Beer for all reasons

Beer has a tough role to play in society. It realises it will never be as revered as wine although, in a clear majority of the cases, it will be the one that brings people closer to God than wine ever will and I don’t mean by dying.

Sure wine is a lovely ferment but beer is no ordinary second batter — it is a ferment in its own right with its own tasting notes, aroma profiles and signature making styles.

So before you spill your pint in sheer surprise, let me tell you about some beers that you don’t normally get to hear much about and, more importantly, many of which are already available in India.

Trappist Beers: Monks are religious and abstain from all pleasures. But somehow they were able to justify making wine and beer and all sorts of alcoholic concoctions. I guess you need some (fun) ways to pass time in a monastery. Needless to say, the beer that is born of such labour is truly marvellous worship-worthy stuff.

Currently only seven monasteries can use the seal to authenticate them as original Trappist beers (that is, beer made by the Trappist monks). Chimay is a popular one. It is available in India along with another one, Rochefort. There are four others in Belgium and there is only one in Holland.

Micro-Brewery Beers: This is a real neat concept. It reduces the time between making the beer and drinking it. This is done by setting up a brewery and then building a restaurant around it! The beers are made in smaller quantities so that they needn’t be stored and effectively you have fresh beer every time you walk in.

The benefits of drinking beer made minus the preservatives can only truly be appreciated the next morning, marked by the pleasant absence of any headaches or nasty hangovers. In Delhi, okay, Gurgaon, two such exist — Rockman’s Beer Island in Ambience Mall and Howzzat at Galaxy hotel. Little Devils is another local North Indian brand.

The South has only one entrant, Geist beer, an Indian beer brewed in Belgium but with a signature recipe perfected by two Indian enthusiasts who (if I recall correctly) are affably known as Techie and Sparky.

Gueuze Beers: This is special beer made in the same way as Champagne. The bubble is produced by double fermentation and the beer is even aged like Champagne. It doesn’t cost like the expensive bubbly and for a beer, it is quite an acquired (super sour) taste. I like it but it is yet to come to India. But look out for Cantillon, a popular Belgian brand.

Lager: This means literally to shelve (age) beer. All bottled beer are shelved for a bit before being sold, hence the term. The fresher version is Draught (pronounced draft).
Other Beers: Think Perry and Cider, not just ales and stouts. The differences are many but don’t let that bother you. I prefer to drink all these as closest to the source as possible (without having to put my lips to the keg-tap that is) and hence prefer to enjoy them when in the UK mostly.

Suddenly that local beer with a bird on its bottle doesn’t seem so alluring anymore, eh? I know the feeling. While it is all good to beat the heat with a chilled brewsky, it is cooler to have a proper beer and not just coloured fizzy water. Cheers to you guys, I am off to cool off!