Top 6 breweries in Bangalore

I always feel different types of alcohol trigger different emotions in unique ways, and the feelings that come with a chilled beer lead to a more positive bar experience rather than a night spent saying “on the rocks”.

Living in Dwarka, Gurgaon was a stone throw away and so were the breweries in Sector 29. Visiting many made us realise that most of the breweries had very similar brews. We still picked some better ones for consistency and familiarity like MOB, Quaff and 7 Degree Brauhaus. The experience in Bangalore was an eye-opener, for what I was having in Gurgaon was (for the lack of a better word) crap.

Here I take you through a perfect Bangalore Beer Guide, after trying so many breweries in Bangalore, I’ve narrowed some of the iconic ones Starting from the best:

1. Windmills Craftworks

My top favourite was the Windmills Craftworks which was spotted at the airport and in White Fields, the one at White Fields is a really massive place tucked on top of an office tower with a great view and great beer.

Tried 2 great beers the Hefeweizen, great carbonation with excellent head retention and lacing. This cloudy hefe was such a refreshing brew with a slightly sweet taste and a tinge of bitterness in the finish.

Next Beer was the Mango, a bouquet of mango on the nose gave way to a light bodied beer with oodles of flavors but did feel like a little too much of mango over here.
The only thing I didn’t like at Windmills was the experience of ordering on an ipad is great for service, it really takes out the feeling of personalization and the warm hospitality from the industry.

Windmills Craftsworks

2. Arbor Brewing Company

Arbor Brewing Company was a close second, This one is popularly known as ABC in Bangalore, and has quite the waiting on weekends, we took 2 beers from the bar, The Raging Elephant & Smooth Criminal.
Both were truly exceptional brews, The Smooth criminal was an interesting one with a velvet mouthfeel and sweetness of honey.

We also tried the Stout, such a great pour with flavors of coffee shining through and a bitterness which is truly well balanced.

3. XooX

XooX Pronounced “Zooks” is one of the cooler places in Bangalore, I think is a very cool name, can easily be recognised because of all the branding they do. Quite massive in size and offering a variety of seating options along with a really good brewed beer list.

We started of with the Hefeweizen again, and after so many glasses of Hefe one can actually see the subtle differences in the brews, the carbonation, the head and the colour being the visual indicators and the aromatic compounds and the flavour profile being the taste indicators.

The brew that i absolutely loved at XooX was the Double IPA, floral aromas gave way to a strong beer with a high alcohol content. Woody flavours were quite prominent in this brew, It’s quite malty and strong with aromas and flavours but very refreshing.

XooX Double IPA & Apple Cider

4. Big Brewsky

Big Brewsky is a place not to be missed, the Sarjapur is a lifetime in a cab away from many places on the Outer but it exceeds all exceptions when going there. We started off with the Hefe, a beautifully balanced and refreshing brew, it wasn’t as good as Windmills but good enough, then was the turn of the Rauchbier, a smoky malty flavour profile with a woody and nutty feel!

5. Biergarten, Whitefields

This place is the one for all the IT crowd in the area, it’s quite spacious with lush greenery, sadly it’s all open so don’t think you will have a comfortable time during the day even with all sprinkler fans on. I was happy for the fact that it was close by from where I was putting up and this place has created a cult that the local dwellers can vouch for!

They sadly didn’t have many beers pouring that day and I just picked 2 non-standard ones, Golden Ale. Bright yellow Ale typically for the summers, very crispy and a very straight flavour profile. I think its a beer, with low bitterness, some fruity flavours, and a hint of toasty wheaty flavours but that’s about it, the complexity of the drink is low thus the consumption for first-time beer drinkers is fast.

The other beers that I tried were the Weizenbock, flavours of dark fruits, plums raisins a slightly sweet aftertaste with a malty body and a very smooth and long finish. I truly love these German Beers!

6. Toit Brewpub

This one on Indiranagar Road is a very popular one for the people of Bangalore, This comes in at 4th and the last because of really small things like the amount of carbonation, head retention and the flavour itself.

I tried the Hefe for comparison, the heavy nose of banana was a little overpowering. The next one was the Irish Red Ale, a hoppy beer with a fuller body with notes of caramel and some bitterness but both too light.

Talking about the food which sadly is disappointing, it’s hard to say why Toit has become so famous. The baked nachos, topped with whipped cream were a sad excuse for their name. Similarly, the crispy club sandwich just had an off bread to meat ratio.

Irish Red Ale at Toit, Indiranagar

I also tried a couple of other breweries such as Vapour, Hoot, Brews & Barbeque among others, if I had to choose a 7th place I’ll give it to Hoot.

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