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The Kernel Brewery & Taproom (Brewery)

Beer (sort)Average Score (sort)No. Samples (sort)
Cantillon - Zwanze 2014Exceptional1
Kernel (The Kernel) - India Pale Ale - Black: Chinook Citra Columbus SimcoeExceptional1
Kernel (The Kernel) - India Pale Ale - Citra & AmarilloExceptional1
Kernel (The Kernel) - India Pale Ale - Ella Citra Amarillo SimcoeExcellent1
Kernel (The Kernel) - NZ PilsnerExcellent1
Kernel (The Kernel) - Pale Ale – Southern & NZ CascadeExcellent1
Cantillon - Lou Pepe Kriek 2014Excellent1
Kernel (The Kernel) - Pale Ale – Tomahawk Simcoe CentennialExcellent1
Kernel (The Kernel) - Pale Ale - Cascade Mandarina BavariaExcellent1
Kernel (The Kernel) - Pale Ale - Amarillo CascadeExcellent1
Kernel (The Kernel) - Damson SourExcellent1
Kernel (The Kernel) - IPA Stella Motueka CentennialExcellent1
Kernel (The Kernel) - Pale Ale - Columbus CitraExcellent1
Kernel (The Kernel) - Export India Porter- Hallertau BlancExcellent1
Kernel (The Kernel) - Pale Ale - Mosaic ZeusExcellent1
Kernel (The Kernel) - Pale Ale - ACTSExcellent1
Magic Rock - Brett Great AlphonsoGood1
Kernel (The Kernel) - Saison Oak-AgedGood1
Picture 1. The Kernel Brewery & Taproom, Bermondsey, Central London
Picture 2. The Kernel Brewery & Taproom, Bermondsey, Central London
Stephen Harris

