brewery
A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of b ...
and presently a
distillery
Distillation, also classical distillation, is the process of separating the component substances of a liquid mixture of two or more chemically discrete substances; the separation process is realized by way of the selective boiling of the mixt ...
since 1835), at
Kasauli
Kasauli is a town and cantonment, located in the Solan district of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The cantonment was established by the British Raj in 1842 as a Colonial hill station,Sharma, Ambika"Architecture of Kasauli churches" ''The ...
in
Solan district
Solan district is one of the twelve districts of the Himachal Pradesh state in northern India. The city of Solan is the administrative headquarters of the district. The district occupies an area of 1936 km2.
History
The territory of the ...
of
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan ...
state of
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, was established in late 1920s during the
British Raj
The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent,
*
* lasting from 1858 to 1947.
*
* It is also called Crown rule ...
by Edward Abraham Dyer. It started producing Asia's first beer brand, the ''"Lion Beer"'', and India's first
single malt whisky
Single malt whisky is malt whisky from a single Distillation, distillery.
Single malts are typically associated with single malt Scotch, though they are also produced in various other countries. Under the United Kingdom's Scotch Whisky Regulat ...
, the ''""Solan No. 1"''. Both of these brands are still in production. After the swap of brewery at Kasauli to Solan distillery and vice versa in 1835, presently ''Lion beer'' is produced at Solan and ''Solan No.1'' whisky is produced at the Kasauli distillery using some of the original equipment including the copper pot still. The production of ''Lion beer'' was moved 25 km east to Solan Brewery at
Solan
Solan is a city in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh and the district headquarters of Solan district. It is located south of the state capital, Shimla. Solan has an average elevation of . The city is situated between Chandigarh (joint cap ...
, due to
water scarcity
Water scarcity (closely related to water stress or water crisis) is the lack of fresh water resources to meet the standard water demand. There are two types of water scarcity. One is ''physical.'' The other is ''economic water scarcity''. Physic ...
, after
civilian
A civilian is a person who is not a member of an armed force. It is war crime, illegal under the law of armed conflict to target civilians with military attacks, along with numerous other considerations for civilians during times of war. If a civi ...
Kasauli
hill station
A hill station is a touristic town located at a higher elevation than the nearby plain or valley. The English term was originally used mostly in Western imperialism in Asia, colonial Asia, but also in Africa (albeit rarely), for towns founded by ...
resort town came up around the brewery. Lion beer was originally an '' India Pale Ale'' (IPA), but the
beer style
Beer styles differentiate and categorise beers by colour, flavour, strength, ingredients, production method, recipe, history, or origin.
The modern concept of beer styles is largely based on the work of writer Michael Jackson in his 1977 book ...
was changed to ''
lager
Lager (; ) is a Type of beer, style of beer brewed and Brewing#Conditioning, conditioned at low temperature. Lagers can be Pale lager, pale, Amber lager, amber, or Dark lager, dark. Pale lager is the most widely consumed and commercially availab ...
'' in 1960s.Mohan Meakin, the present owner of Kasauli and Solan breweries and distilleries, has several liquor brands including '' Old Monk'' rum; whiskies including ''Solan No. 1'', ''Diplomat Deluxe'', ''Colonel's Special'', ''Black Knight'', and ''Summer Hall''; gins such as '' London Dry''; and ''Kaplanski'' vodka, all produced at various production facilities across India.
Kasauli Brewery, with its bar and brewery both open to public till 7 pm, is 9.3 km west from Sonwara railway station on the Kalka–Shimla railway - one of the
UNESCO World Heritage Site
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
Mountain railways of India
The Mountain railways of India are the railway lines that were built in the mountainous regions of India. The term mainly includes the narrow-gauge railways in these regions but may also include some broad-gauge railways.
Three of the lines, th ...
. Kasauli is located 50 km northeast from Panchkula, 60 km northeast from
Chandigarh
Chandigarh is a city and union territory in northern India, serving as the shared capital of the states of Punjab and Haryana. Situated near the foothills of the Shivalik range of Himalayas, it borders Haryana to the east and Punjab in the ...
