The Kernel Imperial Brown Stout London 1856

Bottle, draft.

ABV may vary.

based on an old Russian Stout recipe from London’s Barclay Perkins & Co.

657 reviews

Bermondsey, England

Community reviews

4.0 Dark brown, tan head. Moccha, coffe chocolate and licorize. A lot of tobacco and piney dry aftertaste. With jl, sb, db, ah and tb at cardinal.

4.4 On tap at Cardinal, Stavanger. Pours black with beige head. Aroma of coffee, mørk sjokolade, vanilla, roasted notes. Tastes slightly sweet with balancing roasted bitterness. Medium bodied, slightly sweet finish. Very nice, tasty and well balanced.

4.0 Bottle. Pitch black body under a perfect, big, bold, lacing beige head. Aroma of hard roasted malt, coffee, and dark chocolate. Taste is medium sweet, strong dark, nicely roasted malt, coffee, and dark chocolate. God bitterness. Fine balanced body and rather bitter aftertaste. Nice and solid, classic no fuss beer.

3.8 Bottle from the railway arch. Great looking beer. Nice tan head. Very much coffee and chocolate nose. Similar taste but some lasting bitterness. A little milky too. That’s great.

4.0 Aroma of coffee, chocolate and some hints of wood, liquorice and dried fruits. Black with a tan head. Medium + sweet and medium + bitter. Medium to full body with average to soft carbonation. Overall a brilliant Imperial Stout. A lot of bitterness from the roasted malts, but nicely balanced with the sweetness. A rich and warming brew, perfect for the wintertime (and the rest of the year of course, for those of us who loves Imperial Stouts).

4.1 Luke 20 (takk til Hans for denne!): brunsvart med beige cremeskum som varer helt ned. Herlig duft og smak av mørkrøstede malter, nytrukket luxuskaffe, 70%-sjokolader og mørke karamallsjokolader. Meget tørr avslutning uten at det blir for bittert. Nytelsen varte og rakk - heftig og begeistret! 9,5 abv (bottled 060720). A sublime brown ale.

3.9 9.5%. 1572.1815. Svart. Høyt mokkafarget skum som daler veldig sakte og etterlater tykk spotlacing. Direkte pent! Kaffearoma. Myk munnfølelse. Smaken lakris, kaffe & røstet malt. Behagelig tørr ettersmak av kaffe.

4.1 330ml bottle, 9.5 %, bought at Vinmonopolet Langnes. Good looking in the glass with a stable fawn-coloured head that laced well. Jet black body. Appealing aromas of brown and black malts, well-roasted, earthy. Solid malt-forward flavours of chocolate-caramel, grain and ash. Coffee hints to a well roasted, almost burnt, malty finish warming down the swallow. Full bodied sipper, enjoyed on a dark Friday eve. (Tromsø 11.12.2020).

4.0 Bottled from BaseCamp. Almost black very dark brown body, very lasting brownish head. Creamy, coffee aroma, huge, some light alcohol, dry. Smooth taste, again, creamy coffee-chocolate, bitterish, good hoppy touches, solid bitterness. Extremely classy!

4.1 # 2336; 11/2020. Alc. 9,5%; bottled 6.7.2020. Roasted malt, slightly alcohol, dried fruits. Dark brown body with creamy, persistant, pale brown head. Rich and deep, roasty, dark fruits, alcohol warmth, bittersweet. Very full bodied, velvety. 0,33 l, bottle, beershop, Prague.

4.2 Almost black with a beige two centimetre thick head. Smell of coffee with cream with a peaty note. In taste coffee, chocolate and caramel notes with a bitter ending.

3.9 330ml (9.5%) shared with JohnRMurdoch at home on 25 Aug 2020, purchased on 13 Aug 2020 (bb 6 Jul 2025): roast malt, coffee aroma, opaque near black, lasting tan head, pretty pattern of lacing, coffee, some lactose, roast malt, little vanilla flavour, creamy, dry.

4.5 Color negro, opaca. Espuma marrón claro de más de dos dedos de espesor y excelente retención, mantiene una fina capa hasta casi el final. Aroma intenso, maltas tostadas, frutos secos, principalmente avellanas, chocolate negro, cacao, madera "dulce" y notas licorosas. Sabor intenso, maltas tostadas, ligeramente torrefactas, chocolate negro, cacao, madera levemente quemada, avellanas, melaza y licor, ligero regaliz y alcohol al atemperar, final largo, amargor maltoso, dulce y licoroso, ligeramente seco, aunque es una sensación que aumenta con los tragos no pasa de ahí, alcohol bien integrado. Textura casi oleosa. Carbonatación baja. Cerveza seria, plena y redonda, sin fuegos artificiales, para disfrutar lentamente.

3.7 Boozy and relatively lightbodied for the style. The brown ale flavors that are there are great, but the beer lacks some drinkability. Sam and sallys (mikkeller). Oslo. 3.7 july 2020. Tried again Het Lagerhuys Ams. I agree with my previous number. But not the words so much. I think it is just thin and solventy.

3.9 Aromas a cacao y torrefacto Color negro azabache espuma marrón oscura persistente En boca cuerpo pleno cacao, café torrefacto y final seco

3.8 aromat intensywny, kawa, trochę kakao, delikatnie paloność. W smaku kawowe, trochę palone, dalej gorzka czekolada, w posmaku jakby orzechy, alkohol trochę czuć

4.1 Barwa czarna, piana idealna, gęsta, beżowa, bardzo trwała, obficie oblepia szkło. W aromacie głównie ciemne słody, mocna, niesłodzona kawa. W smaku intensywne, wytrawne, mocno palone. Gorzka czekolada, kakao, melanoidyny, popiół. Długi finisz, ciało i wysycenie średnie, alkohol praktycznie niewyczuwalny. Świetny stout.

