Thursday night and there's snow and ice everywhere, are we going to be able to make it to the Triple fff Brewery on Saturday morning?
Ok it's not a million miles away, but we all know how unreliable South West Trains can be on a good day let alone when the weather is less than perfect (the wrong type of snow?).
Saturday morning and there's ten of us standing on the platform at Surbiton Station wondering when the bloody hell our train to Woking is going to turn up. All the snow has gone but the trains are all still up the spout, everything on the board is running late and we're getting thirsty. The sun comes out and a Woking train pulls in. Miraculously we get to Woking just as a train to Alton is leaving and we all jump on and the day is back on track.
As you might expect for pub called the Railway Arms it's conveniently located for Alton Station being only a two minute stagger away. It takes longer than this to cross the busy road outside (so near yet so far!) but once we're in it's clear that this is going to be a good afternoon. The Railway Arms is Triple fff's own pub and most of their beers are available on draught including the award winning Moondance, Altons Pride (aka Billericay Dickie) and Little Red Rooster.
It's apparent that at this moment we're like children in a sweet shop, lots of new beers to try but which one to have first? Needless to say they're all excellent and help to wash down an enormous buffet lunch which arrives in the nick of time.
With Ray from Triple fff's help, a plan for the rest of the day is hatched. A few more pints then we'll get the Watercress Line train to Four Marks and the home of the Brewery. Unfortunately we get on some kind of diesel loco rather than a steam train but it gets us all there nonetheless. Conveniently the brewery is only about 100 metres from the station and once there we meet up with Graham, the owner of the brewery and also Ray for a tour of the brewery.
During an informal look around a number of things become apparent. Nothing is done in this brewery just for the sake of tradition. Beer is kept under a thin layer of nitrogen if this will keep it in best condition (CAMRA take note). Fish finings are not used (great for vegetarians!), only the best ingredients go into the beers with some hops coming from as far away as the USA. One of the most incredible things to emerge is that only five or six years ago Triple fff was Grahams home brewing operation, now, partly thanks to Gordon Brown it employs four full time staff and is winning national awards for it's beers.
Whilst indulging in a pint or two of Pressed Rat and Warthog (surely the best ever name for a beer) we chatted about competition with other brewers and the origins of the brewery name which as it turns out harks back to the home brew days ("Franks Flushing Fluid" anyone!).
Another brewery trademark is the theme for naming of beers. As an old hippy anyone who names their beers after tracks by such musical Gods as Led Zeppelin, Cream, Genesis, Pink Floyd and The Strolling Bones has got my vote
Soon it was time to head back to Four Marks station as the last train of the day back to Alton was fast approaching
Naturally there was time for a couple more pints in The Railway before heading back to Surbiton on the conventional BR service which by this time was behaving itself
Thanks to Graham, Ray and the Railway locals for making us so welcome, we'll be back
