Bermondsey beer

My Wife and Daughter went to see Beyoncé  in concert up at White Hart Lane stadium on Thursday evening and it went on until late so I booked a hotel room in town for the night. I didn't go to the concert (not my cup of tea) but I did take the opportunity of a bed in central London for the night to have a wander up the Bermondsey beer mile and tick off a couple of taprooms that I'd never been to before (and some that I had!)

First up I went to The Kernel, somewhere that's been on my bucket list for years (and one of my top breweries of 2022) but never visited and truly hallowed ground! This brewery was one of the first UK based craft brewers and is debatably still one of the best. I wasn't disappointed, the list (above) was epic and varied and although I only tried two of the beers (Pale Ale - Superdelic and the Table Beer) I could tell that this is a place that takes it's ale very seriously indeed. As previously mentioned, there are a lot of new hops around just now and "Superdelic" is one of them, from New Zealand it's a fragrant fruit bomb of a hop, melons, berries and mangos would be how I'd characterise it, a delicious hop and made extremely well by these maestros of malt. In the picture below you can see the unassuming outside of The Kernel taproom, the delights that lurk inside are probably one of the best beer experiences in the country.

Next up, and only a few arches down from The Kernel was "Bianca Road Brew Co.". Not somewhere I'd ever been, in fact I'd never even tried one of their brews before, but it was a nice space and very decent beer!  I hadn't planned to visit but as I was walking past I noticed a couple of guys supping a splendid looking hazy boy and just had to find out what it was.

Above you can see their Amarillo IPA, freshly kegged just a few hours before it was as clean and crisp as you like, bursting with tangerine flavours and looking absolutely stunning. Definitely one to look out for and a nice surprise, I will be back to try more!

Last but by no means least we have Anspach and Hobday, a taproom I'd been to before but a solid favourite. Of course I had to have a pint of the now renowned "London Black" and boy was it looking and tasting good (see below) You have to admit the beer looks stunning, certainly giving the other "Irish" black beer a good run for it's money, a top brewer and a classic beer in the making.

Once back at London Bridge I walked across to the North side of the river and up through the City, Holborn and Bloomsbury to Fitzrovia where we were staying (quite a trek!), a great day out and a confirmed hypothesis, i.e. you can't beat London when the sun is shining!