Visits Details

03 Jan 2020 (Stephen Harris)
We join a steady stream of beer hunters making their way here in the early evening. Great to once again have the chance to drink beers from The Kernel at source.
BeerABVScoreNotes
Kernel (The Kernel) - India Pale Ale - Black: Chinook Citra Columbus Simcoe7.40ExceptionalFrom key-keg. This is superb and already sets the standard to beat for beer of 2020. It has everything that makes Black IPA my favourite beer style.
Kernel (The Kernel) - Export India Porter- Hallertau Blanc6.30ExcellentFrom key-keg. Another superb Kernel beer.
08 Aug 2015 (Stephen Harris)
Something of a farewell visit for me. The Kernel have decided to stop on-sales here at the brewery from early September and concentrate on off-sales only. This is because the place just cannot cope with the huge number of people who come here on a Saturday to drink – truly a victim of its own success. True to form, it is already crowded at 11am.
BeerABVScoreNotes
Kernel (The Kernel) - Pale Ale - Cascade Mandarina Bavaria5.30ExcellentFrom key-keg. The usual Kernel loveliness.
22 Nov 2014 (Stephen Harris)
The bar here opens at 9am on Saturdays, and it was already pretty full when I arrived at about 11 on a rainy Saturday morning. Some CAMRA folks from Yorkshire planning their assault on the Bermondsey Beer Mile, plus I chatted to some beer enthusiasts from Sweden.
BeerABVScoreNotes
Kernel (The Kernel) - Pale Ale – Southern & NZ Cascade5.40ExcellentOn key-keg dispense. Cloudy yellow/gold in colour. Hoppy and very bitter.
18 Oct 2014 (Stephen Harris)
It was already busy here at around noon when a large party of CAMRA folk from Bath arrived for their first call on the Bermondsey Beer Mile. Pleased to see amongst them Brewer John, formerly proprietor of North Cotswold Brewery and now of Three Daggers; we had 18 months of news to catch up on. Seven beers available on tap, plus numerous bottles.
BeerABVScoreNotes
Kernel (The Kernel) - Pale Ale - Mosaic Zeus5.30ExcellentOn ‘keg’ dispense. The secret with these unfiltered and unpasteurised beers from The Kernel is to catch them fresh – and they don’t come much fresher than here at the brewery.
Kernel (The Kernel) - India Pale Ale - Ella Citra Amarillo Simcoe6.70ExcellentOn ‘keg’ dispense. Lush, hoppy beer that went well with breakfast croissants.
20 Sep 2014 (Stephen Harris)
I’m afraid that I have been a bit slow to write up this great evening. 100 ticket holders present for the tapping of a keg of Cantillon Zwanze (one of only two to reach the shores of Blighty – the other to the Dove in Hackney – and one of 56 simultaneous tappings in 16 countries). There is a supporting cast of six special keg and one special cask sour beers. Jolly times for an eager crowd.
BeerABVScoreNotes
Cantillon - Zwanze 20145.00ExceptionalA fantastically complex beer. It is a three year-matured Iris Grand Cru, dry-hopped with Bramling Cross, blended with Lou Pepe Kriek and Fou’foune apricot lambic, and with the addition of new season cherries. Absolutely marvellous.
Cantillon - Lou Pepe Kriek 20145.00ExcellentFabulous Kriek – possibly the best there is.
Kernel (The Kernel) - Damson Sour3.50ExcellentA rare cask beer from The Kernel. Deep reddish purple, sour, fruity and lovely.
Magic Rock - Brett Great Alphonso5.60GoodOn keg dispense, an 18 month barrel-aged version. Great flavours, but just occasionally the yeast came across a little medicinal I thought.
07 Jun 2014 (Stephen Harris)
With Saturday football fixtures having dried up in England for a few weeks, I find myself able to take a stroll along some of the stops on the increasingly famous Bermondsey Beer Mile, inevitably starting here. The seating area already full to capacity at 11:45am. Eight key keg beers and numerous bottles to choose from.
BeerABVScoreNotes
Kernel (The Kernel) - India Pale Ale - Citra & Amarillo6.90ExceptionalOn key keg. Golden and hazy. Strong and packing a big, luscious, hop punch. A near perfect start to the day.
01 Mar 2014 (Stephen Harris)
It looks like it’s going to be a busy Saturday on the increasingly popular Bermondsey Beer Mile, and there are quite a few people here ahead of me at 10:45am. There are 8 different beers available on key-keg, and a wide range of bottles.
BeerABVScoreNotes
Kernel (The Kernel) - IPA Stella Motueka Centennial7.00ExcellentA cloudy orangey colour. Heavy with hops.
08 Feb 2014 (Stephen Harris)
A mid-morning visit. Robert and I both have time for a bit of a saunter along the Bermondsey Beer Mile before heading off to our football games. The bar has been enlarged since I was last here, with 8 beers available on tap and a wide range from bottle.
BeerABVScoreNotes
Kernel (The Kernel) - Pale Ale – Tomahawk Simcoe Centennial5.40ExcellentOn key-keg dispense. Lush, golden, unfiltered hoppiness.
Kernel (The Kernel) - Saison Oak-Aged4.10GoodA tasty, spicy, sour saison – but I wasn’t getting much from the barrel-aging process.
24 Nov 2012 (Stephen Harris)
Early lunchtime visit, by which time there is a already a good crowd in situ. Pleased to see that a lot more in the way of seating has been added since my last visit. Four different keg and around 16 bottled Kernel beers to select from.
BeerABVScoreNotes
Kernel (The Kernel) - Pale Ale - ACTS5.60ExcellentOn keg dispense. Pale gold, crisp, hoppy and juicy. Hopped with Apollo, Topaz, Citra and Simcoe.
Kernel (The Kernel) - NZ Pilsner5.10ExcellentOn keg dispense. Very pale and cloudy. A soft, fresh lager with mellow (no doubt New Zealand) hops.
31 Mar 2012 (Stephen Harris)
A busy first day for the new Kernel operation. I was on the way to watch football at Charlton, so unfortunately could not leave laden down with bottles from the wide range available. I list just the two I tried on-site.
BeerABVScoreNotes
Kernel (The Kernel) - Pale Ale - Amarillo Cascade4.70ExcellentServed from a bottle. Darker than many Kernel pale ales; this is a mellow, hoppy beer.
Kernel (The Kernel) - Pale Ale - Columbus Citra5.00ExcellentServed by keg dispense. Classic Kernel pale, cloudy hoppiness.

About The Kernel Brewery & Taproom

The pub sign. The Kernel Brewery & Taproom, Bermondsey, Central London

Summary of Beer Scores

 Total
Exceptional3
Excellent13
Good2
Acceptable-
Poor-

Website.

The pub is found in Bermondsey, Central London, SE16 3SF.

Opened on 31 March 2012, this is the new and considerably enlarged premises of The Kernel Brewery. It stands on the Dockley Road Industrial Estate, a few minutes’ walk from Bermondsey tube station. Although much more spacious and comfortable than the previous premises, visiting was initially still a somewhat Spartan experience for the drinker. The Kernel beers are unfiltered and served here from the bottle or under a low pressure gas dispense. A victim of its own massive success, for a couple of years the premises was open to the public for off-sales only on Saturdays only. Late 2019 saw the long-anticipated opening of a new and larger taproom alongside the brewery.

We have visited this pub 10 times, seen 18 different beers and tried them all.

Map location

Postcode: SE16 3SF