Come mid-September, and the city prepares to immerse itself in the German celebrations of Oktoberfest, originally a 16-day long festival. From authentic German delicacies such as apple pork sausages, golden stuffed buttons, weisswurst hot dog, grilled pork curl sausages, and chicken schnitzels, to beer options like hefeweizen, dark lager, and Belgian WitBier, restaurants and bars are prepared for anything their patrons might want.
Larry Paul, corporate chef at British Brewing Company (BBC), shares that the space has been hosting Oktoberfest ever since BBC opened. “It is a yearly tradition now,” he smiles.
Bombay Cocktail Bar will be serving Beer Penancilin
On the other hand, Navin Mittal, founder and partner at Gateway Taproom, has organised the festival for the very first time. “The whole idea is to take diners on a trip into the lanes of Bavaria.” He adds that they planned the menu well in advance and brainstormed on ideas for authentic dishes for the fest. “From sourcing ingredients to getting the Germans try our pretzels, we have Germans coming to the Taproom with German music to give the actual feel of the festival,” he says.
But, what’s most interesting to note is how a German festival became relevant to Mumbai. Larry explains that one reason is because Mumbai is a melting pot of different cultures. “Being a cosmopolitan city, people here are very excited and open to celebrating different cultures and experiences. Young adults are travelling now more than ever, and are looking forward to fun new festivals that make them feel a part of a global celebration. It’s a great way to introduce other cultures to the audience here,” he explains.
Beer-infused cocktail at PaPaYa
Taking a cue, Kaitlyn’s Beer Garden has an exotic range of beer that they have managed to pair with some of their most exquisite food items. Ditch your regular pint of beer and indulge in hefeweizen, dark lager, Pilsner, and Belgian WitBier, marzen, diablo, apple cider, and dunkel lager — all of which will be available at the price of '150. And if exotic is not what you prefer, they also serve Indian-origin Bira on tap. Apart from this, they have several events lined up through the week. They are hosting a live acoustic evening, a karaoke night, a hip-hop night.
Another space in the city that will be offering classic German delicacies is Gateway Taproom. They will have a roast pork knuckle weighing about 2.5 kilos from imported hogs, pretzels, spaetzle and a host of other German foods. The food is going to be pretty much like the stuff you get back in Munich, like würstsalat, fleisch teller, brezel, käsespatzle, leberkäse, Wiesn Hendl and Eisbien. From white zen (German hefeweizen) and Doppelganger (German dunkelweizen). They also have a special beer Oktoberfest Lager aka (festbier in German) along with Side Car (apfelwein in German).
Port Weisswurst with Pretzel and bacon apple beer pudding at Indigo Deli
PaPaYa, an Asian restaurant, that is hosting Oktoberfest for the very first time, will be offering Asian-inspired beer cocktails such as Gari Fizz with Gari puree, Jalapenos on Fire, Grasshopper with a lemongrass twist and more.
Hoppipola is organising a chuggathon. You can test your chugging skills for the ultimate chugger title. The fastest to chug will win free beer for a month. Go ahead! Drink it out this weekend!
