Brewing in India

From the Western Brewer – Dec. 1918

There are eighteen breweries in operation in British India.  The largest brewery is at Bangalore.  Production was greatest in 1902, since when it has tended to decline, while imports of foreign beer have increased proportionately.  In the year 1907 the process was reversed; internal production having advanced slightly, and imports decreased.  Since then, until the outbreak of war there was a steady decrease in the production, while the imports, after declining up to 1911 (with a small set-back in 1910), recovered appreciably in 1912, and rose higher in 1913.  From 1914 the imports have decreased, owing to the difficulty in obtaining freight, the absence of a large portion of the British Regular Army from India, and the shortage of light German beer.  In 1915 the total quantity brewed in British India was 2,233,000 gallons, and that imported from foreign countries 2,618,000 gallons, as against 3,434,000 gallons and 4,213,000 gallons respectively in the preceding year.