Visiting the Kernel brewery in Bermondsey, the Grand Cru of the UK beer scene
Website: https://www.thekernelbrewery.com/index.php
For a while, I ran a beer blog, with Daniel Primack. It was quite fun, even if it didn’t really catch on. It was during a period where I developed a geeky interest in beer. I’ve kind of mothballed that interest a bit, although I still really enjoy beer. During this period I fell in love with one brewery in particular. It was The Kernel Brewery, based in Bermondsey.
These were amazing beers with something very different about them. And still, when I see a Kernel beer on the list at a restaurant, I’m often going to try it. And if I see one at retail, I’ll buy it.
Today I visited the tap room for the first time. I don’t know if tap room is the right term, but this is where you come to drink these amazing beers, and it opened in August last year. It’s a fun venue in Bermondsey, just a stone’s throw from all the railway arches where many of the UK’s leading craft breweries started out.
They have a kitchen residency with Yagi Izakaya, serving Japanese inspired comfort food. We tried a couple of the dishes, and they were quite brilliant, and very fairly priced. Pictured below: Japanese style fried chicken with miso aoili.
On a Saturday afternoon, it was busy, but there were no bar queues, and we found somewhere to sit easily, at a big communal table. The buzz was lovely, and strangers talked to us, but not in a strange way. And as it had started raining heavily, we stayed for ages and tried half a dozen different beers.
Alas many in the UK still have an obsession with pints, but these aren’t really beers to drink by the pint. Unless you insist on the pint, you get the beer served in beautiful glasses that take 2/3 pint full, or you can have 1/2 or 1/3 in the same glass.
The selection of beers is wide and everything is good. This is craft beer at its best. My favourites are what I think the Kernel does best: the smashable table beer, the pale ales (with different hops), and the IPAs (two different ones were being served). Most beers are keg, but there are two that are served from cask, and these are really good. But the strength of the Kernel is doing things the new craft beer way, not cask conditioned. Also, a big shout out for the stouts and porters, which are strong, powerful and delicious.
There’s something special about this place. The prices are remarkably low considering the quality of the beers. A destination for any beer lover.
