The Hindu Business Line : Rice in beer makes a heady brew for Budweiser

India plans
To initially focus on the South and West, which account for 65 per cent of the total beer consumed in the country.
To build a network to ensure the brand availability in all retail outlets, restaurants.

M. Somasekhar

Hyderabad, July 17 Beer and rice couldn’t be further apart but that great Indian staple is exactly what Budweiser, the iconic American lager beer, puts in the beer it brews in India to produce the Bud’s typical taste.

Anheuser-Busch Inc (ABI), which makes the Budweiser brand, has found that a rice variety from the Nizamabad region of Andhra Pradesh blends well with hops from the US, barley malt from Canada, yeast and beachwood chips, all imported. Brewed proportionately with the other ingredients and water, the rice gives the beer its characteristic crispy, light and refreshing taste, explained Mr Amruth Reddy, Brewmaster with ABI. The brand in China also uses local rice varieties in its beers.

Hops, also known as the spice of beer (from climbing vine trees) that gives the bitterness and aroma for the beer, is now made to global standards at the greenfield brewery set up by ABI on the outskirts of Hyderabad.

The 5 lakh hectolitres per annum capacity brewery has been established by Crown Beers India Ltd, a joint venture company of ABI and Crown Beers of Hyderabad. At present, the brewery is utilising 50 per cent of its capacity to make 2.5 lakh cases a month to brew Budweiser and Armstrong.

Anheuser-Busch is quite conscious about the quality of rice it uses to ensure standardisation of the beer brewed. The beer producer owns rice mills in Arkansas and California in the US, from where it sends rice for its breweries around the world, wherever necessary. Rice as an input is typical to Budweiser beer. Most other beers contain maize flakes.

The company has launched Budweiser in bottles of 650 ml and 330 ml respectively positioning it in the premium segment and Armstrong (strong beer) in 650 ml in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh recently.

Budweiser would bring high quality, mild beer in the premium segment, while Armstrong will address the strong beer one, which constitutes 60 per cent of beer consumed in the country. “We plan to focus initially on the South and West, which account for 65 per cent of the total beer consumed in India. Building a network to ensure the brand availability in all retail outlets and restaurants is top priority now,” says Mr Rob Newman, Sales & Marketing Director, Crown Beers India Ltd.

Though India is a small market for beer now, it is growing at 20 per cent in the last 18 months, and there would be enough space for new entrants, he said referring to the competition that is expected with the entry of several global players.

While declining to give details on the investments for the brewery and strategy, Mr Newman said the company was focused to take advantage of the growing Indian market for beer and was ready with investments through the joint venture.

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