Tasting

What does beer from Bengaluru taste like? A Kingfisher is pale, slightly sweet on the first sip, and hardly bitter at all, with a touch of grain and little hop aroma. That suits the heat: the beer is meant to quench thirst, stay cool and lean, and soothe the tongue after a spicy dish.

The beers from the brewpubs are more varied. Toit, which opened in Indiranagar in 2010, brews a pale witbier, a pale ale, and a Basmati Blonde. The Arbor Brewing Company, opened in 2012, showcases American styles, while Brahma Brews offers a beer made with kokum that tastes faintly sour, like a fruit from the coastal region. Order an IPA and you'll first catch citrus and resin on the nose, followed by bitterness at the edges of the tongue.

Beer is usually served in a pint glass or a handled mug, and in brewpubs also as a tasting flight of four small glasses, so you can compare several styles side by side. In stores, large 650-milliliter bottles are common, typically shared at the table.

Temperature shapes what you taste. A lager is best drunk at 4 to 7 degrees Celsius, ice-cold in the heat, though little aroma survives at that temperature. Witbier tastes best at 6 to 8 degrees, an IPA at 8 to 10 degrees, since hops and malt only really speak at slightly warmer temperatures. Sip a beer slowly in the midday heat and you'll notice the difference within the first few minutes.

Pouring in a brewpub usually happens straight from the serving tank. The glass tilts under the tap, the foam forms a firm crown at the top, and the beer travels only a few meters from tank to hand.