At Toit, our customers have always been our primary focus. They’re the ones who bring life to the place, create memories and end up giving the place its familiar, friendly vibe. And there are so many different kinds of people who come through our doors daily, that we wanted to get to know their stories.

The Kudix Mug Holder of the Month is our little way of celebrating our customers, and their unique stories.

Our mug holders are always special, and this time we give you the beer based bromance of the year, Amrith and Vivek! They do everything from beer drinking, birthday celebrating, working out and playing football (and picking football arguments!) together.

 

So tell me a little about yourselves.

Vivek: I work for a software company.

Amrith: State your age!

Vivek: And I am an old swine- 36. This is becoming like a work interview!

Amrith: I basically have my own business, that involves dealers for welding electrodes and stuff. I’m Bangalore based, born and brought up here.

Vivek– Bangalore based too, but dad was in the Army so I’ve travelled around. My dad retired in 96, and that’s when I moved here.

And I am an old swine- 36. This is becoming like a work interview!

How do you know each other?

Vivek: We go to the same fitness club.

Amrith: His wife is actually a very close friend of mine, I’ve known her for close to twenty years now. This guy, I got to know well about a year back. He got married to her four years ago, but I only really got to know him about a year back. His wife started a fitness club and we started hanging out and getting to know each other.

How come only a year ago then?

Amrith: He used to live in Koramangala and he just moved this side a year ago. They moved because of the club. And we’re lazy buggers. No one wants to step out of Indiranagar. So that’s why we only started hanging out a lot over the last year.

How come you didn’t state your age at the start, Amrith? Like you made Vivek do?

Amrith: So that’s ok. He’s dumb so I can make him do this stuff.

Would you say you guys are best friends now?

Vivek: We follow the same football team, and we love beer. So basically, yes.  But there’s also one more guy who should have actually been a part of this—Jai.  He’s a pilot, so he’s not there right now, otherwise we were planning to drag him along as well.

Any particular reason why the two of you were selected for the coveted title of Kudix Mug Holders?

Amrith: You see, Jai flies. So he’s not around a lot. We come here a lot, like thrice a week minimum. And he can’t come that often because he can’t drink for a whole day before flying anyway. So I think it’s because we’re always here.

We follow the same football team, and we love beer.

What’s the real reason though? For example, how much have you guys had in one sitting?

Amrith: Are you talking average day or special occasion? Because on an average day, 4 pints is the minimum number.

Vivek: So, one time we had the fitness club’s socials here, and the whole fitness club came over. I feel like from what we can remember, that time we had about 8 glasses. And we’d already had beer before coming here.

Amrith: If we had to drink like madmen, it would probably be 8-9 pints in a sitting, each. We’re usually here in big groups, and definitely here on Fridays and Saturdays. Everyone says this is our second home. Even at the fitness club, they’re always asking us about when we’re going to Toit.

How does your wife feel about these frequent beer sessions, being a fitness club owner and all?

Vivek: She’s here often too! So she doesn’t have a problem!

So, apart from the beer, Football seems to be a huge part of your lives.

Amrith: Yes! We play every Saturday, 8-10 am at Whitefield. Over the last 2-3 months, we’ve been playing every Saturday, going back home, changing and then meeting up here at Toit by around 12. Then we just have a couple of beers and chill.

Vivek: Friday nights are definitely here for us, but we don’t push it till too late because we have to be up early on Saturdays for football.

Have you guys always been beer drinkers?

Vivek: I love beer, that’s the only thing I drink. I like brewed beer, and the fitness club is just eight buildings away from here, and that’s how I started coming here. Also, the staff here is just really, really good. I think I know most of the waiters here. That’s one of the key things. And the beer of course. The combination of the two, is perfect. I personally love the Toit Tint-In-Wit.

Amrith: We’ve been coming here for a while now, but lately it’s become a very frequent thing. And I drink beer predominantly as well.

Also, the staff here is just really, really good. I think I know most of the waiters here.

So pubs are clearly your thing.

Amrith: It’s more about getting the same wavelength with another guy, or two-three more, who still prefer going to an old-school pub. This lounge shit doesn’t work for me. It doesn’t work for him, it doesn’t work for a couple of other friends. We don’t mind going, but maybe once a year. The women do kill us for that.

Getting back to it, what’s the REAL reason you guys were picked as Mug Holders?

Amrith: I really think it’s because they’re fed up of seeing us here. The other six or seven guys in the group, they’re here often as well, but maybe just a couple of days in a week. But the two of us, we’re always here!

