Your new plans for Saturday

Cancel your plans. Drop everything. Whatever it is on your schedule, you can always do it later. Do you not understand how to procrastinate?  Wikipedia defines procrastination as the act of replacing high-priority actions with tasks of lower priority, or doing something from which one derives enjoyment, and thus putting off important tasks to a later time.

So maybe it’s not procrastination after all. Let’s just say that you will derive enjoyment from a visit to The Kernel.  But who is to say that such enjoyment should not be your priority? You owe it to yourself …  you’ve earned it … what would the Kernel do?

Saturday, you need to reward yourself with a visit to The Kernel Brewery in Bermondsey.

The Kernel was undoubtedly the highlight of last weekend’s WDT London Spring Beer Weekend 2012.

Their single hop series of IPAs and double IPAs are outstanding. Bottle aged, with an impressive yeast sediment, these beers have more depth and body than your typical IPA. And consider this this comment is coming from a fan of US west coast IPAs such as Stone, Sculpin and Green Flash … not to mention the Pizza Port brewpubs.

Kernel Double Citra IPA: A Tasty Experiment in Nuclear Fission

The focus on a single hop series of bottle conditioned beers certainly draws comparisons to Mikkeller. The Mikkeller series is great, but while The Kernel does not have nearly as broad of a range (yet), to me they have more of a small batch charm.

During our visit to the Kernel (and other bars that served Kernel beers), we enjoyed their Columbus (taste is more upfront, the GTG says it’s “A shot of malty vanilla followed by a baseball bat of hops”), Galaxy (more of a slow burn on the back of the throat), Nelson Sauvin (fruitier, almost like a hint of white grape), and Chinook (similar to Nelson, but lighter). We also enjoyed stronger double IPAs … the double Citra was like sunshine in a bottle, bright and excellently balanced … a 9.8% strength beer full of flavour … maybe a hint of lemon, vanilla, peach … or quite possibly active nuclear fission, as it seemed to have the power of the sun … and I’ve never tasted nuclear fission before so it’s hard to compare … so let’s just call it brilliant … and glowing. The aged double Centennial was also excellent, if not quite as memorable (or glowing) as the Citra, although it did have quite the yeasty sediment.

Liquid bread

They also had an Export Stout available … smoky and rich … would probably go quite well with the sausages and cheeses available in the market area around The Kernel. However, after the IPAs, it is hard to switch gears to the stout.

The Kernel is open Saturdays from 9am to 3pm. They are surrounded by a market of food vendors, so it’s a great way to spend your Saturday midday, even if you’re not on a liquid diet.  You can find more information at http://thekernelbrewery.com/saturdays.html

In a few weeks time (March 31), The Kernel will be moving to a new location several blocks away. Presently they are about equidistant from London Bridge and Bermondsey tube stops (10 minute walk or so), but the new location looks closer to Bermondsey.

If for some reason you can’t make it out midday Saturday (it is a rather long journey for some of us), try their beers at the Euston Tap (an excellent bar right outside Euston Station) or the Cask Pub & Kitchen in Pimlico.

I’ve got to hand it to the folks at Coast Brewing Company.  They know how to throw a beer festival.

Yes, it was crowded.  (I’m guessing 2,500 people, but I really have no idea.)

Yes, the lines were too long … we waited in line for somewhere between 30 and 45 minutes to get in … and some of the lines at particular brewery tents were just way too long.

But what made up for all that was the number of unique and quality beers available.  This is not your typical beer festival, where craft brewers trot out their core product line.  The allure of this festival is that brewers tend to bring their more unique and experimental offerings.

To give you an idea, I’m including my beer log from Brewvival 2012.

Before we get to the full list, a few highlights:

Weyerbacher Riserva was an outstanding sour American Wild Ale … it reminded me a lot of Oerbier Reserve.

Stone’s Imperial Russian Stout Aged in Bourbon Barrels was delicious, particularly on such a cold windy day.

