336: Reimagining London Porter and Stout with the Kernel’s Evin O’Riordain
Dec 22, 2023
auto_awesome
Evin O'Riordain, Founder of The Kernel brewery in London, discusses embracing hops, rekindling London's dark beer lineage, interpreting historical stout and porter recipes, using brown malt for London flavor, debunking the idea of British beers being less bitter, the history of East India porter, using whole-leaf hops for texture, and fermenting historical styles with London and California ale yeast strains.
The Kernel brewery embraces both traditional and creative brewing techniques, combining historical recipes with modern twists.
The emphasis on using American yeast and precise hop techniques helps express desired flavors in the Colonel's beers.
The fermentation process for stouts and porters is crucial, with a focus on clean fermentation and allowing malt characteristics to shine.
Deep dives
Craft Beer and Bring Podcast: Episode 335 Summary
In this episode, the host records from England with Evan O'Rordan, founder of the Colonel brewery in London. They discuss the Colonel's approach to making craft beer in a country with rich brewing traditions. The focus is on navigating the balance between traditional and creative brewing and exploring how the Colonel puts its own stamp on beers while respecting the ideas and definitions of beer drinkers in the country. Additionally, they delve into the inspiration behind the Colonel's hoppy beers and its exploration of historical beer styles, like the India Porter, with a modern twist. Finally, they touch on the brewery's evolution and growth over the years.
The Importance of Local and Fresh Beer
The discussion highlights the significance of being local and fresh in the brewing industry. The host shares his experience of finding aged American beers in London and the realization that the quality of beer can diminish over time and with long-distance transportation. This leads to the Colonel's commitment to brewing fresh beers and creating a sense of locality in its offerings. The emphasis is on using American yeast and utilizing hops in a clear and precise way to express the flavors and qualities desired in their beers.
Recreating Historical Beer Styles with a Modern Twist
The Colonel embraces historical beer styles, such as the India Porter, and recreates them with a modern kernel twist. While staying faithful to the traditional recipes and grists, the brewery experiments with different hopping techniques, incorporating American and English hops, and adjusting hop additions throughout the brewing process. The goal is to create beers that not only pay homage to the past but also resonate with modern beer drinkers. This approach reflects the idea that old beer styles can be revived and enjoyed in a contemporary context.
Brewing Traditional Export Stout
The podcast episode discusses the brewing process of a traditional export stout, emphasizing the importance of staying true to the original recipe. The beer in focus is a British export stout, which was brewed in the 1800s to be exported to the British colonies. The brewer attempts to maintain the spirit of the original beer by excluding dry hops and other modern brewing techniques. The use of brown malt in the recipe is highlighted as a key element, contributing to the distinct London flavor of the beer with smoky, tarry, and leathery notes. The discussion also touches on the challenges of interpreting historical recipes and the variable nature of ingredients and measurements.
Fermentation and Yeast Choice in Stout and Porter
The podcast delves into the fermentation process and yeast choices for brewing stouts and porters. The emphasis is placed on achieving a clean fermentation and allowing the malt characteristics to shine. The brewer mentions using a California ale yeast as the house strain for most of their stouts and porters, noting that it accentuates the malt profile and allows the hops to come through more. They also experiment with an English strain for certain beers but find that the differences in yeast selection don't always significantly impact the final beer. The discussion touches on the importance of being present in the moment and focusing on each batch of beer to ensure quality.
The Kernel founder Evan O’Riordain embodies a few interesting contrasts—he’s an Irishman in London committed to shining a light on the city’s own dark beer past, and he’s a brewer in Britain who caught the craft bug after experiencing hop-forward beers in the United States—but it’s this dynamic range that drives and defines Kernel today. History is important, yet no modern techniques or ingredients are off the table, as the beers they make respect and reference the past without dogmatically recreating them. There’s no such thing as textual accuracy when ingredients have changed so much over the past 100 years. Every act of recreating an old recipe from original text is an act of interpretation, and what matters most now is connecting that past to where drinkers are today.
Over the past decade and a half, O’Riordain has focused particular energy on stout and porter, and we focus on that in this episode. Along the way, he covers:
embracing hops as a defining creative angle
helping rekindle London’s dark beer lineage
interpreting historical stout and porter recipes
using brown malt as a main signifier of “London flavor”
debunking the idea that British beers are less bitter
the history of East India porter
using whole-leaf hops for texture in dark and pale beers
fermenting historical styles with London and California ale yeast strains
And more.
This episode is brought to you by:
G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): For years G&D Chillers has chilled the beers you love, partnering with 3,000+ breweries across the country along the way. Reach out for a quote today at gdchillers.com or call to discuss your next project.
BSG Craft Brewing (https://Bsgcraftbrewing.com/): BSG and HVG bring you Amira, the latest from their hop Breeding Program. With its classic hoppy, slightly herbal, and zesty lemon aromas it’s the ideal hop for those looking to capture the traditional flavor of a classic German lager. Visit BSGCraftbrewing.com to learn more. Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): Old Orchard supplies flavored craft juice concentrate blends to beverage brands for the production of beer, cider, seltzer, wine, spirits, kombucha, and more. Flavor your lineup and streamline your sourcing by heading to oldorchard.com/brewer ProBrew (https://www.probrew.com) The ProFill series of rotary can fillers from ProBrew are accelerating plant production everywhere. For more information, visit www.probrew.com or email contactus@probrew.com. Omega Yeast (https://omegayeast.com): Thiolized yeast are a new tool for brewers to bring intense guava and passionfruit aromas out of your malt and hops. And wait, there’s more! Omega Yeast makes yeast-to-order with a consistent one week lead time ensuring peak freshness and reliability.
The American Homebrewers Association (https://HomebrewersAssociation.org/cbbpod): Join the American Homebrewers Association to unlock the 2023 National Homebrew Competition medal-winning recipes! Learn more at HomebrewersAssociation.org/cbbpod Lotus Beverage Alliance (https://lotusbevalliance.com): Building a brewery requires coordination: equipment, supplies, funding, and more. Lotus Beverage Alliance simplifies the process, offering all the elements for your business in one place. Their team of engineers, brewery consultants, and financial advisors are here to help.
