E-Malt.com News article: India: AB InBev launches local wheat beers Veere and Machaa in Bengaluru

Anheuser Busch InBev (AB InBev), the world’s biggest brewer that sells Budweiser and Corona, announced on February 28 the launch of its local wheat beers - Veere and Machaa - in Bengaluru, ETRetail.com reported.

In October 2019, AB InBev set up an Indian unit, 7 Rivers Brewing Co, to introduce the two wheat beer variants in Mumbai and Pune.

Kartikeya Sharma, president - South Asia for AB InBev, said, “We are constantly looking at ways to enhance our existing portfolio of beers and the launch of Veere and Machaa is yet another step in that direction. We are delighted with the response from our consumers in Mumbai and Pune. We see a growing trend of specialty wheat beers across the top urban centers in the country.”

Both the variants are brewed at its Aurangabad brewery with homegrown ingredients. The craft style beer by AB Inbev is a locally made Belgian wheat beer made using wheat sourced from various parts of Punjab and Haryana. While Veere has notes of orange and coriander flavours, Machaa is a tropical beer with flavours of banana and cloves sourced from Tamil Nadu. At an ABV of lower than 5%, the variants are being retailed in both can and bottle formats.

Wheat beer has a larger proportion of wheat malt than malted barley. The number of Indian bars that increasingly stock Belgian Witbier and German Hefeweizen-style wheat beer is on the rise, helped by surging consumer demand.

In December 2019, beer giant United Breweries (UB) also forayed into the fast growing craft beer segment with the launch of Kingfisher Ultra Witbier. It was the first non-lager beer from Heineken-controlled UB.

UB and AB InBev, which together control three-fourths of India’s beer market, also sell Edelweiss and Hoegaarden wheat beer, respectively, which are imported and carry price tags that are more than double that of their rivals.

India is predominately a strong beer market that accounts for 85% of the overall segment. The industry, however, witnessed highest growth coming from the craft beer category which led to the mushrooming of about 170 microbreweries in India from just two over the last decade.


28 February, 2020