Just the one Mrs Wembley?

Well it might have been a case of  a few more than "Just the one"  for the character played by Joan Sims when she starred alongside Dennis Waterman in the 80's sitcom, "On the Up", but lunchtime today it really was "Just the one" for me.

I called into our local Wetherspoons to check out their beer festival, and all seemed  to be going well. I was down the town on my bike, so didn't want anything too heavy plus I knew that later on in the day I would be driving. Ok, I probably would have been alright on two pints, given the quite lengthy time interval between imbibing and getting behind the wheel, but I also had a lot of tidying up to do in the garden. This combined with the changing of the clocks back to GMT meant that time was of the essence; particularly as it would start getting dark at around 4.30pm. That decided it, this was definitely to be a quick visit to the pub with just the one beer!

Walking into Spoons my eye was caught by the Dutch offering Brouwerij't IJ IJBok. However at 6.0% that one was definitely out. Instead my attention was drawn to two offerings from Surrey Hills Brewery - Shere Drop and Greensand IPA. Now Surrey Hills aren't taking part in the festival, but their beers have featured  at our local Spoons a few times recently A week or so ago I enjoyed a pint of the 4.2% Shere Drop, which is the brewery's flagship beer, and  it  really was good. Knowing Surrey Hills excellent reputation, I therefore had no hesitation in plumping for the 4.6% Greensand IPA.

It was a wise choice, and I was rewarded with a stunning glass of beer. Despite the relatively modest strength for an IPA, this beer turned out to be a real hop monster delivering  an explosion of citrussy and resiny hops. It is certainly a beer well worth seeking out.The brewery's website reveals it to be a seasonal beer, but as it doesn't state which season, one can only presume autumn.

I stuck with my intention just to have the one; anything else after such a fantastic beer wouldn't have been half as good. After leaving the pub I had a ride around our local country park, before cycling home for an afternoon's labouring in the garden. I will, of course, be popping into Wetherspoons from time to time over the next fortnight just to see what else is on offer.