BrewDog immediately became well-known for its unique and brave approach to brewing, pushing the boundaries with high-quality and unconventional brews. Punk IPA, Hazy Jane, and Elvis Juice are among their most well-known beers.

BrewDog’s expansion has been impressive, they own and run several bars and pubs around the world, where they serve their beers alongside a variety of other craft brews. They have a major role in the craft beer sector, noted for their inventive brews and desire to “make other people as passionate about great craft beer as they are.”

Mark Hobday, Head of Training and Beer Expert at BrewDog, discusses his inspiration for becoming a beer expert, his idea of a good beer, the importance of beer and food pairing, factors he considers when storing and serving beer, and how he selects beers for a bar menu in an exclusive interview with Brewer World.

You can also watch the full interview here, Brewer World Exclusive

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? What inspired you to become a beer expert, and how did you get started in the industry?

Absolutely. I started in the industry almost 20 years ago when I was 18. So I started working as a bartender at a bar. And I think that’s probably where my passion for beer started from. And I did many years, working as, as I said, as a bartender, moving my way up through into kind of a manager role. And then it just happened within the last five or six years. I found my passion in a training element, so teaching people to be as passionate about beer, as I’ve said already, about wine and spirits as well. But beer became a passion for me probably about 10 years ago. I don’t call myself a beer expert, but I am passionate about beer, and I like to talk about beer. But actually fun. Funnily enough, it was a beer. It was a brutal beer, my first when I tried my first IPA. So Before that, I was just a bit of a lager drinker. Then I tried my first pint of punk, and I said it was about 10 years ago, and it just blew my mind. It was like, “What is this drink? It’s like nothing that I’ve ever liked before. And it was at that point that it made me realise there’s so much more to the beer industry than just lagers with the complexity and the different types of IPAs and other weird and wonderful beers that we do now. It came from that; that’s where my passion came from. So ever since then, I’ve been trying lots of different beers, experimenting with different types, and enjoying BrewDog. A year ago, it was just an organisation that I’ve always been so interested in, and being able to head up their training, is like a dream. So, it started when I was super young, and now at the age I’m at, I’ve been really excited about what’s to come.

Can you tell us a little bit about your role?

I’m the head of training at BrewDog. I support a lot of our new openings. Last year I travelled to Atlanta to help them open up our site there. I spent five weeks in Las Vegas. At the end of last year, which just blew my mind, it was an incredible site. So I do a lot of the project work around training their teams. I also have a collection of what I call regional trainers, one in Australia, Europe, the UK, and America, where I kind of support and coach them and deliver a lot of the training to our teams. They also support some of the, uh, openings. So I do a lot of support for them, including content creation. So when we open up new bars, we want to train them on the history of BrewDog. We want to train on beer, of course—how to feed our guests, how to talk to our guests, how to talk about beer. So I create a lot of the content, whether face-to-face training material, video material, or online courses. Yeah, so it’s just so broad, so I looked over the whole training strategy for BrewDog, and I had a small team around me who helped me in regards to delivering that.

What are some of the qualities to look for in a good beer, and how can people identify them? 

Make sure it’s fresh. That’s one of the things BrewDog, especially, prides itself on but likes to talk about making sure that beer is fresh. That’s one of the reasons why you’ll find the majority of our beer that we don’t have out on the taps. It comes in a can because it doesn’t get exposed to light, which can degrade the quality of the beer so quickly. So freshness is really important. And from a kind of identity perspective, how can you? Identify that it’s things like aroma, taste, and flavour. That’s going to be the things that you notice right away. If you have a beer from a tap, from a bar, or you open up a can or a bottle, you are going to be able to smell whether it’s kind of, maybe not as good as it should be. It might smell like vinegar, wet cardboard, or things like that. So it’s making sure you are using all of your senses, whether it comes to aroma or taste, to be able to see the quality from that perspective, but even if it’s fresh, and it tastes great for me, how I identify the actual quality of a beer is the flavours. So make sure they’re balanced, so you don’t want a beer to be overpowering. You know, you get so many flavours from the hops, and the malts and the yeast we use also have an effect as well. So you want to make sure that all your beers are fresh and balanced and look after them.

Talking about the flavours and aromas, if somebody who’s getting started with craft beers, like somebody who wants to experiment with their palate, What are some of the must-have beers that you would recommend starting with?

To start, you must try beers. So you want a bit of a broad spectrum. When I’m speaking to people about getting to understand beers, I’d recommend them to go for a lager from a basic fresh, crisp, great for the summer months or like a Pilsner or something. It’s a bit more of a basic flavour, but it’s a really good way to introduce yourself to it and then an IPA. Sometimes, like punk or maybe hazy Jane, you get more of a fruity and accessible kind of beer to start with something that’s becoming quite popular at the moment: sour beers with some acidity. Try those different types, and then you can. Everyone’s palate is very different, so not everybody’s necessarily going to taste the same thing. So I think it’s really important to go from different spectrums when it’s more of a primary flavour to a sour beer or a stout. Something like that where you get a lot more complexity, but yeah, lager and ipa, the start would be that.

What are some of the major factors you consider while storing or serving beers, and how do you ensure guests get the best possible experience from the beers?

Yeah, so one of the biggest things, especially around our bars, when we have any problems, whether people think maybe it doesn’t taste right, how to get, as you say, our best experience is all about temperature. So make sure where you’re storing your beer is at the correct temperature, because if beer storage is going 5–10 degrees and that’s storage, whether it’s a seller’s cold room, if it gets warm, that beer’s just going to taste off, it’s going to be foamy, it’s going to be warm, and it’s going to degrade. So, one of the biggest things is keeping it at the right temperature. And as I said before, a bit around the storage of the beer—whether it’s in a can, you don’t want to expose it to too much light, or if it’s in a bottle, you don’t want to expose it to too much light— So if you have a glass bottle, make sure it’s stored somewhere dark, and if you saw them in a fridge to serve to a guest, make sure you rotate it. You always want to make sure that the guests are getting that kind of freshness. But one of the biggest things I say to anybody I’m training or any bars, especially those we’re opening, is to look after your storage. So whether it’s a room or a seller, make sure it’s cold. Don’t keep the door open. I know it sounds really silly, but making sure that you’re maintaining it and looking after all the equipment, even the lines going from the seller to the tap, making sure it’s kept clean, and just looking after your equipment, that’s the real biggest thing there for me.

How do you go about selecting beers for a bar & restaurant menu?

