Kasauli Brewery

2021-11-11T20:29:18Z

76.170.54.225:

{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2017}}
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2017}}
{{Infobox brewery
| name = Kasauli Brewery
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| image = Kasauli Brewery 01.jpg|
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| location_city = Kasauli
| location_state = Himachal Pradesh
| location_country = India
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| opened = 1820s
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| owner = [[Mohan Meakin]]
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''' Kasauli Brewery and Distillery''' (formerly a [[brewery]] and presently a [[distillation|distillery]] since 1835),<ref name=liv1/><ref name=solan/><ref name="lion beer"/> at [[Kasauli]] in [[Solan district]] of [[Himachal Pradesh]] state of [[India]], was established in late 1820s during [[british raj]] by Edward Dyer (brewer)|Edward Abraham Dyer<ref name=dy1/> - father of ''"The Butcher of [[Jallianwala Bagh massacre]]"'', [[Reginald Edward Harry Dyer|Colonel Reginald Edward Harry Dyer]].<ref name=dy1>{{Cite book|url=http://www.worldcat.org/title/life-of-general-dyer/oclc/1335678|title=The life of General Dyer|last=Colvin|first=Ian Duncan|date=1929-01-01|publisher=W. Blackwood & Sons Ltd.|location=Edinburgh; London|oclc=1335678|language=English}}</ref><ref name=dy2>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TM3riRQIkwgC&q=edward&pg=PA1|title=The Life of General Dyer|last=Colvin|first=Ian Duncan|date=2006-01-01|publisher=Unistar Books|language=en}}</ref><ref name=dy3>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XuQC5pgzCw4C&q=edward&pg=PA4|title=The Butcher of Amritsar: General Reginald Dyer|last=Collett|first=Nigel|date=2006-10-15|publisher=A&C Black|isbn=9781852855758|language=en}}</ref><ref name=dy4>{{Cite news|url=http://www.livemint.com/Sundayapp/dREvXCimvI0BIYRLNbavRO/How-Old-Monk-went-from-Indias-star-to-another-hasbeen.html|title=How Old Monk went from India's star to another has-been|last=Saikia|first=Arunabh|date=2016-04-23|newspaper=Mint on Sunday|access-date=2017-01-30}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ancestry.com/genealogy/records/reginald-edward-dyer_2419138|title=Reginald Edward Dyer 1864-1927 - Ancestry|website=www.ancestry.com|language=en-us|access-date=2017-01-30}}</ref><ref name=dy6>{{Cite web|url=https://lawrencecollege.edu.pk/reginald-edward-harry-dyer/|title=Reginald Edward Harry Dyer – The Butcher of Amritsar | Lawrence College Ghora Gali}}</ref> It started producing Asia's first beer brand, the ''"Lion Beer"'', and India's first [[single malt whisky]], 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 [[Pot still|copper pot still]].<ref name="lion beer"/><ref name=liv1/> The production of ''Lion beer'' was moved 25 km east to Solan Brewery at [[Solan]],<ref name="lion beer"/><ref name=liv1/> due to water scarcity, after [[civilian]] Kasauli [[hill station]] resort town came up around the brewery. Lion beer was originally an ''[[India Pale Ale]]'' (IPA), but the [[beer style]] was changed to ''[[Lager|lager]]'' in 1960s.<ref name="Swinnen"/>

[[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 ''[[Gin#Dry|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]] [[Mountain railways of India]].<ref name="Centre">{{Cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/944|title=Mountain Railways of India|last=Centre|first=UNESCO World Heritage|website=whc.unesco.org|language=en|access-date=2017-06-08}}</ref> Kasauli is located 50 km northeast from [[Panchkula]], 60 km northeast from [[Chandigarh]], 77 km southwest from [[Shimla]] - all of which lie on the [[National Highway 5 (India)|NH-5]]. National capital [[New Delhi]] is 320 km south. Nearest airports are [[Chandigarh Airport]], [[Shimla Airport]] and [[Indira Gandhi International Airport|Delhi IGI Airport]].

