High Life: A fresh way to craft beer

New Year celebrations may be all about bubbly champagne and clinking wine glasses. But the affluent young folks are welcoming a bit of zing with craft beer. Brewed fresh locally with a pinch of zesty flavours, Craft Beer has been fast gaining traction globally in the last few years.

In the US, for instance, craft beer accounts for 11 per cent of the overall beer sales by volume and 20 per cent by value, notes Forbes.

India is no exception. Craft Beer, not a well-known product a few years ago, with just two pubs with breweries in 2009, today has patrons in over 75 micro-breweries in different cities, say brewers.

Craft Beer is fresh beer, typically with no added preservatives or chemicals, with possibly some creative flavouring. Grains, hops and yeast along with other unmalted grains are the main ingredients of any beer.

Indian brewers are known to judiciously blend local with that of international ingredients to make Craft Beer. For example, grains for the malt may be local, while hops and yeast could be imported. Likewise, specialty malt may be imported, but flavours such as fruit or spices procured locally.

“We use Indian barley, which is a 6-row variety, for making our malt,” says Navin Mittal, founder of Gateway Brewing Company in Mumbai. However, he says that the 2-row barley — which is available globally — is better than the 6-row variety (which has higher protein content). Gateway Brewing Company, which was started in 2014, also uses local wheat to create wheat malt. They also create specialty malts which are darker, by toasting the barley seeds.

Hops, which are flowers, are typically used to balance the sweetness of the beer. These are usually imported from international suppliers. Yeast, to ferment the beverage in the vat, is typically sourced from the US while specialty malts from Europe.

Brewers only maintain supplies for 15 days so that the ingredients are fresh. However, Mittal says, beer has a shelf life of two-three months if it is kept cold.

Besides the freshness, creative processing acts as a differentiator. Manu Gulati, Masterbrewer & Founder, Effingut Brewerkz, a Craft brew-pub in Pune, says that their meads are made using 100 per cent locally produced natural honey. Similarly, recipes use jaggery, coffee or fresh citrus fruits from local farmers.

“International consumers have a mature palate and appreciate more complex beer styles, such as Belgian Dubbels and Tripels, sours and more bitter offerings such as the India Pale Ale (IPA)”, says Gulati. He says that India is still in the discovery phase; and considering the hotter weather, refreshing beers such as Hefeweizens and Witbiers are very popular.

Effincut, for instance, serves a Hefeweizen which is a traditional unfiltered Bavarian wheat beer with flavours of banana and cloves, with a hint of bubblegum. Likewise, the more traditional apple cider has inspired Strawberry Cider — the sweetness of strawberry paired with the tartness of apple. Indian Pale Ale is also made interesting by adding citrus notes from American hops and fruity and herbal notes from Japanese hops.

Melomel — mead made with the addition of fruits — is also crafted in India. Honey and peach with the zing of ginger is one example in India. Other flavours that enjoy good patronage, according to brewers, include coffee, tea and ginger. Mittal says that they have 15-17 types of beers. “We have an explorer tap, where we change the flavour every month. With peppermint, chocolate and various spices, there are limitless possibilities”, he says. The brewery also experiments with the roasting process to create different colours and flavour.

The fresh brewed beers tend to be over 30 per cent more expensive than regular bottled variety. Mittal says that a glass may sell for ₹265 to ₹295 in a pub, compared to ₹220 or so for bottled ones. Still, thanks to the discerning buyers — mainly in the age group of 25 to 45 years — their brewery’s sales have been doubling every year, just with social media marketing and promotions at the pubs.

“The hotspots for Craft Beer are Bengaluru, Gurugram, Pune and Mumbai; there have been recent launches in Hyderabad and Kolkata”, says Gulati. There are an estimated 25 brew-pubs in Bengaluru and 20 in Gurugram.

The growth is, however, dependent on State excise rules and regulations that grant brewing licences. The industry is classified as ‘red’ or a polluting one, so there are strict restrictions in setting up a unit, says Mittal.

Mittal says that consumption tax is high for beer, even compared with wine which has higher alcohol content. Data from the All India Brewers Association shows that a tax of 50 to 85 per cent per bottle is paid by the beer industry.

Craft Beer in India is a mere 1 per cent of the estimated ₹25,000 crore market size for beer. However, by 2020, it would become 11 per cent of ₹40,000 crore beer market , says Gulati. Its growth primarily driven by young affluents who discover Craft Beer on their travels abroad or in cities with micro breweries.

“They savour the romanticism of the experience — to sit in a welcoming ambience where great food is complemented by great beers; where they meet brewer to discuss their beer and take a brewery tour to see how their favourite pint is made”, says Gulati. Is Budweiser listening ?

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