Vivek: Oh, and Amrith took off his shirt the last time we were here.

That’s more like it. Any more of these kind of stories, in the last year that you’ve been coming here?

Vivek: I don’t do much at all. I just drink quietly and sit there. I am the observer. This guy here is the performer. Removing the shirt happened once, another  time another friend got up on the seat and started dancing. And was promptly pulled down, of course.

Amrith: I don’t even look at this incident as a big deal. It’s who I am and I’m like this wherever I go.

Vivek: I think we should call Jai. He’ll probably remember all the stories. The thing is I get embarrassed really fast, so Amrith’s always out to embarrass me, by doing something stupid.

Oh, and Amrith took off his shirt the last time we were here.

Do you guys go out and drink a lot together? Pub hopping and the likes?

Amrith: We try to go to other micro-breweries every two months. To check out how it is. And we’ve been to some terrible ones and good ones too.

Having been here for a while, and having been avid beer drinkers, any major trends you’ve noticed in drinking behaviour then and now?

Vivek: I don’t think so. I do prefer this brewed beer, but if I didn’t have a choice I would have stuck with bottled beer itself. And when our favourites aren’t here, the Tint-In-Wit and Toit Hefeweizen, we just go have bottled beer.

Amrith: I think that now people have options. Not everybody gets beer, like earlier we had only one or two major brands in Bangalore. I have very cultivated and set taste buds, and I’m not very open to experimenting. When I’m abroad, it’s only Guinness.

Vivek: I like trying out all kinds of beers. The last time I was in Chicago, I went to about 8-10 breweries, because Chicago is known for its breweries. That beer was really good! I went to different places and tried different beers. Searched for all the microbreweries that were around the area we were staying at and made sure we went to each one of them at some point. We were there for three weeks, so we had enough time to check out everything. I loved it.

Do you think that breweries have made people appreciate beer more?

Amrith: I think that’s bullshit. Maybe a certain section, but the larger sections of people who visit these places don’t care. They probably don’t even know what they’re drinking. You can swap it out for something else and they won’t know. They just want to chug it. This is for most people, that’s what I feel. The old school guys though are particular, because they’ve been brought up with a beer culture. But the ambience is such, that we like to keep coming back here.

Do your wives like coming here?

Vivek: My wife used to, but she’s stopped drinking beer for a few months now, so she doesn’t come as frequently anymore.

Amrith: My wife does like coming here, but she’s not a beer drinker. But a huge group of us is always here. Most of the time, the ladies will be discussing their lady things, and the three of us, Jai, Vivek and I, will always be making unnecessary conversation and gossiping about Arsenal.

…came up with this one-day activity called Last Drunkard Standing, where we go to 30 pubs, wearing white T-shirts

Ever had any football related fights?

Amrith: No, never. We don’t get into all that. Last time, there was this 60 year old man, who was from England and was a Chelsea fan. And I was down quite a few beers, so I just wanted to ask him stupid questions that would piss him off. I got introduced to him, and it wasn’t anything below the belt. He took it well, and he was laughing and giving it back to us too. Nothing aggressive about it. Can’t get aggressive with a 60 year old!

You like the Tint-In-Wit and Hefeweizen, any food favourites as well?

Vivek: Scotch Eggs, Jalapeño and Beef pizza, and the new Owner’s Menu! That’s got some really nice stuff too!

Closing thoughts?

Vivek: I can’t think of anything stupid to say!

Amrith: It’s basically about coming to a place with good fiends and good beer, and being comfortable!

Vivek: And the staff! That makes a huge difference. It’s like second home here, we never have to worry. After living in Bangalore for so long, you just want to have that one place that is your comfortable spot.

Oh! We came up with a really good idea while siting here actually, about three-four months back. We were discussing about all the old pubs, and came up with this one-day activity called Last Drunkard Standing, where we go to 30 pubs, wearing white T-shirts. Every pub we go to, we get a stamp on the T-shirts. And the minimum is one pint or a small. We’re planning on doing this soon. First it was the six of us, but then we decided to make this a social event where we can get T- shirts and hire a van or bus, and also book cabs, so that people can be taken home safely as well. All these ideas started coming to us while we were here, and we were really excited! But that’s yet to take off! One full day of fun. It’s more about going out, hanging out and revisiting old pubs along with new.

Let’s see when we do that, I think it’s a good idea.