Mumbai Oktoberfest: Prost du Sack!

The festival hosted by the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with DHL was a huge success the first time it came to Mumbai back in 2010. This year it went bigger (Duh!). Need we speak any more about the trend of the world’s most popular festival? These fests are hosted in Pune, Mumbai and Delhi.

The first day of the festival witnesses the ritual of the first keg being ‘Tapped’. With that out of the way, the festival gets kick started! (Can’t believe we missed that this time!)

Now, let’s not compare the German Oktoberfest with that of Mumbai’s. They are 200 years (1810 – Bavaria; 2010 – Mumbai) apart for god’s sake! A three day festival is a good start for us, unlike the 16 day counterpart which is well, Legendary! 

 

Apparently about 120 tables (each seating 10) were sold out for all three days! We got in on the last day of the festival and walked out with mixed emotions. The cover charge for walk-ins was INR 3250, which included 2 litres of beer, a beer mug and a meal. 

This year’s beer sponsor (like last year’s) was Erdinger. Oh boy! What a delightfully refreshing beer! 

Although the fest started from 5:00 pm, crowd only started pouring in by 7:00ish. The band was to play 6:00 pm onwards, but started playing only post 6:30 pm.

It was a little confusing, initially, to get used to the layout. But we sniffed out our beer! We walked towards the counter to pick up our beer mugs and first litre of the complimentary beer. OANS ZWOA DREI! G'SUFFA! (One Two Three! Drink!)

Since we were the early birds (reached around 6:15pm), getting our hands on the beer wasn’t very difficult. By this time the band kicked off and soon we were swaying to their tunes. By 7:00ish the crowd started pouring in and within no time the ‘Beer counters’ turned into a standard fish market! 

The band ‘Die Oberbayern’; plays at the Munich Oktoberfest for 14 days! They played several folk songs, and then shifted to more popular tracks like the German version of 99 red balloons, some Bryan Adams songs, etc. 

 

The Band leader instructing the crowd.

 

All this while we thought we were the most sober crowd those chaps have played for, Ever! No hooting, no shouting, no whistling and very few were even dancing! Things changed, however, once the band got the audience to participate in the song 'So a schoner Tag (Fliegerlied)' with certain choreographed movements. We would flap our arms like wings for flying, pretend to swim for swimming, hold our hand over our heads for tall, etc. But soon the crowd went crazier when the sweet ladies in the group started singing Waka Waka tweaked a little for this fest with the lyrics being ‘It’s time for India!’ 

The Lovely Ladies who won our hearts!

The people who fell in love!

One of the other audience related activity was the teasing. The band leader says "Prost ihr säcke!" which means “Cheers, you pricks/morons!” to which the crowd is supposed to reply in unison "Prost du sack!" meaning “Cheers, you prick/moron!”

Every once in a while they would raise a toast to the crowd with:

Ein Prosit, ein Prosit

Der Gemütlichkeit

Ein Prosit, ein Prosit

Der Gemütlichkeit

Which translates into:

A toast, a toast
the comfort
A toast, a toast
The coziness.

So much for the highlights and the good part of the fest, Am not sure if it was the Indian crowd or the management, but we were in line for a refill for a good hour and half! Made us think that Germans are only good at brewing beer, not refilling them! I don’t know why there were no beer-maids who would refill our glasses for us?! That would’ve added to the whole experience of the fest.  

Most people waiting on the refill rather than enjoying the fest!

We overheard a German participant saying this is probably a tactic to prevent the crowd from getting drunk. The high would wear off while they waited for their refills! We kind of agree with him there!

Neither were the walk-ins provided with seating nor were they given complimentary tidbits to munch on. Even on the paid tables, we saw very few tables had the complementary pretzels and tidbits.

As if this mess wasn’t enough, by 10ish the open air dining area was pretty much shut. The makeshift tent collapsed under the weight of the rain water. The lights were shut because of the rains. 