4.4 Anno 2015. 5 anni alle spalle ma ancora tostatissima. Color ebano molto scuro, con schiuma finissima color nocciola dalla lunga tenuta. Al naso tostati n grande spolvero: caffè, cioccolato, pane nero e a seguire caramello, toffee e fave di cacao. Intense note, senza sbuffi alcuni di derive in liquirizia o salamoia, soia. Perfetta. Al palato l'armonia è la stessa dell'olfatto con l'aggiunta di note di nocciola tostata, ma il corpo strutturato e la carbonazione quasi assente, insieme ad una sensazione tattile vellutata, la rendono ancora più esplosiva. Amaro marcato sul finale, da espresso non zuccherato. E' davvero strepitosa.

3.7 33cl bottle from Abeervinum, Rimini, Italy. Pours dark brown, with very limited brown foam, very fine. Aroma is rich of coffee, a little licorice, dark chocolate. Body is fairly dense, with limited carbonation. Taste is medium-high bitter, lots of roastiness. Final is long and intensely roasty.

4.0 Bottle: Poured a pitch black with a light brown head. Aroma is roasted malts. Taste is rich roasted malts, chocolate.

4.2 Craft Metropolis. Candy, full of berries, chocolate, roasted malt and ashy, pitch black with wonderful dark brown head, bitter, roasty, ashy, hoppy, herbal, coffee and cocoa.

3.5 Black. Aroma is coffee ground some dry wood some caramel some chalk. Taste is dry wood with sweet complex sugar. Quite harsh and complex. Not so phenolic. Quite basic. Still full bodied. Phew.

4.0 Aerous light brown head left a froth on jet black still body. Heavy malt, demerara & lactose aroma. Medium to full bodied, creamy on the palate. Sweet citrussy, heavy malt, chocolate, mocha, liquorice & tangy tastes.

5.0 Très belle maîtrise de la part de la brasserie The Kernel pour cet Imperial Brown Stout à l'équilibre sans faille et aux arômes de café, chocolat et caramel, intenses et pleins. Une véritable petite gourmandise qui se déguste lentement. Noir total en verre, sans mousse et avec une faible effervescence, nous sommes dans les codes du genre. Le nez présente d'agréables arômes avec une dominante chocolat/noisette agrémentée par du café et du caramel. L'attaque présente un équilibre sans faille, une belle amertume donnant ce qu'il faut de fraîcheur, un alcool à 9,1 % pour mon exemplaire structurant bien la bière, soutenant les arômes et donnant du caractère et un malt intense et dense. Du côté des arômes, le café prend l'ascendant avec du caramel, de la noisette, une pointe pimentée et un chocolat qui se fait plus discret. Excellente corpulence avec en seconde bouche des arômes qui enrobent parfaitement le palais. L’arrière-bouche, davantage sur le chocolat et sur une amertume racée et herbacée, tranche et donne un excellent contraste. Le final, long, nous laisse sur un beau café expresso, racé. J'ai beau chercher, je ne vois pas de faille...c'est une bière où tout est juste.

3.8 330ml bottle @ 9.2%. Pours black with a medium-sized creamy tan head. Aroma is roasted malt, burnt wood, dried fruit. Taste is medium sweet followed by medium bitter, roasted coffee, chocolate, roasted malt.

4.0 Bottle: Black color, creamy brown head. Aroma is full of cacao, cacao beans, mannerschnitten, nuts, some coffee, some tar, molasses. Flavor is full bodied, dark chocolate and coffee notes, cacao powder, coffee beans, espresso, licorice, molasses. Intensive toasty, some alcohol, coffee liqueur, toffee. Ends toasty bitter. A coffee bomb.

4.4 330ml Flasche. Schwarzes öliges Bier. Brauner cremig-öliger Schaum. Röstmalzduft. Portwein, Gewürze, Zimt, Schokolade. Weich-öliger Antrunk. Schokolade, Artischoke, Zimt. Richtig rund. Tolle Bitternoten im Abgang. Grosses Kino!

4.1 A 330ml bottle, bottled on 5th February 2016 and with a best before date of 5th February 2021. Poured into a snifter glass. It was a dark dark brown colour with a reddish hue and a thin tanned head that disappeared quickly but left lots of nice spotty lacing. Aromas of roasted malts, milk chocolate, caramel, coffee, chocolate milk, with hints of nuts and dark fruit. Tastes roasty, chocolate, coffee, chocolate milk, slight bitterness, hint of dark fruit and char. Creamy, medium bodied with soft carbonation. Overall, body was perhaps lighter than I prefer, but despite this, it was still very enjoyable and great to sip.

4.0 Flavour of roasted barley, with a espresso coffee back taste. Final alcohol kick.

4.1 Colore nero, schiuma nocciola media poco persistente. Aromi di caffè, nocciola, malti tostati. Al palato cioccolato fondente, caffè, liquirizia, erbe aromatiche. Il finale è mediamente amaro. Una birra delicata e ben equilibrata dove gli aromi sono ben distinguibili, con un corpo leggero nonostante la gradazione. Ottima la bevibilità garantita da un finale dove l'amaro non è eccessivo e ben dosato su tutta la bevuta.