A little over five years ago, the city saw a rise in the number of people opting for beer, not just the regular bottled lagers but delicious craft beers being served in mugs across the city. These beers, unlike others, moved from the traditional bitter flavours to fruity, light and other complex flavour profiles, which lingered a little longer on the palate than before. The role of beer changed from being guzzled down on a lazy day to actually being sipped on to, to taste and enjoy. Now, fast forward to 2020, and craft beers themselves are evolving in more ways than one. While earlier, it was limited to a familiar citrus-flavoured lager, coffee-flavoured stout and the unique seasonal ciders, microbreweries in the city are now increasingly experimenting with more vegetables, and even derivatives of cashewnut, organic produce and hoping to adopt better practices to brew their beer.
Local flavours
A little over two years in the city, Crafter’s Tap House sprouted in Powai to become one of the newest entrants in the city’s changing landscape for craft beers. Serving a wide variety of beers, it is the Cucumber Lager and Cashew Apple Cider, which takes us by surprise. After a little probing, we get to know that while one is for the refreshing aspect, the other is a tribute to the Maharashtra plains. “Cashew apples are a local ingredient in Maharashtra and widely grown in the Konkan regions, and are mostly ignored because only cashew nuts are used,” says, owner, Vipul Hirani. He adds that the in-house brewer, Prashant Madke is from the same region, and has studied about the produce while studying his diploma. The Cashew Apple Cider is a golden-hued, light bodied beer, with sweetness from the use of cashew apples.
It is no surprise then that Bombay Duck Brewing Company, an independent city-based microbrewery, also joined the bandwagon around the same time but on an experimental basis. After coming into existence in 2017, they have been strong proponents of using local flavours. One of their most recent creations is the Farmhouse Ale, which is a crisp flavourful beer made with a local rice variety called Ratna, which is inspired by the fact that their brewery is on the outskirts of the city. The ale, for which they collaborated with Spike Brewery from Sweden, is currently available at city restaurants, The Bombay Canteen and O Pedro. Co-founded by three beer enthusiasts, Harshit Thakkar and two others, definitely walk the talk because they have created not just one but two beers earlier. The unique craft brew called Comfortably Numb is an eye-opener, simply because it goes beyond the traditional route to use Sichuan peppercorns from the Himalayan region. “The peppers give the crisp and dry saison farmhouse ale a tingly numbness,” explains Harshit. The Passion Fruit IPA available at Woodside Inn is another unique brew because unlike mangoes and apples which stole the show in ciders earlier, this ale uses passion fruit sourced from the Planter’s Treasure estate in Idukki, Kerala. City-based Brew Whale Craft Beer has also chosen to do things differently as they are experimenting with guava, grapefruit and lychees. “We have already experimented with Cinnamon in our Apple Cider and it has eventually become a key ingredient in the cider,” says Vedant Munshi, co-founder of the brewery.
{{/usCountry}}It is no surprise then that Bombay Duck Brewing Company, an independent city-based microbrewery, also joined the bandwagon around the same time but on an experimental basis. After coming into existence in 2017, they have been strong proponents of using local flavours. One of their most recent creations is the Farmhouse Ale, which is a crisp flavourful beer made with a local rice variety called Ratna, which is inspired by the fact that their brewery is on the outskirts of the city. The ale, for which they collaborated with Spike Brewery from Sweden, is currently available at city restaurants, The Bombay Canteen and O Pedro. Co-founded by three beer enthusiasts, Harshit Thakkar and two others, definitely walk the talk because they have created not just one but two beers earlier. The unique craft brew called Comfortably Numb is an eye-opener, simply because it goes beyond the traditional route to use Sichuan peppercorns from the Himalayan region. “The peppers give the crisp and dry saison farmhouse ale a tingly numbness,” explains Harshit. The Passion Fruit IPA available at Woodside Inn is another unique brew because unlike mangoes and apples which stole the show in ciders earlier, this ale uses passion fruit sourced from the Planter’s Treasure estate in Idukki, Kerala. City-based Brew Whale Craft Beer has also chosen to do things differently as they are experimenting with guava, grapefruit and lychees. “We have already experimented with Cinnamon in our Apple Cider and it has eventually become a key ingredient in the cider,” says Vedant Munshi, co-founder of the brewery.
{{/usCountry}}It’s a little different for Doolally Taproom, which has been in existence since 2014, right around the time the number of craft beer drinkers started increasing in the city. While they are known for their seasonal apple and mango ciders, the microbrewery has evolved, not only to experiment with their ingredients but also make an attempt to adopt organic practices. The brewery undertook The Barley Project with Happy Roots, an NGO that introduced them to local farmers in Vidarbha, who are providing them with barley and wheat to make beer. The Imperial Ale is one such example, apart from using local produce from Vidarbha, the beer has a rich history and origins in Russia, and was a product of the drought and famines. “While researching different types of ingredients, we came across the Imperial Pumpkin Ale and wanted to recreate it solely to make people aware of other forms of beer,” says Tresha Guha, Brand Manager, Doolally Taproom. Woodside Inn, which has been an exponent of craft beers for quite a while in the city, agrees with the observation of a changing trend but believes that fruity flavours are still a favourite. “I think craft beer brewers have now found unique ways to brew beer using local ingredients for local palates, says Pankil Shah, co-founder, Woodside Inn. He adds, “The use of spices and vegetables in beer requires some maturity in brewing techniques and flavour balance that a lot of the breweries have managed to achieve.”
Healthy or not?
For the longest time, it has also been debated whether the consumption of beers is healthy and while it may go on forever, brewers in the city are attempting to do their bit. At the same time, they have also jumped on the organic produce bandwagon to use ingredients and practices, which help beer become a little more organic than before. “We try to stick to natural ingredients throughout the process thereby eliminating any artificial preservatives, or added enzymes,” says Harshit, while adding that bottled beers contain higher amounts of dissolved CO2, which can make people bloated. Interestingly, Doolally’s experiment with healthy beer occurred by-chance, after their brewer was on a diet and decided to make a lighter beer to sip on, so he made what they call the Low Carb IPA, which they claim feels lighter. City-based brewery Brew Whale, which currently doesn’t use any organic ingredients, is in the works to use grain from Indian farmers. The various attempts denote a considerable shift in the way craft beers are not only being consumed and perceived in the city but are also being brewed by breweries.