Tennents, Hillhead, Glasgow

Bit of a let down it was talked up on the open top bus the last pub to ban women in until the 1972 12 hand pulls had a pint of reverend James bit warm. Was told on the bus its had a woman manager ever since it lifted the ban. The open top buses are good for pub crawls and getting your bearings of cites they usually take about an hour and you can hop of and on all day In Glasgow like Edinburgh your ticket last for two days

Tennents is very much pub of big reputation and despite being a fair trek from the City Centre, is generally one of the first names on the list for beer tourists. The pub itself I found a little disappointing visually, not much more than a large cavernous room with high ceilings propped up by slender columns, plain décor and little that really catches the eye and even the random, mostly unannotated, pictures and portraits were all seemingly unconnected or relevant to the area. The multiple TV’s (showing football on my visit) give the place more of a sports bar ambience than a traditional ale house and it all felt very male dominated so learning that women were banned here until 1972 didn’t really come as a shock! There is also a basement bar which I didn’t visit. The main reason for a visit is obviously the ales and it certainly doesn’t disappoint on that front with a selection that included Fullers IPA, Caldonian Deuchars, Harviestoun Bitter & Twsted, Moorhouse Honey, Brewsters Roll In The Hay, Liberation IPA, TSA Double Expresso, Harviestoun Natural Blond and Atlas Wayfarer IPA. There were another 3 pumps unused. There was also a basic food menu with burgers and pizzas around £5/£6 with various special deals advertised. The pub was busy but comfortable and service was good. Although the beers were excellent, I can’t help feeling being underwhelmed by the the general feel of the place and whilst I’m glad I went, I’m not sure I would make a big effort to revisit unless there was something else nearby to warrant the effort.