What is brewing at The Grid this summer? Avery refreshing beer! The microbrewery in Topsia best known for Caldera that stepped out and started pouring across the state last year, is now focussing on a brand new brew this season with Swedishbrewer Anders Hansson, CEO ofMalmö Brewing Co. in Sweden, being the man behind it. With years of experience of running one of the best breweries in Sweden, Anders chatted with The Telegraph on what to expect from the new beer at The Grid, beer myths and more.
Welcome to Calcutta! Tell us what brings you here....
We’ve been in India for around a month. The main reason to come here is to brew with The Grid.
Please help us decode the new brew at The Grid.
Basically, we’re brewing a Belgian wheat beer. We’re using mint and coriander and an item I am very interested in is cucumber, which will be added as late as possible.
What has been your impression of Calcutta? What do you think about the craft beer scene in India?
We’ve been here two days. We had a fantastic evening yesterday. Walked around a few temples and visited some rooftops and some fantastic people. Definitely very vibrant and a lot of cars. Compared to the rest of India, I couldn’t find any cows here or many dogs! The pulse here is just fantastic. One thing I have learned is every state has different laws and rules. Even Europe is like that. We love to brew above eight per cent but that’s not allowed here. The beer scene is definitely growing in India as well as Calcutta. India has a big market so I tell them brew what you want and the crowd will listen and surely love it!
Tell us about the most interesting beer recipe that you have developed till now.
I think the recipe I am doing here is very interesting for sure. Mint is very rare for me and I’ve never worked with it. I brew a lot of wild ales so using bacteria instead of yeast, so that’s something very different. Double mash and 11.1 percent, that’s definitely one interesting brew I’ve done. This process went on for 24 hours and I loved it.
Anders with Tanmoy Roy of The Grid. “It has been a very exciting collaboration with the very experienced Anders Hansson from Malmo Brewing, who came all the way from Sweden to brew a very fresh and new Mint Cucumber Beer at The Grid, the most interesting beer recipe I have come across till date. We almost cannot wait for another two-three weeks to be able to have the beer on tap this summer for our guests!” said Tanmoy Roy.
What’s the highest alcoholic beer you have ever made and did the customers enjoy it?
So the highest beer we have is barley wine, which is 12.8 per cent. I have a Banana Mead Shot, which is about 25 per cent! It’s not fermented to 25 but it’s a blend from a mead brought down to 25 per cent. We serve it but it’s high IBV so we rarely serve it so it’s just a shot because it can get people going for sure! What would you say is trending in beer globally?
Globally, I think it’s the New England-style IPA. Has been since five years, I think. Like a juicy New England, low bitterness, late hopping, a little sweet, like a dairy mix sort of, reminds you of a pastry.I think West Coast IPAs are coming back in Europe. I love those because that was my first love when I started brewing. But obviously, Pilsner is permanent as it’s the most selling beer.
Break the top three myths about beer that readers need to know.
One I can think of is, back in Sweden we make a lot of mead, which people consider as beer,but in reality, it isn’t. Vikingshad mead but it wasn’t beer. Even cider! That’s not beer as well. Also, beer doesn’t make you fat, makes you smart! Met my wife because of it (laughs).