Drygate seeking and finding the exceptional

Glasgow’s brewing scene is on the up. For quite a while I’ve looked enviously eastwards to Forth Valley, the Lothians and further afield, where it seems a new brewery pops up every couple of weeks.

Glasgow is full of hipsters, and we have plenty of railway arches, so I don’t quite see what is taking so long. Of the existing breweries, the new WEST facility at Port Dundas is making progress at a glacial pace, and although the beer at the Clockwork is much improved under the watch of Declan McCaffrey, there are no plans for expansion there. But there are rumours and plans of more than one new brewery in the city.

The most concrete development is the Drygate Brewing Company, which held its first formal event last night. The brewery is a sort of joint venture between Tennent’s and Williams Bros, with Tennent’s providing the money and Williams the direction. Both sides are at pains to stress the independence of Drygate. Personally, I find this a bit of a shame – there won’t be any interesting Tennent’s-branded speciality beers coming out of this facility.

Just the word “Tennent’s” is, of course, like a red rag to some, and when the partnership was announced last October, the Brew**g blog was full of comments from their idiot followers, pompously declaring that Drygate and even Williams Bros themselves, would no longer “count” as “craft” – in spite of the fact that Williams have been making wacky beers since Brew**g were (literally) in nappies. Scott Williams said on the evening that Williams Bros had “been brewing for 20 years; for the first 15 people said we were mad.”

Since I don’t subscribe to the “craft beer” nonsense, I will judge Drygate as I do any other brewery, on the quality of their beer.

The Tennent connection is undeniable, though – the new site is right next door. The original Drygate brewery was founded in the middle ages before the Tennent brothers bought it and made it into today’s Wellpark Brewery. The roof of the brewery building inspires the brewery’s zig-zag logo, reminiscent of the resistor symbol on a circuit diagram, or a Joy Division album cover.

“Seek the exceptional,” it said on the placeholder web page on drygate.com. The latest recruit is talented young brewer Jake Griffin, co-creator of the magnificent Zombier porter, who is leaving Fyne Ales for Drygate. Jake is an obsessive fermenter, the type of man who would build his own bed out of malt pallets. In lieu of a portfolio he brought along an oily, minty, pineappley IPA. Another young brewer will be joining Jake, but I’m not allowed to tell you who he is yet.

There are some other prototypes to taste: Bearface, a fresh-tasting lager with some characterful rough edges and herb and tobacco flavours; Isaac IPA, a brown, dry, resiny beer that needs to be more distinctive, and a strange apple ale with tannic notes. The beers are matched with labels designed by alumni from the Glasgow School of Art.

Drygate is more than just a production brewery. The site will include a restaurant, run by the people behind the acclaimed Vintage in Leith. Top restaurant staff have been lured across from Edinburgh too. The brewery kit will be visible from the restaurant, through a large glass wall. The main plant is 24 hectolitres, with a 2.5 barrel pilot plant on the side, so there is plenty of flexibility for experimental brews.

I think this could be the most exciting development in Glasgow beer for years, and suddenly Dennistoun looks like a much more interesting part of the city to hang out in.