The first thing that you think about is the range. So you want to make sure that, especially at BrewDog, we have a wide range of different styles. Within different lagers, stouts, IPAs, and ciders, and with that kind of variation, when we have different types of beers, we are showcasing varied types of hops and malts. Making sure that we are using various ingredients, it’s all about that kind of variety and excitement, which I think is something we want to consider. We want people to try something amazing every time they visit one of our bars or restaurants, whether a new beer or a kind of quirky style that maybe we brew in one of our small outposts, or limited editions or things we are just going to brew one time just to experiment. Something that we like to do at BrewDog is, we also want to look at the different styles, the different types when we are picking the different ABVs and the different strengths. We want to look at maybe some more entry-level, what we call session-able beers. So things that are lower ABV, but people can have a couple on like a summer’s day and in a social environment, but we also want some of those more punchy beers that maybe have a slightly higher ABV that you want to drink a bit less of, but there are so much more weird and wonderful things that we can do with those higher ABV. So we want to make sure we’re not just going for the standard four to six per cent. We want that range. And finally, we just want our teams. It’s really important for our teams and our kind of management. They’re buying into the different types of beers that we’re kind of putting on our menu. So making sure we’re engaging our teams is so fundamental because, for us at BrewDog, we want everyone to be as passionate about craft beer as we are, and to keep our teams passionate, we have to think about them as well because they’re talking about it to our guests.

We spoke about trends and developments, alcohol-free beers, and how you think consumer preferences have changed over the years.

It’s been really interesting when you say consumer preference. I said I’ve been in that industry for about 20 years, and the kind consumers, the guests, have so much more knowledge now. And there’s that expectation when a guest comes to the bar or whether we serve a guest at a table; they’re coming into your bar, into your restaurant. They’ve already looked at reviews or looked into the drinks that you serve. So they’ve already got a bit of knowledge, and we must keep up with that. It gives them that great experience. For me, it’s another key thing that’s changed. You know, you’ve got so many pubs and bars and restaurants in the hospitality industry that guests now want to get value for money, and that’s not really about how cheap or expensive beer is. So for me, it’s making sure that they get that whole experience. And I think with BrewDog especially, it’s something that we’ve got our finger on the pulse with, you know, different events; we do things that no one else does. And we do dog parties. We do a kind of beer school. We want to teach our guests and make them passionate about beers. I know I’ve touched on that earlier, but is that kind of lifestyle or healthy living? So we do, as I said, the alcohol-free stuff. We do some low-calorie beer, I think it’s understanding what the guests want now. And I think they are; they’ve just got a lot more information in hand, especially with social media and the internet. So it’s making sure we are still those experts and giving them that great experience.

What according to you, are some of the challenges that the beer industry is facing right now?

One of the topical ones I would say at the moment, especially around the UK, and Europe is a lot around the cost of living. Prices are going up. Uh, consumers have less disposable income. With everything that we’re facing and various economic conditions, especially post-pandemic, we’ve got to think about how we can really help them and how we can appeal to that market of people that don’t have maybe as much disposable income. So that’s definitely something that I know we felt in the UK and in and around Europe. I think that’s definitely a big kind of challenge. But I think we’ve had to evolve, and some of the great things that I’ve seen, especially in the Indian market as well, are using more locally sourced ingredients, whether that’s the most, the barley, the types of yeast, or experimenting with different flavours and spices. We’re becoming a bit savvier in how we make our beers and still give them that premium product there, too. So working a bit smarter and still being able to deliver a great product that is still accessible to the masses is the challenge.

Can you tell us your favourite food and beer pairing? How important is pairing the right food with the beer?

It’s a big thing now. Like again, it used to be such a science, I think in the last couple of years with food being such an important market for hospitality, but more so for something I am teaching myself, but for me, the kind of fundamentals are making sure that you’re not having a beer that overpowers the food that you’re eating because you, what you wanna do is complimenting the drink and the dish, or you’re contrasting. So, for example, IPAs are great with spicy foods. Okay. So I’ve been, you know, and, you know, also things like steak, red meats because you’ve got the bold flavours of the IPA with the bold flavours of the spicy foods, so they go quite well together. One thing to avoid when it comes to spicy food is the more carbonated drinks, like some of your lagers and things. That can amplify the spice and overpower it. So that’s where IPA likes red meat, or if you like your food spicy. That’s an IPA right there. That’s a real compliment there.

Another example of a would perhaps be a lager; it’s quite a refreshing, crisp drink there. So it pairs well with salads, or if you’re having some chips or some fries, good for the saltiness of the chips. It goes well with the Crisp Lager, like Lost Lager, for example, would be great. So, I would go with that. If you’re looking at darker beers, for example, like our black Heart, you’re going to find that quite heavy, quite bold, so it goes well with desserts. Quite a lot of shellfish, funnily enough, on barbecues.

What is that one piece of advice that you would like to give somebody who wants to enter the beer industry or wants to become a beer expert?

Try different beers. I think it is actually the things that you think you’re not going to like. So this is something that I’ve done myself. I never used to like dark beers or sour beers, but because I wanted to understand beers, I wanted to talk about them, and because I was so passionate, I just tried beers. And I think it’s a good thing if somebody wants to learn about beers, and again, it goes back to that experience that we have within Brewdog; we give tasters to everybody. If you’re not sure what you want to drink, the teams at BrewDog will give you a taste of whatever you want, so you might find something. There’s nothing better than actually giving somebody something they would never normally try, and it kind of completely blows their mind. But if you’re somebody that wants to learn more about beer, it’s just that the craft beer in the industry is so fast now with all the different stuff. Try things. Find out what you like. Maybe find out what you don’t like. That’s the biggest bit of advice: just try them and go into a brutal bar and try them. They’ll let you try loads.

We’ve talked so much about beers; what is your go-to beer?

If I go into a BrewDog beer, I’ll have a pint of punk. It was the first beer that I got that got me into it. If anybody is wanting to try something different, I would always say, “Go and try a punk. But if you are maybe not a fan of beer or not a fan of IPAs or anything like that, maybe try a kind of New England IPA. I like hazy Jane, it’s not bitter or hoppy, it’s fruitier. For an entry-level beer, I would go for that. And if I’m not in the mood for something bitter, I will go for Hazy Jane especially the guava one that we do, is amazing. So, Jane Guava, and punk. I think I go punk because for me it’s the kind of original, but me and my other half, we love a jane guava there too, so I’m gonna go with two.

What’s next with BrewDog? What are your goals and objectives? What are the plans?

I mean, there is so much at the moment. We’re doing, our sort of big thing is beer, people, and the planet. So we are going to continue to look at how we can be more sustainable as a business. It’s a big passion of James and Martin, our founders. It’s really at their heart: making sure that we have a planet to brew beer on for future generations. So, we will continue to look at real innovative ways of how we can make our beer, but reducing it—I mean, we’re already carbon negative brewery, and we were the first ones to ever have that title. And we want to build on looking after our planet more and more and going more global, especially within the Indian market because it’s such an emerging market and the sort of craft there is and what they’re doing with the local breweries there too. We’re going to continue to open more bars within the Indian market and tap into other countries that may haven’t got as much of a craft beer industry experience. As I go back to our mission, we want to make people as passionate about beer as we are. So we want to take that message out into the world. So it’s super exciting to see how we’re going to become more sustainable and, uh, how we’re going to build and be the real leaders within the craft beer industry.

