Keeping hops alive

When in Vapour try the beer forget the food

A big brown place stands beaming where the food court at MGF Megacity Mall once did. It doesn't scream superiority, but introduces you to it subtly once you're through that giant wooden door. The 18,000 square feet space is luxurious and soft, and the giggles just as gentle. It's a group of young female expats in a corner table, you discover.


Fashion designer JJ Valaya helps himself at Vapour

Just under the elegant bronze chandelier, there's a bunch of corporates busy with their freshly brewed beer and backbiting. We wander about in exploration and approve of the royal private lounge before we're ushered into the production unit, where their chief brewer explains the process with great elaboration. We've seen and spoken of it in detail before, but it's the cleanliness and absolute absence of the typical odour that leaves us impressed.

Test tube babies
Ours arrive in a neat sample stand - light, premium, wheat and dark - depending on the percentage of malt and mycological surrender. Beginners would vouch for the light and wheat varieties while seasoned guzzlers would prefer the other two. The fancy fruit varieties that another brewery boasts of, are missing, but their beer cocktails seem to make up pretty well.

Team it with the kebab platters -- vegetarian and non-vegetarian, and you won't be disappointed. The cottage cheese is tender, the meat fresh, and the stuffed mushroom tikkas a welcome change from the tandoori type most menus in town offer. Most revelers opt for finger food, so we'd suggest you stick to it, too. Not that the main course lacks options -- we only wish the menu went through another spell check.

And oh, don't forget to check out their terrace, which is quiet lovely with cane furniture and a beautiful view of the cityscape. "People prefer to book the place for parties, but we have a few patrons who're loyal to the upstairs," smiles general manager Mritunjai Tiwary, who was with Rockman's Beer Island before.

Elsewhere, the staff's getting a detailed briefing and giant screens play a tennis match to an Abba number from an invisible sound system. The owner, Vikram Rana, who also runs the popular Mojo, seems to know what spins magic for the metropolis-walas. But does the average Delhiite really appreciate freshly-brewed beer, or is it just the 'look what I'm sipping is so superior' syndrome that brings them to places like these? "You can tell by the taste.

People of all ages in North India are beer aficionados, and once they've downed this stuff, they can tell the difference from the canned and bottled varieties. It's healthier, tastier, fresher. And when they are educated on how it comes about, they feel empowered and enriched," explains Tiwary, going on about how the culture of understanding and enjoying the drink in India is far-removed from other places. In the middle of the Germany vs Gurgaon gyaan, we figure we need to go. But you won't mind coming.u00a0

VAPOUR
Food: Beer's better
Service: Smart
Ambience: Relaxed
Where: II floor, MGF Megacity Mall, MG Road, Gurgaonu00a0
Meal for two: Rs 1,200
Call: 0124-4222313
Timings:u00a0 Noon to midnightu00a0