Big Smoke won the November 2021 Eastbourne Beer Festival ‘Beer of the Festival, Sussex Exemption’ award. Having tried to contact the brewery by e-mail on three occasions and failed to elicit a response, a determined small group of three branch members decided to set out regardless, as having consulted the brewery website it was clear that from the Saturday opening hours, we were sure to find everything there in full swing. Having travelled by train to Esher with a change at Clapham Junction, there was a mile’s walk to the Brewery Bar. As we arrived outside the premises, two people leaving told us that they were just closing, in case we were wanting a drink. We arrived to find an empty bar inside and out, it turned out that they had just closed in favour of a private function a little later. The staff present were most apologetic about the unanswered e-mails, but said none of them had access to the account. However they were most appreciative of the award and our efforts to present it They provided us with a pint on the house, which on a warm day was most welcome. Although there were a couple of handpumps, neither were in action and all the keg beers were light in colour, the award winning Underworld Milk Stout was not in evidence, although this was hardly a surprise in August. So it was keg beer for two of us and the cider option for the other. Pictures show the brewery staff accepting the award from Howard, Peter and Steve, the three travellers.



While the staff prepared the inside for the forthcoming function, we sat outside in the welcome shelter with our drinks, Howard and Steve having chosen the same beer from the range offered.





Having investigated nearby pubs, we realised that anywhere we went would take us further from Esher station, so instead we decided to return to Clapham Junction where there is always a good range offered at the Falcon. Arriving at the Falcon, we found that it was closed for a fortnight for refurbishment, but fortunately the nearby Wetherspoon’s, the London & South Western, was able to supply us with a darker beer most, if not all, of us were craving. But with only one beer outside the core Wetherspoon’s range of the bar and with us desiring another beer, we decided to make for East Croydon and the micropub run by a local brewery, the Cronx, which two of us remembered from a successful visit on a CAMRA beer tour in 2017. We arrived to find the Cronx disappeared, it having closed in September 2021 and instead a popular loud music venue occupying the premises. As it turned out, the solution was once again Wetherspoon’s, as we made the short walk to the George, where again we were able to buy good quality ale outside the core range. Then it was the train home, reflecting that a phone call to the brewery might have been a good idea. However we made the award and a selection of exclusively keg light coloured beer was not likely to have kept us at the brewery for more than the one drink, so by any measure not all bad.