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

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Anticipation for the venue has been fierce ever since Scotland’s second-biggest craft brewer announced plans to bring its successful bar and restaurant concept West last year. 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”.

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.

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The JSESSIONID cookie is used by New Relic to store a session identifier so that New Relic can monitor session counts for an application. 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. So, whether the beer lover in your life prefers ice-cold larger, quirky craft IPAs or traditional ales, there is sure to be something here they’ll adore. 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. We'll also be teaming up with our local distillery Auchentoshan to use some of their casks to age our beer and there will even be some ready for the launch."I quite liked it here and would not hesitate to recommend to pop in to try the breweries products when in Dundee.

Head upstairs and the design shifts to a speakeasy-style Attic Bar – a late night venue that will also host live music and private functions. Apart from the toilets, which were completely refitted, Morgan says it was a case of enhancing what was already there. Some existing elements of the loft space remain, including the magnificent wood triangular bar which will serve Innis & Gunn “hoptails” and two craft beer fridges have been installed at 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. 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. Every opening is different and it's exciting to see how the Beer Kitchen brand is evolving. There is a massive boom in craft beer just now, where people are rejecting the boring mass produced beers of the past in favour of craft beers with real flavour, and we are at the forefront of that, not just in the UK, but internationally, and it's a truly amazing thing to be part of."

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. First and foremost, we will be offering amazing beer. The whole reason we are here is that we love craft beer and we are excited to share that with everyone.

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. Guinness brings sweet, savoury, malty notes with an addictive bitterness,” says chef and restaurateur Robin Gill. Just like Marmite, he says, “people who like it absolutely love it”, and it’s not hard to see why. When deployed in those cakes and stews, Guinness adds a great depth of flavour, which is why Dee Rettali, co-founder of Fortitude Bakehouse in London, includes it in her chocolate cake. “It also helps with the fermentation, because we keep the prepared batter for two days before baking,” she says. “The batter is then bubbly and stouty, which gives the cake a rich, slightly bitter, coffee taste that is beautifully offset by a sweet, creme fraiche icing.” Innis & Gunn founder and head brewer Dougal Sharp said: "We opened our first Beer Kitchen in Edinburgh as it was our home town but we had always planned to open one in Glasgow. • READ MORE: An interview with Dougal Sharp: Innis & Gunn’s founder and master brewer 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.”

We invest a lot in staff training making sure the staff are friendly and knowledgeable about everything we do here." He adds, “We really wanted to push the idea of comfort and went with natural leather and colours because we wanted it to be quite tactile and have a natural feel and colour that is offset against the wood and metal.” We also have the barrel aging room where we plan to mature a range of different beers in miniaturised (virgin) oak barrels so you'll be able to go in and actually taste beer from an oak barrel and actually see the effect that it has on the flavour. 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.