Haymaker will launch on Thursday, July 2, from 6pm, at various Hook Norton pubs.

The Butchers Arms in Balscote will host the main event, where the North Oxfordshire Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) will present the pub with the Pub of the Year Award.

Customers can enjoy a free taste of the Haymaker Ale at several other locations, including The Butchers Arms, Kings Sutton, The Great Western Arms, Aynho, The Hare & Hounds, Wardington, The Star Inn, Sulgrave, The Bell, Adderbury, The Red Lion, Steeple Aston, The Castle, Oxford, The Elephant & Castle, Bloxham, The Coach & Horses, Shipston-on-Stour, Ye Olde Reine Deer Inn, Banbury, The Fox, Chipping Norton, and The Pear Tree, Hook Norton.

The Haymaker Ale, a strong pale ale, is known for its use of the British hop, Goldings, which gives it a smooth and light fruit taste.

Hook Norton Brewery describes the ale as having a dark bronze appearance, with a fruity and hoppy smell, and a rich, sweet, fruity taste.

The ale has an alcohol content of 5 per cent.

Hook Norton Brewery is encouraging ale lovers to join in the celebration, promising award-winning hospitality and good company.

A lane closure is in place on the A40 near Cutteslowe due to the road works.

A message from Oxon Travel said: “Delays are being experienced on the A40 Northern Bypass Road westbound towards Cutteslowe due to Thames Water roadworks, with a lane closure in place.

READ MORE: A40 speed camera – motorist sentenced for driving 63mph

“Please allow extra time for your journey or consider alternative routes where possible.”

According to One Network, the works are described as utility repair and maintenance works.

According to the AA’s live traffic map, the works are causing delays of around 10 minutes on the westbound carriageway.

The pub, the Slow and Steady in Abingdon Road, was originally called the White House and behind it was the White House ground, where Oxford City played for many years.

City could not generate such large crowds as Oxford United, but they had a strong following of supporters who would cheer on the team in their home matches.

READ MORE: Look inside £3m Victorian home

However, one of the most memorable matches at the ground involved not Oxford City but Oxford Boys.

In 1966, the young team had a great run in the major national competition, the English Schools’ Trophy.

Fundraising for Oxford City FC

In the year that England won the World Cup, the Oxford under-15s fought their way through every round to the final.

They excited thousands of fans throughout the city in their finest season since 1908.

Those in the picture above were among 6,062 who packed into the White House ground to see Oxford defeat Luton 2-1 in an enthralling semi-final.

Led by team manager Michael Hammett, a teacher at Wheatley Park School, they had beaten High Wycombe, Swindon, Woking, Cambridge and Havant in the early rounds.

In the quarter finals, Oxford faced a long trip to Seaham in County Durham, where they triumphed again to earn the right to face Luton.

Everything looked lost when Luton broke away to take the lead early in the second half, but a calmly-taken penalty by skipper Tony Tompkins spurred Oxford into action.

With 10 minutes left, Stephen Whelan scored after the Luton goalkeeper dropped a cross and from then on, Oxford’s superiority was never in doubt.

The final whistle brought a huge roar from the crowd, who filled every side of the ground.

The first leg of the final at Oxford United’s Manor Ground at Headington attracted an even bigger crowd – 9,062.

Sadly, East London proved too strong for Oxford, winning the first game 3-2 and the return leg at Millwall 2-1.

But Oxford were not disgraced. The Oxford Mail, in an editorial, summed up the city’s feelings: “We have a team to be proud of.”

The Oxford Boys that year weren’t the only ones to enjoy playing at the White House ground – the club often welcomed junior sides to play competition matches.

However, all that changed in 1988 when City were evicted by their landlords, Brasenose College, which sold the site for housing.

They were forced to leave the Isthmian League, but after a spell of inactivity, they reformed in 1990 and, based at Cutteslowe Park in North Oxford, joined the South Midlands League, winning promotion in their first season.

There was further joy in 1993 when they moved to their current ground, Court Place Farm, in Marsh Lane, Marston.

The Slow and Steady pub, on the corner of Whitehouse Road, where former Lord Mayor John Tanner held his party (Memory Lane, March 9), is owned by Brasenose College and opened in 1897 as the White House Inn.

It was designed by architect Henry Thomas Hare, whose grandest Oxford building, the Town Hall, was completed the same year.