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 desi daru and Indian-made foreign liquor, such as Indian whiskey. The most popular beers in India are strong beers.
Beer-like sura has been produced in India since the Vedic era (c. 1500–1200 BCE, Rig Veda), rice beer has been produced by the native tribes since ancient times, European beer imports to India from England started in 1716, introduced by the British raj. Lion beer, produced continuously since the 1820s, is Asia's first beer brand, and the first Indian brewed European style beer.
History
Traditional beer
The Vedas mention a beer-like drink called sura. It was the favourite of the god Indra. Sura is also mentioned in the Ramayana. Megasthenes has recorded usage of rice beer in India. Kautilya has also mentioned two intoxicating beverages made from rice called Medaka and Prasanna.
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. 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. Elephant herds have been known to attack villages to drink this rice beer for which they have acquired a taste.
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. 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.
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. It produced the beer brand Lion, which is still available. In 1835, 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. By the year 1882, there were 12 breweries in India in all, including one in Rangoon.
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.
In 1937, Burma was separated from India and the company lost its Burmese assets. The company was restructured and renamed as Dyer Meakin Breweries. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange. 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.
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. 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. In 2000, SABMiller India entered Indian market by acquiring Narang Breweries. In June 2001, it acquired the Mysore Breweries. In 2003, SABMiller India acquired 50% stake in local Shaw Wallace's beer business. In November 2002, SABMiller India acquired Rochees Breweries.
In May 2005, SABMiller India acquired Shaw Wallace's beer assets for crore. 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. In late 2005, UK-based Cobra Beer entered the Indian market by beginning negotiations with in December. In 2006, SABMiller India acquired Foster's Indian assets.