The Beehive (JD Wetherspoon), Brixton, SW9

What a wild and noisy pub.Def a locals pub.2 excellent beers from the beer fest list.Cant complain if the beers good.

This is yet another very typical shop conversion handy for both Brixton stations. The "Last Of the Summer Wine" daytime Spoons brigade seemed to be a cheery mixture of British, Irish and West Indian men and women rather than the usual saddo English blokes. The nine pumps had an uninvited guest Adnam's Lighthouse Available Soon, three devoted to the two GK regular beers, Titanic White Star, 2 Ciders and 2 By The Horns Locale beers. I went for the By The Horns Diamond Geezer (£2.15) which was in good nick, but I thought had something of a "home brew kit" character, something down to the brewer rather than the pub.

This is a fairly small Wetherspoons pub on the main Brixton High Street. I popped in here prior to a recent gig at the Brixton Academy and found the long, narrow room (presumably some sort of shop conversion?) absolutely packed at the front and relatively quiet to the rear. The interior is of the typical 'Spoons style, with some fairly nice booths at the back of the room and the usual information boards about famous locals (Linton Kwesi Johnson, John Ruskin, Herbert Morrison etc...) on the walls. TV screens were showing subtitled BBC News 24, but the real entertainment here comes in the form of discreet people watching, as the pub certainly has its fair share of 'interesting' characters. The ale selection was a bit of a let down, with regulars such as Abbot and Ruddles doubled up, leaving the only guests as Salopian Hop Twister, Deuchars IPA and Ramsbury Bitter. My pint of Ramsbury was in pretty poor shape to be honest and could have done with a top up. Not a pub I'd want to drink in regularly, but I enjoyed watching the shady characters going about their business. I'd probably pop in if I was looking for a quick pre-Academy pint, but it's best to go with low expectations.