The Kernel sails on almost serenely

He’s very modest so he’d almost be embarrassed if you suggested he possibly runs the UK’s best brewery in the country. Reality is, this might just be the case on certain measures.

My own measurement is whether a brewery releases any duff beers and on my personal calculations The Kernel Brewery does not produce duff beers. It’s therefore always a great pleasure to embarrass Evin O’Riordain, founder of The Kernel Brewery, whenever meeting him at his Arch 7 tap room where you can sample some of these non-duff beers.

My recent visit coincided with that of an architect who was working on the space opposite Arch 7 as Kernel’s tap room is crossing the alleyway and relocating the handful of metres away to a similar-sized space. Evin says the current location was always a “stop-gap” arrangement with the landlord Spa Terminus, who sub-lets the space from ultimate owner The Arch Company, which was extended because of Covid-19.

Despite the change of space the tap room will still be the domain of legendary beer guy Mauritz Borg who has been with the business for five years, according to Evin, who is very proud of the fact there are still six people from the original 18 when the brewery moved to the current site over a decade ago. And two others left in only the past year.

Although he says it is a shame to have to move he is supportive of Spa Terminus who have an objective of ensuring the production of goods continues in the area and it does not become saturated with here-today-gone-tomorrow Instagram-fuelled retailers and hospitality brands. The Tap Room will be replaced by a tenant committed to using the space for production.

“London is expensive and to keep production here is quite hard. We need it to anchor a place otherwise London would just be full of office jobs. We have a bakery next door, a fishmonger and Monmouth Coffee and Neal’s Yard Dairy. The landlord could charge more money for the property [for non-industrial] but this would be short-term,” explains Evin.

The Kernel Brewery has been producing beers on the site next door to Arch 7 for 12 years, having initially set up down the road three years earlier. Having first met Evin back in 2009 when he pulled a couple of brown bottles – an IPA and a stout – out of his bag at the Brew Wharf bar. They looked exactly the same as they do today. No rebranding to see around here.

The output has since gone on to encompass a variety of styles but the constant is the quality. Such has been the high standards that The Kernel has never really had to sell its beers.

“The years before Covid we are maxxed-out [with production] and sold out all our beers. Today, with wars, fear, people not going out, and the cost-of-living crisis we’re running at 10% below maximum production. We’re surviving, getting by, but no money is being saved,” he explains.  This 10% is effectively the company’s profits.

If this is the case for the mighty Kernel then it’s no wonder that many other breweries are in such straitened positions. The drop-off in sales has been noticeable in the pubs and retail outlets that The Kernel supplies, whereas the Tap Room is still a powerful part of the business representing 15% of sales. It is also the “interface with the world”, according to Evin.

Glynn Davis, Editor, Beer Insider

Book Review: ‘Good Honest Tales – 150 years of Batemans Brewery’

Many years ago when my family took me on day trips to Skegness we would sometimes briefly stop on the return journey at a pub that I can recall had Batmans written on its sign. As a youngster this was rather spooky. Only years later did I realise that it had been Batemans that I’d…

Read More »

Beer Travels with Adrian Tierney-Jones

Late Monday morning, and after a walk through the washed out January streets of the Vinohrady district of Prague, past patches of dirty snow and skeletal droppings of ice, it’s early doors at the Vinohradský Pivovar restaurant. Tables are already occupied with diners, including one where a chef in whites looks like he’s studying the…

Read More »

BrewDog’s change in strategy could mean last orders for craft beer drinkers

We’ve not got far into January, and yet we’ve seen even more seismic activity in a craft beer world that was already proving a particularly active category as 2023 came to a conclusion. Amid a disappointing number of failures in the sector came the shocking news that North Brewing Co had gone into administration (and…

Read More »

In search of the craic

Seated at the expansive bar counter of the new Irish Exit bar in Moynihan Train Hall in mid-town Manhattan in New York City, early evening was a joyous experience in what is undoubtedly one of the best station bars or pubs I’ve encountered during my travels. With around 250 covers, it is a pretty extensive…

Read More »

The Breal Deal

Many years ago my parents lived next door to a successful businessman who I befriended – Swiss-born Mario Halbeisen (RIP) who set up Marcrist Industries and who was for a period the sole importer of diamond drill bits into the UK. He made a bit of a killing and like many people with money burning…

Read More »

Q&A with Felix James, co-founder of Small Beer

Before moving ahead with my questions – relating predominantly to low ABV beers – Felix clarified that Small Beer isn’t technically a ‘low ABV’ brewery and brand. The company is championing a ‘new’ category of small beer while acknowledging this style is about a thousand years old. ‘Low alcohol’ describes a beverage of 1.2% and…

Read More »

Sign up for updates

Mailing List Sign up