From kokum to karvanda, special summer beers are a flavour this season

Pune: The city has seen the emergence of several breweries to meet the changing tastes and rising demand of guzzlers. To stand out in the competitive industry, these breweries are splurging on regional flavours and locally grown ingredients — from mango and apple to kokum and karvanda.A few breweries are now making small batches of unique summer editions to combat the harsh summer heat. The well-known Kimaya Brewing Company is incorporating a sense of nostalgia into their batches of brews for the summer.“Kimaya means magic in Marathi,” said Sameer Patwardhan, co-founder and head brewer of Kimaya Brewing Company. “Growing up, there was nothing more magical and refreshing than downing kairi panha during the scorching summer holidays from school. We wanted to create an adult version of everyone's preferred summer beverage from last year. The best way to cool during the sweltering summers in Pune is with slightly tart, salty, refreshing and crisp Kairi Sour, available for pickup from our growler store in Kothrud,” Patwardhan said. He added, “Sour beers are an emerging market space, and we wanted to make our mark this summer.”Patwardhan said, “As a microbrewery, we always pride ourselves in experimenting with native indigenous ingredients in most of our beers, including Alphonso mango, kokum, buckwheat and karvanda. Building a sustainable community for sourcing local indigenous ingredients is important, as we want to continue to highlight these unique ingredients. We source all our indigenous ingredients from local farmers in Konkan as fresh products always lead to a better-tasting beer.”Nayan Shah, the co-founder of Drifters Brewery, is excited to share their fresh Alphonso-infused beer with customers over the summer at their tap rooms, growler stations and a few partner restaurants. “This full-bodied creamy flavour is called Magic Mango Wit. It is brewed with a generous amount of ripe Alphonso mangoes sourced from Ratlam. Other ingredients include dry hopping with Citra hops, unmalted wheat, barley, and Curacao Orange peel at the boiling stage. Currently, we have brewed a 2,000-litre batch of this limited edition variety,” Shah said. The Oi Brewing Company has launched a Himalayan Apple Graf, a smooth and summery union of beer and cider. “This effervescent 5% ABV concoction weaves the zesty notes of Himalayan apples with our distinctive organic barley malt. The ever-so-refreshing taste of apple and mild tart on the palate served chilled and crisp under the sun makes the Himalayan Apple Graf one of the thirst quenchers to look out for during summer,” said Aaron Gerard D'Sa, business development and marketing manager at Oi Brewing Company. While Oi Brewing Company plans to add this variety as a staple at their growler station called Baner, as well as select kegging accounts in Pune, a few breweries are making limited quantities only for a few weeks or for specific events. The brewers at Yavasura Brewery have successfully turned the loved Black Forest cake into a beer flavour. Partha Mehendale, co-founder and head brewer at Yavasura Brewery, said, “Our Black Forest Stout is an ode to the eponymous pastry. Ameya, one of the co-founders, wanted to create a beer for celebrating special occasions that call for more than a glass of bubbly. Partha, another co-founder, curated the recipe. The beer has prominent flavours of locally-sourced cherries, while the cacao nibs are from an artisanal chocolatier from Bangalore.”The Poona Brewout, at The Royal Western India Turf Club on April 15 and 16, will feature local breweries and their newly launched varieties, many of which are concocting special edition brews just for this beer festival. Manu Gulati, the founder of Effingut, said their Summer Spiced Ale is made in a small batch only for the Poona Brewout. “Our Summer Spiced Ale and Mango Cider are perfect for summers as they are light, easy to drink, and balanced. Our brewmasters wanted to create a spiced ale that captured the essence of traditional Indian summer flavours and give it a refreshing twist with rose and saffron on the nose and cinnamon, cardamom and other spices on the palate,” he said. Gulati added, “We take pride in using indigenous and locally sourced ingredients. For the Summer Spiced Ale, we source rose petals, cinnamon, pepper, and cardamom from Maharashtra and saffron from Kashmir.”
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