, 77 km southwest from
Shimla
Shimla, also known as Simla ( the official name until 1972), is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summer capital of British India. After independence, the city ...
New Delhi
New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...
Jallianwala Bagh massacre
The Jallianwala Bagh massacre (), also known as the Amritsar massacre, took place on 13 April 1919. A large crowd had gathered at the Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar, Punjab, British India, during the annual Vaisakhi, Baisakhi fair to protest aga ...
, moved from
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
to set up the first brewery in India (later incorporated as Dyer Breweries in 1855) at Kasauli in the Himalayas.
Edward Abraham Dyer brought with him,
brewing
Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and #Fermenting, fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with Yeast#Beer, yeast. It may be done in a brewery ...
and
distillation
Distillation, also classical distillation, is the process of separating the component substances of a liquid mixture of two or more chemically discrete substances; the separation process is realized by way of the selective boiling of the mixt ...
equipment from
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
and
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
, which came by sailing ship as far up the
Yamuna
The Yamuna (; ) is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of Bandarpunch peaks of the Low ...
-
Ganges
The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary rive ...
rivers as possible, before being loaded onto ox drawn carts and taken up to the
Himalayas
The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...
via the
Grand Trunk Road
Grand Trunk Road (formerly known as Uttarapath, Sadak-e-Azam, Shah Rah-e-Azam, Badshahi Sadak, and Long Walk) is one of Asia's oldest and longest major roads. For at least 2,500 years it has linked Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent. It r ...
route to
Shimla
Shimla, also known as Simla ( the official name until 1972), is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summer capital of British India. After independence, the city ...
. Later in 1842, a small
cantonment
A cantonment (, , or ) is a type of military base. In South Asia, a ''cantonment'' refers to a permanent military station (a term from the British Raj). In United States military parlance, a cantonment is, essentially, "a permanent residential ...
of
British Indian Army
The Indian Army was the force of British Raj, British India, until Indian Independence Act 1947, national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and ...
at Kasauli was established by the British colonial rulers.
Edward Dyer selected the location of his brewer due to the fine springwater available there and because the climate at this altitude was similar to the climate of Scotland. His stated ambition was ''"to produce a malt whisky as fine as Scotch whisky,"'' albeit from much higher highlands. Another reason for this location was that there was a ready market of British troops and civilians in Shimla and elsewhere in Punjab for his products.
Brewery and distillery swap at Kasauli and Solan
In 1835, the brewery was moved to nearby
Solan
Solan is a city in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh and the district headquarters of Solan district. It is located south of the state capital, Shimla. Solan has an average elevation of . The city is situated between Chandigarh (joint cap ...
, close to the British summer capital
Shimla
Shimla, also known as Simla ( the official name until 1972), is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summer capital of British India. After independence, the city ...
, as there was an abundant supply of fresh springwater there. The Kasauli brewery site was converted to a distillery, which Mohan Meakin Ltd. still operates. After the town of Kasauli was established and began using much of the springwater, the brewery was dismantled and moved to nearby Solan where it still operates today. However, the distillery remains at Kasauli and is the oldest operating distillery in Asia and one of the oldest whisky making distilleries in continuous operation anywhere in the world.
Since 1835, Kasauli Brewery is continuously producing the ''Solan No 1'', earlier produced at Solan Brewery, which is India's first single malt whisky and the only malt whisky still produced in Himalayas. Since then, Solan Brewery is continuously producing the ''Lion beer'', earlier produced at Kasauli Brewery, which is Asia's first beer brand.
Expansion and incorporation of business
Dyer set up more breweries at Shimla,
Murree
Murree () is a mountain resort city in the northernmost region of the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab province of Pakistan. Lying in the Galyat region of the Pir Panjal Range under the western Himalayas, it forms the outskirts of the Islamabad–Rawal ...
Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, third-largest city in the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is a commercial and industrial hub, being the list of cities in P ...
