Hoptimus Prime (330ml, 6.5% ABV)

As well as a stable of four regular beers, Fallen Acorn are also brew up experiments as part of their ‘Nutty’ range, which currently consists of no fewer than eight beers. Some of these are pretty wild (fancy a tangerine infused weissbier or a rye beer made with Rooibos tea?). Some of them, like Hoptimus Prime, are more traditional but saddled with a groan-inducing pun for a name.

As befits an experiment, there is no fancy marketing here, just a plain brown bottle sporting a cardboard label held on with a piece of string. But the proof of the pudding is in the tasting, right?

It’s a pale yellow beer. The aroma is very boozy and hop-forward, with copious quantities of grapefruit and mango. American hops, no doubt.

And those hops aren’t lost on the tongue – they burst with fresh vitality and an intense, delicious bitterness. It’s not all hops though, the alcohol (and it seems like even more than 6.5%) provides a rich body to complement all the fruit. It’s a beer that’s firing on all cylinders.

THoptimus Primehe finish is very long and juicy, which means you can make even a modest 330ml bottle last a long time. This is a very fine example of an American IPA.

On the basis of their beers so far, the transformation of the Oakleaf brewery into Fallen Acorn seems to be going just fine.

Written by Richard Salsbury

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