Bangalore used to be known (and still is) as the "pub city" of India thanks in large to the presence of United Breweries (Mallya sir) and an alcohol friendly government (unlike the dear neighbouring states). Back in the 90s and 2000s, the most popular pubs could be found in the cantonment areas such as M.G. Road, Brigade Road, Ulsoor etc with names such as The Pub (later rebranded as NASA), Pecos, Guzzlers Inn, Windsor Pub, Watsons, Downtown Pub, Sathya, Sherlock, etc being popular amongst the burgeoning youth serving KF draught beer and playing kick ass rock music. You could find those large beer keg kept outside the pub similar to how you'd find drinking water bubbles outside kiranas and supermarkets nowadays (sigh, how times have changed).
Fast forward 2020, the landscape has changed dramatically with some of these pubs having shut down or relocated. The reasons are aplenty and to put forth a few- the Cantonment area isn't as popular as before leading to decreased footfalls, there is an explosion in the choice (like in every other consumer product/service) leading to intense competition, the tastes have also changed thanks in large to the craft beer culture kicking in. Covid-19 was the final nail in the coffin for many of these outlets.
Its not as if the old beer culture has gone away completely but is probably mainly on the minds of old Bangalore junta like me who still romanticize the idea of the nostalgic old school pub (no place plays better music than Pecos even now). "Bobs Bar" in Indiranagar is a place which has the old school pub vibe and is packed all the time, even on a weekday evening (survival of the fittest!) Like everything else, progression has taken place and the modern microbrewery stands as a testament to the same.
So what led to this explosion in microbreweries?
- The Karnataka gov excise department started giving out licenses for microbreweries. Talking of laws and regulations, it is notoriously difficult to get a liquor license in Bangalore and presumably a lot of under the table dealing with babus. In a nutshell, if you're running a "bar and restaurant", you can only buy off an existing license from someone who owns it. No new licenses are granted! The pub scene in Bangalore boomed despite this absurdity! And I wont even begin to start on the dark age of nightlife in Bangalore in the late 90s and 2000s when pubs were forced to shut shop and 11 30 (luckily, I was a kid then) and live music became an increasingly rare sight
- Well travelled folks who have experienced the craft beer boom outside wanted to bring in the same experience back home. This is exactly the case with Arbor Brewing Company (popularly called "ABC") whose founder found inspiration in the namesake placed in Michigan
- Bangalore has a mix of a booming young working class which is willing to spend and experiment and the original stamp of a pub city stays where folks like to drink and unwind - an aspect pretty unique to Bangaloreans (unlike Mumbai where folks just drink whatever it takes to get high and dance or Delhi NCR where folks just drink whatever it takes to get high for the sake of getting high (!?!). Anyhow, why would one keep having the same old lager beer when you can have the choice of 5-10 different types of freshly brewed beer under the same roof? An excerpt from a very good column published in Mint describes this beer culture:
- Microbreweries turned into a place where one could not only try fresh and unique beers but also eat some good food beyond the usual bar food of munchies, finger foods and pizza. Its not wonder that the city probably lags behind Mumbai and NCR in this aspect. Most (if not all) fine dine restaurants in the city can be found in 5 start hotels or fancy malls like UB City.My journey with beer started (obviously at NITK) with the ever reliable and cheap as hell KF Strong and UB Export Strong (those minimalist days!). It soon progressed to Turborg (that fancy way of opening the bottle) and then to Heineken (which I hate now). Luckily, I never really had an affinity towards any other drink apart from some pretty forgetful and wilds nights. After NITK, I first remember going to a microbrewery probably in mid 2012 when I first went to Biere Club, Lavelle Road and the story continues till date. I have also done some bit of exploration when I have been on low budget Eurotrips as seen below (PS -search for a pic Schneider Weiss Brauhaus Munich's IPA below - best beer I've ever had)
Let me put forth a very crude but hopefully wholistic ratings scale which tries to capture other factors (beyond the quality of beer alone). So factors, in descending order of priority are:
1. Quality of beer
- How does the beer taste (freshness, fullness, subtle flavors such a various spices or fruits, how "hoppy" the beers are, if the beer is dilute etc)
- What is the variety of beer served? Every place serves wheat beer and Belgian wit but its the varieties of beer beyond these 2 which count
- How do their IPAs, Red Ale, Stout, Rauchbier, Dunkelweisen and other not-so-common variants taste? Belgian wit is a popular variant which is easy to make but
- How many unique seasonal beers do they serve? (mango beer does not cunt yuck)
2. "Charm" of the place
- History of the place
- Does it seem to look like some ugly monstrosity put up by some rich kid or some thrifty and 'jugaadu' entrepreneur
- General ambience (decor, rooftops)
- Quality of music played - unfortunately most microbreweries play popular music at least during peak visit times
3. Food - variety and taste
Bonus points if the place is cheap
Also, there are many "clusters" in the city where these pubs are located namely the CBD cluster, Indiranagar cluster, Koramangala/HSR cluster, Sarjapur Road cluster, Whitefield cluster, Kalyan Nagar/Hennur cluster and finally the JP Nagar cluster. There are of course a few pubs outside these clusters. My idea of listing them is that you could probably go pub hopping between 2-3 places if you feel like doing that.
