Tag: microbrewery

  • Byg Brewski Brewing Company

    The first Brewsky that happened to me was the one in JP Nagar, a long while ago. That was a review for Bangalore Mirror and I never really managed to taste the brew. The second was on Sarjapur Road where I did manage to taste the brew(s) but left with a what’s-this-place feeling. Mostly because I couldn’t accommodate grandparents, kids running around, and a dirty pool with fishes – all within a microbrewery – in my mind! I also remember them claiming the place was full only to find entire sections being empty once I got inside! I am happy to report that in the world of Brewsky, there is some consistency. Oh wait, the spelling! Numerology apart, I remember one of the owners correcting my pronunciation to brew + sky during the first visit. Going by that logic, this one could be about water skiing – the waterbody is fairly large. I didn’t see snow, but the place is huge enough for me to have missed it.

    In fact, it reminded me of Hoot and MTV Grind. But much, much larger. I would have said much, much lager but the brewery isn’t running yet. But since we had traveled to Hennur, we decided to endure. The standard procedure was followed – we were told that the place was full (at 5.45 PM on a Saturday) and asked to wait at the bar. The place was crowded but we could see entire sections empty. In less than half an hour we were told that a table was available but we were fairly comfortable where we were, and didn’t want to risk getting wet in case it rained. It was also a great place to watch the crowd – mostly posh locals, no kids. Other than the ones who are probably still in college, of that kind there were many.

    To be fair, the place is overall quite pretty, especially so when sunlight is out of the scene.

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    Most of the fancy drinks weren’t available, so we finally settled on an Old Fashioned and a Binky Burrow. A good time to mention that it took a long frustrating while to get the initial attention from the service staff, but once we got going, it was much better! The Old Fashioned was stronger than my usual, and the sweetness was between subtle and nothing, but I enjoyed it. D’s drink had strawberry and carrot flavours added to a Bacardi Carta Blanca and “topped with bubbles”. That last part wasn’t visible but did come out in terms of taste. D didn’t much care for the flavours though I thought they weren’t bad.

    The Calcutta Club Chicken Cutlets managed the textures well and had really soft chicken. The kasundi mustard sauce was the perfect complement. Cheap wafers could have been better though! The stir-fried beef chili lived up to the spice promise, and would be a perfect beef companion.

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    In contrast, the Naga Pork Baos were absolutely mild. The pork itself was fine, but the Naga chili zing was completely missing. Not to be outdone, we decided to try a Pigs in a Blanket pizza, which promised more pork with onions and quail eggs. It would have been a good dish if only they had managed the salt consistency better. And finally, the most interesting dessert we found was the Kaveri Mud Cake – mud cake, mousse and a custard topping. This was really delicious.

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    The card was damaged to the extent of around Rs.2750. We aren’t going back, not even for the brew. But that’s mostly because of the distance. This is probably worth at least one trip if only to see how large the place is!

    Byg Brewski Brewing Company, 22/123, Byrathi Village, Bidarahalli Hobli, Hennur, Ph: 080 39514766

  • Brooks and Bonds Brewery

    The last time we were in Koramangala 100 ft Road, a fancy crane without any accompanying construction work caught our attention. Turned out to be an accessory for Brooks and Bonds, which I later realised was a microbrewery. So we absolutely had to plan a trip. One fine, windy Sunday, we did just that. The place has an industrial theme with the beer making process also becoming part of the decor. The elements include everything from meters, gauges and wheels to construction equipment. All of this is apparently spread through three floors and a rooftop though we could only manage to see one, since we were told the rooftop (and presumably the other areas) were open only in the evenings. We sat outside and had to manage with a standard table until we got those high stool ones along the edge that gave us a nice view of the Koramangala skyline.

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  • Vapour Brewpub and Diner (Sarjapur Road)

    A microbrewery is compulsion enough for me to travel to any part of Bangalore, even Sarjapur Road. Some people are not completely in control of their faculties after a few beers, craft beer works for me the other way. That probably explains why I forgot that two of my least favourite microbreweries outside of that hideousness called 3 Monkeys exist on Sarjapur Road. In my defense, our visit to Vapour in Indiranagar, despite the negative reactions we had heard, wasn’t bad at all.

    So one fine cloudy Sunday, we chose to travel to Vapour. The place is huge, and while we were there, the alfresco section was kept closed. Predictably, they tried to squeeze everybody into the areas they had kept open. We got ourselves a table on the upper floor. The decor is very lively, despite the distraction of a giant TV. They had a DJ as well. There was a buffet available, but we chose a la carte.

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  • The Pallet

    We had been hearing about the place since the beginning of the year, and were pretty excited about the sixth microbrewery in the vicinity. (yay!) Through Jan and Feb, when we saw ads, we would eagerly check if the menu on Zomato was updated. All we could see was Geist! Not to be discouraged, I would call up the place to check anyway. After a couple of “next month we’ll be opening the microbrewery” I gave up. But towards the end of March, I got a message one Saturday morning that the microbrewery was open and there was a 1 + 1 offer. I immediately began working on my sinuses which had been acting up from the day before, and convinced D to make the trip.

    Located opposite The Zuri, it’s a bit like the TARDIS. You get an idea of the hugeness of the place only once you’re inside! I wondered how they’d manage to fill the place until D pointed out that there’s probably a huge reverse migrant crowd from Prestige Shantiniketan that might like a microbrewery around. Plus, there’s ITPL next door.

    The Pallet has been built from the sacrifice of quite a few trees, to the extent that it’s almost like a carpentry workshop! Not to say that it isn’t aesthetic, but yes, “too much wood” can exist! (No, that’s not what he said!) The service levels were great int he beginning, though we were told that the German wheat would only be available later in the evening. Since we were a bit early, we could get our choice of seats, and we found a cosy corner to drink and watch the world.

    The beer starts at 500 ml (it’s a little difficult to understand the economics behind not having 330 ml) and we asked for a Hemlock and a Teak. The first is Belgian Wit – a bit pale, but packs a punch with some spicy notes. The second is Pilsner, and on a relative note, slightly sweeter than the other, but again, great zing.

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  • The Druid Garden

    Sahakar Nagar’s role in our lives had been limited to being stared at for a few seconds while on our way to the Airport, but The Druid Garden made us stare longer, at least on Google Maps. Some might say that 25 km is a long way to travel for beer, but hey, when it comes to craft beer, we’re nothing if not committed! It did take a while for us to get around to making this trip though. But when the stars aligned – in terms of weather, traffic and Uber fare – we were ready!

    Sitting atop a commercial building, The Druid Garden is pretty huge, and the design highlights it even more with high ceilings and skylights, and multiple levels of seating. Different kinds of seating too – the typical brewery-style stark long benches, bar stools, lounge seating, and the regular functional kind. At 2PM on a Saturday afternoon, the place was crowded, but we got ourselves a nice corner.

    The Druid Garden (more…)