The Kernel

A few weeks ago I blogged about some lovely beers from The Kernel. One of the beers we had, although delicious, was a bit too lively on opening and some beer was lost as it spilled over the rim of the bottle. Following this, Evin from The Kernel contacted me to explain why this had happened and then sent a few complementary beers. Not necessary, but much appreciated. I recently read Bob Arnott's blogpost after a similar experience from The Kernel. My feeling is that The Kernel's passion for their products shines through as they clearly want to ensure their customers get the best experience from their products, and will lead me to buy their beer again and again. A couple of bottles were drunk late one night following Baildon Beer Festival, some of the others we had this evening.

121: CSCS, The Kernel, 5.1%
Smells sweet like pineapple, overripe mango, with a slight tartness. A bitter beer, it tastes as it smells, although slightly more subtle. Very lightly carbonated. Delicious. The hops, I believe are Citra Simcoe Cascade and Stella. There is clearly a great art to mixing hops and making a recipe that blends as well as this.

122: Chinook, The Kernel, 5.4%
Smell is more subtle, fruity and sweet. Also some sharpness in the smell. Tastes of malt, with fruity hops coming through as well. Again very lightly carbonated. Slightly nutty taste... walnut maybe, complimenting the bitterness.


123: Galaxy India Pale Ale, The Kernel, 7.2%
Fruity smell, but mixed fruit not clearly tropical. All three of these beers are so different from each other, but also share some qualities. This is much stronger, but more rounded in flavour. A hint of nuttiness in there too.

124: India Pale Ale Black V, The Kernel, 7.2%
My first black IPA. A hoppy, fruity, delicious mix, with slightly more malt than other IPAs. Definitely darker in colour, but the taste is very similar.

My conclusion? Beer from The Kernel is awesome. That, I'd decided weeks ago. These beers, and their quest for delivering a high quality product has cemented my opinion. Try some.

North Bar Turns 15

Yesterday saw an impromptu visit to North Bar, Leeds, during their 15th Birthday Celebrations. I don't visit Leeds city centre as much as I'd like, living in suburbia in Bradford, for two of us to get to Leeds, it is £17.50 on public transport. Makes for an expensive night out. However, couldn't let the opportunity to try a huge array of fantastic beers, many of which would be hard to come across again. Despite sharing thirds with my lovely other half, I enjoyed myself a little too much. The day was like a beer festival on overdrive. Each of the beers a treat, even those that weren't for me, I was glad to try.

Had 14 of 16 beers (had tried Flying Dog Kujo before, and another appears to have passed me by). Tasting notes are somewhat lacking, and probably quite inaccurate. Needless to say, I got 14 ticks last night, for more details see North Bar's website.

94: S.C.C.A.N.S IIPA, The Kernel, 10.1%
Tropical fruit, as per many of Kernel's offerings. Incredibly bitter. A big treat to have this on draft.

95: Everything in Its Right Place, BrewDog, 6.5%

96: Beer Camp Solar Storm, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., 5.8%

97: North Pale Ale, Rooster's, 4%

98: Pilsner, Lindeboom, 5%

99: General Sherman, Thornbridge/North Bar, 8.3%

100: Wildeman Farmhouse IPA, Flying Dog Brewery, 7.5%

Similar to Saison Dupont, but more punchy and vibrant. Banana, refreshing, sparkling, delicious.

101: Little Jim (aged), Marble, 6.9%

My first beer from Marble, a lovely smooth, toffee, really tasty yummy beer.

102: Bourbon Barrel Bearded Lady, Magic Rock, 10.5%
Really really yum.

103: Milk Stout, Odell, abv unknown

104: Beer Geek Breakfast, Mikkeller, 7.5%

105: Kolsch, Gaffel, 4.8%

A couple still for me to mull over:

106: Oak Aged Sunturnbrew, Nøgne Ø, 11%

An incredibly dark beer. Too intense for me. To my taste, it reminded me of burnt rubber, which I think was the oak. Definitely a thinker!

107: Gueuze, Cantillon, 5%

The sourest beer I've ever had. I'm not a big fan of sour, be it in drinks or sweets. Interesting to experience, but not for me.

All in all, a success, and as ever a treat to visit North. Certainly a learning curve for a newbie! Happy Birthday North Bar! When you turn 20, I might have to spread the joy over 2 days... 

Baildon Beer Festival and Beyond

Spent last night at Baildon Beer Festival at the Cricket Club. Between myself, Mr T and Mr T Sr, we sampled the whole menu. There were a couple that genuinely smelt of pig muck, one that had a hint of cigarette ash. But on the whole they had a selection of really really good beers. Came home and drank some bottles afterwards. Consequently, inebriation ensued and a haze has clouded the night, so what follows is a pictureless concise post.

