Templeton Building
Glasgow Green
Glasgow, G40 1AW
Scotland
West Brewing Company Ltd, 15 Binnie Place, Glasgow, G40 1AW
WEST was founded on a vision to brew the best beer in the UK. After several years of careful planning, they opened their doors on the 10th of March 2006, having built one of the UK’s most advanced small breweries amidst the Victorian grandeur of the famous Templeton Carpet Factory.
West combined tradition and modern design in creating a truly unique space both for staff and for visitors. They also combine tradition and innovation every time they brew, by fusing the tradition and techniques of the great German breweries with the cutting-edge technologies they employ, alongside some Scottish ingenuity.
Imported from Germany, their brewery offers true cutting-edge technology enabling them to produce beers of the most exacting quality and consistency. From the high copper chimneys through to the fully-automated control system, they mix time-honoured tradition and modern innovation. WEST is the first UK brewery to produce
all of its beers in accordance with the Reinheitsgebot, known as the German Purity Law. This means that they only use the four core ingredients, water, malt,
hops and yeast in brewing all of their beers, adding no artificial additives,colouring or preservatives.
You can actually look down into the brewhouse from the beer hall above and watch the brewers at work (www.thedrinkingmansguidetoscotland.com/west-brewing.html).
Housed in probably the grandest location of any brewery anywhere - the Templeton Building is modelled on the Doge's Palace in Venice - WEST brewery looks out across Glasgow Green to the People's Palace. It's a perfect spot to take the tour, enjoy some lunch, and then stroll through the park to the River Clyde (www.drinkbritain.com/destinations/40/west-brewery-bar-and-restaurant).
Templeton On The Green, also known as Templeton Business Centre, is a distinctive building near the People's Palace, in Glasgow, Scotland. The building was designed and built as a carpet factory for James Templeton and Son. After repeated design proposals had been rejected by Glasgow Corporation, James Templeton hired the architect William Leiper to produce a design that would be so grand it could not possibly be rejected, so Leiper modelled the building on the Doge's Palace in Venice. It was said that the wealthy citizens living in nearby Monteith Row did not wish to overlook a factory and it was decided the building should be of appropriate design for such a prominent location in the city (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Templeton_On_The_Green).
Petra Wetzel, born in Germany but a long time resident of Glasgow, decided to start brewing quality beer after her Dad, on a visit to the city, was unable to find any decent local lagers. The brewery moved into its present magnificent premises in 2006 and since then has been impressing an ever increasing number of beer drinkers with its fine brews, which are made in accordance with the ancient German Purity Law. The tour takes in every aspect of the brewer's craft, from selecting the malt and hops, through the mashing and fermenting in WEST's state of the art copper kettles, to the maturing and kegging. Then it's onwards and upwards to the bar. There you can try a flight of the beers you have just watched being made, whilst looking down on the activities in the brewing hall below. The bistro food is seriously tasty and portions are large – and I'm sure they serve the largest pretzels ever. (www.drinkbritain.com/destinations/40/
GLASWEGIAN HEART
INVENTIVE & PASSIONATE
Glasgow is Scotland’s cultural capital, standing at the forefront of the UK’s creative arena. Belonging to a city that is fiercely proud of its institutions and artisans means everything we do at WEST is infused with this renowned Glaswegian spirit.
GERMAN HEAD
CULTIVATED & PERFECTED
The desire to produce the very best is what makes the German work ethic an enviable industry tool. We channel the best of this maxim into refining our processes, striving for nothing short of perfection, again and again and again (www.westbeer.com/#glaswegian-heart--german-head).
Following the success of WEST Brewery in Glasgow's iconic Templeton building, owner Petra Wetzel (pictured) is launching a new 160-capacity pub, WEST on the Corner (www.caterlyst.com/c3t/insight/Region.aspx?r=1&t=20&n=6801).
