Beer & Chocolate Tasting with The Kernel Brewery – London Craft Chocolate Fair 2026

About the event

You love craft chocolate. But do you also love craft beer? Well, roll on up, because we have the event for you.

This year, we’re partnering with The Kernel Brewery to bring you a unique craft chocolate and craft beer tasting experience.

Over the course of an hour, you’ll taste four incredible beers, each paired with six or more craft chocolates spanning different styles, percentages, makers and origins. These pairings are designed to challenge you, excite you and, ultimately, entice you to explore the delights of craft beer and craft chocolate.

You’ll learn about different brewing methods and the flavours they create, while deepening your understanding of flavour through the lens of both craft chocolate and beer.

The event will be led by James Gatling and Kernel Brewery!

This tasting is part of the London Craft Chocolate Fair 2026. See the full line-up of talks and tastings here. Your ticket will also grant you free access to the Chocolate Makers Market.

Important info:

• Tickets are non-refundable. If you purchase tickets but cannot make the event, please contact us and we’ll see what we can do.
• Please arrive five minutes before the event is due to start.
• The tasting will run for approximately 60 minutes.
• Attendees must be 18+ as alcohol will be served at some events. If you or your guest are under 18, please write to us beforehand to confirm if we can accommodate them at the tasting.
• If you have any dietary requirements or allergies, please let us know. We will do our best to provide alternatives where possible. Please note, we may not be able to cater for severe allergies, as many events will be taking place throughout the day in the space and we cannot guarantee there will be no cross-contamination. If you have any questions, please get in touch with us and we will do our very best to accommodate you.
• The tasting will take place downstairs in the main tasting room, as part of the Cocoa Runners Craft Chocolate Fair. To enter the tasting, please join the second queue outside the building on the right hand side, without entering the fair, and leave time after the event to explore the craft chocolate market upstairs and meet makers from across the UK and beyond.
• Your ticket will include entry to the Chocolate Makers Market (worth £5). When you book onto this tasting, we’ll send you a QR code for entry.
• You can find more information about the event and venue here.
• For any questions, please email [email protected]

About the London Craft Chocolate Fair 2026

For the fourth year running, Cocoa Runners are hosting their popular Craft Chocolate Fair on the 17th & 18th October 2026. The craft chocolate experts will host an indoor market with bean-to-bar chocolate makers from the UK and beyond, with a series of talks, tastings and pairings with experts from tea, coffee, olive oil, wine, beer and more.

The event will take place at the Fidelio Cafe and Concert Venue in Farringdon, London, running from 10-6 on Saturday 17th and 10-5 Sunday 18th. Free entry to the fair will be included in every tasting ticket. For those not attending a tasting, entry will cost £5.

About your hosts

James Gatling

James may be yet another Australian in London, but don’t hold that against him. While relatively new to the world of craft chocolate, he brings a unique blend of experience in coffee, music, and marketing. His passion for specialty coffee, developed through years as a barista, gives him a keen appreciation for the parallels between craft chocolate and coffee culture. In his spare time, he’s reconnecting with his Irish heritage by playing traditional music on the mandolin and tenor banjo.

The Kernel Brewery

Kernel brew pale ales, dark ales, lagers and mixed fermentation beers: sometimes focused on the aromas, flavours and bitterness of hops; the complex warmth and layers of roasted malts; the clarity of cold fermentations; or the acidity, tannin, and texture contributed by mixed fermentations, by time and barrels, wild yeast and bacteria. All guided by the principles of simplicity and balance.