# India

Country page of DA Caps, a collection of beer bottle caps. Web page: https://dacaps.imcoll.com/country/in/info

- Official name: Republic of India
- Local name: Bhārat Gaṇarājya
- Caps in the collection: 105 (https://dacaps.imcoll.com/country_caps/22)
- Brands: 59

## Beer in India

India has brewed grain drinks since ancient times: the Vedas mention sura, and tribal communities still make rice and millet beer. European beer came with the traders: the German traveller Johan Albrecht de Mandelslo found English beer on sale at Surat in 1638, and in the 19th century the troops and clerks of the East India Company drank mostly London porter (Whitbread alone sent 12,692 hogsheads in December 1852), with pale ale shipped in far smaller quantities.

The first European brewery in India was opened in 1825 at Meerut by Henry Bohle, who also brewed in the hill station of Mussoorie. The cool hills, with spring water and garrisons, became the home of Indian brewing. At Kasauli, Captain Robert Beavan started the Eagle Brewery in 1850 and Edward Dyer took it over in 1855. Dyer moved to the new Murree Brewery Company (now in Pakistan) in 1861, began again at Simla in 1866, and built larger breweries at Solan in 1877 and Lucknow in 1882, the first successful one on the plains. Henry Meakin, whose family had exported Burton pale ale, was brewing at Kasauli by 1871. Output rose from about 42,000 barrels in 1877-78 to 72,000 in 1882-83, passing imports from Britain, and by 1891 there were 25 breweries, 15 of them owned by Murree, Meakin and Dyer.

In the south, Leishman's Bangalore Brewery Company, the Rose and Crown brewery at Ketti and the Madras B.B.B. Brewery Company merged in 1915 into United Breweries Ltd. Dyer and Meakin merged in November 1921, concentrating brewing at Solan and Ranikhet; in the Second World War 90 per cent of India's beer went to the forces. Narendra Nath Mohan bought the company after independence (1949), opened the Mohan Nagar brewery at Ghaziabad about 1962, the first new brewery in India in the 20th century, and renamed it Mohan Meakin Breweries in 1966. Its Lion, an IPA at first and a lager from the 1960s, led the market until Golden Eagle and then Kingfisher took over. Vijay Mallya relaunched Kingfisher in 1978; it is often said to go back to 1857, but no source confirms it.

From 1999 foreign brewers came in. SABMiller bought Narang Breweries in 2000, Mysore Breweries in 2001 and the Shaw Wallace beer business in 2005 (Haywards 5000, Knock Out); AB InBev has been present since a 2006 partnership with Crown Beers. Carlsberg set up South Asia Breweries in 2006, began brewing at Paonta Sahib in 2007 and launched Tuborg Green in 2009. Heineken, which held 37.5 per cent of United Breweries after buying Scottish & Newcastle in 2008, took control with 61.5 per cent in June 2021. Alcohol is a state subject, so taxes and licences differ, and Bihar, Gujarat, Nagaland, Mizoram and Lakshadweep ban it.

Craft beer came late: from early 2008 Haryana and a few other states licensed brewing on the premises, and the first brewpubs opened in Gurgaon (Howzzat!) and Pune (Doolally). Bira 91, launched in 2015 by the importer Ankur Jain, ran into financial trouble, and on 22 July 2026 Jain stepped down after a settlement with the lenders. United Breweries, AB InBev and Carlsberg, with about 85 per cent of sales, launched the Brewers Association of India in May 2024, and each has announced a new plant: AB InBev at Unnao (January 2025), United Breweries at Unnao (lease November 2025, start planned for the second quarter of FY27) and Carlsberg at Ahilyanagar (September 2025). In October 2026 Carlsberg was reported to be preparing an IPO of its Indian unit for December.

