There is quite a few things in this world that aren’t ephemeral, the joyous and reminiscent effect of a pint of beer is one of them. The fizzy beverage of basically everyone’s choice comes in a wide plethora of pretty gradients and flavours, and in the city of Bangalore, a brewery is putting an indigenous twist to their beers. The Biere Club is one amongst the new wave of breweries that has begun experimenting with ragi along with locally grown fruits and spices.
The head brewer, Rohit Jairam Parwani, in an interview with The Hindu talked about how the beer is brewed from 70% ragi malt and 30% barley, making it the highest percentage of the millet ever used in this process. Sometimes, they also use a small percentage of jaggery to add a hint of sweetness.
Interestingly enough, beer brewed from traditional millets is a concept that has been prevalent for a while in countries like Nepal, Bhutan and across Africa. “The idea actually came about when one of our regulars came up to us and told ‘Why don’t make a beer from indigenous grains?’ So we did our research, approached a couple of farmers and finalised on this beautiful recipe.” said Rohit to The Hindu. This new trend made ragi a very popular ingredient amongst many seasonal beers. And it’s encouraging more brewers to use indigenous spices and fruits to bring about an Indian twist to their beers, and this kind of experimentation is also slowly extending into craft beers as well. Before you know it, we’ll all be toasting our Friday evenings with a cold bubbly mug of ragi beer.
Video Courtesy Of The Hindu