India

Beer was first introduced to India by the British. It started to be exported to the country at the beginning of the 18th century but it wasn’t until the 1820s that India’s first brewery came into being, when Edward Dyer established it in Kasauli in the Himalayas. It’s here that the first Asian beer was made—Lion—and although the brewery moved to Solan (in order to take advantage of the fresh spring water) the original site has since been turned into a distillery and is still operational to this day.

Indian beer brewing continued to rise and over the years lager became the prevailing style, with the industry as a whole growing by around 10-17% year on year. These days, from an international standpoint at least, the Indian beer market is dominated by two main brands—Cobra and Kingfisher. As any curry house aficionado will tell you these beers are easily sourced, with the names having an increasingly global following and an army of loyal fans, but the rise of craft beers and brew pubs means natives now have more choice than ever before. The quality of Indian beer is on the rise as well with techniques being perfected and ingredients carefully sourced, so isn’t it time you got in on the action?

There’s nothing better than enjoying a hearty curry with a cool, refreshing Indian beer at your side, with a lot of home grown beers being specifically designed to complement the spice of Indian cuisine without masking the delicate flavours. If you want to experience the taste for yourself you need to take a look around—our ever-expanding range offers the best that the Indian beer market has to offer, so see what appeals and you’ll soon have the perfect beer to go with all those curries…

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