Honestly, I’m not much of a Bira91 person myself; I like my beer the way I like my interns, cheap and easy to find at a liquor store. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy splurging every now and then, all I’m saying is if I’m going to spend 140 bucks on a pint, it should at least be from a brewery in Europe, and not someone’s basement in Delhi. But I do love Bira91, there’s something insanely different about it, maybe it’s the taste, maybe it’s the authenticity, maybe it’s the fact that the owners aren’t hiding from their creditors #neverforget.
When it comes to picking Bira91, you have only two choices, Bira White, and Bira Blonde, both are pretty good, but only one can be the better beer. And because we at the Bombay Report like putting our money where our mouth is no matter how much trouble it gets us into, we’ve decided to answer the question nobody bothered to ask, which is the better Bira?
1) Bira White Ale: The White Ale is a wheat beer. It’s tastes citrusy like an orange because it’s meant to mimic the experience of accidentally dropping a lemon into your Corona. Bira White is a lot more like a stereotypical craft beer than Bira Blonde. It tastes fruity & unconventional, like most craft beers do. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing; if anything it’s a rather refreshing leap from its rivals that are generally just varying degrees of bitter. As a beer enthusiast I’m actually pretty glad that an orange flavoured beer can be successfully manufactured and sold in my country. I guess India is more tolerant that I thought.
2) Bira Blonde Lager: Blonde Lager as its name indicates is a lager. A lager is a beer that’s been fermented in a cool place. Obviously there’s nothing cool about Delhi, but I was referring to the temperature, not the level of awesome. Bira Blonde is rather bitter, hell it could even give Haywards a run for its money. It might be a bit harder to swallow than the much gentler White Ale, but mere things like taste don’t faze serious beer enthusiasts. When you’re alcoholic enough to get over expecting your booze to taste like a frickin rainbow, you’ll learn to appreciate good beer. And that’s exactly what Blonde Lager is; good beer.
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The Verdict:
This wasn’t a very hard decision; I’d have to throw the full support of the Bombay Report behind Blonde Lager. And while I liked the concept of a citrus flavoured beer, I’d never drink one when there’s beer flavoured beer around. That being said, unless you’re a regular beer drinker, Bira Blonde is a bit of an acquired taste, so if you’re a regular person who has their life in check I’d suggest you go for the White Ale instead. But for me, it’s Bira Blonde every single time.
If you disagree with our decision do send us a angrily worded response in the comments section. We won’t cry.
[UPDATE] Bira91 just released three new beers, and we tried them all. Get our take on them here.
