BEER drinkers can clink their glasses with a free pint at an Oxfordshire brewery which is celebrating the 40th birthday of one of popular county ales.

Hook Norton Brewery will sample their new and old beloved tipples at their ‘Open Tap’ evening on Wednesday, May 10 between 6pm and 9pm.

Celebrating 40 years since it was first brewed, Old Hooky - 4.6 per cent alcohol - will be the star attraction.

Fruity and full bodied people can enjoy free samples and a variety of Old Hooky themed nibbles including Old Hooky Cheese, sausages and pies.

Managing director of the brewery, James Clarke said: “Old Hooky, originally to be called Old Bill after my grandfather, but due to another brewery who shall remain nameless already having a beer of that name, we did the honourable thing and renamed it Old Hooky.

“It has been at the cornerstone of our core range ever since and is a beer we are very proud off, consistently winning awards and compliments. I’d recommend it best enjoyed with a slow roasted lamb, maybe a game pie but certainly with friends.”

Lining up alongside will be its crafty cousin, 168 - 6.8 per cent alcohol - has been made to mark 168 years of brewing at Hook Norton Brewery, in Brewery Lane.

Brewing started on the site in 1849 when John Harris moved into Hook Norton purchasing a farm of 52 acres that included a Malthouse.It is thought that commercial brewing started in 1856. In 2014, the Brewery was awarded £90,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund torepair one of the Grade II listed chimneys.