Margaret Clancy explores the bewildering array of Surrey’s local beers and ales
Buying a round was never like this. Wine, whisky, vodka: you can still find them all at the pub. But if you’re here for the beer, a visit to the Dog and Duck could mean tapping into a brewing revolution.
Gone are the days when gassy, US-style lagers ruled the roost, with a supporting cast of big name ales such as Young’s or London Pride. For over the past few years – first by the drop, then by the trickle and now by the flood – local pubs have been going, well, local.
The Americans may have started it, but with the advent of new technology and the soaring availability of hops, it was only a matter of time before the passion for real, local beer and ale came lapping at these shores too.
Made by enthusiasts at small breweries generally less than 20 miles from the pub, these delights are properly artisanal – hence the term ‘craft’ beer or ale. The very antithesis of big business, they thrive on personality and individuality, eschewing the kick of mass marketing. Moreover, the tiny travel span involved minimises carbon footprint, liberating eco-warriors to drink with their consciences clear. The pint glass of the cognoscenti runneth over.
Especially here in Surrey. For it was David Roberts, creator in 1982 of the Pilgrim Brewery – firmly established in Reigate since 1985 – who truly raised the bar in Britain. As chairman of the (then) Small Brewers Association, he campaigned for – and eventually won – a discount on the duty paid by small, independent brewers. As a result, little local breweries became, if not exactly a money-spinner, then at least financially viable.
Mr Roberts may have since called time on his career, but his beers – Surrey, Progress and Quest – are still available, certainly within the Reigate area. The new owners of Pilgrim, Rory Fry-Stone and Adrian Rothera – together with their brewer John Fridd – are keeping these trailblazing tipples just as they were, while adding a couple of beers of their own.
And the craze for craft is spreading. Tucked away behind Denbies Winery, at the foot of Box Hill, sits the aptly named Surrey Hills Brewery, where Ross Hunter and his team have been turning out favourite Shere Drop for years. Other fine ales are also available – Ranmore is my personal recommendation.Employing local people and selling close to home, the brewery is worth a visit in itself, and it’s as good a place as any to get a decent pint. Look to the local pubs for the odd draught too.
Nearby Dorking Brewery, meanwhile, makes a classically hoppy American-style pale ale called Buffalo, along with a lovely white wheat beer, Lunar White. Over in Camberley, the top-selling local ale is a snappy little number called Alligator, while The Godstone Brewers, in the east of the county, specialises in humorously named ales such as Bitter Entropy and Pondtail Pale. It was the idea of two old university friends who, after forays into other businesses, were reunited in 2015 by their passion for great beer.
There are breweries at Woking (Thurstons), Shere (Tillingbourne) and Tongham (Hogs Back), as well as across the Kent border at Westerham. There’s even one in suburban Surbiton: the splendidly named Big Smoke Brew Co.
In short, Surrey is awash with local ale. Even if there is no brewery in your immediate vicinity, you can rest assured that someone is thinking of starting one.
But with all this beer pouring onto the market, who actually is drinking it? Isn’t consumption supposed to be on the decline? Is it just middle-aged men, traditional inhabitants of the real ale universe, who are keeping this burgeoning new micro-industry afloat?
Step forward Martin Barfoot, proprietor of Four Hops, a new and instantly successful beer and gin shop-cum-micropub in Reigate. The clientele, he says, is as varied as the ales themselves.
“It’s men and women of all ages,” he tells me. “We do get an older crowd during the week, but on Fridays and Saturdays it’s very much the younger set who want to come and try what we have. It’s very sociable.”
Clearly they like what they find. The flavours are “a bit different”, says Martin; and, having once acquired the taste for them, these young recruits to the real ale fan club are constantly coming back for more. There is a new generation of drinkers, and it is up to our little Surrey breweries to keep them all royally entertained.
Which is best? Martin is surely the man to ask, but he’s having none of it, insisting on championing them all.
Ask which is the most popular, however, and his cautious diplomacy vanishes like the head off a pint.
“Crumbs,” he says emphatically.
The reasons are not hard to discern. Not only is it the most local brew on offer, but it comes with the best accompanying tale. For Crumbs is flavoured with, and named after, the crumbed left-over loaves from Reigate’s Chalk Hills Bakery: the creation of a local artisan transfigured into something new.
There is, however, one possible impediment to Surrey’s claiming this ale as its own: it’s brewed on the Isle of Wight. But this, insists Crumbs Brewing founder Morgan Arnell, is no more than a temporary expedient.
“We’ve only just started,” he says. “Just give us a bit of time – we’ve plans to move much closer to home.”
Great news. I’ll have a pint while I’m waiting.
- For a better idea of the range of beers on offer from small breweries in Surrey and across the UK, visit the 13th CAMRA Redhill Beer Festival at Merstham Village Hall, RH1 3ED, from Nov 2-4. At least 66 beers on offer. Entry from free to £4, depending on day and time; camrasurrey.org.uk
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