Goa Brewing Co Brews Exclusive Indian Craft Beers
Nothing quite beats a chilled beer on a hot day. And if the beer has been crafted in India in small and exclusive batches, that only adds to its charm. Suraj Shenai’s Goa Brewing Co. breaks all norms and expectations when it comes to the manufacturing of beer. Brewed only with the freshest of fruit, the juiciest hops, two row malts / grains, yeast, Goan rice, and water, each one of Goa Brewing Co.’s signature offerings are made with ingredients that one would find in their kitchens.
“Does beer have to only be mass produced, artificially flavoured, and taste like ‘beer’ as we know it to appeal to the industry and consumers?”, was the simple question that Shenai asked himself when he embarked on the journey to create his brand, a microbrewery with a difference, in 2018. With over a decade of experience in the alcoholic beverage industry, Shenai was aware that most people lacked the passion to create new products that went beyond mass production and quality compromises to meet profit and loss projections.
His mantra had always been ‘if you want to do something, you have to do it yourself’, and this attitude made him plunge headfirst into crafting beer that went against the grain. Nestled in an aged Indo-Portuguese house in Sangolda in North Goa, Shenai opened his ‘brewing factory’, ‘experimentation lab’ and ‘design studio’, that also doubles up as storage facility for barrels and malts. Here, he brews his popular beers that include ‘Eight Finger Eddie’, ‘Saint and Sinner’, ‘Pineapple Saison’ and ‘ABC’. Each one is brewed in limited batches in order to maintain the freshness and integrity of flavour. This all-natural approach is the brand’s core philosophy, ensuring that the beers taste great and stay true to their craft origins.
An advocate for sustainable and responsible business practices, Shenai ensures that all operations are geared towards minimizing the adverse impact on the environment. At Goa Brewing Co., they consciously do not expel untreated water into the soil, despite the resulting increase in cost. In months to come, plans for rainwater harvesting are also afoot. Shenai also began a bottle collection initiative in 2019, through which he managed to collect and recycle over 23,000 bottles. “In this fight for sustainability, I must also credit my environmentally conscious restaurant partners who meticulously stored empty bottles and returned them to us. We have now extended the coverage of bottle drop-off points across Goa for customers who enjoy drinking beers at home,” he claims happily.
Goa Brewing Co.’s premier beer is the ‘Eight Finger Eddie’, which is an ode to the hippie movement of the 1960s and the free spiritedness reminiscent of that era. American Yertward Mazamanian visited Anjuna beach in 1964, and put Goa firmly on the hippie trail, making it a hub for international tourists. He was fondly known as Eight Finger Eddie, because he had only eight fingers, and was quite a legend in the area. The Goa Brewing Co.’s, ‘Eight Finger Eddie’ IPA is an homage to him.
Known for its eye-catching logo, intense aromas of tropical fruits and soft and full mouthfeel owing to the oats, ‘Eight Finger Eddie’ has become increasingly popular since its launch. Its creamy finish with hint of hop bitterness, is achieved because of the brand’s usage of the highest quality two-row malted barley from Europe, new-age hops from USA and New Zealand, steel cut oats and fresh Goan water. The yeast strain that the beer uses is cultured in their in-house fermentation lab.
Goa Brewing Co.’s beers are exclusively available in Goa, Bengaluru and Mumbai, with plans to expand once the pandemic abates. One can learn more about the Goa Brewing Co. through their website and social media handles.
