10am for an 0930 start

England 268-8
v India
close on Day 1

Saturday 26 November 2016

Played at Mohali

Twitter @ball_sup

7 Indian Beer Ticks

Local Colour

Between now & Christmas, the Blogs/Tweets are going to come from India. I'm desperate not to appear Xenophobic. And, certainly not Racist. Please don't interpret any of my “you won't believe what the mad fuckers have done now” comments in that way.

I love every Mad Molecule of my Indian Cousins. That's why I keep coming back. But, as a taster. I asked the Security fella (G4S) at Gate 9 of the stadium “what time will the gate open?”. He answered, perfectly reasonably, “10 O’Clock”.

I love him to bits already. The game starts at 0930. Boom, and we're off.

The Beer

And, ffs, they've only gone and got themselves a BrewPub “scene” here in Tricity - Chandigarh, Mohali, Panchkula.

First up. Malt & Co. In Chandigarh. Five listed. Four on one night. Three on another night.  Brewing kit behind the bar. Looks the ticket. Chrome. Stainless. FLU (flashing light unit to the uninitiated).

Bavarian Hefeweizen listed as 4.5%-5% (who knows, I'm not a Chemist). I'm thinking good effort that. No head to speak of. Lemon yellow in the glass. Some ripe banana in the smell. Nicely tart, without being over sour. Lovely in the gob. Develops well. Goes all banana.

Honey Ale (Braggot) listed as 5.5%-6.5%. Again. Nice beer. Not much wrong with that. Light tan & appealing in the glass. Sweet smell, as you'd expect from a honey beer. But, well balanced & not harsh. That survives into the taste. Demerera rather than icing sugar. A nice depth to the sweetness. Good stuff.

Malt & Co, Dooplebock listed as 7.5%-8%. But to be honest, it doesn't taste that. Particularly unappealing in the glass. It's dull rather than vibrant. Piss poor head. That said. It's grown on me. The roasted malts give it a flavour punch. Treacle in there. Merest hint of liquorice.

Malt & Co, Seasonal Lemon. Whhooaa there fella. I know Brewers Special Gone A Bit Wrong Whack Some Lemon In when I taste it. Not unpleasant. Perks you up in a Lager Top way. Near Beer. Mock Bock.

Then The Brewmaster. In Deep Deep Mohali. Four listed. Four on. Shiny shiny kit behind one of the two bars. ABVs not listed.

Amber. Why call that Amber? It's yellow. And it's a lovely lager. Verging Bohemian. Opaque in the glass. Fairly neutral, but tropical fruit smell. Very refreshing. (But we had done three laps of Mohali on foot at this stage). Some very gentle tongue bitterness. Well balanced. All to love there.

The Brewmaster, Blonde'e. Wheat Beer. Great beer. More at the spicy end of things. All very gentle & balanced. The banana tones are there. And some mango hints. Fresh as you like.

The Brewmaster, Brunette. Charcoal grey, rather than Guinness black. That's a grower. Comes up sour Belgian Brown on the first hit. But, then, leave it a bit. Some nice chocolate tones. Nothing dramatic. But, just there. Sets it all off rather well. Can't knock it. Balanced very well.

The Cricket

Bad day that. Most of it went wrong. The wheels just aren't turning. Losing wickets at the start of the day. And, right at the death. Some out to lofted shots. Others just playing loosely. There is very little stickability. More petulance from Stokes in the start a ruck in an empty room stakes. Good job I've got beer to blog. Else “I could have gone on”.

408/837