WHEN we started our business 10 years ago we were struck by the support from our families, who bent over backwards to help, despite thinking we were destined for the dole. Thankfully, we proved them wrong but they have always been there for us.

My business partner Scott Arnot’s father David deserves special mention and it was with great sadness we recently said goodbye to him after a battle with cancer.

He was always there to help on everything from repairs to accounts. When we needed to refurb the bar top at Lebowski’s in Finnieston and reopen as quickly as possible, David dismissed the idea of contractors and stripping the wood over days. Being a practical man, a good polish and a few cans of varnish was his suggestion. After the realisation that the number of cans needed made this unviable, he took the decision to hire a professional on the chin, opting for a pint while he watched us strip the bar back to bare wood.

I first met David while at university with Scott. He was constantly waxing lyrical about real beer. Even in his eulogy, Scott talked of his dad’s love of ‘real man’s’ beer. It made me fall in love with the original craft beer, real ale. Imagine my delight when I discovered I could combine my love of the black stuff with real ale in the form of Harviestoun Brewery’s Old Engine Oil – a truly delicious stout. It also goes great in a sticky toffee pudding mix. What’s not to like about cake and beer?

This weekend we will be ordering a few pints of ‘real man’s’ beer and remembering the great man, with smiles and laughter… and a face full of cake. He would be in his element.

Graham Suttle is the managing director of Kained Holdings which has nine venues including The Finnieston and Porter & Rye in Glasgow