Bon Accord, Glasgow

Iconic real ale pub with two banks of hand pumps, the second a bit hard to see, with a mirrored pillar in the way, but the blackboard behind the bar with eight cask beers and a cider is a bit of a giveaway. I had two halves, one from each set of pumps. There are samples in wee bottles in front of each pump, and I meant "wee" in the Scottish sense, but in fact one of them seemed to require antibiotics but was probably just a hazy IPA. I went for Kelburn Whisky Chaser, a beer name with a subliminal message, and Eden River Fuggles Blonde, both of which were in good condition but underwhelming, which is meant to indicate cognitive dissonance in the NBSS universe, but if the brewer is determined to brew a bland beer, nothing the cellarman can do is going to make me want to drink another before moving on. A quiz was taking place during my visit, but it seemed too intellectual, puzzling and punitive for my taste, with the QM going round the tables and deducting points on a system even more impenetrable than NBSS.

Proper pub this, with 8 pumps, though my Chinook hopped Pale was past its best. Plenty of seats, and plenty of punters in the house. I'd have gladly stopped for another, just for quality investigation purposes, but had to get away unfortunately. I would come back, and I'm sure the next pint would be better.

Official site of Bon Accord - www.bonaccordpub.com