This list contains only those microbreweries that I have visited - there are dozens of others I have not been to and may not plan to visit (gone are the wild chugging days sigh)
Also, if you really want to geek out and understand various types of beer, I strongly recommend this video
I'll describe a few of the most popular varieties here:
1. Belgian Wit: The generally light yellow, wheat based light beer
2. Hefeweizen: A dark yellow/orange looking unfiltered wheat beer with yeast in it. The yeast gives the ale a very hazy and cloudy look and occasionally given a slightly fruity taste
3. Stout: The dark coffee flavored beers which are often confused to be strong and high in alcohol content (both of which are untrue!)
4. IPA: A type of pale ale which is generally darker and "hoppier" in flavour. These beers’ origin dates back to when brewers struggled to make beer that would keep on the long journey from England to India, which they solved by adding hops to already fermented beer to help preserve it.
5. Dunkelweizen: Basically a darker and maltier form of Hefeweizen
Also, this is a hastily written blog so please do excuse and grammatical errors. Finally, credit to Google images for some of the photos you may see.
So here goes my list of microbreweries in ascending order of bad to good. Go further down if you want to skip the bad ones:
1. Simon Says Brewery:
Worst pub I've ever been to. Period. Disgusting beer, disgusting service, claustrophobic ambience, extremely loud pop music and stale food. PS - Ratings on Zomato is rigged AF.
Cluster: Koramangala
Beer: 0
Charm:0
Food:0
Suggested beer: Stay at home and drink KF lager instead
2. Brewmeister:
An embodiment of underwhelming. Literally each and every thing was underwhelming including the sheesha. Weirdly dull ambience.
Cluster: JP Nagar
Beer: 2
Charm:2
Food:2
Suggested beer: Cant think of any outlier
3. Barleyz:
It used to be a nice place when it opened thanks to the open air ambience but evolution rightly led it to extinction. I believe they have closed down now
Cluster: Koramangala
Beer: 3
Charm:3
Food:2
Suggested beer: Doesn't matter if the place closed down .Wheat beer was reasonable when I went
4. Yellow Submarine:
Another random place which opened up right in front of IIM-B. Their wheat beer wasnt to bad but the place was just dead man- zero charm despite being on a rooftop. Was probably on life support thanks to Zomato Gold
Cluster: JP Nagar
Beer: 3.5
Charm:2
Food:3
Suggested beer: Wheat beer
5. Big Pitcher:
A monstrous place with 5 different floors -each with a different theme (pub, restaurant, dance floor, rooftop etc). Unfortunately, they probably got the impression that size alone can make up for the food and beer. Was good to go only when Zomato Gold was on. My friend who was a regular here vehemently defends their food so I'll be a little kind on the same.
Cluster: Indiranagar
Beer: 3
Charm:3
Food:3.5
Suggested beer: Czech Pilsner
6. Bangalore Brew Works:
Amazing rooftop ambience which gives you nice views of CBD but the beers are bang average man.
