Ice-cold in Wetherspoons

Isn't it Cleckheckmondsedge?

Well, what I meant is "all the good pubs I've been in have it" - and they are good pubs, presumably getting CM for the same reason they serve Stella - to appease the unwashed, uneducated masses.

In fact, I partially typed that to prevent additional flames from the group regarding blanket statements, but it seems that one cannot win! Basically, in my experience, CM does not seem to make a difference to the quality of a pub.

The best way I've found to tell if I'm in a good place is how detailed and visible the ale menu is. My local has a blackboard in both sides of the bar, updated weekly, and clearly readable from the second you open the door. It's also written in an "if you wanted to try all of these, here's the order you should do it" manner, which is very neat.

Andrew Cameron

Wetherspoons vary widely in the range and quality of beer. The one in Woking, for example, is very good and has interesting and varied guests. The one in Fleet is usually very good, but I have been in there on an evening when it's full of kids on the way to the local club and the staff don't seem to have bothered with the real ale. In the Royal Borough of Kingston there are three: the King's Tun in Kingston is usually quite poor, the Coronation Hall next to Surbiton Station is usually fairly good, the Cap in Hand on the Ace of Spades roundabout is usually excellent and gets a regular (and deserved) GBG entry. Of all the Central London ones, about the only one that's any good, IMO, is Lord Moon of the Mall on Whitehall (pity they can't change the name to something decent, now they've long since ditched most of the joky "moon" names).

Prounced "clar" :)

I was in one of the two JDWs in Lancaster one day and the beer was so cold I asked for some boiling water in it. To his credit, he boiled some and passed me the kettle!

And I stood there, not feeling like an eccentric nutter in the slightest.

And when you left, you couldn't hear a pin drop.

I've visited the Woking Wetherspoons and it's always been excellent. Varied ale selection and always in good condition at the right temperature.

Given the usual opinions of the standard of JDW staff voiced on this group, you may have to email HQ and give him a commendation...