Hop Stop, Reigate

New bar. Is it a micro? Who knows these days. P shaped interior, fairly simple but well-done decor of mustard walls, light grey wainscoting and a black and glass backlit servery; there's a 1970s feel to it in a way. GBG listed; three pumps with just one on, a lacklustre Surrey Hills Shere Drop (NBSS 2). Otherwise 9 keg and a small, but neatly eclectic, fridge. Only 4 people in on a Saturday night and I suspect it isn’t long for this world if my visit is anything to go by.

Craft beer bar on the edge of Reigate town centre that has extremely limited opening hours. I'd walked up to the bar yesterday, but as expected found it closed. Opening hours are limited to 5-9 on a Thursday and a Friday and 2-9 on a Saturday, with the bar closed for the remaining 4 days of the week. Peering through the window yesterday, I'd spotted 3 handpulls, with not one of them clipped. Arriving back early this evening, a Wylam Best pumpclip had appeared. I'm surprised that with just a solitary real ale it appears in the current Good Beer Guide. A total of 9 craft beers were also on - Verdant Show Me What's What, Boxcar Blushing Tone, Pomona Island That's Not The Kind of Game I Play, Westerham Stand With/With Stand & Helles Belles, Double-Barrelled Dimples, Pastore Strawberry Guava, Duration For Wallace & 360 Brewing Dare To Dream. In addition, there was a decent bottle/can selection in the fridge. The interior had a modern feel and being fully conditioned, it was pleasingly cool after being in the hot weather outside. When I arrived, there was a father with his daughter, who had stopped by for a beer and a carry out. When I left, I left the 3 bar staff to themselves. They actually asked me to stop for another, as it was so quiet. I'd have thought that this kind of place could survive with longer opening hours than it does currently. It's limited opening hours are probably the reason that it was so quiet. Spreading the 3 staff that were on over a 12 hour period would make sense than having them all in for a 4 hour period. It's a decent enough bar, but wasn't quite as good as I'd expect it to be. Hopefully I'll return one day and can find it open.

Just across the road from the main entrance to the excellent Priory Park, this is a modern craft beer bar in a good-sized shop converted unit. The room gets a lot of natural light thanks to the typically large shop windows to the front and this combines well with a light colour scheme and economical furnishing to create a bright and spacious feel. The room has modern laminate flooring with walls painted in bright shades, broken up here and there by some exposed brickwork. The servery runs down the right-hand wall and has a smart counter with a brass footrail, a modern bar back and a large TV screen to one side which lists the full draught range. A couple of low tables and stools have been positioned in the front windows, making you feel like a bit of a shop-dummy if you find yourself sat at one of these tables, but plenty of small tables with modern versions of school-style chairs fill the space through the middle and to the left of the room. A hop plant growing in a vase at the end of the bar and a lot of framed brewery-themed photos down the left-hand wall add a bit of weight to the bar’s beer credentials and a good soundtrack of mostly 60’s hits played quietly in the background. The draught options listed on the TV screen next to the bar extended to just the one cask ale – Westerham Summer Perle – supplemented by five keg options from Westerham, Electric Bear, Brouwerij Boon, Gipsy Hill and Brighton Bier. If none of that takes your fancy, a three-page disposable beer menu lists all the bottle and cans options you could ever hope for, although prices for some of these were pretty hefty. The staff here were very friendly and ensured customers followed all the necessary Covid protocol before allowing them entry. This is very much a modern bar with no traditional pub features, but it still managed to feel like a comfortable place to get stuck into some interesting beer. The bar seems to attract a mixed clientele, making for a decent atmosphere which, coupled with the friendly service, made my visit an enjoyable one.

This is a classy new cask & craft keg bar operated by an Oxted-based bottle shop. It's a single room with the draft beer displayed on a screen and a fridge full of cans and bottles behind the bar. There's 3 handpumps, with 2 in operation on my visit (offering Five Points Best & Wild Beer MMXX), as well as 9 taps of leading edge craft from the likes of Buxton, Burnt Mill and Bristol Beer Factory; these taps also included Silly Moo cider, Good Things Pilsener and Westerham lager. Background music wasn't intrusive and the bartender was helpful and knowledgeable about the beers on offer. I'd certainly return if I found myself in town again.

Official site of Hop Stop - www.hopstopbeers.co.uk