Cobra Beer announced the launch of Blond IPA, Malabar, in award winning restaurant Aagrah. The launch marks the first time the beer has been available in the city.
Malabar, the first ever small-batch blonde IPA, is named after the Karnataka coast of South India, the state in which Cobra Beer was first brewed 28 years ago.
Cobra Beer planned to create the most drinkable IPA ever, developing Malabar over the period of two years, to become a beer to accompany all food and to mark a departure from normally bitter IPAs.
Cobra Beer Malabar is a small-batch Blond IPA brewed using the finest ingredients, including ale yeast and a traditional Indian blend of barley malt, maize, five varieties of hops, wheat, and rice, creating the impossibly smooth texture that makes Cobra Beer the favourite accompaniment for food of all varieties.
Diners can enjoy Malabar available at Aagrah Leeds City, Garforth, Chapel Allerton, Midpoint Pudsey, Shipley and Sheffield.
Aagrah, is an independent family business of fine dining restaurants, setup by Mohammed Sabir, MBE, Dbs in Westgate Shipley 41 years ago. The company now has 12 restaurants, a purpose built Conference and banqueting centre, The Midpoint Suite, capacity 450. A highly successful outdoor catering division providing event catering UK wide. In 2009 Aagrah captured a share of home dining market by launching a range of authentic Tarka cooking sauces, available in selected Asda and Coop.
Innovation is a key strategic pillar for Cobra Beer, with the product range continuously evolving to ensure the needs of their consumers are met.
Cobra beer’s products are the perfect accompaniment to all food.
Therefore, the complete product range was approved as vegan-friendly, following accreditation by The Vegetarian Society. This customer-focused and innovative approach succeeded, with Malabar Blond IPA winning the highest award for quality – the Grand Gold prize.
The release of Malabar takes the total number of products in the Cobra Beer range to six: Cobra Premium Beer, Cobra Premium Draught Beer, King Cobra, Cobra Zero, Cobra Malabar Blond IPA Small Batch Series, and Cobra Gluten Free.
Lord Bilimoria, Founder and Chairman of Cobra beer, said:
“Cobra Beer is a household name and I want everyone to have the opportunity to experience the great taste and unbeatable smooth texture.
“That’s why I’m delighted to launch Malabar Blond IPA at Aagrah, because it is the leading and largest chain of curry restaurants in the UK. Also it is a group of which we have a very close and valued relationship with since the early days Cobra started. ”
“When I first founded Cobra Beer, I thought very carefully about making sure we used an innovative blend of carefully-selected ingredients. We worked on Malabar for two years to ensure that it would be smooth and the perfect accompaniment to any food.”
”The launch of Malabar in Aagrah marks a momentous occasion for Cobra, and it is great to see how the beer will become more accessible as it is made available in more top bars and restaurants across the UK”.
Mohammed Aslam MBE, Deputy Lieutenant, Managing Director Aagrah Group , said:
“We have been working with Cobra Beer since we started over 40 years ago, and we are delighted Cobra chose to do the launch of Malabar with Aagrah.”
The seven medals won at this year’s prestigious Monde Selection Awards for fine quality and taste bring Cobra Beer’s total number of gold medals from the prestigious Monde Selection Awards up to 101.
