What is the best substitute to whiskey & wine which leaves you high and burns a hole in your pocket?

The price of whisky,wine and other alcoholic beverages is increasing since a long time and are expected to further increase owing to rising inflation and changing in government rules and policies. Beer only seems to be the best drink which comes easy in the pockets of Indian consumers.

Beer is considered to be one of the most popular drinks after water tea and coffee in the world. Beer is a drink produced by brewing malted barley; the other alternatives of malted barley which are used are wheat, maize (corn), and rice. Many scholars of history believe that Beer is amongst the oldest and widely consumed alcoholic drinks in the world. Beer in India is the most consumed drink after whisky. Beer is considered be more popular between the corporate employees, youths and women for its offerings such as a low level of alcohol by volume with less drunkenness, lower prices, and many more.

According to reports

• published by Bonafide Research, despite the last two years being worst for Indian beer industry the market is expected recover in next couple of years and then move back to the growth track soon. The Indian beer is forecasted to grow with a CAGR of more than 6% till 2022-23. Within major segments of beer i.e. strong beer and mid beer, Indian is primarily a strong beer consuming nation but recently the mild beer market is achieving high growth with increasing brands in mild segment as a result of entrance of the strong beer producing firms in mild segment with mild brands. The huge market potential of Indian beer market has also attracted many foreign brands. The new trend of craft beer has led to the huge success of B9 Beverages’ Bira 91 and is expected to encourage many global players to come India with their craft beers.

Beer generally contain ABV (Alcohol by volume) of around 4% to 8% which is one of the reason why it provides less drunkenness and doesn’t make you high easily which is generally preferable by women and youths of India and has resulted in increasing popularity between them. While the average selling price (ASP) of Whisky and other alcoholic beverages range between INR 250 to 600 rupees (excluding high premium and super premiumbrands) for a full bottle, while the ASP of beer is just around INR 100 rupees (excluding high premium brands) for a full bottle which makes it pocket friendly for the consumers. So, Beer can be considered the best substitute to whisky and other alcoholic beverages as beer provides the felling of consuming alcohol within reasonable cost and doesn’t make people high easily.

Major Companies

Major companies that operate into Indian Beer market are United Breweries Limited, Carlsberg India Private Limited, Crown Beer India Private Limited, SABMiller India Limited, Mohan Meakin Limited, Molson Coor Cobra India Private Limited, B9 Beverages Private Limited, Devans Modern Breweries Limited, SOM Distilleries and Breweries Limited.

Report: India Beer Market Outlook, 2023

Base Year: 2016-17, Estimated Year: 2017-18, Forecast Year: 2022-23

Pages: 95, Figures: 32, Tables: 24.