Glasgow – Counting House

A new city for me (well, bar one day here a few years ago) and so that gives me the opportunity to visit a few more pubs in the Good Beer Guide. This one is operated by JD Wetherspoon and is located in a former Bank of Scotland building which was built in the late nineteenth century, designed by J T Ruchead.

Apologies that this photo is slightly on the slant, but this is the entrance to the pub. I have to say that Wetherspoons do make a substantial effort to preserve old buildings and treat them in a respectful manner.

That’s a grand interior….. Service was fine, although I’ve seen cleaner pubs and it probably could have been much cleaner and looked after. But, I decided to not let that stop me from trying a couple of halves.

The Monster Hop from Redcastle Brewery who are from Arbroath in Scotland.

And the Tower IPA from the same brewery. Neither beer was exceptional or worth noting much about, but they were well-kept, at the appropriate temperature and tasted as they should.

There are a lot of complaints over several months about slow app orders here, the number of which suggests that something is going wrong with this particular pub. I can see why, it took them 16 minutes to get my order over to me and it wasn’t very busy. Not that it mattered, I wasn’t in a rush, but it’s not perhaps ideal for those wanting a quick drink.

I can see why the pub is in the Good Beer Guide as it usually has over ten real ales, and even in these difficult times it still has seven different ales. I’m not sure that any are exceptional, but they’re keenly priced, well-kept and at least there’s a selection. Although the balance of beer styles isn’t ideal, they have no dark beers and quite a few IPAs.

For the very slow service time with the app, which is clearly an ongoing issue, and for the lack of cleanliness, I wouldn’t rush back here, but it’s another Good Beer Guide pub visited….