BREWER: The Kernel Brewery, South East London, England

STYLE: Porter

ABV: 6.1%

VESSEL: 500ml brown bottle

TWITTER: @kernelbrewery

INSTAGRAM: thekernelbrewery

DATE OF POST: 4th December 2020

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

I’m one for drinking any sort of beer any time of the year. It’s the way it should be. Seasonal changes shouldn’t affect the type of brew you want to enjoy in any given moment. It’s a little like having a red wine only in winter and a nice chilled white on a warm summer’s day. However, that being said, one of the best treats of a short cold wintery day, is knowing that there’s a porter or stout waiting on chill for you at home. And so, here we are, our first aforementioned beer of the season is upon us!

Export India Porter, starts off well. It’s as dark and tempting as you might hope in the glass and the aroma, well, let’s just say deep, dark coffee. Then, when you come to sip EIP, you’re met with a surprisingly light porter. It’s got the slight hint of an IPA in the background. I mean, do not get me wrong, I’m not talking full on craft IPA tropicalness. It’s the smallest of hints. But it’s enough to make EIP different and interesting. Clearly, this is well brewed and much thought has gone into it.

However, it’s quite light. There’s not much body with EIP and you can’t help but feel a little short changed when you’re drinking this porter. Once it’s washed across your palate, it disappears without leaving too much of a trace. Not necessarily a bad thing. It’s just that it’s a little bit lack lustre. Given it’s weighty appearance and promise of dark trepidation, I can’t help but feel I need a little more from this porter.

Let’s be clear, EIP is good. It’s just not elevated anywhere near to greatness. And that poses a slight problem. It’s in a market where there are some incredible stouts and porters readily available. To my mind, this is rubbing too close to being something that’s not a porter. It needs to be bolder and develop more of a personality.

Would I turn one down? Most definitely not. Would it be near to the top of my porter/stout list? Not a chance.

Sammy’s Rating: 65%

 

JYMI SAY’S…

I’m pretty sure it was a crisp and bright Friday that Sammy handed me Export India Porter with a Regis to Akabusi like authority and said, “here is one to put on the test list”.

I was instantly excited, not as excited as Kriss, but excited nonetheless. Even though I’ve recently become more accustomed to having a stout or porter any time of the year, there really is something about having a darker beer when the temperatures outside are low. I was also excited as the brewery involved were the Kernel, an East London based setup that had never let me down.

Roll on a couple of weeks and the time had come to pop the top and get involved. Test day had arrived.

When pulling out of the cupboard to have a gander at what was said about the beer on the label it suddenly dawned on me… this was a 500ml bottle and not the 330ml I thought it was.

EXCITEMENT WAS NOW AT AN ALL TIME HIGH!

Unfortunately, even though this is not a bad beer, this is where the excitement ceased. I suppose the words export and India proceeding Porter in the name should have flagged that something may have been up here. However, if you’re mentioning the word Porter then you really are expecting something smooth and light. However, even though the mouthfeel of EIP is exceptional the spiky taste and texture that follows pull it a world away from what a Porter should be. Because of the early mouthfeel I really felt like this spike was then going to settle down, which could have been lovely, but no… the spike and it’s harshness remained.

All in all I think that it’s the confused style that has ultimately let this brew down. It’s not that Export India Pale is horrible, because it’s not. I just don’t know what it actually is.

Jymi’s Rating: 66%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 65.5% 

MOB review next weekend: MOOR’S STOUT by MOOR BEER COMPANY

ON WEDNESDAY WE ARE STARTING DESIGNATED DRIVER DECEMBER

RUNNING THROUGH DECEMBER WE WILL BE TAKING A MIDWEEK LOOK AT SOME NON ALCOHOLIC BEERS AND WHETHER THEY ARE A WORTHY SUBSTITUTE OR NOT