Having a beer in Kerala ?

Knocker

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not not wanting to get bladdered every night....but, I do like a beer with my dinner. Maybe even one before. Maybe even ( when I'm feeling particularly hedonistic) one after.... Anyway, I was reading that in Varkala some of the restaurants serve beer in teapots as the licencing laws are so restrictive. Is it generally difficult to get a beer in Kerala ? Are there bars in the towns ? Can we get a beer in a homestay ? What about the boats in the backwaters? I have a nice image of watching the sunset on one of the boats with a beer in hand. Is that not possible ?

ebby

Definetly you can have a beer in kerala, anytime. Its only that the licencing fee is so high that people tend to avoid paying it . Hence the teapots.

CliveG

Most towns that I have visited have bars (generally men only). Woment can get beer in some 'family restaurants'. I have also had beer on a boat on the backwaters - no problem. As mentioned some restaurants don't officially serve beer but will offer 'special tea' which will be beer served in a mug. Some restaurants don't advertise beer but will ask you if you would like one and then they nip around to the liquor store to buy your beer and serve it to you with the bottle wrapped in a serviette to disguise its contents. You can also go to a liquor store and buy it yourself. If you do go to a liquor store be careful as some brands of spirits are counterfeit and are of dubious quality. I used to ask our local driver to help me make sure it was the real thing until I knew what to look out for. You can also get beer and spirits at many large hotels.

loveall

You can have a beer anywhere in Kerala other than at some public places like Restaurants(not licenced), auditorium, Cinema Hall etc. At homestays and Hotels you can very well buy it from a liquor store as 'Clive' said. You can also have it in a House boat enjoying the sunset! Thats a nice imagination! Also try some of the Beer parlours run by Gov.of Kerala like 'Araam Motels', Yaatri Nivas etc. They serve only Beer and you can have with your family (women also can have)
Rgds

presto

wasnt there a bar in cochin by the name of formula 1? or did they shut down?

haritha

lot of BAR s in kerala

shashank.aggarwal

This seems to be incorrect, in most(all) of the states on India liquor is sold through licensed wine and beer shops, so if you are purchasing the same from the store there is no way (almost) that it can be counterfeit or spurious...

yeah..if you get it arranged from some driver OR bell boy OR waiter it still has a chance, but if it is being sold in the store then its real..

I stayed in Varkala for few days and had no problems of any kind..its a tourist area and generally authorities do turn a blind eye..but I easily got beer and cocktails even at 1 am even though it was almost end of season..

before you board the boat, either you can carry your own quota OR ask the staff to arrange for the same..infact i saw people on many boats sitting with a bottle and basking in the sun..

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CliveG

It can happen .. it did to us. I went to bona fide liquor
store for a bottle of vodka. It was our driver who later showed me that it was counterfeit. Without his knowledge I would have been none the wiser.

shashank.aggarwal

you might be right here, but what exactly did he find strange to label it counterfeit..?

machadinha

I've been to bona fide stores (well, whatever that may mean) to get arak yes, dodgy business. All the guidebooks advise to buy it only in sealed and govt.-stamped bottles -- except I never ran into those Only in Hampi did I see it in little government-stamped plastic sachets. Other than that, it's just prosit and hope for the best I guess.

(To the unsuspecting reader, it's a self-made liquor pretty much found from the Mediterranean to China under various names. It can be made from anything that ferments, including offal and such interesting goodies. Since it's self-made and the process isn't easy to control it may contain methanol instead of alcohol, leading to blindness or death. Word has it and contrary to popular belief the amount drunk is pretty irrelevant in this. It's not uncommon to read of half a neighborhood -- mostly the male half, naturally -- wiped out during election times because the faulty stuff was passed around for free to win votes.)

I agree btw you'd think the other Indian-made liquors should be technically OK, but I'm sure stuff happens.

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CliveG

Counterfeit spirits often don't have the plastic insert in the top of the bottle that controls the flow. On the White Mischief vodka the blue colouring of the labels is lighter in colour and there were two other things that he pointed out but after a few vodkas I forgot what they were

shashank.aggarwal

Lolz..well you dont get plastic inserts in all bottles in India..soecially smaller ones..infact none has it..

labels may differ from state to state...and consignement

CliveG

I suppose it is different in some states. My friends in Kochi advised me and said if there is no plastic insert I should at least be suspicious. Apart from one bottle all the others I have purchased had this insert.