No TV weekend: Experts share a trick or two to get the perfect brew

On a hot summer afternoon, revellers got some welcome refreshment as part of HT’s No TV weekend fest — at a craft beer session in Andheri and a bartending workshop in Colaba

On a hot summer afternoon, revellers got some welcome refreshment as part of HT’s No TV weekend fest — at a craft beer session in Andheri and a bartending workshop in Colaba.

Beer enthusiasts were in for a treat at a craft beer session in Andheri. (Pratham Gokhale/HT photo)

At the Bar Stock Exchange in Colaba, the gathered crowd watched as bar manager Vicky Rizwani demonstrated how to make five easy mixes — Melon Sangria, Captain Pan Freshener, Baileys and Malai Lolly, Orange Shojo and a Whiskey Sour.

Vicky Rizwani, manager of Bar Stock Exchange, Colaba, demonstrates how to make five easy mixes during a workshop on Saturday.

He then passed the welcome drinks around for the participants to taste. Some took notes while others took selfies.

For Akshay Naravane, 23, a music journalist from Dadar, the workshop was a great tutorial for his next house party. “I’m now ready to host,” he said.

Meanwhile, at Andheri’s Brewbot Eatery and Pub, enthusiastic participants attended a session on the art of brewing a perfect glass of beer. Brewmaster Vaibhav Anand Rao Asha Rane walked them through the history and evolution of the drink. “There are four basic ingredients used in the beer-making process. We use grains such as barley and wheat, water, yeast, and hops, which is a bittering agent,” he explained. “Fermentation is the most important stage of the process and entirely determines how your batch of brew will taste.”

“I signed up because the concept of craft beer is so new and I wanted to learn more about it,” said Gagan Modani, 32, a chartered accountant. “The workshop was very informative. The tastes varied. Right from the fruitiness of bananas to the sweetness of raisins and chocolate, each flavour lingered in your mouth.”