Barrel Rising

Elsewhere,in South Delhi’s business district in Nehru Place,a red metal board with the initials ‘CDB’ etched in Gothic fashion,reminds you of a tavern. It turns out that ‘Come Drink Beer’ (CDB) is a 50-seater lounge-cafe. “When I thought of opening a bar,there was no place that catered solely to beer lovers. So I wanted to pioneer the trend,” says owner Rishab Gupta.

These cafes work on cultivating a taste for different beers. So,they offer a variety of Stouts,Ales,Wheat beer,India Pale Ales and Trappist,besides Lagers,from across the world. “Lager beer is not brewed correctly in India. But imported beers offer a rich texture and taste,” says Gidwani,who records a footfall of 70-80 people daily and organises weekly beer promotions. While CDB does not offer more than five-six varieties of imported beer,it has branched into beer cocktails like ‘Broadway’,‘Liverpool’,‘Skippy’— a potent mix of beer with another alcohol. “One cannot sustain a place simply on bottled beer. Cocktails attract women who cannot tolerate standard beer,” says Gupta,who registers 150 footfalls daily.

Beer drinking became big ever since the concept of micro-breweries started in Gurgaon,two years ago. The 70-seater mini-brewery Vapour,that opened in MGF Megacity Mall last year,has six fermentation tanks that produce 1,000 litres of customised beer brews daily. It offers four types of Lagers: premium,light,dark and wheat beer,whose ingredients are imported from Bamberg,Germany. Even Gidwani invested heavily in importing tap dispensing technology. “Being a purist,I wanted to introduce the original format of enjoying beer,” says Gidwani,who dispenses two beer styles from 30 litre kegs. He has introduced Erdinger Weisse,a non-alcoholic beer for teetotallers.

The response for imported beer has been encouraging despite the prices that adjusted the 115 per cent custom duty,introduced in 2005. For instance,the Chimay,a popular Trappist beer from Belgium,which retails for Rs 250 in Belgium,is available for Rs 500 at The Beer Cafe. “There has been a favourable shift in the consumption of beer and we are now supplying 22,000 cases annually across India,” adds Ankur Jain of Cerena Imports,who supplies beer from Belgium,Germany,Netherlands and the US,to most restaurants and pubs,and questions the high taxes. At CDB,Gupta has managed to keep the prices below Rs 300 for a pint,but Gidwani charges between Rs 200-Rs 500 for the same.

Two months ago,Smoke House Deli,Vasant Kunj,introduced Stella Artois and Hoegarden Lagers through tap dispensers and a brand of India Pale Ale. Gupta is already in “search of a bigger venue in south Delhi” for another outlet to install tap dispensers,while Gidwani has plans for branching out to Gurgaon,Mumbai and Pune,this year.

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