Microbreweries slowly growing in Delhi despite excise policy disruptions

New Delhi: Microbreweries in the city, even beyond its hospitality hub Connaught Place, are slowly growing in numbers despite policy related disruptions in the recent past, officials said.

Currently, five microbreweries, including two located outside Connaught Place, are serving draught beer that has a high demand, said the officials of the excise department.

The microbreweries at Connaught Place are Evergreen at Tolstoy Lane, The MOB in M-Block and Royal Brewery on Ashoka Road, and they were opened last year, they said.

Beyond Connaught Place, Effingut Brewery was opened at MGF Metropolitan Mall in Saket in September last year. Further, Fort City Brewery was issued license in June, said a senior excise department officer.

Two more microbreweries -- Route 4 at Ambience Mall in Vasant Kunj and Flow Brew and Dine at DLF Avenue Mall, Saket -- will start serving after approval, he said.

Officials said that the microbreweries were to be promoted under the Delhi excise policy 2021-22.

However, it was a setback as no new microbreweries opened under the policy that was scrapped by the government in July 2022, amid allegations of irregularities in its implementation.

The officials said a microbrewery may be set up where draught beer is manufactured and served to customers for consumption on the premises. The installed capacity of such breweries is not more than 500 litres per day, subject to clearance by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee, they said.

A microbrewery owner said this is for the first time that people from NCR have experienced true craft beer as it was meant to be, devoid of any preservatives, artificial flavouring, and as made from centuries from the region it originates from.

"We like to address our freshly brewed beers as craft beer to showcase its diversity and the craft our brewing team possesses," he said.