The Kernel Brewery, Citra IPA

One of the latest Kernel IPAs, singly hopped with Citra. Very strong sherbet nose + caramel orange in colour and hazy. It tasted like Um Bungo/Tropical Squash/Lilt. I recently had a half of the Stone IPA at the Holborn Whippet and this London IPA reminded me a little of that. The bitterness was relatively mild and the alcohol more or less undetectable (as per with Kernel). I drank this after hopped Saison from Partizan so maybe there was an after-effect from the sweetness of the spices in that drink. Never thought I'd say it, but maybe there's too much tropicality in this? Is there more balance needed? More malt? Or is the point of brewing with Citra to go for that über-fruitiness? (There are increasingly too many question marks in my wrote-ups these days ....)

I had another bottle subsequently, and it made a great deal more sense the second time around.

The Kernel Brewery, IPA: Citra, Ahtanum, Galaxy

My tasting notes are pretty sparse for this recent Kernel IPA. Obviously hoppy and fruity thanks to the Ahtanum from Washington, the Aussie Galaxy and Citra hops. As with Kernel's recent Amarillo Pale Ale, I think I noticed the malts a bit more. The same couldn't be said for the 7.3% abv, which was utterly indiscernable. A gentle lacing down the glass and each finish probably had some of that grapefruity bitterness to it (although I've got a feeling I'm making that up to sound more knowledgable).

The Kernel Brewery, Pale Ale: Amarillo

Typically amazing pale ale from Kernel. Brewed with the Amarillo hop. Sweets on the nose, light in texture and very smooth and drinkable. I think I got the sweetness of the malts through on a couple of swigs too. The colour was a "Kernel Yellow" and there was decent lacing down the glass. Not a bitter smasher, but a gentle and mild bitter linger in the finish. Top stuff as per.

The Kernel Brewery, India Brown Ale

Not my cup of tea this one from Kernel. (I had a similar issue with their Export India Porter.) I think it's one of their more permanent beers? Quite clearly an excellent beer, full of strong flavours, but the mix just didn't do it for in the same way that their BIPA did. I took bottle/glass photo in a room with mixed light sources so apologies for the weird colour.

The Kernel Brewery, IPA: Centennial, Topaz, Stella

I think the Kernel made this brew at the end of last year and it's their current IPA. Slightly more amber then Moor's Empire Strikes Back, but still very pale in colour. Typically huge fruity nose although not much of a lingering bitterness. Not too much carbonation, but of course it's extremely hoppy - the bitterness it does produce is the kind that gets the roof of your mouth. I hope I'm not building a tolerance or something to the Kernel IPAs, but this didn't seem to impress quite like previous ones. Nonetheless, this is still a very beautiful and immensely satisfying drink.