Beer in India
Beer in India has been prepared from rice or millet for thousands of years. In the 18th century, the British introduced European beer to India. Beer is not as popular as stronger alcoholic beverages like
Beer-like
History
Traditional beer
The
European beer
European-style beer was introduced in India by the British. By 1716, pale ale and Burton ale were being imported to India from England.[4] To protect the beer from spoiling during the long journey, it had to have high alcohol content and hops were added to it. This led to the invention of India pale ale in about 1787 by Bow Brewery.[13][14]
In 1830,
In the year 1892, 4,831,127 gallons of beer were produced in India. Out of this 2,748,365 gallons were purchased by commissariat and rest was left for consumption by the civilian population. But, British soldiers reportedly did not like local beer and preferred imported beer which they were able to acquire cheaply. In 1967 the price was only 6.5 rupees.[22]
In 1937,
Modern
Established in 1969, Lilasons Breweries in Madhya Pradesh is known for their strong beer brand Khajuraho. It is considered the first super-strong beer brand in India.[24] In recent years, foreign companies have been entering India and acquiring local businesses. In 1999, United Breweries floated a subsidiary called Millennium AlcoBev. It was a joint venture between United Breweries, UK-based Scottish & Newcastle and Ravi Jain.[25] In 2000, SABMiller India entered Indian market by acquiring Narang Breweries.[26] In June 2001, it acquired the Mysore Breweries.[27] In 2003, SABMiller India acquired 50% stake in local Shaw Wallace's beer business.[28] In November 2002, SABMiller India acquired Rochees Breweries.
In May 2005, SABMiller India acquired Shaw Wallace's beer assets for
In February 2006,
"Oktoberfest Goa", a beer, food and electronic music festival, has been held every year since 2011 in Goa.[39]
The Competition Commission of India found United Breweries Limited (UBL), Anheuser Busch InBev India Ltd. (AB InBev) and Carlsberg India Private Limited (CIPL) guilty of price fixing and imposed fines in September 2021. UBL and CIPL were fined ₹750 crore (US$94 million) and ₹120 crore (US$15 million) respectively, while AB InBev was given a 100% benefit of reduction in penalty.[40][41]
Brands and breweries
The largest selling India beer brand is
Although imported beer brands like, Corona, Singha, Tsingtao, Victoria Bitter, Geist and Christoffel , are available in India, they are costly due to high import duties reaching up to 100%.[44] Carlsberg's Tuborg Booster Strong brand (8% ABV) and Anheuser-Busch Inbev's Budweiser Magnum (6.5% ABV) are sold only in India. United Breweries' Kingfisher Strong (8% ABV) is India's best selling brand.[1]
Some of the major beer brands in India by market share are:
Popular beer brands by market share (2014)[45] | |||
---|---|---|---|
Company | Market share (%) | Beer brand | Market share (%) |
United Breweries |
51.1 | Kingfisher |
41.2 |
Kalyani Black Label | 2.7 | ||
UB Export | 2 | ||
Sandpiper | 1.5 | ||
Bullet Super Strong | 1 | ||
Zingaro | 0.9 | ||
London Pilsner | 0.2 | ||
SABMiller | 25.6 | Haywards | 15 |
Knockout | 8.7 | ||
Foster's | 1.3 | ||
Royal Challenge Premium Lager | 0.6 | ||
Carlsberg | 7.6 | Okocim | 5.1 |
Tuborg |
1.3 | ||
Carlsberg | 1.2 | ||
Mohan Meakin | 3.1 | Golden Eagle | 1.7 |
Black Knight | 1.1 | ||
Vorion | 0.2 | ||
Anheuser-Busch |
2.1 | Budweiser | 2 |
Molson Coors | 0.2 | Cobra | 0.2 |
Craft beer
Modern craft beer came relatively late to India. The first Indian brewpubs opened in Pune (Doolally) and Gurgaon Ahirwal (Howzat) in 2009. Also around the same time, India's first bottled craft beers were launched by the Martin Judd's brewery in Maharashtra, and Australian owned "Little Devils" in Ghaziabad. While the bottling ventures proved short-lived, and closed down within a years time, brewpubs have since become a successful format and common sight, especially in India's large cities. In 2019, India counts more than 200 brewpubs, of which about 60 each are located in Bangalore and Gurgaon, respectively.
