Bira 91 — The Beers
Bira 91 — Specially Brewed & Hand Crafted
In our previous post, we looked at how the Bira 91 Brand came into being and the direction it is heading. Now, it is time to take a look at the Beers in detail and where you can find them in Bangalore.
There are two Bira 91 variants in the market today and they fall into the two main types of Beer — Lagers & Ales.
Lagers
- Bottom fermenting yeast
- Flavor contribution more from malt, hops used rather than yeast.
- Ferment at cooler temperatures (7 to 13 Deg C ) and condition for a longer time ( typically 3 weeks or more)
Ales
- Top fermenting yeast
- Flavor contribution more from the yeast (esters) as well as hops and malt.
- Ferment at warmer temperatures ( 20–22 Deg C) and condition for a shorter time (typically 2 weeks)
Tasting Notes
To understand how to sample Beers, the perfect pour and sampling terminology, please read the post on Beer Sampling.
Both the Bira 91 Blond and White are available in the following offerings:
- 330 ML Glass Bottles (Karnataka)
- 30 L One Way Kegs (Select Cities) — One way kegs are lighter, more eco-friendly and thus cost-effective.
- Growlers — 1.5 L (select cities that have Bira on tap)
Bira 91 Blonde Lager (EBC 6, 4.9% ABV, 21 IBU)
Style — Pale Lager
Price (Karnataka Only) — Rs. 110
Ingredients (as per label) — Water, Barley Malt, Maize & Hops. The labels are eye catching with a rear label packed with information.
Bira Blonde is a lager made using two row malted Barley that produces a fuller malty less grainy flavor than six row barley.The word “Blonde” refers to the pale color straw/yellow color of the Beer due to the use lightly roasted malts. The Hops used are from the Himalayas and this brew is slightly hop forward giving you a medium IBU (21).
- Appearance — Pale Straw/Yellow, Clear, Good carbonation and head retention.
- Aroma — Mild sweet/malt aromas present. No detectable hop aromas.
- Flavor/Mouth Feel — Crispy and smooth on the palate, light bodied. Stars out slightly sweet, with malty notes and finishes with medium hop bitterness.
- Overall Impression — A highly drinkable, quality lager that is definitely much better than most mass produced lagers in the market today.
Serving Glass –
Since it is a lager, any glass will do including Bira glassware. I used a Pilsner glass for the pour.
Food Pairing –
Lagers go with traditional pub fare — both veg and non-veg and spicy food — that’s what I call “versatile”.
Bira 91 White Ale (EBC 6, 4.9% ABV, 13 IBU)
Style — Belgian Wheat Ale
Price (Karnataka Only) — Rs. 130
Ingredients (as per label) — Water, Barley Malt, Wheat, Oats, Coriander, Orange Peels, Hops & Yeast. The labels are eye catching with a rear label packed with information.
Bira White is a Belgian Style Wheat Ale made using two row malted Barley that produces a fuller malty less grainy flavor than six row barley. The grain bill also includes mainly Wheat and Oat and the signature orange peels & coriander that Belgian Wits are know for. Wit simply means White — a name given to this type of Beer because of its pale, cloudy “white” appearance. The Hops used in this beer are Styrian Golding & Saaz — European Hops. This brew is not hop forward hence a low IBU (13), meaning the other ingredients are more present in the flavor profile.
This Beer is unfiltered and bottle conditioned. Bottle conditioning simply means yeast is present in the bottle (see the deposits in the photo on the right). The yeast continues the fermentation process in the bottle to give you added carbonation.
- Appearance — Pale Straw/Yellow, Cloudy (unfiltered), Good carbonation and a nice big frothy head giving your good head retention.
- Aroma — Plenty of citrus notes on the nose with a slight spicy hint of coriander & sweet aromas.
- Flavor/Mouth Feel — Light/Medium bodied, medium carbonation. Flavors start off sweet, spicy and the citrus really comes through with a very low bitterness on the finish — not very hop forward.
- Overall Impression — A refreshing wheat ale that is perfect for any time of the year, sessionable and very well suited to the Indian palate.
Serving Glass –
Similar to a Hefeweizen, you can ideally use a Weizen glass (similar to the one used for the pour above) that promotes a nice frothy head or traditional tumbler like the Bira glassware below.
Food Pairing –
Light soups and salads; vegetarian dishes; lightly spiced/citrus chicken & fish, sweet and fruity Asian dishes,citrus fruit, dessert and salad dressings. eg:- Paneer, Malai Kababs, Lemon Cheesecake.
In conclusion, these two variants are definitely what the market needs and given that they will soon be produced in India, these Beers have already shown promise so far and it certainly looks like Bira 91 will increase its consumer reach in the weeks, months and years to come. Good quality brews, great price points and a strategic marketing approach have certainly paid for the folks at Cerana Beverages who manufacture Bira 91.