Cluster: CBD
Beer: 3
Charm: 4.5
Food: 3
Suggested beer: Wheat and Stout
Weirdly named place trying to ape some old English pub (And its technically not even in Whitefield). the buzz was clearly missing here but the beer was honestly reasonable and the place was peaceful
Cluster: Whitefield
Beer: 3.5
Charm: 3.5
Food: 3
Suggested beer: IPA
8. Brooks and Bonds:
A safe haven for those seeking refuge under Zomato Gold 2+2. I remember having a very underwhelming "mango" beer here (yuck) but otherwise it seemed to be a good place. I passed by the place a few weeks ago and it looked like it has closed down for good
Cluster: Koramangala/HSR
Beer: 3.5
Charm: 3
Food: 3.5
Suggested beer: Wheat
9. Brewsky:
One of the older microbreweries to have opened up in the city, it is a slightly cramped up but decent-ish place (Another place where I've had that dreaded mango beer, yuck). Try getting the balcony space again.
Cluster: JP Nagar
Beer: 3.5
Charm: 3.5
Food: 3
Suggested beer: Belgian Wit
10. Byg Brewsky:
A huge open air place with a small pool full of colourful fish inside. A perfect place when it comes to the ambience (for dates!). Let me tell you a quick story about the beer: A hippie yoyo waiter was serving us on a particular evening. While providing the final bill, he also took a look at our feedback form and went "I think you got the ratings scale wrong - 1 is for bad and 5 is for good". I replied (with an expressionless and flat face) "I know that" to which he responded with a little "Oh" and went away.
The beer used to be decent at first but they narrowed their choices to only 2 beers at a time later on and both of which were shit on more than one occasion. Dont go here for the beer - just the ambience. Apparently, they have a huge place opened in Hennur and it amongst the largest pubs in Asia - but with the kind of beer they serve, I dont plan to go there anytime soon.
Cluster: Sarjapur Road
Beer: 3 (being kind)
Charm: 5
Food: 3.5
Suggested beer: Stick to the safe commonly available choices
11. Arena:
A bizarre pyramid shaped and multi layered place which opened up in Indiranagar not too long ago. The crowd was a little "mature" (towards the older side) and the atmosphere was lacking a youthful vibe. It served pretty good food and beer nonetheless
Cluster: Indiranagar
Beer: 3.5
Charm: 3
Food: 4
Suggested beers: English ale
12. Shakesbiere:
Have been here once, had a decent-ish experience. Quite open and airy but nothing really stood out.
Cluster: CBD
Beer: 3.5
Charm: 3.5
Food: 3.5
Suggested beer: Saison, IPA
13. Alchemy:
Another place which you should go to solely for its ambience overlooking CBD and giving you a stunning view of UB City, Bangalore Club, ITC Hotel, and Bishop Cotton School (my alma mater). The beer was okay-ish and the food just didnt go well with the beer at all (Some niche non pub food). It was expensive and not worth it.
Cluster: CBD
Beer: 3.5
Charm: 4.5
Food: 3
Suggested beer: Dont remember
14. Murphys Brewhouse:
An Irish themed place where I felt bad for the poor waitresses for wearing those ridiculous Irish green Irish dresses. Its not easily spotted but is a safe haven for those who work in EGL. I would strongly recommend the pizza here.
Cluster: Indiranagar
Beer: 3.5
Charm: 4
Food: 4
Suggested beer: All were okay
15. Farzi Cafe:
A very polarizing place which serves modern Indian food (basically a lot of fusion). I found the food and the vibrant atmosphere enjoyable and had a "masala beer" worth a try to say the least. Go here mainly for the food (obviously, its expensive given that its in UB City)
Cluster: CBD
Beer: 3.5
Charm: 4
Food: 4
Suggested beers: The masala spiked beer (whatever its called)
16. Prost:
It was located in Koramangala earlier and I think they shifted to Whitefield later to some open air terrace when the footfalls in Koramangala died out. The beers here are above average IMO and I remember that they served some fantastic mushroom starter (stuffed or sauted mushroom)
Cluster: Whitefield
Beer: 4
Charm: 3
Food: 4
Suggested beers: English ale
17. Vapour:
As "safe haven" a place as one can get, it just about doesn't exceed expectation and neither does it let you down. I have been here quite often be it for the open air terrace or the occasional screenings of Manchester United's live games in the indoor dance area (the official fan has its screenings here). Can be a comfort place thanks to a very breezy terrace section
Cluster: Indiranagar
Beer: 4
Charm: 4
Food: 3.5
Suggested beers: Wheat/Strong Wheat
18.Brother Barleyz:
A pretty new place, I have been here once only because its situated close to my office. A small-ish place but has a cozy feeling to it nonetheless, I had a good experience with above average beer and a very well made pasta.
