The Craft Beer Scene in India

In the country where hard liquor or technically, IMFL, dominate the drinking culture, the craft beers haven't had much of a impact outside a few social circles. They haven't been discussed in mainstream and there's a good chance the exposure of general public to craft beer hasn't gone beyond a commercially disguised craft, Bira. When the marketing reports or economic forum rally behind the increasing beer consumption the contribution of craft beer as catergory is yet to cross 1% - 2%. There are number of factors that needs to be looked into but before that lets get into a brief history on how this category (yet to be recognised across many states) came into being. 

There's a history of beer being imported to India by Britishers and probably till 18th century we didn't have modern style brewery in India. There's a record of rice beers, millet beers or other alcoholic beverages made in India but it was Britishers who started production in Industrialised format. The record of Dyer setting up Kasauli Brewery to produce European style beers was the first one to make beers for British soldiers in India, which in different shape and form today is known to everyone as Mohan Meakin. So centuries back the breweries came into existence to tackle long voyage, tropcial climate and lack of cold chain, even today beers are manufactured to survive in those exact same conditions without any significant change in the ecosystem. Every state in India still behaves like it's own princely state, safeguarding it's coffers by collecting VAT on liquid gold, liquor and fuel, they still refer to the book left by Britishers when implementing new prohibition related laws. But let's not digress and leave this for another blog where the plight of working in alcoholic beverage sector will be written in blood and tears. 

Skipping 19th century where it was all bottles and a lousy attempt to do some fresh draught beers, we can come to early 2000's where the first taste of good beers was given to India by imports. Many of the big manufacturers today have tried importing some great beers but the ecosystem has led to sad demise to all those ventures. It was in NCR that 'Howzat' made beers in restaurant setting and we got introduced to a format of 'Microbrewery' or a 'Brewpub'. At the same time few stalwarts were busy rewriting the book, to make Microbrewery a reality in Maharashtra. First came Doolally, the brand which is synonymous today with craft beer in Mumbai, setting up a production unit on the premises of Corinthian club, in quiet corner of Pune. Then it was keg delivery approval secured by microbreweries in Maharashtra which made craft beer an easily accessible commodity in Pune and Mumbai. In Karnataka however the laws got implemented in different manner and it led to forming huge microbreweries with focus on on premises sales rather than traditional bottle distribution. Haryana followed suite and sprawling number of brewpubs opened quickly in Gurgaon. The other sates hadn't really made any amendments and even today there's not much microbrewery projects happening anywhere. 

Today we can divide the sector in three Geographic regions with a few outliers and exceptions. The craft beer capital certainly is Bangalore with around 100 brands existing in the city and outskirts. The pattern is same where a sprawling 10,000 sqft and above premises are built with focus on food and beverage and the beer tanks kept on display to earn the microbrewery tag. The current traffic situation commands the local clientele visiting these spots and if you take an honest feedback the beers are preferred only in those famous select few breweries. With so many names in the city, there's a good chance no more than 10 good craft beer brands will exist if they ever given a chance to pivot in small package distribution format. In Southern India, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and few Union Territories have few craft beer brands giving a shot at creating market but the haven't reached significant size yet. Then would be Maharashtra and Goa  where the laws have been most forward in comparison to other states. Goa has been chosen by brands for production and distribution in can and bottle format, Maharashtra is still reliant on kegs. As Goa is know for cheap beers, these good quality beers haven't been able to become mainstream there and they exist in only select few outlets. In Maharashtra, the growler law came into being to let microbreweries finish their stock in COVID, the high tax burden still hasn't made it easy for microbreweries to sell in bottles and cans. With highest rates of Rs. 60/ L duty in addition to 40% VAT on beers it is still a distant dream for small breweries to get their beers on shelves of bars and stores. The NCR region would come next where Haryana and UP making the laws in favour of small breweries and Delhi recently making an amendment  to accommodate microbreweries. There was a huge wave of brewpubs that were formed in Gurgaon and it crashed as well in the same format as the focus always was quantity over quality. Today except a few, the level of craft beers still hasn't reached a point where it will be beneficial to overall growth of the sector.  Till we have state wise tax structure on alcohol it's going to be difficult for a craft beer brand to exist on national scale as anyone in this field knows that we are not working in 28 states but with 28 countries with each working on their own whim.  

In craft beer perspective for India, the scene is still limited to Metro cities where there's enough disposable income to enjoy this premium offering. There is still no market in Tier II cities or below due to high pricing and lack of exposure among other issues. There is not much exposure to different styles and the highest sale is of wheat beers and lagers as the consumer is still looking for yellow, fizzy and not much flavourful ice cold beverage. Check out other blogs on how wheat beer became the 'new' go to beer, State wise Prohibition laws and what really goes into making a craft beer business. Cheers!

 

Disclaimer: The blog content is for informational purposes only and not professional advice such as legal, medical or financial. While we strive for accuracy, it is possible that the information on our blog may contain errors and omissions. We disclaim any liability for any such errors and omissions.