The Bira 91 White is my overall favorite and is the choice of several of my friends, fellow Beer enthusiasts and Beer drinkers across the country.
Bira Finder | Bangalore
(Data provided by Bira 91)
Restaurants/Pubs
Name
Location
Serafina
Koramangala
Gotcha
JP Nagar
Plan B
Ashok Nagar
Swathi’s
Rajajinagar
Chilli’s Orion Mall
Malleswaram
Bubble’s Bite
Hanumaiah Layout, Sanjaynagar
Pingara
80 Ft Road, Koramangala
100 Ft Boutique Bar Restaurant
100 Ft Road, Indiranagar
Beer café
Indiranagar
Jimmi’s café
Garuda Mall
salt
Indiranagar
Monkey bar
Indiranagar
take 5
Indiranagar
Tipler On The Roof
Indiranagar
B Flat
Indiranagar
Mainland China
Whitefield
Social Offline
Church Street & Whitefield
Hard Rock café
St. Mark’s Road
Purple Haze
Residency Road
The folks at Bira are hard at work pushing into Bangalore spreading Bira hoppiness to many new outlets. Follow their Facebook page for the latest Bira Finder updates such as this one which was just published (Dec 26, 2015):
Image Courtesy: Bira 91
Liquor Stores
Sl.No.
Shop/Outlet Name
Area
1
Dewars Wine Stores, PLATFORM ROAD
PLATFORM ROAD
2
SLNS Wines & Pardise, PEENYA
PEENYA
3
Metro Wines Liquor, PEENYA
PEENYA
4
Golden Fin Liquor, SAKALAVARA-1
SAKALAVARA-1
5
Bhumi Liquor, BANNERGHATTA ROAD
BANNERGHATTA ROAD
8
SLNS Wines , SAKALAVARA-1
SAKALAVARA-1
9
Chowdeshwari Wines, BANNERGHATTA ROAD
BANNERGHATTA ROAD
10
Orange Spirits, YESHWANTHPURA
YESHWANTHPURA
11
Drops Total Spirits , KG HALLI
KG HALLI
12
Drops Total Spirits , KG HALLI
KG HALLI
13
Drops Total Spirits , PEENYA
PEENYA
14
Keats Liquor Boutique, KG Halli
KG HALLI
15
R R Spirits, BANNERGHATTA ROAD
BANNERGHATTA ROAD
16
SLR Spirits, BANNERGHATTA ROAD
BANNERGHATTA ROAD
17
Liquour Pardise, SAKALAVARA-2
SAKALAVARA-2
18
Drops Total Spirits, WHITE FIELD
WHITE FIELD
19
Honey Drops (1095)
BANNERGHATTA ROAD
20
Drops Total Spirits , WHITE FIELD
WHITE FIELD
21
A.C. Wines
KG HALLI-2
22
Cyber Wines, PLATFORM ROAD
PLATFORM ROAD
23
Honey Dew
KG HALLI-2
24
Wineyard Wines, PLATFORM ROAD
PLATFORM ROAD
25
Drops Total Spirits , Hongasandra
HONGASANDRA
26
Milen Wines , SAKALAVARA-1
SAKALAVARA-1
27
Parvathi Wines
KG HALLI
28
Manju Sree Wines
WHITE FIELD
29
Bhumi Spirits
SAKALAVARA-2
30
SLNS Wines & Pardise , KG HALLI-2
KG HALLI-2
31
Shankari Group Of Wines, SAKALAVARA-2
SAKALAVARA-2
32
Mohan Wines, SAKALAVARA-1
SAKALAVARA-1
33
Green Spirit, BANNERGHATTA ROAD
BANNERGHATTA ROAD
34
SLR Spirits 2, BANNERGHATTA ROAD
BANNERGHATTA ROAD
35
Wine Palace , SAKALAVARA-1
SAKALAVARA-1
36
Drops Total Spirits, HONGASANDRA
HONGASANDRA
37
Sams Wine Centre, PLATFORM ROAD
PLATFORM ROAD
38
Nayana Spirits — SAKALAVARA-1
SAKALAVARA-1
39
The Winery Wines
KG HALLI
40
Honey Drops
SAKALAVARA-2
41
Sams Wines & Spirits
KG HALLI
42
Gopi Wines
SAKALAVARA-1
43
Wine World Wines & Spirits
SAKALAVARA-2
44
Blue Bird Wines
PLATFORM ROAD
45
Wine Supply Depot
PLATFORM ROAD
All Images Courtesy — Tales Of Froth & Bira 91
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As Always Cheers & Stay Frothy!!!
Originally published at talesoffroth.wordpress.com on December 22, 2015.
