West Brewery

West Brewery operates from the Templeton Building on Glasgow Green, brewing lager and other German-style beers on site since 2006. Founder Petra Wetzel, who studied at the University of Glasgow after a school exchange introduced her to Scotland, set out to brew strictly under the Reinheitsgebot, the 1516 German purity law permitting only water, malt, hops and yeast; West says it remains the only UK brewery to brew all of its beer this way. The building itself, a red sandstone former carpet factory built to resemble Venice's Doge's Palace, houses both the brewing operation and an adjoining beer hall, West on the Green, serving Bavarian-style food alongside the beer. Visitors can take a guided walk through the brewery to see the process firsthand. The business came through a period of administration in 2008, when Wetzel bought it back and kept it independent.