Glendola Leisure Group has opened a new Glasgow site today, Shilling Brewing Co, a specialist bar that brews its own craft beer, and serves up pizza.
The company has invested £1.5m in refurbishing the historic building on the corner of West George Street and West Nile Street into a 160-seat pub.
The company consulted with pioneering craft brewer Drygate ahead of the venture, having established a relationship with the business when it collaborated with Gordon St Coffee on an espresso stout.
Complementing the ethos of brewing quality beers, customers can also enjoy the best artisan pizzas this side of Napoli, each made using brewers’ yeast and cooked fresh in a cupola oven.
Stuart Leithead, General Manager of Shilling Brewing Co, said, “In our first entry into the craft beer market, we have created a new brewpub experience where the art and science of brewing meet to bring customers the best of beers in a design led environment.
'At the forefront of Shilling Brewing Co. is our very own core range of beers; designed to be enjoyed fresh from the source, straight to the customer crafted on site by our talented Head Brewer.
'As well as traditional beer offering we will feature several independent craft brewers as well as a food offering of artisan pizzas, made fresh in cupola ovens using dough risen with brewers’ yeast. Scotland has been leading the way in the craft beer market and we are excited to unveil the next chapter in the Scottish beer story, with a Glasgow twist.”
Head Brewer Declan McCaffrey, who has an BSc in Brewing & Distilling from Heriot-Watt University and has worked in several breweries across the UK, said, “Glasgow has been pioneering the perfect pint for over 400 years and at Shilling Brewing Co. we have tapped into that heritage with our core range of four craft beers.
'We have something for everyone from our bright, hop-forward Unicorn IPA named after Scotland's national animal, our pint for the Clydesider in a classic Glasgow Red Ale, The Steamie blonde which is our nod to the bittersweet nostalgic history of Glasgow and our Full-On Nettle Racket which is our first small-batch rotational brew with a stinging scream of locally foraged nettles from Queens’ Park - no dock leaves required.”
Glendola Leisure was founded in 1973 by chairman Peter Salussolia, and employs over 500 staff in venues throughout the UK.