Beer Snobbery 3

Every few years, there is a disturbing change of beer trends in magical Goa. There was the local pilsner King’s, which ruled the scene. Then, Kingfisher took over and reigned until recently and now Tuborg has dethroned India’s most popular beer. They’re a lot cheaper at the beach shacks than they are at the liquor stores (“wine shops”) in Mumbai, but the next time we’re in Goa… I’ll be sippin’ water, thank you.

Speaking of ‘popular’, I think there’s a connection between Kingfisher and other popular stuff. Like god, for example. Or take any popular notion that doesn’t make any sense whatsoever. While it’s totally understandable that not everyone can admit they were wrong or fooled after a lifetime of believing in something, it’s baffling how people will belligerently continue to thrust forth their contrasting opinion in a show of loyalty to that which is obviously false.

It’s like trying to start a conversation with me by stating that a certain band whose only claim to fame is playing covers of Metallica/Megadeth/Slayer is the best thing to happen to metal. It never works.

Fuck all that – I laughed my head off talking to this delivery man who happens to be a London Pilsner loyalist. He told me how he’d bought the costlier Kingfisher thinking it’d be his birthday treat and that it ruined his celebration because, as he told me in Hindi, that beer fucking stinks.

It feels so good to be on a break from alcohol, especially after a visit to a microbrewery which poured into my life a truly great beer that… yeah, that’s right – no more shitty beer posts from me for a very long time. So if you’re too lazy to visit a microbrewery or too cheap to buy quality brew, the least you can do as someone who cares about what they put in their body is drink the only good Indian macrobrew around. And be sure to pester the wine shop owner for the the classic green bottle.

I wonder if anyone has broken it to Vijay Mallya yet…

 

Beer Review: King’s Black Label Pilsner

The first thing you’re offered when you enter Goa, King’s is fast disappearing because of people opting for more familiar beers that are sold at the same price. Of course, it’s absolutely senseless to drink Kingfisher or Tuborg at a shack on any beach of Goa, but who’s going to tell the silly public that? King’s Black Label Pilsner smells like stale bread and has a malty zing that evaporates off the tongue almost immediately to make way for faint hops and a semi-dry end. Light enough to down by the dozen, King’s beer is so special because it is brewed and sold only in Goa. Available in a 375 ml bottle and at 4.85% alcohol strength, King’s Black Label Pilsner is now an endangered species – hunt it down the next time you’re in Goa and knock back as many pints as you can before it goes extinct.

RATING: 2/5

Beer Review: London Pilsner – India’s Only Good Beer

Beer Snobbery 2  Beer Snobbery 1