Author Archives: Dave

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September 11, 2013

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Ale

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Wetherspoon Real Ale Festival

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This years real ale festival is coming soon!! 16th October!!

Like every ale festival I get really excited about trying new ales from new breweries and this year we’re being treated to a taste from across the pond. 

Craft beer seems to be on the rise and growing in popularity over in America so it will be great to sample some of their produce.

There are also some great beers making an appearance from the UK with quite a few from Scottish brewers – I hope this is a good sign that Scottish ales are increasing in popularity South of the border and beyond.

What do you make of the UK v US theme this time around?

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September 6, 2013

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Ale

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#GlasgowAleTrail – 4th September 2013

On Wednesday the 4th of September myself and Scott took the train into Glasgow to discover new ales and discuss ideas. This is the round up!

Blackfriars – Merchant City

Blackfriars is one of my favourite pubs in Glasgow. The staff are spot on and the beer is always excellent so this was indeed the best place to start the day. We started off with a pint of Raj IPA from Tryst Brewery. This was an excellent choice to start our discussions about how we would start our own brewery – usually the topic of the drunk guys in the pub but this was where we would start.
From Blackfriars we decided that we would head out towards the West End but felt we should break up the journey by visiting Camperdown Place under Queens Street station.

Camperdown Place – Queens Street Station

It would be easy to start by saying “a typical Wetherspoon outlet” but their selection of ales make it standout from the rest. The decor of this pub is quite unusual and I’d go as far as saying rather boudoir. I’m no interior design expert so we’ll stick to the beer – Joker IPA by Williams Brothers Brewery. I was happy to have a taste of this ale as I missed out when it went on sale in our pub definitely worth the wait.
Not spending too much time here we moved on towards the underground, making a bee-line for Hillhead.

Jinty McGinty’s – Ashton Lane

My love for the West End of Glasgow has been with me for many years with very few disappointments, Jinty’s disappointed. Admittedly I was surprised to see a sign saying ‘cask ales’ above the door and when we entered we certainly did not see any hand pulled lines. A bit confused and disgruntled we opted for a bottle of Innis & Gunn. Surprisingly nice but not what we expected, toffee and vanilla to taste.

The Three Judges – Dumbarton Road

Of all the times I’ve been out in the West End I had never visited the Three Judges. I will claim that is because I would always start at the opposite end of Byres road and probably wouldn’t make it to the other end on a heavy session. Well it is safe to say that I’ve missed out! This is a fantastic pub with a great selection of ales. I opted for Windermere Pale Ale from Hawkshead. I get a little too excited and nostalgic over Hawkshead as they were the brewery that really got me interested in ale when I worked in Manchester.
We started to get hungry at this point.

Brew Dog 

I’ve got to say this is one company that I admire – mainly from their dealings with Diageo last year at an award ceremony. Their burgers won’t let you down along with their beers that are equally fantastic. With our burgers we had a half pint of Blitz – a sour apricot beer. A very unusual beer but after a few sips it becomes very enjoyable but still surprising on every sip. Luckily they serve this as a half pint as I think it would have been a little too much to finish a full pint of this odd beer.BrewDog

Bon Accord

In a word – AMAZING. Seriously the guys here know exactly what a pub is about and obviously don’t compromise! The selection of Whisky made our jaws drop and the selection of ale was equally impressive. A pint of Southern Summit from Loch Lomond Brewery was my choice – we’ll definitely be getting that in stock soon. After being approached by the landlord and a fleeting chat with their cellar manager it was clear why they are the best at what they do. These guys have the experience and the knowledge that money can’t buy – I think we must have sat there in awe talking about ale and general pub business. Again a pub that I have never visited and one that I would most definitely recommend and one that I will be visiting much more frequently.

Henglers Circus

Finishing the night here may sound a little naff after Bon Accord, but we fully expected to make it here for their meet the brewer with Broughton Brewery. Scott had the pleasure of a brewery tour at Broughton a couple of months back and since then I’ve heard a lot about Bret and the team, so I was looking forward to meeting him after having a few laughs on the phone. However after being completely blown away in Bon Accord we missed the Henglers event. Luckily it was only the brewer that we missed and their beers were still available, a pint of Greenmantle from Broughton would mark the end of this #GlasgowAleTrail

 

Hopefully this will be the first of many #GlasgowAleTrails and we would happily appreciate any recommendations for pubs and/or ales on our next trip.