Sure the rain gods spoiled the show, but this could’ve been avoided, considering it’s been raining in the evenings for few days consecutively before the festival. The food wasn’t that great either. But then again, we didn’t go there for food ;)

Post dinner when we went for a paid refill (INR 500/Ltr.) we were shocked to see that the venue ran out of tapped beer! They were now serving beer from pints! Since we loved the beer so much, we quickly got our refills (thank God we didn’t have to wait this time) and headed out of the festival.

Our advice to the organizers:

• You could vary the table sizes and offer for 5, 10 or individual basis. Most people (talking about people we know) weren’t able to form groups that big!
• You know how many tables have been bought. Be prepared for the turn out!
• Some free tidbits per table wouldn’t really harm!
• Get some beer-maids, adds to the effects, plus they’ll decongest the beer counters.

Our friends kept contemplating if this festival was worth the price. We think it sure was! The beer and the band were worth it all! Besides the wait for refill, and them running out of kegs and some minor arrangements here and there, we think this festival is worth the price.

 If you ask us, we'd love to be here again! Hopefully for the tapping ceremony!

4th Annual Beer & Burger Fest’11 at Woodside Inn

On a Saturday evening we headed to Woodside Inn. Battling the weather, the heavy downpour of Bombay’s rains, traffic snarls and slowed down trains, nothing was going to stop us in our quest to taste beers and burgers from around the world that day!

 

 

  

Having finally made it to our destination, drenched from head to toe, we made our way inside and were warmly greeted by very well trained and courteous staff. Thoughtful people that they are they handed us hand towels to dry ourselves and be comfortable, damn we felt invited!

We settled on the first floor, we’ve spoken about the interiors of Woodside Inn in our previous blogs.

  

 "So we decided to hit on last bar, Woodside Inn, a friend suggested. We hit the place, and oh boy! What a fantastic place! Tucked away in the architecture of old Bombay, this little place is a smooth blend of the old architecture and modern life. Pleasantly lit up, they retain and flaunt the wrought iron support beams! A lot of wood work has been done, and very tastefully indeed! A bunch of black and white photographs donning the wall remind of the bygone era. A close look on one of the photos however will reveal a Toyota Corolla!  The service was quite prompt and the beer refreshing! I think it's become one of my favorites in town!"

We browsed through the menu, and were left baffled! So many options to choose from and we wanted to taste them all! We ordered the Belgium four cheese Beef burger along with Hoegaarden Wheat Beer and the German beef burger along with Schneider Weisse Wheat Beer. 

 [While we were ordering, I was refraining from ordering beef and thought of ordering Belgium Potato burger instead and was discussing the same with the waiter aloud. Just then the company I had gone along with me asked if I ate beef and if we should order beef burgers. Thinking that ‘she’ wanted beef I changed my preference and ordered a beef burger instead. Turns out she doesn’t eat beef!]

Swiftly we were served our chilled beers and asked to wait for a moment for our burgers although it wasn’t even five minutes since we placed our orders! Before we said “Cheers”, our burgers arrived, each carrying its respective country flags. Neat.

 To be honest, the burgers did taste as good as they looked! Perhaps even better! We would like to see these burgers on the regular menu at Woodside! Oh boy were they filling as well! This was an amazing event held by Woodside Inn, a really commendable effort! (sorry by the time our burgers came we were too busy munching, thus no pics)

Although we wouldn’t do justice if we spoke just about the good points! Now let’s talk about what we thought could have been better or different. 

•  Firstly, the menu is a little overpriced for a ‘Festival’. An average rate of 400+ for every burger and about the same for beer pints is a little out of reach for a lot of people (explains why we were still sober when we left). To think of it from a broader perspective, you could use this festival as a promotional event to attract larger crowds. Later on these items could be put on the regular menu at these rates.

 

• Another thing that we found odd were the combo meals, although were very economical, they weren’t quite attractive. The thing is people have had different beers at different times in their lives but not necessarily these exotic burgers. A country’s burger can be combined with that specific country’s beer only. It would’ve been better if one could pick any burger and any beer as a combo, just a thought.

