Ale & Hearty: In A First, Bengaluru Pubs May Get to Sell Beer in Kegs to Boost Sales | Exclusive

Want to enjoy some handcrafted beer poured out of a keg in the comfort of your home? You may soon be able to do so from your nearest pub if the Karnataka excise department’s proposal gets a green signal.

News18 has learnt from official sources that the state excise department has come up with this plan to allow independent pubs to vend beer in kegs to shore up additional revenue for Karnataka’s coffers.

The plan is to allow independent pubs in the city to retail beer from a single company in kegs to consumers.

“The beer companies or craft beer companies cannot bottle their beer and sell them; only kegs ranging from 5 to 30 litres may be allowed. This is another innovative way of trying to increase beer sales,” said a top-level official of the excise department to News18. “A pub will be allowed to sell beer kegs of only one brand from one outlet after gaining necessary licences/permissions from the department.”

A keg is a small barrel usually made of stainless steel that can store beer or other alcoholic drinks in a minimum of 5 to 10 litres.

Recently, Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah proposed a 20% hike in additional excise duty (AED) on alcohol in his state budget, and with this, a 650ml bottle of beer costs around Rs 180, trailing the price of Rs 210 in Tamil Nadu and Rs 190 in Delhi.

Karnataka may stand as the most expensive state when it comes to premium branded liquor in the country, but its excise department has been trying to draw up innovative ways of increasing sales of liquor, especially beer, despite its steep pricing. Beer stands as the third most expensive option.

In Karnataka, liquor brands are classified under 18 categories based on the pricing at which manufacturers sell the product to Karnataka State Beverage Corporation Ltd (KSBCL), the government wholesaler.

“We have 18 slabs of liquor categories, and the lowest four slabs are the ones that are consumed the most. They are also the lowest priced in the country. It’s only the premium brands and IML that are expensive, but a substantial 75 per cent of consumers choose the low and medium-level brands. The demand for premium liquor brands has also been increasing steadily,” said a senior excise official who did not wish to be named.