Windmills Craftworks – Whitefield

Windmills Craftworks is a microbrewery, restaurant and jazz venue on the sixth floor of the Craftworks building at 331, 5B Road, in Whitefield's EPIP Zone next to KTPO. It grew out of founder Ajay Nagarajan's homebrewing in his kitchen in the United States; he went on to train at the Siebel Institute in Chicago and later partnered with Kamal Sagar of Total Environment, who wanted a venue built around live music. The result has been described as India's first combined microbrewery, design library and dedicated jazz theatre, with the bookshelves doubling as acoustic insulation for the stage.

Six house beers are usually on tap. The signature Hefeweizen and Golden Ale sit alongside an IPA and a stout, plus rotating seasonals; past specials have included a Rauchbier, white IPAs and a coconut brown ale, and hazy and West Coast IPAs have also featured. A flight is the easiest way to try the range, and prices reflect the care that goes into the brewing.

Food runs on two tracks: a fine-dining restaurant serving traditional Karnataka cuisine, and the rooftop Terrace with a northern Indian menu. Reviewers recommend the malai broccoli, burrata, burgers and Basque cheesecake. Live jazz plays at weekends, and ticketed concerts in the theatre also bring world music and pop acts.

Listed hours run from noon to midnight Sunday to Thursday and to 1am on Fridays and Saturdays; weekdays are quieter than weekends, and the terrace corners are the calmer tables. Beer Asia's Bengaluru guide also lists a Windmills taproom outside Terminal 1 at Kempegowda International Airport. It suits anyone wanting house beer with a proper dinner and live music.