A history of craft beer in Mumbai would be incomplete without a mention of the Woodside Inn chain of pubs. The chain was among the first to introduce craft brews on tap in the city and has regularly held beer tastings. They’ve recently taken their commitment to the movement a step further by installing 25 craft beer taps, the maximum for any bar in Mumbai, at their new branch in Lower Parel.
On Tuesday, December 13, Pankil Shah, a beer history nerd and co-owner of Woodside Inn, and Abhishek Chinchalkar, a former analyst turned brewer, will conduct a guided craft beer tasting session exclusively for 15 readers of The Daily Pao. Shah and Chinchalkar will take participants through such popular styles as Belgian and German wheat beers, British and Irish stouts, porters and ales, and Indian Pale Ales (IPA) popularised by America, and will also elaborate on the role of hops and malts and how they came to define beer making.
The session will include 150ml tastings of nine craft brews that broadly correspond to the styles mentioned above: the Four Grain Saison, bourbon barrel-aged brown ale and Method to Madness IPA by Independence Brewing Company; The White Owl brewpub’s Diablo, an Irish red ale; Doolally Taproom‘s smoked porter and wheat beer called Gose; the Gateway Brewing Company’s wheat beer White Zen; Andheri brewpub Brewbot’s Mystery Pale Ale; and Lower Parel brewery The Barking Deer’s Bark IPA. The beers will be served with bar bites to keep tummies suitably lined.
The tasting session, which will take place at 7.30pm on Tuesday, December 13, is priced at Rs1,500 per person (including taxes). The first 15 readers to sign up will secure a spot. For a chance to attend, email your name and number to contests@dailypao.com and remember to put ‘Woodside Inn Craft Beer Tasting Session’ in the subject line. Winners will be notified directly via email. To confirm attendance, winners will be required to pay the amount in advance via a bank transfer.
Woodside Inn, Mathuradas Mills Compound, next to The Barking Deer, Lower Parel. Tel: 022 2497 5018. Open daily, from 7pm to 1am. Get directions here.