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: Tuborg Gold Label

Lack of options can drive one to do strange things, like calling for a strong lager at a friendly neighbourhood bar. What can I say about Tuborg Strong? Was I really expecting it to be good? Or even very different from other strong lagers? What a fool I am. Smooth it is… and malty, yes. And there’s this fruity beginning that I can’t put my finger on. But then, it’s just another strong lager. Why do I even bother with this stuff anymore?

RATING: 2/5

Please note: Prohibition Week 2010 (2nd-8th October) is Beer Week on this blog.

Beer Review: Tuborg Green

The best lager available in Mumbai comes from Copenhagen, Denmark. The bottle has a pull-ring cap and is green. A thirsty man’s delight, Tuborg Green is a crisp and refreshing beer with a clean, lingering aftertaste. Unlike other good beers like Royal Challenge and Tiger, Tuborg is everywhere and has also introduced cans to our advantage. “Smooth as water” isn’t the same as “tastes like water”, but some wouldn’t know a good beer if it came in the form of a tsunami, and let’s not go further into that. Here’s the winner of last month’s contest Aditya Rao enjoying the brew from a can.