Being a beer lover and devoted Ale Star, I was somehow unconsciously drawn to West Brewery on my first visit to Glasgow (in actual fact, you go past it on the open-top tourist bus, but I like to think of it as more of a spiritual thing). West Brewery was the first brewery in the UK to brew its beers to German Purity Laws (aka Reinheitsgebot for the Germans reading), so it gets a notable mention on the tourist bus.
I have been dying to go back to West ever since our first visit in May 2009, and so a few weekends ago, we decided to head over for a few quiet beers one Saturday afternoon. Graeme and I got dressed in our matching Ale Star shirts and headed west. It’s in a beautiful location on Glasgow Green (don’t read too much into the history of Glasgow Green though as it seems to feature quite a bit in my Glasgow crime novels!) and located in the Templeton Building, a stunning building that used to be a carpet factory. We decided to make a whole afternoon of it, so got right stuck into the beers as soon as we arrived. I enjoyed a pint of Hefeweizen, a smooth and filling beer that was deliciously wheaty. I moved onto the St Mungo's lager which is such an easy to drink beer, you could easily put away 4 or 5 pints without realising it! It really is my kind of beer. I also like that it doesn’t make you feel too full, and as West recommends, it’s great to have with food.
West have a great selection of beers – not all of them available on tap at all times and it’s a real treat when you find a bar serving West beers by the bottle. You know you’re getting a delicious beer, whichever one you try.
Any Ale Stars feeling like a visit to the sunny side of the world and wanting to visit West, just give me a hoy and we’ll arrange a guided tour (with Glasgow to Australian translations!).
too bad they're constantly running out of their own beer!
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