Nestled in 170-acre farm, The Common House brewery in Karjat, makes for a great weekend outing with friends
Nestled in 170-acre farm, The Common House brewery in Karjat, makes for a great weekend outing with friends
Just about 18 months ago, there stood just a multi-cuisine restaurant Saltt Karjat and a small cafe at the 170-acre Oleander farm in Karjat. Today, it has become a big ‘chill’ zone where you can spend the whole day with friends and family. Its founder, the 24-year-old entrepreneur Aaliya Ahuja, from the business family that runs and owns Flemingo Duty Free, has opened a chocolate store, a nursery, a cafe, and a brewery, on her family farm, all in the last couple of months. All these different outlets, we are told, are Ahuja family members’ pet projects. And there is more coming up – a food pickup outlet and resort stay.
During our last month’s visit, my journalist friend and I checked out the new outlet on the farm, a brewery named The Common House, which serves seven types of craft beers, brewed in its in-house micro brewery, beer-based cocktails, other liquor and cocktails and mocktails and food ranging from a Litti Chokha to pizza and tiramisu. The indoor-outdoor place with three community tables has a giant size Jenga and other board games for you to make new friends or relive the same, old memories with your childhood friends while enjoying live music sessions or stand-up comedy gigs and more. “At Common House, it’s all about elevating that ‘outskirts’ experience and giving those who seek a modern, comfortable escape from the clutches of city life, a complete experience,” says Ayush Sahani & Ahuja, Director, Oleander Farms.
Interiors of The Common House, Karjat
The glass walls of the brewery bring in the soothing greens of the vast lawns and the sweet smell of rows of blooming flowers to the inside. Farm trees destroyed during the monsoons lend themselves to wooden shelves, table tops and window frames. And the surprise elements are the dining tables that replicate old sewing machines, with moveable boards, and a large wall of growlers made up of several smaller versions, inspired by a British brewery growler, found at an antique store in Jodhpur. We were also intrigued by a graffiti artist painting the outer walls of the brewery, giving it a more ‘street’ vibe.
In this perfect setting, comes the waiters with the house’s eclectic food and liquor menu, which has everything from Japanese whiskies to gin and tonics and cocktails and mocktails. But we were quite fascinated by the freshly brewed craft beers.
Common House’s master brewer, Abhijit Salvi’s creations include easy, sessionable beers (generally beers under 4 or 5% ABV) such as Rauchbier style Mild Smoked Lager, a refreshing Hefeweizen, a crisp Witbier with its distinctive citrusy notes and hazy appearance, or the robust English Brown Ale with its toasty notes and chocolate maltiness. These are poured in whole kegs to share for large groups, in custom beer mugs and even growlers for takeaways.
They also serve a raw mango infused beer, which was my favourite. For people like me who are overwhelmed by beer’s smell, The Common House’s curation is easy on your nose and palette and is perfect for fun drinking.
Another speciality here is the beer cocktails. Winter Lily is a mix of Wit beer, pumpkin puree, white chocolate and vanilla. Yellow Oleander has roasted pineapple puree, spice, tangerine and wt beer. Tropical Gardenia has rum, aperol, pineapple, demerara and Wit beer. Oops a Daisy (quirky name) has fat wash gin, berry, basil and lager beer. Primrose Ring plays with Dolce de Leche, vanilla, espresso, dark chocolate and stout beer. And Bee Balm Berry mixes vodka, raspberry, cranberry and ale beer. Sounds fun, right?
And now the food. I imagined the brewery to serve starter type food, which they have, but they also have several mains on the menu. It starts with Buffalo Chicken Wings, Fish & Chips and Butter Garlic King Prawns and moves to the wholesome food category with Middle Eastern favourites like Sambousek Lamb and Soya Meshwi, Litti Chokha – a traditional north Indian favourite made of gram flour dumplings, tomato chutney, bharta and aloo chokha. The Litti Chokha and kebabs on our plate were high on masala and absolutely delicious, but heavy on the stomach. You might want to walk it off on the lawns before getting to the desserts.
Butter garlic king prawns
In the international modern food category, they have the Truffled Forest Mushroom & Brie Bruschetta, Fresco Taco and the One Pot Korean Bibimbap and freshly baked pizzas such as Pepperoni, Kalamata Olives, Honey Truffle Pizza, 3 Cheese & Fresh Basil Pizza, Pulled Chicken, Fig Jam & Roasted Bell Pepper Flatbread, or the Umami Smoked Salmon Pizza. Our pick was the classic margarita pizza and it’s among the best we have had.
Then there are desserts too Brownie Cheesecake served with a homemade Jack Daniel ice cream, a Callebaut Chocolate Royale with gold dust and French biscuit crumble or the Beeramisu – house beer-soaked Savoiardi with mascarpone and coffee dust.
At The Common House, you can spend a couple of hours chilling with your friends and make a day out of it.
The Common House
Average price for two, with cocktails ₹3,000
Address:- Common House, Next to Saltt, Oleander Farms, Karjat Chowk Road, Vavarle Village Karjat, Khalapur, Maharashtra 410206
Timings:- 12pm to 12am
To reserve a table, call – 85917 00197
