By Hook or by Crook

Still can't grasp the logic of my Oxfordshire local brewers Hook Norton to put their eggs in one big basket with their 'new' beer Lion, which they are obviously promoting ad a national brand to compete with the likes of Doom Bar.

There is nothing wrong with the beer, except that it is out if step with the new trend for very bitter hoppy beers: simply too sweet. One senior management person told me it was intended to wean youngsters off alchopops without noticing that said alchopops virtually no longer exist. And then there is the dumb idea of making the pump clip an African lion, when the original Cotswold Lion (after which the beer was named) is a hilariously hairy sheep!! But I worry most that the brewery name is missing from Lion-branded bar towels.