Craft Beer Boom

The onset of microbreweries has changed the way India sips its favourite summer drink

- Nikhil Agarwal

I sometimes crave a chilled beer and a burger alongside. Just writing this article makes me want one. There is just so much simplicity and satisfaction in that. Don’t mean to daydream — like you, I have been stuck at home for far too long.

Drinking beer in India has changed considerably over the last few years. The great German and Belgium beers have all but disappeared, thanks to very high duties making them unaffordable. And to spend Rs 1,000 or more on a pint of wheat beer from Germany just does not make sense. Separately, all of the big international brands are now made in India, and they are pretty good too.

We have some pretty slick local microbreweries churning out very impressive beer. And they are experimenting with styles consistently, making it extremely interesting to discover more. They are selling beer through retail channels as well as bars and in Mumbai, now through their own retail stores fresh off the tap, which is a new and fantastic development. The allowing of growlers in Mumbai and Delhi has changed the landscape, allowing all of us to enjoy fresh and high-quality beer on tap at home.

A subscription service called Tapped sends you an assortment of beers every month, how cool is that. And let’s not forget brewpubs that provide an excellent atmosphere over beer and food, with the ones in Bengaluru taking it to a whole different level.