WEST is the only UK brewery to produce all of its lagers and wheat beers in accordance with the Reinheitsgebot, the German Purity Law of 1516, merging centuries of traditional practice with state of the art equipment.
THE REINHEITSGEBOT
DUKE WILHELM IV OF BAVARIA - 1516
“In cities, markets and the country, the only ingredients used for the brewing of beer must be Barley, Hops and Water. Whosoever knowingly disregards or transgresses upon this ordinance, shall be punished by the Court authorities confiscating such barrels of beer.”
GERMAN PURITY LAW
THE BREWING ESSENTIALS
Introduced to safeguard and preserve quality standards, the Purity Law lost lost its legal status over time. Today many German brewers still proudly adhere to the Reinheitsgebot, and like WEST, believe that this is simply the best way to produce great beers.
...
More than just a preservation of tradition, the German Purity Law is an appreciation of the art of brewing itself. At a time where others are reliant on cheaper, faster means of production, we operate a different value system: purity in ingredients and process (www.westbeer.com/brewing/).
WEST BREWERY - THE ART OF BREWING IN 10 STEPS (YOUTUBE)
Short film explaining the steps involved in making WEST beer. Filmed at WEST brewery in the Templeton Building on Glasgow Green (www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2LtPhhWWow)
Our brewers are true artisans, carefully studying and experimenting with our core ingredients to find new ways to create fresh flavours. We hope to continue to spark people’s passion and excitement for authentic, honest lagers and wheat beers (www.westbeer.com/brewing/).
WEST was born from the belief that Scotland deserved a Premium lager to be proud of. Our drinkers hold us to this with every batch we brew.
Brewed in strict accordance with the time-honoured traditions of the 1516 German Purity Law, every WEST beer is the product of carefully sourced barley, hops, yeast and water, and absolutely nothing else (www.westbeer.com/beers/scottish-premium-beers/).
Petra Wetzel brews German-style lager in Glasgow, at the West Brewery that she opened in 2006. Her beer has sold well, but she had no plans to export to North America until a bank offered to send her on a trade mission to New York (www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/business/small_business/article1227049.ece).
Our quest for truly great Scottish beer started in 2006. Ever since then, we have been brewing the finest artisan lagers and wheat beers in the UK.
We brew all our beers in strict accordance with the German Purity Law of 1516, which we believe is simply the best way to make great beer.
Our German roots are firmly planted in Glasgow and our company ethos can best be summed up as ‘Glaswegian Heart. German Head’ (www.westbeer.com/).
Petra Wetzel spotted a gap in the Scottish beer market. She opened up a traditional-style German brewery, bar and restaurant in the city of Glasgow and hasn't looked back since.
The heart of Scotland's biggest city isn't where you would expect to find a traditional German-style brewery, serving authentic fare. But that's exactly what Bavarian businesswoman Petra Wetzel set up in a corner of Glasgow's east end...Getting the West brewery, bar and restaurant up and running wasn't easy. Wetzel had never brewed before and was in a city better known for its traditional strong lagers than Hefeweizen wheat beers.
But after seeking advice from a number of experts, her products quickly caught on. West is now generating impressive profits with award-winning beers and changing the way Scots think about beer.
"I think I have had the biggest advantage because I am a woman and I am a foreigner," Wetzel explained. "I knew very little about beer when I started, so people didn't take me that seriously, or see me as a threat."
Wetzel set up the West brewery and beer hall in large premises overlooking Glasgow Green, one of the city's large parks. Its beers are now sold in a clutch of top bars and restaurants across Britain.
West is the only brewery in Britain that adheres to the strict German purity law of 1516, the Reinheitsgebot, which dictates that only water, barley and hops may be used in the production of beer. Wetzel first came up with the idea when she was studying at Glasgow University.
"I'm from Franconia in the south of Germany and my dad came to visit and we sat in a bar in the west end Glasgow and he said, 'What's the lager darling?'" she said. "He had tried all the beers on draught and there was nothing he thought was drinkable.
