The Kernel Brewery

Microbrewery in Bermondsey, Greater London, England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿
Associated with 3 Venues

Established in 2009

Contact
01 Spa Business Park, Spa Road, Bermondsey, SE16 4QT, England
Description
General guidance to members adding beers:-

Kernel beers are largely added as 'series' and the naming within the various series are for example ... 'Pale Ale - Hop(s)'. Capital letter on each hop, no commas.

Kernel beers are largely left unretired so don't tick the 'out of production' box unless it's a special/collaboration beer.

With all the various hop combinations it's not been unknown for a specific beer to re-appear again after an absence of 7 years.

The early beers named as 'sours' were brewed by kettle souring, as such these beers (typically 4% and below) are regarded by the brewer to be more akin to a Berliner Weisse stylistically and are therefore listed as such.

The brewery springs from the need to have more good beer. Beer deserving of a certain attention. Beer that forces you to confront and consider what you are drinking. Upfront hops, lingering bitternesses, warming alcohols, bodies of malt. Lengths and depths of flavour. We make Pale Ales, India Pale Ales and old school London Porters and Stouts towards these ends. Bottled alive, to give them time to grow.

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8.4
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8.5 | Flavor - 8.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

On tap at The Green Goddess, Blackheath Royal Standard. Aromas of mango, sweet citrus, peach & apricot. Taste is a flavoursome mix of sweet citrus & tropical fruits. Oodles of fruit & bitter hops in the close. Tasty.

Tried from Draft at Green Goddess on 13 Dec 2025 at 22:30


6.6
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6.5 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 6.5

Bottle. Kernel advent box. Hazy murked up gold. Very nice swede in the Kernel fashion. Nose has sweet grain. Wheat. Bit of sage. Mint. We’ve got ourselves a savoury affair. Smells like a shelf turd US beer, as in it smells old and a bit sweaty. Definitely some oxidation going on here. Taste is pretty sweet overall. Inevitably bitter. Wow. Wasn’t expecting hard work from this but there you go. Can’t have it always.

Tried from Bottle on 13 Dec 2025 at 20:04


8
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

On tap at The Green Goddess, Blackheath Royal Standard. Nose is chocolate, raisin, cocoa, cola, some dark fruits. Rosty toasty taste of chocolate raisin, cocoa, dark fruits, camp coffee, nuts, touch of smoke. Dry roasty sweet with a lingering bitter edge. Very good indeed.

Tried from Draft at Green Goddess on 13 Dec 2025 at 19:31


7.8
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

Bottle. Kernel advent box. Hazed pale lemon squash colour. Huge swede eventually settles to an egg mere type affair. Nose has lemon peel and juice. Yeasty. Bretty. Mildly spicy and herbaceous. Taste is lean dry and mild bitter. Bright and very crisp with lots of burp inducing foamy carbonation. Dry lemony finish. Good starter beer. Gets the palate livened up.

Tried from Bottle on 13 Dec 2025 at 18:26


7.3
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7.5

Bottle from Cikoko: pours amberish copper with creamy beige head. Aroma is spicy and rye, some maltiness, light citrus. Taste is moderately bitter. Malty. Spicy. Pleasant.

Tried from Draft on 13 Dec 2025 at 03:07


7.9
Appearance - 9 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 8

Bottle. Kernel advent box. Pretty hazy gold. Beaut of a Kernel swede. Nose has pineapple weed. Pineapple flesh. Some ripe strawberry. Maybe some sweet red grape. Taste has a definite sweetness first up with a moderate bitterness. There’s a bit of an astringent thing going off too. Like a fresh hop “greenness”. Whatever it drinks fine with decent body and fine foamy carbonation. Bitter finish builds and lingers. Quite a curious bev overall.

Tried from Bottle on 11 Dec 2025 at 19:31


7.8
Appearance - 9 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 8

Oh fuck off with the losing ratings bollocks for fuck sake.

Tried on 11 Dec 2025 at 18:32


8.3
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8.5 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 9 | Overall - 8

Really soft and delicate, notes of dry bread crust, hay, citrus peel, pine needles. Highly drinkable.

Tried from Cask at The Kernel Taproom (Spa Road) on 10 Dec 2025 at 18:08


7.3
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7

Cask at Mother Arch iii, 10/12/2025
Clear golden to light amber topped with an off white cap that thins to a swirl.
Nose is mellow citric zest, grass, melon, breads.
Taste comprises soft malts, melon, floral whisper, breads, tangerine.
Medium bodied, soft carbonation, semi drying close splashed with mellow hop bitterness.
Tidy cask pale.

Tried on 10 Dec 2025 at 00:00


9
Appearance - 9 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 9 | Overall - 9

Bottle. Waitrose. 5.5%. Instant new contender for best supermarket beer available. Not far off black. Beautiful tan swede. Nose is all charred citrus and bitter earthy ashy well done granary bread malts. Taste has a bitter chocolate sweetness and a good dose of charred grapefruit bitterness. Silky and full on the palate, to the tune of a nitro beer. Lingering moderate bitterness to finish. Holy shit.

Tried from Bottle from Waitrose Supermarket (Various locations) on 04 Dec 2025 at 18:27

gave a cheers!