There are paths that can run parallel all their lives and, therefore, by definition, never intersect. The very presence of one defines the profile of the other. Take wine and beer for example, and try and concoct an image of an imbiber of each. Let the stereotypes flood your visual imagery: the wine drinker is old, older in any case. He could be bald, even have a beard, glasses. He moves slowly and speaks even slower-ly. And he only speaks in metaphors, comparing wine to art, or sculpture, or to a distant memory, from an era when he possibly grew up with Shakespeare. His eyes grow misty with each sip and you know it is not the alcohol. One glass lasts him longer than a high school child with chewing gum.
The beer guzzler, on the other hand, is just that. Pot-bellied, in a t-shirt with a graphic, or a slogan, or possibly both. Jeans. And sneakers. He likes his music loud and retro, and he likes his hair unkempt and often buried under a cap.
He doesn?t care much for the taste but may show some brand loyalty, which is directly related to the football team he roots for.
And so exist these two parallels and, as a wise man may have ordained, ??the twain shall never meet.? At least not on this planet and not in this cycle of civilisation.
But one may have spoken too soon. At this year?s edition of the Annual Sommelier Championship, the participants had a surprise beer round where they were required to serve and taste beer, even comment on it, just like one would with wine. Mind you, when I use the word beer here, I definitely do not mean that watery sip of the ?good times?, if you know what I mean. I am talking about the stuff that real men drink, and women, too, enjoy sipping. I am referring to the stuff that has as much history as any other beverage and has been a part of culture and craft for centuries the world over.
Cerena Imports is a company (with a dashing young stalwart at its helm, Ankur Jain) who is changing the perception of beer, many brands at a time. By bringing in some very classy and traditional brews, the kind that are handcrafted using recipes dating back to Medieval monasteries, he is showing Indians just how complex and layered a beverage as seemingly simple as beer can be. Such beers (Chimay, Weihenstephan, Saison Dupont, Estrella Damm Inedit) are not for those normally used to wedging a lemon halfway down the neck of their pint for flavour.
The only Indian effort in this direction has been quite a crazy one: Indus Pride. Four variants, all based on Indian spices and flavours, and most married surprisingly well to create a brew that can definitely stand up to Indian dishes (the citrusy-coriander and the spicy-fennel would definitely pair with all things tandoor and dipped in hari chutney). So much for beer being just an evening drink.
But do not for a minute think that it is only beer making an effort at being wine-like. Just recently I tasted some wines out of a can, and, much to my surprise, and wasted consternation, they were pretty good too. And if that isn?t enough, a whole new category called wine-beer is making its presence minutely felt. Not yet in India, but on your next trip watch out for Chardonnay-Blonde and other equally bizarre sounding nuptials.
So much so for parallels. I guess the new buzz-word is Mobius?that infinite loop that turns onto (or into) itself. There are no parallels, just relationships that we haven?t gotten around to establishing yet. The only way to know is to keep our eye peeled and our minds open.
The writer is a sommelier
