Beer Weekend: Things to know about your brew

The rains seem to be making way for a white-hot weekend, perfect for the two big beer fests. While the one at Mahalaxmi leaves you with just one beer brand to guzzle down true Oktoberfest-style, the other at Bandra offers carefully selected imported craft beer from across the globe. If you love your beer, but haven’t really got down to being a beer snob, then here is a low-down on what you might be drinking there: The Mumbai Oktoberfest 2011 starts tomorrow and the draft of choice is Germany’s famous wheat beer, Erdinger– light & dark – brewed in Erding, in Bavaria. That’s an hour from Munich where the real Oktoberfest beer is brewed. While the tables are all sold out, you can walk in by paying Rs 100 per person, which is just the entry charge. When:  14 to October 16 Where: Royal Western India Turf Club, Members Enclosure, Mahalaxmi Racecourse, Mahalaxmi. For more details, contact the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce on 6665 2121 or 6665 2147. Erdinger Weisse (light): The classic, white variety is bottle-fermented in the traditional manner. With an alcohol content of 5.3%, it’s bland compared to other beers, writes Kai on braukaiser.com, yet its bitterness is comparatively higher for a Weissbier (or white beer). “But it is nicely prickley on the tongue all the way through.” Erdinger Dark: The dark variety is slightly higher on alcohol content and is spicy. A reviewer says on everydaydrinkers.com: “Although it’s dark (dunkel), this Erdinger is your typical wheat bear with a malty aftertaste. You’ll find it a bit more carbonated than some wheat style recipes, if you can find the bubbles in this black beer – let it roll on your tongue for a few seconds and you’ll be tickled to death by little carbonated bubbles.” [caption id=“attachment_107150” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“At the Mumbai International Beer Festival, organised by the Monsoon Winds and Pune Gourmet Club, there is a far bigger variety of imported craft beer. Getty Images”]  [/caption] At the Mumbai International Beer Festival, organised by the Monsoon Winds and Pune Gourmet Club, there is a far bigger variety of imported craft beer from the world over, and there will be beer experts and blind tasting sessions, too. You just might have to order in advance though,  so click for your pass here (there are a few options to choose from. A little on some of the beers you’ll find there: When: 15 and 16 October, 12 noon to 10 pm Where: D’ Monte Park Recreation Club, Perry Road, Bandra Fuller’s London Pride Ale, England: A quintessentially English ale and the flagship brand of the company, this is an all-grain recipe, is mahogany coloured and bitter with alcohol content of 4.1% in cask conditioned form. It has a malty flavour and is lightly carbonated. The Real Ale Almanac, a guide to commercially brewed ales, has this to say about the beer: “Astonishingly complex beer for its gravity, a marvelous melange of malt, hops and fruit.” Murphy’s Irish Stout, Ireland: Murphy’s Irish Stout is a dry stout, again, a classic, brewed in County Cork. A review from dailyorange.com says: “… the smell of Murphy’s resembles that of Guinness. A concerted effort to find a difference turns up a slightly more distinct presence of caramel in Murphy’s. But the taste of Murphy’s ultimately sets it apart from other Irish dry stouts. Midway through the swallow, the sweet caramel flavor comes to life. Consider the brew a distant relative of chocolate milk.” Tsingtao, China: Chinese beer? That’s right, it is brewed in a brewery founded by German settlers. This is a draft, with hints of fruit. For all the novelty of place of origin, Fearleaacritic.com says, “its flagship beer is firmly in the mold of American lagers like Budweiser, being lightly hopped and brewed with rice.” Chimay Red Trappist, Belgium: This beer comes from a brewery inside Scourmont Abbey, which produces ales exclusively for the monks; these beers are called Trappist beers because they are made in a Trappist monastery. As for the Trappist Rouge or Red, beertaster.ca writes: “the Aroma is slightly gingery with a bit of roasted chocolate. Texture is quite creamy and slightly thick, makes you feel warm just from the texture alone.” It has a hint of grains but is mostly fruit, with it’s colour more brown that red. It retains a generous off-white head for quite some time Brooklyn East India Pale, USA: Brewed in Brooklyn, the beer uses English malts and hops to create “the classic, heavily-hopped style of the 19th century beers created for British soldiers serving in India.” This beer is bright golden, with the aroma of hops, herbs and citrus which makes it slightly bitter.