# Nepal

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

- Official name: Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal
- Local name: सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल
- Caps in the collection: 11 (https://dacaps.imcoll.com/country_caps/113)
- Brands: 7

## Beer in Nepal

The old drink of Nepal is chhyaang, called thon by the Newars: a fermented rice drink, also made from barley and millet, brewed at home and drunk at festivals, at planting and harvest and at Lhosar, the Tibetan New Year. Industrial beer is young. Nepali Times dates the first Nepali brand, Star Beer, to 1972, made by Nepal Breweries, earlier called United Brewery. Through the 1980s it was the only local beer, and a bottle that had not gone flat was hard to find.

Gorkha Brewery changed this. Its company began in 1988 as a joint venture with Danbrew, with a licence for Tuborg, and the Nepali Khetan Group established the brewery at Mukundapur in 1989. Tuborg went on sale in 1990 as the first international beer brand in Nepal, Carlsberg followed in 1995, the company led the market by 1998, and San Miguel was added in 2004. Its own Gorkha Beer, a lager for tourists and export, launched in May 2006 (Carlsberg gives 2007). The Chaudhary Group's Sun Gold Brewery, incorporated in 1993, raised its capacity to 1.2 million cases a year by 2003 while it supplied Haywards 5000 to India's Shaw Wallace, then launched Oranjeboom with InBev's technical help in February 2006 and Nepal Ice, made with Australian malt, in March 2007. Mount Everest Brewery of the Amatya Enterprises Group, near Sauraha in Chitwan, brews Everest, and with Himalayan Brewery's Kathmandu it had entered draught beer by 2018.

In 2018 Nepal still had no maltings: malt was imported and hops came from Germany and the Czech Republic. Nine breweries, eight of them making lagers, were growing output by some 35% a year. Craft beer began with Sherpa Brewery, founded in 2013 by Phurba Sherpa, a barista from Lukla; it started brewing a few months before the April 2015 earthquake and sells Khumbu Kolsch and Himalayan Red in cans. In September 2015 restaurants were allowed to run microbreweries, with 20 seats and a 7% limit; in February 2024 the rules rose to 200 seats and 6%, with a ceiling of 3 million litres a year, though no restaurant yet brewed on a commercial scale. Raj Brewery of the Jawalakhel Group, at Ramgram in Nawalparasi, launched Warsteiner on 4 April 2018, then Foster's in 2020 and Budweiser, announced by AB InBev on 16 March 2021. Yeti Brewery at Khairhani in Chitwan won silver and bronze for Arna 8 and Arna Light at the London Beer Competition in March 2021, the first international medals for a Nepali brand.

Gorkha Brewery is still the leader, with 61% of the market by Carlsberg's count and about half of it Tuborg. CG Brewery Nepal, as Sun Gold is now called, sold some 1.5 million cases of Nepal Ice and its strong variants and 1.28 million of Mustang Premium Strong in the year to mid-July 2022. In August 2024 Carlsberg agreed to buy its partner's last third of its Indian and Nepali business for US$744 million, which gives it 99.94% of Gorkha Brewery, and in April 2026 it announced a 10 billion rupee investment to expand the brewery, with over 1,000 direct jobs.

Sources:
- [Carlsberg Group: Nepal, Gorkha Brewery (2026)](https://carlsberggroup.com/who-we-are/about-the-carlsberg-group/global-presence/nepal/)
- [Nepali Times: Thirsty for more (2018)](https://nepalitimes.com/thirsty-for-more)
- [Nepali Times: A long, tall glass (2009)](https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=16098)
- [Nepali Times: More beer (2003)](https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=3680)
- [Himalayan Times: Oranjeboom in market (2006)](https://thehimalayantimes.com/ampArticle/21949)
- [Himalayan Times: Nepal Ice beer unveiled (2007)](https://thehimalayantimes.com/business/brandwatch-nepal-ice-beer-unveiled)
- [ICRA Nepal: CG Brewery Nepal Private Limited rating report (2022)](https://www.icranepal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/A.131-CG-Brewery-Nepal-Private-Limited.pdf)
- [Vastukala Paramarsha: Gorkha Brewery, Mukundapur (2010)](https://vastukalanepal.com/projects/29)
- [Case study of Mt. Everest Brewery Pvt. Ltd. (2012)](https://pdfcoffee.com/beer-factory-case-study-report-pdf-free.html)
- [OnlineKhabar: Sherpa Brewery, Nepal's only commercial craft brewery (2018)](https://english.onlinekhabar.com/sherpa-brewery-nepals-only-commercial-craft-brewery-tries-to-change-the-industry.html)
- [OnlineKhabar: Chhyaang aka Himalayan Beer (2017)](https://english.onlinekhabar.com/chhyang-aka-himalayan-beer-fourteen-centuries-of-history-in-a-glass.html)
- [Kathmandu Post: Government tightens rules on microbreweries (2024)](https://kathmandupost.com/money/2024/02/12/government-tightens-rules-on-microbreweries)
- [ShareSansar: Warsteiner Premium Beer launched at Nawalparasi (2018)](https://www.sharesansar.com/newsdetail/beer-plant-worth-rs-3-arba-at-nawalparasi-german-quality-warsteiner-premium-beer-to-cheer-up-beer-enthusiasts-in-nepal)
- [Asia Brewers Network: AB InBev launch Budweiser in Nepal (2021)](https://asiabrewersnetwork.com/?p=1912)
- [ShareSansar: ARNA wins at the London Beer Competition (2021)](https://www.sharesansar.com/newsdetail/arna-born-in-nepal-wins-at-london-beer-competition-becomes-first-nepalese-beer-brand-to-win-international-medal-2021-04-20)
- [ShareSansar: Yeti Brewery Limited appoints NIMB Ace Capital (2024)](https://www.sharesansar.com/newsdetail/yeti-brewery-limited-appoints-nimb-ace-capital-limited-for-ipo-shares-offering-2024-01-17)
- [Global Drinks Intel: Carlsberg takes full ownership of operations in India, Nepal (2024)](https://drinks-intel.com/beer/carlsberg-secures-full-ownership-of-indian-and-nepalese-operations/)
- [FoodTechBiz: Carlsberg announces 10 billion investment in Nepal (2026)](https://www.foodtechbiz.com/business-updates/carlsberg-group-announces-10-billion-investment-to-expand-operations-in-nepal)
- [Brookston Beer Bulletin: Nepal Beer (2012)](https://brookstonbeerbulletin.com/nepal-beer/)
- [Archontology: Nepal, Polity Style 1768-2026](https://archontology.org/nations/nepal/01_polity.php)
- [Wikipedia: Flag of Nepal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Nepal)

## Breweries (3)

- [Gorkha Brewery](https://dacaps.imcoll.com/brewery/1786.md) — 8 caps, 1989–
- [Mount Everest Brewery](https://dacaps.imcoll.com/brewery/1785.md) — 1 cap
- [Sungold Brewery Nepal Pvt. Ltd.](https://dacaps.imcoll.com/brewery/3072.md) — 2 caps, 1993–