Brewing beer in BGC

By: Vanessa B. Hidalgo - 9 years ago

Raj Sadhwani: “It’s really a good mix, a good balance of different market segments that patronize our business and products.”

Raj Sadhwani had his first taste of beer at the age of 13. And he liked it.

So much, in fact, that he built his career around it.

Straight out of college from Boston, where he took up Business Management, he was assigned at the purchasing section of the liquor department of Duty Free. “I have been in the industry for 15 years now,” Sadhwani says.

Growing up in the Philippines, he knows full well Filipinos also love their beer. He says the beer selection here does not lack taste and flavor, but finds it quite limited.

He believes Filipinos deserve to be introduced to other tastier, more interesting flavors.

He thought he can expand the Filipino’s palate through the introduction of imported beers.

He then set up The Distillery Group, a company that built its reputation on serious appreciation for beer and food. His flagship store at Jupiter in Makati, The Distillery, offers a wide selection of imported beers. It was followed by Draft, where imported beers like Stella Artois is served fresh off the tap. Then there is also Black Olive and Brew Haus Pub & Eatery.

Yet he desired to give Filipinos the freshest beer with the most premium ingredients. So he asked himself, “Why not build my own microbrewery?”

Together with his business partners—Chef Carlo Miguel, Mitch Malli, Eric Cua and singer Rico Blanco—Sadhwani invested in a microbrewery business called, simply, The Brewery.

The 860-square-meter bar-cum-restaurant in Uptown, Bonifacio Global City houses 12 tanks for brewing beer. The tanks can store up to 12,000 liters of beer. All the ingredients used are sourced locally.

But how does one brew beer? It begins with the three bad boys–malt, hops and yeast.

Water is added to the grains and hops to make the wort. The substance is then boiled with another round of hops in a large tank known as a brewing kettle. Fermentation sets in after the yeast has been added. After fermentation, which can last up to 20 days, beer is conditioned, matured and aged in a temperature-controlled environment.

“When we are in the process of brewing beer, the place smells so good,” Sadhwani says. He adds the beer has a storage life of up to 60 days. “But we never had to throw away any of it,” he proudly says.

“It is meant to be consumed as soon as the brewing process is finished providing a more refreshing experience upon drinking. Not to mention that it is a healthier choice since there are no chemicals or preservatives involved in the process,” he says.

He explains constructing the microbrewery within the bar-resto was his toughest challenge.

“I knew how to set up bars, but setting up a microbrewery with tanks for dispensing and fermenting was a different story. But after several consultations with our brewmaster from Prague, Mikal Perner, we managed to put this together,” he says. The tanks and other equipment were planed in from Austria.

The Brewery has four artisanal beers on their list: Pilsner, Indian Pale Ale, Stout and Wheat. Other beer flavors are infused with local ingredients, such as honey and ginger. The alcohol content varies from 4 to 5 percent.

“The Philippines is a good platform for the microbrewery business. There is a vibrant market for our products,” Sadhwani says.

His most popular beer is the Pilsner, which he considers the entry-level for would-be beer lovers. “Everybody drinks beer, so what we offer them is a step up to a higher quality,” he says.

The Brewery is also open for lunch, with a menu created by Chef Carlo. What’s mixed in the food? Beer, of course.

Chef Carlo also uses the spent grain—the leftover wheat after the mash has extracted most of the sugars, proteins and nutrients from malt—as crust for cheesecake and pizza, as well as pita bread and cookies.

“Nothing goes to waste here. The spent grains may also be used as animal feed,” Sadhwani says.

The two-level restaurant can seat up to 300 guests. The beer-chugging evening is accompanied by live band performances, mostly by local talents.

Sadhwani is looking into bottling his signature beers. “It is a whole different process because it involves pasteurizing the beer,” he says.

Although he’s been in the beer industry for a while now, Sadhwani still feels that it is passion that fuels the desire to keep doing what he’s doing.

“There are many beer outlets out there so you have to give them a reason to choose you. Be hands-on and give them a taste of innovation,” he says.