After three years, Evin decided to expand, moving to a new railway arch and installing a 20-barrel kit. But the move came with a condition: the leaseholders only allowed Kernel to have a tap room alongside the brewery if they agreed to move the tap room to new premises nearby once that building was ready. \u201cThat took 13 years<\/em>,\u201d Evin said with a wry smile. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t until January 2024 that we moved in and it took us some time to make it habitable; we opened in August that year<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The new tap room is modern and clean; not your usual tap room but welcoming all the same. Evin explained, \u201cThe tap room provides a useful showcase for our beers. Although the brewery and the old tap room are only around the corner, most people didn\u2019t know we were there. As part of our licence, we had to have a kitchen and Yagi Zakaya runs that side of the business. That has helped us attract a mixed audience<\/em>.\u201d The opening wasn\u2019t without obstacles, however, because local residents were concerned that the tap room would be an extension of the \u2018Bermondsey Mile\u2019. \u201cWe had to reassure them that wouldn\u2019t be the case. Shutting at 10pm each night also helped<\/em>,\u201d Evin said.<\/p>\n\n\n The tap room accounts for 8% of Kernel\u2019s sales; the rest is through pubs. Keg has played a bigger part, particularly since they moved into the new tap room, but there are always two cask beers available. Bottles account for 35% of their total sales. When asked about bottles versus cans, Evin explained that there were a number of reasons why they continue to use bottles. \u201cWe bought the bottling line about nine years ago and at that time there were fewer options and there wasn\u2019t a canning line of the same quality as a bottling line for a brewery of our size. We have looked at it from a carbon footfall point of view and there isn\u2019t much difference. We have no way of knowing if the aluminium comes from the Far East or Poland. Also, the problem with cans is that it is hard to pour to allow for the sediment; all of our beers are bottled conditioned<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kernel\u2019s beers are forever changing. The demand might be for a pale ale but the brewer will decide on what hops to use; they see no need for each beer to taste the same as the last batch, as with many breweries. This allows the brewer the freedom to experiment and constantly improve the recipes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are 18 staff, of whom eight work in the brewery. Evin explained, \u201cEveryone who works in packaging will also brew from time to time. This allows us to cover for sickness and holidays and it keeps them interested. I still brew occasionally, about every two weeks. I have just brewed our annual collaboration with Redemption, Victorian Mild. We also do the odd collab with Burning Sky<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Evin said he has no plans to grow further. \u201cWith this number of staff, I know everyone personally and they are given the authority to make decisions and to take pride in the quality. We aim for a good environment to work in, showing respect to everyone. This helps create a culture where everyone cares; holding true to what we believe in<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n When asked what makes Kernel different from other breweries, Evin replied, \u201cWe are still here after sixteen years. The market hasn\u2019t really still recovered post Covid and both pubs and drinkers are finding it difficult but we didn\u2019t set up Kernel to sell up, like some other breweries<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, it is likely that Kernel will be around for a while yet. With the brewery recently winning a Silver award in the CAMRA London & South East Champion Bottled Beer of Britain competition for their Table Beer and Bronze in the National Champion Bottled Beer of Britain with their Imperial Brown Stout, it\u2019s clear that Evin\u2019s commitment to quality beer continues to pay dividends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The London Tasting Panel notes from the visit can be found on CAMRA\u2019s Regional website: www.london.camra.org.uk<\/em><\/a>. If you are interested in joining the panel, details of the next training course can be found at https:\/\/tckty.camra.org.uk\/e\/435\/taste-training<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Christine Cryne<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Evin O\u2019Riordan is a softly spoken enigma. He was born in New York State and grew up in Ireland. He studied Russian and history at degree level before moving to… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":5855,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-brewery-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5854","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5854"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5854\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5856,"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5854\/revisions\/5856"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5855"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image-2.png\")