Saturdays at Kernel Brewery

Kernel Brewery –

I remember how excited my husband and I were when we first discovered the Kernel Brewery beer.  We were walking around what we thought was a fairly quiet, deserted area near our neighborhood, below the railtracks, when we stumbled upon a Saturday market, Matlby Street. See picture below of the Maltby street market I took earlier this year.

Kernel used to be one of the traders at the market, but they’ve since relocated to a new location about a 10 minute walk east of this market.

Where:  Bermondsey area of South London. See map.

Why you should visit:  You should visit here if you appreciate amazing beer and you feel like doing a non-touristy activity on your visit to London.  Breweries in London strangely seem to do well when they’re set up under railway arches (fyi…London Fields Brewery is also under different railway arches, see my previous post on this) – the Kernel location is going to surprise you if you’re not familiar with the area! Seems like you’re walking to a deserted location then you turn a corner and there it is…usually with a nice sized crowd there drinking the beer. It’s cool, and very much authentic London! They know how to make the most of their spaces and using the railway arches for local businesses is a great way to do that.

Overall Comments:  I love the beer and think they truly know how to make great craft beer.  They have many varieties and a lot of rich and full dark varieties as well, which is pleasing (Stout, India porter, India Brown Ale, and more).   I see their beer in many pubs around the city, so it seems they have a good distribution network and Londoners know of them.  From what I understand they’ve been officially brewing for about 3 years.

One change I’d love to see them make is to extend their opening hours – it’s only open from 9am – 3pm every Saturday. Hopefully it’s due to some sort of licensing restriction and not at the owners’ choice. There’s always a good crowd but considering the great quality of the beer, I know they could do more to promote it and give others the opportunity to see that quality.

The atmosphere is casual, comfortable and the beer quality is truly impressive. And it’s a 15 minute walk from my flat. So I will definitely be back there again!!

UPDATE AS OF JANUARY 2013:   Jim and I went back to Kernel this past Saturday and there’s been a few changes. The tap beer selection has increased significantly since last time we visited and they now have approximately 5 beers on tap! I am still most impressed with the quality of the beer, but least impressed by the service we receive when we visit (service speed is fine but enthusiasm & interest in describing the beer selection by the people who serve the beer could be better) and the fact that they are only open until 3pm. I stick to my words in the previous review, but did want to make note of their increase in tap beers available and attach a few more pictures to help you visualize what it’s like!

Here’s the entrance to Kernel Brewery. You definitely have to know where this place is!