The post Brewer World Insights: An Exclusive Interview With The Beer Expert From BrewDog first appeared on Brewer World-Everything about beer is here.

The post Brewer World Insights: An Exclusive Interview With The Beer Expert From BrewDog appeared first on Brewer World-Everything about beer is here.

It’s evident that craft beer revolution is still booming and is set to become stronger, even in a disruptive economy. But this time, Bart Watson, Chief Economist for the Brewers Association makes a new observation while penning down his predictions for this 2021’s trends. He writes: “Something that on the surface seems paradoxical has been occurring in our annual consumer survey. The percentage of craft drinkers saying that both “high alcohol content” and “low alcohol content” are important in their purchase decision has been growing. We can reconcile this disconnect by remembering that the growth is driven by different drinkers and different occasions, but this dual growth has driven much of the style change over the past few years. On the one hand, stronger flavoured beers, primarily IPAs, have seen growth at 6% ABV or higher. At the same time, a range of more sessionable styles, such as blond ales, golden ales, Kolsch, and lagers have seen growth at 5% and below.”

Bart highlights three flavour profiles that are likely to take centre stage this year, and the styles that follow:

1. Juicy and Hazy

According to Bart, this IPA sub-style that gained immense popularity in the last year has numerous demographics to thank for. In the annual survey conducted by the Brewers Association, female drinkers and drinkers between the ages 21-25, 21-34, and 35-44 all declared they were intrigued by this style and would love to see more of it. “That’s a recipe for continued growth,” declares Bart.

2. Crisp and Clean

Delicately clean and refreshingly crisp beers at the other extreme opposite end of the spectrum find loyal fans in female drinkers and drinkers aged between 21-25 and 21-34

3. Tart and Sour

Welcome to the ‘Sour Beer Renaissance’! These addictive, mouth-puckeringly tart and acidic beers don’t always have to fall into any one particular style. Sours are really a broader category that covers a wide gamut of styles and brewing techniques along with flavours and intensity. “From session sours to higher ABV smoothie sours with fruit, tart isn’t one style, but has numerous forms. It’s polarizing in consumer surveys, but with 21-24 year-olds more interested in it, it likely has run room to grow driven by the next generation of craft drinkers,” finishes Bart.

Source: Brewers Association 

The post Brewers Association Predicts Beer Styles for 2021 first appeared on Brewer World-Everything about beer is here.

The post Brewers Association Predicts Beer Styles for 2021 appeared first on Brewer World-Everything about beer is here.

Learning to tell the basics of one style from another such as appearance, taste, mouthfeel, etc. can make it a lot easier to navigate through the dazzling world of craft and to narrow down on some personal favourites so you can make the best of the beer your order or buy.

Taking cue from this, to mark the occasion of Teacher’s Day – a day when Indians unite to appreciate and applaud our educators – Brewer World is kicking off its newly-introduced YouTube channel with “Beer Basics” – an educative beer and brewing series featuring every single brewer pan-India! Spread across 60 short, super crisp episodes released two a week – this series is designed for craft beer fanatics and newbies alike – and is a proud collaboration with master brewers both national and international.

What can viewers expect?

The ultimate lowdown on all the basics of each beer style, right from its origin and history to its flavour, mouthfeel and aroma – from none other than the makers of beer themselves!

And it doesn’t just stop there. Because raw materials make up for a large part of every beer’s character, Brewer World is also excited to partner with and feature key business players in the raw material industry! Be it malt, hops, yeast or water – one can now be enlightened about every detail of what goes into their beer so they can amp their beer-drinking experience up by several notches.

Look forward to plenty of exciting collaborations with pioneers of retail brands like Bira 91, Simba, Kadak and Budweiseras well as with local microbreweries like Windmills Craftworks, Toit, The Bier Club, Byg Brewski, Aurum Brewworks and many more to give a beer lover the best of both worlds!

Brewer World would like to acknowledge the efforts invested by all the brewers and brands of India and abroad who have partnered with us for this much-awaited initiative to preserve the authenticity and quality of our content. A huge shoutout to the rest of the team who has put in long, intense hours into making Beer Basics happen – and for uniting every brewer across this country under one single beer-loving initiative for the first time ever!

With Beer Basics, Brewer World has proven yet again that it honours the promise it make to its viewers: that they will find everything about beer here! So here’s to revolutionizing the way beer lovers across India perceive their beer so they’re not only better drinkers, but also responsible ones!

Just as excited as us? Follow and subscribe to Brewer World on YouTube and tune right in!

The post Brewer World Launches Beer Basics – India’s First PAN-India Series on Understanding Beer Better first appeared on Brewer World-Everything about beer is here.

The post Brewer World Launches Beer Basics – India’s First PAN-India Series on Understanding Beer Better appeared first on Brewer World-Everything about beer is here.

This article is written keeping the amateur beer enthusiast in mind, so that the next time when you visit a brewpub (and I hope that happens soon), you are better equipped for that immersing experience.

Beer Styles

Beer can be classified into two major categories. The first category of beer is Ale and the second category of beer is Lager. All the other beers are subtypes of the two. Let’s look into the different styles one by one:

1. Ale: Ale, also known as traditional beer is brewed by using the top fermentation method, wherein the yeast stays at the surface of the vessel. The fermentation usually occurs at a temperature of 18-25° C, and the yeast used is Saccharomyces Cerevisiae. This yeast produces a by-product named Ester, which gives Ale a flowery and fruity taste and aroma.

2. Lager: Lager, also known as cold-conditioned beer is brewed by using the bottom fermentation method, wherein the yeast accumulates at the bottom of the tank. The fermentation usually occurs at a
temperature of 0-5° C, and the yeast used is Saccharomyces Pastorianus. Lagers are generally crisp and have a dominant hop flavour, making the beer taste bitter.

Famous Ale Beers

1. Belgian Ale: Originating from the beer capital of the world, this could be of a range of colours, alcohol levels, flavour profiles etc. The most common Belgian Ale is the Belgian Blonde Ale.

Belgian Blonde Ale

[table id=16 /]

2. Dark Ale: The dark ales are British type beers. With a robust coffee and malty flavour profile these are infused with Nitrogen for smoother texture. The common dark ales are Stout and Porter.

Stout-Porter

[table id=17 /]

3. Kolsch: Kolsch comes from Cologne, Germany. A delicate beer style which is like an Ale-Lager hybrid in terms of quality. The most common Kolsch is the German-Style Kolsch.

German-Style Kolsch

[table id=19 /]

4. Pale Ale: An English style beer usually of a lighter colour. Made from dried malt with high-carbon coke resulting in a lot of variety. The most common being the India Pale Ale.

India Pale Ale

[table id=20 /]

5. Wheat Beer: Originating from Belgium and Germany, this is made with a large portion of wheat combined with barley. One of the most common varieties being the Belgian Witbier.