Cluster: Indiranagar
Beer: 4
Charm: 3.5
Food: 4
Suggested beers: Dont recall
19. Xoox:
Another place for folks looking for a mature and not so noisy crowd and a slightly classy decor and feel to it. I recall the place purely for its awesome rauchbier (a type of beer with a distinctive smoke flavour imparted by using malted barley dried over an open flame). The food is also towards the niche side.
Cluster: Koramangala
Beer: 4
Charm: 3.5
Food: 4
Suggested beers: Rauchbier
20. Communiti:
Probably the most "youthful" pub from this list, I can always see a gang of college kids outside whenever I pass by it. With its open tables under yellow lamps/bulbs, The first floor's decor and layout is a proper rip off of the nearby Arbor Brewing Company IMO.
Cluster: CBD
Beer: 4
Charm: 4
Food: 4
Suggested beer: Irish Ale
21. Hoot:
Another polarizing place thanks to their shitty bollywood DJ nights catering to a young and loud crowds, I found the beer to be pretty damn good. It feels like you're in a pub in Gurgaon Sector 29 rather than Bangalore. The food and the sheesha (quite cheap) were really good as well. The layout is a little all over the place and it can get HOT thanks to the roof made of metal sheets (avoid the place on a summer evening maybe). Zomato 2+2 makes it even more economical on the pocket
Cluster: Sarjapur Road
Beer: 4
Charm: 4
Food: 4
Suggested beer: Wheat Beer
22. Brewklyn:
I know a little about their background story thanks to the co owner being an acquaintance. Their decor and ambience is quite simplistic and everything that they have (from cutlery to lighting) looks improvised jugaad. I liked how the co founders took personal attention to some of the subtle flavors in the beers which showed when you taste the same.
Cluster: Kalyan Nagar/Hennur
Beer: 4
Charm: 4
Food: 4
Suggested beer: Dark Wheat Porter, Saison
23. Biere Club:
The first microbrewery that opened in the city back in 2010, it is located in a posh corner of Lavelle Road and is stone's throw away from UB City. The first and second floors have a very old school pub feel in it with the rusty and woody decor and dim lights. Everything is solid except for the price which is a little pricey. Their other outlet in Whitefield is an open biergaren and is probably great for open air sports screenings. Watch of for the fantastically done cartoons on the walls of the ground floor (reminds me a little of the legendary Cafe Mondegar in Colaba Causeway Mumbai)
Cluster: CBD
Beer: 4
Charm: 4
Food: 4
Suggested beer: Seasonal, Club special
24. Bier Library:
True to their name, a lot of what you see here is an attempt to bring a library like feel be it the menu or some of the decor. Its has an open and breezy ambience and is another place which would make for a great place for sports screenings.
Cluster: Koramangala
Beer: 4.5
Charm: 4
Food: 4
Suggested beer: Hefe
25. Biergarten:
The next most crowded and in demand microbrewery after Toit IMO, you will find it impossible to get a table on a weekend evening (well, at least pre Covid). The menu is vast and the variety of beers is reasonable. Their outlet in Whitefield is also multifloored and has bollywood nights.
Cluster: Koramangala/Whitefield
Beer: 4.5
Charm: 4
Food: 4.5
Suggested beer: Weizenbock
26. Levitate:
A proper open air terrace with overlooking the glitzy neon lights from the nearby Vega Mall, Levitate was a pleasant discovery serving the second best wheat beer I've had in this city.
