We all know a cold beer is like a treat in summer, but what about in the colder months? Here’s some good news – Beer can still be relished in winter. In summer, we prefer beers that are light, crisp, and refreshing. However, in winter, you should opt for something a little darker, richer, and more flavoursome. To help you understand this better, we got in touch with Prem Dewan, Chairman & Managing Director of DeVANS Modern Breweries Ltd.
He tells us, “Beer was traditionally treated as a summer drink in our country because the majority of sales came in the summer months and people drank it primarily to get some respite from the heat. However, the consumption pattern has changed in recent times and we now see people consuming substantial quantities of beer even in the winter months. Beer has now become the preferred party drink for youngsters, especially in the metros. However, if you consider the beer consumption trends around the world one would find that beer is considered an essential part of everyday diet and the seasonality does not have any effect on its consumption. It is similar to the ice cream consumption trend, as it can be enjoyed during summer as well as winter.”
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While talking about food pairings that can be consumed with a beer in winter, he explained, “Beer is now consumed throughout the year, and we can pair it as per the seasons. For summers one can opt for sushi, pizza, and sandwiches to go with beer. While in winter piping hot kebabs, momos and tikkas make for appetising accompaniment to beer. Apart from that, India has a wide variety of snacking options available in every region, thus a beer drinker has a lot to choose from. However, the food pairings would also depend on the type of beer you are drinking as there is now a wide choice of beer types to choose from. Generally, spicy food goes with strong beers.”
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Wondering how beer gets its colour and if that impact its taste, Dewan says, “Beer gets its light golden colour from the barley malt which is the main raw material used for its production. The darker beers like stout and dark ales get their colour from the roasted malts which are used for their production. However, brewers also add caramel in small quantities in order to darken the beer color as per their product specification.”