Belgian Witbier

[table id=21 /]

Famous Lager Beers

1. Pilsner: Originating in Czech Republic, this is a pale lager. It’s one of the most iconic beer styles in modern history, the most common beer of Pilsner style being the German-Style Pilsner.

German-Style Pilsner

[table id=22 /]

2. Bock Beer: Bock is a strong lager originating in Germany. This is also primarily a dark beer with several subtypes. The most famous being the German-Style Bock.

German-Style Bock

[table id=23 /]

3. Oktoberfest Beer: Originating in Germany and famously served at the Oktoberfest celebrations, this beer is rich in malt. Also known as the German-Style Marzen.

German-Style Marzen

[table id=24 /]

*Alcohol By Volume (ABV): Standard measure of alcohol
*International Bitterness Units (IBU): Standard measure of bitterness
*Standard Reference Method (SRM): Standard measure of colour intensity

So, the above given styles are the most commonly found beer styles and the ones you definitely need to know about. The next time you enter into a brewpub, you would exactly know what to order. The Beer World is fascinating and there are many other subcategories of beers as well, but I think this should be good enough for now. I hope you enjoyed the ‘Hoppy Ride’ and learnt a few things from this article.

Trust me, it seems very charming when you could just tell everything about the Beer just by looking at it.

Just so you know! 😉

About our guest writer:

Rishiraj Singh Sethi, an MBA graduate from NMIMS School of Business Management, Mumbai describes himself as a Beer aficionado and has been keenly interested in the ‘Beer World’ for quite a while now.

He can be found on Instagram as @rishiraj_sethi

The post A Hoppy Journey: Beer Styles Simplified first appeared on Brewer World-Everything about beer is here.

The post A Hoppy Journey: Beer Styles Simplified appeared first on Brewer World-Everything about beer is here.

Javed Murad

Founder, White Owl Brewery

The move to bottle craft beer directly caters to strong and growing consumer demand across all sales channels in India. The bottle launch will enable White Owl Brewery to not only service the substantially larger retail segment but also expand the brand’s existing presence within  the restaurant/bar space.

Tapping a new dimension in the microbrewery business, White Owl Brewery, a small Mumbai-based brewery is now set to launch two of its award-winning craft brews in bottles to significantly expand the availability of its handcrafted beer across the country.

With a wide portfolio of craft beer, brewed in small batches under the leadership of a highly experienced and internationally trained brewing team, White Owl Beer is known to boast crisp, complex flavours, distinct aromas, an alive and inviting appearance and smooth texture.

“Our brewery in Lower Parel, Mumbai is manufacturing at full capacity right now, but we were always aware that demand would eventually outweigh supply, which has been the impetus for our expansion. We have partnered with a prominent brewery in Madhya Pradesh to utilize its excess capacity, in a contract arrangement” says Javed Murad, Founder of White Owl Brewery. White Owl’s craft beer will be manufactured and bottled in Madhya Pradesh and then shipped to Maharashtra for sale.

White Owl Brewery currently distributes up to 8 varieties of its craft beer – On Tap and more recently in India’s first-ever kegger (a 5-litre portable keg) at over 70 renowned restaurants and bars across Mumbai and Pune. The brewery’s current portfolio includes Spark – a delicate, refreshing & citrusy Belgian; Diablo – a crisp, roasty Irish Red Ale; Halcyon – a crisp German Hefeweizen; Shadow – a dark English Porter; Torpedo – a punchy American Pale Ale; Paulina – a refreshing German Kolsch; and Ace – a bubbly French Apple Cider.

India’s rapidly advancing craft beer scene is visible in White Owl Brewery’s quick expansion over the last two years. The move to bottles directly caters to strong and growing consumer demand across all sales channels in India. The bottle launch will enable White Owl Brewery to not only service the substantially larger retail segment but also expand the brand’s existing presence within the restaurant/bar space.

Were there any challenges you faced?

Entrepreneurs in India have always faced business challenges, and the beer industry is no exception. However, Murad remains positive with regard to the expansion process. He indicates that the brewery team’s prior planning and commitment to this expansion ensured that they were ready for all hiccups that would inevitably come their way.

Murad recounts the process going through for getting approval for craft beer bottling. “We required approvals for bottle labels – one from Madhya Pradesh, the manufacturing state, and one from Maharashtra where the product will be sold. We will also be paying an export/import tax at the Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra border. In addition, there were the usual considerations of supply chain complexities of shipping product over longer distances. Apart from this normal business procedures we did not face any extraordinary opposition,” says Murad.

Murad sees more collaboration than competition in the Indian craft beer space; the reason for which could be the microcosmic size of the market today. “We are talking about just a handful of brands in India today, with incredible room for everyone to expand comfortably. For now, the team at White Owl Brewery remains relentlessly focused on maintaining product excellence and even better customer service, which will ultimately drive the long term growth for our brand”, he says.

With its beer soon being available in three formats (On tap, in keggers and in bottles), White Owl Brewery is giving its patrons the unique opportunity to enjoy its craft beer pretty much anywhere. Bottles of White Owl Beer will make their way to the smallest of neighbourhood bars and into any fridge at home. Keggers are not just about their aesthetic appeal; they are uniquely designed to retain beer freshness and are fun-sized for easy storage. And of course, White Owl Brewery will continue to expand its on tap presence across the country where beer lovers and aficionados can enjoy the brand’s entire portfolio of award-winning, handcrafted brews at their favourite watering holes.

We are talking about just a handful of brands in India today, with incredible room for everyone to expand comfortably. For now, the team at White Owl Brewery remains relentlessly focused on maintaining product excellence and even better customer service, which will ultimately drive the long term growth for our brand.

The post White Owl going places first appeared on Brewer World-Everything about beer is here.

The post White Owl going places appeared first on Brewer World-Everything about beer is here.

Beer is the world’s oldest and most widely consumed alcoholic beverage and the third most popular drink in beverages sector-after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches mainly derived from cereal grains—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rye and rice are widely used. Most beer is flavored with hops, which add bitterness and act as a natural preservative, though other flavorings agents, such as herbs or fruit may occasionally be included.

The strength of beer is usually around 4% to 6% alcohol by volume (abv) though may range from less than 1% abv, to over 20% abv in rare cases.

Ales v/s Lagers

• Ales can be referred to as being “fruity, rounded, and complex,” and lagers can be referred to as being “crisp, clean, and angular”
• Ales ferment typically between 64 and 70 degrees F, and lagers ferment typically between 52 and 58 F
• Lagers need bottom fermenting yeasts in comparison to ales which need top fermenting yeasts

Basic concept

A microbrewery is a small brewery with a limited production capacity which because of necessity, produces labor intensive hand-crafted beers. The term and trend originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s to describe the new generation of small breweries which focused on producing traditional cask ale.

A brewpub/Brauhaus are a pub or restaurant that brews beer on the premises. Some brewpubs, such as those in Germany, have been brewing traditionally on the premises for hundreds of years.

