Malt & Grain

What grain is Indian beer brewed from? Most of the beer sold by the country's breweries is made from barley malt. Wheat is added for wheat beers, along with adjuncts like rice or corn, which make a lager lighter, drier, and cheaper.

Malt is produced when barley begins to germinate in water and is then dried in a kiln. How long and how hot it's kilned determines its color. Pale malt yields a straw-yellow beer like the lagers from the big breweries, while roasted malt gives a stout or porter its dark hue.

For Kingfisher and the other major brands, the path is clear: the brewery operates at industrial scale, with consistent malt quality and precise control. The beer should taste the same with every batch, summer or winter.

The brewpubs take a different approach. They blend their own recipes from base malt and specialty malt, brew with wheat, and experiment with ingredients from the region's kitchens. Toit, for instance, lists a Basmati Blonde among its beers, brewed with basmati rice. The brewpub Brahma Brews offers a beer made with kokum, a sour fruit from the west coast of India.

Some of the specialty malts and hop varieties come from abroad, since a small brewpub can't always find an Indian supplier for every variety. Drink a wheat beer and you'll taste bread, banana, and sometimes clove; choose a dark beer and you'll taste coffee and toasted bread.