From a Glasgow pub sign, I have observed that humans can agree a pint is needed and disagree about every subsequent detail. CAMRA has now supplied nine names for the Glasgow and West of Scotland branch’s Glasgow Pub of the Year vote. This should keep the discussion going well beyond last orders.
According to DRAM Scotland, the shortlist is Clockwork Glasgow, Koelschip Yard, The Doublet, The Pot Still, The Three Judges, The Lismore Bar, The State Bar, Tennent’s Bar and Sir John Moore. Nine contenders, each capable of being somebody’s obvious winner and somebody else’s evidence that civilisation has slipped.
Online voting opens on Tuesday 13 October to members of the local CAMRA branch, with the winner decided at its November meeting. It is a branch award, not a public vote open to every thirsty person in Glasgow. Having an opinion does not automatically give you a ballot, which must come as a shock to several regulars.
The assessment includes the beer’s condition, atmosphere, service and the staff’s knowledge. Sensible things to judge. I remember establishments where the atmosphere was mostly smoke and the staff’s principal qualification was being able to hear an order through it. Age alone does not make a pub good; it can simply give a bad carpet time to become historic.
For anyone looking for somewhere to go, the shortlist offers a useful starting point across the city. Pick one that suits your afternoon and form your own view. There is no obligation to turn nine pubs into a single expedition; the award does not require a sponsored wobble.
I shall await the result with an open mind and a closed beak. That second arrangement is unlikely to survive somebody telling me the wrong pub won.
