Hard at Work

So why am I in India?

I am sure that to many it may come as a surprise that I am not in India to just bum around and embrace a new culture. I am in fact interning at Arbor Brewing Company Bangalore. A little bit of background – Arbor Brewing Co is one of the largest microbreweries in Ann Arbor, Michigan (the town where I go to Uni). 4 years ago microbreweries were legalized in Bangalore and thus stated popping up across the city as the new drinking holes for those working in business and the IT sector. My boss, a Bangalore native and alumni of the University of Michigan recognised that a lot of the breweries here were lacking experience with making great beer and thus wanted to partner with an established brewery in the states. After several years, we are now the second biggest microbrewery in Bangalore.

So why am I here? Given that craft beer is relatively new to Bangalore, I have been tasked with teaching people about our beers – as most are accustomed to the very standard Kingfisher. I host tours of the brewery, lead tastings with groups, and am generally a presence in the pub to get feedback from customers and answer any questions that they may have.

While this seems like a rather unconventional internship, it has been massively rewarding thus far. Not only for the chance to be in India, but to work with a great group of people. I will be hosting training seasons with the staff, helping with leadership skills; leading various beer tasting – working on product knowledge and presentation technique; and working primarily on how to sell more beer.

But don’t think I have been spending all my time working… I chucked in some photos of my morning walk to the gym and a trip to the botanical gardens here.

Cheers,

Oli