We learn the story behind West brewery, a Glasgow-founded German style lager

We visit WEST in the East End to learn more.

Transcript

00:00So the building was originally built as a carpet factory. It went through multiple planning

00:07applications because the local residents weren't happy with a factory being built in Glasgow's

00:13oldest park. So they employed an architect called William Leeper who eventually designed the

00:20building on the Dodges Palace in Venice which is why we've got this unbelievable looking building

00:25as our home now. But it's a building that would have made carpets for I think the Titanic

00:32unfortunately, Buckingham Palace, Taj Mahal as well. So a real iconic piece of Glasgow architecture.

00:39You've established yourself as one of Glasgow's best known peers. What is your relationship

00:45like with Glasgow's East End? It's our home. You know we've been here since we opened 18

00:52years ago. I guess at the time you could argue probably it's not the most fashionable or

00:57trendiest part of the city when we opened and a few people probably raised their eyes to think

01:02why go there. I guess most breweries also the easy option is just to be in an industrial state on the

01:09edge of a city but actually you know taking part of Glasgow's industrial heritage and then repurposing

01:17it you know for a modern business is you know absolute genius from our founder Petra at the

01:22time. You know I just can't imagine there's been anywhere else. I think you know the East End is

01:27proper Glasgow, it's working class Glasgow. I think people appreciate the fact of what we are and what

01:33we try and do you know and I think when you have neighbours such as the Barras, Barraland's Ballroom

01:40you know it's just home. You know I think you know we're here to stay. So as a brewery our obvious

01:48connection to Germany is Petra our founder is German. She's from near Nuremberg in Bavaria and she founded

01:55a brewery to make a lager that Glasgow could be proud of and we have a German heritage in Germany.

02:01Breweries in Germany have to adhere to the German beer purity law, the Reinheitsgebot which is

02:07reputedly the oldest food law in the world and it decrees that you can only use malt, water, hops and

02:14yeast and that's it. So we as a business it probably was never any option of us ever doing anything

02:21other than adhering to the German beer purity law as a German brewery in Glasgow.