The Beer Kitchen: The art and science of cooking and pairing with beer

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From day one we wanted to open in Glasgow. It’s been worth the wait and we’re so excited to be on Ashton Lane. It’s a great location and great space,” says Managing Director of Innis & Gunn Retail, David Hall, who has spearheaded the Beer Kitchen concept alongside the company’s Founder Master Brewer, Dougal Sharp. Sharp says that local beer fans and visitors to the city can expect great beer (brewed by Ashton Lane head brewer Digger Robinson), delicious food and loads of innovation. To celebrate the launch and in a nod to Glasgow’s rich art heritage, Innis & Gunn is collaborating with local artist Lynn Howarth to provide customers with bespoke portraits made using beer.

Tony’s question is particularly well-timed, because Guinness welcomes winter spices – think cloves, juniper, allspice, cinnamon. A steamed syrup pudding is, Flynn says, an excellent example: “Add Guinness and some maple or golden syrup, and it will be amazing.” As with all good relationships, it’s important to take things slowly, though. “Because of the bitterness, play around with Guinness in moderation at first,” Flynn advises. Do that, he says, and you’ll find a “worthwhile burst of flavour”. Fancy throwing your hat in the home-brewing ring? Try some of the best home-brew kits and make the perfect pint for you. For a Monday night the place had a cosy atmosphere and I can imagine there being a real buzz at the weekend. I look forward to returning for a few more schooners and sampling more of the food.The accompanying seasonal vegetables were buttery and sweet and this dish was the winner for us – ideal for when you realise you’ve been sitting in the Beer Kitchen for a couple of hours, tasting more of the ales than you had intended to and suddenly feel the need to soak up the hops. It was unclear just what exactly they had available at the bar, but upon sitting down and consulting the menu, it became apparent that Innis and Gunn Lager Beer, The Original, Session IPA and Blood Red Sky tend to usually be on draught. After a chat with a very helpful waiter, I opted for a barrel aged version of the latter which was pretty good and much better than the Innis and Gunn beers I’d previously tried. The food was pretty good too and I found the staff to all be very friendly and attentive. Opening to the public on Friday 14th April, the new Beer Kitchen will have three floors, with the ground floor housing the craft beer bar and micro-brewery while the first floor will be the location of the restaurant. The third floor will be a more relaxed space which people will be able to hire out and will host gigs and events. With thorough advice on beer-types and flavour notes to beer and cheese pairing plus a helpful guide to tools and equipment and store cupboard essentials, The Beer Kitchen is a new, scientific and exciting approach to food that will change the way you cook and what you drink with it.

Although my partner’s conversation is obviously hilarious and enthralling, I paid attention to the plates of food that happened to pass by our table.While this area has an industrial feel, a simple colour scheme and natural materials create softness, comfort and warmth. There are seven booths in various sizes upholstered in natural tan leather which stand out against the white Osmo oiled vertical timber pallet walls, light oak tables and oak flooring. This combination is used throughout the bar and first-floor restaurant and creates a look Morgan describes as “a Scandi-Scottish hybrid.” In The Beer Kitchen award-winning beer expert Melissa Cole has combined two of her greatest passions: great brews and delicious food. Sharing over 70 incredible recipes Melissa expertly guides you through the gustatory pleasure of cooking with beer and what to drink with your creations. A 60-cover restaurant offering casual dining that’s “all about the flavour” awaits customers on the first floor. The design echoes the ground floor by using the same materials and furniture. A smaller replica of the bar runs along the left wall to an open kitchen. Hall points out, “downstairs the theatre is the brewery so here that theatre is the open kitchen, which equally creates a bit of atmosphere and interest.”

This is indeed the Dundee Tap room for the Edinburgh based Innis and Gunn Brewery, and now that St Andrews Brewing have moved into town they have had a recent makeover to make the place more spacious and show case more of their beers in something more resembling a tap room environment. The burger topped with Innis & Gunn pulled pork looked incredibly good and the clean wooden serving boards returning to the kitchen seemed evidence that it was. Sharp says the team will also be offering plenty of advice on food pairings and that if any customer wishes to know what a particular beer tastes like before they buy, they can try a small taster for free. Guy Morgan, co-director of Morgan McDonnell, led the Beer Kitchen’s design and build. He said the idea was to be “upfront and honest” about the whole brewing process and to make it as open and visual as possible “to highlight the freshness of the beer and allow people to see that process happen.”Up-and-coming, but not quite there yet, which is why the Beer Kitchen doesn’t quite seem to have found its audience yet. There are groups of students and it’s within easy distance of the Filmhouse cinema and the many theatres nearby, but the presence of groups of lads when we were in might have been a hangover to the very recent days when this was one of Lothian Road’s less salubrious strip joints.