Funky Buddha’s No Crusts sounded disgusting (liquid peanut butter and jelly), but was delicious.

Holy City’s Imperial Pilsner and Bacon Porter were both fantastic.

I was also reminded of how much I like  Foothills Sexual Chocolate … I wish they had better distribution in my area.

(more…)

Do not attempt if the weather report is not Scorchio!

Let’s face it … the best thing about drinking a Caribbean lager is that you’re in the Caribbean when you’re drinking it.

If you’re on the beach in Barbados, the local Banks beer has a certain appeal.  Sure it tastes a bit like Corona without the lime.  But you didn’t go to Barbados for the beer.

It’s the same reason that you drink Balashi in Aruba.  (Although, admittedly, we did find a very nice Belgian Beer Bar in Aruba when we were there a couple of years ago.)   The sun is hot (Scorchio!), and the cold lager is refreshing.

Today's Weather Report: Scorchio!

I’d have a hard time telling the difference between a Carib in Trinidad & Tobago and a Kalik in the Bahamas.

Amstel Bright (I think it’s brewed in Curaçao, but I encountered it in Aruba) and Medalla Light (Puerto Rico) have such a pale yellow color that … wait … ignore those tasting notes, I think it was cloudy the days I tried those beers.  Or maybe it was at an airport bar … the farther away from a sunny beach, the lower the score.

Somehow, at a beach bar, these nondescript supposed beers, become a fond remembrance of a great vacation.  These memories are the reason that you occasionally stumble and order a Red Stripe later in the evening.  At least Jamaica has a couple of strong stouts for when you tire of the Red Stripe (I like Dragon Stout, but Jamaica Stout is good too).

Antidote for scorchio!

That’s why I was so surprised to taste Wadali beer earlier this year in Antigua!  Maybe the weather was more scorchio than usual.  Or maybe I was dehydrated from too many rum drinks in the sun.  But this was a delicious surprise.  While light and refreshing, there was something of a little extra hop zing in this one that seems to be missing from other island lagers.  And then there’s the smell … I have to admit that there’s a bit of a funky skunky smell that you encounter, especially when you first pop off the cap.  But it’s not so skunky that it scares you off, it actually invites you in.  The funk offers promise that you might actually be drinking a beer … and if you’ve been trapped on a cruise for the past week, that promise is good enough.

(Side note:  Ok … St. John’s Brewers does have some interesting non-lagers in the US Virgin Islands, but every bottle I saw said it was brewed by Shipyard in Maine, so I’m not sure they qualify as Caribbean beers.)

And now, the weather report:

I don’t claim to be an expert on San Diego or West Coast IPAs in general.  I do get to San Francisco once or twice a year, and I am a fan of northern California IPAs such as Lagunitas, Racer 5, and stronger versions such as Pliny The Elder.  In fact, I’m getting thirsty just thinking about it.

Last year around this time, I had my first taste of Sculpin IPA at The Monk’s Kettle in San Fransisco (a bar I highly recommend for lunch or an early happy hour … it’s a little on the small side and crowds up later in the day … just a short walk from the BART stop at 16th & Mission … but I digress).

Sculpin is from Ballast Point Brewery in San Diego, and it’s not a beer that we see in the Southeast US.  I do recall enjoying their Victory At Sea Coffee Vanila Imperial Porter at The Lodge in Hilton Head once, but that was my only previous exposure to Ballast Point.  Sculpin makes a strong case for possibly being the best American style IPA … a near perfect blend of hops.

San Diego is also home to Alesmith, who brews yet another world class IPA.

And in San Diego North County, of course, there’s Stone Brewing.  Ruination IPA is one of my favorite full frontal hop assaults, technically more of an Imperial IPA, although only a little stronger than Sculpin.  And they also have Sublimely Self Righteous, one of the best names for a beer ever, and the second best black IPA … being second only to Stone’s 15th Anniversary brew.

With a few nights in San Diego, I had some additional exploring to do. (more…)