Is WEST best?

Having waxed lyrical about the mighty Hippo Beers last time, I thought I'd move from the West End to the East End to think about WEST Brewery.

If you've not come across it, WEST is a brewery, bar and restaurant located just off Glasgow Green in the old Templeton carpet factory - which is a properly stunning building as you'll see in the photo later in this post.  I first came across it a couple of years ago when a group of us popped in for a Sunday morning coffee on a freezing cold day just after new year, and I was immediately impressed by the look of the place; it's set out in the manner of a German beer hall, and there's a nice beer garden outside with a view over part of Glasgow Green towards the People's Palace.

I wasn't back for a while, but last year a Groupon (or similar) voucher popped up offering a tour and tasting session, and this sounded to good to miss so I went along with my dad and a friend and took in the half-hour tour, which was great.  After learning that they brew all their beers in accordance with the German Purity Law, the name of which I forget, I was definitely looking forward to giving them a try.

The former Templeton carpet factory building

I wasn't disappointed - while I'm usually not a fan of lager, their St Mungo (their flagship brew) and West 4 (a lighter option) both had more flavour than probably 99% of other lagers I've tasted and they definitely went down nicely.  We also sampled a couple of other brews before trying the pick of the bunch - their Hefeweizen wheat beer.  I've had a few wheat beers over the years and enjoyed them to a greater or lesser degree, but this one was a beauty - fruity, crisp and refreshing.

Since then I've spotted St Mungo popping up all over the place, and their other beers showing up on tap in some places too - particularly the GFT cafe which is nice.  Sadly, they only bottle St Mungo just now though I believe there are plans currently underway to expand their capacity which will hopefully result in the Hefeweizen being bottled.  This would make me happy!

So the venue and the beer both get a thumbs up, and I have to say the food does too - I've been along for a couple of meals with friends and with family and everyone I've dragged along has loved the food and the ambiance.

So, is WEST best?  Well, it's pretty damn good, that's for sure.  Put it this way - I've got a week off work coming up, and in the process of writing this post I've persuaded myself that we should go there for a bite of lunch tomorrow.  Says it all, really!