Glasgow’s craft beer star is rising still

The rather hip hangout’s latest venture was hosting the weekend’s Craft Beer Rising — a festival pairing local and international brewers with good food and homegrown DJs.

At £20 a ticket, Craft Beer Rising is a commercial venture all right, and a far cry from the recent return of the Glasgow Real Ale Festival, which clocked in at just £6.

For Drygate’s fee, a noticeably young crowd of beer fans were presented with a glass and £5 of tokens and let loose on a backyard tent brimming with taps.

The other half and I arrived for the Sunday session, greeted by reggae beats and enough autumn sunshine to warrant a seat outdoors.

We launched in with a taste of London offering Bear Hug; a hybrid wheat beer/IPA and Spirit pale ale, both treading the line between thirst-quenching and bitter afterbite.

We made our way through a few familiar Scottish brews, as well as a creamy wheat beer from Camden Town Brewery named Gentleman’s Wit — perhaps my favourite of the bunch.

Glasgow stalwart West was on hand with the seasonal Oktoberfest; a dark, toastier version of the German-inspired offerings over at the Templeton building and, without a doubt, a good reason to visit their own Oktoberfest next month.

With all that beer flowing fast, it was only right (or sensible) to sample some food. Babu Bombay Kitchen has been popping up at events galore, and the chana masala proved a winner — although at £6, the portion sizes could have been upped.

Redmonds of Dennistoun proved a hidden gem with their pork belly steamed buns — and Stornoway black pudding scotch eggs from Aye Love Food were a treat, particularly with Brewdog-infused picalilli.

It may have been post-referendum malaise, it may have been the £20 entry fee — whatever, the festival lacked the punch needed to make it

But with a few tweaks, Craft Beer Rising could provide the groundwork for similar long and leisurely events at the east end destination.