A PIONEER of the modern UK brewing movement has admitted he hates the term "craft beer".

Evin O'Riordain, founder of The Kernel, one of the most influential breweries in the UK, said craft beer was a "commercial term" used to define something that "shouldn't be defined".

Speaking at a special Tap Takeover event at the Bison Beer Crafthouse, Evin said he preferred not to describe his beer - but let it do the talking.

The master brewer only came founded The Kernel in 2009, but is widely hailed as inspiring the UK's craft beer revolution.

Originally from Waterford in Ireland, Evin previously worked at Neal's Yard Dairy at Borough Market before find a love for the yeasty stuff.

While drinking with fiends he realised many of the same characteristics which influence cheese, such as ageing, storage and place, could also be applied to beer.

He got a taste for the heavily hopped American style in New York, and began home-brewing on his return to the UK.

At the time BrewDog's Punk IPA was the only craft beer around, which he described as "absolutely banging".

Based in Bermondsey, each batch of The Kernel is made by a different brewer and so is slightly different.

Describing his approach at the Tap Takeover, he said: "The beers change, they are never the same. The most important thing is quality.

"Each brewer always produces a different beer, but that’s what the Kernel is about. It keeps our beers fresh. As you get bigger it’s hard to not repeat yourself but we try and do it differently and that’s what keeps us excited about brewing."

The first beer of the night was Table Beer, a 3.2 per cent pale beer, which he said "you can get on with life after drinking".

Evin told the crowd how it was one of the trickiest give a full bodied flavour due to its low strength.

Also presented was The Kernel's Belgium style Saison, which is aged in Burgundy oak barrels, allowing yeast and bacteria into the wood, which influences the character.

With some 60 barrels of saison of varying sourness, they are blended to create a more rounded beer, a process Evin admitted he had "no idea" about, and was an "endless surprise".

He said: "With saisons we reduce things to their simplest principles. The less you control it the better the outcome and how you relate to it."

The Export India Porter was a jet black beer made using an original London recipe hundreds of years old.

Light cheese-based food pairings were provided by 64 Degrees, the award-winning restaurant which will also be doing the food at the forthcoming pub The Bison Arms.

The Tap Takeover was the latest in a series of beer talks and tasting hosted at Bison Beer with more planned later this year.