,
Mandalay
Mandalay is the second-largest city in Myanmar, after Yangon. It is located on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, 631 km (392 mi) north of Yangon. In 2014, the city had a population of 1,225,553.
Mandalay was founded in 1857 by Ki ...
and
Quetta
Quetta is the capital and largest city of the Pakistani province of Balochistan. It is the ninth largest city in Pakistan, with an estimated population of over 1.6 million in 2024. It is situated in the south-west of the country, lying in a ...
and acquired interests in the
Ootacamund
Ooty (; officially Udagamandalam (), anglicized: Ootacamund , abbreviated as Udagai, ) is a town and municipality in the Nilgiris district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located northwest of Coimbatore, and is the headquarters of N ...
Brewery (South India).
In 1855, Edward Dyer incorporated his company it as the Dyer Breweries, following the full establishment of British East India Company rule over the Punjab with the annexation of Punjab in 1849 which brought this area under British law which included the incorporation of companies. Later, more breweries were built across India, Burma and Sri Lanka, and added to it.
By 1882, the company had 12 breweries in India, including one in
Rangoon
Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...
Darjeeling
Darjeeling (, , ) is a city in the northernmost region of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the Koshi Pr ...
,
Kirkee
Khadki is a cantonment in the city of Pune, Maharashtra, India. It has now flourished as a quasi-metropolis & centered in the northern region of the city.
Description
Khadki could be considered an Indian Army base, along with an ordnance facto ...
and
Nuwara Eliya
Nuwara Eliya ( ; ) is a city in the hill country of the Central Province, Sri Lanka. Its name means "city on the plain (table land)" or "city of light". The city is the administrative capital of Nuwara Eliya District, with a picturesque landsc ...
(
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
, formerly Ceylon).
Dyer-Meakin merger
After the
First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, the Meakin and Dyer breweries merged and, in 1937, when
Burma
Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...
was separated from India, the company was restructured with its Indian assets as Dyer Meakin Breweries, a public company on the
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange based in London, England. the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at US$3.42 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cath ...
.
Dyer-Meakin's acquisition by Mohan
In 1949 following
independence
Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...
, Narendra Nath Mohan raised funds and travelled to London, where he bought a majority stake in Dyer Meakin Breweries and acquired all the assets of Dyer Meakin Breweries in India. He built new breweries at
Lucknow
Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...
,
Ghaziabad
Ghaziabad () is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and a part of Delhi NCR. It is the administrative headquarters of Ghaziabad district and is the largest city in Western Uttar Pradesh, with a population of 1,729,000. Ghaziaba ...
and
Khopoli
Khopoli (, ISO: ) is an industrial city in the Khalapur taluka of Raigad district, in the Indian state of Maharashtra, at the base of the Sahyadri mountains. Patalganga River, which is the tailrace channel of the Tata Hydroelectric Power Sta ...
(near Mumbai) and few more breweries across India. The company was restructured and renamed as Dyer Meakin Breweries. It was listed on the
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange based in London, England. the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at US$3.42 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cath ...
.
Present status of Mohan Meakin Breweries
In 1967, the company name was changed to ''Mohan Meakin Breweries''. Kasauli and Solan breweries, along with other breweries, presently continue to be owned by the Mohan Meakin.
Products
Lion beer (at Kasauli 1820s-1835, at Solan since 1835)
''Lion Beer'', is Asia's first ''beer brand'' still continuously in production since 1820s, initially at Kasauli Brewery and since 1835 at Solan Brewery, first as India Pale Ale (IPA) till 1960 and as lager beer thereafter. Lion's popularity with the British during the heyday of the empire led to the start-up of other Lion beers around the world, in New Zealand, South Africa and elsewhere. Lion beer produced in Sri Lanka remains the number-one brand in Sri Lanka, where Mohan Meakin had introduced it in the 1884s through their Ceylon brewery.
In 1820s, Lion Beer was Asia's first ''beer brand'' when its production first started with establishment of India's first european style brewery at Kasauli. It which was an India Pale Ale (IPA) in great demand by the thirsty British administrators and troops stationed in the sweltering heat of India. Lion was much appreciated as a beer, and one famous poster featured a satisfied British Tommy declaring, "as good as back home!".
