Beers Of London Series
4. London Fields Brewery - Delta IPA 6.0%

London Fields Brewery is just over 18 months old but its beers have certainly made an impact. It's fresh grapefruit and lemon tasting pale ale Hackney Hopster, and the caramel and pear drop flavoured red ale Love Not War, first brewed whilst the London Riots raged nearby, have earned rave reviews.I plan to visit their Tap Room soon, but will have to settle for a bottle of Delta IPA this evening.
Part of their single hop series, the Delta hop is a cross between Fuggles and Cascade. It has an aroma of caramel toffee sauce, and woody apple, it's rather delicious. Initially light and soft over the tongue, there's a surprising late kick of sharp citrus to the roof of the mouth that catches you a little by surprise. A crisp basil leaf taste comes first and possibly a little rosemary, but it's very brief, before in crashes some pineapple but that's not there for long either, as it's immediately dislodged by liquid lemon lozenge and sour apple. The finish has sweet and juicy watermelon with dry sherbert fading off into the distance. This is a fine IPA but all the flavours here are slightly muted, as if spread over a damp log. I'm assuming that this is a characteristic of the hop's parentage which is interesting, and as Delta is a relatively new hop (it was first used by Harpoon Brewery in 2010) it isn't much used as yet. That's a shame as I find it rather intriguing.