74: Bitter Californian, Bristol Beer Factory, 4.5%
Not as bitter as expected, but a nice beer, especially to start.

75: Revelation, Dark Star, 5.7%
Possibly best of the festival. Hoppy, light, tasty, delicious.

76: Black Rye, Saltaire Brewery, 4.4%
Never had a rye beer, dark, but without being heavy. Hints of typical dark beer flavours, but also a bit hoppy.

77: 1872 Porter, Elland Brewery, 6.5%
Porters are my favourite. For today. Yum.

78: Stouterspace, Foxfield, 5%
Forgotten... not particularly special.

79: Jaipur, Thornbridge, 5.9%
Expected this to be good, it was. Hoppy, full of flavour. Delicious.

80: High Wire, Magic Rock, 5.5%
Have already had this beer in my ticking challenge, but had it in a bottle not on keg. Bottle may have been better due to this being served without carbonation as beer festival style, but still really good.

Got a taxi home.

81: Bohemia Regent, Regent Brewery, 4.4%
Dark lager, new style for me. Was drinkable. Don't feel passionate about it.

82: Vitesse Noir, Hardknott, 11%
Ahhhhhhhhhhhh.........

83: India Pale Ale Citra, The Kernel, 7.3%
Love IPA. Love Citra. Perfect.

84: India Pale Ale Stella, The Kernel, 7.5%
Perfecter.

Bottles from The Kernel were replacement bottles, sent free of charge. Thanks Kernel.

Hops, Hops, and more Hops

Jubilee weekend. A long bank holiday. Perfect excuse for celebrating and cracking open some exciting bottles of beer that have been sat in the cupboard, gently whispering "open me!" every time I venture into the kitchen. Myself, Mr. T and Mr T. Snr., spent en evening with Kernel and Mikkeller, and some lovely matured cheddar for palate cleansing (yes, was trying to be a bit sophisticated!). What an evening!

59: Export India Porter Columbus, The Kernel, 6.3%
Lost quite a lot of the beer as it bubbled over the top of the bottle on opening. First impressions were confusion. In my experience (vastly limited as it may be) porters are not usually hoppy, and yet the aroma coming off this beer was very hoppy, with just a touch of caramel. To taste, it is caramel, malty and bitter orange chocolate. Hints of coffee and a dark depth of flavour. Did something strange to my teeth... made them a bit fuzzy and squeaky. Odd. This beer was more what I would would expect from a porter, and done very well. This is what I imagined a Black IPA would taste like, and a whole new type of beer for me.

60: Nelson Sauvin Pale Ale, The Kernel, 5.5%
Lovely lovely smells. Peachy passion fruit. A little motor oily weirdly. Just before you take a sip you breathe in the smell again and it's yum yum yum. Flat, not fizzy. A very dry bitterness. Tastes just as it smells with a little bit of pine. My favourite part of the beer was that moment, just before taking a sip where you breathe in the aromas. Beautiful.

61: S.C.C.A.NS, The Kernel, 6.9%
Brewed with five types of hop, including Nelson Sauvin again. A stronger abv than the Nelson Sauvin Pale Ale, but a familiar similar smell. A bit fresher and less oily perhaps, but definitely similar. Peachy, fruits and tang. Tasted of peach and was crisp and bitter, and definitely there was tangyness. Slight malty sweet finish. I felt that the extra hops added flavour, and complimented each other.

62: Green Gold, Mikkeller, 7.0%
Smells a bit boozey, port or sherry, and slightly unnatural. Some red apples, a bit sweet and sharp. Tastes biscuity, and sweet followed by bitter. An IPA, and the most unique IPA I've had. Not sure about it to be entirely honest.

63: 10, Mikkeller, 6.9%
An IPA brewed with 10 different hop varieties. To date, my record is 5 I think. A complex tangy smell, but well balanced and pleasant. Very difficult to pick out flavours though because there are so many there that they meld together, the most stand out was of light orange. Crisp taste. Very bitter initially. Clearly it's very skilful to successfully mix 10 hops into one beer, and make them work. Very difficult to pull out any flavours, but maybe that isn't the point, maybe it ought to be celebrated as a whole and not to be picked apart and analysed. For my amateur palate, I think single hop IPAs still are leading my preferences of taste, despite enjoying this bottle. I'd rather have the simplicity at the moment. Maybe more distinguished palates will feel differently.

64: 19, Mikkeller, 6.8%
Just to be sure, the 19 hop IPA next. Concerned that this will really be too much. A really fruity smell. Fresh crisp, light smell. Again, aroma blends together really well. The taste, lovely. Really really lovely. Can't pick apart flavours, just know that it is beautiful. I take it back. 19 hops are certainly better than 10.