Beer in India

Traditional beer vats in Meghalaya.

The Vedas mention a beer-like drink called sura.[2] It was the favourite of the god Indra.[8] Sura is also mentioned in the Ramayana.[9] Megasthenes has recorded usage of rice beer in India. Kautilya has also mentioned two intoxicating beverages made from rice called Medaka and Prasanna.[9]

Rice beer or handia has been traditionally prepared by various indigenous tribes of India, in which Ruellia suffruticosa is sometimes added for flavor. Rice beer also has ceremonial use among the Asur people.[3] Millet beer is also prepared by some tribes. According to biologist J. B. S. Haldane, local beer helped in keeping diseases like beri beri checked in these tribes. Recently, government and social workers have been trying to curb alcohol usage among these tribes.[10] Elephant herds have been known to attack villages to drink this rice beer for which they have acquired a taste.[11][12]

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, Edward Abraham Dyer, father of Colonel Reginald Edward Harry Dyer of Jallianwala Bagh massacre, travelled to India and set up India's first brewery, the Kasauli Brewery.[15][16][17][18][19][20] It produced the beer brand Lion, which is still available. In 1835,[5][6][7] the beer production at Kasauli brewery was moved to Solan Brewery at Solan in a swap when Kasauli Brewery started producing India's first single malt whisky, the Solan No. 1. In 1885, it was incorporated as Dyer Breweries. Later, more breweries were built across India, Burma and Sri Lanka, and added to it. Later, H. G. Meakin bought the Solan brewery and added some more. It came to be known as Dyer-Meakin & Company.[14] By the year 1882, there were 12 breweries in India in all, including one in Rangoon.[21]

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, Burma was separated from India and the company lost its Burmese assets.[14] The company was restructured and renamed as Dyer Meakin Breweries. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange.[23] In 1949, N. N Mohan acquired all the assets of Dyer Meakin Breweries and added a few more units. In 1967, the company was renamed to Mohan Meakin Breweries.[14]

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 ₹600 crore.[28] Also in 2005, Carlsberg entered India with its local venture, South Asian Breweries. Also in 2005, Singapore-based Asia Pacific Breweries acquired a 76% shared the local Aurangabad Breweries.[29] In late 2005, UK-based Cobra Beer entered the Indian market by beginning negotiations with in December.[30][31] In 2006, SABMiller India acquired Foster's Indian assets.[32]

In February 2006, Anheuser-Busch Inbev, the makers of Budweiser, entered a partnership with Hyderabad-based Crown Beers.[29][33] Also in 2006, Ravi Jain divested his holdings in Millennium AlcoBev.[34] In 2010, United Breweries consolidate its assets, merging Millennium AlcoBev and other units back into itself.[35] In 2011, United Breweries announced that they would produce the Heineken brand beer in India.[36] In 2012 after India allowed foreign-direct investment from Pakistan, Murree Beer representatives stated that they were seeking to export their brand to India.[37] The Rawalpindi-based Murree Beer, which was established in 1861, has been trying to enter the Indian market since 2003.[38]

"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]

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.