Brief footy/gig stopover in Glasgow this weekend allowed us to visit some familiar and some not-so-familiar (to us) GBG entries - and try a few ales that we don't often see in the North East.
Blackfriars in the Merchant City area was the first pit stop and, on seeing it, I'm slightly ashamed that it hasn't been on my radar before. Excellent pub, featuring 5 Kelburn beers, plus some specials kept in the bar below where a local CAMRA meeting was congregating:
It was just a bit early for Cromarty's AKA IPA, but we got through the rest OK. The Kelburn ales were good too, and they are using the CAMRA LocAle badges on the pump clips with the addition of Kelburn's own "Brewed in Glasgow" clip too. The pedants amongst us might argue that Barrhead's not really Glasgow - but hey ho.
Blackfriars also features a number of "craft" and imported beers too:
They also seem to have regular Meet the Brewer evenings - Kelburn had obviously recently featured and next up is Hawkshead.
When in Rome etc - Bon Accord is a must and it didn't disappoint, although we only stopped to try one of the eleven ales available.
We did a couple of Wetherspoon's as well - the Sir John Moores in Argyle St. was OK-ish for a quick one, but, if you're as old as me, steer clear of Society Room, a Lloyd's No.1 on West George St. - especially later on Saturday night. We were in and out in a flash - not my scene - too loud and the wrong type of music too.
Much better and just around the corner in Hope St. is the Pot Still, something of a Glasgow institution. Much improved from my young years round there and with a terrific gantry of malt whiskies, it also had a nice selection of LocAles too:
Back in Deeside, the pubs I visit that regularly display the LocAle pump stickers are the Douglas in Banchory and now the Alexandra in Ballater too.
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