The first commercial brewery to open in Hackney since the 19th Century, London Fields Brewery was launched in the summer of 2011. Following a sequence of legal issues surrounding co-founder Jules De Vere Whiteway-Wilkinson, the brewery was acquired by Carlsberg in 2017, purchased in a joint venture with Brooklyn Brewery, with which the Danish company signed a UK distribution deal in 2016. Currently brewed at Truman’s Brewery in east London, the Carlsberg/Brooklyn takeover plans to return the brewing process to London Fields Brewery’s original site, having launched its first ever range of canned beers last year, each embellished with psychedelic illustrations from Luke McLean, having previously collaborated with bands such as U2, Motörhead and The Horrors.
From the brewery’s core portfolio, ‘Hackney Hopster’ is a pale ale brewed with Motueka and Nelson Sauvin hops from New Zealand. On pour, the beer is pale gold, capped with a white head. On the nose, a malty backdrop is teamed with aromas of orange, lemon and pink grapefruit zest, grass, straw, slight pine and some mildly soapy floral notes. Citrus hints continue on the palate alongside a feint whisper of pineapple and resinous pine, complete with a crispy, light-medium body with relatively low carbonation and slight sherbet notes which open up the soft bitter finish. A fresh, highly quaffable pale ale.
London Fields Brewery Hackney Hopster is available from Ocado, £1.80, 330ml can. Further information on London Fields Brewery can be found here.
RELATED
Beer of the Week: Fourpure x Tiny Rebel Daintree Mango Smoothie IPA
