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Brewery. Piss Up.
Nov. 2nd, 2013 05:57 pmBack in September, I went across to Glasgow for the first time in over a year. It was "Doors Open" day (conveniently, they hold Doors Open days on different weekends for Glasgow and Edinburgh - a lot of people visit both cities, I think).
A friend had booked several tickets for the Tennents' Wellpark Brewery, and a group of us went across for it.
But we started off - after we'd left the first bar we visited, of course - at Barrowland. Or Barrowlands. Officially the former, but everybody adds an "S". Barrowlands is a dancehall, which nowadays means it's a rock venue. Possibly the most famous venue in Scotland. It is a standing - dancing, even - venue; a London equivalent might be the T&C, the Lyceum, or the Hammersmith Palais.
I have been several times - though not recently. I've seen Elvis Costello there, PJ Harvey, Tricky, and Portishead; maybe more. I'll be back there to see the Waterboys next month.
It is set in the east end of Glasgow, and houses "the Barras" market underneath the dancehall. It isn't a salubrious area. When I mentioned to (a Glaswegian friend) that I'd be going to Barrowlands in December, he told me not to take my car because it might not make it through the night... He is of course exaggerating. It is perfectly safe. As long as it's green.
Anyhow, Barrowlands is the major Scottish rock venue, and has been for decades. A place of legend.
We wandered around for Doors Open. It was a bit odd, frankly, being there and there not being any music. But I got to go backstage. Where I saw the stars.
The dressing rooms are decorated with stars. A lot of stars take the stars off the wall, which is why there are blank patches of plaster.
A little further east is the Wellpark Brewery, a large site near the Necropolis (itself a great place to visit) and cathedral. Wellpark is brewing on a truly industrial scale. It is huge. Vast tanks hold hundreds of thousands of gallons of beers; towering hoppers contains hundreds of tons of grain. During the week, it runs around the clock, with downtime at the weekend for repairs and maintenance. The whole site is computerised, and fewer than 100 people are needed to run it.
It was a fascinating tour.
The tour ended in their sampling room. Free beer. Whoo hoo! Except that frankly the beer was tasteless. I don't wish to sound ungrateful - it was a great tour, a fascinating place - but I don't like the beer they make. We left to have supper (at another brewery) without finishing our pints.
A friend had booked several tickets for the Tennents' Wellpark Brewery, and a group of us went across for it.
But we started off - after we'd left the first bar we visited, of course - at Barrowland. Or Barrowlands. Officially the former, but everybody adds an "S". Barrowlands is a dancehall, which nowadays means it's a rock venue. Possibly the most famous venue in Scotland. It is a standing - dancing, even - venue; a London equivalent might be the T&C, the Lyceum, or the Hammersmith Palais.
I have been several times - though not recently. I've seen Elvis Costello there, PJ Harvey, Tricky, and Portishead; maybe more. I'll be back there to see the Waterboys next month.
It is set in the east end of Glasgow, and houses "the Barras" market underneath the dancehall. It isn't a salubrious area. When I mentioned to (a Glaswegian friend) that I'd be going to Barrowlands in December, he told me not to take my car because it might not make it through the night... He is of course exaggerating. It is perfectly safe. As long as it's green.
Anyhow, Barrowlands is the major Scottish rock venue, and has been for decades. A place of legend.
We wandered around for Doors Open. It was a bit odd, frankly, being there and there not being any music. But I got to go backstage. Where I saw the stars.
The dressing rooms are decorated with stars. A lot of stars take the stars off the wall, which is why there are blank patches of plaster.
A little further east is the Wellpark Brewery, a large site near the Necropolis (itself a great place to visit) and cathedral. Wellpark is brewing on a truly industrial scale. It is huge. Vast tanks hold hundreds of thousands of gallons of beers; towering hoppers contains hundreds of tons of grain. During the week, it runs around the clock, with downtime at the weekend for repairs and maintenance. The whole site is computerised, and fewer than 100 people are needed to run it.
It was a fascinating tour.
The tour ended in their sampling room. Free beer. Whoo hoo! Except that frankly the beer was tasteless. I don't wish to sound ungrateful - it was a great tour, a fascinating place - but I don't like the beer they make. We left to have supper (at another brewery) without finishing our pints.
