Review: Brew Dog, Argyle Street
Brew Dog’s Glasgow bar opened in 2011 and, sandwiched a tad uncomfortably between the City Centre and West End, it’s very much a bar that most people need to go deliberately out of their way to visit. Fortunately for them, it’s very quickly proven its worth becoming one of the hottest bars in the city. It’s a bar that people are willing to travel to because, refreshingly in this day and age, it offers something a bit different.
Brew Dog as a company established itself on craft ales and has been trading for quite a few years now, founded in Aberdeenshire in 2007. Their wares are popping up everywhere from trendy bars to supermarkets, with its flavourful (and often strong) ales ranging from the relatively tame Punk IPA up to the likes of Tactical Nuclear Penguin, a 32% “double-casked” effort.
The Glasgow bar has a wonderful range of their own beers and is always rotating in the latest and greatest, as well as a solid selection of guest ales updated constantly. If you follow the bar on Twitter you’ll get regular updates as to what’s currently on the taps. One of the really nice touches here, is that everything is sold in an appropriate quantity. I, for example, tried a Hardcore IPA the other week. A very strong beer, both in flavour and ABV at around 9% it might leave you with a difficult walk home! Fortunately, it comes in a dainty little 1/3 of a pint glass which proved a nice amount. For those who don’t know their way around ale and aren’t willing to dive right in with a full serving of something, they offer an adorable little taster board featuring 4 1/3 pints of a variety of their ales. This is a tad on the pricey side compared to just buying the beers, but it’s a nice novelty once in a while.
Brewdog’s burgers are fantastic
When we were in Brew Dog, just because we were there and it was dinner time, we decided to grab a burger. To be honest, I didn’t even know this place did food before we went, but I was frankly blown away! The last burger I properly raved about was at Nice N Sleazy and, to be absolutely honest, this was even better. Now, I am talking about the standard beef burger here (Sleazy’s Brisket sandwich would still take a lot of beating). Brew Dog’s burger came on a delicious toasted bun with flavourful cheese, a delicious italian ham, crisp fresh salad and topped off with an outstanding hot sauce. The whole thing was incredibly well balanced, and a really pleasant surprise. My only criticism here, is that there wasn’t enough food! If you’re in Brew Dog, you’ve probably had a few beers, and you really need something substantial to sop it up. The burger was a decent enough size, but is merely served with a few measly tortilla chips and a pot of salsa. I’m sorry to be so conventional - but I need a few chips! This made the experience as a full meal a tad underwhelming, but still, that burger was sensational.
Brew Dog gets a hearty thumbs up from me. It’s seriously not a bar for everyone as even their less flavoursome beers pack a real punch. They do sell wine and the usual variety of generic spirits, but why come somewhere like this for a rum and coke? Give it a try!
