CAMRA Beer Festival returns to Glasgow for summer event - with a taster in Rutherglen this weekend

The Rotary Club of Rutherglen and the Glasgow & West of Scotland branch of CAMRA (the Campaign for Real Ale) have got together to run a two-day festival in Rutherglen this weekend, ahead of the return of the Glasgow festival in June.

When: The festival, which takes place this Friday and Saturday, 25th and 26th March, will feature beers from sought-after breweries rarely seen in these parts such as McColl's, Hesket Newmarket, and Lakes, and also local heroes Overtone, Loch Lomond, Kelburn and Fallen.

The festival will also see the launch of Old Jock Blonde from Broughton Brewery - a twist on Broughton's famous strong ale Old Jock.

Where: The festival will be held at Number 18 Venue, 18 Farmeloan Road, Rutherglen G73 1DL, at the junction of Farmeloan Road and King Street.

A series of three-hour sessions will run through both days with the first three-hour session starting at noon and the last session at 7:00pm.

Tickets: Advance tickets are available and recommended. These cost £20 and give you guaranteed entry to a session and £15 of beer tokens (£17 for CAMRA members).

On the door, tickets are £5 for a three hour session (£3 for CAMRA members), if there is space available. Tickets are available online.

How to get there: Due to engineering works there are no trains between Glasgow and Rutherglen during the festival, but Rutherglen is well served by regular bus routes as well as the rail replacement buses.

June event: Glasgow CAMRA are also working hard on planning the 7th Glasgow Real Ale Festival (G-RAF) in June. This has been postponed for two years due to the coronavirus pandemic and will take place from 16-18 June at the Briggait in Glasgow.