Bottled Indian craft beer became available again after a long break in 2016, when the White Rhino brewery opened in Gwalior, and soon after started selling their beers in Haryana and Delhi. Since then, new packaging craft breweries have opened in Bangalore and Goa.
Due to restrictive Indian liquor manufacturing laws, some entrepreneurs have chosen to manufacture their beer outside of India. Among them was Bira91, an Indian witbier brand, which became extremely popular across the country, and has since shifted its production back to India.
Sales and consumption
In 2014-15 financial year, the beer market in India grew by 6% to 22.3 million hectolitres (or to 286 million cases). On the one hand, this rate is twice faster as compared to the 2013-14-year; on the other hand, it is half than the average rate over the preceding decade.[46] The per capita consumption of beer is 1.6 litres.[42] Due to the increase in disposable income and discerning consumers, the potential is high. The industry has been growing over the last few years and this growth is attributed to the growing middle class.[1] The increased consumption has raised the price of barley in India.[47]
Indians prefer stronger alcoholic drinks, like
Domestic-market beer is packaged in 650-ml bottles and come in cases of 6. Export-market beer come in 330-ml Standard European or 625-ml (22 imp. oz.) bottles. They come in mild (4% to 5% ABV) and strong (6% to 8% ABV) lagers.
See also
- Beer related
- Beer and breweries by region
- Sura
- Kasauli Brewery
- Solan brewery
- Lion beer, Asia's first beer brand
- Other India alcohol related
- Alcoholic Indian beverages
- Alcohol laws of India
- Alcohol prohibition in India
- Dry Days in India
- Desi daru
- Indian-made foreign liquor
- Indian whisky
- Scotch whisky
References
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- ^ "Beer in India". The Calgary Weekly Herald. 26 December 1893. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
- ^ "Calcutta Stocks Neglected". The Indian Express. 5 November 1948. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
- ^ "Lilasons looks at AP to grow their business". Ambrosia India. May 2014. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
- ^ "United Breweries (Holdings) Ltd". The Economic Times. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
- ^ "SABMiller brews new plan". 10 November 2005. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
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- ^ a b "SABMiller buys S Wallace for USD 135m". The Times of India. 28 May 2005. Archived from the original on 8 October 2013. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
- ^ Rediff. 4 December 2007. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
- ^ "Ravi Kaza to head Cobra Beer India biz". The Economic Times. 16 October 2008. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
- ^ "Cobra thirsts for India beer boom". BBC News. 6 December 2005. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
- ^ "SABMiller to acquire Foster's India assets". The Hindu. 5 August 2006. Archived from the original on 17 January 2008. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
- The Hindu Business Line. 24 February 2007. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
- ^ "UB, S&N buy Ravi Jain's 20% stake in JV for Rs 18 cr". The Economic Times. 14 May 2006. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
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{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Beer, music, food: Oktoberfest back in Goa". The Times of India. 15 September 2013. Archived from the original on 8 October 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
- ^ "CCI imposes penalty on beer companies in price-fixing case". mint. 24 September 2021. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
- ^ "CCI Penalises United Breweries India And Carlsberg India For Carterlisation". Moneycontrol. 24 September 2021. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
- ^ Live Mint. 29 September 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
- ^ "India key to SABMiller's global bid for Foster's beer unit". Sify. 14 June 2010. Archived from the original on 3 March 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
- ^ "Indian cheer for foreign Beer". The Economic Times. 21 February 2011. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
- ^ "Say cheers to global beer!". The Economic Times. 4 September 2015. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
- ^ "Analysis of beer market in India". Beer Journal. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
- ^ "India barley prices surge on buoyant beer market". Reuters. 20 November 2007. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
- ^ "Sales and Revenue". Kerala State Beverages Corporation Limited. Archived from the original on 8 July 2013. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
Further reading
- Pete Brown (11 August 2011). Hops and Glory: One man's search for the beer that built the British Empire. Pan Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-230-74047-1.
- O’Yeah, Zac (30 December 2016). "Last orders at Beer-uru's classic watering holes". The Hindu Business Line.
- ScoopHub Beer Brands List in India Author :- Mukta Dhiman