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There must be few more pleasurable things to do than to sink back in a cozy chair and quaff off a tankard of frosty beer. Especially when it almost feels like the country has been unceremoniously tossed into a gargantuan tandoor. Is it any wonder, market intelligence firm, Euromonitor, reports that beer accounts for almost half of all alcoholic drinks imbibed in India? Really, beer? So what happened to all those Patiala pegs? The fact is, in New India, pushed by the younger, urban generation, the beer market is growing at an estimated 15 per cent. More than 260 million cases of beer are likely to be sold across the country this year. That's 3.12 billion bottles of ale. If you stood these bottles side by side, you'd have five beer lines from Kashmir (Srinagar) to Kanyakumari. Or you could fill 1,082 Olympic-sized swimming pools to the brim.
To dive into a pool of chilled suds is a pastime that beer lovers can only dream of. But there are special places that take the stress out of your bones and fill your innards with languid acceptance of life's realities. At these "chill-out" spots, so to say, as the alcohol takes control of your senses (yes, 80 per cent of the beer sold in India is the strong variety, with 5.1 to 8 per cent alcohol content, not the light ones with around 4 per cent alcohol), you begin thinking you are Mohit Chauhan crooning into the karaoke and you laugh heartily at the thought that you haven't finished the report your project leader wanted submitted tomorrow morning. At such venues, tomorrow is another day.
WOODSIDE INN, Mumbai
Woodside Inn is an establishment that believes breakfast is as good a time as any for a chilled beer. The gastropub, which was started by three friends in 2007 in Colaba, has legendary watering holes, Cafe Mondegar and Cafe Leopold, as its neighbours but has managed to win a dedicated set of fans. Woodside is housed in a 120-year-old heritage building, Oriental Mansion. With chic teal and brown interiors, a European-style bar and pleasant lighting, the atmosphere is casual. Even the indie and classic rock music, picked out by the owners themselves, is played at a volume that does not interfere with conversations.
"A patron once described our beer list as an 'around the world' trip," says co-owner Pankil Shah. The inn offers a good selection of wheat beers, which are light, crispy and suitable for drinking even in the daytime. Its international beers, including Erdinger, Schneider Weisse and Asahi, and the most popular, Hoegaarden, come from Belgium, Germany, Italy, Mexico, England, Ireland, USA and Japan.
Highly recommended: Leffe Blonde, a fruity Belgian ale served on ice.
Besides beer: Nikhil Agarwal, sommelier and director at All Things Nice, conducts an "adequately educational and extremely interactive" beer-tasting session at Woodside every three months. It also hosts an annual beer and burger festival.
Mostly drunk with: Double cheddar beef burger and onion rings.
Prominent guzzlers: A mixed bag of artists, businessmen and media professionals form the clientele. Well-known visitors include theatre personalities Alyque Padamsee and Ashwin Mushran.
ARBOR, Bangalore
Arbor Brewing Company, the first American brewpub in India, opened its doors in Bangalore in December. The first thing that will strike you is as soon as you swing open the glass doors is the damn vastness - it's 12,000 square feet. Even on a workday, Arbor is usually abuzz with a mix of youngsters, corporate executives and a sprinkling of expatriates.
Arbor has eight varieties of beer, from wheat beers (Bangalore Bliss and Endless Summer), a spiced ale (Brasserie Blonde), a German lager, stouts and an India Pale Ale, renamed Raging Elephant (probably because there are too many holy cows in Bangalore to retain the original name, Sacred Cow).
Recommended: The wheat beers, which are light, and the spiced ale are the most popular among its customers.
Game for more: There's a fusball table in one corner and there's always a noisy game going on.
And the munchies: Arbor's food menu has been customised to go with beer. Don't expect chicken tikka, though. Apart from a couple of Creole dishes, there is standard pub fare - fish and chips, pizzas, burgers, sandwiches and finger food, like onion rings and calamari.