Cluster: Koramangala/Whitefield
Beer: 4.5
Charm: 4.5
Food: 4.5
Suggested beer: Wheat, Rauchbier
27. Arbor Brewing Company:
I have lost the number of times I have visited Arbor for the last many years. The wooden brown and dim ambience is pioneering and the fact that you can see the dozen brewery tanks adds to this feeling. While they only serve 6-7 variants of beer at one time now, I remember them serving over 10 many years ago including some really innovative variants I am yet to come across in any other pub (strawberry!). They did see a dip in overall quality for while IMO but they've rebounded and rebranded themselves well. They also have a nice small biergarten in Goa not too far from Calangute and I'd recommend a visit when you're in Goa the next time. I have met the owner's father once and he explained how they wanted to expand via a bottling unit (you can get their cans at select places) and would rather expand internationally than to North India ("North me they just have one beer fashionably and inadvertently revert to whiskey" LOL). Arbor vs Toit might well be the craft beer version of CTR vs Vidyarthi Bhavan (LOL)
Cluster: CBD
Beer: 4.5
Charm: 5
Food: 4.5
Suggested beers: Raging Elephant IPA (warning - not for the faint hearted), Bangalore Bliss, Beach Shack IPA
28. Windmills Craftworks:
Another pioneer and one of the first microbreweries to open up in the city, Windmills is the classiest microbrewery I have been to and is the only reason why I dont mind travelling all the way to Whitefield at times. The decor is clearly inspired by various other projects executed by Total Environment, a niche real estate developer who run this microbrewery. They have a huge bookshelf with hundreds of rare coffee table books and have the occasional concert across blues, jazz, classical and other forms. While the limited food menu can be disappointing, some of their beers, especially the IPA are amongst the top 3 that I have ever had. They also have a pricier outlet in the open air food court and shopping area outside the Bangalore airport as well (I'd suggest not having any food there)
Cluster: Whitefield
Beer: 5
Charm: 5
Food: 4
Suggested beers: IPA, Wheat, Stout
29. District 6:
This place had closed down a year or two ago but I'd still like to have this mentioned in this list (RIP) thanks to the best Wheat beer I've ever had in my life and was the sole reason why I'd travel all the way to that part of town (alongside a fellow fan) Many pubs are guilty of serving diluted versions of various beers where the beers dont feel as "full" or "dense" and D6 served as "full" a beer than one could find. On a per ml basis, their beers pack the strongest punch and get one tipsy faster than any other place I know of (same ABV!) They initially played some kickass rock music as well but started mixing pop music like every other place. The décor is rich and spacious and the USP of the place (Apart from the beer itself) was the size and shape (literally!) of their servings! They served anything from 500 to 2 litre (And a large tower) mugs in shapes such as beer kegs, boots and huge Oktoberfest style beer mugs. I guess they had to shut down largely due to the fact that it was located in premium real estate (at the ground floor of a 5 star hotel) and right next to Orion Mall and WTC (Amazon folks apparently got sick of the place lol) and the fact that they definitely charged a steep premium for their foods and beverages.
Cluster: Rajajinagar
Beer: 5
Charm: 5
Food: 4.5
Suggested beers: Wheat, Strong Wheat, Stout
30. Toit:
The mother of all microbreweries, Toit has been my "adda", my comfort place and my go to place for nearly a decade and till date, I have not gotten bored of the place despite dozens of visits. I believe that it as become a tourist hotspot for many folks who visit Bangalore (yaar Toit chalte hai, kaafi suna hai). It is nearly impossible to get a table here on a weekend unless you're okay with waiting for an hour or two (or more!). I remember booking a table, hitting the erstwhile Pecos located nearby for a mug and then returning after an hour when my turn came.
Their premises is pretty huge with a lot of mini sections suitable to various moods (I always prefer the left hand side).
A few folks I know turned a little critical of the place off late and rightly so - getting a table can be a nightmare and the beer does have a on occasional slip in quality but I'd let these occasional blips pass.
The pizza served is as good as you can find anywhere and I strongly recommend their "scotched eggs" for a deceivingly yummy experience.
While their Belgian Wit "Tintin Toit" is easily the most popular beer here, I recommend some other beers which I've listed below
Cluster: Indiranagar
Beer: 5
Charm: 5
Food: 5
Suggested beers: Hefeweizen ("Toit Weiss"), Irish Red
I hope you found this blog informative, illuminating and enlightening. Cheers! (Prost!)
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