==History==

===Dyer Brewery ===

====Establishment of Kasauli brewery ====

In the late 1820s, Edward Abraham Dyer, father of Colonel [[Reginald Edward Harry Dyer]] of [[Jallianwala Bagh massacre]], moved from [[England]] to set up the first brewery in India (later incorporated as Dyer Breweries in 1855) at Kasauli in the Himalayas.<ref name=pr1>{{Cite book|title=The life of General Dyer|last=Colvin|first=Ian Duncan|date=1929-01-01|publisher=W. Blackwood & Sons Ltd.|location=Edinburgh; London|language=en|oclc = 1335678}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TM3riRQIkwgC&q=edward&pg=PA1|title=The Life of General Dyer|last=Colvin|first=Ian Duncan|date=2006-01-01|publisher=Unistar Books|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XuQC5pgzCw4C&q=edward&pg=PA4|title=The Butcher of Amritsar: General Reginald Dyer|last=Collett|first=Nigel|date=2006-10-15|publisher=A&C Black|isbn=9781852855758|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.livemint.com/Sundayapp/dREvXCimvI0BIYRLNbavRO/How-Old-Monk-went-from-Indias-star-to-another-hasbeen.html|title=How Old Monk went from India's star to another has-been|last=Saikia|first=Arunabh|date=2016-04-23|newspaper=Mint on Sunday|access-date=2017-01-30}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ancestry.com/genealogy/records/reginald-edward-dyer_2419138|title=Reginald Edward Dyer 1864-1927 - Ancestry|website=www.ancestry.com|language=en-us|access-date=2017-01-30}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://lawrencecollege.edu.pk/reginald-edward-harry-dyer/|title=Reginald Edward Harry Dyer – the Butcher of Amritsar | Lawrence College Ghora Gali}}</ref><ref name=solan/>

Edward Abraham Dyer brought with him, [[Brewing equipment|brewing]] and [[distillation]] equipment from [[Beer in England|England]] and [[Scotch whisky|Scotland]], which came by sailing ship as far up the [[Yamuna]]-[[Ganges]] rivers as possible, before being loaded onto ox drawn carts and taken up to the [[Himalayas]] via the [[Grand Trunk Road]] route to [[Shimla]]. Later in 1842, a small [[cantonment]] of [[British Indian Army]] 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 ====
{{anchor | Solan Brewery | Solan | Swap | Brewery swap }}

In 1835, the brewery was moved to nearby [[Solan district|Solan]], close to the British summer capital [[Shimla]], 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.<ref name=liv1/><ref name=solan/><ref name="lion beer"/> 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.<ref name=liv1/><ref name=solan/><ref name="lion beer"/>

====Expansion and incorporation of business ====

Dyer set up more breweries at Shimla, [[Murree]] ([[Murree Brewery]]), [[Rawalpindi]], [[Mandalay]] and [[Quetta]] and acquired interests in the [[Ootacamund]] Brewery (South India).

In 1855, Edward Dyer incorporated his company it as the Dyer Breweries,<ref name="lion beer"/> following the full establishment of British East India Company [[Punjab Province (British India)|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.<ref name="lion beer"/>

By 1882, the company had 12 breweries in India, including one in [[Rangoon]].<ref name="Hunter1886">{{cite book|author=Sir William Wilson Hunter|title=The Indian Empire: Its People, History, and Products|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yUhvfR1S_UEC&pg=PA616|year=1886|publisher=Asian Educational Services|isbn=978-81-206-1581-6|page=616}}</ref>

====Sale of Shimla and Solan breweries to Meakin ====

In 1887, another british entrepreneur H. G. Meakin who had moved to India, bought old Shimla and Solan Breweries from Edward Dyer<ref name="Damodaran"/><ref name=liv1>[https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/PiKqdbm2wPGiQnCisfynmK/1800s-Solan-No-1--The-accidental-legacy.html https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/PiKqdbm2wPGiQnCisfynmK/1800s-Solan-No-1--The-accidental-legacy.html], The Mint, 13 Aug 2012.</ref> and added more at [[Ranikhet]], [[Dalhousie, India|Dalhousie]], [[Chakrata]], [[Darjeeling]], [[Kirkee]] and [[Nuwara Eliya]] ([[Sri Lanka]], formerly Ceylon).

===Dyer-Meakin merger ===

After the [[First World War]], the Meakin and Dyer breweries merged<ref name="Damodaran"/> and, in 1937, when [[Burma]] was [[British_rule_in_Burma#Separation_from_India|separated from India]], the company was restructured with its Indian assets as Dyer Meakin Breweries, a public company on the [[London Stock Exchange]].<ref name="lion beer"/><ref name=liv1/>

===Dyer-Meakin's acquisition by Mohan ===

In 1949 following [[Partition of India|independence]], 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]], [[Ghaziabad, India|Ghaziabad]] and [[Khopoli]] (near Mumbai) and few more breweries across India.<ref name="Damodaran"/><ref name="lion beer">{{cite news|title=Spirits still soar at Asia's oldest brewery|url=http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2005-08-13/news/27493620_1_beer-london-stock-exchange-asia-s|access-date=8 October 2013|newspaper=[[The Economic Times]]|date=13 August 2013}}</ref> The company was restructured and renamed as Dyer Meakin Breweries. It was listed on the [[London Stock Exchange]].<ref name="london stock">{{cite news|title=Calcutta Stocks Neglected|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=es4-AAAAIBAJ&dq=dyer%20meakin%20breweries&pg=3090%2C3095985|access-date=8 October 2013|newspaper=[[The Indian Express]]|date=5 November 1948}}</ref>