Main considerations for setup of Brewpub/microbrewery in India

• Space requirement
  General requirement of space is around 800-1500 sq. ft., depending upon the capacity and the type of equipments

• Capacity & Sale calculation
  Specialized forecasting for the estimated sales generation (location, sitting capacity, miscellaneous factors) & the number brews that can be taken per week (8 hr/brew) depending on which the actual production capacity can be calculated

• Areas of Importance in setting up Micro Brewery/Restaurants
• Exhaust
• Solid Waste Products (Spent Grain)
• Water requirement

The principal areas of water usage are

• Mashing
• Sparking in Lauter tun
• Clean in Place (CIP)
• Boiler
• General Cleaning
• Laboratory

Heating option
I. For boiler
Electrical element
Natural Gas
Propane

II. For Kettle
Electrical element
1. Internal calandria
2. External calandria
Steam from boiler

Electrical Load & Consumption:
Generally, around 2KV electric load and consumption should be approx. 1000KWatt, for brewing days. The main equipment’s that need electrical input are:

• Heating system-Electrical for boiler (kettle, if any) & hot liquor tank.

Number of Beer Styles

For a brewpub with around 3 hl-5 hl system, it is sufficient to have around 4-6 varieties of beer on tap. These can be frequently changed according to customer response and to have new styles in the menu, but it should not be frequent for the popular styles.

Also the number of storing tanks and the type of beer (Ale/Lager) based on its processing time, is an influencing factor. The ales take less time in processing than lagers and it should be noticed as which style is more accepted so that higher production batches are dedicated for the same. This means the number of styles is roughly proportional to the number of beer storage tanks (Bright Beer Tanks; BBTs), which also influences the space requirement issue.

The basic beer styles chosen for a brewpub can be obtained from the list given earlier, however a general style list is given as below:
1. India Pale Ale (IPA)
2. Stout (Imperial/Dry/Irish-Guinness style)
3. Wheat Beer
4. Porter
5. Pilsner
6. Bock
7. German lager
8. Cider
9. Barley wine
10. Scottish/ American/ English Ale

Serial no 1-3 & 9-10 are ales, rest are lagers. Generally, a ratio of 70:30 for Ales: lagers are chosen by most microbreweries, which can also be adjusted according to the market.

Cooling options

Two types of chilling option can be opted for in a brewpub.
1. Glycol jacketed tanks:
2. Cold room

Dispensing options:
The dispensing techniques however can be of different types,
The main influencing factors in dispensing are:
1. The distance of the bar and the BBT use of booster pumps and FOB (Foam on Beer).
2. Pressure of beer in tanks (approx. 1.5 psi).
3. Pressure of CO2 injected in to the tank through the carbonation (diffuser) stone, should in equilibrium or slightly more than the pressure inside tank, for foam regulation.

Brewing Equipment Engineered type

Based on the style, type and number of brews needed according to capacity, there are various brewing equipment engineering designs that one needs to select. Like a normal large scale brewery, a brewpub has all the equipment’s only of a much smaller scale. The basic ones are:
1. Mash tun/ lauter tun combined with hot liquor tank and kettle-2 vessel brew house
2. Mash tun/ kettle and lauter tun combined with whirlpool-2 vessel brew house
3. 4 vessel dedicated brew house
4. Mash tun/ lauter tun and kettle/whirlpool- 2 vessel brew house

A separate mash tun and kettle allows the brew master to have more than one brew per day in lesser time, thus achieving more flexibility in operation.

Milling requirements

A malt mill of adequate capacity is required.

Use of Adjuncts
In commercial breweries use of adjuncts (rice flakes, wheat, sugar, corn etc) is encouraged to increase the fermentable sugar concentration for higher ABV% (alcohol % volume by volume). However according to German brew laws (Reinheitsgebot-law), barley malt should be the only grist material to be used in making any kind of beer. But this is not compulsory. The adjuncts can also contribute to characteristic flavor but pure barley beer is adjudged to be the best in class of draught beers. Adjuncts are also used to replace amount of barley malt in beer, for economic considerations.

Waste water disposal
A huge quantity of water will be drained off each brew day for various CIP and other cleaning practices along with the condensation trap discharge (if any) and RO machine wastage. This needs to be channeled through underground drain lines, with steel grids that can be easily cleaned.

However, in normal course of production of beer, the water is re-used for taking the next brew and this water can also be used for kitchen cleaning purposes or for gardening purposes.

As per German emissions standards all the major German companies produce plant & machinery that adhere to this law.

• Degree of automation of the brewing system
  A PLC SCADA control can be setup with the control panel along with pneumatic valves attached to air-compressors which are specially programmed to automate specific regions or total brewing process.
• This is a new development in brewing industry with great returns in form of efficiency and reduction in manpower requirement.
• Malt room
  A malt room should be in place close to the brewery for storing the malt to be later used in subsequent brews, for at least a week.
• Laboratory
  A room (with aseptic conditions) should be dedicated for laboratory analysis of the beer and the raw materials. It should have a minimum of 80 sq. feet of space.

Excise, License, tax, duty & other legal requirements

It’s a regional State subject that needs to be followed as per the Government notifications.

Other licenses required for the setup:
1. Commercial Electricity line
2. Commercial water line-Municipality/underground borewell water
3. Land registration/ Lease sanction
4. Company registration
5. Waste water disposal certificate from pollution control board
6. Fabricated equipment qualitycertificate from third party inspection (Lloyds, SGS, etc.)
7. Water quality testing certificate from quality control labs (SGS, etc.)
8. QC certificate of finished beer from govt.approved QC labs, done randomly.

Human resource and man power requirements

Generally, 4 kinds of manpower are required in a brewpub operation.
They are:
1. Brew Master
2. Assistant Brew Master/Microbiologist
3. Bar Manager
4. Waiters will be taught dispensing under the supervision of the Brewmaster. They should be able to converse well in local languages, Hindi and English, preferably hotel management graduates.

Nature of raw materials procured

1. Malt
2. Hops
3. Yeast
4. Brewing Auxiliaries: Due to lack of brewing enzymes in mash in some cases, and other such deficiencies in the mash additional brew supplements are added.

Architecture, Floor planning & interiors

The floor plan should be determined based on the capacity and the placement of equipment.

Brewpub Marketing

Unlike commercial beer, marketing for brewpubs follows an altogether different approach. According to government regulations for media broadcast and advertisement, any kind of advertisement that shows any liquor or drinking hard beverages is prohibited in visual, print in audio media. Commercial beer companies have thus come up with innovative marketing strategies:

Conceptualized themed brewpubs
a. Rugged old school machine themed brewpubs
b. Old factory (anno 1900) themed brewpubs
c. New age urban themed neon brewpubs
d. Wooden Irish themed brewpubs
e. Munich (Bavarian) Styled Brewpubs

Location Importance
Brewpubs are located mostly in city center or tourist spots or in places of commercial importance, where large number of people are regularly available. Great styles of beer, combined with ambience, special theme bars and on site brewing, boost sales.