"He couldn't believe a city like Glasgow, with 850,000 people, didn't have a decent brewery that produced the kind of beer that he liked drinking."
Turning the idea from a dream drawn up on the back of a beer mat into reality has been difficult, but the business has been supported by enthusiastic Glaswegians with an ever-growing wanderlust.
"It was very much about educating people in Glasgow that what we were doing was right," Wetzel said. "Because people go travelling these days ... skiing in Austria or Bavaria, or to Oktoberfest in Munich. They discover all these other beers in Europe. They then come back and ask 'why we don't have a brewery that produces this kind of beer in Glasgow?' Well now they do, and that's the reason why West exists."
West has won a clutch of awards. Its Hefeweizen was named supreme champion keg beer by the UK Society of Independent Brewers in March.
"The smaller brewery movement in Britain has predominantly been in ales, so West bucks the trend in craft beer production," said SIBA chief executive Julian Growcock.
"What people like Petra are proving is that lagers don't have to be bland and bitter - they can truly be something to be enjoyed."
...The growing popularity of West beers means the brewery is currently operating at full capacity, but Wetzel said she still sees plenty of room for growth. "We are building a second brewery in Glasgow so we are increasing capacity times 20," she said. "That's what we need in order to grow to the level of business that we want to reach." West currently only sells its beers in the UK, but Wetzel said the brewery has had a lot of interest from bars as far afield as New York. "I think we are seen as a niche product," Wetzel explained (www.dw.com/en/german-brewery-changes-glasgows-drinking-culture/a-15082086).
Petra Wetzel who set up the WEST brewery in 2006
Listening to the Italian businessman on the other end of the line, Petra could see pound signs in front of her eyes. He had heard about the huge popularity of Petra’s bottled beer. Now he wanted to meet to discuss importing it in bulk to Italy. It was a fantastic opportunity.
But, as she consulted her diary, Petra — who runs one of Britain’s most successful small breweries, knew what her answer had to be. He could only offer me a two-hour slot bang in the middle of my son’s sports day last year,’ recalls Petra. ‘I had to say No. I’m a businesswoman, but I’m a mum first.’
Blonde, attractive and the founder of one of Britain’s most successful small breweries with an annual turnover just shy of £10 million, Petra may well be every man’s dream.
But she says with a laugh: ‘I sound like a real catch. But the truth is I’m fiercely independent, stubborn and work long hours. The only man in my life is Noah. He’s my priority and the reason I drive myself so hard.’ (www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3061374/Femail-celebrates-new-breed-entrepreneurial-mothers-single-mum-brewed-10-million-fortune.html)
As a single mother, running a hugely successful business is a tall order. What makes Petra’s success even more extraordinary is that she started her company when Noah was just a baby — and in the wake of a broken marriage.
Petra’s flagship beer, St Mungo lager, is stocked in 100 branches of Waitrose in the UK as well as in branches of Tesco in Scotland. And later this year she is opening a second brewery in Glasgow to cope with demand.
The germ of the idea came in 1994 when Petra, who was born in Germany, was having a drink with her father, Herbert, in a pub. ‘I was studying at Glasgow University and Dad had come to visit,’ she recalls. He ordered a pint of local lager, took a sip and winced. Then he asked what the best Glasgow lager was and, to my horror, I realised I didn’t know.
‘In Germany, every village and town has a good brewery. It’s something people are proud of and want to show off to visitors. He couldn’t believe that a city like Glasgow didn’t have its own brewery. It got me thinking.’
Twelve years later, Petra opened a small brewery and beer hall/restaurant with her then husband, Gordon, with the help of a loan from her parents.
‘I met Gordon at university and married him in December 2000,’ recalls Petra. ‘We both had first-class business degrees and, naively, I thought that meant we could easily run a business. I was working as a lawyer, so we agreed Gordon would take charge and I would take a back seat.’
