The founders of the company – Navin Mittal, Rahul Mehra & Krishna Naik, are all brewers who are passionate about beer and the business of beer. After having put considerable effort into changing and shaping Mumbai’s micro-brewery policy, they are now ready to tap Gateway Brewing Company’s beers across Mumbai’s bars & restaurants.
Navin Mittal
Passionate brewer educated at Brewlab.co.uk and holding a Master’s degree in Business from Clark University, USA, Navin has over 20 years of experience in product development, marketing & management.
Apart from brewing and blogging at IndianBeerGeek, he is a keen reader, tech geek and a foodie who loves to cook as well. Some day he wants to own his own bar & restaurant. (2017 launched Gateway Taproom, BKC) Follow Navin at @IndianBeerGeek
Krishna Naik
An avid home brewer holding a Master’s Degree in Business from IE Business School, Madrid, Krishna has over 15 years of experience in IT. He acquired commercial brewing experience by interning at brewpub’s and micro-breweries when he was based in Sydney.
Apart from brewing, Krishna is a guitarist and once played in a rock band too. Maybe, he will again be a part of Mumbai’s rock music scene. Follow Krish at @KrishGBC
Rahul Mehra
An enthusiastic home brewer holding a culinary degree from IHM Aurangabad and the University of Hudderfield UK. Rahul has experience in setting up restaurants, bars and food distribution channels in Mumbai.
Having a penchant for sales, Rahul is on a mission to convert people to craft beer enthusiasts just like himself – one pint at a time.
Our Story
Our story actually goes way back to 2006. Yes 2006. This is when Navin, aka IndianBeerGeek stared blogging about his home brewed beers. Perhaps, this blog still remains the first documented evidence that home-brewing in India had indeed begun.
Unlike in the United States, home-brewing was never a hobby here and, anything to do with alcohol, to put it politely, was still a taboo. There were no regulations, no ingredient suppliers, and worse, no drinkers who craved or for that matter even knew better beers. The best anyone was aware of, at this point, was what was sold to us by swimsuit clad models and large advertising budgets. Was it not for IndianBeerGeek’s blog, maybe even 2013 would have been too early for Mumbai to get its first microbrewery.
STARTING SMALL
Skip to 2010. Rahul had just quit his job to start a microbrewery. Krishna, from Australia, had also decided to call it quits and get into the business of beer. Neither knew how. That is when they found IndianBeerGeek’s blog and got in touch.
It was in this year that three far-out Mumbaikars put their careers aside, took over their kitchens, got their creative swag on and let their commitment to better beer do the talking, blatantly ignoring disgruntled family and averting any questions, as is usual of every brewer at his brazen best.
It was during these sessions of making their beers, drinking them and teaching other people to start home-brewing (which is now almost a cult), that a plan was hatched, and their savings bank accounts were finally put to good use. Yes, Krishna actually quit his job in Australia to join the team.
THINKING BIG
In 2011, our business plan changed from wanting to start a brewpub, to a captive brewery for our own bar, to just a microbrewery – one that would supply beers on tap to various restaurants & bars in the city. We chose the latter mainly because the first seemed a little short-sighted and selfish to what we actually set out to do – to bring craft beers to the people. Not just to people who came to our brewpub, nor just to people who came to our bars, but craft beers for the people. Period.
During this time we started working very closely with the guys behind Doolally in Pune – Suketu & Oliver. It was because of their efforts that a brewpub policy even existed for Maharashtra. However, a microbrewery policy, which would allow us to sell beer to other restaurants – didn’t. This is what we wanted to achieve.
Little did we know that heaps of red-tapism and paperwork lay ahead of us. But being blue blooded, non-conforming & truth seeking Mumbaikars, and knowing extremely well that we come from a lineage of people who are doers and to some extent warriors, we took up this challenge. Our only advantage – we always had great beer to come back home to, and sometimes, even really great beer!
HERE & NOW
Now that a better part of the past two years have been spent in innumerable visits to government departments, supported by a well documented communication trail, a myriad of research reports submitted to recommend policy changes, incalculable counts of invoking and kneading the red tape, and not wanting to pay a single penny as bribe, we have accomplished what once seemed the impossible – a comprehensive micro-brewing policy for Maharashtra. This obviously means that, though Gateway Brewing Co. is the first, our efforts have cleared the passage for other craft breweries to set sail.
You’re Welcome Mumbai!