Brewpub kitchen

• A kitchen should in place inside the brewpub for special snacks to go along with the beers.
• Dry snacks/Readymade
• Traditional local delicacies
• Small tidbits of Indian/Continental origin
• Special cooked meals with beer in lunch/dinner (for example Bavarian meals)

A gas bank should be in place with separate exhaust options and drainage, and should be secluded from the brewpub.

This is a basic concept in setting up brewpub microbrewery in general for India.

Conceptualized By Winfried Sauer,
CFB Consulting GmbH – Germany

The post Guideline for Setting up a Microbrewery / Restaurant first appeared on Brewer World-Everything about beer is here.

The post Guideline for Setting up a Microbrewery / Restaurant appeared first on Brewer World-Everything about beer is here.

Co-Owners, Float Bangalore

With India on the cusp of the craft beer revolution, the amount of people diving in the brewery business is tremendous. Recently opening their doors to beer lovers in Bangalore, Float Brewery entices its visitors in divine craft beer experience. As most great stories go, this one was initiated by two friends Naveen & Ramesh. Spearheaded by Naveen’s love for beer, the duo didn’t hesitate to start work on their entrepreneurial journey – Float Bangalore. Ramesh S. Naveen spent a number of years in the hospitality industry, even better known as one of the senior office bearers of the Gymkhana Club, that led the development of the property and made it what it is today. Brewer World in conversation with owners of recently opened Float Bangalore.

What is the concept behind Float? How did you settle on the name?

At Float we take our jobs seriously. We are here to create a revolution with great beer, great food and outstanding service. We believe that the experience we will give our customers will Float them to the next level.

A running pun among the friends and partners is that anything they did together should give the user a “Floating above the limits experience”. Thus the Float name was born..

Could you talk to us about the beers available at Float. Talk to us about your brew master and their team?

We have brought in The Beer Chronicles team headed by George Jacob to help us create unique beers for this area. George and his team have a reputation in the industry as the top brewers.
We plan to have 3 house beers on tap and 1 rotating beer that will change every month or so. We plan to launch with a Hoppy Pilsner, a Red Ale, a Hefeweizen, and a special Pale Ale brewed using a variety of hops known as Barbe Rouge. This variety originated in France and is one of the hard to find varieties. We are the first brewery in the country to use this particular hop. I’ll leave the description open for your interpretation when you taste the beer.

With so many craft breweries in Bangalore and around you, how will you propose float will stand out?

Bangalore is home to some of the top breweries of the country, with a couple of them in our immediate neighbourhood too! As Float, we are here to help build and encourage the craft brewing community in India and at the same time showcase our world class beers, food and impeccable service. We believe that our great twist on food and beers will surely excite taste buds at a pocket friendly price.

Could you talk to us about the interiors and what the theme is supposed to reflect and how the same has been accomplished?

Three storeys high, wooden interiors, an “old fashioned” look with louvered windows overlooking the main road. We’ve got large windows facing the road showing off our brew house that has a lovely copper cladding. The property is divided into 3 floors and a terrace. Our ground floor is cafe based serving fresh baked goodies, the next floor is just a simple pub layout, the 2nd floor is a candy bar that’s a very interesting component of the project, the 3rd floor is a lounge concept, and the terrace is predominantly for private parties.

Talk to us about the challenges that affected float while setting up?

As you all may know, opening any kind of F&B outlet is never an easy business with the amount of planning, conceptualising, negotiations and so on. The amount of effort that went into designing Float was colossal. Raw material for both the brewery and the kitchen were a challenge but we’ve managed to source some real quality suppliers to ensure our products are never compromised.

India is currently witnessing the expansion of beer markets, what are your thoughts on the same?

India is a very interesting market at the moment with the current craft beer boom we’re seeing. The year’s ahead look like a very exciting time for all of us. We hope to see a lot more breweries opening and expanding the craft culture in the country. Lots of new beers means a lot more fun after all! We’re very excited about the various bottled offerings popping up nowadays and hope to one day have our own to offer as well.

Any advice you’d like to share with someone looking to setup their own microbrewery?

Starting a microbrewery can be rewarding if you are passionate about beers. You should have a fair idea of your market and competitors around, channelize funds as well as prepare yourself for the future competition. It’s very important to strategies’ on a thorough business plan. The increasing popularity of craft beer demands equally good pairing of food, so there is a continuous challenge for anyone interested in the culinary arts as well. As breweries continue to develop more complex beer, the food prepared to accompany it must be equally esoteric. A successful micro brewery constantly needs to brew high quality of beer in different styles to meet the expectations of the consumer. And most importantly the concept of the microbrewery plays an integral role towards its success.

We concluded our conversation with the owners, asking them how and why an IT Professional & Hospitality Specialist would venture into opening their own FnB outlet with out any prior experience. “Everything is an experience and Float is the first time this team has come together on a F&B venture, and our hope is to open a number of other properties around the South”, smiles and adds Naveen.

The post The Float Experience first appeared on Brewer World-Everything about beer is here.

The post The Float Experience appeared first on Brewer World-Everything about beer is here.

Owner & Director, Brew Estate

As India gradually gains momentum in the craft brewing arena, with Gurgaon, Mumbai and Bangalore competing head-to head in bringing the culture of freshly brewed beer to India. With the number of microbreweries currently opening in the nation, consumers are spoilt with a vast number of varieties & styles to choose from.

Rock and Storm Distilleries was started by, Mr. Arundeep Singla with the vision to be best performing and the most respected among the spirit brewing companies in India. This drive eventually laid down the perfect launchpad for Chandigarh’s very own largest microbrewery. The owners wanted to introduce Chandigarh and Punjab to authentic craft beer and establish a premium beer brand. Brew Estate offers premium craft beers, cuisines from all over the world and is a wholesome kind of place for any group to hang out. They have successfully brewed over 30 types of craft beer to date and have experimented with variety of ingredients to produce variant tasting craft beer styles. So, what sets them apart from everyone else? Arundeep Singla doesn’t hesitate to let us know “Our brewery’s USP is the utmost precision while brewing. Our ingredients are imported: Malt from Germany, Yeast from Belgium, and Hops from Germany, US and UK. We celebrate festivals like Oktoberfest with full authenticity. Our team first visits the Oktoberfest in Germany and then recreate it here in our outlets. Our beer is made with quality ingredients too.

