London’ first permanent hop farm in more than a century has produced its first batch of beer.

Greenwich brewer Meantime created an urban hop farm next to the O2 earlier this year and has now put bottles of its Thames Hop IPA on sale, reflecting the true ‘flavour’ of the capital.

Landscape gardener Kate Lonegran and her team were tasked with transforming a construction site on the Greenwich Meridian Line, opposite Canary Wharf, into an attractive hop farm as part of the brewer’s vision of getting people interested in British brewing.

A total of 48 hop roots were grown in 12 planters and were harvested in September.

The beer was made using the freshly-picked hops, not dried, which gave a grassy aroma which becomes a hoppy taste on the palate with slight bitter notes.

It was brewed in Meantime’s Old Brewery microbrewery in the Old Royal Naval College.

Making the beer truly a product of the capital, the name Thames Hop IPA was decided by Meantime’s Twitter and Facebook followers.

Meantime’s marketing director Rich Myers said: “London is an exciting place to be a brewer right now.

“The variety of ingredients at our disposal is huge and it allows us to pack flavour into our beer. 

“More than ever the public are interested in ingredients and their origins, and our farm has really engaged people to discuss and take interest in how their beer is brewed and the ingredients that are used.”

Go to meantimebrewing.com