• Also, considering the Indian diet it would be nice to see some non beef and some more veg options.

But overall the experience is worth it. I’d say visit this fest next time it comes to town.

United Breweries V/s Pernod Ricard

This is a typical Seagram’s Royal Stag TVC. It is inspiring and triggers one’s senses about making it large. Live life king size. Now obviously that would be like promoting your competitor's brand- the self-promoted ‘king of good times’; hence make it large (my opinion). These TVCs were smartly made, filmed and scripted. A good ad campaign overall no doubt. Except, who would’ve known that the two players seen rubbing their shoulders in this ad would one day be cast by two major competitors?

But this is where it all started from (only for the current TVC face-off)

. 

Again the typical Royal Stag TVC which has now taken shape of a Johnnie Walker/Nike/Adidas type of advertisement campaign where prominent players/celebrities talk about how they rose above the normal challenges and became who they are today.

This is where the UB group (in my opinion) f***ed up. I think that these gimmicks are best suited where you have simple options for consumer to like/dislike. Like Cola-Pepsi, Rin-Tide, etc. Consumers either go for this or that (provided they pay some attention to your ad wars).

Apart from this, am not sure if many paid attention to the lil birdy which went ahead to say a lot. This is a snapshot of Mr. Mallya's Twitter account. 

Big deal! As if sponsoring the other team makes them any different than yours. Well, you certainly must’ve outbid the rivals for the sponsorship.  These are the days of multinational markets by multinational companies. This way or that both aimed at targeting a widespread market!

The thing is, on one hand you claim to be the ‘King of Good Times’ and on the other you conduct yourself like this? How is anyone having good times like this? I am not sure if this is considered as unfair trade practices, but if it were to be anything else it surely is unethical and immoral.

You are, whether knowingly or unknowingly, pitching a cricketer against another team mate using a religious community (Sardars) to have a jab at your business rival? See I don’t know the personal equations of Bhajji and MSD, and thus will not comment whether it is good/bad for their games. It’s beyond my domain anyway. What am more concerned is how could the Liquor Baron’s empire take low blows at rivals using patriotism and/or religious community?

I know this ad would’ve looked appealing in the discussion board and quite hilarious as well, but should’ve never left the discussion board at all. Brand loyalty is quite huge in our country where people stick to one brand of drinks, cigarettes, underwear, etc not in any particular order. Whats more important to note is, fan following is equally big in our country. Am sure no son of soil north Indian would like to see Bhajji being belittled! Or any cricket follower for any player for that matter!

Now what remains to be seen is how do Seagram’s come back. They better be smart with their approach. Taking this any further will only escalate the matters. 

As it is Bhajji’s mother has approached the courts because of UB group’s little stunt. I hope the mocking ends here without MSD’s mom coming into the picture!

Imagine!

Sing the following to the tune of Imagine - John Lennon

Imagine there's no Heaven

It's easy if you High!
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Drinking all the day

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to pay or lie for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people

Drinking night and day!

You may say that I'm a drinker

But I'm not the only one

I hope someday you'll join us

And the world will be as drunk!

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Drinking across the world

You may say that I'm a drinker
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as drunk!

With all due respect to John Lennon.

Rising Prices and Ages

Recently the Maharashtra government increased the drinking age for beer and hard drinks from 18 and 21 to 21 and 25 respectively. Wait a minute... So basically the activity that I’ve been doing for the past four years (legally) is illegal now?! Apart from that the government has also banned serving alcohol at all public functions and ceremonies.

"One of the major areas of concern is to control the consumption of illegal liquor which kills people. If sale of illegal liquor is found anywhere, the police and excise chief would be held responsible," Prithiviraj Chavan, Maharashtra’s Chief Minister, warned. As if the youngsters solely contributed towards that consumption, if at all! But still, why not provide us with stats. How about the number of deaths caused by alcohol poisoning and how many of them were actually below 25? Well Mr. Chief Minister, if you really want to control the consumption of illegal liquor in your state you must ask the cops to be more active. Maybe you should increase the eligibility age of cops to 25 so that we have more mature and less corrupt cops who also do some policing work?