Brew Estate provides eight different kinds of craft beer at their current operational outlet in Chandigarh. Serving Wit Bier called the ‘Home Run’, a Bavarian Wit the ‘Thirsty Crow’, Premium Lager as Brew Estate No.1 and Red Ale as Rocky Road. An American Strong Ale, Indian Pale Ale, Brown Ale, Cider, Cyser (Mead) are some of the craft beers that contain 3-5% ABV. Catering to strong Ale crowds, they serve Red Ale, Dark Lagers & Brown Ale at 7-8% ABV. Their seasonal beers which includes flavours like Alphonso Beer, Green Apple Beer, Strawberry, Pilsner, Pumpkin Ale, Paan flavoured and more. The crispiness and twang of the craft beer comes from the wheat and lively level of carbonation. They use a particular type of yeast that produce unique phonetic flavour of banana and clove. This brewing style is significantly known and noted for its low hop, bitterness and relatively high carbonation which are considered important to balance the beer’s relatively malty sweetness.

Brew Master, Shailendra Mohan pays keen attention on how the craft beer is defined, which includes flavour, body, colour, bitterness, carbonation, fermentation and so on. Brew Estate uses imported German Malt for brewed beer. Brewing process involves 7-8 steps and 70-80% of the work done in brewing involves cleaning, sterilisation of the vessels and more. Other than that, one will have to maintain a record of production and stock materials. “Creating recipes is the fun part of brewing, experimenting with some flavoured beer with the fusion of fruits like strawberry, mango, green apple, raspberry etc.”, adds Shailendra. He also goes on to say the chemistry of water can influence not just the taste, but also the brewing efficiency. When asked about what sets him apart from the rest of the brew masters in the industry, he said “If you want to introduce any new product, there is a change in the process. It’s a challenging task for every brewer. Our Managing Director provides full support to team and every facility for the entire brewing work. Also, I love interacting with the customers and take feedbacks/ideas about their taste. I love the sight and smell of brewing the beer. I go out and visit with the customers and ask them what they like or don’t like about the beer.

And, of course, I have a passion for beer and developing new recipes and I love good quality handcrafted beer, which constitutes the core to my passion.”

To complement their freshly crafted beer, they have specially crafted food menu with dishes from cuisines all over the world. They have revamped their nibbling sides, with a fusion of Indian and continental way of presentation. Their chef’s special TBE Chakna platter with its crispy and flavoursome Indian peas, corn and more is one of the nibbler side dishes to be turned on for and complements well with their premium craft beer. When asking his thoughts on the rising beer markets, Mr Singla replied, “India is opening up to craft beer and dwelling deep into flavours. It has given rise to a lot of competition, but the competition continuously makes us strive to do better.

What does the future hold for this enterprising microbrewery? “Brew Estate sets the bar high, aiming to open 100 outlets in the coming years. Coming soon at Ludhiana, Zirakpur-Punjab and Shimla-Himachal Pradesh, where you step in once and repeatedly want to come back to re-live the unforgettable experience from your first time!”.

The post One Sip is All it Takes first appeared on Brewer World-Everything about beer is here.

The post One Sip is All it Takes appeared first on Brewer World-Everything about beer is here.

Brew Master

Completing his MSc Brewing Science & Technology from the University of Pune and a Diploma in the same from The Institute of Brewing & Distilling in 2017. Ankur Napa is a maverick of all things brewing, joining the brewing bandwagon even before he was legally allowed to drink. Kick-starting his career at Hops & Grains the Microbrewery & TJ Brew Works, he discovered his passion for brewing. A brewer by qualification & profession, his experience in craft as well as commercial brewing is what makes an encyclopaedia who loves sharing his learnings with people. Further crafting his love for brewing, Ankur joined global giant AB InBev as a Quality Analysist & SABMiller India as a brewer.

“For as long as I can remember I have always been the youngest brewer around, and in a world where everyone seemed to be getting certified, I was ahead of the game. Or so I thought”. Brewer World spoke to Ankur Napa earlier this year (January) about the emerging beer markets in India and its dynamic collection of brewers.

“I’m still the youngest, I’m starting to notice the age gap slowly closing. Not because I’m getting older, but because the trainees are getting younger! What this mean for the profession? On asking him the same thing – What impact a younger generation of brewers could mean for the industry? “I’m not going to lie all of my favourite brewers are older than me. They have been brewing for over a decade, and there is a quiet competence in their brewing. I haven’t stumbled upon many young brewers who are as intelligently submerged in the brewing. When new brewers come to me for training, I send them to my teachers—older, wiser, more experienced—people who I trust to give a good, solid answer. Some part of me still believes that I’m an amateur brewer. However, I have a strong, ever-changing brewing practice that honours my age”.

Asking Ankur if he believes age can be the greatest advantage one could have on their side, he smiles enthusiastically and says, “Of Course, It was my first teacher—older and wiser—who believed my youth to be my greatest advantage. He told me there is energy within young brewers that cannot be faked. We appear instantly relatable and perceptive. We sit up there brewing with our hearts cracked wide open and a myriad of insecurities just beneath the surface, brewing with a wild inhibition engendered simply from our youth”. Sensing our looks or confusion he went on to clarify, “When left to our own devices, we turn to friends and colleagues for advice, rather than turning inward to our own.

Yet here is where young brewers have the power to set ourselves apart: the more we do, the better our teaching will become. Svadhyaya (self-study) doesn’t come from age or experience, but through passionate dedication to the practice”.

Youth could also have its disadvantages, have you noticed any unsettling trends that would collaborate with the same? “The young brewers of today, armed with brewing degrees, have been unleashed into a world filled with easy distractions such as Instafame and competitions. What first brought brewer to breweries has been replaced with an anxious, obsessive desire to be noticed. We watch other brewers sell out them self and retreats, and we cling to the idea that we are only a few years away from a similar stardom. But we’re not. And we shouldn’t be”, answers Ankur. “As this industry becomes increasingly competitive—pressuring brewers to focus on time slots, brand ambassadors and brewing. What we need more than ever is an influx of passionate, young brewer dedicated to Svadhyaya. This means taking the time to, understand the brewing texts, studying biology, biochemistry and embracing constructive feedback. We must keep showing up, time and time again, with that same energy and enthusiasm that brought us here in the first place—than the commitment to personal growth. As more and more young brewers get certified, we can either promote ourselves or pro-brewing. We can shine briefly and burn out quickly, or we can stick around for the long haul, staying curious and malleable, willing to change and grow with our age—constantly reading and absorbing new information—but continuously rooted in the reasons of why we came,” adds Ankur.

Any last thoughts, as a brewer, you’d like to share with us? “We are part of a large industry with only a little influence, but we have the capacity to inspire genuine connection and growth. What makes us special is that we don’t have all the answers; our brewing skills are accessible, energetic and changing. We must embrace our youthful insecurity, using it for growth, staying vulnerable and relatable as we become the older, wiser, mentors of the future,” states Ankur.

The post The Youth Connect in Brewing first appeared on Brewer World-Everything about beer is here.

The post The Youth Connect in Brewing appeared first on Brewer World-Everything about beer is here.