Sources:
- [Martyn Cornell: Brewing in India, the first 120 years, Brewery History 191 (2022)](https://www.breweryhistory.com/journal/archive/191/India.pdf)
- [Wikipedia: Beer in India](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beer_in_India)
- [Wikipedia: Mohan Meakin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohan_Meakin)
- [Wikipedia: Kingfisher (beer)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingfisher_(beer))
- [Wikipedia: Alcohol laws of India](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_laws_of_India)
- [Wikipedia: Bira 91](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bira_91)
- [Food Ingredients First: SABMiller plans further strategic investment in India](https://www.foodingredientsfirst.com/news/sabmiller-plans-further-strategic-investment-in-india.html)
- [Carlsberg Group: Carlsberg in India](https://carlsberggroup.com/who-we-are/about-the-carlsberg-group/global-presence/india/)
- [Carlsberg India: MoU at World Food India (2025)](https://carlsbergindia.com/latest-news/carlsberg-india-signs-mou-with-ministry-of-food-processing-industries-at-world-food-india-2025-003/)
- [Business Today: Heineken takes control of United Breweries (2021)](https://www.businesstoday.in/amp/latest/corporate/story/heineken-takes-control-of-india-largest-brewer-united-breweries-299432-2021-06-23)
- [United Breweries: update on upcoming brewery in Unnao (2025)](https://www.muthootsecurities.com/CorporateInfo/ComNews/United-Breweries-Ltd/24325010128)
- [Inside Beer: AB InBev announces a brewery project in India (2025)](https://www.inside.beer/news/detail/india-ab-inbev-announces-usd-121-million-brewery-project)
- [Food Business Middle East and Africa: Brewers Association of India (2024)](https://www.foodbusinessmea.com/indias-largest-brewers-unite-to-form-brewers-association-of-india/)
- [Outlook Business: The big pitcher (2012)](https://www.outlookbusiness.com/enterprise/trend/the-big-pitcher-1825)
- [Business Today: Hops in house (2009)](https://businesstoday.in/magazine/bt-more/story/hops-in-house-245671-2009-01-22)
- [Business Today: Bira 91 founder Ankur Jain exits after settlement with lenders (2026)](https://www.businesstoday.in/latest/corporate/story/bira-91-needs-fresh-capital-clear-balance-sheet-ankur-jain-exits-parent-company-after-settlement-with-lenders-544418-2026-07-22)
- [Forbes Italia: Carlsberg prepara l'IPO in India (2026)](https://forbes.it/2026/10/21/carlsberg-india-ipo-700-milioni)
- [Archontology: India, Polity Style 1947-2026](https://archontology.org/nations/india/01_polity.php)
- [Archontology: British India, Polity Style 1858-1947](https://www.archontology.org/nations/british_india/01_polity.php)
- [Wikipedia: Flag of India](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_India)

## Breweries (29)

- [Amara Breweries](https://dacaps.imcoll.com/brewery/5974.md) — 1 cap
- [Aurangabad Breweries Ltd.](https://dacaps.imcoll.com/brewery/6922.md) — 1 cap
- [B9 Beverages Pvt. Ltd.](https://dacaps.imcoll.com/brewery/5116.md) — 4 caps, 2015–
- [Blossom Industries Ltd.](https://dacaps.imcoll.com/brewery/896.md) — 3 caps
- [Bombay Breweries](https://dacaps.imcoll.com/brewery/1933.md) — 9 caps
- [Carlsberg India Pvt. Ltd.](https://dacaps.imcoll.com/brewery/7126.md) — 3 caps, 2006–
- [Chakra Brewery & Distillery P. Ltd.](https://dacaps.imcoll.com/brewery/7100.md) — 1 cap
- [Cobra Beer](https://dacaps.imcoll.com/brewery/6874.md) — 1 cap
- [Devans Modern Breweries Ltd.](https://dacaps.imcoll.com/brewery/7022.md) — 3 caps
- [Foster's India Limited](https://dacaps.imcoll.com/brewery/6103.md) — 1 cap
- [Haryana Breweries Ltd.](https://dacaps.imcoll.com/brewery/2201.md) — 3 caps
- [Himalayan Beer Company](https://dacaps.imcoll.com/brewery/3315.md) — 1 cap
- [Impala Distillery & Brewery Ltd.](https://dacaps.imcoll.com/brewery/1551.md) — 3 caps
- [Inbrew Beverages Pvt. Ltd.](https://dacaps.imcoll.com/brewery/7123.md) — 2 caps
- [Inertia Industries Ltd.](https://dacaps.imcoll.com/brewery/1945.md) — 1 cap
- [Kals Breweries Private Limited T.N.](https://dacaps.imcoll.com/brewery/5708.md) — 1 cap
- [Latambarcem Brewers Pvt. Ltd.](https://dacaps.imcoll.com/brewery/6850.md) — 1 cap
- [Medusa Beverages Ltd.](https://dacaps.imcoll.com/brewery/7125.md) — 1 cap
- [Mohan Meakin Breweries Ltd.](https://dacaps.imcoll.com/brewery/3675.md) — 1 cap, 1855–
- [Mount Shivalik Breweries](https://dacaps.imcoll.com/brewery/2401.md) — 1 cap
- [Mysore Breweries Ltd.](https://dacaps.imcoll.com/brewery/2083.md) — 2 caps
- [Privilege Industries Ltd.](https://dacaps.imcoll.com/brewery/6955.md) — 1 cap
- [Shimla Beer Company](https://dacaps.imcoll.com/brewery/3314.md) — 1 cap
- [Skol Breweries LTD](https://dacaps.imcoll.com/brewery/1602.md) — 2 caps
- [SNJ Breweries Pvt Ltd](https://dacaps.imcoll.com/brewery/2226.md) — 1 cap
- [Som Distilleries & Breweries Ltd.](https://dacaps.imcoll.com/brewery/2801.md) — 1 cap
- [Superior Industries Limited](https://dacaps.imcoll.com/brewery/6089.md) — 1 cap
- [UBSN Limited The Brewery](https://dacaps.imcoll.com/brewery/196.md) — 13 caps
- [United Breweries Ltd.](https://dacaps.imcoll.com/brewery/3340.md) — 21 caps, 1915–