Beer
Hook Norton launches craft ale for worthy cause
The new product, Two Little Higglets, was named after brothers Harry and Jasper, who were born at 31 weeks in July and spent nine weeks in the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU).
The ale was brewed by the twins’ father, Mark Higgs, licensee at the Castle, Edgehill, Oxfordshire; their uncle, Richard Baker; Jane Wardley, a nurse from the SCBU; and brewer Rob Thomson.
The twins’ mother, Claire, said: “Both boys required lots of medical intervention from birth and after two long and worrying months, our gorgeous little men are now home where they belong.
“Without the outstanding level of care they received during this time they simply would not be where they are today – happy, healthy and thriving 12-week-old babies.”
All sale profits will go towards ‘much needed’ equipment and to help new-borns such as Harry and Jasper.
Worthy cause
The craft ale will be sold in various pubs owned by the brewery to boost donations, including Ye Olde Reindeern Inn in Banbury and the Sun in Hook Norton, both in Oxfordshire, and the Three Conies in Thorpe Mandeville, Northamptonshire.
Bruce Benyon, Hook Norton operations manager, told The Morning Advertiser: “We see our tenants as part of our family and for us to be able to contribute towards a great fundraising effort on behalf of one of our tenants is an absolutely superb thing to be involved in.”
Award-winning
Hook Norton was recently awarded The Good Pub Guide’s Brewery of the Year 2017 award.
This year the Cotswolds-based brewery picked up two silver and three bronze awards at the International Beer Challenge 2016.
Award-winning beers included the dark beer Twelve Days and the golden bitter Hooky.