Monday 23 May 2011

Saturday at the Kernel brewery, Bermondsey

Well, it is a toilet (I decided to hang on)
All hail the Kernel Brewery in Bermondsey! I'd heard this place was good - and their grog is being stocked in the sort of place I never go to because I'm common - but I'm always wary of praise. I can report though, after a successful Saturday mooch, that it is spot on.
With the sun out and people slurping beers sitting on old gym benches in the shadows of the railway line it's an odd but enjoyable environment. It feels like a secret drinking club set in a post apocalypse future. It's probably less fun if it's pissing it down.
You can have a look at their website to see what's currently on offer - when I went it was dark beers mainly. Not my scene man, but I had a bash anyway. And I'm glad I did. 
There were a couple of pale ales on draft so the lad gave us a taste before we got stuck in. It was very nice so we had a couple there and got some bottles to take home. The homesters were IPA Citra (7.2%) and a pale ale called Herkules Centennial (5.3%) - coincidentally that is the exact lettering of the tattoo I have on my back, illustrating a 1:3 ratio picture of the wrestler Kendo Nagasaki's 'game face'. 
The kiddy
I'm no beer expert so really I treat it like wine - I'm after a nice taste, cold and with a good booze content. And as the plan for the day was to put beer where there had been no beer before - both my tum and my fridge - it was a resounding success.
Of the two types of beer taken home, the citra one's the kiddy. Really nice, strong but smooth. Perfect for sipping on a warm day.
It's quite a nice layout up there on Saturdays, when it's open to oiks, with the brewery sharing an arch with someone selling ham and cheese - served up on a plank of wood. And there's a few other gaffs selling stuff too
After that it was a plod round Bermondsey Street before catching the arse end of Borough Market to watch people pay ludicrous amounts for cheese while trying to out-buggy each other, kidwise.
The Kernel Brewery is open to people like you on Saturdays. Visitor entrance is at 1 Ropewalk (just off Millstream Road). The official address is 98 Druid Street, SE1 2HQ. Five minute walk from London Bridge station. http://www.thekernelbrewery.com/

Don't tell me what to do - maybe I want the sediment?

That gas bottle has the evil eye!

Leathermarket Gardens in full bloom

Some weird splodge stuff on the posts holding up the roof on Borough Market 

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