Microbreweries, a commercial outgrowth of

H alf a decade before when I was in Europe

for a long term assignment, I used to get
teased by few of my colleagues about non
availability of craft beer in India and till then
I was pretty happy with my Golden Eagle and
Kingfisher brand, sitting alongside a car near
Delhi border, sipping the neck of the beer
bottle, and thinking what great they have in
the beer there in Europe. But then I decided
to get into the depth of understanding so
called “Craft Beers” which we cannot enjoy in
India. My European friends used to say, “A
beer should be such refreshing that, as much
as you take, you should never have cramping
heads and should give a soothing effect. It is
a healthy drink and people in Europe call it
liquid-bread.”
the home-brewing phenomenon, have
become a rage in some parts of the country,
operated in conjunction with restaurants,
often called brew pubs.
But small breweries are were virtually
nonexistent in the Indian Market, which has
been dominated by Kingfisher.
It’s a movement which was started by
Ambicon in 2002 and like any movement to
spread its’ taking some time reinvigorating
traditional brews that had fallen out of favor
as mass-produced, industrial lagers came to
dominate drinking habits. Craft beers use all-
natural ingredients, are brewed in small
batches and come in a bewildering array of
styles. , but our idea is so new the county
government doesn't have the kind of license
they would need before opening.

My study lead me to the concept of

Microbreweries, a commercial outgrowth of
the home-brewing phenomenon, have
become a rage in some parts of the country.
Generally, they are defined as breweries that
produce less than 15,000 barrels ( 1 barrels
= 159 liters) per year and are sometimes
operated in conjunction with restaurants,
often called brew pubs.

Microbreweries have a strong

heritage in Germany and other
European countries where it is not
unusual for even small cities to boast
their own beer-makers. Then came the
idea of starting Microbreweries and Brewpubs
in India, where you have ample control on
styles and taste of beer. As such it doesn’t
attract additives till served fresh and the
freshness of beer, the mineral content,
soluble fibre and vitamins remain intact.
As soon as I came back in 2003, the first
thing I along with one of my old fried did was
to form the company Ambicons, to promote
healthy beering habit… the idea of Brewpubs
in India was developed. We even got
representation of Beraplan Germany for
Microbrewery equipments, which were taken
over by Kasper Schultz in later years. Soon
we understood that without proper changes
in the excise Acts in various States, things
would flow easily. But as you start, the world
of like minded people join the Caravan…
acclaimed people of the field like Mr Ravi Jain
and Dilip Jadhav pushed the things further to
develop the excise policy of Haryana
Government and thus the mission of bringing
the Brewpub concept could take shape. For
me, it was just like Bhagirath Prayatna,
dealing with all those red-tapes’ in the
departments… but now the show would go on
…
"India is ready for something like this to
happen," says Sandeep Bhatnagar, Managing
Director Ambicon Consultants Pvt. Ltd.
"People keep telling me that people here like
their beer yellow, cold and not too bitter. It's
true. But people also don't have much of a
choice because that's all that's on offer in
most places. I'm trying to get people to think
differently about beer." So far, says
Bhatnagar, it has been a challenge to
convince bar owners to make the extra effort
to serve craft-beer. But he has found a
patron in few known pubs for its dedication
to beer.
Idea is to bring people in by explaining about
the quality of fresh beer Draught beer served
today is brought in kegs distance. It is not
very good because it had been sitting around
for such a long time, but a lot of such beer is
still sold, because people are interested in
it."

Indeed, in recent years, parts of the general
public have become disillusioned with the
homogenous sea of McDonalds that have
rendered one Indian town virtually
indistinguishable from another. In response,
they have actively attempted to create new
senses of place, new connections with the
places they live, and new locally-based
economies. One category of businesses that
can be an important player in this neolocal
movement is the microbrewery.
Microbreweries have purposefully catered to
these cravings for connection through
targeted marketing strategies that emphasize
local identity and distinctiveness. In the
process, these establishments will become
important purveyors and promoters of place
attachment in local communities.
The beers brewed by the microbrewers have
more distinctive flavors than the lagers
brewed by Kingfisher, Budweiser, Coors, or
Miller. Instead, they are a diverse array of
ales that can be found nowhere else, creating
a truly local experience. At the same time,
they offer a reprieve from the rising sea of
giant national chains that have taken over
retailing in every realm and crushed local
businesses. Many brewpubs have also
catered to our craving for uniqueness by
providing one-of-a-kind social settings,
commonly decorated with local historical
photos, maps, and other artifacts of a place's
personality.
Global trends indicate that microbreweries
may become more popular in future
However, Sandeep believes that the take-
home market is becoming increasingly
important across the board for alcohol sales
owing to factors such as the recession and
stricter drinking and driving laws in the
country.
“It is, therefore, invaluable to be able to offer
the public draught beer for sale in bottle
stores, as well as the opportunity to collect a
keg and take it home with the necessary
equipment needed to pour the beer at
home,” he points out.
“We do not brew to specific gravity, or add
any chemicals to our beer. We do not
carbonate our beers, rather relying on the
natural bubble that forms during the brewing
process to give it its fine fizz. Our beer is not
filtered or pasteurised, making it a live
product,” he explains.
Government of Haryana has introduced
Microbrewery in Haryana Excise Policy
2008-09. Promoters like Mr Dilip Jadhav
who had been CEO with Shaw Wallace Group,
Hotels like Galaxy in Gurgaon (near 32 Mile
Stone) and Mr Sandeep Bhatnagar of
Ambicons had been working since last few
years, to get introduced Microbrewery
Segment in Hayrana, Himachal, Delhi,
Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh,
Chhattisgarh, Assam and Shillong.
Kerala was the first state in India to
introduce a special segment of Microbrewery
in their Kerala Abkari Policy for the Year
2005-06 exclusively for MASCOT Hotel a
unit of Kerala Tourism Development
Corporation in Trivandrum. BUt it never came
up as the hotel never invited any bid for it.
Attitudes towards beer drinking have also
undergone major changes over the couple of
decades. Today's beer drinkers are not
attracted to loud, smoke-filled, cheap-beer
bars, but are instead looking for a
comfortable, conversational pub atmosphere
where they can take their families, meet
their friends, and have a good conversation
over a great pint of beer.
Looking at the incredible growth of beer, it is
not surprising that restaurant sales for beer
have been increasing. In fact, a recent
survey study states that the number of
restaurant patrons drinking beer with food is
increasing. Looking at the incredible growth
of beer, it is not surprising that restaurant
sales for beer have been increasing. In fact,
a recent survey study states that the number
of restaurant patrons drinking beer with food
is increasing.
The restaurant market in India is extremely
competitive, and success is dependent on
many factors including, but not limited to,
location, price, food, quality, beer quality,
consistency, service, ambiance, general
concept, and management.

Bhatnagar believes that any restaurant will

have a huge advantage over existing area
restaurants in that it offers a very popular
item not currently available any where in
the area — premium quality, hand-crafted
beer brewed, lagered, and served on the
premises.