John's World...Beers of Bangalore

As Brinda already mentioned, we are saying goodbyes and crossing off items on bucket lists.  For Father’s Day this year, Brinda set me up with a night of beer tasting through Airbnb experiences.  She really took care of me.  Set up the car, put money in my wallet, my only job was to drink beer. 

Hmmm.  I think I can do that. 

All over India, Bangalore is known for being the brewing capital.  Locals have drunk beer since the arrival of the British to the area.  More recently the reputation of beer capital was mostly built off the fact that United Breweries is headquarted and brews here in Bangalore.  United Breweries is the company that owns Kingfisher.  Like Budweiser (in many ways), Kingfisher brands make up a share of the market of over 90%.  It’s everywhere.  If you ask for a beer in India, you will likely get this. 

HQ of United Breweries, home of Kingfisher, aka the evil empire

Just over ten years ago, India relaxed their licensing of brewing.  Overnight, brewpubs popped up.  With a population that already had a taste for beer, Bangalore was once again at the brewing forefront.  Having lived through a similar revolution in the United States in New England and Seattle, it was amazing to see the similar dedication and joy that these brewers here in Bangalore have towards their craft.

The tour started around 5:30pm when I met my guide Akash at a place in Kormangala named Biergarten.  The place was packed as India was playing Pakistan in the Cricket World Cup.  In spite of the noise (India dismantled Pakistan), Akash explained the history of the brew scene, the restrictions for brewers, and the different beers brewers are experimenting with. 

double IPA

Indian brewers are in a tough spot.  All beer under a certain number of liters, must be consumed on premises.  This means that only big breweries are allowed to sell in liquor stores and restaurants.  Everyone else usually has a restaurant attached to the brewery.  No growlers are allowed to be sold either.  Additionally, beers must only be brewed to be below 8% alcohol.  This means many double IPAs, Imperial beers, and strong ales aren’t allowed.  So categories are somewhat limited.  Lastly, as I mentioned in the hop garden post, ingredients are hard to come by.  ALL ingredients must be imported.  This can make the initial expense for a brew cost prohibitive if you are trying to experiment with glamorous ingredients. 

herbed saison

Given these parameters, brewers tend to brew about 5-7 beers they know will sell and have possibly one experimental beer to gauge the tastes of consumers.  Every brewery I went to had a wheat beer or hefewiezen (biggest selling), a white beer (like a Blue Moon type), an IPA, a light ale (Kolsch for example), and a stout (poorest selling).  The experimental brews tended to be my favorite. 

Akash was a fantastic host

The brewpub spaces were far from modest.  They were grand.  Biergarten had the look of a true Munich-style biergarten.  Long tables, good bar food, and a large selection of German-style beers.  My favorite-Double IPA.

Biergarten

We then moved on to the Beer Library.  The inside was incredible.  You walk up to the large, medieval looking French doors and a doorman with great panache opens the door to reveal a large space made to look like a library.  The space looked candle –lit at that time of the night.  Here my favorite beer was the Gose style of beer made with raw mango.  Nice balance of salty, sour, and sweet.

Inside of Beer Library

The last place I visited was ShakesBier (get it).  Given the place in the night (I had tasted about 13 beers at that point) I simply ordered the most interesting beer I saw.  The herbed saison was fantastic in spite of my oncoming inebriation.  It was a great way to cap off a fantastic night and to really gain an appreciation for the beers and brewers taking part in this gastronomic revolution.  Jai Hind!

Truth

Thanks again to my wife for making this Father’s Day special.  One I will never forget.