India. Lounge review: White Owl beer keggers, Mumbai

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To bring the kegger home, it’s mandatory to have a one-day liquor permit from the excise department.
For the first time in India, beer enthusiasts in Mumbai can bring craft beer home in handy five-litre keggers, courtesy the White Owl brewery in Lower Parel.

The good stuff

As great as the proliferation of microbreweries in the country has been, enjoying those brews still means moving your party to the nearest brewpub. If you want to crack a cold one at home, you’re limited to the bottled Kingfishers and Tuborgs of the world. Not anymore.

The next time you’re throwing a party at home, give the White Owl a call, preferably a day before, drop by and pick up a kegger, a mini keg of your favourite brew, from the always-on-tap Spark Belgian Wit to seasonal specials such as Alfie, the mango ale. The kegs, which have to be returned in two days, come with a snap-on tap and CO2 charger that are easy enough to operate (and the staff is happy to demo it for you) and a neat ice-tray to keep it chilled on your bar counter while you pour. And the joy of pouring a fresh, frothy pint of your favourite beer really is unrivalled.

The not-so-good

While the idea itself is great, there’s still some red tape to negotiate. To bring the kegger home, it’s mandatory to have a one-day liquor permit from the excise department, and these aren’t the permits you can buy at your local wine shop.

And though the mini kegs are marketed as fridge-friendly, unless you have an empty refrigerator, it takes serious shuffling to fit it alongside the lauki and tamatar. Also, make sure you ask for a demo before you pick up the keg; when we had problems with the tap, we had to make panicked calls to the technician to troubleshoot it.

In the end, it’s quite a bit of work for what should be as easy as snap, tap and pour.

Talk plastic

The keggers start at Rs.2,250, all inclusive