Glasgow Beer Week returns

I have hardly blogged recently; this is because most of my spare time has been taken up with helping organise this year’s Glasgow Beer Week.

The week will be taking place from 7th–14th September and it’s too late to go back now: WEST brewery have already brewed the official beer. Here are some photos (credit to Simon):

It’s a pale top-fermenting beer in the style of the Rhineland. WEST have made it before, a couple of years ago, and I quite enjoyed it then. There is no particular connection between Glasgow and Cologne as far as I know (Glasgow is twinned with Nürnberg), but I have spent not a few hours zosching Kölsch in Cologne, so I am quite happy that this style has been chosen.

Because only brewers in the Cologne metropolitan area are allowed to call their beer Kölsch, I will not be referring to it as such. Some people say this restriction is outdated; I think it’s fun and stimulates inventive naming. There are a few German breweries outside Cologne who do brew this style; there they tend to just call it “obergärig” and hope that customers get the message. There was once a product called “Bönnsch” from Bonn, a few kilometres down the river.

Meantime in London, in deference to this, call their version “Kölner”. Other names I haven’t seen, but would like to, are:

• I can’t believe it’s not Kölsch
• Kölle (Cologne dialect for Köln)
• Alaaf (A greeting used at carnival time – Cologne is the centre of the Rhineland carnival, though rival cities Mainz and Düsseldorf will vehemently dispute this)
• K*lsch

The Un-Kölsch will be tapped at the Beer Week opening party on Friday 7th September. If you happen to be there, do say hello.