Can you believe it, The Kernel are turning 16!

To celebrate the occasion they brewed a brand new beer - Brown Stout - London 1812. Another historical Barclays Perkins recipe and the oldest they've ever recreated. Stouts of that time predate dark malt, so this recreation was made possible when malt supplier, Simpson’s, released their ‘Pale Export Brown Malt’ which they decided felt close enough to how most all malt would have looked and tasted in the 18th century. Perhaps malt then would have been more smokey.

This pale export brown malt made up 40% of the grist, the remainder being regular maris otter pale base malt. The main characteristic that the Pale Export Brown Malt brings is toast. The hops and yeast esters bring warm citrus fruits, so aromatically it comes across like marmalade on toast.

Initially the beer feels and tastes big, round, a little sweet, then slowly and inexorably the toast takes over, gently drying things out, with the tingle of hops around the edges stopping things from becoming austere. It is assuredly old fashioned in flavour, situated in a brown beer world we don’t inhabit anymore. But no less delicious for that. There is a good reason that our forebears enjoyed drinking beer.

Malt: Pale Export Brown, Maris Otter
Hops: Goldings, (Hukins)
Yeast: English Ale Strain