Club 1. London Bridge - Bermondsey

28 May

Written By David Westwood

Monmouth

Texas Joe’s Low and slow Meats

The Kernel

Monmouth Coffee

The first ever CFB took me on a bit of a pilgrimage to a bucket list brewery - The Kernel, more on which later but first there was coffee to drink and slow smoked meats to savour. The day was glorious, the warmth of spring was on my face and the blossom was out in force as I stepped out of London Bridge station. The first coffee was going to come from a London institution - Monmouth. Monmouth have a number of sites across London but for today’s adventure it was off through the crowds in Borough market to their site at Park St. SE1.

The Coffee

Delicious dark roast, slight acidity and bitterness.

Finca El Pedregal - Colombia
They say ‘ Papaya, Tropical fruit, medium acidity and medium to full body.
(Black Filter - pour over)

About Monmouth

The coffee shop itself was pretty much standing room only, as is to be expected this close to Borough market and at 11:30 on a Friday. The clientele are an eclectic bunch, Business suits, tourists and hipsters brushing shoulders in their endeavours to sample some great coffee and what looked to be equally delicious pastries. Not a space to sit in for hours relaxing with a book, but definitely a place to grab a caffeine and potentially sugar boost before heading back to the market, office or onto lunch…

Things to note: Beans from their own roasters can be bought on site. Coffee is only available for takeaway in refill cups so either bring one with you or alternatively Monmouth will sell you a branded keep-cup for a fiver.

Monmouth Coffee Company is a London-based coffee roaster, retailer, and wholesaler. Founded in 1978, it's known for sourcing and roasting high-quality, single-origin coffee beans from individual farms and cooperatives. The company operates several shops, including one in Covent Garden and another in Borough Market, and has a roasting site in Bermondsey.

Texas Joe’s Low and Slow Meats

Onwards to the first open fire delight of the CFB Club: Texas Joe’s; a self styled ‘proper’ Texan barbecue, located in the Snowfields area behind London Bridge station. This was a new one to me, having only opened post my original departure from London so I was excited about the prospect of proper Texan barbecue ( think salt and pepper and great meat - no real messing around).

I arrived for my 12:15 reservation and was greeted with the option to sit in or outside. At this point on a Friday given the location, I had thought it prudent to book but as it turns out this perhaps wasn’t such a necessity, the place was practically empty - it dod however fill up somewhat whilst I was enjoying my food.

The Food
St Louis style ribs, slaw, pickles, sauce and bread along with a full fat coke.

freshly smoked in house on their rotisserie style chest smoker. The Ribs were pretty good although some way from the best ribs I have ever eaten. Nice smoke flavour and a pretty good smoke penetration but i’m not entirely sure how long these had been cooked for or at what point they had been wrapped. The fat was still rather present meaning that in places the ribs were a little dry, the bark was also quite lacking. As I say, the smoke flavour was present and delicious and the no nonsense seasoning of the salt and pepper rub was delicious as were the other highlights on the tray - the pickles, slaw and barbecue sauce all of which were more than enough to make up for my slight misgivings about the ribs. The staff were lovely and attentive and I really would (and have since) recommend people to try this place especially if their experience of barbecue previously was exemplified by liberal lashings of a nondescript bbq sauce covering everything. I will definitely be heading back to try their Brisket.

The KERNEL

I have finally made it to the Kernel. First opening as one of, if not the original brewery under the arches in Bermondsey in 2007 The Kernel for me have been at the pinnacle of British brewing since they first started. Their level is so consistently brilliant as to make one wonder why so many other breweries can do such a bad job of creating beautiful no nonsense beer. All this fan-boying aside, I had never actually made it to their brewery - every other trip to the Bermondsey beer mile had coincided with them being closed. This felt like a little bit of a pilgrimage and I was not to be disappointed. The tap room is a true reflection of their beers, no nonsense - perfection. It’s light, airy and welcoming; no need for slides, games machines or garish wall adornments here… No frills, let’s just let the beer do the talking.

And so, onto that beer…

The Beer(s)

Beer 1: Small beer (Columbus, Amarillo, Centinel), 4.1%, Cask

Beautifully balanced, sweet tropical and stone fruit notes balanced with a nice bitter hop finish absolutely brilliant. The creaminess of the cask worked wonderfully to add a beautiful smoothness.

Beer 2: East India Pale Ale - London 1897, 6.0%, Cask

All Banana or Banana Bread to perhaps be more precise. Caramel sweetness and a slight bitter finish. totally hides the 6.0% as with the previous beer the cask gives a smooth creaminess almost like a banana custard. Amazing.

Beer 3: IPA (Citra, Columbus, Chinook), 6.8%, Keg

Knock your socks off dry and bitter, a proper OG Kernel beer with that West Coast style coming through wonderfully. Sweet pineapple and a little peach then a big drum bitter finish - a superb way to finish the day!

David Westwood