===Present status of Mohan Meakin Breweries ===

In 1967, the company name was changed to ''Mohan Meakin Breweries''.<ref name="Damodaran"/> 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)===
{{anchor | Lion | Lion beer}}

''Lion Beer'', is Asia's first ''beer brand'' still continuously in production since 1820s,<ref name=solan/> initially at Kasauli Brewery and since 1835 at Solan Brewery,<ref name=liv1/> first as India Pale Ale (IPA) till 1960 and as lager beer thereafter.<ref name="Swinnen"/> 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_Brewery_(Sri_Lanka)#Lion|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 [[Lion Brewery (Sri Lanka)|Ceylon brewery]].<ref name=dr1>{{cite web|url=http://e-malt.com/NewsSrv.asp?Command=ArticleShow&ArticleID=13724&Template=IndustryNewsTemplate.htm|title=Leading Lion Brewery completes the largest repackaging in its history|publisher=E-Malt.com|date=9 September 2008|accessdate=19 June 2014}}</ref>

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.<ref name=pr1/><ref name="Damodaran">{{cite book|title=India's New Capitalists: Caste, Business, and Industry in a Modern Nation|first=Harish|last=Damodaran|publisher=Springer|date=25 June 2008|page=63|isbn=9780230594128}}</ref><ref name=solan/> 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]],<ref name="lion beer"/><ref name=solan>{{cite web |title=Himachal Pradesh: Solan |url=http://hpsolan.gov.in/solan.html |publisher=Government of Himachal Pradesh |access-date=8 October 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121210130442/http://hpsolan.gov.in/solan.html |archive-date=10 December 2012 |df=dmy }}</ref><ref name=liv1/> and distillery at Solan was shifted to Kasauli.<ref name=solan/><ref name=liv1/>

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 (beer)|Kingfisher]] became number one.<ref name="Swinnen"/> Lion was originally an India Pale Ale (IPA) but the beer style]] was changed in the 1960s to a [[Lager|lager]].<ref name="Swinnen">{{cite book|title=The Economics of Beer|author=Swinnen, Johan F.M.|publisher=Oxford University Press|date=2011|isbn=9780191505010}}</ref>

In the 1960s, Lion beer's style was changed from India Pale Ale (IPA) to lager after sales had declined.<ref name="Swinnen">{{cite book|title=The Economics of Beer|author=Swinnen, Johan F.M.|publisher=Oxford University Press|date=2011|isbn=9780191505010}}</ref>

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)===
{{anchor | Whisky | Solan whisky | Solan No.1 | Solan No.1 whisky }}

''Solan No.1 whisky'', India's first single malt whisky, still continuously in production since 1820s. 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 1887, Dyer sold the Solan Brewery to Meakin. In 1835, Dyer and Meakin merged. It is still in production at Kasauli Brewery using some of the original equipment including the [[Pot still|copper pot still]].<ref name="Damodaran"/><ref name=liv1/><ref name="lion beer"/> Historically, the main whisky brand made by the Kasauli distillery was a well regarded single malt named "Solan No. 1"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://therumhowlerblog.com/whisky-reviews/world-whiskeys/solan-no-1-malt-whisky/|title=Solan Number One Malt Whisky|date=16 July 2013}}</ref> named after the nearby town of Solan. It remains the only [[malt whisky]] 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.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Kasauli Brewery 03.jpg|
Kasauli Brewery 02.jpg|
Kasauli Brewery 04.jpg|
Kasauli Brewery 05.jpg|
</gallery>

==See also ==

* Kasauli brewery related
** [[Beer in India]]
** [[Beer in England]]
** [[Indian whisky]]
** [[Scotch whisky]]

* Other India related
** [[List of Indian beverages#Alcohol|Alcoholic Indian beverages]]
** [[Alcohol laws of India]]
** [[Alcohol prohibition in India]]
** [[Desi daru]]
** [[Alcohol_laws_of_India#Dry_days|Dry Days in India]]
** [[Indian-made foreign liquor]]
** [[sura (alcoholic drink)|Sura]]
** [[Tourism in India]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{portalbar|Beer|Liquor|India}}
{{Alcohol in India}}
{{Alcohol by countries}}
{{Alcoholic beverages}}
{{Indian beverages}}
{{Beers of the world}}
{{Prohibition |state=collapsed}}
{{Social issues in India}}
{{Whisky |state=collapsed}}

{{coord missing|Himachal Pradesh}}

[[Category:Economy of Himachal Pradesh]]
[[Category:Distilleries in India]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Solan district]]
[[Category:Beer in India]]

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Kasauli Brewery