WEST Brewing Company opened in March 2006, just eight months after Noah was born. ‘He was conceived on a trip to Chicago, where we’d gone to learn about brewing,’ Petra recalls. ‘I had been told that I could never have children so, although the timing was terrible because of the new business, we were both ecstatic.’ She adds: ‘We had bills to pay, so I was working three days a week just two months after Noah arrived. With my legal job and a newborn, I didn’t have time to think about the business. Besides, I thought it was in safe hands.’
However, in October 2006, when Noah was just three months old, Petra’s life went into free fall when her marriage fell apart. ‘I was so devastated, I decided to step away from the business. I focused on looking after Noah and my job.’ However, in December 2007, a little over a year after the break-up of their marriage, Petra had another shock: the business was in crisis. ‘Gordon was away when the butcher who supplied our restaurant rang and threatened to set fire to my car,’ she recalls. ‘It turned out the company owed him thousands.
‘When I went round to the company’s office. I filled a black bin liner with our unpaid invoices, went home and spent the night going over them. We had debts up to our eyeballs.’
Many women would have quit. But looking at her son, Petra realised she didn’t have a choice. ‘It was sink or swim. Noah gave me the confidence I needed,’ says Petra. ‘We had ploughed my inheritance into the business. It was all I had. Besides, I knew I’d hit on a great idea. All it needed was graft to make it work. My parents agreed to look after Noah for seven weeks in Germany. The company went into administration. I called in a brilliant firm of accountants and worked flat out on a plan for the future.
‘It was tough. Noah went into full-time day care and most nights I would still be at my laptop at 1am. Many times, I sobbed myself to sleep. I felt way out of my depth, but I became good at multi-tasking.
‘I quit my legal job and bought the assets out of the hands of administrators and began building it, single-handedly, into the thriving company it is today.
We are now a beer brand as well as a restaurant and beer hall. And our flagship beer, St Mungo lager, is sold worldwide. We are just about to send a consignment to Hong Kong. Of course, I have to make tough choices. I could beat myself up about not being there enough for Noah. I’ve lost count of the number of times he will be in the car and I have to shush him because I’m taking an important call.
‘But feeling guilty is just a waste of energy. Noah knows he’s my priority. We are a very tight unit — particularly as his father now lives in America. We have the most wonderful full-time nanny, Helen, who Noah adores, and I spend every second I’m not working with him. ‘Recently he said: “Mum you are a brilliant Mum and a brilliant Dad.” That meant the world to me.
‘And thanks to the business, we have a great lifestyle. For my 40th birthday I bought us a treat: a speedboat. It’s moored at Loch Lomond and zipping up and down the water at weekends makes a tough working week worthwhile.’ (www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3061374/Femail-celebrates-new-breed-entrepreneurial-mothers-single-mum-brewed-10-million-fortune.html) Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3061374/Femail-celebrates-new-breed-entrepreneurial-mothers-single-mum-brewed-10-million-fortune.html#ixzz3wgcjoRyL
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Louise Burnett, Relationship Director, Commercial and Private Banking with Royal Bank of Scotland, added:
WEST has become a Scottish institution and is renowned for the quality of its produce and its commitment to maintaining high standards in brewing.We are delighted to have been able to help Petra in achieving her ambition of expanding the business and develop its Glasgow operation (www.rbsif.co.uk/about/latest-news/october-2015/west-brewery).
Petra Wetzel Director of WEST Brewery
Petra Wetzel, Director WEST Brewery said: :
Our quest for truly great Scottish beer started in 2006. Ever since then, we have been brewing the finest artisan lagers and wheat beers in the UK. We brew all our beers in strict accordance with the German Purity Law of 1516, which we believe is simply the best way to make great beer.
The new brewery is a very exciting step for us and will allow us to increase our output significantly to cope with demand of our premium lagers and wheat beers from across the UK and internationally. We have been very happy with the support from the bank and Invoice Finance team whose financial backing has been key to our growth (www.rbsif.co.uk/about/latest-news/october-2015/west-brewery).
