The Kernel Brewery was founded in 2009 by Evin O'Riordain in
Bermondsey
Bermondsey () is a district in southeast London, part of the London Borough of Southwark, England, southeast of Charing Cross. To the west of Bermondsey lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe and Deptford, to the south Walworth and Peckham, a ...
, England. It was one of
London's first
craft brewers
Craft beer is a beer that has been made by craft breweries. They produce smaller amounts of beer, typically less than large breweries, and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as having an emphasis o ...
, and within 10 years it had helped inspire
the establishment of around a hundred new microbreweries in the capital. The original 6.5
hectolitre
The litre (international spelling) or liter (American English spelling) (SI symbols L and l, other symbol used: ℓ) is a metric unit of volume. It is equal to 1 cubic decimetre (dm3), 1000 cubic centimetres (cm3) or 0.001 cubic metre (m3). ...
brewhouse on Druid Street was replaced in 2012 by a 32hl plant on Dockley Road in the
Spa Terminus
Spa Road railway station in Bermondsey, south-east London, was the original terminus of the capital's first railway, the London and Greenwich Railway (L&GR).
It was also the first railway terminus in what is now Greater London. First opened in ...
railway arches.
The brewery's ethos strongly favours quality over quantity, with quality control being at the heart of the operation. Around 90 percent of the beer Kernel produces is sold in London. O'Riordain says that "the demand is way higher than anything we can produce, it’s far beyond our capacity."
Kernel avoids unnecessary experimentation, with each brew being an intentional evolution of the previous batch. The
hop types used are constantly changing in line with availability and the varying characteristics of each year's crop.
[The Hop Review. ''AN INTERVIEW WITH LONDON BEER PIONEER THE KERNEL.'']
Retrieved 1 March 2020
The brewery produces a wide range of
beer style
Beer styles differentiate and categorise beers by colour, flavour, strength, ingredients, production method, recipe, history, or origin.
The modern concept of beer styles is largely based on the work of writer Michael Jackson in his 1977 book ...
s, from American-inspired pale ales and IPAs to sours and traditional London porters and stouts.
"Table Beer" was first brewed in 2012, and has grown to be one of the company's most popular beers. The 3 percent abv
pale ale
Pale ale is a golden to amber coloured beer style brewed with pale malt. The term first appeared around 1703 for beers made from malts dried with high-carbon coke, which resulted in a lighter colour than other beers popular at that time. Diff ...
is brewed weekly, and is influenced by the British tradition of
cask conditioned beers.
Pellicle. ''A Series of Fortunate Events — How The Kernel Brewery’s Table Beer Came Into Being.''
Retrieved 1 March 2020
References
{{reflist
External links
Great British Chefs. ''Beer Fridays: The Kernel brewery.''
Bloomberg.com. ''This U.K. Brewery Is the Perfect Mix of U.S. and British Craft Styles.''
Beer Travelist. ''Quality or Quantity, A Choice You Have to Make — Dropping By The Kernel Brewery in London, England.''
Good Food Revolution. ''The Kernel Brewery.''
Breweries in London