Even before we realized that craft beer is the new thing to try out in the alcohol universe, Mumbai had a handful of bars which specialized in craft beers (Bangalore being the original flag bearer). Popularly termed as “microbreweries”, most of these establishments brew their craft beer in-house; literally, inside their houses. The squad landed at a microbrewery in Andheri West called ‘Brewbot’ on a hot Thursday evening. If you’re still wondering what craft beer is, umm… Google?
Let alone the fact that we were starving like we’d not had food for days; Brewbot has the word ‘eatery’ attached to its name. So we entered thinking that the night would probably be overpowered by food. But the aura of this place convincingly tips the scales in favor of drinking, rather than eating. With an extremely appealing bar and an ambiance that literally calls for you to get drunk, Brewbot will tap your alcoholic nerve so hard, that you cannot help but reciprocate.
The first thing you will notice is not one, but a family of gigantic beer tanks placed not too far from the tables in the seating area. In fact, we sat so close to a set of beer tanks that we couldn’t take our eyes of them. We noticed a handwritten sign on a chalkboard that said that we’d get a ‘brewery tour’ if we asked our server. It almost felt like asking a common friend to introduce you to someone you fell for at first sight, so that you can go a step beyond ogling at the concerned person. We surely fell for those beer tanks that evening, and we didn’t want to let go of an opportunity to get introduced to them. More on that story later though…
They have a list of seven craft beers on their menu with a fixed pricing of Rs 215 for a 330 ml glass, and Rs 315 for a 500 ml glass… If you can’t resist and want to try as many of their craft beers as possible without spending a bomb, they have an option where they will get you four of their beers in four 120 ml glasses for Rs 245; what they call a ‘flight’. We chose to play it safe and asked the waiter to recommend the two best craft beers that flow through their taps.
In retrospect, we did the right thing by trusting him because the Botwork Orange (an indigenous Belgian style Brewbot produce going by the name) and the Black Mamba (peppered with chocolate oat cream) instantly triggered a love affair with craft beer. We never imagined we’d use this adjective to describe beer, but both the Botwork and the Mamba were just delicious. In fact, the new found romance with craft beer would be the equivalent of cheating in our case; two timing the whiskeys, rums and cocktails of the world. This fling is here to last.
It was finally time for the pub to show us its grub. The Chicken Frankfurter Sausages (INR 375) which came with mustard sauce and some finely cut fries had us longing for more, while a mushroom based dish called ‘Going Green’ (INR 395) had the mushrooms sit in a straight line on a slimy orange sauce, seeming like it was there more for the purpose of decoration and nothing beyond that. The dish was a winner though.
Right then, quick flashback to when we requested our server for the brewery tour. He promised us that he’d bring the “right person” to take us through the tour. We were ready to wait because hell yes, we surely needed the right person to introduce us to the tanks. And wait is what we did because after repeated reminders, our tour guide was nowhere to be seen. We were almost ready to foot the heavy bill, and it is at this point that we felt that the right person wasn’t around at all.
Finally, we were approached by our man. He was late beyond measure, and he had a chance to make it up with his tour, which we thought he would deliver with flair. Unfortunately, the dude looked like he was a fish outside water. The guy is in the business of alcohol, but he sure was not the “right” person to take customers through a brewery tour. You would imagine being on your feet and moving around whilst being guided on a tour, right? Bhai-saheb was happy to tell us everything whilst we remained perched on our seats (which had been warmed by our backsides more than it should have that evening), almost succeeding to put us to sleep at the end of the day with his speech.
What began as a fantastic evening of drinks and finger food with retro music transporting you from summer in 2017 to ‘Summer of 69’, ended on a rather underwhelming note. But hey, we’re not going to let an insipid conversation overpower our overall drinking experience at Brewbot. Craft beer has found new fans in the Unsobered Squad.
Where? G01 & 101, Morya Landmark 1, Off New Link Road, Veera Desai Area, Mumbai
Cuisine: Mediterranean, European, American
Food you must try: Chicken Poutine, Chicken Egg Roll, Chicken Frankfurter Sausages, Going Green
Alcohol you must try: Try as many of their craft beers as possible, but do try their Botwork Orange and Black Mamba
Dance floor: Nope
Average price per head: Rs 1000
