Holysmoke Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 Whats your favorite? Also, read this recently.. how much of it is true? And - why does Indian beer suck so much? I mean, why must a bottle contain 50% glycerine? Now, the Indian beer market is quite unique - the weird tax laws in India for alcohol mean that a brewer effectively sells in 30 different entities rather than one - VAT be damned. The lack of a smooth logistics system means that it takes a week for a bottle of beer to make it from Aurangabad (Fosters) to Delhi. Now given that beer trucks don't have cooling in India - the glycerine is added to ensure that the beer stays drinkable. Which means the best beers (like Kings in Goa) with low glycerine content only get sold in limited areas. This also means that instead of a large single brewery - India has tens of microbreweries - Kingfisher is brewed in some 20 different places and tastes insipid from each one of them. Now, Vijay Mallya has actually canned some of the other brands in the UB stable - like Kalyani Black Label - or ruined the concept - like Ice which began life as a low alcohol content, crisp beer and now (at least in Kerala) feels heavy and strong. Smaller (sometimes nice like Kings) brands without national coverage cannot compete with UB (they don't own breweries across the country) so VM continues getting richer and we keep on getting bad beer. The other problem with beer in India is that the concept of nice, light beers don't seem to exist. The objective of drinking - beer - of all drinks is to get wasted as fast as possible. Therefore, we have the rather unique concept of 'Super Strong' beers in India - such beers are supposed to have only 8.25% by volume. But, believe you me, I've drunk beers (and not too much of them) which have left me pissed drunk very, very fast. Not the standard Thunderbolt, Godfather, Haywards 5000 stuff - I once picked up Kala Titar (aka Black Patridge) at Surajkund and by god, that must've had 25% by volume alcohol. Four grown adults in my car were demolished - I prefer the Bong term dhongsho - by one 650ml bottle of hard-core Haryanvi beer. Tequila I can handle lots of, but this is the bomb! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apocalypse Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 By reading it I can be well assured that the writer has virtually zero handling capacity. :D I am not sure about logistics he is taking about since famous beers are available everywhere in India. It is true that some places have their own local flavor though. But you cant just say that local beers are always better than the common ones. It just depends on taste. And there are light beers in India. If you see the alcohol content on the Haywards 2000, Royal Challenge premium lager it is less than 5% . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gambit Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 Hate beer. Taste is ugh. Prefer whiskey/vodka/rum. :top: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DesiChap Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kumble_rocks Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 ]Hate beer. Taste is ugh. Prefer whiskey/vodka/rum. :top: What's wrong with your taste buds dude !:P Beer is the best !:top: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rajiv Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 Call me crazy but I enjoy whisky only in India I only drink beer, wine and martinis now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandrake Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 "But, believe you me, I've drunk beers (and not too much of them) which have left me pissed drunk very, very fast. Not the standard Thunderbolt, Godfather, Haywards 5000 stuff - I once picked up Kala Titar (aka Black Patridge) at Surajkund and by god, that must've had 25% by volume alcohol. Four grown adults in my car were demolished - I prefer the Bong term dhongsho - by one 650ml bottle of hard-core Haryanvi beer. Tequila I can handle lots of, but this is the bomb!" Cannot agree more with this part.Indian beer has a big kick....though Fosters and foreign brands are still lighter than the local names.....anyone remembers kalyani..that was deadly:haha: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer1 Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 leffe blond, and on a hot day, a hoegaarden. when in india, kalyani black label ( though this seems to be extinct nowadays - couldnt find it the last time) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaurav Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 Cobra and Kingfisher for me these days. Not that i drink that much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CC1981 Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 I drink most beers- i just don't dark beer like Guiness because its the worst for hangovers. Prefer Molson,Heiniken, Coors Light, Brahma. I don't drink Budweiser or most American beers- they taste cr@p and are so watered down that your belly's gotto be sloshing with beer before you 'feel it'. But beer is not my preferred medium of drink, though it is the alcoholic beverage i consume the most often due to social considerations ( hanging out with friends at a bar & splitting pitchers is far more commonplace for me than ordering a drink). If i'd the money, all i'd ever drink (in alcoholic beverages) is Cognac. That stuff tastes superb to my pallette. Wine Coolers are nice to chill-out on a hot day with, especially when i want just a faint buzz. Thanks to Salil, i've found a new admiration for wine, particularly Sauvignon Blanc and Chadonney. But all in all, alcohol is a social thing for me- i cant remember the last time i was alone in my apartment and i opened a bottle of beer or any alcoholic beverage. I'd much rather get stoned than get wasted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
varun Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 haywards 5000 :haha: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zooter Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 Black and Tan for me. Ruggedly stylish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zooter Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 Seriously, What's the history of beer in India? Did we even make it before Europeans came?? Muslims are dry (ostencibly), so I'm sure they never brought any alcoholic drink when they came. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Outsider Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 Thunderbolt, anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CC1981 Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 Seriously, What's the history of beer in India? Did we even make it before Europeans came?? Muslims are dry (ostencibly), so I'm sure they never brought any alcoholic drink when they came. Biggest myth around is that muslims don't drink. Most do, actually. They just prefer to be in denial over it. Here is a lil info for you : Mix whiskey & water or rum & coke- note the color. Now buy a 1L pepsi bottle, dump the pepsi out, pour the whiskey/rum-n-coke in. Put the cap back on and then make your way to the stadium. Next time you see a match in Pakistan or some football match in middle-east, when the camera pans to the crowd, try taking notice of how many 'coke/pepsi bottles' there are in the crowd. :wink_smile: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandtest Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 Am I the only non-alcoholic among Kaafir Indians? :sad_smile: Never tasted beer-seer, but Bhang, Bhola-Munakka still rocks :cantstop: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Tendulkar Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 Thunderbolt' date=' anyone?[/quote'] :hysterical::hysterical:No doubt thuderbolt is the best. 1 bottle of that and you are well on your way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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