Noah Beers, the company which trades as the WEST beer hall and microbrewery, is to invest £4m in a new 15,000 sq ft brewery at its site in Glasgow by next May (www.caterlyst.com/c3t/insight/Region.aspx?r=1&t=20&n=7304).
Glasgow Green based craft microbrewery West, has applied for planning permission for a major new brewery development on the east side of the city close to the M74.
It is thought the development will come at a cost of £7m and create 20 new jobs. The land earmarked for the scheme is owned by the regeneration agency Clyde Gateway.
Last year Heidi Beers, West’s parent company, received £1.85m from the Scottish Government to help move the 70% of production in Germany to a new facility in a former whisky cooperage in Port Dundas, on the north side of Glasgow, capable of brewing 50,000 hectolitres a year (www.caterlyst.com/c3t/insight/Region.aspx?r=1&t=20&n=5384).
WEST Brewery enjoy a growth surge as plans are underway for a second brewing facility
Petra Wetzel’s passion and dream to create high volumes of premium Scottish lagers and wheat beers is about to come to fruition after securing financial backing from RBS Invoice Finance and Royal Bank of Scotland to assist the construction of a second new brewery for WEST.
WEST manufacture Scottish-made beers from a brewery located at the Templeton Building on Glasgow Green. The new facility will be located on site and is set to increase the volume of products manufactured by WEST which are distributed via wholesale and to pubs, restaurants, hotels and off-licenses across the UK. The new brewery will also generate three new jobs and the potential for further growth.
Petra Wetzel is the company’s founder. She is German born but has lived in Glasgow for the past 22 years and has been running WEST brewery since its inception. The decision to manufacture Scottish-made beers established WEST as the only UK brewery to produce all of its lagers and wheat beers in accordance with the Reinheitsgebot. This is the German Purity Law of 1516, merging centuries of traditional practice with state of the art equipment. The business also runs a beerhall and restaurant at the Templeton Building site which is operated under Noah Beers and has, in 2015, opened a second venue (WEST on the Corner) in the West End of the city (www.rbsif.co.uk/about/latest-news/october-2015/west-brewery).
The company's Petra Wetzel pours a pint in the company's existing brewery near to Glasgow Green. Picture: Martin Shields
A Clyde Gateway spokesman said: "I can confirm that Clyde Gateway has been in discussions with the owner of West Brewery and a planning application has been submitted for a development on land within our ownership." (www.heraldscotland.com/news/13140924.Brewery_plans_are_unveiled_
amid_craft_beer_boom/).
West aims to move all of its production, including the 70% of its operations currently based in Germany, to a new facility; it will also take on 18 new employees and launch a new low-alcohol lager (http://sltn.co.uk/2012/09/20/brewers-benefit-from-government-grants/).
One of Scotland's acclaimed microbreweries has applied for permission for a major new development in the area, the second beer manufacturer to do so in a matter of months.
Heidi Beers, which trades as West Brewery, already produces its St Mungo beer in its flagship operation near Glasgow Green but wants to build another facility on the city's eastern boundary close to the M74.
It is understood the new brewery, plans for which have been submitted to Glasgow City Council, would cost in excess of £7 million and create around 20 jobs at the site on London Road.
The company is now in advanced talks with regeneration agency Clyde Gateway about securing land for the venture, which would include a tasting facility. Heidi Beers has already received £1.85m from the Scottish Government to help move all its production from Germany to a new facility in Scotland.
Around 70% of its operations are based in Germany, (www.heraldscotland.com/news/13140924.Brewery_plans_are_unveiled_amid_craft_beer_boom/).
