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london pubs real ale

Fuller’s Hock

Last night, I had a pint of Fuller’s Hock in the Red Lion on Duke of York street in central London. Hock is the seasonal special, apparently, and very nice indeed. It’s great to see a 3.5% dark mild in a normal pub — and selling like hotcakes, too.

Not a bad pub, either.

8 replies on “Fuller’s Hock”

Dammit, where was that one when I was in there the other week with the not-so-good Chiswick… and did you try the Chiswick as well by any chance?

Yes — it was OK, but not as good as when I’ve had it in other Fuller’s pubs.

A lovely beer, Fuller’s Hock. It’s a shame there isn’t enough demand for it to be brewed year round.

I’ve often wondered why it’s called Hock. In Fuller’s brewing records , it’s referred to sometimes as X and sometimes as H (which I guess is short for Hock).

Kristen has brewed the 1910 version and says it’s a cracker.

John Tuck’s Private Brewer’s Guide of 1822 talks (pp141-2) about brewing ale at 27 brewer’s poundsl (1075 OG, I believe), and then says: “This is the longest length I would advice to brew ale, but there is a weaker ale you may call Hock. Take of this three barrels to a quarter” (which would be about 1060-1070, depending on your extract). On the other hand, Michael Combrune’s Theory and Practice of Brewing (1762) talks (p163) about Old Hock made at two quarters “of the palest and best malt” per barrel, somewhere up around 1080 or more OG …

Enjoyed Hock at the London Drinker the other week. Also a big fan of Chiswick (when kept well) but seem to have a knack for missing it by minutes 🙁

Is the name Hock something to do with the wine of the same name…? As in cheap and cheerful?

I think it was £2.50 in the Red Lion, which is not bad for a pub in that location. It’s also nice to drink a beer that really wouldn’t work in bottles — makes you appreciate the whole point of cask conditioning.

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