What excites you more? A beer with all kinds of flavors or a beer with a single flavor. Take your pick, take anyone! The good news is that today in India we have a variety of flavors to dive into.
A large chunk of our population is still alien to the history of craft beers and what goes behind the whole craft process.
India’s tryst with Beer began centuries ago, as far back as 1500 BC. The beer brewed was made out of basic ingredients such as fermented barley and rice-based beverages with local fruits and spices which is commonly called Tadi. The said beverages continue to exist in selected regions of India.
Today, the beer we consume is majorly brewed with malted barley, hops, yeast, and water. The beer consumption culture in India can be traced back to the time when the British shipped their beers halfway across the world.
During the 1700s, the ales made their way into the Indian market when hops were added to preserve the beer for a six-month-long journey from Britain to India. This led to the creation of a new style of the infamous IPA or ‘India Pale Ale’ which is now building up the bitter taste in the palate of the Indian consumer.
The Independence of India from the British empire saw IPA make its way out with the English men. The departure of IPA led to India’s pioneer brewers brewing the style that had globally replaced pale ales – pilsners and lagers and our country was flooded with pilsners and lagers for the longest time. The ales and the lagers were under commercial beer brands with majorly three variants i.e. Strong 8%, Mild 5% & Light below 5%.
While we waited for the growth of the craft beer revolution to happen, it truly began 11 years ago with Indian microbreweries crafting and serving fresh beer on-site in what we call Brewpubs. ‘Doolally’ was the first-ever microbrewery that made its way in the Indian market with its first brew ‘The Belgian Wit Beer’ in 2009.
As of 2021, India has quite a few documented beer styles and a handful of organizations with their own unique classifications. As beer styles continue to evolve, we understand the complexity and depth of the craft beers which only makes us appreciate every drop of beer made by the brewers in India.
The first microbrewery opened in Pune and soon the revolution started with more than 100 micro-breweries throughout the country brewing many different styles. Some of the few are namely the American Pale Ale, IPA, Double IPA, Amber Ales, Saison, Session IPA, Sours, Wheat Beer, and many more!
With so many types of beer to explore, we know diving into the world of craft beers might be a little intimidating. But hey finding your way through the ever-growing number of beer styles has never been easier with our Craft beer blogs in the picture now:P
So here’s a cheer to the craft of the art 🙂