De bieren van WEST hebben een typisch etiket:
Full bodied but easy drinking, ST. MUNGO is a hybrid between a true Bavarian Helles and a northern German Pils. Naturally carbonated, its malty sweetness is contrasted by a subtle hop bitterness. Clean, crisp and refreshing, ST. MUNGO is perfect with food (www.westbeer.com/beers/st-mungo/). West St Mungo Lager
Named after Glasgow's local patron saint – and a brewer himself – in typical WEST style, this packs more flavour in than you... (www.drinkbritain.com/destinations/40/west-brewery-bar-and-restaurant)
The sub-title – pure heavenly – seems appropriate. This is refreshing, with a light bitterness on the finish, plus enough flavour to go well with food (www.drinkbritain.com/drinks/40/west-st-mungo-lager).
Appearance: Straw coloured with a very nice, two finger sized dome head that lasted really well. The head also left some nice lacing on the glass.
Aroma: Similar to a lot of pale lagers but with a fuller smell. Notes of biscuit, corn & grassy hops. Better than expected.
Taste: Again similar to the aroma with a really nice lager taste that is really well balanced & finishes with a fruity aftertaste that is very pleasant.
Palate: Light to medium bodied & quite full in flavour as well as being very smooth with solid carbonation.
Overall: A very good lager that is well balanced & highly drinkable, possibly one of the nicest I have ever tried. I can’t really fault this one at all (https://abarwithnoname.wordpress.com/2011/01/).
WEST 4 (4%)
With all the balanced flavours of a traditional crisp, clean German lager, WEST 4 is light in colour and body. It strikes the perfect balance between malty sweet and bitter hop flavours to deliver an easy drinking lager with a refreshing zesty finish (www.westbeer.com/beers/west-4/).
Brewedwith 80% malted wheat HEFEWEIZEN is bursting with banana and clove flavours. Finished in a traditional unfiltered style, the malty body is complemented by a lightly hopped finish. It is a great accompaniment to sweet and savoury foods, or the perfect fruity refreshment on a sunny afternoon (www.westbeer.com/beers/hefeweizen/).
Every pint stands proudly alongside its lighter lager family. Softly carbonated with a malty, biscuity base and sweet caramel undertones, MUNICH RED appeals to both ale drinkers and lager fans searching for something a little different (www.westbeer.com/beers/munich-red/).
This dry stout is packed with all the dark chocolate and coffee taste you would expect, without the bitterness. The flavour profile changes as the temperature slowly increases in the glass, revealing a hint of liquorice and a light hop brightness (www.westbeer.com/beers/black/).
Modelled on one of Bavaria’s most traditional styles of lager, DUNKEL stays true to its roots. A unique five malt blend is expertly hopped for added bite. Its deep, malty character is complex with a rich chocolate aroma and a nutty-sweet taste (www.westbeer.com/beers/dunkel/). A unique recipe to West, a blend of five malts (www.thedrinkingmansguidetoscotland.com/west-brewing.html).
Like IPAs and their American counterparts, our GPA (or “Kölsch” in its native Cologne) is light with a hoppy finish. It is made with both malted barley and wheat and is strongly hopped with American Chinook and Hallertau Mittelfrueh hops, which perfectly complement its dry biscuity finish (www.westbeer.com/beers/g-p-a/) (www.perfectpint.co.uk/real-ale-beers-info/19628/WEST/GPA). Ik dacht dat GPA stond voor Glasgow Pale Ale, maar het staat dus voor German Pale Ale (a.k.a. Kölsch).
Created in collaboration with Glasgow’s most celebrated venue, this light, easy drinking lager holds plenty of hop bite, underpinned by an earthy, citrus quality. Now on tap at the renowned King Tuts, this crisp pint goes down perfectly with a night of live music (www.westbeer.com/beers/king-tuts/).
King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, also known as King Tut's, is a live music venue and bar on St. Vincent Street, Glasgow, Scotland. It is owned and managed by Glasgow-based gig promoters DF Concerts (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Tut%27s_Wah_Wah_Hut).