Owner at The Yellow Submarine Beer Deck & Dining

Overlooking the lush-green IIM-Bangalore Campus, The Yellow Submarine Beer Deck is SS Hospitality’s latest venture into the burgeoning craft beer markets in India. Brewer World in conversation with Raghunandan Prasad, owner of The Yellow Submarine, “Our goal when we started brewing was to create authentically exceptional beers, using traditional recipes and adding our unique signature twist so our discerning customers can always distinguish our brews that pair well with our food menu. The essence of our speciality is taking ordinary everyday dishes or drinks and showcasing it in a whole new light!”

When did you first fall in love with Craft Beer?

I got a taste for craft beers during a stint in the USA, noticed that all the beers in supermarkets were brewed & bottled by local brewers, it was interesting to see that the beers from big industrial breweries were at the far end of the shelves.

Shortly after I noticed several microbreweries being set up in Bangalore, the whole idea of a stand-alone brewery inside a pub allowing us to brew our own beers opens-up a world of possibilities that consumed me, we are fortunate to be in a position to pursue this calling.

How did you settle on the name? Is there a story behind it?

Yellow Submarine marries my love for beer and music! The brewery is a tribute to my favourite band The Beatles and perhaps one of their most iconic songs. It’s practically an anthem to anyone who loves rock and roll!
That’s what we want the brewery to be – a hub for great music and great beer! Bangalore was the rock capital of the Country, but rock music slowly seems to be slipping away into the yesteryears.

We want to be the last Hurrah for all rock lovers!

Talk to us about your brew master? What is the current beer portfolio on tap? Which is your fastest-selling beer?

An IT enthusiast turned full time brewer, Karthik Singh is self-taught learning his craft through extensive reading of books and research on the internet. With an uncompromising mind to make sure every pint poured is of the highest quality. He very passionately believes that craft beer is about pushing the boundaries of what we consider are traditional beer flavours, maintaining a balance between traditional recipes and some wacky out of the box beers to make sure there is something always exciting to try at the Yellow Submarine.

We work well together because of our common interests that go beyond geeking out on beer. With this mindset, our portfolio of beers always consists of a mix of traditional German, Belgian and American beers along with a few experimental beers with fruits, spices, and pretty much everything that we assume can be thrown into the mix like a crazy witch making a magic potion.

Like everywhere else in India, the Hefeweizens, Witbiere and other high ABV Belgians are our highest sellers, but it is heartening to see the rise in consumption of beers like our IPA and Kolsch.

How has the market responded to your establishment? How do you engage with your customers?

We had a slow start thanks to the supreme court ruling about pubs needing to be 500mtrs from highways, thankfully the rule was amended.

The soul of the yellow submarine which is its brewery only sprung to life a few months ago, this certainly pleased our regular guests who began getting more and more of their friends.

I strongly feel that word of mouth is our best means of marketing, it definitely fetches the best patrons. We accomplish this by leaving strong positive impression on all our customers, and let the service do the talking. We also rely heavily on our Social media marketing, we are quite active on all the popular platforms thanks to my wife who spearheads the marketing for Yellow Submarine.

The interior design is impeccable at the Yellow Submarine. Could you talk to us about the theme, & story behind the same?

Thank you! We spent a lot of thought and effort into the fabrication and setting up the interiors. Everything at the Yellow Submarine is bespoke and hand crafted, custom made just for us. Nearly all the main features like the doors, the bridge, the sails, the waterfall staircase and all the furniture have detailed scale hand drawings or CAD drawings designed by me. Countless hours were spent with the contractors and fabricators reworking and redesigning certain features of the pub till everything fell perfectly in place and worked practically too. We have been very frugal in our use of materials for example all our lighting (which is also bespoke), the sea mine lights for instance were spun at a local factory and riveted into place, we used railway signal lights for the high chair seating area and used water meter housings for the underwater lights that embellish our pond and waterfall.

Overlooking the lush-green IIM-B Campus, The Yellow Submarine has been set up with carefully visualised decor and thoughtful seating arrangements spread over a large open-terrace space, to make the most of Bangalore’s splendid weather. We are still putting the finishing touches on the upper star deck, the interior work never really ends at the Yellow Submarine! still so much to do!

With so many craft breweries in Bangalore and around you, how do you stand out?

Our exceptional beers, Great food! and Inspiring music!

We constantly have something happening here, like our Harry Potter Week last month, or the Star Wars weekend and the Ghibli Screenings. My Wife and I curate and conduct these events personally where we design special food and bar menus, and host loads of activities that incorporate the highlights of the theme. We have conducted garage sales, sapling planting drives and our very own Beer Olympic Games which we hope will become regular affairs.

When we are in full swing, we will have live music events everyday! Showcasing some of the best bands Bangalore has nurtured over the years while staging and fostering new talent with live performances, open mic and karaoke.

There will always be something brewing at The Yellow Submarine

Is this your first venture into the world of F&B? Do you have any previous or currently existing properties?

This is my second venture into the F&B space, the 1st one is Deja Vu which is a Buffet & Bar on the same road. My Sister and I set it up over 5 years ago, I learnt a lot from the exercise; once we stabilised the business it was time for the next new project. We are a family who run business, my father entered the F&B space with Cross roads Inn and the 24th main which has become a landmark of sorts in the area.

What were the main challenges faced while setting up your brewery?

The main challenge is easily the government and the plethora of vexing departments that you have to deal with in-order to set up a brewery or any establishment for that matter but being a place that produces alcohol garners extra scrutiny.

Technical and equipment issues take up a close 2nd place there is a lot of things that can go wrong and they will go wrong, trust me.

Luckily, we are now blessed with a good brewing team, but we had a rough start, there are a lot of wannabe brewers out there looking to make an easy buck by lying about their credentials, trying to make the most of the microbrewery wave that has hit Bangalore. You have to know your beers and keep learning every day to stay ahead of the curve.

India is currently witnessing the expansion of beer markets, what are your thoughts on the same?

Today there are 2 burgeoning markets for beer in India, one is the conventional brewery set up where beer is brewed, bottled /kegged and sold in the open market and the other is the microbrewery attached to a pub.

Both models seem to be exploding in India despite our governments’ archaic restrictions and policies

Already in parts of Gurgaon this unchecked growth has resulted in too many breweries competing for a finite market. This has led to poor industry practices churning out shoddy beers. The same goes for the bottling/kegging plants too. Quite a few of these places have shut down or changed management several times.

It’s only a matter of time before the customers begin to understand what constitutes a good beer and what to look out for in their craft beers, as soon as that happens those establishments that were simply set up to follow a trend or for glamour will automatically be weeded out.

What’s the one thing you would tell people to expect when the visit your brewery?

Expect to be pleasantly surprised as soon as you pass through our doors. Take a moment to absorb our relaxing ambience and experience some of Bangalore’s finest beers paired thoughtfully with nouvelle cuisine. But don’t worry, the bill will leave you feeling equally delighted.

The post We all live in a Yellow Submarine first appeared on Brewer World-Everything about beer is here.

The post We all live in a Yellow Submarine appeared first on Brewer World-Everything about beer is here.