Spice up your beer

A tap room in Mumbai is infusing beer with floral and herb flavours to some surprising results

On a recent Saturday in Mumbai, the Woodside Inn attempted to pour flavours typically associated with a boys’ night out and a south Indian wedding into the same glass. The gastrobar combined “White Zen”, an effervescent craft beer that is popular among local guzzlers, with sweet hints extracted from mogra florets. Rather than causing cognitive dissonance, however, the unusual synthesis was received with interest by diners, says in-house beer expert Abhishek Chinchalkar.

The establishment plans to make such pilot drinks — mixed with herbs, flowers, and spices — available once a month, at any one of its three outlets. “As a tap room we usually serve what the breweries are making. This is a nice way to come up with our own tastes and flavours,” adds Chinchalkar. This is familiar territory for the former analyst, who began making beer while studying in the United States and working in breweries there.

From three years ago, when it was still grappling with regulatory challenges, the craft beer scene in Mumbai has turned notably vibrant. There are now close to 10 local breweries. Last year, Andheri-based Brewbot conducted a festival where beer enthusiasts could vote for and sample rare craft lagers such as mango or chocolate ale. Before that, The Barking Deer came out with a honey-laced beer.

Several craft beer makers have teamed up with home brewers to add their inventions to the offerings. Gateway Brewing reportedly introduced a “Kaapi Stout” in its line following one such collaboration, while Pune’s Doolally’s “Jaggery Pale Ale” was born from the insights of a Pune-based brewer Anuj Mundi.

Woodside Inn’s recent experiment was conducted using an infuser, newly-installed on the establishment’s 25-tap wall. The ‘Randall’ was first developed by Dogfish Head, a brewery from the East Coast of the United States. To excel in competitions on the West Coast where breweries are known for producing really hoppy beers, their brews needed an booster shot of hops. Founder Sam Calagione created a two-chamber machine to quickly draw out flavours from ingredients directly at the competition venue. He then marketed it to other breweries.

Beer flows through the first chamber of the device which holds the ingredient of choice. Because the extraction of flavours is a warm process, the second chamber is filled with ice for flash cooling. The new beers can be tasted almost instantly. Apart from the jasmine-infused White Zen served at the launch, batches of Doolaly’s Gose, a salty craft beer, were mixed with aromatic rosemary and basil. In addition to craft beers, Chinchalkar also spiked the crowd-favourite industrial beer, Kingfisher, with betel nut leaves and star anise.

Dried hibiscus is popular as an additive with breweries elsewhere in the world. In the run up to the launch, the team at Woodside also tinkered with roses and champas. The selection of flavours works quite like picking food pairings, says Chinchalkar. While light beers work with fruity floral profiles, darker stouts tend to go well with coffee beans or chocolate. In future months, the tap room might spice up beers with fresh or seasonal ingredients including orange peel, fresh coriander, black pepper, and chillies.

Although it is deemed illegal in India, a dedicated community of recreational home brewers is known to exist. Pouring the first of the drinks for guests on Saturday, Chinchalkar spent long minutes describing the science behind the process. The “Randallised” ales and lagers could be educational for those wanting to know how beer works, he expects.

Where: The Woodside Inn outlets at Colaba, Andheri, and Lower Parel

When: Once a month

Price: Rs 245-295 plus taxes