STRIKER, Gurgaon
It's 10 pm on a Wednesday night and Striker, located in Gurgaon and within easy distance of New Delhi, is bustling with people, eager to savour a glass of chilled beer after a hard day at work. Marketing executive Ashish Kohli has come from Noida, which is a good 50-km away, to catch up with friends and have the full bodied Country Pilsner beer, brewed in-house at the microbrewery. Opened to public in April 2011, Striker is known for its musical acts and karaoke nights. The pub is packed to the seams during live performances by artists like Shafqat Amanat Ali, Benny Dayal, Strings and Jal.
"All our beers are named after popular music genres as well," says Neha Verma, sales and marketing manager. So you have the Jazzy Light, Weiss Blues, Rock Bock and of course the Country Pilsner,all brewed in-house and priced at Rs 195 plus taxes for 500-ml. The pub keeps introducing new flavours and variants. "We have recently introduced the rice beer, which is becoming very popular with the guests," says Verma.
Those who wish to have premium international brands can visit their new facility, located across a sprawling 18,000 sq ft of area, in Ambience Mall, Vasant Kunj where they serve 22 brands such as Leffe Blonde from Belgium (Rs 375), Fuller's London Pride (Rs 425) and the more expensive Duvel also from Belgium (Rs 575).
Highly recommended: The malty, amber Country Pilsner and the dark, smoky, heavy bodied Rock Bock
The most expensive: Rice beer, which is priced at Rs 225 plus taxes for a 500-ml mug
Best paired with: The brews don't go well with deep fried or oily appetisers- so it's crispy corn with roasted garlic, barbequed veggies and cottage cheese skewers.
High profile visitors: The cast and crew of popular musical, Zangoora - Hussain Kuwajerwala, Gauhar Khan and Shweta Gulati- and actor-singer Priyanka Chopra have visited the pub.
CUBA LIBRE, Hyderabad
If it is Cuba, it must be rum. Not if you are in Hyderabad. The popular Cuba Libre is the city's preferred sud palace. Perhaps the citizens there know something we don't - after all they belong to Andhra Pradesh, which is the largest market for beer in India. The clientele mostly belongs to the demographic that disdains hard liquor - the youngsters who work for HSBC, Deloitte, Cognizant, Zoom Technologies and the like. The pub pulls because it has introduced the '365-day happy hour' offer from 12 noon to 8:30 pm: just pay Rs 1,000 to get any mugs of beer of your choice. That's the cheapest direct ticket to paradise going anywhere in the world.
Available round-the-year are the usual Corona, Heineken, Cobra, Amstel, Budweiser and Foster's.
Recommended: The Tequila beer - for just that extra kick from the glass of pale yellow.
Smoking hot: If it is Cuba, it must be cigar. Yes, this time you would be right. Cuba Libre has a smoking lounge that stocks the world-famous Cuban cigars that cost from Rs 1,200 to Rs 3,500. A sip and a puff…hmmm, what was that about soul satisfaction?
In the credits too: Telugu film industry's superstar Nagarjuna's yet-to-release film Bhai had some of its scenes shot at Cuba Libre.
OLYPUB, Kolkata
If the crowds waiting to get in is any indication, then there must be no other beer joint in hoary Kolkata as the Olypub. Not only is it the oldest in the city, but it also offers plenty of choices at affordable prices. Ignore that uninspiring "restaurant and bar" tag. It is a place where the foolhardy and the intellectual find common ground on profound discourses, which, of course, are directly proportional to the number of glasses the waiter removes from your table.
The establishment on Sudder Street serves surf-lipped glasses of all brands of beer, from Black Label and Kingfisher Strong to Carlsberg and Schneider Weisse, Foster's and Tuborg. For as little as Rs 130, you can get a bottle of the strongest Kingfisher. More discerning drinkers pay double for Heineken. If you have around Rs 150 in your pocket, you will have a fair deal at Olypub.
Along with the beer: Olypub's Beef Sticks are the most sought after accompaniment. And, of course, if you are in Bengal, you cannot do without the tart kasundi. So kasundi it is with fish fingers and garam-masala sausages.
Prominent guzzler: The late litterateur Sunil Gangopadhay was a regular customer.
Avantika Bhuyan, Indulekha Aravind, Ranjita Ganesan, Debaleena Sengupta and N Madhav went pub-hopping to find the frothiest mug
