Thames Hop IPA, Meantime

Meantime Brewery in Greenwich, London, has launched a new beer made with hops grown on its urban farm. The farm, based on the banks of the Thames, on the Greenwich Meridian Line, is the first permanent hop farm in London for more than 100 years. The hop variety is the classic English Fuggles.

Earlier this year, Meantime planted a total of 48 hop roots in 12 hand-crafted wooden planters on a site situated next to the O2 and across the river from Canary Wharf. The beer is on sale in selected pubs and restaurants in London and from the brewery's Online Store and from the brewery shop.

Designed by landscape gardener Kate Lonergan and her team, the urban space has been transformed from a construction site to an attractive hop farm as part of Meantime’s ongoing commitment to engage people with the art of British brewing. Thanks to ideal weather conditions over the summer months, the hops flourished and in September the brewery was rewarded with a bumper harvest.

The beer has been made using the freshly picked hops which were added straight up, rather than dried beforehand, to create a fresh hop style beer. Using the hops straight from the bine produces a grassy aroma that gives way to a strong hoppy taste on the palate, with slight bitter notes. 

Meantime called upon their Twitter and Facebook audience to crowd source the name before settling on Thames Hop IPA. The Limited Edition beer brings the IPA story full circle, returning to its London roots where it first achieved fame. 

The beer was brewed at The Old Brewery, Meantime’s microbrewery in the grounds of the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich. 

Following the success of Meantime’s True Brew of London campaign last year – where hops grown by different people around the Capital were used to make a crowd-sourced beer -  Meantime hopes that the farm will get more of the public interested in London’s brewing heritage, as well as with the modern craft beer industry that is thriving across the city.

The pale gold beer has spicy and grassy hops on the aroma with cracker bread malt, tart orange and lemon fruit and a hint of cinnamon. Bitter, spicy hops build in the mouth with tangy fruit and dry biscuit malt. The long, juicy and quenching finish has a good balance of spicy hops, dry malt and tart fruit with a continuing hint of cinnamon.

www.meantimebrewing.com.