	bottled	1036	Brown Ale
Luncheon Ale	Brown Ale	bottled		A lighter Brown Ale
Home Stout	Stout	bottled	1037	Sweet Stout

Hook Norton
Hook Norton,
Oxfordshire.
Founded:    1852
Closed:    still open
Tied houses:    34

Owner of a classic Victorian tower brewery, Hook Norton had a small tied estate in close vicinity. With such a small estate, in such a limited area, their beers weren’t easy to find, other than at festivals. Once, while driving down to a gig in London, we stopped in one of their pubs. Well worth the effort.

beer	style	format	OG	description
Best Bitter	Pale Ale	draught	1036	with the smack of hops
Mild	Mild	draught	1032	dark and fruity
Old Hookey	Old Ale	draught	1049
Jack Pot	Pale Ale	bottled	1036	bottled Best Bitter
Hook Ale	Mild	bottled	1032	bottled Mild
Brown Ale	Brown Ale	bottled

Hoskins
Leicester,
Leicestershire.
Founded:    1877
Closed:    2001
Tied houses:    1

A tiny brewery which was based in Leicester, but whose only tied house was in Market Bosworth. They also owned an off-licence and had some free trade. Despite that, their beers were very hard to find. Quite an odd little brewery.

beer	style	format	OG	description
Bitter	Pale Ale	draught	1039	nutty-flavoured
Mild	Mild	draught	1033	dark and nutty
Bitter	Pale Ale	keg	1039
Mild	Mild	keg	1033
Home Brewed	Pale Ale	bottled		A Pale Ale
IPA	IPA	bottled		stronger, bottled Bitter
Strong	Strong Ale	bottled		Strong Dark Ale
Best Mild	Mild	bottled		bottled Mild
Nut Brown	Brown Ale	bottled		a Brown Ale stronger than the Mild