These measures come ahead of the passage of the state policy on de-addiction, which is being pursued by Shivajirao Moghe, Minister for Social Justice & De-addiction Activities (Can’t believe our tax money actually funds a department like this!). Since when did weekly / occasional drinking become an addiction?? This is India for god’s sake! You don’t want your kid to drink put him under a leash, perhaps whack him once or twice. Why take away the freedom of others Mr. Shivajirao? 

Obviously the ‘youngsters’ aren’t going to stop drinking; per capita consumption of alcohol world over is on the rise (If Maharashtra state excise decides to update their data of 2007-08, I could pull out some current figures).What’s worse is that these senseless rules will only act as a haven for corrupt practices. More illegal outlets which sell alcohol will mushroom in the city. More ‘Aunties’ and ‘Uncles’ will come up from whom one can procure alcohol without any difficulties at any given time.( These would probably be sold at higher rates taking into consideration the cop’s ‘cut’). As usual, once the cops come sniffing around and find underage drinking they’ll use the age old trick ‘chalo thane’ to extort money. There goes all the effort of Babaji and Hazareji! Basically we are on our path to what happened in the States over 90 years back. Prohibition Era. And once a complete ‘de-addiction’ takes place you know what’s coming next, more Al-capones, "Big Bill" Dwyer, Dawoods, Shakeels, etc. Well obviously our ministers would be equally involved in it, no wonder they’re already working on it!! We might not have Saint Valentine's Day massacre thanks to MNS and Shiv Sena, not! 

Point being that if you think you want to do the public some good, there are other ways to it. I like the idea of Mr. Chavan that they’ll spread awareness about the ill-effects of consumption via awareness camps, drives, seminars, literature etc. Do that. But let people be a judge of what they want. Where is the much talked about freedom? Why are we enforcing our views on others? Why are we turning Talibanic?

Dig into this:

In Europe, people in all countries are allowed to drink alcoholic beverages from childhood within their home (in Albania, for example, there is no age limit). Some Islamic nations prohibit Muslims, (read Pakistan), or both Muslims and non-Muslims, from drinking alcohol at any age.

Germany - 16 for wine, beer, and cider; 18 for spirits and spirit-based beverages (e.g., alcopops); 14 when with parents.

Turkey -16 (restaurants and with meal), 18 (otherwise).       

 Overall most country’s restrictions range between the age of 16-21, if at all. – Wikipedia.

Most of the countries who allow citizens the freedom to drink from the age of 16-18 don't really have wasted youths. On the contrary most of those countries are socially and economically more developed and matured than us! I don't say that alcohol consumption put those countries where they are, but I do say that curbing alcohol consumption will not get us there either! Youngsters are bound to try alcohol at ages ranging from 14-18 irrespective of what rules we make. Even if you push the age limit to 30, kids will try out alcohol at an average age of 17-18! So why not keep it to that itself? Why 25?

25 is by far the highest drinking age around the world, higher by 4 years than any other country’s age limit, (Delhi being the only other place to implement such restrictions!). It could’ve happen only in India (That too because other countries with Muslim majority have simply banned it). I think the only sensible changes in the existing law would be that no liquor shop will be allowed within a kilometer of educational and social institutions, government offices, religious places and highways. It is good that they’ve banned serving alcohol in public gatherings and celebrations till the time they don’t mean gatherings like parties, marriages or any other private function. I believe a smarter law would be about implementing strict actions against those who under influence of alcohol create nuisance, harm others, driving under influence, etc.

I wish to finish the stock that I had piled up before the rates went up and rules got changed, hope that’s still legal! But seriously I think it's time to revert back to how things were. Thank You!

PS: Wait, is there a department for wizard and witchcraft as well? Or perhaps Department for constipated and gastro? They'll ban spicy food and coffee!