In 1835, the production of Lion beer and the brewery at Kasauli was shifted to Solan near
Shimla
Shimla, also known as Simla ( the official name until 1972), is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summer capital of British India. After independence, the city ...
, and distillery at Solan was shifted to Kasauli.
From 1840s until the 1960s, Lion remained the number one beer in India for over a century. After this, another Mohan Meakin brand, Golden Eagle, took the number one place until the 1980s, when
Kingfisher
Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly coloured birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species living in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...
became number one. Lion was originally an India Pale Ale (IPA) but the beer style was changed in the 1960s to a
lager
Lager (; ) is a Type of beer, style of beer brewed and Brewing#Conditioning, conditioned at low temperature. Lagers can be Pale lager, pale, Amber lager, amber, or Dark lager, dark. Pale lager is the most widely consumed and commercially availab ...
.
In the 1960s, Lion beer's style was changed from India Pale Ale (IPA) to lager after sales had declined.
By 2001, Lion beer sales had declined substantially and Lion was only available to the Indian Army through the Canteen Services Department (CSD). Mohan Meakin then entrusted the marketing of its original beer to International Breweries Pvt. Ltd. The brand has since been relaunched in the north Indian market. With a new label design and marketing campaign, Lion has established itself once more in the civilian market and is now expanding into markets across India.
Solan No.1 whisky (at Solan 1820s-1835, at Kasauli since 1835)
''Solan No.1 whisky'', is one of the first single malt whiskies which is still in production since 1820s, albeit in a different form. It was initially produced at Solan distillery owned by Dyer. In 1835, its production was moved to Kasauli brewery when swapped distillery at Solan Brewery was moved to Kasauli as a swap due to shortage of springwater for beer production at Kasauli.In 1835, Dyer and Meakin merged, in 1887 Dyer sold the Solan Brewery to Meakin. It is still in production at Kasauli Brewery using some of the original equipment including the copper pot still. Historically, the main whisky brand made by the Kasauli distillery was a well regarded malt whisky named "Solan No. 1" named after the nearby town of Solan. It remains the only
malt whisky
Malt whisky is whisky made from a fermented mashing, mash consisting of malted barley. If the product is made exclusively at a single distillery (along with other restrictions), it is typically called a single malt whisky. Although malt whisky ca ...
made in the Himalayas.
Till 1980s, Solan No. 1 was the best selling Indian whisky for over a century. Presently it faces stiff competition from the much larger rivals, which are largely flavoured Indian-made foreign liquor rums distilled from sugar cane juice sold as whisky.
Beer in India
Beer in India has been prepared from rice or millet for thousands of years. In the 18th century, the British introduced European beer to India. Beer is not as popular as stronger alcoholic beverages like desi daru and Indian-made foreign liquor, ...
**
Beer in England
Beer has been brewed in England for thousands of years. As a beer brewing country, it is known for top fermented cask beer (also called real ale) which finishes maturing in the cellar of the pub rather than at the brewery and is served with ...
Alcohol laws of India
The legal drinking age in India and the laws which regulate the sale and consumption of Alcoholic drink, alcohol vary significantly from States and union territories of India, state to state. In India, consumption of alcohol is prohibited in the ...
Desi daru
Desi daru (), also known as country liquor or Indian-made Indian liquor (IMIL), is a local category of liquor produced on the Indian subcontinent, as opposed to Indian-made foreign liquor. Due to cheap prices, country liquor is the most popular a ...
Sura
A ''surah'' (; ; ) is an Arabic word meaning 'chapter' in the Quran. There are 114 ''suwar'' in the Quran, each divided into verses (). The ''suwar'' are of unequal length; the shortest ''surah'' ( al-Kawthar) has only three verses, while the ...
**
Tourism in India
Tourism in India is 4.6% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP). Unlike other sectors, tourism is not a priority sector for the Government of India. The World Travel and Tourism Council calculated that tourism generated or 5.8% of Ind ...