One of the main reasons I left the wilderness of Caithness, and returned to the relatively cosmopolitan Central Belt, was the promise of easier access to beer and beer events. During nearly 20 years in Edinburgh, I lived for any excuse to head out for a decent beer – tap takeover, meet the brewer, beer launches all gave me a reason to head out over and above “I fancy a pint”. So you can imagine my joy when, after the disappointment of Elusive’s “Collabageddon” not having a Glasgow venue last year, Koelschip Yard announced that they had been chosen as one of the hosts for this year’s Zwanze Day.

Planning for the day, I quickly realised that I was going to be going solo, with my other half away visiting family. When Koelschip then announced that they were going for an unticketed “free for all”, I briefly considered giving it a miss – I love a solo pint, but the idea of getting down early and taking up room on my own for the entire day, waiting for the main beers to be tapped, had me on edge before I’d even set off!

On the day, I woke up early, put on my big boy pants and decided to get myself over to the Southside early and then play it by ear. Since I was in the area, I took the opportunity to start at the Allison Arms for a quick warm up. Given the complexity of the beers I was moving on to, I decided on a simple pint of Best and sat in the sun with my beer and a cigar (the picturesque view of the traffic and roadworks on Pollokshaws Rd really punctured the fantasy of being sat in El Floridita.) Once I’d finished, I took the two-minute walk around to Koelschip to settle in for the day and work my way through the support acts, before the appearance of the headliners at 8pm.

Koelschip was surprisingly quiet when I arrived, and the always friendly and helpful staff immediately thrust a printed tap list into my hand.  I propped myself at a standing table and spent a pleasurable afternoon alternating thirds of Saint-Lamvinus, Chenin Blanc and the beautifully peppery Ashanti (my beer of the day) with pints of refreshing, palate-cleansing Table Beer from The Kernel. As the bar began to fill up, I did feel my anxieties start to rise, being stood on my own in a busy bar, but anyone who knows Keolschip knows how relaxed, friendly and welcoming it is, and any feelings of discomfort were purely of my own making!

When it came to the release of the Zwanze beers themselves, the bar had it all sussed out. To speed things up they came around the bar taking orders and putting everything through the till on tab. This meant they were able to pre pour the beers and deliver them, rather than ending up with a scrum at the bar. It seemed to work brilliantly, and they managed to get around everyone. At the appointed time (8pm, as per Zwanze Day rules) they started to circulate with the beers – in my case, one each of the Blanche & Rouge Artemis. The beers themselves were as tasty as you’d expect from Cantillon – the Blanche a little less complex, although with a decent herby flavour, and the Rouge more layered and slightly fresher tasting. The pouring of the Zwanze beers also marked the start of my night becoming much more sociable, and my anxieties about being on my own started to melt away. A couple who had reserved a table got up to leave and, despite a bar full of people eyeing the table, the guy made a point of offering it to me as “you’ve been stood here all afternoon”. I gratefully took him up on the offer, and almost immediately got into conversation with a couple of local brewers before bumping into other people I knew. A table of folk involved in bringing Zwanze Day to the Southside had brought along a selection of cellared Cantillon bottles to share and celebrate the occasion, giving out generous pours of a 10-year-old Iris and an aged Lou Pepe. As we approached kicking out time, I packed the bottles I’d picked up to take away (a Vigneronne and a Rose De Gambrinus for my other half to enjoy) and headed for my train. I made it back home just in time to pick up a shawarma box and catch up on Match of the Day, reflecting on how lucky I was to have nights like this right back on my doorstep.