Mumbai Food: Beer lovers rejoice! Pune brewery makes its debut in city

Dry Sout,Dunkelweizen

Those who make sweeping statements such as "women don't drink beer" should take a peek at any of the brew-pubs dotting the city. Tables packed with women enjoying a football match and beer on our weekday-visit to Colaba's new craft beer specialist, Effingut, shows that the city's women love their lager.

Pesto Flatbread

And, being beer lovers, we are happy that more breweries from out of town (this one is from Pune) are moving into the city. A three-week old property running packed tables is a good sign for us. The wooden interiors are a lot to take in at first - there's a bike hanging from the ceiling, a wall full of taps, vintage Bollywood posters, and the loos are lined with prop cameras. But, when our attendants present a tester tray with nine beers, and dance music from the early 2000s plays out loud, we are more than happy, as nine craft beers on tap is a luxury in this city. They also offer interesting beer cocktails (safe sex on beer is one such).

Patata bravas

Nasi goreng. Pics/Dhara Vora Sabhnani

The tasting tray makes us feel like a kid in a candy shop. We usually hate India Pale Ales, so we start with our toughest choice first. It bowls us over and how. Called citrus burst, it has a heady aroma (grapefruit, citrus and pepper) and balanced bitterness that doesn't overpower the taste buds. We prefer this over their ordinary bitter English Ale, but that's a personal choice.

Shrimp popcorn

The acidic level of the apple cider is a little too high, but the peach ginger mead will work delightfully well for those who don't like beer. The hefeweizen has notes of banana and cloves which adds an interesting edge. For our glasses, we pick the dry stout (Rs 355) and dunkelweizen (Rs 330), a slightly sweet, but delicious brew that uses bananas. The stout has a medium body, so those who prefer the thick creamy variety might be disappointed.

The interiors are a tad overwhelming

We move on to the food menu, which has something for everyone (we have given up on this crowd-pleasing approach now). The patata bravas (Rs 225) seems interesting as they serve it Mumbai style, but is too spicy for us to try it beyond a few bites, and our spice tolerance levels are decently high. The basil pesto flatbread (Rs 325) is a delight, with a crisp base, fresh pesto and oodles of bocconcini cheese. The mango habanero wings (Rs 295) are juicy, and the spicy-sweet combination of habaneros and mangoes is perfect for the weather. We realise they love their spices when we try the shrimp popcorn (Rs 345) that has a nice crisp panko texture and makes for a good beer bite. Our final pick, nasi goreng (Rs 375), too, leaves us impressed, with the rice perfectly sticky, and the chicken satay brimming with flavours.

With multiple beers and a food menu that would tempt many, we'd say Effingut is here to stay.

TIME: 12 pm to 1.30 am
AT: Dhanraj Mahal, Colaba.
CALL: 33126941

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