Pale Ale (Centennial+Chinook)
The Kernel Brewery

Pale Ale (Centennial+Chinook)Pale Ale (Centennial+Chinook)
Beer Geek Stats
From:
The Kernel Brewery
 
England, United Kingdom
Style:
American Pale Ale
ABV:
5.5%
Score:
Needs more ratings
Avg:
3.78 | pDev: 13.23%
Reviews:
4
Ratings:
6
Status:
Active
Rated:
Aug 25, 2015
Added:
Dec 12, 2010
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews.
Ratings by salvo:
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Reviewed by salvo from Indiana

4.2/5  rDev +11.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pours wonderfully cloudy straw yellow into a simple half pint glass. Wonderfully aromatic sudsy head clings to the sides and lace the glass throughout the drinking.

Scents of pine with hints of pineapple and tropical fruits. Enough malt to bind it together and hold it. Lovely, complex, a bit extreme for the British scene perhaps, but a welcome American respite for my weary palate.

Taste is rich and warm; higher alcohol and intense pine, pineapple, and guava drown out any sweetness from the malt. Lovely and warming, deep, rich, lovely, layered and the hops keep unfolding--drying the palate and back of my throat making me ache for more. This is really good stuff and is different enough from BrewDog's offerings to make it worth seeking out, especially for any american hop hound over here looking for a taste of home. Chewy, rich mouthfeel.

Really happy to pick up this London-based micro-brewed beer in St. Andrews. Nice. My bottle also reads 5.3%, best before 03.12. Also, the hops are listed one atop the other like this:

PALE ALE
CENTENNIAL
CHINOOK
5.3% ABV
Jul 10, 2011
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.15 by jfreeze from Canada (NB)

Aug 25, 2015
 
Rated: 3.5 by atrocity from Virginia

Jul 13, 2014
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Reviewed by BEERchitect from Kentucky

3.98/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
With the growing craft beer movement extending outside of the boarders of America, The Brits have been slow to come along. Where the momentum in Scandinavian regions, Scotland and even Italy has shown promise, England has largely resisted such trends... until now. Congratulations The Kernel- you froze hell over!

Not the classic English Pale Ale, this "Americanized" version pours with the uncommon and heavily hazed amber-orange hue. Characteristically of dry-hopped IPA, its rusty veil has a casual release of carbonation that builds on the surface like a dense and creamy blanket. Long in its retention and trailing with broken lace, the beer has a fortified demeanor about it.

Its hop-forward scent is classically of the Pacific Northwest as pungent and piercing grapefruit aromatics flood the nose. Pink grapefruit is laced with fresh orange peels and is given a plump and juicy lift with the caramel and marmalade sweet scent from its barley underpinnings. Heading into taste, the citrus tuns piney, grassy and herbaceously stemmy.

Its mostly even-keel balance with a delicate dance of hop bitterness and malt sweetness, its early palate greets the taste buds with caramel, cashew, light honey and shortbread. As its creamy sweetness wraps around the tongue, the citric acidity layers on the middle with the grapefruit, tangerine and peach tangy acidity to balance the malt with ease. Siding with the hops in finish, the resinous bittering of torn pine needles, pungent fresh-cut grass and a light chivy note dries the taste with ease.

Its medium body hold onto its malt structure deep into taste and is slow to dissolve its sweetness. But crisping very late ensures a pleasant and refreshing sense of drinkability with minty-warmth and slight pepper.

The stage for American hops has found Great Britain. But the beer's malty-sweet body isn't letting go of those British roots just yet. Not trying too hard to be IPA, this IPA works out masterfully on the palate.
Apr 01, 2014
Photo of AgentMunky
Reviewed by AgentMunky from New York

2.78/5  rDev -26.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Poured from a 500mL bottle into a cervoise glass. Best before 29 March 2012. The label reads 5.3%.

A: Orangeish and murky, with almost a finger of creamy head. Good lacing.

S: Astringent and fruity hops. The pine is presumably Chinook, with the Centennial hops providing the sweet grapefruit.

T: I wonder if something hasn't gone wrong here...it's incredibly acerbic, with the piney hops giving an unpleasant taste reminiscent of styrofoam soaked in formaldehyde. Not something I want to drink. Now that I taste it, it's infected the smell as well. Other than that, there is a pleasant citrusy bitterness and a malty body. The aftertaste is lightly drying and hoppy. The awful medical taste comes and goes, so I think I'll just take big swigs, man up, and finish the beer.

M: Acceptable.

O: I imagine this is supposed to be a good beer, but something is rotten in this Pale Ale. Perhaps it's my tastebuds unable to handle extreme Chinook or something, but I would never pay money for this beer ever again. Still, my other experiences with The Kernel have been quite nice, so give it a go if you feel like it.
May 24, 2011
Photo of wl0307
Reviewed by wl0307 from England

4.07/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Purchased at the Kernel Brewery in London recently; bottle-conditioned in a 500ml brown bottle, BB 03/11/2011, served cool in a straight imperial pint glass.

A: pours a murky, light amber hue, coming with a well-lasting creamy off-white froth and constant flows of tiny carbonation.
S: the nose is full of semi-rich, semi-sour & semi-salty fruit esters and fruity hops (hinting at citrus fruits, green apples, nectar, lychees, green mangos, pineapples and even green guavas) as well as earthy/muddy/piney hops, while English pale malts with the distinctive semi-"stinky" touch (a bit like dirty cloth to me) accompanies the fruity theme faithfully.
T: the mildly biscuity, yeasty & earthy notes lend a bit more weight and body to the refreshingly effervescent foretaste, which gradually gives way to the mildly piney, woody & citric hop flavours ensued by more undertones of biscuitiness from quality English pale malts. The finish is semi herbal-bitter with a good level bitterness and a faint touch of spices even, but not so dry or bitter as a real English Bitter or IPA. Instead, the lingering taste of malts, fruit esters and general yeastiness lends a deepening effect down the sides of the tongue - aromatic and inviting.
M&D: pretty well bottle-conditioned, the carbonation comes just refreshing enough without going too lively or sharp, while the body benefits from the malt and yeasty backbone, showing a balanced flavour profile all in all. This is a nicely-crafted hoppy yet also balanced ale - definitely a session type for my palate~~
Dec 12, 2010
Pale Ale (Centennial+Chinook) from The Kernel Brewery
Beer rating: 3.78 out of 5 with 6 ratings